Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 304 Trunk and Branches

At last,
Ying Pijiang still agreed to withdraw his troops.

The price Persia paid for this was to cede its northern lands, offer a large amount of treasure to Qin, allow the Qin people to travel freely to Persia for business, and serve Qin as a subject.

The barbarians outside the territory don’t know what’s so special about this last point.

In their opinion,
It is normal to kneel down when you cannot win, and to soften your posture and tone to please the stronger one.

Compared with such conventions, it only sounds fresh in name.

The Persian king happily signed the peace treaty, and then turned around and immersed himself in wealth and glory, forgetting everything else.

Only the Xinxia envoy realized something and asked Ying Pijiang:
"Does the King of Qin want to restore his title as emperor and rule over all the nations outside his domain?"

Ying Pijiang asked back, "Why can't I do this?"

"The title of 'Emperor' was originally created by my grandfather."

"Besides, the territory outside the border is so vast, and there are so many barbarian countries. If we cannot annex them completely, why don't we ask them to pay tribute and make clear the superiors and subordinates, and establish our noble status?"

"Didn't Xinxia do the same thing in Sindhu?"

As far as Ying Pijiang knew, Xinxia's methods against the southern Sindhu countries were much tougher.

The tribute was late.

The wrong way to enter the new summer,

When I entered the palace to pay my respects to King Xia, I took the wrong step...

All of these could be reasons for Xinxia to conquer the southern countries.

but,

Xinxia did not take the opportunity to occupy the useless land there, but instead regularly cleared out the barbarians there.

According to the instructions of King Wen of Xia and King Cheng:
The barbarians of Sindhu are so prolific.
They must be treated like weeds, and removed at regular intervals and locations to ensure that the weeds growing wildly in the south will not contaminate the land where new summer seedlings are grown.

Moreover, the barbarians of Sindhu were deeply influenced by their unique Brahmanism. They believed that the nobler a person is, the more he should show his strong and intimidating side.

If Xin Xia showed them the face of a "modest gentleman" and treated them with morality and etiquette, it would be regarded as "weak" by these barbarians.

After all, if you are really stronger than me,
Why are you so gentle to me?
Xinxia once had great expectations and wanted to use the power of the Xia education to offset the pollution of the Brahmins.

Unfortunately, so far, the results are still slim.

The only conclusion I came to was "the more you kill the other party, the more submissive they will be."

In Ying Pijiang's eyes, the barbarians on the West Sea were of the same character.

Don't beat them up.
These barbarians can't tell the directions.

When the Qin Dynasty was still "building high walls and storing up grain", some ignorant people attempted to infringe on the dignity of the Xuanniao.

Later, the old Qin people, who advocated "cutting off heads to record merit", used them to build unique buildings among the Xia Dynasty, thus isolating them from the covetousness of the barbarians.

This time, the Qin army marched south, first attacking Seleucus and then Persia. The results were remarkable, and they frightened the surrounding areas, making them well aware of Qin's reputation and regarding him as the new boss of the area.

"And didn't the conflict between the Han Dynasty and Xinxia also stem from this incident?"

Years ago,
When envoys from Xinxia visited the Han Dynasty, they were required to pay their respects with the etiquette of a subject, and the gifts they brought were also considered tribute.

This made the Xinxia envoy very dissatisfied.

Because Xinxia believed that its country was older than the Han Dynasty, and during the Warring States Period, it was "as close as brothers" to the Qin State.

When he later paid a visit to the First Emperor, he only used the "courtesy between brothers" rather than the "courtesy between monarch and subject."

Although in practice, there is not much difference.

However, the gentlemen of the Chinese nation have always attached great importance to "reputation and reality" and are unwilling to be inferior to others in the struggle for fame.

So this visit,
Why should we lower our national dignity and serve the Han Dynasty?
A hundred years ago,

The Xinxia nation has only been established for three generations, and people still yearn for everything in their homeland, so they inevitably lower their attitude.

But now,

Xinxia has already gained enough confidence and believes that it is also a great power compared to the Central Plains.

The Han Dynasty felt that:
I am the ruler of the Central Kingdom, the son of Heaven, and the emperor of all peoples!
All the nine provinces prostrate themselves at my feet, so I am the unquestionable orthodoxy of the Chinese nation!

Since Xinxia is a country outside the territory,

How can we not pay tribute when we come to the Central Kingdom?

As a branch of Zhuxia,
How can they not be regarded as princes granted fiefdoms?

You said we were brothers.
But the Central Heavenly Empire can only be "a lonely family"!
A quarrel broke out between the two sides:
Xinxia said that unless the Han army ran outside the territory to fight him and determine the winner through force, he would accept such a result. Otherwise, they would continue to "be brothers."

The Han Dynasty felt that Xinxia was making trouble. It was the other party that had originally proposed the "Great Nine Provinces" theory, claiming that the central emperor ruled the nine provinces, but now they were not admitting it.

Fortunately,

Emperor Liu Ying of the Han Dynasty was a man of gentle temperament.

