Diqin Designer

Chapter 461 Why have you all come here?
The Qin people intentionally excluded the Peacock Kingdom from the other states, creating a circle without including the Peacock Kingdom in their activities.

This was not good news for the Peacock Kingdom: Qin's refusal to allow them to participate made their hostility towards them almost blatant; Qin was already stronger than the Peacock Kingdom, and it was difficult for them to contend with Qin. Now that Qin had other countries as allies, the Peacock Kingdom's situation would become even more difficult.

The thought of their Peacock Kingdom being besieged by Qin and a group of other states sent chills down the spines of Pijanu and his companions. The situation was far more dire than they had anticipated. Fortunately, their mission was not to confront the Qin, but to seek "peace" with them.

Given the Qin people's dominant position, would they be willing to "coexist peacefully" with them? It seems that to get the Qin people to agree, they would need to cede even more benefits to them, and it's unknown how big the Qin people's appetite would be.
The man continued, "The Games of Nations is a competition in which nations participate. In this grand event, nations can send people to participate in many events such as running, long jump, weightlifting, and archery."

"The top three finishers in the competition will receive medals: the first place winner will be the gold medalist, the second place winner will be the silver medalist, and the third place winner will be the bronze medalist. When the gold medalist is awarded the medal, the flag of their country will be raised and their national anthem will be played. The Qin people also compiled a list to count the number of medals won by each participating country in the Games..."

After this man's brief introduction, one of the people in the room sighed, "The Qin people are using this to demonstrate their strength and proclaim their national power!"

While marveling at the event, the crowd also felt a pang of jealousy and envy. Why was it the Qin people who were hosting this grand gathering, instead of their own Peacock Kingdom?

But thinking about it carefully, it seems that even the Peacock Kingdom couldn't host it. They didn't have the same influence among the states as the Qin people. Even if they did host it, the other states wouldn't give them the face to come.

"The Expo of the States was an exhibition held by the State of Qin, where the states could display their rare treasures. It was a grand event for all states to showcase their treasures."

This exposition was clearly also used by the Qin people to expand their influence among the various states. The Qin people must have displayed many treasures at this exposition to demonstrate their strength to the other states!

Vijanu asked, "Have you found out which countries have come to participate in the conference?"

The man said, "I asked, and the Qin people said there were the Xiongnu, Baiyue, Wusun, Pishan, and Khotan..."

Wait a minute, they seem to hear some familiar country names in them, such as the Kingdom of Khotan, a small country located to their north. People from their Peacock Kingdom had been there before, and they didn't expect that they would also participate in the sports meet and exposition held by the Qin people.

This made Pijanu and his group even more uneasy. From Khotan, they could travel west and then south to reach their Mauryan Kingdom (the route from the Western Regions to India), which was much easier than their journey from the Baiyue region to Qin!
Why are the Qin people now mingling with the Kingdom of Khotan?

An answer emerged in the minds of Vijanu and the others.

The Qin people likely intended to invade their Peacock Kingdom via this route.

If that's the case, and the Qin people, allied with these states, attack from that route, then the Peacock Kingdom will be in big trouble...

Pijanu said, “The Qin people’s contact with Khotan and other countries must be for the sake of our Peacock Kingdom. It is very difficult for the Qin people to come directly from Qin to our country, and it is also not easy to borrow passage through the Baiyue countries. However, it is much easier to borrow passage through the lands of Khotan, Loulan and other countries. The Qin people must want to send troops from here to invade our country!”

Although that route was not short either, and the Qin people still had to take a detour, the route was much easier. This was probably the route the Qin people used to send troops to the Peacock Kingdom.

Pijanu's thinking was indeed quite reasonable, because it was difficult for the Qin people to launch an attack from other routes. The most direct route between them and the Qin people was traversed by high mountains, which were very difficult to cross. It is said that the great emperor of the West did not march again because of this. The Baiyue region was also difficult to traverse due to its many mountains and forests, which were full of poisonous insects and wild beasts. It was also difficult for the army to move.

The only relatively easier route would be to detour through countries like Khotan, and the Qin people, unless they were fools, would most likely choose this route.

Vijaya asked, "Do any of you have a solution?"

Although they were prepared to cede benefits and "make peace" with the Qin people during their mission, it would be even better if they could cede as few benefits as possible so that the Qin people could not attack their Peacock Kingdom.

When Pijanu asked this question, everyone in the room fell silent. What other options were there besides offering tribute to the Qin people and ceding benefits?

Should they forcefully threaten the Qin people to stop sending troops, or should they sow discord between the Qin people and other states, so that other states would not side with the Qin people?
The former is impossible, and they wouldn't dare to do it, as that would anger the Qin people and have serious consequences; the latter is also impossible, as what conditions could they offer to make those countries not side with the Qin people but with them instead?

Moreover, if the Qin people find out about the sowing of discord, it will also anger them, and they dare not take that risk!
Seeing that no one in the room spoke, Pijanu felt helpless, knowing that in this situation, these people couldn't come up with any good solutions.

