Diqin Designer

Chapter 540 Arrival at Parthia (Parthia)

After completing their visit to Bactria, the Qin delegation continued their journey to the western countries.

Euthydemus I specially dispatched troops to escort the mission, all the way until the mission left the borders of Bactria.

The mission crossed the border of Bactria and arrived in the territory of the Parthian Kingdom, also known as the "Parthian Empire".

But neither the "Parthian Kingdom" nor the "Parthian Empire" is as familiar to the Chinese as its other name: Parthia!

The Parthian Kingdom was also known as Anxi. During the Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian was sent as an envoy to this country (the Eastern Han Dynasty also sent envoys). The Records of the Grand Historian states: "Dayuan, Daxia, and Anxi are all large countries with many strange things. The indigenous people are quite similar to the Chinese in their trade, but their armies are weak and they value Han goods. To their north are the Yuezhi and Kangju, whose armies are strong. They can be bribed and sent to establish a favorable court."

Parthia is located several thousand li west of the Yuezhi. Its people are indigenous, cultivating fields, growing rice and wheat, and producing grape wine. Its cities are similar to those of Ferghana. It comprises hundreds of cities of varying sizes, covering an area of ​​several thousand li, and is the largest of its kind.

Along the Gui River, there is a market where merchants and people travel by cart and boat, sometimes thousands of miles to neighboring countries. They use silver as currency, and the coins are shaped like the face of their king. When the king dies, the coins are replaced with coins that still resemble the king's face. They use rubbings on leather to represent writing.

The Records of the Grand Historian describes the situation of Parthia at that time. Parthia had a large territory and many things that the Han Dynasty did not have. They grew rice and wheat, and their lifestyle was somewhat similar to that of the Han Dynasty. They used silver coins as currency, and the silver coins were engraved with the image of their king. However, the country's military strength was not strong, and they treasured the wealth of the Han Dynasty.

However, the Parthian recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian is Parthian several decades later. At that time, Parthian military strength was still quite good, and its founder, Arsène Ludwig I, was still alive. Under his leadership, Parthian could at least compete with the Seleucids.

If he couldn't arm wrestle, he would have been wiped out by Seleucus long ago.

Like Bactria, Parthia was founded by rebelling against the Seleucids. Arsak I took advantage of the Seleucids' internal and external troubles to lead a tribal uprising, conquer the Seleucid province of Parthia, and thus establish an independent state.

The newly independent Parthian Empire was weaker than the Seleucid Empire, and thus allied with Theodosius II of the Bactrian Theodosian dynasty to fight against the Seleucids.

Although Theodorus II has been usurped by Eusidmus I, the two countries remain allied against the Seleucus.

Seleucus was the leading figure in Central Asia during that era, even though he was already past his prime.

Although Arsak I was not Greek or Macedonian, but chief of the Pani tribe in Central Asia, the Parthian state he established was also a Hellenistic state.

This is because the area was originally ruled by the Seleucids, and the Seleucid rulers were almost all Macedonians, who would certainly have adopted ancient Greek practices when governing the region.

Even though Alsak I established an independent state, some things could not be changed overnight.

Like Bactria, Parthia was a sparsely populated region, but Parthia had a larger population than Bactria.

The Parthian population was mainly concentrated in the Mesopotamian plain of Mesopotamia, so the Parthian Empire later established its capital there. However, at this point in time, the Parthian capital is Nisa, located on the outskirts of Ashgabat, the modern capital of Turkmenistan.

This place wasn't the best choice for Parthia as a capital, but it was the birthplace of the Chinese emperor.

Led by their guide, the Qin delegation has arrived in Nisa.

The mission to Bactria did not decrease in size, but rather increased. The extra people included female slaves given by Euthydemus I to the royal family and others, as well as some Bactrian merchants who accompanied the mission.

These merchants would follow the mission because it would be safer for them and less likely to be robbed.

The mission did not drive them away, because these merchants also had their own guards, who could help in case of trouble. The mission also wanted to do more through them, such as learning Bactrian from the merchants and recruiting some of them as inside agents in Bactria.

The envoys sent by Euthydemus I also arrived in Nisa with the delegation.

Bactria and Parthia were allies. When Euthydemus I learned that the Qin delegation was going to visit Parthia, he sent an envoy to accompany the Qin delegation to Parthia.

