Diqin Designer

Chapter 485 Pijanu's Encounters in Qin
They were overthinking it. The Qin Dynasty had no plan to capture them all and send them to Xianyang. That would have been too much of a waste of manpower and resources. If they were unwilling to submit to and cooperate with the Qin Dynasty, wouldn't it have been better for them to contribute to the local soil fertility? Why bother sending them to the Qin Dynasty?

After briefly explaining the Games of All Nations, Pijanu continued, "The Expo of All Nations, like the Games of All Nations, is a grand event hosted by the Qin people, inviting all nations to participate."

"'Exhibition' means 'exhibition on a wide scale,' and the World's Fair is a grand event where countries display their products for people from other countries to see. If our country participates, we must send our unique products to the exhibition!"

One of the princes felt he understood and said, "This is a gathering where the Qin people display and show off their treasures."

"We saw many rare and wonderful things at the World's Fair, including steam locomotives, electric lights, and machines that could generate lightning."

Upon hearing Bijanu mention "steam locomotive," one of the ministers seemed to have thought of something and said, "Is that steam locomotive related to that steam engine? Could it be a kind of vehicle? Could it carry people?"

They had heard Master Moye and others say that the Qin people had created a strange object called "steam engine" in Xianyang, which was called "steam locomotive." Both of these names contain the word "steam," so there must be a close connection between the two.

Pijanu said, “A steam locomotive is indeed a type of vehicle that can carry both people and goods, and it is indeed related to a steam engine. The army uses a steam engine as its power source, requiring no horses or people to pull it, and it can move automatically. As long as it is supplied with enough water and lime, it can keep moving!”

The king, dukes, and ministers in the main hall were all astonished that it could move on its own without the need for human or animal power.

Some princes and ministers immediately saw one advantage of this steam locomotive: people get tired and horses get tired, but this thing does not. As long as it does not break down and there is enough water and ore, it can run day and night without stopping, that is, it can work for people without stopping.

A vehicle that can travel day and night without stopping would be incredibly useful, for example, for transporting supplies between different regions, or for transporting soldiers to the front lines...

The question is how fast and how much it can carry. If it can carry more than a horse-drawn carriage, wouldn't that mean the Qin people could use this steam locomotive to quickly transport enough grain and troops to a certain place?

Even though it is not as fast as a horse-drawn carriage, as long as it can run automatically and operate day and night, it will be of great use.

How did the Qin people manage to create such a marvelous object? Why didn't their Peacock Kingdom create one?

The minister who asked the question then inquired, "This object is so powerful, does it have any flaws?"

Other princes and ministers also realized that something so wondrous and powerful must have flaws and limitations.

Pijanu said, “Although this steam locomotive is wonderful, it is not perfect in our view. Its biggest flaw is that the road it travels on is special. The road that the steam locomotive travels on is different from that of a horse-drawn carriage, and it needs to be paved with metal.”

"We don't know why it was laid out this way, but even the Qin people couldn't have laid such a long road using gold and iron. A road one bow long would require several poods of gold and iron. You can imagine how much gold and iron the Qin people would have needed to lay a road one yojana long. (bow, pood, and yojana are ancient Indian units of measurement.)"

These words put the Peacock King's ministers and officials in the palace at ease. Even if the Qin state was wealthy, it could not afford such a drain on resources.

If the Qin state had the capability to pave roads for steam locomotives to their Peacock Kingdom, then there would be no need to even think about resisting the Qin people; the entire country could simply surrender, given the vast disparity in strength.

Pijanu continued, "Furthermore, observing those steam locomotives, although they can move automatically, it would be quite difficult for them to traverse mountains and cross rivers. Currently, the Qin people cannot possibly use these steam locomotives extensively..."

Pijanu then explained some of the defects they had identified in the steam locomotives, which reassured the princes and ministers.

Although the Qin people manufactured this steam locomotive, it was clear that they could not use it on a large scale. They were afraid that the Qin people would pave roads near them and then use the steam locomotives to quickly transport a large number of Qin troops.

Another prince asked, "What are those 'electric lights' and 'machines that generate lightning'? Could it be that the Qin people have mastered the power of lightning?"

Everyone in the hall looked at Vijanu, waiting for his reply.

The power of lightning is a power that only gods can wield; how could it possibly be mastered by the Qin people?

If this is true, wouldn't it mean that the Qin people possessed divine power? How then could we possibly fight against the Qin people?

