Diqin Designer

Chapter 545 Like a frog in a well looking at the moon in the sky

Seeing that everyone was deep in thought, the minister continued, "And the Qin people are selling their weapons and armor. Is it really as they say, because they have a surplus of weapons and armor and it's troublesome to destroy them, so they want to sell them to others?"

"There is no reason to have an excess of weapons and armor. Even if they are not needed for a while, they can be stored there for future use. Why would we sell them like the Qin people did?"

Indeed, military equipment such as armor is strictly controlled in normal countries, and anyone who dares to manufacture or sell it privately will be severely punished. However, the Qin state actively sold it to foreign countries.

Aren't the people of Qin afraid that other countries might buy their weapons and armor and then turn around and pose a threat to them?

While the reason why the Qin people copied ancient texts is puzzling, one minister could still come up with some ideas about it. He analyzed, "The Qin people are not fools. The fact that they dared to sell weapons and armor shows that they are not afraid that others would turn around and threaten them after obtaining their weapons and armor."

"There is generally only one reason for this situation: the armor and weapons that the Qin people sold were not their best. They had better armor and weapons in their possession, so they were not worried that others would buy their armor and weapons and then threaten them in return."

Many people nodded in agreement. That must be the case. If it were them, they wouldn't put their best stuff out to sell; they would definitely sell something of lower quality.

One minister added, "Actually, there is another possibility: the Qin people felt that the buyers were too far away from them, and even if they acquired their weapons and armor, it wouldn't affect them."

That makes sense; selling to distant markets rather than nearby ones can reduce the potential threat.

The minister who was analyzing the situation added, "As for the reason why the Qin people sold their armor and weapons, it certainly wasn't because they had a surplus of armor and weapons in their country. They might have been selling them to make a profit, or..."

The minister paused, took a deep breath, and then continued.

"The Qin people may want to use this to influence the situation of the other states. Consider this: what would the situation be like if we obtained the Qin's weapons and armor while the Seleucids did not, versus if we did not obtain the Qin's weapons and armor while the Seleucids did?"

Thinking along the lines of this minister, the two situations presented them with completely different circumstances.

In the first scenario, they would be more powerful in their fight against Seleucus, and might even gain an advantage in the confrontation. In the second scenario, with Seleucus's power increasing, they might be annihilated by him.

The emergence of these two different situations is related to the weapons and armor sold by the Qin people.

The Qin people's sale of weapons and armor was a pretense; their real intention was to influence the situation between the various states. Ironically, they had no choice but to buy Qin's weapons and armor.

For the same reason, if they don't buy, others will. When others have high-quality weapons and armor bought from the Qin people, they will still be using a bunch of junk, putting them at a disadvantage in terms of weaponry...

This made Arsak I and his entourage feel inexplicably like they were being choked by the Qin people, which made them very uncomfortable.

And this situation is not easy to change unless everyone unites to refuse the Qin army, but is that possible?
Just like with the Seleucids, they sent envoys to the Seleucids and said, "Let us refuse to buy the Qin people's weapons and armor together, otherwise we will be held hostage by the Qin people," to see if the Seleucids would agree.
In the eyes of the Macedonians of Seleucid, they were a group of rebels. It was already a favor that they didn't drive away the envoys they sent, and they even joined them in refusing to buy Qin's weapons and armor.

I fear that once they learn that the Qin people have superior weapons and armor, the Seleucids will rely on their stronger national power to buy even more from the Qin.

You don't want to buy, but we have to; what? You buy too? We'll buy even more!
This means that from the moment the Qin envoys stepped into their territory, or even when the Qin people decided to sell them weapons and armor, they were already in a passive position. And the root cause of this was...

After a moment's thought, Arsak I and his men realized that Qin was powerful and its soldiers were indeed better than theirs, and their situation left them with no other choice.

All of this was likely part of the Qin people's plan, and when they realized it, besides feeling frustrated and angry, they couldn't do anything to the Qin people. Instead, they had to try their best to appease them.

When a country is powerful, it can really do whatever it wants!

The minister who was analyzing the situation continued, "In my opinion, the Qin people may have already decided on the list of countries to sell their weapons and armor to before sending their envoys, and our country should be on that list."

One minister chimed in, "The reason why the Qin people sold us weapons and armor is also very clear: they want to strengthen our power so that we can fight against the Seleucus for a long time."

