Lying comfortably alone in the easy chair in the study, letting the aftertaste of coffee linger in her tongue, Qin Duan squinted her eyes lightly and sorted out her thoughts.

I was finally able to go back to the northwest, but I don't seem to be very happy, what is the reason? Is it nostalgia for the extravagant and debauched life of the imperial capital? No. Is that worried about the situation in the Northwest? It's not exactly, even if Liang Qiming didn't report himself in advance, he also knew that Gao Yueren's loyalty and obedience to him might not be replaced, as for the crisis in Jiayuguan, the Kaman people really made up their minds, and they used an army of this size, there must have been a conspiracy a long time ago, even if they rush back now, I'm afraid it will be difficult to turn things around, just strive to avoid greater losses, but it is also a good excuse for themselves to go back to the northwest to create a zào.

So what are you worried about? Qin Duan sorted out the thoughts in his mind one by one, and analyzed the crux of the current shape that was unfavorable to him. The power of the Taiping Sect in the two northern counties has been deeply entrenched, and it has also developed rapidly in the western two counties of Kansai and Heshuo, especially in the western part of the country, and at present, the imperial garrison in the west is extremely weak, and once the riot breaks out, I am afraid that it will spread into an uncontrollable fire.

So is this good or bad for your own development? Qin Duan finally found the reason that affected his mood. Since Gu Dengyun led people to Kansai in February, the intelligence system in the Kansai region was quickly established with the efforts of a few people, and Gu Dengyun's ability has been fully manifested; although the intelligence organization is not completely sound yet, it has begun to play an important role in many aspects, especially in the collection of intelligence on the Taiping sect.

The Taiping Sect, with Hanzhong Prefecture as the center of development, significantly strengthened its military preparations, and the prices of materials related to military affairs continued to rise throughout Guanxi County, especially in iron tools (weapons), leather (armor), horses (war horses), and grain (military food reserves). However, this information did not attract the attention of the local authorities.

According to the intelligence of the two prefectures of Longdong and Hanzhong, the Taiping Sect in these two places has trained a considerable number of horse infantry troops, and in Xikang, it has focused on the development of cavalry units, and the number of infantry troops in Jincheng and Bashan prefectures is also increasing rapidly, and according to accurate intelligence reports, there are professional military instructors among them for training. This point especially worried Qin Duan. However, the development of Lujiang is not smooth, the local government has adopted a strict system of protecting the armor and taking strict measures to deal with the civil associations that have not been reported to the local government, which has greatly inhibited the development of all civil associations, and the government has consciously adopted various means against the Taiping Religion, which has a greater impact on the Taiping Religion, so the development of the Taiping Religion in Lujiang Prefecture is very unsmooth, but it has also achieved certain results.

In just a few months, the intelligence system in the Kansai region has achieved such results, which makes Qin Du quite happy, but the information reflected makes Qin Du happy and worried.

The growing power of the Taiping religion in the Kansai region. It is very likely to cause a major rebellion in the near future, and the two counties of Beiyuan and Yanyun in the north and the adjacent Heshuo County will inevitably be involved, the advantage is that it provides Qin Duan with an excellent excuse to go east, but the danger hidden behind is even greater.

First of all, the Taiping Sect is far from being comparable to the sloppy peasant rebels it had dealt with in previous years, but an extremely well-organized and huge organization, and once it is mobilized, its potential power is difficult to estimate. Second, the current military power of the Taiping Sect is expanding rapidly. There must be help from outside forces, and the purpose of these foreign forces is by no means just to aid the Taiping Sect. They will inevitably reap the rewards, so once the rebellion breaks out, these forces will inevitably surface and directly join the operation against the empire, Qin Du is sure that the Kamans must have intervened here, as for the other countries. Qin Duan didn't dare to assert either.

What made Qin Dui feel the most troublesome was that the empire's army in the Western Military Region was now quite weak, and once the rebellion broke out, whether it could cope with this severe test, Qin Dui was very skeptical, and the situation deteriorated again. I'm afraid that the evil neighbors around the empire may pounce viciously, and it is indeed difficult to say whether the empire will survive this catastrophe.

But now his own strength may be more than enough to protect himself, but it is obviously not enough to deal with the attacks of several forces, but once these jackal-like enemies defeat the empire, he himself is not very sure whether he can survive under the claws of the wolves. The geographical map of the northern part of the empire flashed in my mind, and the Kamans, the Sithro, and the Poole, what role would they play in the future changes?

The biggest variable is how much power the Taiping Sect has behind it, and whether it can crush the power of the empire in the north and west in one fell swoop. Will they be able to stand up in the face of the double onslaught of the northern wolf-like Kamans and the Empire? This was important to the empire and had a decisive impact on Qin Duan's future actions.

This series of questions made Qin Dui dizzy, and finally Qin Dui had to give up thinking helplessly, after all, there are still many things that have not happened now, and he is indeed too embarrassed to calculate the next steps so early, the car has its own road before the mountain, and the boat is naturally straight to the bridge, and in the end, Qin Duan can only comfort himself with these two ancient sayings.

Just when Qin Du couldn't sleep for the future development, the other protagonist at today's engagement ceremony was also surging a few blocks away, tossing and turning, the old figure of his father, his eyes full of sorrow, his ambiguous words, and the cautious and expectant attitude of the Minister of War, all made her feel a little younger.

She did not regret that she agreed to her father's request for her to marry Qin Dui, after all, Qin Duan has become a legendary figure in the empire, whether he is a big careerist with ill intentions, or a national hero who defends the honor of the empire, at least he is not a simple and mediocre character, he would rather be a heroic concubine than an ordinary woman, this is Zhao Yutang's assertion under his view of marriage.

What's more, she is engaged to Qin Dui as an eldest woman, no matter how many women he has in the future, at least her identity will not change. In addition, the entrustment of her father and the expectations of important ministers fell on her, and behind the feeling of pride, she also felt the complexity of her special identity and position. (To be continued......)