According to Euthydemus I, he wanted to take this opportunity to deepen the alliance with Parthia and, incidentally, act as an intermediary between the Qin Dynasty and Parthia.

The Qin delegation had already entered the city, but was not immediately received by Alsak I. Wang Ling and his party were arranged to wait in a side hall, where Alsak I was receiving the envoy of Eusidmus I.

After the two sides had exchanged greetings, Arsark I asked, "What brings your esteemed ruler, Baseles, to me?"

Euthydemus I's messenger replied: "Great Parthian Lord, Baseles sent us here to deepen the friendship between our two nations, so that we may jointly confront the enemy Seleucus. Secondly, we have come to deliver a letter to you on behalf of Baseles!"

Upon hearing this, Arsak I asked, "What letter is it?"

Then, Arsace I saw the messenger take a letter from his robes and say to him, "A letter from Baselus is here, great Parthian lord, please check it!"

Arsak I had it brought to him. It was a letter sealed in animal hide and didn't seem particularly special. But when he opened the animal hide envelope and took out the letter, he immediately noticed something unusual.

The letter was made of a material he had never seen before. It was white in color and felt somewhat like cloth, but not as rough or thick. It was very thin and was folded inside the envelope.

He unfolded the letter and thought it looked a bit like papyrus, but papyrus wasn't this white and couldn't be folded.

Although the name "Sapium sebiferum" contains the word "paper," it is not the same as the paper commonly known; it is more similar to bamboo slips or wooden tablets.

Therefore, it is brittle and hard, and it breaks easily once folded.

But this thing is neither cloth nor papyrus, so what is it?
Arsak I, having lived for so many years, had never seen anything like it. He looked at the dense text on the letter, which was clearly a better writing and recording medium than papyrus.

Those people regarded papyrus as a treasure and restricted its export every year. Now that this item has been released, papyrus will not only become worthless at first glance, but will also be greatly devalued.

As the founding monarch of Parthia, Arsaj I immediately recognized the value of what he held.

Looking at the contents of the letter, it mainly records two things: first, it sends greetings to him, expresses the hope that the friendship between the two countries will last forever, and that they will work together to fight against Seleucus in the future; second, it introduces him to a country called "Qin"!

Yes, the delegation that arrived in Nisa today was a visiting delegation sent by the Emperor of Qin. The letter he is holding is made of something called "paper" by the people of Qin.

When the Qin delegation arrived at the Parthian border, the news was reported. Arsak I knew that a country called "Qin" had sent an envoy, but he did not know much about Qin.

He originally thought it was a small country in the east that wanted to come and pay homage to him so that it could become his vassal.

But the contents of the letter were beyond his expectations. According to Baselus of Bactria, Qin was not a small country, but a very powerful one. They came from the far east, had a very strong army, and their culture and technology were extremely advanced.

The Qin state was invincible in the east, just like Macedonia under Alexander the Great.

Alexander had been dead for a hundred years, and Macedonia had disintegrated, while the Qin state was still at its peak. According to the letter, Qin had just conquered six powerful states, unified the eastern lands, and defeated two powerful kingdoms, demonstrating its invincibility to the world.

Invincible and powerful, how could it compare to Macedonia under Alexander's rule?
Arsak I believed that the Qin state might actually have some strength, but Eusidmus I exaggerated in his letter.

The older he got, the more he could feel the power of Macedonia in its heyday. The Seleucus he was dealing with now was just one of the fragments of Macedonia after its split, yet he was already struggling to cope. If it were Macedonia under Alexander the Great, he would have only suffered defeats and never won.

Even the Parthian state he has established now is actually inheriting the legacy left by Macedonia.

There was a time when he thought Alexander was nothing special, and that he could achieve the same things. But now he knew: he couldn't, he really couldn't.

In Arsak I's initial impression of the Qin Dynasty, the Qin state must have had some strength, but it was probably not as powerful as Macedonia at its peak.

After reading the letter, Arsak I asked, "Has your country's Baseles received the Qin delegation?"

Euthydemus I's messenger said, "I have received you."

Arsak I asked, "What is your opinion of the Qin delegation, or rather, of the Qin state itself?"

The envoy hesitated for a moment before replying, "Qin is a very powerful country, and their army is extremely formidable..."

Before he could finish speaking, Arsak I interrupted him: "Have you seen the Qin army?"

