Diqin Designer

Chapter 480 Qin is not what he used to be
Meng Tian was not worried that revealing that he had brought only a small number of troops would give rise to inappropriate thoughts among these people.

The number of troops brought this time was indeed small, making it impossible to launch a large-scale attack on Liuqiu Island, but it was more than enough to defend this port.

If these people dare to have such inappropriate thoughts and put them into practice, artillery and muskets will show them what the gap between eras really means.

Even if these people risk their lives and charge forward despite gunfire and artillery, they can simply retreat back to their ships.

With the power of the Qin warships, what could these remnants of the six fallen kingdoms do to them?
This confidence that technological advancements have given Meng Tian!

However, these people already knew the power of cannons and muskets, so they probably wouldn't be that stupid.

Moreover, on this Ryukyu Island, the former nobles of the six kingdoms also have enemies among the barbarians. They must be worried that when they attack the fleet, they will be stabbed in the back by the barbarians.

The remnants of the six kingdoms who fled to Liuqiu Island were no longer the kings and nobles of the former six kingdoms, but a pack of stray dogs with neither land nor people. How could they possibly contend with the Qin Dynasty?
The two sides are not on the same level. With the current national strength of Qin, it can suffer multiple defeats, but these people could be completely wiped out if they suffer just one defeat.

Meng Tian did not actually regard the remnants of the six kingdoms on the island as his opponents; a group of defeated people who had lost their countries, lands, and people were not worthy of being his opponents.

In the past, when the six states were still intact, their elders had all been defeated by him. Now that the six states have been destroyed, they are just a bunch of stray dogs who are not even as good as their elders.

The biggest mistake these people made was fleeing overseas from China.

If they were still in Shenzhou, they might still be able to put up a fight against Qin: although the six states had been destroyed by Qin, there must still be people who missed the old six states. They could use their status as former nobles of the six states to gather a group of former nobles and young people of the six states to resist Qin.

However, now that they have fled to this island, they have lost their land, their population, and most importantly, their people.

No people produced food for them, no people wove clothes for them, no people forged weapons for them, no people became their soldiers...

What could they possibly use to contend with the Qin Dynasty?

With just the few people who escaped to the island, or relying on the uncivilized barbarians on the island?

But these people had no choice but to flee overseas. Under the various policies of the Imperial Household Agency and the Qin Dynasty, the living conditions of the former nobles of the six states were drastically compressed. If they did not flee, they would either perish under the policies of the Qin Dynasty or live in anonymity for the rest of their lives as obedient subjects of the Qin Dynasty.

Their escape overseas was a choice they had no other option but to be forced by the Qin Dynasty!

The methods used by the Qin Dynasty against the former nobles of the six states were truly ingenious. They not only physically compressed their living environment, but also destroyed the trust and prestige of the nobles of the six states among the people by publicizing their crimes throughout the land. This made the people no longer believe in them and thus no longer serve them.

The latter is far more deadly!
Without the latter strategy, it would have been difficult to resolve the scourge of the nobles of the six states. Although they could not confront the Qin Dynasty for the time being, they could simply hide their identities and remain anonymous. As long as they still had prestige among the people, when the Qin Dynasty declined, they could raise their arms again and a large number of people who longed for the six states would voluntarily join their ranks.

The history of the Qin Dynasty that Young Master Li Nian described is just like that.

The Qin Dynasty, lacking Prince Li Nian, failed to realize that to truly resolve the issue of the nobles of the six states, it was necessary to destroy their prestige among the common people. Consequently, when the Qin Dynasty collapsed, the nobles of the six states resurfaced and rose again.

Although these nobles from the six states ultimately failed to defeat Emperor Gaozu of Han, their ambitions did indeed resurface.

Meng Tian's words put the five men in a difficult position. Zhao Yue and the others had sent them to surrender, naturally hoping that the Qin people could work with them from the inside to eliminate those people as soon as possible.

However, the Qin people have not sent troops recently, which means that they cannot coordinate with them from within and without in the short term.

They have to stay with those people, and the longer it drags on, the more likely something unexpected will happen.

From the Qin people's perspective, this is understandable. After all, they had few soldiers and the situation on the island was complicated. It was reasonable for the Qin people to be cautious and not want to risk sending troops at this time.

Moreover, the Qin people are now in an invincible position. They only need to wait for more Qin troops to arrive and gradually advance to win and occupy the entire island. Why rush things?
However, from their perspective, they were unwilling to accept it. Not to mention that the delay might lead to unforeseen changes, their value in surrendering would be greatly reduced once the Qin reinforcements arrived.

