Diqin Designer

Chapter 457 The World's Fair

Li Nian nodded and said, "Your Majesty remembers correctly, it is indeed him. He is not tall, but he is very strong. His ability to win the gold medal today is somewhat beyond my expectations."

Zhang Shiyi has never lifted such a weight in his usual training. Today he is in absolutely top form, exceeding his usual level.

The First Emperor praised him, saying, "This lad is quite good; he has brought great glory to the Qin Dynasty!"

As the first Games of All Nations held by the Qin Dynasty, the first gold medal was of great significance. Emperor Qin Shihuang naturally hoped that the first gold medal would belong to the Qin Dynasty and not be taken by other countries. Now that Zhang Shiyi has won the gold medal in the weightlifting event and won the first gold medal for the Qin Dynasty, Emperor Qin Shihuang was naturally pleased.

The podium was ready, and Zhang Shiyi stood on it with two teammates. Zhang Shiyi stood in the center, with his two teammates standing on his left and right sides. In the weightlifting event, Da Qin swept the top three places.

Standing on the podium, Zhang Shiyi and his two teammates were a little nervous. They hadn't been this nervous during the competition. They were worried about what would happen if they didn't perform well when His Majesty came to present them with the awards.
That is His Majesty, their greatest king!

Despite their nervousness, the three were also very excited. His Majesty personally presented them with the awards. How many people in the world could receive such an honor?
The three men, who were tense and excited, suddenly froze, their movements becoming awkward and unsure of what to do with their hands or where to look, because the First Emperor was already approaching them.

Behind the First Emperor followed Meng Yi, who held an exquisite tray containing three finely crafted medals: one gold, one silver, and one bronze.

These medals are made of pure gold, silver, and bronze, unlike the gold medals of later sports meets which are made of silver plated with gold.

Before the First Emperor even approached, the three men immediately tried to step down from the platform to pay their respects. The First Emperor noticed their actions and stopped them, saying, "You three are meritorious officials of the Great Qin Dynasty, there is no need for you to pay your respects!"

This allowed the three to remain standing on the award stage until the First Emperor arrived. Then, the three discovered an embarrassing situation: because they were standing on the award stage, they were actually taller than the First Emperor.

This won't do. How can they be taller than His Majesty? Doesn't His Majesty have to look up at them? The three of them then tried to get off the stage.

The First Emperor, however, paid no attention to this and laughed, "The three of you are meritorious officials of our Great Qin. Not only did you win the first gold medal for our Great Qin, but you also left all three medals in our Great Qin. Today, you should stand taller!"

Not only did the first gold medal remain in Qin, but the first silver and first bronze medals also went to Qin. The first three medals produced in this Games all belonged to Qin, making the First Emperor even happier.

The First Emperor took the gold medal from the center of the wooden tray held by Meng Yi, unfolded the medal's ribbon, and seeing the First Emperor's action, Zhang Shi was excited and quickly bowed his head, allowing the First Emperor to hang the gold medal around his neck.

The First Emperor patted Zhang Shiyi on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Zhang Shiyi, I remember you. You are very good. You have not disgraced me and the Great Qin. You are a meritorious official of the Great Qin. You must continue to work hard in the future!"

Overwhelmed with excitement at receiving praise from the First Emperor, Zhang Shiyi exclaimed, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will continue to work hard and bring glory to the Great Qin!"

The First Emperor nodded, then awarded medals to the other two, offering encouragement and praise. Li Nian, who was not far away, recorded this historic moment with her phone.

After awarding the medals to the three men, the First Emperor did not leave. There was a flag-raising ceremony. Three flagpoles, much shorter than normal flagpoles, were placed not far from the award platform. Three prominent Qin national flags were tied to the flagpoles. As the Qin national anthem played, the three flags slowly rose.

Facing the national flag and listening to the national anthem, Zhang Shiyi recalled his experiences over the past few days. Just a few dozen days ago, he was just an ordinary Qin citizen. He never imagined that one day he would stand on the award stage, receive a medal from His Majesty in front of everyone, and have the national flag of Qin raised for him and the national anthem played for him.

From this day forward, the name Zhang Shiyi will surely spread throughout the land of Qin, known to all under heaven. What an honor this is! For ten years, he was unknown and obscure; in one day, he will be famous throughout the world!

As the three Qin national flags were raised, many Qin people in the stadium spontaneously sang the Qin national anthem along with the music. Every Qin person's face was full of joy and pride. Not only did the first gold medal belong to Qin, but the first silver medal and the first bronze medal also belonged to Qin.

Athletes from other countries who participated in the competition were all envious when they saw the awards presented to Zhang Shiyi and his two companions. They also wanted to have their own national flags raised in the stadium because of these three Qin people.

