Diqin Designer

Chapter 442 Why the Decline
Fusu then asked, "How could Japan, a tiny country, invade later generations of China? And why was China so weak in the later generations?"

Li Nian said: "Although Japan is a small country, after the 'Black Ships Incident,' it learned from the West, which strengthened its national power. At that time, the Qing government, which ruled China, closed itself off from the world and was unaware of and unwilling to see the changes in the outside world. It missed the opportunity for development, which caused China, which was nearly two thousand years ahead of the powerful Western countries, to be surpassed by other countries in just over a hundred years."

They were ahead for nearly two thousand years, but were overtaken by other countries in just over a hundred years. This means that they were ahead of other countries from the time of the Qin Dynasty until the Qing Dynasty.
That Qing government was truly incompetent, completely disgracing China's more than two thousand years of history.

Guessing what Fusu was thinking, Li Nian added, "The Qing Dynasty was founded by the Manchus!"

Fusu immediately understood. This made much more sense. Using a small clan to govern a large clan would definitely keep a close watch on the original large clan. Even if he didn't improve or even regressed, he would never allow the large clan to develop.

Li Nian continued, "Because of its small size and frequent disasters, Japan has always harbored ambitions towards China. After its national strength increased, seeing China's backwardness and weakness, how could it not covet it? When China was strong, Japan often learned from China, especially during the Tang Dynasty, when it specially sent 'envoys to Tang' to learn from the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, they often felt inferior when facing China."

"When China weakens and others become strong, this inferiority complex will turn into arrogance, hostility, and even hatred towards China, just like livestock turning on their master, only becoming more ferocious!"

Fusu nodded and said, "They have been feeling inferior for a long time. If they ever rise up, they will not be grateful for China's permission to study here. They will only feel it is a disgrace to them and will try their best to clear their name. When China is strong, they are weak and subservient. When China is weak and they are strong, they will surely become bandits!"

"Therefore, the Great Qin must remain strong for a long time, keeping them forever weak and subservient, rather than allowing them to grow strong and then plunder the Great Qin!"

Although Li Nian did not elaborate on what Japan did after the invasion, it can be inferred from his words that they must have done something that would be extremely shameful and painful for later generations of China. With large swathes of territory lost, how could they not suffer humiliation?
"A weak nation has no diplomacy" and "backwardness invites aggression" are lessons learned by the Chinese people through blood, tears, and bitterness. The Qin Dynasty should become a nation that attacks others, not a nation that is attacked. There may be some benevolence and morality between nations, but it is not much, and we cannot place our hopes on the benevolence and morality of other nations. Only by becoming strong ourselves can we be on the right track.

Fusu had many insights. He had originally had some reservations about the Qin Dynasty's path of power and hegemony, but those reservations had now disappeared. It was definitely better for the Qin Dynasty to become powerful and hegemonic than for other countries to become powerful and hegemonic and bully the Qin Dynasty. It was better for other countries to die than for the Qin Dynasty to die.

After briefly explaining the relationship between China and the two world wars to Fusu, Li Nian realized that he had been talking to Fusu about the "clothing, food, housing and transportation" of later generations, but the conversation had turned to the "world wars".

Men often chat like this when they're having a long, casual conversation. They might start by talking about a beautiful woman with fair skin, a pretty face, and long legs, but then the topic gradually shifts to international relations, military affairs, and other things, and no one mentions the beautiful woman anymore.

Li Nian said, "The two world wars had a significant impact on China in later generations and were one of the most painful humiliations China experienced in modern times. At that time, the world was undergoing dramatic changes. Countries outside of China were changing, and China itself was also undergoing dramatic changes. It was an era of great upheaval, with many boats racing and thousands of sails competing. If Your Highness wishes to know more, I will discuss it with you in detail later."

Fusu originally wanted to hear Li Nian talk about the two world wars in later generations, but after hearing Li Nian's words, he knew that such world-class wars could not be explained in a few words. He could only ask Li Nian about it later.

Li Nian steered the conversation back to the "clothing, food, housing, and transportation" of later generations: "Although the technology of later generations is more advanced than that of the Qin Dynasty, people in later generations still need to eat and drink, and they also need 'firewood, rice, oil, and salt.' However, the 'firewood' at that time was different from the firewood we have now. It could be made by electricity or gas. 'Gas distribution' was actually the delivery of the 'firewood' of later generations to the buildings for the use of later generations."

"The lives of future generations may be able to tolerate a lack of air, but if there is no water, no electricity, and no internet, it will be extremely difficult. Without water, life is inconvenient; without electricity, air conditioning, refrigerators, and the internet cannot be used; and without the internet, it will be quite fatal for future generations."