Now, the Peacock Kingdom faces two paths: first, to unite its forces and fight against the Qin people; second, to find a way to "coexist peacefully" with the Qin people.

However, they lacked confidence in fighting against the Qin people, and the people within their country were not united, making it impossible to gather strength. Otherwise, they would not have been sent on this mission. It seemed like there were two paths, but in reality, there was only one.

Pijanu said, "Go back and rest. Tomorrow is the day to meet the Emperor of Qin. Practice the Qin etiquette a few more times and prepare your attire for tomorrow. If there are any mistakes, I will punish you severely!"

Everyone left the room, and nothing else happened that night.

The next day, at the Zhangtai Palace of the Great Qin Dynasty, with the announcement "Summon the envoy from the Peacock Kingdom to an audience!", all the civil and military officials of the Great Qin Dynasty looked out of the palace.

Since it was not a day of grand court assembly, there were not many ministers in the hall, but Li Nian, Fusu, Wang Wan, Wang Jian and others were all there, watching the group of strangely dressed people from the Peacock Kingdom enter the hall.

Upon entering the main hall, Pijanu bowed to the First Emperor, who sat high on the dragon throne, and said in the strange Qin dialect, "Pijanu, the envoy of the Peacock Kingdom, pays his respects to the great Emperor of Qin and wishes His Majesty a long life and a prosperous nation!"

Seeing the group of Peacock Kingdom people bowing to him, the First Emperor casually said, "Rise, all of you!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After Pijanu and the others stood up, the First Emperor asked again, "What brings you all here today?"

The First Emperor knew perfectly well why these people from the Peacock Kingdom had come; they must have been afraid of the Qin Dynasty and had specially sent envoys to negotiate "peace" with the Qin. But this was exactly what the Qin wanted to see, and it was also part of the Qin's plan against the Peacock Kingdom.

Given Qin's current strength, it's unrealistic to directly annex the Peacock Kingdom. It's necessary to leverage the power of the Peacock people themselves, appointing a portion of them as Qin's representatives to control and govern the kingdom. Qin will form the highest ruling class in the Peacock Kingdom, but middle and lower-level administrative power will be delegated to some Peacock citizens.

In short, the Qin Dynasty would not fully control and manage the Peacock Kingdom, but would establish a puppet regime in the Peacock Kingdom and delegate some power and benefits to the people of the Peacock Kingdom.

The Qin Dynasty controlled the main direction of governance in the Peacock Kingdom, setting annual tax and grain collection targets for these people, but the specific governance was left to them. As long as the targets set by the Qin Dynasty were achieved and the Peacock Kingdom was not thrown into chaos by uprisings, it was acceptable for them to govern themselves.

This is a method proposed by Li Nian to control the Peacock Kingdom, based on the realities of the Qin Dynasty and referencing Niu Niu's method of colonizing the White Elephant.

It would be costly, risky, and impractical for the Qin Dynasty to directly send many officials to govern the Peacock Kingdom. Instead, it was necessary to employ a portion of the Peacock Kingdom's people to work for the Qin Dynasty.

Of course, there are risks involved in doing this. The biggest risk is that if these people from the Peacock Kingdom are used to serve the Qin Dynasty, their loyalty cannot be guaranteed. However, this is the only option available to the Qin Dynasty at present.

The Qin Dynasty had a population of only 20 million, and very few of them were literate enough to become officials. The Qin Dynasty itself was short of officials, so it couldn't send many to the Peacock Kingdom. The Peacock Kingdom, on the other hand, was a country with a population of over 10 million and a vast territory. To control and govern it perfectly, the Qin Dynasty would need a considerable number of officials.

Without using people from the Peacock Kingdom itself, it would be very difficult for the Qin Dynasty to subdue it. Even Niu Niu couldn't have colonized the Peacock Kingdom without using this method.

Pijanu said, “Your Majesty, we have come here hoping to establish friendly relations with Great Qin. Before our departure, the King specifically instructed us to convey his sincerest greetings to Your Majesty, saying, ‘If it weren’t for matters concerning the kingdom, he would certainly come to Great Qin in person to pay his respects to Your Majesty!’”

The King of the Peacock Kingdom would never come to Qin on his own initiative. These words were just flattery to the First Emperor. Anyone who believed them would be a fool!
"Please convey my gratitude to the King of the Peacock Kingdom!"

After saying this, the First Emperor changed the subject and said, "I remember that Great Qin has already established diplomatic relations with your country and signed a letter of credence. I wonder how you all would like to further strengthen our friendship?"

Pijanu and the others thought to themselves, "So that counts as establishing diplomatic relations and becoming friends?"

Who doesn't know that when you Qin people truly establish diplomatic relations with other countries, you send envoys to each other's countries and establish embassies? But you send envoys to Huashi City to reside permanently, and you allow our Peacock Kingdom's envoys to reside permanently in Xianyang.

