"See Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Qin Mu, who was fully equipped with military uniform, respectfully saluted Zhao Yan.︽

"Mr. Qin is so polite! There is no need to be so polite between you and me! Everyone should be exempted from politeness!"

A hearty laugh came out from Zhao Yan's throat. Zhao Yan took two steps to help Qin Mu, who was about to bow to him, and took Qin Mu's arm intimately, while also warmly greeting several important generals under Qin Mu.

"Hey, the courtesy is not abolished, Your Highness."

A sincere smile appeared on Qin Mu's face. He still knelt down with a standard half-kneeling salute, and then he got up. The generals who didn't want to salute again saw that their boss insisted on saluteing, and had to follow the example of the salute.

"Please, Your Highness!"

"Please, Lord Qin!"

Zhao Yan was so respectful to Qin Mu, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth that was unaware of it. He grabbed Qin Mu's hand and walked into the wide living room in the county magistrate's mansion.

After listening to Qin Mu's detailed introduction to the general's bandit suppression campaign and the defeat of the Huns' invasion, Zhao Yan asked about the current situation of the counties and prefectures in the northwest. Qin Mu also introduced them one by one and objectively reported on the existing difficulties.

Zhao Yan was very satisfied. It seemed that Qin Mu was quite honest with him and did not hide anything from the situation introduced. From the current perspective, it was not obvious that this person had any strange intentions. It was somewhat different from the views of his advisers. However, the current superficial phenomenon alone was far from being able to make a judgment. More importantly, it was to observe his actions. However, this was at least a good start, and Zhao Yan was thinking about it.

Qin Mu, who was sitting next to him, still looked polite on the surface, and he treated Zhao Yan very respectfully, and also revealed a sense of closeness, but he was carefully pondering the other party's feelings in his mind.

Although Zhao Yan is the crown prince and the only son of the emperor today, the history of the Great Qin Empire for more than a thousand years has not been inherited by the sons, but many of them inherited the throne between brothers. In order to win the throne in every dynasty of the Great Qin Empire, in addition to defeating their own brothers, there are also emperor uncles and emperors who are facing their own strong.

To win the throne, the favor of His Majesty the Emperor is naturally crucial. But it is also indispensable to have strong strength and strong supporters. Otherwise, even if you sit on the throne of the emperor and are not strong enough, you may still be overthrown by others. There are many such examples, and it is not surprising that there are more than a dozen precedents even in the Qin Dynasty.

Perhaps his current power has attracted the attention of many "minded people", and Zhao Yan is probably one of them. He strongly recommended that he be the military and political governor of Northwest County. This hot position is also a big investment. Now he may think it is time to talk about the profits.

Qin Mu thought to himself, but he did not show any expression on the surface. Since he wanted to talk about profits, he could take the opportunity to complain first and let him win some support for the northwest in the court, and it would be vain that Prince Zhao Yan would go to the northwest in person.

Qin Mu frowned and thought to himself. "Your Highness, I think I might as well accompany you out for a walk. I will conduct on-site inspections of Longdong County, so as to actually understand the specific situation in the northwest."

Zhao Yan happily agreed to Qin Mu's proposal. He also wanted to find a suitable time to talk to Qin Mu alone, whom he could not see through. At least he had to explore his bottom and see if his weight could be bet on him with confidence. But the person's face in front of him always gave him a little blurry, as if a trace of gauze fog was hidden in front of him.

A luxurious carriage slowly drove out of the gate of the Longdong County Magistrate's Office under the strict escort of the surrounding knights. Given that the situation in Longdong has not been completely calm, Zhao Yan's identity is also extraordinary. Moreover, he was assassinated and sniped twice, Qin Mu took quite strict defense measures.

The carriage slowly drove on the streets of Guiyan City, the capital of Longdong County, which seemed a little deserted. Most of the houses on both sides of the street looked a little dilapidated. The huge impact of the long-term war and bandit troubles on the economy here can be seen at a glance. However, Zhao Yan, who had been silent, seemed a little absent-minded while sitting in the wide carriage. Qin Mu, who accompanied him, could not find anything to make a stalemate.

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

The pacification of the northwest is a foregone conclusion. You can also give your father a satisfactory answer when you go back. Although the person in front of you has also made great efforts to bet on the top spot in Northwest County, there are too many cases of drawing boards across the bridge now. Strength determines everything, and no one will bet on the side with no chance of winning. If you want to win his loyalty and effect with this, Zhao Yan is not that naive.