Li Nian laughed and said, "People in later generations need to use computers and mobile phones to work and play online. If there is no internet, they cannot do anything or play online, which is very uncomfortable for many people."

Fusu then asked, "My brother-in-law is also from the future. Now that he's in Qin, he can no longer connect to that network. Does that make you feel bad?"

Upon hearing Fusu's question, Li Nian thought to himself, 'Should I tell you that I actually have another search engine in my mind that connects to the future? Even though I'm in the Qin Dynasty, I can still read novels and watch videos on it.'

Li Nian smiled and said, "At first, I felt a little uncomfortable, but now I've gotten used to it. Without the complexities of the internet, I can experience more things firsthand."

Fusu glanced at Li Nian, seemingly lost in thought, and remained silent. Li Nian continued, "In the end, this 'line' means that in later generations, transportation will be convenient. One can fly in the sky by airplane, sail on the sea by ship, or travel on the road by car."

It's not entirely incomprehensible that later generations could create such amazing networks and even make objects that fly into the sky.

Throughout history, countless people have longed to fly, but none have succeeded. Unexpectedly, two thousand years later, it has been achieved, and it seems to be no difficult feat at all.

"With these means of transportation, even if it is thousands of miles away, it can be reached in a day or two. 'Traveling to Beihai in the morning and Cangwu in the evening' is no longer a pipe dream."

The fastest mode of transportation in the Qin Dynasty was on horseback. But no matter how fast a horse was, it couldn't travel 10,000 miles a day. It was good if it could travel a few hundred miles. Unlike later generations, when people could travel by boat, by car, or even by airplane.

The Qin Dynasty was vastly different from later generations. Just the fact that it could fly people in the air was something the Qin Dynasty could not match. If they were to fight against later generations, they wouldn't even need to use those powerful weapons. They could just throw stones at them from these planes, and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

With such convenient transportation, it's no wonder that two world wars were fought in later generations. If it were based on horses or people walking, it would have been difficult for wars to break out, or at least for them to spread so widely.

Doesn't this mean that because later generations had more advanced technology, the wars waged by later generations were more brutal?

Fusu exclaimed, "The later generations are truly powerful and advanced; I wish I could go and see them for myself!"

Li Nian said, "Although His Highness the Crown Prince cannot go in person to see him, he can lay the foundation for the Great Qin, so that the Great Qin will become what it is today, and that the descendants of the Great Qin can see it."

Fusu nodded and said, "That is indeed the case. We may not be able to see it, but our descendants will. In order for them to be able to see it in the future, we must work hard now!"

This is a fine tradition of China since ancient times: for the sake of future generations, even if their own generation may not be able to enjoy those things, they are working hard now so that future generations can live better and enjoy them.

After saying this, Fusu looked at Li Nian, as if he had something to say, but hesitated. After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke: "Actually... brother-in-law, you must be very lonely coming to Qin all by yourself, right?" Although Li Nian did not say it, Fusu noticed: Li Nian was a visitor from the future, not a native of Qin. There were no familiar relatives or friends here, nor were there any things from the future that he was used to. Even though Qin was a dynasty in Chinese history, it spanned more than two thousand years, and everything here was actually unfamiliar to Li Nian.

This was much more difficult than being thrown into an unfamiliar place to serve as a Qin official. He was serving as a Qin official in a local area, where there were other Qin officials, and he was also in the territory of the Great Qin. He also knew that he had relatives and friends in Xianyang.

But Li Nian was different; everything she was familiar with was blocked from her for over two thousand years.

"My father bestowed upon my brother-in-law the status of a prince and married Shunying to him not only because of his talent, but also because he wanted him to have relatives and friends in Qin, and to have connections with Qin. Otherwise, my brother-in-law would be an outsider to Qin, and who can say for sure when an outsider might no longer want to help Qin?"

Such outsiders are difficult to control by ordinary means because they have nothing in the world that they care about. So when they decide they don't want to live anymore, they won't be afraid of torture and might even shout, "I just don't want to live anymore, come and kill me!"

Upon hearing Fusu's question, the First Emperor's eyes revealed satisfaction with Fusu. His eldest son's ability to notice this issue meant he would likely be able to get along well with Li Nian in the future.

Li Nian was silent for a moment before replying, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, but I am not alone. I have relatives and friends in Qin. Your Majesty, Your Highness, and Shunying are all my family, and the two Generals Meng are my friends... Your Majesty, Your Highness, and Shunying have all treated me very well, and I am extremely grateful!"

Both the First Emperor and Fusu were satisfied with Li Nian's answer. Fusu smiled and said, "Since my brother-in-law treats me like family, and keeps calling me 'Your Highness,' how should I address him?"

