Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 386 (Bonus Chapter): Crassus's Search for Qin (Part 3)

More than ten days later,

Crassus traveled north along the Xijing River, and then through its tributaries, arrived at Andu City, the capital of the Qin Dynasty.

He once again expressed his admiration for the cities of Qin:
If the still expanding and under-construction Jade Wall City is like a beautiful and alluring young man growing up,
After decades of continuous construction by the Qin people, and the wealth generated by trade routes between the east and west,

Andu City can be described as a young, strong, and powerful ruler.

Perhaps a thousand years from now,

This city will grow old, but its atmosphere will also become more majestic and simple, captivating all who see it.

Let civilization be handed over to time.

Let time bear witness to the rise and fall of civilizations.

but,

These things were not important to Crassus, who was still young, frivolous, and extremely greedy.

He rarely cares about the future unless it is an obvious investment that will bring him great benefits.

More often than not,
Crassus liked to use all sorts of means to seize the wealth that was already within his grasp and was certain to be his own and his family's.

So he simply admired the tall city walls, wide roads, and dense crowds of Andu City.

This is a view that Rome has never seen before.

Because of its location, Rome could not have the vast land area that Ando did.

That was just a small river valley delta formed by the Tiber River.

Moreover, the number of citizens in Rome was far less than that in the Qin state.

As far as Krassou knows,
Unlike the Romans, the Qin people did not have a very strict system of classifying and managing their citizens.

Crassus swore that if a barbarian like Spartacus fell into Roman hands, he would enslave him, throw him into the arena, and make him pay with his life for his pleasure.

But in the Qin state,

Once someone is "educated," they have the potential to join the Qin system and become its citizen.

The integration process will be even faster for the next generation.

Because many children in the Qin state had mothers who were women from other ethnic groups, but their fathers were mostly Qin people.

When Emperor Taizu revived the Qin state, he decreed that a Qin man could have three concubines after marrying a wife from his own clan.

As for how to raise so many women and children?

Then you'll need military merit!

As long as military merits are achieved.

Beautiful wives and concubines will come.
You'll have many children and grandchildren!

In the patriarchal clan system of the Chinese, regardless of who the mother is, as long as the father is identified, the child is a member of the Chinese clan and one of the legitimate heirs of the corresponding family.

Not to mention that after the Qin state's granaries were filled, new laws were promulgated:
When children reach the age of enlightenment, local officials are required to enroll them in school and teach them the history of the Chinese nation.

Where is "Qin"?

Where did they come from, and where are they going?

so various,

This allowed the descendants of the Qin dynasty to rapidly multiply and grow stronger within a century, surpassing Rome, which had developed much earlier, and ultimately destroying the once-renowned and vast Persia.

A long history,
The frequent victories now
This fills countless descendants of the Qin Dynasty with immense pride.

"...Fortunately, Rome is not like that."

Crassus thought to himself.

Although the examples before him clearly showed him that this was the path to a nation bound by paternal bloodlines, allowing it to rapidly expand and grow powerful.

Crassus, however, still disliked allowing too many foreigners of lowly blood to taint the noble Roman citizens.

Those conquered foreigners have proven their incompetence through defeat and are only fit to be slaves of Rome!
Crassus was also extremely displeased with the Qin people's rules for forming families:
If his father was also a Qin person
How many people will the Crassus family grow?
How many of his brothers and sisters will be vying for his inheritance?

This is not a good thing!
His father only needed him as his sole heir!
With this in mind,
Crassus entered the palace of the Qin monarch and expressed Rome's concern for this ruler of a vast empire who could have proclaimed himself "King of Kings" but insisted on using the cumbersome title of "Emperor".

The emperor readily agreed and then hosted a banquet for him.

For Crassus, this was naturally another extremely unfamiliar experience.

After all, Jade Wall City was not built for very long, and a large number of barbarian tribes from the surrounding areas poured in, so it was inevitable that it had some of the customs of the Hu people.

But Andu City is different.

This is the capital city that the people of Qin poured their hearts and souls into building.
They poured their longing for Yong, Liyang, and Xianyang into this new capital.

If the remnants of the six states who were once deeply afraid of the Qin state came here, they would only need to take a deep breath to feel the overwhelming "Qin atmosphere" and then faint from fright.

If we ignore the outside world and only observe the city in front of us, who would know that Andu City is not in the Central Plains?

Moreover, the prefect's authority was far less than that of the emperor.

Faced with the former, some people still dared to make jokes;
When faced with the latter, however, they were extremely cautious and apprehensive.

Generally speaking,

The Qin court banquet was so solemn and serious that Crassus, a Roman of a free-spirited nature, was quite uncomfortable with it.

After a satisfying meal
The young envoy then made an excuse to urinate and left.

After he left, the emperor relaxed his stern expression and suddenly began to question the ministers sitting below.

"...Gentlemen, what do you think is the purpose of the Roman envoys sent this time?"