Arsak I, having figured out all the intricacies, said, "Therefore, whether I propose today that the Qin people not sell weapons and armor to the Seleucus or not, the Qin people will not sell them to the Seleucus."

The minister who was analyzing the situation sighed, "I'm afraid that's the case, but we can't gamble on it."

Yes, they couldn't gamble on the possibility of the Qin people selling weapons and armor to the Seleucus; the Qin people must have already seen through that.

After this conversation, the hall fell silent. Arsak I and his entourage gained a deeper understanding of the state of Qin. Although they had never been neighbors with Qin or had never fought directly against Qin on the battlefield, they still felt the terror of Qin.

Even from thousands of miles away, the pressure was still immense, forcing them to comply with the Qin people's wishes despite knowing their intentions.

After a long while, Arsak I said, "No wonder the Qin state is a powerful nation. Even Alexander the Great probably couldn't match their methods."

The Macedonian Empire under Alexander was powerful, but it was nowhere near as terrifying as the Qin Dynasty. Even though we never faced the Qin Dynasty directly, we still had that feeling.

Alexander's Macedonian Empire was like a brave young man, while the Qin state was like a steady middle-aged man.

The young man's bravery and strength can be felt directly, but he dies after his fierce display. The middle-aged man did not directly demonstrate his formidable strength like the young man, so his strength cannot be directly felt at first glance. However, his calmness and meticulous planning make his strength even more terrifying when you savor it afterward.

Ironically, this middle-aged man might possess martial prowess no less than that of a young man, and he is equally skilled in combat, though he hasn't shown it immediately. Once he takes off his shirt, you'll discover that he's covered in muscles, even stronger than a young man.

The Qin state was likely a more powerful and intelligent nation than Macedonia under Alexander the Great!
If it had been the Qin state that launched the eastern expedition back then, it's likely that the kingdom wouldn't have disintegrated, and all the conquered lands would have truly become Qin territory.

Arsak I and his comrades were mistaken in one respect: the Great Qin was not middle-aged, but a youth that had rejuvenated and was constantly growing stronger and more robust.

But if the Qin Dynasty wants to grow stronger and more powerful, it needs to draw nourishment from the other states!
Arsak I said, "We know too little about Qin; we cannot remain in this state. Send people to gather intelligence on Qin. I need to know what Qin has been doing in the east and what kind of country it is." Knowing oneself and one's enemy is the key to victory in every battle. Although Parthia didn't use this phrase, the same principle applies.

To understand the Qin state, one must know its weaknesses in order to deal with it effectively.

The Qin state established the "Western Regions Alliance" in the east. Those countries in the east must know a lot about Qin. We should send people to investigate and also send people to befriend the Qin envoys to obtain information about Qin.

The arrival of the Qin delegation may be a great opportunity for them to find peace!
At this point, a minister said to Arsak I, “The Bactrians made contact with the Qin people before we did, and the Bactrian envoys should know more about Qin.”

Arsak I found this reasonable, and so Eusidmus I's messenger was once again invited to the hall.

Looking at the envoy who had been summoned by him for the third time today, King Arsak I said, "The Qin delegation arrived in your country first. Your country is in the west and is relatively close to the 'Western Regions Alliance' established by Qin. You must know a lot about Qin. Could the envoy tell you?"

Eusidmus I's envoy quickly pondered Arsak I's intentions. He concluded that these Parthians must have also sensed the power of the Qin people and wanted to obtain more information about them.

He had originally planned not to tell the Parthians unless they asked, but now that the Parthian ruler had asked in person, it would be risky for him not to tell them, as it would damage the alliance between the two countries.

He quickly assessed the situation in his mind, and the messenger said, "Great King of Parthia, I will certainly tell you what I know."

"The Qin state was once a vassal state of the Zhou, which in turn was a vassal state of the Shang, which in turn was a vassal state of the Xia. Before the Xia, there were ancestors of the Qin people such as the Yellow Emperor, Shennong, Yao, and Shun."

"The Qin people have a long history. They have lived in the East for thousands of years and are a very ancient civilization. Their traditions have never been interrupted."

The envoy spoke of what he had heard from the Qin delegation, but due to the differences between the two civilizations, he did not fully understand it and his understanding was also problematic. Many parts of what he heard differed from what the Qin delegation had told him.

When the envoy recounted the origins of the Qin state, Al-Shaq I and his entourage were astonished by the sheer length and antiquity of its history.

