"See His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Qin Duan, who was dressed in full uniform, respectfully saluted Zhao Yan.

"Lord Qin is too polite! You and I don't have to be so polite! Everyone, too, are exempt! ”

Zhao Yan let out a hearty laugh in his throat, Zhao Yan took two steps to pick up the worshipping Qin Dui, and held Qin Dui's arm affectionately, while also warmly greeting several important generals under Qin Dui.

"Hey, the ceremony can't be wasted, Your Highness."

A sincere smile appeared on Qin Dui's face, he still made a standard half-kneeling salute, and then got up, and the generals who didn't want to salute again had to follow suit when they saw their bosses insisting on saluting.

"Your Highness, please!"

"Lord Qin, please!"

Zhao Yan was so respectful to Qin Dui, an imperceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he took Qin Dui's hand and walked into the spacious living room in the county guard's mansion together.

After listening to Qin Dui's detailed briefing on the battle against bandits and the defeat of the invasion of the Huns, Zhao Yan asked with concern about the current situation in the counties and prefectures in the northwest.

Zhao Yan was very satisfied in his heart, it seems that this Qin Duan is quite honest with himself, and he has not concealed anything from the information introduced, from the current point of view, he can't see that this person has any different intentions, and there are some differences with the views of his own strategists, but the current superficial phenomenon alone is far from enough to make a light judgment, and more importantly, it is more important to look at his deeds, but this is at least a good start, Zhao Yan thoughtfully.

Qin Duan, who was sitting next to him, still looked polite on the surface, and his attitude towards Zhao Yan was also very respectful, and he also revealed some closeness, but he was carefully figuring out the other party's mind in his mind.

Although Zhao Yan is the crown prince and the only son of the current emperor, the history of the Great Qin Empire is more than 1,000 years. Not all sons inherit their father's business, and there are many brothers who inherit the throne, and the princes of every dynasty of the Great Qin Empire want to win the throne, in addition to defeating their brothers, there are also facing their own strong imperial uncles and emperors.

In order to win the throne, the favor of His Majesty the Emperor is naturally crucial. But it is also indispensable to have strong strength and powerful supporters, otherwise, even if you sit on the throne of the emperor, your strength is not enough, you may still be overturned by others, such examples abound, it is not surprising that there are more than a dozen precedents in the Great Qin Dynasty.

Maybe his current strength has attracted the attention of many "caring people", and this Zhao Yan is probably one of them. He strongly recommended himself as the military and political envoy of the Northwest County, and this sought-after position could be considered a big investment, and now he probably thought it was time to talk about the benefits.

Qin Duan thought to himself, but he didn't show any expression on the surface. Since he wants to talk about profits, then he can take the opportunity to complain about his grievances first, and let him win some support for the northwest in the imperial court, and it is not in vain that the crown prince Zhao Yan will personally go to the northwest.

Qin Dui frowned, thinking about it. "Your Highness, I don't think it's better for me to accompany Your Highness out for a walk. Field trip to Longdong County, it is good to actually understand the specific situation in the northwest. ”

Zhao Yan readily agreed to Qin Duan's suggestion. He also wanted to find a suitable time to talk to this Qin Duan, who he couldn't see through, alone, and at least he had to probe his bottom to see if his weight could be safely bet on him. But the face of the person in front of him always gave him a little blurry, as if there was a faint veil of fog hanging in front of him.

A luxurious carriage slowly drove out of the gate of the Longdong County Guard's Mansion under the strict escort of the knights around, given that the situation in Longdong was not completely calm, Zhao Yan's identity was also extraordinary. Moreover, he was assassinated and sniped twice, and Qin Duan took quite strict security measures.

The carriage drove slowly on the deserted streets of Guiyan City, the capital of Longdong County, and most of the houses on both sides of the streets looked a little dilapidated, and the huge impact of long-term war and banditry on the economy here can be seen at a glance. However, Zhao Yan, who had been silent, seemed to be a little absent-minded sitting in the wide carriage, and Qin Duan, who accompanied him, couldn't find anything to say for a while.

At this moment, Zhao Yan was thinking about how to open the conversation.

The pacification of the northwest is a foregone conclusion. When you go back, you can also give a satisfactory answer to your father. Although the person in front of him can sit in the top spot of Northwest County, he has also made great efforts, but now there are too many cases of crossing the bridge and drawing boards, and the strength is decided, no one will bet on the side that has no chance of winning, if he wants to win his loyalty by virtue of this, Zhao Yan is not so naïve.

And compared with his own imperial uncles, he is still very weak, and even inferior to his eldest sister, Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess, in the future battle for the throne, it is too early for Qin Duan to support himself now, but at least this is an opportunity to win him over, after all, this Qin Duan's power in the entire court is not weak, Wei Zhongxian is his strong backing, I heard that Wei Zhongxian is even going to marry his niece to Qin Duan as a flat wife, in addition to Wei Zhongxian, Li Shaoqin, the president of the Imperial Military Academy, is also his cheap old man.

