Diqin Designer

Chapter 486 Conditions for Surrender

Pijanu was well aware of everyone's concerns, because he had the same thoughts when he first heard Young Master Li Nian propose this condition:

If commoners in Qin were also classified as high castes, wouldn't that create 20 million more high castes? How could their status and power be guaranteed?

However, after careful consideration, Pijanu realized that this situation was unlikely to occur.

Pijanu asked, “I ask you all, how many common people from Qin can come to our country? Do they intend to stay in Qin or in our country?”

Two sentences immediately enlightened the others: Yes, even if the common people of Qin are given the treatment of a high caste, how many common people of Qin can come to their Peacock Kingdom?

The vast majority of Qin commoners stayed in Qin and would never come to their Peacock Kingdom. Even if Qin commoners did come to the Peacock Kingdom, they would not stay for long.

There were actually not many Qin people who would stay in the Peacock Kingdom for a long time. They were mainly Qin officials, Qin soldiers stationed in the Peacock Kingdom, and some Qin merchants.

These people are far from threatening their caste status.

After Pijanu's explanation, everyone suddenly understood and realized that it was not unacceptable for commoners in Qin to also be of a high caste, since it wouldn't have much of an impact anyway.

Seeing that everyone understood, Pijanu continued, "Although the Qin people do not interfere with the gods we believe in, they strictly prohibit our religious sects from entering the Qin Dynasty."

One of them figured out the implication in Pijanu's words and frowned, saying, "The Qin people forbid us from preaching to them, but they can preach to us?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room once again felt the Qin people's domineering nature; they were allowed to preach to others, but others were not allowed to preach to them.

Another person said in a deep voice, "If this continues, many people in our country will surely believe in the teachings of the Qin people, and our country's original religion will disappear."

The Qin people clearly had this in mind: to strengthen the influence of their own sect in the Peacock Kingdom, and to weaken or even eventually eliminate their native sects.

If this continues, the Qin religion will replace the native religion of the Peacock Kingdom, and eventually all the people of the Peacock Kingdom will convert to the gods of the Qin people. Then how will they be able to get rid of the influence of the Qin people?

They will likely remain under the control of the Qin people, serving them like cattle and horses.

Just then, another person said, "I don't think we need to worry too much about this matter. As long as the Qin people can guarantee our power, what's wrong with the introduction of Qin religions into our country?"

The others looked at the speaker in surprise; these were words of disrespect to the gods.

What this person meant was: it doesn't matter what religion or god you believe in; the key is that the god and religion you believe in allow you to continue being a high-caste person.

As long as this is guaranteed, what's wrong with joining the Qin people's sect and worshipping the Qin people's gods?
This was blasphemous to a devout believer, yet no one spoke up to refute him.

This option was also approved by default.

Pijanu then said, "The Qin people have forced us to learn and use their language and script!"

One person said, "The Qin people want to abolish our language and writing system and adopt their language instead?"

Although they were willing to surrender to the Qin people, they also knew how important an independent language and script were to a country and a nation.

If they agree to these conditions, how are they any different from a nation that has perished?

They could accept the fall of the Peacock Kingdom, but they did not want to be completely assimilated by the Qin people and wanted to retain some things that made them different from the Qin people.

Only in this way could they maintain a certain degree of independence and retain the possibility of breaking free from Qin control and becoming independent again in the future.

Pijanu shook his head and said, "The Qin people do not want to abolish our language and writing, but rather to make us use their language and writing as a second language and a second writing system."

One of them sneered, "What's the difference? It's just a more subtle way of putting it. The Qin people still want their language and writing to replace ours. If we act according to the Qin people's conditions, will we still be ourselves?"

The others remained silent. What they said made a lot of sense, and they could see the sinister intentions of the Qin people. But could they really refuse the Qin people?
The Qin people were not negotiating with them, but forcing them to comply, leaving no room for bargaining.

Even if they can see what our Great Qin wants to do, they still have to do it according to Great Qin's will.

Ultimately, the root cause lies in their feeling that they cannot confront the Qin Dynasty, lack the courage to resist it, and dare not stand up to it. Instead, they surrender to the Qin Dynasty to protect their own interests.

If you're going to betray your country and embark on this path, you must be prepared to do so.

Pijanu said, “The Qin people demand that we recognize their currency as the common currency and learn to use their language and script in return.”

The Qin people even wanted to control their currency. From now on, the entire Peacock Kingdom would use Qin currency, and the impact would be no less than the necessity to use the Qin language and script.

