<p>In hydraulic fracturing in fractured reservoirs, the internal properties (orientation, spacing, length, and persistence of pre-existing crossed natural fractures) of natural fractures and fluid injection rate may induce the intersections of hydraulic fracture network and further affect the gas production. The purpose of this study focuses on the intersections of hydraulic fracture network under varying small-scale crossed natural fractures and fluid injection rate, and detect the relationship between fracture morphology and gas production. Using the discrete fracture network model, the numerical analysis for center- and edge-type intersections of hydraulic fracture network under varying crossed natural fractures and fluid injection rate is implemented. By varying the level of sensitivity factors, the combined finite element-discrete element method is used, and some typical cases are established to investigate the effects of above sensitivity factor (orientation, spacing, length, and persistence of pre-existing crossed natural fractures and fluid injection rate) on the hydraulic fracture propagation. There are center- and edge-type intersections of fracture network morphologies under varying crossed natural fractures and fluid injection rate. The hydraulic fracture can intersect with the edge of the natural fracture and lead to edge-type propagation, which is conducive for the fracture propagating toward the area farther away from the perforation; in edge-type propagation, when the approach angle between hydraulic fractures and natural fractures is small enough, the hydraulic fractures will be reoriented and activate the natural fractures. The center-type propagation is the result of the intersection of hydraulic fractures and crossed clusters of natural fractures, and the hydraulic fracture may intersect with the natural fracture cluster to form a center-type propagation. Compared with large-scale natural fractures, the small-scale and aggregated center- and edge-type intersections of fracture network morphologies are formed in this study; small-scale natural fractures are more sensitive to the propagation behavior and final propagation morphology of hydraulic fractures, and are more sensitive to the change of fluid injection rate. The length of fractures during the fracturing process is positively correlated with gas production, to quantitatively obtain the relationship, the fitting curve is derived. For the sensitivity factors (orientation, spacing, length, and persistence) of natural fractures and fluid injection rate, the formed center-type intersections of hydraulic fracture network may generate long fracture length, which is prone to improving gas production; when the hydraulic fracturing scheme is designed, it is crucial to actively promote the center-type intersections of hydraulic fracture network based on the morphology of natural fractures. When small-scale natural fractures form small-scale and aggregated center- and edge-type intersections of fracture network, the increased fractures gather together to form the clustered low-pressure area and will not continue to increase gas production; the small-scale and aggregated fractures that may play a redundant or even negative role in improving gas production are formed. The provided results of center- and edge-type intersections of hydraulic fracture network under varying crossed natural fractures and fluid injection rate can provide reference for the optimized design of hydraulic fracturing scheme for unconventional gas production in fractured reservoirs.</p>