As the dean of the Imperial Military Academy, this Li Shaoqin does not know how many protégés and former officials are in various legions of the empire, and his influence is no less than that of the military department, and he is a very influential person in the Great Qin Empire.

In Zhao Yan's opinion, as long as Qin Dui is wooed, the forces behind Qin Dui will definitely support his ascension to the throne as the emperor, and with the support of his eldest sister, Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess, this throne will definitely be secure. But how to get this Qin Duan to support himself made Zhao Yan a little headache.

"Your Highness, look! It used to be a prestigious business district, and it was lined with shops and merchants, but now it's ......."

The carriage has come to the once prosperous commercial area of Longdong County, but now it is a dilapidated and depressed appearance, and a few businesses that are still alive in Yemen can be left behind, which makes people feel sad. Seeing this, Qin Duan couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Oh?"

Qin Dui's words made Zhao Yan wake up from his thoughts, and he looked at it casually like a dragonfly, and Zhao Yan returned to the carriage, at this moment he didn't have much mind to care about the economic situation in Longdong, what he wanted to know more was what the person who introduced the situation to him thought of himself.

The carriage circled the city and then drove outside the city, although Qin Duan also saw that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince didn't seem to care much about the situation in Longdong, but he still wanted Zhao Yan to take a look at the real situation of the current situation in Longdong County, and let him go back and reflect it to the ministers of the imperial court and His Majesty the Emperor.

Although Qin Duan does not have any illusions about the support of the court this time, after all, now that Qin Duan is sitting on the military and political envoy of the northwest, the court must be very scruples about himself and will not give him any more support, but it is not a bad thing to help this crying and crying at least, at least it can also allow some people to gain some psychological balance.

It was an open field, dotted with kilns, withered weeds shivering in the strong northwest wind, and a few wild dogs could be spotted occasionally.

Qin Du and Zhao Yan both got out of the car and walked to a high ground, "Your Highness, this is the original famous official kiln area of the empire, and there is the private kiln area, more than ten years ago, no matter day or night, the road was full of transport vehicles waiting to be loaded, all the kilns worked overtime day and night, people stopped the furnaces, merchants waited here day and night, and at night here was also brightly lit, prosperous for a while!" ”

Qin Duan's words finally aroused Zhao Yan's interest, "Oh? I didn't think this place would end up in such a field now. While sighing, Zhao Yan was also carefully looking at this once glorious kiln area.

"I heard that the maiden family of Concubine Sogna (Zhao Yan's mother) is also a prominent family in Wuhu County, and it seems that she also runs a considerable ceramic business, I wonder if His Royal Highness is interested in the business here?"

"Oh." Zhao Yan didn't understand what Qin Dui was trying to express, so he just responded without making any answer.

"Your Highness doesn't have to doubt my sincerity, who has supported me, who will I definitely report?" The corners of Qin Duan's mouth already showed a sly smile, and he said with a pun.

"It's easy to talk to smart people."

Zhao Yan said happily, finally waiting for a sentence that he wanted to hear, the purpose of his coming this time was to seek his support, and now it is a preliminary achievement of the goal.

In the evening, Qin Du set up a banquet for His Royal Highness Zhao Yan, the Imperial Prince, and invited some well-known people and big businessmen in Longdong, and the guests and hosts drank and talked happily in a pleasant atmosphere.

Two days later, Zhao Yan led all the personnel of the mission back to the imperial capital, and Qin Du personally led the army to escort him to the junction of Meishan County and Lishan County, and transferred the escort task to the troops brought by the county guard of Lishan County who came to greet him before returning to Longdong. For this county guard of Lishan County, Qin Duan can't move him for the time being.

In just over a month, the huge military and political institutions in the northwest of the empire were erected, and these news, together with the news of the annihilation of the rebels in the northwest, spread like lightning throughout the territory and outside the Great Qin Empire. Whether it is the Japanese people in the Far East Sea, the Central Continent countries in the west, or the nomads in the northern powers and the Tengger steppe, or even the southern city-states adjacent to the Great South Sea, the dignitaries and dignitaries of various countries are trying to find out all kinds of information about this military strongman who has risen in the northwest of the empire.

After all, this is the first prince appointed by the Great Qin Empire in the past thirty years, and this person has an impressive record, and even the arrogant and humble Hun iron cavalry has been broken in front of his army twice in a row, which cannot but attract the attention of the countries on the mainland. If Qin Duan could be called an up-and-coming three years ago, it is not an exaggeration to call it sharp now. (To be continued......)