"When you were the eldest son, it wasn't a problem for me to call you 'elder brother.' But now you are the Crown Prince, and although the title 'Crown Prince' still includes the character 'Crown,' it's not appropriate to address you casually anymore."

But since Fusu himself had said so, and the First Emperor did not object, Li Nian had no choice but to respectfully obey, saying, "Brother!"

Fusu nodded in satisfaction and said sincerely, "Although the Great Qin is not as good as the one you have brought to the world in many ways, please remember that Father, myself, and Shunying are all your family, and we will all support you."

If the First Emperor had said this, it might have been eight parts false and two parts true, but if Fusu had said it, it might have been six parts true and four parts false. Li Nian replied, "I will follow my elder brother's words!"

Fusu said, "Brother-in-law, tell me more about the events of later generations. According to you, was China surpassed by Western countries in later generations? Why were Western countries able to surpass China?"

Li Nian said, “Brother, it is true that China was surpassed by Western countries in later generations. China was ahead of other countries for nearly two thousand years, until it was gradually caught up by Western countries after the seventeenth century and was eventually surpassed. Even in the Qing Dynasty, before the Jiaqing Emperor, it was still a world power.”

Fusu asked, "Is this 'century' the law of the later centuries?"

Li Nian said: "To be precise, it is the Western system of dating. The West was powerful and its culture spread all over the world, becoming the common dating system for later countries. Later, China also used it. The year of Jesus' birth is the first year, and every hundred years is a century."

"Jesus is the son of the Western deity God. In Western culture, God sent him into the world to save humanity. In fact, Jesus is still more than two hundred years away from being born!"

Fusu said in a strange tone, "Two hundred years later than my Great Qin, how dare the Westerners take their birth date as the first year?"

Li Nian said, "Western culture has had a greater influence and spread more widely in later generations. In many aspects, the West set the standards, and later generations of China could only abide by them. It's very difficult to break free from them!"

Upon hearing this, Fusu understood why Li Nian wanted to promote the standards of the Great Qin in various states and spread the culture of the Great Qin—it was to prevent these things from happening.

Li Nian continued, "As for the reasons for being surpassed, there are many. One is that the Qing court used small clans to bully large clans, so it was naturally very wary of the large clans. It would rather not develop or progress itself, or even regress, than give the large clans a chance to develop and rise."

"Because for the Qing court, the troubles brought by the strength of foreign powers were far less than the troubles brought by the growth of powerful clans. If foreign powers were strong and invaded, so what? Our Great Qing is vast and rich in resources. At worst, we can pay foreign powers money and cede territory. We can afford to pay and cede territory! Moreover, at most, foreign powers will only take some silver and land. They will not lose their power and status."

"When the time comes, the foreigners will have plundered enough wealth and left. We will still be the Empress Dowager of the Great Qing Dynasty, and the throne will still belong to our Aisin Gioro family. We will not lose it. On the contrary, if the powerful clans rise and become stronger, that will be terrible. Not only will they lose their power and status, but they may also lose their lives."

"Although some people have 'deliberately' researched and verified that 'it is better to give to friendly nations than to domestic slaves' was not said by a certain Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty, their actions are exactly the same as 'it is better to give to friendly nations than to domestic slaves'!"

The phrase "I'd rather give to a friendly nation than to a domestic slave" greatly displeased Fusu, especially since the "domestic slave" was a descendant of the Qin Dynasty. Although the Qin Dynasty had been extinct for over a thousand years and the term "Qin people" was no longer used, these were still descendants who carried on the bloodline of the people of today.

Fusu said, "After this clan entered the Divine Land, they never considered themselves the rulers of the Divine Land!"

Li Nian said, "That's exactly why they don't feel heartbroken about ceding territory and paying reparations. At most, they might feel a little ashamed, but not much. After all, it was something their ancestors picked up when they entered the pass. If they lose it, so be it. At worst, they can just return to their ancestral land."

Fusu shook his head and said, "This clan is the ruler of Shenzhou, but it has caused endless trouble. They are obsequious to foreign countries and strictly guard against and suppress their own people."

Li Nian said: "Under the Qing government's control, the powerful clans were suppressed extremely severely. They were more wary of the powerful clans than of the West. It was not that they did not know that the West had caught up with, or even surpassed, China, but they were more afraid that if they learned from the West, their powerful clans would become stronger."

"Therefore, they implemented the 'hair-shaving order,' closed the country to the outside world, and fabricated 'literary inquisitions,' which lasted almost the entire history of the Qing Dynasty. They wanted to use this to make the powerful clans lose their fighting spirit, break their backbone, and forever become their 'house slaves,' which also caused China to lose its development opportunities."

"But whether or not they lost development opportunities was not important to the Qing court; what was important was that they preserved their status and power."

(End of this chapter)