Diqin Designer

Chapter 521 The delegation hasn't even arrived yet, but its fame has already spread.

Everyone else took the initiative to greet him, and Wang Ling politely returned the greeting, saying, "We come from the Great Qin in the East, on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor of Great Qin to pay a visit to your esteemed ruler!"

After hearing the translator's words, the leader thought to himself, "As expected!" This group really was an envoy sent by the Qin people.

He then asked, "May I ask, messengers, what brings you to Baselus?"

Baselus was the standard title for kings in the Hellenistic countries during the Hellenistic period.

Such an important matter as the Qin people sending an envoy to visit was not something a minor official like him could decide. However, before the Qin people went to visit, there were some things that needed to be clarified and then reported to the governor and the king for a decision. If the Qin envoy was simply allowed to go, he would not be able to bear the consequences if something went wrong.

Wang Ling smiled and said, "After establishing diplomatic relations with your country and exchanging goods, we still need to continue westward and wish to use your country's borders for passage!"

Shizamd exclaimed in surprise, "The envoy is going to visit kingdoms further west?"

These Qin people originally intended not only to visit Bactria, but also to go further west, that is, they wanted to visit the Seleucid, Macedonian, Ptolemaic, Carthaginian and other countries.

Wang Ling nodded and smiled, “That’s right! I’ve heard that there is a country in the west whose culture, customs, clothing, food, housing and transportation are all different from our Great Qin. His Majesty the Emperor is very curious about this country and has sent us as envoys to visit them!”

The Qin emperor was indeed curious, and it was quite possible that he would send an envoy to satisfy his curiosity.

After asking a few more questions, Hizamd said, "I understand the purpose of your visit, envoy, but this matter is not something I can decide. I will inform His Excellency the Governor and Baseles. Until then, please wait a moment, envoy..."

At this point, Hishamd paused, glanced at the entire delegation, and then said, "There is something I hope the envoy and guests will understand!"

Wang Ling said, "Please speak freely, Your Excellency!"

Hishamd then said, "Esteemed guests, you have come from afar from the Great Qin, and we should welcome you with all our heart, but... would you please set up camp outside the city?"

After saying this, Hizamd explained, "Please don't misunderstand, guests. It's not that we don't welcome you, but some things have happened recently, making it inconvenient for all of you to enter the city..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ling, Li Shiqi, and others immediately understood what Shizamd meant by "something happened": the Yuezhi people were at war with the Bactrians in this region.

Of course, this was just an excuse; in reality, Shizamd didn't want the Qin delegation to stay in the city.

Because the Qin delegation was quite large, even though the Qin envoy claimed to be there to establish friendly relations, who knew what the Qin people's true intentions were? What if they let all the Qin people into the city and then the Qin people took it over? Where would they go to seek justice?

Before Wang Ling could reply, Hishamud continued, "Gentlemen, rest assured, we will provide you with all the supplies you need for your camp outside the city."

Wang Ling and the others understood the intention of this foreign official, "Hizamd," which was to keep them outside the city to guard against any ulterior motives they might have!

But this makes sense. They are a foreign delegation. If these people really opened the city gates wide and welcomed them into the city, either a trap had already been set up inside the city to lure them in, or these people were simply adorably naive and had no sense of caution whatsoever.

Being in a foreign land, the Qin army could not provide support in the short term, and since the purpose of this mission was not to make enemies, it was natural to choose to "do as the Romans do".

Wang Ling laughed nonchalantly, "I wondered what it was all about. So this is it. You are the host, and we are the guests, so we should follow your lead!"

Hishamd breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried that letting the Qin people set up camp outside the city would displease them, but fortunately the Qin envoy was very reasonable.

It truly deserves to be called a civilized and courteous nation, far superior to those barbaric and rude states and tribes.

Hishamd was so polite to the delegation because he felt that both the Qin Dynasty and Bactria were civilized nations, and that they should be treated like civilized people.

If it were the small kingdoms and tribes of the Western Regions, they wouldn't be so polite: "Where did these barbarians come from? They want to visit His Majesty the King? Do you think His Majesty the King would see barbarians like you? Leave your gifts and get out of here!"
Hizamd said, "Thank you for your understanding, envoy!"

It wasn't that none of the delegation members were allowed to enter the city; Wang Ling, Li Shiqi, and others were welcomed into the city by Hizamd.