He put an end to the frivolous argument:
"The branches of Zhuxia outside the territory are very valuable. It is also very difficult to travel all the way from Xinxia to Chang'an."

"We should not damage the actual friendship between the two countries because of disputes over names."

But this matter,

Xinxia still took note of it secretly, and believed that the outside world and the Central Plains would eventually develop to the same level as the "Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period".

A powerful branch,
It is always inevitable to challenge the main position.

In this regard, scholars in Xinxia could not help but feel a little sad, thinking that many things had returned to the old path of hundreds of years ago.

When Ying Pijiang pointed this out, the Xinxia envoy was speechless.

The two sides changed the topic and talked about the major events that had taken place in the two countries, as well as the general future governance policies, referring to each other in order to better cope with the chaotic and complex environment outside the region.

Ying Pijiang said that he ordered his descendants to reaffirm the Legalist system, and wanted to dominate the land of the West Sea, and use a long whip to drive the surrounding barbarians so that they could directly feel the power of benevolence and education.

The new Xia envoy said that the Xia Kingdom has recently emphasized Confucianism and Taoism, and strengthened the country's moral etiquette in order to suppress the monks who are growing stronger among the people.

all in all,
Even though the military forces of the Zhuxia are outside the region, there are indeed few opponents that can compete with them.

But the truth that "it is easy to conquer the world, but difficult to rule it" is universal.

The gentlemen of various Chinese states who have taken root outside the territory all have their own difficulties.

"I don't know what will happen in the Han Dynasty."

Speaking of the latter part, the Xinxia envoy suddenly sighed, "You and I, as foreign branches, are already thinking about competing with the main branch."

"Those princes who were given fiefs are probably even more eager to make a move!"

after all,

The living environment of the Liu kings in the Han Dynasty was much better than that in other countries.

Without so many barbarians interfering, there is still pressure to preserve the basics.

I think these princes will develop more rapidly, but they will also become alienated even faster.

Ying Pijiang only hoped that there would be civil strife in the Han Dynasty so as to give Ying Qin a chance to fight back.

He said, "How can you and I explain clearly what is happening thousands of miles away?"

"The Han Dynasty should first find a way to retake the Hexi Corridor occupied by the Xiongnu and open up trade routes to the Western Regions!"

snort!
How could the Huns have been so prosperous during the Qin Dynasty?

The Han court has not yet been able to retake the Hexi Corridor. This is really not possible!

The Xinxia envoy couldn't help but sigh when he recalled the hardships and twists and turns he had experienced on his previous journey to the Han Dynasty.

"As long as the Western Region is open again, it will be much more convenient for us to travel between you and me."

……

When the conversation was over,

The envoy stayed for a few more days, admired the scenery of Qin State in the West Sea, and then prepared for the return journey.

However, the Crown Prince of Qin, Ying Duan, came to visit him and introduced a Yi people to the envoy.

He said, "This is a Roman scholar who is very interested in Chinese affairs."

"He intended to compile a national history to record the story of Qin and Xia in order to broaden the horizons of the Chinese people and maintain friendship between the east and west ends of the earth."

Polybius could understand the elegant sounds of the Xia people, so he smiled and added, "I have not yet obtained the status of a Roman citizen. I am only compiling books to raise my value and expand my fame to facilitate my goal."

Polybius,
He was a Greek friend whom Ying Duan met when he was on a diplomatic mission to Rome.

However, this rare erudite and humble man among the barbarians had repeatedly encountered setbacks in his official career.

At the age of 37, because of the failure of the political struggle in his hometown, he was forced to flee to Rome for asylum, and has not yet obtained formal household registration.

This time he came to Ying Qin,
One reason is that in previous exchanges, Qin had already become a "friendly country" with Rome.

This time, Qin's undisguised display of strength made Rome turn its attention to the East.

On this basis, Rome hoped to establish a closer relationship with Qin.

If he could get back a copy of the Qin-Roman Non-Aggression Treaty, it would naturally help Polybius become a Roman.

both,
Due to his scholarly nature, Polybius was extremely curious about the Qin State from the far east.

He hoped that he could see with his own eyes the oriental elegance transplanted to a land thousands of miles away.

Now that the new summer envoy had arrived, Polybius's desire for knowledge was further aroused.

"I see!"

"Since it can spread enlightenment and let people outside the region know the greatness of our Zhuxia, why should I refuse!"

After the messenger understood the other party's purpose, he responded with a smile and began to communicate with Polybius from Rome.

When he understood the situation in Rome, he couldn't help but say to Ying Duan in private, "I'm afraid your future enemy will be this country!"

Rome travels across land and sea, and one day it will land on the land of the East.

Ying Duan just nodded and said, "I understand this in my heart, and I'm already preparing for the future."

anyway,

Ying Duan’s plan for “Yu Bi City” must be implemented.

He has no control over the Mediterranean.

But the West Sea can only be the sea of Daqin!

As for Rome's current desire to sign a non-aggression treaty with Qin?

Then sign it!

Anyway, what will happen in the future,
We can only talk about it later!
(End of this chapter)