Diqin Designer

Chapter 425 The benefits of joining the alliance, Daqin’s “Western Alliance”!
Seeing that the envoys from various countries did not show much vigilance, Liu Ji knew that these people obviously did not realize the seriousness of the common currency. They probably thought that if the common currency was a conspiracy of the Qin Dynasty, the worst that could happen was that they would just abandon it. As long as they resolutely did not use it, the conspiracy of the Qin Dynasty would not harm them.

But it is not that simple. Once the common currency circulates in the Western Regions and gains wide recognition, they will no longer have the final say.

It's not that the envoys from various countries are stupid, but they have never seen such means, and they could never have imagined the tricks that can be played with coins.

Countries compete not only in the military, but also in the economic and cultural aspects. However, most people in this era only think about the military aspect and lack understanding of the economic and cultural aspects.

This is the limitation of the times and has nothing to do with innate intelligence. For example, the intelligence of Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty must have been good, but he still realized that banknotes should not be issued indiscriminately. What's more, in this era that is more than a thousand years earlier than the Ming Dynasty, how many people can deeply understand the role and influence of currency?
Seeing that the envoys of various countries did not raise any objections, Liu Ji continued, "The above few points are the unified rules that the alliance will establish in the Western Regions, and all the countries that join the alliance must abide by them. Of course, if you do not join the alliance, you do not have to abide by them, but if you do not join the alliance, you will not be able to enjoy the benefits of the alliance."

Liu Ji smiled and said, "The reason why the Great Qin established this alliance is to reduce disputes in the Western Regions and create an environment conducive to the common development of all countries. It is not to establish an alliance for the sake of establishing an alliance. There are rules for joining the alliance, and naturally there are benefits for the countries that join the alliance. If there are no benefits, just asking you to join the alliance, you will definitely not be willing in your hearts!"

After hearing what Liu Ji said, the envoys could only smile and remain silent, but they really thought so in their hearts. If there is no benefit in joining this alliance, then what is the point of joining?

An envoy from a small country stood up and asked, "May I ask, Governor, what are the benefits of joining the alliance?"

Liu Ji said: "The first one has been mentioned before. The member states will be protected by the alliance. The member states are not allowed to attack each other. If a member state attacks other member states, it will be sanctioned and punished by other member states. The same applies to those who are not members of the alliance but attack members of the alliance."

"This is the first benefit and the first guarantee that the alliance provides to the nations. If the safety of lives cannot be guaranteed, what else can we talk about?"

The envoys from the weak countries and small tribes nodded repeatedly, indicating that the Governor of Great Qin was right.

"The alliance is formed by the joining of all countries. The alliance protects all the countries that join it, but in fact, all the countries that join it work together to protect themselves. After joining the alliance, all countries should sign a joint defense treaty."

There was another new term that he didn't understand, but if he didn't understand it, he would just ask. The Pishan envoy asked, "Governor, what is this 'Joint Defense Treaty'?"

The alliance that Daqin wanted to establish in the Western Regions was not only a multinational organization in economic and cultural terms, but also a multinational military alliance led by Daqin, creating a Daqin version of the "Western Alliance" organization of this era.

In fact, Daqin recruited a group of younger brothers to fight for itself. In some wars, it was not convenient for Daqin to take action directly, so it let these younger brothers fight.

Liu Ji said: "This is an alliance. After signing, all countries will advance and retreat together militarily. No matter which signatory country is threatened militarily, the other signatory countries must provide support."

The envoys of various countries immediately understood that they should defend together and attack together. If one country had an enemy, all the countries that joined the alliance would attack together.

An envoy from a large tribe asked, "May I ask the Governor, if we sign this treaty, do we have to hand over our tribe's army to the alliance?"

This issue attracted the attention of envoys from other countries and tribes. Could it be that the Qin people wanted to use this alliance to seize their military power?

Liu Ji looked at the envoy with a surprised expression: "Why do you have such an idea? The signing of the joint defense treaty requires the other allied countries to support the country when it is threatened militarily and jointly resist the enemy. It does not mean that you have to hand over your troops to the alliance."

"The troops of each country should be deployed as usual. However, when a member country encounters an enemy and needs the help of other member countries, they must send troops. For example, when Pishan was invaded one day and the situation was so critical that Daqin needed to send troops, Daqin, as a member country, could not shirk its responsibility."

"Signing a joint defense treaty will not only benefit us in jointly defending against the enemy, but will also allow the countries to conduct military exchanges and joint exercises. For military exchanges, the Qin Empire can send generals to your countries and tribes to guide you in military construction and soldier training!"