Under the watchful eyes of the assembled princes and ministers, Pijanu said, "The Qin people have indeed mastered the power of thunder and lightning. That 'electric lamp' is a type of lamp, but the Qin people used the power of thunder and lightning to light it!"

Upon hearing this, a prince from the Peacock Kingdom immediately retorted, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Lightning is the power of the gods; how could it be controlled by the Qin people? You must have been deceived by them!"

Pijanu sighed and replied, "We don't want to believe it either, but the facts are right in front of us. Moreover, we personally witnessed the Qin people unleash thunder, although that thunder was much weaker than heavenly thunder, it was definitely thunder."

The once tranquil hall was now like a pot of boiling water, with many princes and ministers beginning to discuss it, unwilling to believe what Vijanu had said.

The Qin people who mastered the power of lightning, were they still human? Shouldn't they be called gods?

The Qin people didn't need those cannons; they only needed to set off a few bolts of lightning in their Huashi city, and they would have to surrender.

How can mortals possibly stand against gods?
However, some princes and ministers disagreed. One minister said, "Although the Qin people possess the power of thunder and lightning, this power is not the same as the heavenly thunder we know. If the Qin people truly possessed the power of heavenly thunder, would they need to form alliances with other states and tribes? If they could command heavenly thunder, who would dare to disobey or refuse them?"

The others thought about it and agreed that this made sense. Moreover, Pijanu had already said that the thunder generated by the Qin people was much weaker than heavenly thunder, so the Qin people should not be able to use it as a weapon.

But this is still incredible. That was a great power that they always believed only gods could wield. And the fact that the Qin people's current control over lightning power is weak does not mean that their future control over lightning power will also be weak. The Qin people will definitely try to find ways to strengthen the lightning power they control.

The heavy pressure still weighed on the hearts of the princes and ministers, making them feel suffocated, as if facing a giant wall that they could not climb over.

Furthermore, even if the Qin people couldn't use lightning as a weapon, they still had cannons, which were weapons that the Qin people couldn't easily counter.

Pijanu then mentioned cannons, saying in a deep voice, "We saw cannons when we were in Qin!"

The hall fell silent again, and everyone's eyes turned to him once more.

Pijanu recalled the scene of them being led by the Qin people to watch the cannons fire, and said, "The power of the Qin cannons is far greater than we imagined. Under the fire of the cannons, neither men nor horses can withstand them. A single shot from a Qin cannon can shatter several bows' lengths of men and horses!"

They were truly shattered; they had seen livestock used to test the power of cannons being smashed to pieces by the cannons, their deaths extremely gruesome.

"If we engage the Qin in open battle, we will surely lose; we can only defend our strongholds. However, the Qin's artillery is constantly improving and becoming stronger. Even with the formidable walls of Huashi City, they may not be able to withstand us in the future!"

After Pijanu spoke, the princes and ministers in the hall fell silent. If even the strong walls of Huashi City could not stop the Qin people's cannons, then their Peacock Kingdom had nothing that could stop the Qin people.

However, there is no need to worry too much. It will take time for the Qin people to attack, and they may not necessarily kill them all.

After a while, the Peacock King broke the silence. He looked at Pijanu and said, "Do you think the Qin people will harm our country?" Isn't it obvious? The Qin people's ill intentions towards them are quite clear, and there's a high probability that they will launch an invasion later.

Pijanu said, "I believe that the Qin people will attack our country in the future, and it will be difficult to avoid it."

The Peacock King then asked, "In that case, what do you think we should do to deal with the Qin people?"

Pijanu said, “It is extremely difficult to confront the Qin people! I believe we can do the following: First, we should befriend Qin, sending them wealth and beautiful women, so that they will think we are afraid of them, thus temporarily delaying their attack on our country;”

"Secondly, we should learn from Qin's strengths to counter Qin, observe Qin's advantages, and learn from those aspects that can be applied to our own country."

"Thirdly, we should prepare provisions and train soldiers to prepare for war. If the Qin people attack our country, they are most likely to send troops through the Western Regions. Therefore, we should build fortifications in the north to defend against the Qin army."

Pijanu did not suggest learning everything from the Qin people, nor did he suggest that the entire nation of the Mauryan Kingdom should unite and gather its strength to resist the Qin people.

He didn't know the Qin people that well, but he knew his own people very well, especially the princes and ministers in the palace.

If he really wanted to save the Peacock Kingdom from the Qin invasion, he would have to sacrifice the "flesh" of the kings and ministers and cede benefits to those of lower castes. However, the kings and ministers in the palace, including himself, would not be willing to do so.

The Peacock Kingdom may perish, but that's all that matters, as long as they survive and their status and power are preserved.