Standing on the podium, wearing a medal, watching your own national flag rise for you, and your own national anthem play for you—what an honor that is!

The dignitaries of various states once again felt the professionalism and standardization of Qin's work. If it were them, they would hardly have thought of such an award ceremony. It was full of honor, not only for the contestants, but also for the countries and tribes from which the contestants came!
If this international games are held again in the future, all countries will surely participate enthusiastically to win honor for their nations. The competition among nations will not only take place on the battlefield, but also on the sports field.

The Qin people were truly remarkable, managing to devise such a sporting event. But upon closer examination, only the Qin state in the world could host such a sporting event. The Qin people surpassed them not only in military and civilian affairs, but also in sports.

They were far inferior to the Qin people, and some state leaders couldn't help but feel powerless. Could they really catch up with such a powerful Qin state?
The Qin state was like a towering mountain that reached into the clouds, its peak unseen. Just when you thought you could see a glimpse of its height, you would soon find that its summit was still shrouded in mist, immeasurably high, leaving those who wanted to climb it feeling hopeless and powerless.

After awarding prizes to Zhang Shiyi and the other two, the First Emperor and the dignitaries from various states left the Xuan Niao Stadium and headed to the venue for the International Exposition. Today was not only the opening day of the International Games, but also the opening day of the International Exposition.

However, compared to the Games of Nations, the opening ceremony of the World's Fair was much simpler and more ordinary, with fewer spectators and no opening performance.

After raising the flags of the Qin Dynasty and the Expo, the First Emperor delivered the opening speech of the Expo: "The Expo of All Nations can also be called the 'World Expo,' 'World Expo,' or 'International Expo,' but now there are fewer than 10,000 participating countries, and none of the world's nations. I hope that when the Expo of All Nations is held in the future, it will be worthy of these titles."

"As the name suggests, the expo is a grand event for display and viewing. Exhibitors bring their rare and precious treasures here for others to see and appreciate. These rare and precious treasures are not fixed; they can be jade and jewelry, exotic flowers and plants, or advanced tools..."

“Just as the Xiongnu had fine horses, they could bring them to the exposition to show to other countries, and the Baiyue region had many exotic flowers and plants that were not found elsewhere, which could also be brought to the exposition to participate in the exhibition.”

"In short, the exposition is a grand event for everyone to display their treasures, but the Qin Dynasty hopes that the exposition will become a place for all countries to enhance their understanding, see each other's strengths and weaknesses, and get what they need."

Emperor Qin Shi Huang originally intended to say, "The Expo is a grand gathering where participating parties showcase their respective cultural, economic, and technological achievements," but considering that the dignitaries of the various states wouldn't understand, he revised it. The Qin Dynasty wasn't holding this Expo for vanity, but rather to allow the other states to see some of Qin's technologies and then purchase them.

After the opening speech, the First Emperor led the dignitaries from various states on a tour of the exhibition hall. The exhibition area was quite large, and the Qin Dynasty had allocated a pavilion to each of the participating countries.

Of course, these pavilions could not compare with the high-end and luxurious pavilions of later World Expos, nor even the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations held in New Zealand in 1851.

When Niu Niu held the World Industrial Exposition, it was held in the Crystal Palace, covering an area of ​​96,000 square meters and consuming 4,500 tons of steel and 10 hectares of glass. With the current production level of the Great Qin, it is simply impossible to manufacture such a thing.

Although the venues for this Qin Dynasty's International Exposition were mainly wooden houses, the floors of each venue were paved with cement and the windows were all made of glass, which was considered advanced for that era.

The first place that the First Emperor and the dignitaries of the various states naturally visited was the Qin Pavilion. The Qin Pavilion was also the largest among the pavilions of the various states. Upon entering the pavilion, the first thing that caught the eye was a huge bamboo slip, which was more than a person tall and more than ten meters long.

The First Emperor introduced the text to the dignitaries of various states, saying, "This record details the history of the Great Qin, and also the path our Great Qin has taken. Neither individuals nor nations should forget the path they have traveled. To forget even the path we have traveled is to forget our origins and our roots!"

Upon hearing the First Emperor's words, the officials of the various states recalled the rare and precious treasures they had brought to the exhibition and felt somewhat embarrassed, realizing that their treasures appeared rather vulgar compared to those exhibited by the Qin state.

Look at the Qin people; they are showing the history of the Qin state and the route the Qin state took, but what they are displaying are gemstones and gold ornaments.

The First Emperor continued forward with the dignitaries of various states. The dignitaries saw horsewhips used for herding horses, spears and halberds used for warfare, and farming tools such as hoes, rakes, and spades used for cultivation...