Everyone was naturally unwilling, but they had already tolerated the previous ones, so they could accept this one as well.

No one spoke up, so Pijanu continued, "After surrendering to the Qin people, we belong to the Qin state and are no longer an independent nation or tribe. We can no longer have private dealings with other countries or tribes."

Pijanu deliberately emphasized the word "privately," saying, "If you want to interact with other countries or tribes, you must report to the Qin people, and you must do so in the name of the Qin state. If you do not understand, that young master Li Nian gave us an example."

“If we participate in the Games and Expositions of the Nations in the future, we can no longer use the name of the Peacock Kingdom, but must use the name of the Qin Kingdom—the Peacock Region under Qin jurisdiction.”

They simply erased their country's name, reducing them from an independent nation to a region under Qin rule, much like a king being demoted to a commoner.

Although the people in the room were unwilling, they knew that this was the price to pay for surrendering. They had originally thought that the Qin people might be generous enough to allow them to retain their country name and exist as a vassal state.

Unexpectedly, the Qin people wanted to erase their state name and directly turn them into a region of the Qin state.

Although the Qin people might allow them to continue to have power no less than they do now, there is still a big difference between being a noble in a country and being a noble in a region.

It's like being a king, which sounds so prestigious and glorious, but then being reduced to a prefect or governor. The territory they govern is the same, and their power is about the same, but it feels like they've been demoted several levels.

The title of a high-ranking prince in the Peacock Kingdom sounds better than that of a county magistrate in Huashi County, Peacock Prefecture, under the rule of the Great Qin Dynasty.

They also understood the Qin people's reasons for doing this: to erase the Peacock Kingdom from its status as a state, gradually transforming it from an independent nation into a region under Qin rule, stabilizing the local area, reducing resistance, and making Qin's governance of them appear more legitimate and reasonable.

"The Qin people allow us to help them govern the region, but they will send people to supervise and station troops there. The Qin people will also abolish our army."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room frowned, and one person even said directly, "We absolutely cannot agree to such conditions! If we agree to this, we might as well let the Qin people kill us and let them govern themselves." They had already retreated once, twice, and if they retreated a third time, there would be nowhere left to retreat to. This had already involved their core interests, and no matter how afraid they were of the Qin people, they were no longer willing to tolerate it.

They wanted to surrender to the Qin people and made concessions time and time again, but the Qin people had no sincerity at all.

At this point, Pijanu said, “The ‘supervision’ that the Qin people mentioned means that you must report to them if anything happens, and they will not interfere too much. As for important officials, we will select the candidates, but we must inform the Qin people.”

This relieved everyone. So this was what the Qin people meant by "supervision": they needed to know what the people were doing and couldn't hide it from the Qin people, but it didn't mean that they had to interfere with everything they did.

In other words, the Qin people set a framework for them, and they could do whatever they wanted within that framework.

These conditions were essentially the framework set by the Qin people for them, and they didn't seem unacceptable.

Pijanu then said, “Although the Qin people demand the abolition of the formal army and that no army be established again, they can allow us to establish some local armed forces.”

These words made many people in the room's eyes light up. This meant that the Qin people were allowing them to legally possess an army. They could openly recruit and train soldiers without having to hide it anymore.

But this is actually a dangerous thing, as it will turn these Peacock Kingdom nobles into warlords, exacerbating the internal conflicts and power imbalances within the Peacock Kingdom.

Not only is it difficult for them to unite, but they may even find themselves in a situation where "you attack me, I attack him, and he attacks you."

However, this is the situation that Li Nian wants to create. At present, a stable and orderly Peacock Kingdom is of no benefit to Qin, while a chaotic and ununited Peacock Kingdom is more advantageous.

Without chaos, how can Qin exert influence and truly conquer the Peacock Kingdom?

The goal of the Great Qin was not to "cooperate and achieve mutual benefit" with these Peacock Kings, Dukes and Ministers, but to have them serve as slaves to the Great Qin under its control.

The specific matters can be handled by these princes and nobles, but the real power must belong to the Qin Dynasty.

Some people in the room saw the problem, but the temptation was too great, and no one wanted to object. They all thought this was an opportunity for them to grow stronger and didn't think they would be inferior to others.

Pijanu said, "These are the conditions that the Qin people want us to agree to, and there is no room for discussion. However, the Qin people have given us some preferential treatment in other aspects."