What Liu Ji said made many envoys excited. The army of Qin was much stronger than theirs. If they could get guidance from Qin, their army would definitely become stronger. But they felt it was inappropriate to let the Qin people guide their army. If the Qin people took the opportunity to do something, they might not even have a chance to regret it!
But if they were asked to refuse, there would definitely be other states and tribes that would agree. Under the guidance of the Qin people, the combat effectiveness of the armies of these states and tribes would improve by leaps and bounds. If they refused the Qin people's guidance, they would fall far behind.

At this moment, these people had the same thoughts as the princes of the Maurya Kingdom. The Qin people told them everything clearly, but they seemed to have no extra choices.

The Qin people are indeed smarter than them. No wonder the Qin State is stronger than their states and tribes!
This is also what Daqin intended to do, to force the countries in the Western Regions to accept: There are indeed countries that do not want to accept Daqin's proposition from the bottom of their hearts, but if you do not accept it, there are other countries and tribes that will accept it. Are you worried that these countries that accept it will become stronger than you under the influence of Daqin?
Liu Ji continued: "'Joint exercises' means that the militaries of multiple countries organize joint exercises, exchange tactics and methods, and launch operations against common enemies."

I understand this point. It's just about forming a coalition force and then conducting joint exercises. There's nothing much to say about it.

Seeing that no envoy came forward to ask questions, Liu Ji threw out another big bait, "All the countries that join the alliance and sign the joint defense treaty can purchase weapons from our Great Qin. The countries that join the alliance have the priority to purchase the weapons and armor of our Great Qin, and will give them greater discounts!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the envoys from various countries were immediately hooked. What did they hear? If they joined the alliance and signed a treaty, they could buy Qin's weapons and equipment?
The "military and joint exercises" can be ignored, but this one cannot. High-quality weapons and equipment can significantly enhance the combat effectiveness of the army.

It was the same routine. They could refuse to buy Qin's weapons and armor, but if other countries and tribes bought them, they would be backward. The envoys of various countries also knew the truth that "those who lag behind will be beaten."

An envoy stood up and asked, "Excuse me, Governor, can you sell us the cannons?"

The other envoys also looked at Liu Ji. If the Qin people could sell the cannon, they would definitely buy it. If it was bought by a hostile country, it would be a big trouble. But the Qin people would probably not sell the cannon.

How could such advanced weapons be easily sold to other countries?
The envoys from various countries thought that the Qin governor would directly answer "No!", but they heard Liu Ji's reply: "If you are really interested in purchasing artillery, you can send envoys to Xianyang to negotiate!" The Qin people did not completely refuse to sell artillery. Instead, they told them "We can talk!" If they could really talk, it would mean that the Qin people really wanted to sell artillery.

This is simply unbelievable. The Qin people actually wanted to sell cannons, such a powerful weapon, to others? Aren't they afraid that others will threaten the Qin people after getting the cannons?
Most of the envoys thought that the promise of "We can talk!" must be fake. It is impossible for the Qin people to sell such a weapon to others. The Qin governor was promising them lamb from the horizon. It sounded delicious, but in fact, it was impossible to eat it.

But even though they thought it was fake, the envoys from various countries decided to report to the king or leader immediately after returning and quickly send envoys to Xianyang, Qin to negotiate. There was a 99.99% chance that it was fake, but what if it was true?

If it is true, they will regret it if they don't send envoys to Xianyang to buy Qin's artillery when other countries buy them!

Liu Ji had been paying attention to the changes in the expressions of the envoys from various countries. Seeing their shocked expressions when he said that the purchase of artillery could be negotiated, he couldn't help but think of the scene when he received this news from Li Nian.

He was very surprised and puzzled at the time. How could such a powerful weapon as a cannon be easily sold to others? It must be carefully guarded and hidden, for fear that it would be discovered by others. How could it be sold?
But the answer given to him by Master Li Nian at that time was: This is a bait thrown to the various countries. It will not be sold to the various countries now. If it is to be sold, it will have to be sold in a few years, when Daqin has established enough firearms troops.

As for after the sale, will it pose a threat to Daqin in turn?

Master Li Nian’s answer was: Basically no. The technologies of these countries cannot keep up with the development of the Qin Dynasty. It is difficult for them to even refine copper. If they were to make a cannon themselves, the cost would be far more than the cost of making a cannon for the Qin Dynasty.

Moreover, by the time these countries' technology for making artillery gradually developed, Daqin's firearms technology had already entered the next stage or even the next stage.

