Diqin Designer

Chapter 456 The First Gold of the Great Qin Dynasty
The Wusun were a crucial force enabling the Qin Dynasty to successfully advance its plans in the Western Regions. Although the Qin Dynasty would have continued to expand into the Western Regions even without the Wusun, their assistance saved the Qin Dynasty a great deal of trouble and reduced costs.

The Wusun delegation entered the stadium, wearing the same uniforms as the Qin and Xiongnu delegations, with each athlete waving a small Wusun flag.

"Now entering is the Wusun delegation. Wusun is located in the northwest of Qin. It was the first Western Region state to establish diplomatic relations with Qin and one of Qin's most trusted and loyal allies."

Although everyone knows that Wusun are Qin's lackeys, they cannot directly call them Qin's lackeys; they must be called "trusted and loyal allies."

"Last year, the Yuezhi people, together with the Donghu, caused trouble. It was only with the help of the Wusun ally that the Qin Dynasty was able to eliminate the Yuezhi's threat and restore peace to the grasslands."

"Wusun has now joined the Western Regions Alliance and is one of the founding members of the alliance, and will contribute to the development of the Western Regions."

The vast areas of Wusun and even the Western Regions are also places that Qin wants to take over. Qin wants to directly control the Western Regions now, just like it wants to seize the Baiyue lands. If it is determined to do it, it can definitely do it, but it will cost a lot of money, which is not in line with Qin's current interests.

Therefore, the Qin Dynasty's strategy for the Western Regions was to influence and control the economy, culture, and military of the Western Regions through alliances, weaken the local forces that could resist the Qin Dynasty, and ultimately make the states of the Western Regions as powerful as the Qin Dynasty.

In this scheme, Wusun is a force that can be utilized by the Qin Dynasty.

Even if Wusun hadn't sent envoys to Daqin, Daqin would have approached Wusun on its own initiative. It wouldn't have been difficult for Daqin to persuade Wusun to cooperate; they could have simply used the hatred between Wusun and the Yuezhi people.

Following the Wusun delegation were delegations from other countries and tribes in the Western Regions.

These delegations lacked the professional standards of the Qin, Xiongnu, Baiyue, and Wusun tribes. They had no uniforms and did not carry national flags, making them appear very unprofessional, as if they were hastily brought in to make up the numbers.

When these political figures from various countries and tribes saw their delegations enter, they felt somewhat ashamed and decided that next time they would send a delegation to such a grand event, they must learn from the Qin people.

After all the delegations from various countries and tribes had entered the stadium, the young Qin man on the platform said, "Welcome to all delegations. I wish you all excellent performances in this Games."

"The opening ceremony of the First World Games has now concluded. Thank you for watching."

As the young man from Qin announced the end of the opening ceremony, many spectators in the stadium realized that it was past noon. They hadn't even noticed before, as the opening ceremony was so wonderful that they had been so engrossed in it that they had forgotten the time.

Whether it was the First Emperor's speech, the raising of the three flags, or the subsequent opening performance and entrance ceremony, they had never heard of or seen anything like it before, which brought them great shock and satisfaction.

This opening ceremony will surely set an excellent precedent, and other countries and tribes will certainly learn from and emulate it when holding similar events in the future.

The Qin Dynasty has once again set a precedent for all the states!

The many Qin people in the stands were filled with pride, because this sports meet was hosted by the Great Qin, and only the Great Qin could host such a wonderful and professional event. No other country could do it, only the Great Qin!
But the opening ceremony doesn't mean the day is over. The schedule for this Games is quite tight, with competitions even on the opening day.

The young man from Qin continued, "The competition will begin in 35 minutes. You may take a short rest. Food and water are available in the dining area; please go and purchase them. Today's events are: weightlifting, sprinting, long-distance running, standing long jump, and running long jump..."

For this Games of Nations, Qin did not build multiple venues to separate the events, as that would have greatly increased the cost of hosting the Games.

Daqin's choice was to have multiple events share the same venue, just like modern primary and secondary schools hold sports meets, where they compete in running, long jump, and shot put on the same playground.

The advantage is that it saves space and time, but the disadvantage is that the viewing experience may not be very good. In a single venue, you can focus on watching one game, but in a sports field, multiple games start at the same time, making it difficult to focus on watching a single game.

There will be competitions after the opening ceremony. Another important reason is that the First Emperor wanted to see a gold medal belonging to the Qin Dynasty produced today. He wanted to present the award to the first gold medalist of the Qin Dynasty on the spot!

If the competition is to start tomorrow, and the first gold medal of the Qin Dynasty is awarded, the First Emperor will have to come again tomorrow.