The envoy shook his head and said, "We have never seen the Qin army in actual combat, but we have seen how formidable their armor and weapons are."

"We once tested our armor against the Qin people, but we lost. Our swords and spears couldn't cut through the Qin people's armor, but their swords could cut through ours..."

The Parthian minister, who overheard the envoy's words, exclaimed in surprise, "Are the Qin soldiers' armor and weapons really that formidable?"

The envoy nodded and said, "Yes, when their swords clashed with ours, ours suffered more damage."

Upon hearing this, the Parthian ministers in the hall looked at each other in surprise.

The armor of the Bactrians was similar to that of the Parthians, but the armor of the Bactrians was inferior to that of the Qin people, and the armor of the Parthians was probably inferior as well.

If they were to meet on the battlefield, they would be directly inferior to the Qin army in terms of armor and weaponry...

A Parthian minister said, "The Qin people's armor and weapons may be formidable, but that doesn't mean their army is equally powerful. Moreover, war is not solely determined by the superiority of weapons!"

This statement was echoed by many ministers in the palace. When they joined Arsak I in his uprising, their weapons were inferior to those of the Seleucid army, yet they still succeeded and established their own independent state.

After listening to the Parthian minister's words, the envoy did not mention that the Qin army was probably also very powerful. The Qin people were able to destroy six states and defeat the Yuezhi people, so how could their army be weak?
The Qin people were likely skilled in weaponry, and their army was equally formidable!
By the way, the Qin state also had a weapon called "cannon," which was said to be extremely powerful.

The envoy said, "The knowledge and craftsmanship of the Qin state are also quite advanced."

One of the Parthian ministers asked, "How can we proceed?"

The envoy said, "The Qin delegation included scholars from Qin. These Qin scholars exchanged ideas with our scholars, and our scholars found it difficult to debate the theories proposed by the Qin scholars. However, the Qin scholars pointed out many errors and omissions in the theories proposed by our scholars. Even..."

The envoy paused for a moment before saying, "Even some of the doctrines of the great master Aristotle have been overturned by scholars from Qin."

Although Arsace I was neither Greek nor Macedonian, he still knew the name Aristotle, who was Alexander's teacher and one of the world's most outstanding scholars.

His teachings are revered by countless scholars, and many scholars are devout followers of Aristotle, regarding his teachings as truth.

But Qin scholars actually overturned Aristotle's doctrines?

Even if it's only some, not all, it's still a major event that will definitely shake the entire Western academic community.

A Parthian minister familiar with Aristotle's teachings asked, "Were the teachings of the great master Aristotle overturned by scholars from Qin? Which teachings were overturned?"

The messenger said, "The following are examples: 'When two objects of different weights are dropped from the same height, the heavier object will hit the ground first;' and 'White light is the purest light, while other lights are impure light'..."

Upon hearing the messenger's account of Aristotle's doctrines being overturned by Qin scholars, Arsak I and the Parthian courtiers in the palace found it unbelievable.

One minister questioned, "Heavier objects fall to the ground first than lighter ones, how can this be overturned? Heavier objects are heavier, so they should definitely fall to the ground first. And what about white light? It's obvious that white light must be the purest light."

Many ministers nodded in agreement. It was obvious who was right and who was wrong when they thought about it. How could these things be overturned by Qin scholars?
The envoy said, "We also did not want to believe it, but unfortunately the Qin people have presented the facts to us!"

"Upon hearing what the Qin scholar said, Basellus immediately sent people to test which of the objects of different weights would land first, and the result was that they landed together."

What? The light and heavy landed at the same time?

This completely overturned common sense and was completely different from their previous understanding.

One minister asked, "Why did they land at the same time?"

The messenger said, "I don't know the specific reason either. It seems that the speed at which an object falls has nothing to do with the weight of the object itself."

Another minister said, "The fact that white light is not the purest light is also proven by facts."

The envoy nodded: "Indeed, the Qin scholars produced two triangular prisms made of precious jade, which proved that white light is not the purest light."

"White light is actually the most impure light. It is made up of a mixture of other colors of light. Sometimes rainbows appear in the sky after rain because other colors in the sunlight are dispersed."

The mere overturning of these two doctrines was enough to prove the Qin people's advanced knowledge, which silenced the hall for a moment.

With such knowledge, it seems that the Qin state is not a weak state and should not be underestimated.

(End of this chapter)