These are all artifacts used by the Qin people in the past, and they have been placed here for exhibition as part of the history of the Qin Dynasty.

The political leaders of various states also discovered that these exhibits were arranged in a pattern, presented to them according to the timeline of Qin's development. By looking at these artifacts, they were essentially learning about the history of the Qin state.

Upon arriving at another pavilion in the Qin Dynasty, the dignitaries from various states discovered that the exhibits had changed. Here, there was a dish of snow-white salt, a coal stove with nine honeycomb briquettes piled up beside it, a horseshoe, a piece of yellowed paper placed in an exquisite wooden box, and a piece of mottled jasmine...

Nowadays, it is rare to see such a complex and varied piece of jade produced in the Qin Dynasty. This piece of jade should be from the first batch made by the Qin people, when their skills were not yet proficient.

The First Emperor introduced these artifacts to the dignitaries of various states: "These artifacts were left over from the first few batches when they were made. These artifacts include food, drink, and other useful items; they are all treasures of the Great Qin!"

It was indeed a treasure of the Qin Dynasty, bringing it many benefits. For one thing, by selling refined salt, the Qin Dynasty earned a lot of profits from other states.

After using Daqin's refined salt, which has no bitterness and a pure salty taste, why would those nobles and chieftains be willing to go back to eating the original bitter coarse salt?

Take coal stoves as another example. The Xiongnu lived on the grasslands, where the weather was cold in autumn and winter. However, after the Qin Dynasty bought coal stoves and honeycomb briquettes, the Xiongnu's winters became much easier. Coal stoves and honeycomb briquettes were also convenient for cooking. Even the Baiyue tribes, whose winters were not so cold, bought a lot of them.

Qiulin is a luxury item that is highly favored by the high-ranking officials of various countries. Nobles from different countries take pride in owning a complete set of Qiulin utensils, and using them for dining and drinking makes them feel extraordinary.

The various states also purchased a lot of paper from the Qin Dynasty, but not mainly for recording writing or disseminating knowledge. Rather, they found that using this paper for urination was quite convenient, so they bought it specifically for this purpose.

As they continued forward, the expressions of the political leaders of the various states changed slightly. They saw cannons and were surprised that the Qin people would display them at the exposition. Was the Qin people displaying cannons here to intimidate them, or did they have another purpose?
Touman and the Wusun king recognized that the cannon was the same cannon used by the Qin people on the battlefields of the Donghu and Yuezhi. It was not the most advanced cannon the Qin people had ever used. However, it was not advanced for the Qin people, but it was quite advanced for them. If they could acquire it, their strength would be greatly enhanced.

We may not be able to become a powerful state like Qin, but we can follow in Qin's footsteps and become a powerful state that is only subordinate to Qin.

Upon seeing the cannons, the minds of the various states' leaders became active. When the Qin governor arrived in Zhangye, he had said that cannons were not something that could not be sold to them. Could it be that the Qin people were implying to them that cannons were for sale and that they should come and discuss the matter?
As the leaders of various states pondered how to purchase cannons from the Qin people, a strange sound rang out, sounding somewhat familiar, as if they had heard it somewhere before…

Some people quickly recalled that this was the strange sight in Xianyang, the one that could move on its own and help the Qin people draw water by adding stones into it.

That thing was apparently called a "steam engine" by the Qin people, which is quite a strange name. After being covered with stone, it kept emitting white steam, so calling it a "steam engine" was indeed fitting.

Judging from the sound, is there another steam engine here?

The dignitaries of various states followed the First Emperor toward the source of the sound, but instead of the steam engine they had seen before, they saw a vehicle they had never seen before.

It should be a cart. Although it wasn't pulled by horses, it had wheels, but the wheels were rather strange. They weren't placed on the ground, but on two sticks that seemed to be made of copper or iron.

How can this weird car even run on this?
The strange noise was coming from the front of the vehicle, where white steam was coming out of a pipe, suggesting that the steam engine was located in the front of the vehicle.

Some people seemed to have thought of something. After the steam engine was equipped with stone, it could automatically help the Qin people extract well water without human intervention. If there was a more powerful steam engine, could it be installed on a chariot and replace horses to pull the chariot?

The Qin people wanted to install a steam engine on a vehicle frame to create a vehicle that could move on its own without horses.

Compared to horse-drawn carriages, the advantage of this type of carriage is that as long as it is fueled, it can run automatically indefinitely, meaning it can run tirelessly day and night. Horses get tired, and riders get tired, but steam engines do not.

If the Qin people had really created a steam-powered chariot, how far could it have traveled in a day?
(End of this chapter)