One minister said, "They likely have designs on our western borders, but our national strength is insufficient, and we dare not act rashly." Although from Rome's perspective...
Sending people to scout out the enemy's strength and choose the right time before deciding to attack already demonstrates considerable cunning and strategy.

But the Qin people were veterans who had been fighting in the Central Plains for hundreds of years and had used all sorts of methods. How could they not know what the other party was thinking?
"Then what should I do about this?"

"As long as we prepare our troops, we can deal with any enemy that comes our way!"

In the final stage of involution,
The gentlemen of the Xia people have already seen through it—

No matter how ingenious the schemes and tricks, they have no direct power.

In terms of population and land, Qin naturally has the advantage over Luo, only lacking in naval power.

"As long as the country doesn't experience turmoil, why should we worry about foreign enemies?"

"Moreover, I have heard that although Marius' reforms in Rome were very successful, they also aroused the dissatisfaction of many people."

"Before the banquet, I visited this Roman envoy as a guest of honor. In his words, he did not show much respect for Marius, but rather seemed to be closer to the people in the Roman Senate."

The minister continued to tell the emperor, "Therefore, I believe that even if Rome has designs on our western borders, it will not invest too much power in them."

"Their internal strife will continue, and it may be even more intense than before!"

"How do you know that?" the emperor asked him, inquiring about his judgment.

The minister then said, "By reading the story of Shang Yang, we can speculate on the subsequent development of Rome."

Marius's reforms,
Although not as powerful as Lord Shang's.
However, it still aroused dissatisfaction among a large number of conservatives.

He was indeed elected tribunal for the people several times, but he was already old; how much longer could he continue? And how many people accompanied him?

Crassus's father was one of the wealthiest men in the country and had already made it clear that he supported Sulla, an opponent of Marius.

therefore,

The future is already predictable.

After listening to his words, the emperor nodded, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly brought up another matter:
"Once merchants acquire wealth, they may develop the desire to interfere in government affairs."

"This is why I have been reluctant to relax my control over merchants."

As the Qin state expanded beyond its borders for an extended period, and its foundations were firmly established, all industries naturally flourished.

However, the soil and water in the Western Sea region are far inferior to those in the Central Plains.
If plains are scarce, hills can be excavated to create farmland, where water and heat are plentiful.

However, the surrounding areas of the former are truly barren, sometimes even making it impossible to graze cattle and sheep.

If you travel along Xingshan towards the Xia Kingdom, the view is even more desolate and pitiful.

But those lands, because they have the responsibility of protecting the heartland of the two rivers, must not be abandoned.

As a result,
Those places, in order to obtain supplies, besides the meager rations and stipends issued by the imperial court, mostly relied on traveling merchants.

Over the years,

The connection between Western Qin and the Central Plains became closer, and coupled with its long-standing friendship with the Xia state,
As a result, the number of caravans traveling along the trade routes increased.

The tolls they paid when passing through border fortresses and passes, as well as the supplies they sold to the local military and civilians, greatly relieved the imperial court of financial burdens.

Therefore, even though the Qin state still had the national policy of "emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce", various trades had inevitably developed spontaneously among the people, and voices of "supporting commerce" had emerged in the court, hoping that the state could adjust its policies according to the current situation.

But merchants have always been greedy and want more, and it's hard to satisfy them all.

Therefore, the emperor remained hesitant.

When the dispute could no longer be concealed and the conflict could not be reconciled, the emperor decided to emulate the Han Dynasty in the east and convene a grand meeting of talented and virtuous people from all over the country in Andu City.

An envoy from Rome,

It was just a tiny grain of sand swept to the surface by the huge waves.

Although it surprised the Qin people, it wasn't something they were willing to waste too much energy on.

After all,

Governing your own country well is the most important thing.

Crassus was unaware of the thoughts of the Qin rulers and ministers, but since he lived in Andu City, he would naturally hear about the grand meeting.

"Is this a discussion about national regulations for business?"

"Doing business and selling things is a wonderful thing in itself, so why make such a big fuss about it?"

Crassus, born into a wealthy Roman family, was unaware of the Chinese gentlemen's views on "the essential and the trivial."

The translators specially trained in the Qin State's Four Barbarian Institute then provided an explanation.

Crassus was furious, feeling that the Qin people were actually suppressing merchants, which was truly wicked!
He became even more furious when he learned from him that the Qin state had punishments such as confiscating property and exterminating entire families.

Anger made him realize something, and he recalled Spartacus's ramblings back in Jade Wall City.

"So that guy was cursing me?"

"I'll capture him and enslave him sooner or later!"

"Crassu said angrily."

then,

Crassus then began to pay close attention to this matter.

His family was also trying to cultivate connections in the Qin state and open up new sources of wealth.

If the Qin people had insisted on prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, their future actions would have been much more difficult.

To know,
The Crassus family has grown to its current position through numerous black market operations, speculation, and bribing officials!
And these,
Every single item hit a nerve with the Qin people, causing them to instinctively grab their bows, crossbows, swords, and other weapons.

(End of this chapter)