To save the First Emperor trouble, the competition was scheduled to take place on the opening day.

Event staff began to enter the venue, moving away the performance platform and setting up the competition area. Many spectators got up from the stands, some heading to the public restrooms and others to the food and beverage area to buy food and drinks.

The food and beverage area was proposed by Li Nian. It not only sells food and drinks, but also some souvenirs from the Games, such as mascot dolls, commemorative badges, small Qin Dynasty flags, and flags of various national Games.

Three-quarters of an hour later, when Li Nian returned to the sports field after finishing his meal with the First Emperor, he found that many spectators had Qin Dynasty flags and Q-version bird figures in their hands. They were holding bird figures and waving small Qin Dynasty flags, so it seemed that his plan to sell sports meet merchandise was going quite well.

By hosting this sports meet, Qin will not only not lose money, but will also make a profit, gaining both cultural and economic benefits.

The events scheduled for today have already begun on the sports field.

At the weightlifting competition venue, the first to take the stage were Zhang Shiyi and three others representing Daqin.

Standing in the center of the field, Zhang Shiyi tried his best to regulate his emotions, reminding himself not to be nervous, he absolutely must not be nervous.

Even though many eyes are watching him from the audience, including His Majesty and the Prince, he cannot be nervous. If he is nervous and performs poorly, he will be to blame even if he dies!

Zhang Shi recalled the guidance the prince had given them over the past few days, and what His Majesty had said to them when he visited them yesterday: "You are representing Great Qin in this Games, and I naturally hope that you can win gold for Great Qin. But if you do not win gold medals and are defeated by other countries' best athletes, do not worry. I will not punish you for this, and the people of Great Qin will not look down on you because of it."

Thinking about all this, Zhang Shiyi's tense mood finally eased a lot.

His Majesty has already said that he won't be punished even if he doesn't get the gold, so what is he worried about?
Just do your best. We haven't competed against top athletes from other countries yet, so he might still be able to beat us!
Zhang Shiyi's gaze sharpened, and he looked around the field.

This time, they didn't use stone weights, but rather the thing they used in training that the young master called a "barbell".

Yes, their training is conducted under the guidance of the young master, and the equipment used in the competition is also familiar to them from their usual training. They have an advantage over the participants from other countries.

With this thought in mind, Zhang Shiyi's emotions completely calmed down.

Once the tension subsided and his emotions stabilized, he felt like he had inexhaustible energy and wanted to release it. And since this was the competition arena, the best way to release that energy was naturally to lift a heavy barbell!

The weights on the barbells had to be adjusted by the athletes themselves. In previous training sessions, Zhang Shiyi could only lift the barbell, which the young master had mentioned, weighing just over 100 kilograms. But today, Zhang Shiyi decided to challenge his limits and increased the weight of the barbell he was going to lift. Li Nian had been watching Zhang Shiyi closely from the stands. Although he was short, he was indeed very strong.

When Li Nian saw Zhang Shiyi pointing at the barbell he was about to lift and giving instructions to the staff, he knew that this short man was about to challenge his limits.

Sure enough, at Zhang Shiyi's request, the staff began to increase the weight of the barbell, and judging from the amount of weight added, it may have reached 200 kilograms.

But can this small guy lift such weight?

It should be noted that Xiang Yu, who was known in history for his strength to lift a tripod, could only lift a tripod weighing about 200 kilograms according to later estimates. How could this short man reach the same level as Xiang Yu?
Xiang Yu's talent was unparalleled throughout history; otherwise, there would have been more than just one such overlord in history. Later generals who were strong and brave were often described as being like Xiang Yu in his prime.

Soon, the staff assembled the barbell according to Zhang Shiyi's requirements.

Zhang Shi walked to the barbell, took a breath, and recalled the weightlifting techniques Li Nian had taught them during their training.

Although Young Master Li Nian was not as strong as them, he knew a lot. The weightlifting methods he taught them were unheard of, but they were indeed very effective. After using Young Master Li Nian's methods, the weights they could lift increased significantly.

Zhang Shi kept encouraging himself: I can do it, I definitely can. His Majesty and the young master are watching. I can't let His Majesty down, I can't let Great Qin down.

Zhang Shiyi was highly focused, and everything else was temporarily blocked from his perception. The only things in the world were himself and the barbell he was about to lift.

He walked to the barbell, bent over and squatted down, then stretched out his hands and gripped the barbell tightly. Power surged through his body, and his legs, waist and arms exerted force at the same time.

The heavy barbell began to move under his strength.