When the Qin army arrives on this island, the Qin people can sweep everything on the island with their own strength, so why would they need to surrender?
The current situation is that they should take the initiative to surrender to the Qin people, but the Qin people do not need their surrender. Their surrender is icing on the cake, not a lifeline.

Unfortunately, the tokens of the lord and his men were already in the hands of this Qin general. Even if they wanted to surrender now, it was too late. When the Qin people delivered the tokens to the King of Chu, the lord and his men and the King of Chu would probably fight each other.

If the Qin people were to fight each other, the Qin people could accept it regardless of who won or lost, and could simply stand by and watch, reaping the benefits.

It was they who were anxious, not the Qin people!

No wonder the Qin general immediately sent someone to retrieve the token upon hearing of it; it was to gain leverage over his lord.

This famous general of Qin truly lived up to his reputation. He was meticulous in his planning, and once someone was trapped, they had no other choice.

The five men were mistaken. Meng Tian didn't think that way at all. It would be good if Zhao Yue and the others surrendered, but it didn't matter if they didn't.

The man who had spoken with Meng Tian many times said, "General, can we discuss this matter further? Our lord is truly willing to surrender to Qin!"

Meng Tian said, "How can we discuss this? Even if we discuss it further, I cannot conjure up any troops. Do you expect all the troops under my command to follow you into the mountains? If my men are lost because of you, who will bear the responsibility?"

The man hesitated for a moment, then asked, "General, when will your army be able to move?"

Meng Tian glanced at the man and replied, "About a month."

A month is a bit too long...

Before the man could speak, Meng Tian continued, "I know your predicament. You are worried that I am deliberately delaying and do not want to accept your surrender. If that is your concern, you should have your lord bring his men here to surrender immediately!"

“As long as you wait for the Lord to come, I will protect their lives.”

That's one way, but the problem is how to hide it from the King of Chu and the others. If they are discovered, the King of Chu will definitely hunt them down. Trying to escape secretly might turn into a fight between the two sides.

The second question is, how can we ensure that this Qin general isn't deceiving them when they come here?

The third problem is that if this is the case, their value in surrendering to the Qin people is greatly reduced. They are fleeing to the Qin side, rather than working together to help the Qin people eliminate those people.

In terms of merit, the latter was clearly greater. Higher merit meant greater attention from the Qin people, and thus, more generous rewards were given to them.

Meng Tian didn't care. It would be better if he could cooperate with these people who wanted to surrender to eliminate the remnants of the six states. However, it would also be good if these people who surrendered fled to this side, which would severely damage the morale of the remnants of the six states and cause internal divisions.

Both sides were like the First Emperor touching the wire, completely doomed! This man couldn't make a decision on his own, so he said, "We cannot decide this matter. Please allow us to report to the Emperor."

Meng Tian smiled and said, "It's alright, you can go back and report. There's no rush."

Just as the man was about to reply, Meng Tian glanced at the sky outside and said, "It's time for a meal. Why don't you all join us for a meal?"

Inviting these people to dinner wasn't really about the meal itself, but rather to use the occasion to showcase changes in the Qin Dynasty that they had never witnessed before, making them realize that the Qin Dynasty was no longer what it used to be, and strengthening their resolve to surrender.

While the Qin Dynasty didn't necessarily need these people to surrender, their surrender would save the Qin Dynasty some trouble, and if it could be facilitated, Meng Tian wouldn't object.

Upon hearing Meng Tian's invitation to dine together, the man replied, "It is my pleasure, but I dare not accept!"

Meng Tian had food prepared on the deck. It wasn't a special banquet, but just some of the food that the Qin navy ate every day. However, it was still a rare delicacy for the group.

After escaping to this island, they rarely had the chance to eat such delicious food.

No, even back in their homeland, they rarely got to eat it.

There was no bitterness in the saltiness; it was a very pure salty taste, made with the finest salt. The aroma and umami flavor were also unlike anything they had ever tasted before. They wondered what seasoning the Qin people used.

Among these dishes were some things they couldn't recognize, like a soft, yellowish-white thing that tasted like beans, but could beans be made like that?

Besides, everyone had meat and fish. The fish was easy to find, since this was the sea and they could catch fish. But the meat was different. It must have been brought by the Qin people themselves, and after being cooked with some unknown seasoning, it tasted excellent.

This was definitely not the kind of food that ordinary Qin soldiers could eat; it was probably specially prepared for them by the Qin people.

If all the soldiers of Qin could eat such food, even if not every meal, but every few days, it would mean that the Qin people were now far stronger than they had imagined.