After entering the city, Wang Ling and his companions curiously looked around at everything. It was just a small town, not very large in area, but the various things in the city that were so different from those in the Great Qin still made Wang Ling and his companions feel very novel.

This style is not purely Greek, but rather a fusion of existing local elements with Greek influences.

This is precisely the phenomenon of Hellenization, where the local indigenous civilization was influenced by the spread of Greek culture, and the two merged.

As Hizamd introduced the area to the royal family and their entourage, he pointed to a desolate street and said, "This street used to be very bustling, filled with pedestrians, and the cries of merchants echoed throughout the street. Merchants over there sold leather brought from the west, and merchants over there sold gems brought from the east..."

If Hishamud's account is true, then the street is indeed quite prosperous.

One of the delegation members asked, "Since it was once so prosperous, why is it now so desolate?"

Shizamd glanced at the speaker but didn't explain, as if to say with his eyes, "Don't you Qin people know how things have turned out?"

The members of the delegation who were speaking immediately realized that the current state of this street, or rather this town, was related to the Qin Dynasty.

After being defeated by the Qin Dynasty, the Yuezhi people fled here to fight the Bactrians. They were indeed no match for the Qin Dynasty and were forced to migrate. But when they arrived here, the situation was different!
Just like the Xiongnu and Turks in history, in the east, the Han and Tang dynasties called us barbarians and nomads, and we dared not challenge the Han and Tang dynasties. But in the west, what should you Westerners call us?
After the Yuezhi people migrated here, they discovered: "Hey, we seem to be no match for the Qin people, but these people seem to be even worse off. Maybe it's not that we Yuezhi are weak, but that the Qin people are too strong!"

As a result, the Yuezhi people regained their composure, and the more they fought against the locals, the more composed they became, regaining all the confidence they had lost from the Qin people.

Historically, the Yuezhi people were severely defeated by the Xiongnu and forced to migrate westward. The Yuezhi then turned Bactria into their own territory.

At this time, Bactria is at its strongest. The Yuezhi people are not yet able to completely annihilate Bactria as they have in history, but it is not difficult for them to seize some of Bactrian land.

Afterwards, Wang Ling and his party stayed in this border town of Bactria. An urgent secret letter was sent from here, quickly to Governor Ai Hami, and then to Bactria, the capital of Bactria.

In Bactria’s palace, Euthydemus I, wearing a crown, was summoning several noble ministers.

A minister respectfully asked, "Great Barthelius, what is it that you have summoned us for today, and what can we do for you?" Eusidmus I, a former governor under the Bactrian Theodonic dynasty, had risen in rank by marrying members of the Theodonic family. Later, tired of the governorship, he felt he could rise even higher. Since Theodonic I could rebel against Seleucus and establish himself, why couldn't he?
He then launched a coup, overthrowing Theodosius II, usurping the throne, and taking it for himself.

Euthydemus I looked at the minister but did not answer immediately. He beckoned a servant from the Hall of Liberty to approach the ministers.

Several ministers saw that the attendant was carrying a silver tray with an unfolded animal skin on it.

Clearly, there was something written on the animal skin, which was also the reason why their Barthelius had summoned them today.

Euthydemus I said, “Take a look!”

The leading minister picked up the animal hide from the silver tray and began to examine it. He then looked somewhat surprised and, after reading it, passed it to the next minister for further reading.

After the ministers had finished reading, Euthydemus I asked, "What are your thoughts?"

One minister said, "Great Bartholomew, has the Qin people really sent an envoy?"

Euthydemus I said, “This must be true! Even if that Barthelius of Qin did not send an envoy, I would choose a day to send an envoy to Qin.”

More than six months ago, although they had heard that there were countries in the East, they didn't know much about them and didn't pay much attention to them.

So what if there are countries in the East?
They were probably just small countries and tribes, far less powerful and civilized than them. They were once subjects of the great Alexander the Great, and they were the only ones in the world with the most advanced and powerful civilization.

Apart from the states that were established by their own people after the death of the great Alexander, no other nation-state in the world can compare with them.

Therefore, even if they knew that there were countries in the East that they didn't know much about, they didn't care much.

Are the Eastern countries more civilized or more powerful than them?

But this situation changed after those damned barbarians who called themselves "Yuezhi" arrived.

They originally thought that the only people who could rival them were their own people who had once been Alexander's subjects, and never imagined that they would suffer losses at the hands of others.