Compared with his strength, his strength is still very weak, and he is even worse than his elder sister, His Highness, Princess. In the future battle for the throne, it is too early to consider whether Qin Mu will support him, but at least this is an opportunity to win him over. After all, Qin Mu is not weak in the entire court. Wei Zhongxian is his strong backing. I heard that Wei Zhongxian even wants to marry his niece to Qin Mu as a flat wife. In addition to Wei Zhongxian, Li Shaoqin, the dean of the Emperor's School, is also his cheap father-in-law.

As the dean of the Emperor's School, Li Shaoqin was in the various legions of the empire. His influence was no less than that of the Minister of War. He was a very influential person in the Qin Empire.

In Zhao Yan's opinion, as long as Qin Mu wins over, the forces behind Qin Mu will definitely support him ascending the throne as the emperor. With the support of his elder sister, His Highness, the eldest princess, the throne will definitely be sure to win. But how can Qin Mu support him make Zhao Yan a little trouble.

"Your Highness, please see! This place turned out to be a well-known commercial area. At that time, shops were lined up, and many merchants could block alleys, but now..."

The carriage has arrived at the commercial district where Longdong County was once prosperous, but now it looks like a decay. Several businesses that are surviving in Yemen are in trouble, which makes people feel sad. Qin Mu couldn't help but sigh deeply when he saw this situation.

"oh?"

Qin Mu's words woke Zhao Yan up from his thoughts. He looked at it casually like a dragonfly, and Zhao Yan returned to the carriage. At this moment, he did not have much thought to care about the economic situation in Longdong. What he wanted to know more was the person who introduced the situation to him.

After the carriage was built around the city, it drove out of the city. Although Qin Mu also saw that the Crown Prince did not care much about the situation in Longdong, he still wanted to let Zhao Yan see the real situation in Longdong County and let him go back and report it to the ministers of the court and His Majesty the Emperor.

Although Qin Mu did not have any illusions about the support of the court this time, after all, Qin Mu has now become the military and political governor in the northwest. The court must be very concerned about himself and will no longer give him any support. However, some people are at least not a bad thing to cry, cry, poor and painful, and at least they can give some people some psychological balance.

This is an open land, with kilns distributed in groups of three or three. The withered weeds shivered in the strong northwest cold wind, and you may occasionally see several wild dogs appearing.

Qin Mu and Zhao Yan both got out of the car and walked onto a high ground. "Your Highness, this is the formerly famous official kiln area of ​​the Empire, and there is a private kiln area. More than ten years ago, no matter day and night, the road was full of transport vehicles waiting for loading. All the kilns worked overtime day and night, and people stopped the furnaces. Merchants waited here day and night. At night, it was brightly lit and prosperous for a while!"

Qin Mu's words finally aroused Zhao Yan's interest, "Oh? I didn't expect that this kind of field would fall into this place now." While sighing, Zhao Yan was also carefully looking at this once glorious kiln area.

"I heard that Concubine Sogna (the mother of Zhao Yan)'s mother's family is also a prominent family in Wuhu County. She seems to be running a ceramic business of a considerable scale. I wonder if Your Highness is interested in the business here?"

"Oh." Zhao Yan didn't understand what Qin Mu wanted to express, so he responded without giving any answer.

"Your Highness doesn't have to doubt my sincerity. Who supports me? I will definitely report to anyone?" Qin Mu's mouth had a cunning smile and said in a pun.

“Talking to smart people is easy.”

Zhao Yan said happily, finally waiting for something he wanted to hear. The purpose of his visit this time was to seek his support. Now he has achieved his initial goal.

In the evening, Qin Mu held a banquet as the imperial envoy of the empire, His Highness Zhao Yan, and invited some well-known people and merchants in Longdong. Both the guests and the host and the host drank and talked happily in a pleasant atmosphere.

Two days later, Zhao Yan led all the envoys back to the imperial capital. Qin Mu personally led the army to escort him to the junction of Meishan County and Lishan County, and handed over the escort task to the troops brought by the Lishan County Magistrate who came to greet him before returning to Longdong. Qin Mu could not touch him for the time being.

In just over a month, the huge military and political institutions of the northwest of the empire were erected. These news and the news of annihilation of the rebels in the northwest quickly spread inside and outside the Qin Empire like lightning. Whether it was the Japanese in the Far East Sea, the Central Continent countries in the west, the major countries in the north and the nomadic peoples on the Tengger grassland, or even the southern city-states adjacent to the South Ocean, the nobles and politicians from all over the country were trying to find out various information about this military strongman who rose in the northwest of the empire.
Chapter completed!