Qing Chen's gaze fell on the dark iron sand table, and his eyes shifted slightly.
Tie Zhongtang did not keep him guessing. He raised a hand and pointed, and the military towns at Yanmen Pass, Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Yizhou, and Yuzhou lit up with iron-red light.
"The Northwestern Circuit is broadly divided into three factions now."
"The first is the Border Army's military chiefs."
"Most of these men come from Yanmen Pass, the Liangzhou army, the northwestern armies, and several frontier garrisons. They've guarded this land for generations. The Northwestern Circuit's Border Army has around one and a half million Dao Soldiers. They recognize only spirit stones and medicinal pills, military merit and military orders-and those who can keep them alive."
Qing Chen said mildly, "Each runs his own camp, but they submit to the strong?"
Tie Zhongtang glanced at him and said coldly, "If that's what you think, your very first step into the northwest will be wrong. The Border Army's military chiefs do admire the strong, but that doesn't mean they'll obediently follow orders.
"Many have spent hundreds or thousands of years building their power on the frontier. They have personal guards and old followers, military forts and private warehouses, and combat cultivators and Dao Soldiers they've raised themselves.
"These slippery old veterans won't make any glaring mistakes, nor are they stupid enough to openly defy orders. But if they don't want to give their all, even bringing your Governor's Seal down on them may not let you truly command them."
Qing Chen looked thoughtful. "No wonder successive Circuit-Surveying Governors in the northwest have all had such an uncomfortable time."
Tie Zhongtang sneered.
"The northwest's two million Dao Soldiers are the foundation of the defense of Yanmen Pass and the northwestern fortresses. So long as they haven't broken any