However, reality shattered their belief, and they suffered a great loss at the hands of the Yuezhi people.

They knew about the Yuezhi people before, but they didn't care much. The Yuezhi were a group of barbaric and backward tribes in the east who lived a nomadic life and were no match for them.

Therefore, they knew about the Yuezhi people, but not much, and did not actively seek to understand them.

After being thoroughly beaten by the Yuezhi, the people of Bactria finally began to take the Yuezhi seriously and seriously try to understand why the Yuezhi were so powerful. Shouldn't the Yuezhi be grazing their livestock in the east? Why did they come here and start taking over their land?

You wouldn't believe it until you learned about it!
According to the information they received, the Yuezhi people came to plunder them because they were defeated by a state called "Qin" in the east and were forced to migrate.

They already knew a little about the Qin state, which came from the east. They heard that there was a Qin state in the east, and that the Qin people had conquered six states in the east, taking over their land and people, and becoming a country with a larger territory and a larger population.

When Euthydemus I and others heard this news, they still didn't pay much attention. So what if they conquered a few countries? Could it be more than Alexander the Great conquered or occupied as much territory?
The Qin state must have conquered a few insignificant small states, not worth wasting time paying attention to.

But after suffering a loss at the hands of the Yuezhi people, they had no choice but to pay attention!
It's a very simple equation about the inequality of national strength. They suffered a great loss at the hands of the Yuezhi people, who were driven to flee their homeland by the Qin army. They were weaker than the Yuezhi, and the Yuezhi were weaker than the Qin. Doesn't that mean...?

Although Euthydemus I and others were unwilling to admit that the Yuezhi were stronger than them, they believed that they would suffer losses at the hands of the Yuezhi because they had not understood them before and had been caught off guard. They believed that they would defeat the Yuezhi sooner or later and wipe away their humiliation, but the Qin people who defeated the Yuezhi must not be weak.

As more news about the Qin state came back, they became even more convinced that Qin was a civilized state that could stand on equal footing with them.

Now, the Qin state has actually sent a delegation to them; the Qin people who were rumored to be here have really come!
Euthydemus I asked, "Do you gentlemen think that the Qin people's delegation this time is good or bad?"

Although they were unwilling to admit that Qin was stronger than them, and only wanted to acknowledge that Qin was a civilized and powerful nation that could stand on equal footing with them, in reality they knew very well that the Qin people were stronger than them.

Now that the Qin delegation has arrived, how could they not treat it with utmost care and clarify the Qin people's intentions?

Several ministers remained silent, deep in thought. Euthydemus I then asked, "Or rather, what is the purpose of the Qin people's visit? Do they truly intend to establish peaceful diplomatic relations and exchange goods with us, as they claim? Should we allow the Qin people to visit?"

This is also what worries them. The Qin people are even more powerful than the Yuezhi people. If the Qin people have ulterior motives, the problems they cause will be much more serious than those caused by the Yuezhi people.

The Qin delegation was not large, and they could mobilize a large army to wipe them out. But what would happen after that? If the Qin sent a large army, how would they resist?

After a long while, a minister said, "Great Bartholomew, I believe we should accept the Qin people's request to visit! The Qin people have come to visit us with no ill intentions."

Euthydemus I looked at the minister and said, "Tell me your opinion!"

The minister said, "First, the Qin state is located in the far east, far away from us. Even if the Qin people wanted to send a large army to attack us, it would not be easy."

"Second, the Qin people were not nomadic barbarians like the Yuezhi. The Qin people had palaces, theaters and temples in their own land. It was impossible for the Qin people to abandon these and migrate to our land like the Yuezhi people did."

"Third, the Qin people must have known that there was a country in the west, but for so many years, the Qin people have never launched a westward expedition, which proves that this country does not like to wage war too far away, but prefers to conquer nearby countries."

From these words, it seems that the Qin people are indeed unlikely to send a large army to their area, as the distance is too far, and sending a large army would be a thankless task.

One minister countered, “The Qin people did not launch westward expeditions in the past, perhaps because they needed to conquer the surrounding states first. The six states that were conquered by Qin were likely located around Qin, which hindered Qin’s conquest of more distant lands, rather than Qin never having considered it.”

"Now that the Qin people have conquered those six states, they have the strength to conquer even more distant lands!"

(End of this chapter)