But this power is not enough; it can only make it move, not gather it together. We need even greater power.

Zhang Shi gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his face, and muscles showing on his strong arms, indicating that he was desperately using the strength in his body.

The other three athletes representing Daqin hadn't even lifted the weights yet. Watching Zhang Shiyi move the barbell, their strength... was much greater than during training. The weight must have been over 200 kilograms. How could he lift that?
They held their breath, afraid that making a sound would disturb Zhang Shiyi. If Zhang Shiyi could lift the barbell weighing over 200 pounds, Da Qin would basically be guaranteed a medal in the weightlifting event, and might even win a gold medal.

This is what Young Master Li Nian told them. Although we don't know where he came to this conclusion, there must be some basis for what he said.

Sometimes, a person's belief can push their body beyond its limits and create miracles.

Holding the heavy weight in his hands, Zhang Shi had only one belief in his heart—to lift it up, not to let down the expectations of his elders and fellow villagers, not to let down His Majesty and the young master!
With Zhang Shiyi's strength, the heavy barbell was lifted off the ground. Zhang Shiyi bent his knees and lifted it to his shoulders and neck, using the strength of his shoulders and neck to temporarily stop the barbell. But he only stopped for a short time before suddenly exerting force, lifting the barbell with both arms and raising it above his head.

After lifting the barbell for two breaths, Zhang Shiyi lowered it. The heavy barbell fell to the ground, causing the Qin referee, who was nearby recording the results, to feel a tremor in the ground.

After the barbell was lowered, Zhang Shiyi's tense mind finally relaxed, and he gasped for breath. But when he saw the barbell in front of him, his face lit up with joy.

he made it!

I successfully lifted the weight that I couldn't lift during training, but I wonder if others can exceed it.

He had used all his strength in this weightlifting exercise, and now he didn't even have the strength to lift objects weighing tens of kilograms. He hoped that no other country's top athletes could surpass this weight.

Following Zhang Shiyi, the other three athletes representing Qin also began weightlifting.

Seeing that Zhang Shiyi had lifted a weight of over 200 kilograms, the three of them thought they could try it too, but after trying, they found that the weight was simply beyond their ability to lift.

The three ultimately chose a weight that was within their capabilities. As weightlifting experts selected by the Great Qin, each of them could be considered a strongman of the era, lifting a weight of over one hundred kilograms.

After leaving the competition area, one of the three asked, "Old Zhang, how did you lift that barbell? I tried several times, and I could only lift it, not actually lift it."

Zhang Shi scratched his head and chuckled, "I didn't think that much about it just now. I just felt that if I could lift it, I had to lift it. I can't let down the expectations of my fellow villagers, and I can't embarrass His Majesty and the young master."

Upon hearing this, the other three fell silent for a moment, and one of them said enviously, "Old Zhang's lifting weight this time will definitely win him a medal, and it might even be Qin's first gold medal."

The young master said that His Majesty would personally award a medal to the person who wins the first gold medal in the Great Qin Dynasty!
For these true-blue Qin people, there is no greater honor than this!

Zhang Shi shook his head and said, "With so many countries participating, there might be some skilled players who can beat me."

One of them said, "How could those countries possibly be better than us? We were chosen from so many people, and we even received guidance from the young master. The young master also specially prepared our diet..."

Upon hearing this person mention that "the young master has specially prepared meals for us," the four people's expressions became subtle.

Although their bodies did become stronger and their strength increased following the diet prescribed by the young master, the taste of the food was truly indescribable.

After Zhang Shiyi and his three teammates, athletes from other countries entered the competition one by one, but none of them achieved a score higher than Zhang Shiyi.

When they heard, "The first gold medal of this Games of Nations has been won. This is not only the first gold medal of the Games of Nations, but also the first gold medal of the Qin Dynasty. This gold medal was won in the weightlifting competition by Zhang Shiyi, an athlete from the Qin Dynasty!", many Qin people in the stadium erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

This is the first Games of Nations, and the first gold medal was won by the Qin Dynasty. This will surely be recorded in history and passed down through the ages, even if the Qin Dynasty falls and dynasties change.

Zhang Shiyi, who won this gold medal for the Qin Dynasty, will also be remembered in history.

Upon hearing that the first gold medal of the Qin Dynasty had been won, and that it was also the first gold medal of the Games, the First Emperor was quite pleased. This was the glory of the Qin Dynasty, as well as his own glory and achievement.

The First Emperor turned to Li Nian, who was sitting behind him, and asked, "I remember this Zhang Shiyi. He's a young man, and he doesn't seem to be very tall?"

(End of this chapter)