Unless the Qin's firearms technology stagnates or even regresses, it will be overtaken by others. If this is the case, the Qin deserves to be surpassed!

Moreover, selling cannons is one thing, and selling artillery shells is another. The Qin Empire did not say that it would sell artillery shells to them. Cannons have one price, and artillery shells have another price. The supply is limited. Anyway, cannons are hot-selling products, and there is no need to worry about no one buying them. There are many countries that want to buy our Qin Empire's artillery. If you don't buy it, there are other countries that will!
After hearing this, Liu Ji had a feeling: If Master Li Nian becomes a businessman, he will definitely be a profiteer!
Liu Ji looked at the envoys from various countries in the hall. After hearing his words "We can talk!", these people had fallen into the pit dug by Master Li Nian, but they still had to jump into this pit.

To sum up all the reasons, it is because these countries are weak and the Qin Dynasty is stronger than them. This is the suppression of backward and weak countries by advanced and powerful countries. Fortunately, the Qin Dynasty belongs to the powerful and advanced side!
Thinking of this, some of the doubts in Liu Ji's mind were suddenly solved: "No wonder you said that conquering and destroying a country is not entirely based on military means, it can also be achieved through economic and cultural means."

"If a country is weak, even if they know that a powerful country has set a trap, they have no choice, just like the Qin Dynasty and the Western Regions today. So what if they know that the artillery is a trap? Can they not fall into this trap?"

After thinking about it, Liu Ji said, "In addition to the military alliance and joint defense, the member countries can also receive assistance from the alliance if they encounter disasters. For example, if a tribe's livestock dies in large numbers due to disease, resulting in a shortage of food for the tribe, the member countries should lend a hand to this country to help it overcome the difficulties."

This is also a good thing and there is nothing to object to. It means that if a disaster occurs in an ally country, other countries should provide assistance if they are able.

Liu Ji continued, "Then there is the economy and culture! Economy, you can simply understand it as business. After joining the alliance, the countries joining the alliance will become our Daqin's priority trading countries, which means that when you buy Daqin's products from Daqin, you will have priority over other non-alliance countries."

"If there is a certain kind of goods in Daqin, and both allied countries and non-alliance countries come to buy it at the same time, Daqin will sell it to allied countries first, and give non-alliance countries preferential treatment in terms of price and taxation. At the same time, if Daqin wants to buy a certain kind of goods, it will also give priority to buying from allied countries, unless the quality of goods from allied countries does not meet Daqin's needs."

These words aroused the interest of the envoys from various countries. According to the words of the Governor of Qin, if they joined the alliance, they would be able to buy Qin's things at a lower price.

If this is implemented, it means that compared with non-allying countries, they can buy more things from the Qin Dynasty with the same amount of money, which is indeed good news.

Liu Ji added: "Merchants from allied countries will be treated more favorably than merchants from non-alliance countries when traveling to allied countries, making it easier for merchants from allied countries to trade in various countries."

In short, after joining the alliance, trade between alliance countries becomes more convenient than that between non-alliance countries, which promotes the prosperity of trade among alliance countries.

No one stood up to ask about this question, so Liu Ji continued, "You can think of culture as a general term for knowledge, crafts, customs... If you join the alliance, you will also receive preferential treatment in terms of culture. For example, countries that join the alliance can send more students to study in Daqin and learn Daqin's knowledge and crafts!"

The eyes of the envoys from various countries lit up. The knowledge and skills of the Qin people were obviously ahead of theirs. If they could learn the Qin people's skills, even if they could not reach the level of the Qin people, they would be able to surpass other countries.

Even if the Qin people would not pass on the most advanced knowledge and skills to them, even the skills that the Qin people considered relatively backward were quite advanced to them.

"As for the non-alliance countries, Great Qin may not allow them to send people to study in Great Qin. Even if they are allowed, they will not be allowed to send too many people."

Only through comparison can people feel that opportunities are rare. Otherwise, if benefits are only promised, some people will only think that these benefits are what they deserve and will not feel that they are precious.

Liu Ji also said: "Students sent to Daqin by allied countries will be able to learn more advanced knowledge and skills than those sent to Daqin by non-allied countries!"

The term "international students" was also something Liu Ji heard from Li Nian. He felt that this term was very appropriate to describe the students sent from foreign countries to study in Daqin.

Liu Ji later made it clear that Qin would treat allied countries and non-alliance countries differently. The envoys of various countries understood that the governor of Qin was telling them that if they did not join the alliance, their treatment would be very different from that of the countries that did join the alliance, which made them feel urgent and serious.

(End of this chapter)