This time, Xu Di wanted to ride a horse back to Miaozhou instead of a boat. Chen Zhaoci was the first to object. Although his wound had begun to heal, riding a horse was too tiring. As a doctor, Chen Zhaoci firmly disagreed with Xu Di riding such a long way back to Miaozhou. Fortunately, there was nothing urgent in Miaozhou at the moment, so the chief steward of the Yongning Marquis's mansion was ordered to take Xu Di to Miaozhou by boat.

Xu Di stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the surging river below, but his mind was on the construction of the Miaozhou River embankment.

The Liao family, father and son, and their group had been working along the river for several months. For Miaozhou at present, repairing the river was the most important thing. However, Xu Di really didn't know much about river management. As a non-professional, he shouldn't interfere in such professional matters. Therefore, Xu Di had been entrusting all the river management work to the Liao family. The Liao family, father and son, not only led their men to repair the river, but also personally taught the more than twenty quick-witted young men that Xu Di had sent. Xu Di made it very clear to the old man Liao that with so many rivers in Daliang, it was impossible to rely solely on the few people in the Ministry of Works. The most important thing now was to train more people to properly repair Daliang's rivers.

Many skills are passed down from father to son, and are passed down to men but not women. When Grandpa Liao heard Xu Di's request, he thought about it for a long time before finally deciding to help Xu Di take on apprentices. Grandpa Liao felt that what Xu Di said made a lot of sense, and now he leads a group of young men who are busy working by the river every day.

Thinking of the Miaohe waterway and the road leading from Lüzhou to Miaohe, that road was basically passable, but it was still far from the level Xu Di wanted to improve. The mountain had been cleared, and the rubble had been moved to the roadside. According to Xu Di's plan, the thirty-odd miles of road should be paved with bluestone slabs so that even if it rained, there wouldn't be any mud on the road. With so many stones cleared from the mountain, they could use local materials, find some stonemasons to properly carve out the slabs, and pave them directly on the road. Zheng Boyuan had once told Xu Di that if he did this, he might not have enough money. Xu Di had brought back tens of thousands of taels of silver notes from the capital this time, all of which he had squeezed from the Third Prince. The ultimate purpose of this road was actually to build for the Lüzhou garrison. Since the Third Prince was colluding with the people of Da Yan, it would be worthwhile to use the silver he had taken from the Third Prince to fight against the people of Da Yan.

Then she thought of the Third Prince. The Emperor still couldn't bring himself to behead him at the Meridian Gate. She heard that he had sent him a pot of poisoned wine, and the Third Prince cried and laughed and made a scene before finally drinking it. After the Wan family fell, Consort Wan ended her life with a white silk ribbon. Consort Wan knew very well that the Third Prince had offended many people in recent years. As a consort, without the Third Prince as her support, she knew that the palace was a place where people devoured each other. What good days could she have in the palace in the future? She might as well end her life with a white silk ribbon to avoid being tortured and abused in the future.

Consort Wan was a concubine of Emperor Liang Cheng when he was still a prince. At that time, Emperor Liang Cheng was an insignificant prince, and the concubines who stayed with him in the prince's residence had a difficult life. Consort Wan's act of getting rid of him reminded Emperor Liang Cheng of the time they went through hardships together. He gave Consort Wan a proper burial. Her family members were not sentenced to immediate execution, but were all exiled to Lingnan and never allowed to return to the capital.

This was considered a lenient approach. Upon hearing this result, Xu Di held Consort Wan in higher regard. She had exchanged her own life for the lives of the Wan family members, and the Wan family members were able to remember the kindness of this girl who came from the Wan family.

Upon hearing Emperor Liang Cheng's method of dealing with the Wan family, the Marquis remarked that it was too lenient and said nothing more. Xu Di felt that the Marquis was dissatisfied with Emperor Liang Cheng for not eliminating them completely. Emperor Liang Cheng didn't seem to have any problems now, but he feared that these people would use various pretexts to cause trouble after Emperor Liang Cheng's successor came to power. Xu Di was not a ruthless person, nor did he have any intention of eliminating the root of the problem. It wasn't that he was soft-hearted; it was just that in the face of absolute power, everything was a paper tiger, let alone those unsavory villains.

As for the eldest prince, the Emperor has seized a handle against him and temporarily placed him in the Imperial Prison, allowing him to witness the death of the third prince. This is likely to have a deterrent effect. Emperor Liang Cheng is not unwilling to deal with the Wang family as well, but he is wary of General Wang Junzhuo, who is still in the southwest. It is also because General Wang is serving as a general in the field, and his parents, wife, and children must remain in the capital. Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble the Wang family would cause. Now that Emperor Liang Cheng has the eldest prince in his grasp, even if the Wang family wanted to abandon their family in the capital and cause any trouble, they would not dare to do so. If they make any move, they will be considered traitors and will be condemned by everyone.

Sailing downstream, we soon arrived at the place where the canal and the Miao River meet.

There was a large town in this place. The boat docked to replenish supplies. Seeing that it was still early, Xu Di disembarked and strolled around the bustling town, where the sounds of people could be heard from afar.

The town runs along the riverbank from west to east, with the dock at the far east. After disembarking, you walk along a long street lined with various shops on both sides. Many merchants use this place as a transit point for their goods. Behind the shops are some large houses, many of which are used as warehouses. As far as Xu Di knows, many grain merchants, in particular, have warehouses here.

Xu Di strolled slowly along the street, looking at the shops with different styles. Don't be fooled by the small size of this place; if you take your time and browse slowly, you can find many things from overseas here.

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