The fall of the nation is the Peacock King's business; it has nothing to do with these high-caste princes and nobles.

Moreover, they have already established connections with the Qin people, and the Qin people will still use them to govern the region when they come.

Therefore, the three strategies he proposed sounded quite plausible, as if he was genuinely considering how the Peacock Kingdom could resist the Qin Dynasty. However, upon closer examination, they were all general in nature and lacked any particularly outstanding features, making it almost as if he hadn't said anything at all.

The Peacock King said, "Your plan is excellent. Do you have any other ideas?"

Some princes and ministers who were genuinely loyal to the Peacock Kingdom did offer some practical solutions, but many other princes and ministers had other ideas, and their suggestions, like those of Pijanu, were neither quite stated nor clearly stated.

If they were to offer some strategy to resist Qin at this time and cause trouble for the Qin people, what would they do if the Qin people attacked their Peacock Kingdom and came after them?
The Peacock Kingdom's ship was already rotten and could not possibly stop the Qin people. They did not want to offend the Qin people for a ship that was destined to sink.

The real priority is to wait for the Qin people to arrive, board the giant ship of the Qin state, and preserve their power and status.

The arrival of the Qin people was a bad thing for the Peacock Kingdom and some people, but it might be a good thing for them, as they could even gain more power and wealth than they do now.

After leaving the palace, several nobles and princes who were on good terms with him secretly arrived at Vijanu's residence.

Once everyone had arrived, one of the princes eagerly asked Pijanu, "Have you reached an agreement with the Qin people? What did they say? Are they willing to accept us?"

The others in the room also looked at Vijanu. They had to conceal their true thoughts in the royal palace, but here they could reveal their true feelings.

Pijanu glanced at everyone in the room before saying, "We have reached an agreement with the Qin people, and they are willing to accept our surrender. You may not know, but after arriving in Qin, the Qin people were extremely wary and suspicious of us. It was only after I explained our purpose to them that they relaxed their guard considerably."

"The Qin people's ambitions towards our country are quite obvious. They will inevitably attack us. And with our country's strength, there is no way we can resist them!"

"The only way to avoid being purged by the Qin people after their arrival is to stand on their side."

This was also a "helpless" choice for them. Their own country was not strong enough, not as strong as Qin, so they had to find other ways to save themselves and their country.

This is not colluding with the Qin people or betraying the Peacock Kingdom, but a viable path to save the country.

Hearing that an agreement had been reached with the Qin people and that they were willing to accept their surrender, everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief, but they were worried that the Qin people would not accept it.

Another person asked, "What are the Qin people's conditions?"

The Qin people accepted their surrender and were willing to guarantee their lives, status, and power. They must have had their demands, as the Qin people were not selfless benevolent people.

Pijanu said in a deep voice, "The Qin people have many conditions, but they allow us to govern the Peacock Kingdom for them and will not interfere with our caste and beliefs."

The people breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that the Qin people would not interfere with their caste system or meddle in their beliefs. Their current status and power were based on the caste system.

If the Qin people wanted to overthrow the caste system, then even if they couldn't defeat the Qin people, they would have no choice but to fight them.

One of them quickly realized why the Qin people allowed them to retain the caste system, and frowned, saying, "Do the Qin people want them to be of a high caste in our country?"

Pijanu nodded and said, "That's right. The Qin prince Li Nian demanded that we acknowledge that all Qin people are of a high caste in our country, whether they are nobles or commoners!"

Upon hearing this, some people in the room looked displeased.

It is perfectly acceptable to acknowledge that the kings and nobles of Qin were of a high caste, or even to establish a caste even higher than theirs. But Qin commoners should also be able to sit on equal footing with them.

Of course I was unwilling!
Noticing their expressions, Pijanu knew exactly what they were thinking, just as he had when he heard that young master Li Nian make that condition.

However, the conditions set by the Qin people left them no room for negotiation.

Pijanu said, "These conditions are non-negotiable. Commoners from Qin must be regarded as high-caste and treated as such in our country! However..."

Pijanu changed the subject and said, "I think you all don't need to worry too much about this matter. Although the common people of Qin are regarded as high castes, it seems that there are 20 million more high castes, but that's not actually the case!"

Others pondered what Vijanu had said: that there were 20 million more high-caste people, so there was no need to worry too much.

One reason why high castes are so prestigious is that they are few in number. But if there were too many high castes, the lower castes would think that with so many high-caste lords, there would be no reason for them to be prestigious.

(End of this chapter)