As they expected, this kind of military rations was not widespread in the Qin army; only a limited number of units received this treatment, and the Qin navy led by Meng Tian was one of them.

The Qin Dynasty's productivity was not yet sufficient to ensure that all soldiers had meat at every meal and were well-fed and well-hydrated.

Noticing their reactions, Meng Tian said, "The seasonings here were made by Young Master Li Nian, and now they have not only spread throughout the Qin Dynasty but have even been exported to distant lands. The dish in this dish is called 'Shuru,' also known as 'tofu,' and it was also made by Young Master Li Nian. This dish is made from beans, but it tastes even better than beans!"

"The most common food for the people of Qin is bean porridge, but it tastes ordinary. Your Highness created this dish so that the people of Qin could have more different flavors in their meals."

It's a pity that it can't be like the later China, where almost everyone can eat rice and noodles. But the people of the Qin Dynasty will definitely be able to eat them in the future.

Moreover, in Prince Li Nian's Six Heroes Palace, a crop called "potato" is also grown. It is said that its yield is higher than that of ordinary crops, and it tastes very good. It can be used as a dish, a staple food, or paired with other ingredients. Once potatoes are widely promoted, they will surely greatly alleviate the food problem of the Great Qin.

The Qin Dynasty will surely begin with them and become an unprecedentedly powerful empire!

After hearing Meng Tian's words, one of them said, "We have heard of 'tofu' and 'bean curd' before, but we have never tasted them. We never expected to have this opportunity today thanks to the General's grace."

Another person praised, "This dish is made from beans, yet it tastes better than beans, and you can even taste the flavor of meat in it. It makes the food of all people in the world more delicious. Young Master Li Nian has done a great favor for the world!"

After the meal, Meng Tian led the group to digest their food. While ostensibly to help them digest, he actually continued to demonstrate the changes in the Qin Dynasty to them.

The group then saw the exterior of the Qin warship with Meng Tian. It was indeed different from the Qin ships they knew before, with many unfamiliar structures, seemingly designed to make the ships more suitable for sea navigation.

The Qin people built these ships not for sailing on rivers, but for sailing at sea.

Did the Qin people have plans for the sea long ago?

Thinking about it this way, some things are terrifying when you think about them carefully!
One reason they fled overseas, however small, was the overseas maps that had been leaked from the Qin people.

The overseas map told them that there were many treasure lands overseas, so they thought of escaping overseas, using the resources there to make a comeback, and then launching a counterattack against the Qin state.

Looking back now, it's highly likely that the Qin people deliberately spread the rumor that they were too busy to develop overseas territories, so they wanted to lure people there so that they could reap the benefits once they were free to do so.

The Qin people had definitely made preparations in advance. They must have anticipated that the Qin people would flee overseas, but they deliberately did not stop them.

It turns out that everything they did was part of the Qin people's plan!

Meng Tian said, "This warship was also designed and built by Young Master Li Nian and the craftsmen together, and its performance is incomparable to previous ships."

One person exclaimed, "Young Master Li Nian is truly a man of great talent!"

Unfortunately, such outstanding talents belong to the Qin state, not to the other six states. If this young master Li Nian had belonged to their side, they might not have fallen to their current state, and might even be launching a counterattack against the Qin people.

The group noticed that the Qin army they were seeing was very different from the Qin army they had seen before. The most obvious difference was their clothing, which they had never seen before, as well as their unique insignia, all of which indicated that this was a special Qin army unit!

The group guessed that this unit was one of the most elite in the Qin army, specifically designed for naval warfare.

By establishing a dedicated naval force, the Qin people truly had long planned for overseas territories.

Just then, Meng Tian pointed to something and introduced it to the group: "This thing is called a 'cannon,' but you all probably haven't heard of it. Actually, its accurate name is 'Hai Tsuo Type II,' 'HT-02'!"

The group didn't understand what "HT-02" meant, but they were all attracted by the cannon.

This thing is the legendary terrifying weapon that can make a thunderous sound and attack the enemy from a great distance, breaking through water fortresses and destroying their ships.
If it really is as rumored, resembling a thick copper pipe, and the Qin people showed it to them like that, aren't they afraid that they will also make such a weapon after they go back?

Since the Qin people dared to show it to them, this weapon must be more than it appears to be. It must contain many secrets that the Qin people do not know. They believe that even if the Qin people saw it, they would not be able to make it.

Thinking of this, the group felt discouraged. They couldn't understand what others were showing them; the difference in strength was too great.

This famous Qin general wanted to use these things to show them the changes and power of Qin, so that they would be more sincere in surrendering, but they were helpless.

(End of this chapter)