“If the laws of the Qin people are different from ours, the Qin people allow us to apply them according to the circumstances. That is, we should be consistent with the Qin people on the fundamental laws, and adopt our laws on the non-fundamental laws.”

The people in the room weren't stupid; they quickly understood the Qin people's intention: as long as they abided by the fundamental rules set by the Qin Dynasty, they could do whatever they wanted.

This is actually a promise to protect their status and interests!

"The Qin people allow us to send people to Qin to study, and they will even send servants to set up schools within our country to teach Qin people, and even..."

Pijanu changed the subject, lowering his voice slightly, and said, "They even allow us to apply to become Qin citizens!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was startled. This "allowing them to apply to become Qin people" was different from what they would do after being conquered by the Qin people and under their rule.

Under the rule of the Qin people, one may not necessarily have the identity of a Qin person, and therefore will not have the rights of a Qin person. However, once the application is successful, they will have the true identity of a Qin person, and can say to others that they are also noble subjects of the Great Qin under the rule of the Qin Emperor!

This change in identity instantly made everyone think of many things. Although they were of a high caste in the Peacock Kingdom, it did not prevent them from becoming true Qin people.

In fact, becoming a true Qin citizen had many advantages for them, allowing them to work in the Peacock Kingdom as noble citizens of Qin, and then enjoy themselves in Qin.

After committing crimes in the Peacock Kingdom and incurring the wrath of both heaven and man, they could request the protection of the Qin Kingdom and flee there; they could work hard and earn money in the Peacock Kingdom first, and then enjoy themselves and spend their money in the Qin Kingdom; they could send their relatives to the Qin Kingdom and remain in the Peacock Kingdom without any worries, and could do things without restraint.

This was clearly a way out intentionally left for them by the Qin people, and choosing to surrender to the Qin people was truly the right thing to do.

Whether the Qin people were truly worthy of their surrender depended on whether they were as powerful as rumored.

One of them said, “If we summarize the Qin people’s conditions, they are essentially asking us to acknowledge their status and identity and to act within the rules they have set. These rules may seem non-negotiable, but they are not actually harsh. I agree to accept the Qin people’s conditions and surrender to them. What do you all think?”

As soon as this person finished speaking, another person immediately chimed in: "I agree as well. The arrival of the Qin people is an inevitable trend. We can hardly resist them. We should go with the flow of their arrival."

Whether they were from the Peacock Kingdom or the Qin Kingdom was irrelevant; what mattered was that they remained a high caste and maintained their superior power and status.

At this point, another person offered a suggestion: "But we shouldn't surrender to the Qin people too easily. Treasures that are easily obtained are often not cherished, and the same applies to our surrender!"

"If we easily surrender to the Qin people, they will not value us..."

Upon hearing this, everyone else in the room looked at the person, and one of them asked, "You mean...?"

The man said, “That’s exactly what you’re thinking. We must make the Qin people understand that only with our help can they conquer our country and govern it well. If the Qin people don’t rely on us, it will be much more difficult for them to conquer our country.”

Upon hearing this, the others understood the man's meaning: they couldn't let the Qin people think they had surrendered voluntarily and thus look down on them.

One of them asked, "What are you going to do?"

The man laughed and said, "It's very simple. The Qin people's conquest of our country wasn't smooth sailing; rather, it was very difficult for them to defeat us. It was only with our help that they succeeded. It's the Qin people who can't do without our assistance, not the other way around!"

"The Qin people want to send troops to attack our country. The most likely route is through the Western Regions to attack from the north. We must find a way to gather soldiers and station them in the north, and it would be best to stop the Qin people."

Everyone finally understood what this person meant. They couldn't be the "flowers" that added to the Qin people's glory; they should be the "charcoal" that helped the Qin people when they were in trouble.

Although the Peacock Kingdom did not have the saying "It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow," a similar principle applies.

They helped the Qin people solve their problems when they encountered difficulties, so the Qin people would value them more and treat them better.

One person worriedly asked, "What if such actions anger the Qin people?"

The man said confidently, "As long as we handle it well, we won't anger the Qin people. Moreover, the Qin people know that if they want us to surrender willingly, they must show their strength. The Qin people will definitely take the initiative to fight and demonstrate their power!"

Whether or not one surrenders is not something that can be decided by words; ultimately, it comes down to the battlefield and the clash of strengths between the two sides.

If the Qin people are truly as powerful as rumored, they will naturally surrender; but if not, the situation will be quite different.

(End of this chapter)