Countries that have established diplomatic relations with you Qin people are allowed to stay in Qin territory for a long time and are qualified to send students to study at the "Great Qin International Academy". However, we, the Peacock Kingdom, as a country that has established diplomatic relations with you Great Qin, are not qualified.

Not only that, you have also placed our envoys under strict control and ordered them to leave the country within a specified period. How is this a sign of good relations with our Peacock Kingdom?
When the Qin emperor blatantly lied to them, Pijianu and the others only dared to grumble in their hearts and not show it. Instead, they respectfully replied, "Your Majesty is right. Great Qin has already established diplomatic relations with our country. It was a foreign minister who misspoke. We have come here to hope that our country can further improve its relations with Great Qin."

The First Emperor asked, "Then how do you all intend to further strengthen your friendly relations with the Qin Dynasty?"

Pijanu cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, our country wishes to exchange envoys with Great Qin for permanent residence, our country wishes to send people to Great Qin to study, our country wishes to trade with Great Qin, and our country wishes to participate in the inter-nation sports games and expositions held by Great Qin..."

These are the kinds of treatment that countries that normally establish diplomatic relations with Qin can expect, but the Peacock Kingdom has to ask Qin for them, and Qin might not even agree.

Pijanu and the others felt somewhat humiliated, but what could they do when Qin was strong and their Peacock Kingdom was weak? They had no choice but to bow their heads under the eaves.

In response to Pijanu's reply, the First Emperor said, "The Qin Dynasty and your esteemed state are far apart, and it is not easy for them to travel to each other. I think it is unnecessary to go through such trouble. Wouldn't it be better if the two countries did not disturb each other and lived in peace?"

Upon hearing this, Pijanu hurriedly bowed to the First Emperor again: "Your Majesty, it is no trouble at all. It is the wish of our entire nation to be on good terms with Great Qin. We beg Your Majesty to have mercy on our nation's sincerity!"

If it were truly a case of "neither country disturbing the other and living in peace," that would be ideal, of course. But I fear that you, Great Qin, are not so discerning and are always thinking about us, then we would have to sleep in fear.

Pijanu also knew that the Qin people would not give up their ideas about the Peacock Kingdom so easily. They would have to cede some benefits to the Qin people, but this was not something that could be discussed openly. It was best to talk about it in private.

The First Emperor responded indifferently to Pijanu's words: "We will discuss this matter later. I have state affairs to discuss with you gentlemen. You may all leave!"

Seeing that the Qin emperor did not want to talk to them any longer and asked them to leave, Pijanu could only sigh inwardly, bow to the other Peacock people, and then leave the Zhangtai Palace.

After Pijanu and the others withdrew, Wang Jian stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "These people from the Peacock Kingdom claim to have come for the sake of friendly relations between our two countries, but in reality, they are afraid of the power of our Great Qin and want to seek peace with Great Qin."

Upon hearing Wang Jian's words, Wang Wan smiled and said, "'Seeking peace' is also a form of making friends."

Feng Quji said, "The people from the Peacock Kingdom who were sent on this mission should be as Young Master Nian analyzed: After Master Namoye and others returned to the Peacock Kingdom, they made the princes and nobles of the Peacock Kingdom aware of the strength of the Great Qin, and understood that if the Great Qin attacked them, they would be unable to resist. They were terrified and sent people to investigate the situation of our Great Qin and see if our Great Qin intended to attack them!"

“If the strength of our Great Qin is not as great as Master Moye and others claim, then there is no need to worry about it; but if the strength of Great Qin is very great and they intend to attack them, then we should try to befriend Great Qin and dispel Great Qin’s intention to attack them.”

The purpose of Pijanu and the others' visit was to first assess the strength of the Great Qin. If it was not strong enough and not as powerful as Master Moye and the others claimed, then they would not need to worry about it. However, if the Great Qin was indeed very strong and harbored ill intentions towards their Mauryan Kingdom, then they would try to seek peace with the Great Qin.

Feng Quji continued, "The Peacock Kingdom envoys sent this time are mostly from the peace-seeking faction within their country, rather than the war-promoting faction!"

After listening to this argument, Fusu thought about it carefully and understood Feng Quji's meaning: If the Peacock Kingdom's envoys were from the pro-war faction, their words would have been very forceful. However, when they met His Majesty just now, they not only did not act forcefully, but also adopted a very humble attitude, showing no arrogance or servility that an envoy from a great power should have.

Feng Jie also spoke up, saying, "If that's the case, they will definitely request an audience with His Majesty again to discuss a 'peace' treaty."

The First Emperor's gaze fell on Fusu, who was deep in thought, and he said, "If they request an audience again, Fusu, you and Li Nian will go to see them and make sure to secure more benefits for Great Qin!"

Fusu respectfully replied, "Your subject will obey Your Majesty's command!"

(End of this chapter)