The fact that it has existed for so long is already astonishing enough, but what is even more astonishing is that the ancestors of the Qin state have continued to pass down their civilization.

The establishment of the Qin state is quite interesting. The ancestors of the Qin people were actually granted the land of Qin because they were good at raising horses for the king of Zhou (actually the Zhou emperor), which led to the beginning of the Qin state.

The rise of the Qin state was not without its challenges; it was the wise kings and talented individuals who propelled Qin to its current position.

After briefly recounting the origins of the Qin Dynasty, the envoy continued, "More than ten years ago, there were six states in the eastern lands that coexisted with the Qin Dynasty. They were all of the same origin, brother states sharing the same bloodline, yet they were constantly at war with each other. This is why no Qin envoys came at that time; the Qin people were busy fighting those brother states..."

Listening to the envoy's account, Arsak I and his entourage felt even more how terrifying the Qin state was; these madmen had been fighting in the east for hundreds of years.

If Alexander had gone on his eastern expedition a hundred years ago, he would most likely have been buried there by that group of madmen. The Qin state, which emerged as the ultimate victor from among those madmen, was even more terrifying!
It was indeed terrifying; the Qin general named Bai Qi killed hundreds of thousands of people in a single battle.

Upon hearing that Bai Qi had massacred hundreds of thousands of people in one battle, Arsak I and others were all shocked. They wondered what would happen if they had lost hundreds of thousands of people in one battle; their country would probably be finished. But the Zhao state had actually survived.

Even after losing so many troops and suffering heavy losses, they were still able to suppress the northern barbarians. More than ten years after the Battle of Changping, the Zhao general named "Li Mu" annihilated 100,000 Xiongnu cavalry.

If the Zhao state, which had not yet recovered its strength, was this powerful, then how strong must Qin, which had severely damaged Zhao, be?
Euthydemus I's envoy continued, "However, this situation changed after the current Qin emperor assumed power. His Majesty the Qin emperor launched a war to conquer the six states, first conquering Han, then Zhao... and a few years ago, the last state, Qi, was destroyed, and Qin unified the eastern lands."

Euthydemus I’s envoy had a strange feeling. He wasn’t talking about his own country, but about the Qin state. Why was he excited and felt a sense of pride?
Qin was not his country!
If... Qin really were his country, it wouldn't be bad for him to become a Qin citizen.

"The reason why the Qin emperor was called emperor was because under his rule, Qin conquered the six other states. The title of 'king' could not measure his great achievements. He was the king above kings and deserved a higher title than king."

This is where the envoy's explanation of the origin of the title "Emperor" went wrong. After hearing his words, Arsak I and others understood that "Emperor" was not "King," but rather the King above Kings, even more prestigious than a King.

Upon learning the reason for the title "Emperor," Arsak I also wanted to be called "Emperor," but he was clearly not qualified at the moment. He couldn't even handle Seleucus, so what kind of king was he?

The envoy added, “Although the Qin state has destroyed the six states, it does not mean that there are no other states or tribes in the east. There are still the Xiongnu, the Baiyue tribes, the Donghu, the Yuezhi, and other states or tribes there.”

"One year, the Donghu and Yuezhi sent envoys to pay homage to the Qin emperor, but their envoys angered the Qin emperor during the audience. The Qin emperor then ordered General Wang Ben to lead an army to conquer the Donghu and Yuezhi."

"General Wang Ben, along with his father General Wang Jian, helped conquer five of the six states during the Qin conquest of Qin."

"Under the leadership of General Wang Ben, the Qin army achieved a great victory, the Donghu were destroyed, and the Yuezhi people were driven to abandon their homeland and migrate westward..."

When the envoy mentioned the Yuezhi people abandoning their homeland and migrating westward, he paused and deliberately changed the subject, asking, "Do you all know how many casualties the Qin army suffered in this battle?"

The fact that this question was asked suggests that the Qin army suffered few casualties, but it's impossible that there were none.

Even if the Qin army was strong, and the Donghu and Yuezhi were weak, it was impossible for them to cause no casualties to the Qin army.

One Parthian general speculated, "Could it be that the Qin army has suffered a thousand casualties?"

The envoy shook his head, and another general guessed, "Then there were hundreds of casualties?"

Several hundred people was already a small number, but the envoy still shook his head.

(End of this chapter)