Diqin Designer

Chapter 181 Strange Map
Looking at the Qin people who were queuing up to buy salt, Maodun felt heavy-hearted. The Qin Emperor was willing to let ordinary Qin people use such high-quality salt. No wonder the Qin people supported him so much.

But the more wise and ambitious the Qin Emperor was, the worse it was for the Huns. It was in the interests of the Huns that the Qin Emperor was foolish and violent and that Qin was plagued by wars.

In fact, another reason why the Xiongnu delegation saw Xianyang as so crowded and prosperous was that the imperial examination was about to be held in Xianyang, which attracted many people.

The arrival of these people undoubtedly increased the security burden of Xianyang, but it also made Xianyang more populous and prosperous.

The Hun delegation continued to move forward and arrived at another place, where they saw a lot of people gathered together?
Don't these Qin people have anything to do? Why are they gathering together again?

Looking closely, although the crowd was gathered, there was an empty space in the middle. There was a wooden frame with a huge wooden board hung on it. There was a Qin official on both sides and in front of the board.

The Qin official standing in front of the wooden board was holding a wooden stick, pointing it at the board and talking to the Qin people who were watching around him.

The Xiongnu delegation turned their eyes to the wooden board and saw a picture and some words on it. They didn't recognize the words, but it was clearly a map.

Maodun, who had seen maps of the Xiongnu and surrounding countries many times, recognized at a glance that the map included his Xiongnu, as well as Donghu, Buyeo and other countries.

But compared to the map my father had, this map was more detailed and the area covered seemed larger. The Xiongnu was only a small area on the map. Not only the Xiongnu, but even the Qin was not very big on the map.

Maodun, who grew up on the grassland, knew that there were large tracts of land to the east, west and north, which was not what some southerners believed.

But he had never imagined that the world would be like this, so big. The world shown on the map on the wooden board was far beyond what he had known or imagined before.

The Qin official was obviously explaining the map to the Qin people who were watching around him, telling them how big the world was. From time to time, there were exclamations and questions of disbelief from the crowd.

Maodun saw an old Qin man with a clear face asking questions, and the Qin official who was speaking answered the old man. Unfortunately, he could not understand what the Qin official and the old man were asking and answering.

If the world is really so big, then where should they, the Huns, go?

What was the purpose of the Qin Emperor asking the Qin officials to explain this map to the Qin people?
Maodun felt a sense of urgency and an indescribable feeling in his heart.

This feeling was actually that Maodun smelled that the times were changing, but he had never experienced it and didn't know how to describe it.

If you don't understand, just ask. One Hun asked the official from the Ministry of Rites who was receiving them, what was that thing on the wooden board that looked like a map, and what was the Qin official doing?
The official smiled and replied, "This is a map of the world. To be honest, I was also shocked when I first saw this map. I didn't expect that there is such a vast world outside of Daqin, with so many strange things. He is following the order of Your Majesty to let the people of Daqin know how big the world is."

"Ask them what they were exclaiming about and what they were asking. This..."

The official from the Ministry of Rites had an inexplicable sense of superiority in his heart, and replied in a tone of "not worth making a fuss about", "Nothing, just talking about some products from overseas!"

The officials from the Ministry of Rites did not clearly explain what the products of the overseas lands were, which aroused the interest of the Xiongnu delegation, but also left them confused.

At night, in the Ministry of Rites Posthouse, in Maodun’s room, the main figures of the Xiongnu delegation gathered here.

Although they had arrived in Xianyang, they could not see the Qin Emperor immediately.

According to what the official from the Ministry of Rites who received them today said, Qin was different from them, the Huns. They had to learn some basic etiquette here first, and only after receiving the Qin Emperor's edict could they enter the palace to pay homage to the Qin Emperor.

Tonight, they gathered in Maodun's room to discuss the things they saw after entering Xianyang, and to wait for the people who went to inquire about the map they saw during the day to come back. While chatting casually and looking at the things in the room, the Xiongnu people, including Maodun, sighed that the people in the south knew how to enjoy themselves, such as the stove that could warm the whole room, the chair they were sitting on now, and the table they had seen during dinner tonight.

However, those southerners always reminded them that they should not close all the doors and windows when using the stove for heating, saying that it might put their lives in danger.

What are the dangers?

They didn't chat for long when there was a knock on the door, which alerted all the Huns in the room. Then, with Maodun's shout of "Come in!", the door was pushed open and several Huns came in.

As soon as they entered the room, Maodun immediately asked, "Did you find out anything?"

A Xiongnu said, "Your Highness, we have found out, and we have even bought a few maps."

These words made Maodun stunned. He thought it was good enough to be able to find out the news, but he actually got the map.

Was it intentional or accidental on the part of the Qin people?
According to Maodun's idea, such maps are national secrets. If it were him, he would never let outsiders get them. Putting himself in others' shoes, the Qin people should do the same.

But they bought it so easily?
Could there be a conspiracy by the Qin people?
Maodun asked, "Where did you buy it? The Qin people did not make things difficult for you. Where is the map?"

Facing Maodun's three questions in a row, the Xiongnu who had answered earlier recalled and replied: "The Qin people have a place that sells this map. Seeing that we are not from Qin, the Qin people selling this map were a little surprised, but they still sold it to us. Here is the map, please take a look, Prince!"

As he spoke, the Hun and several other people took out several rolled up long bamboo slips and spread them out on the table in the room.

Maodun and the Huns in the room immediately surrounded them.

The maps drawn on these bamboo slips are different, but it can be seen that one is a general drawing, while the others are drawings of parts of the overall map.

All these maps are incomplete. Even the one that Maodun saw, which seemed to be a complete map, was not a real world map. Instead, it only showed the Pacific Ocean, South America, North America, the Foot Basin, and Indonesia.

But this was enough to shock Maodun and others. The world was too big, much bigger than them, the Huns. Compared with the whole world, Qin was not worth mentioning.

If we could occupy the two pieces of land opposite and build a country, wouldn't our territory be larger than that of Qin? Would we still be afraid of Qin?

Looking at the map more carefully, Maodun discovered that the unknown places on the map were marked with many symbols. Below the bamboo slips, there were special Qin characters to explain these symbols. Unfortunately, they did not recognize Qin characters.

Maodun pointed at the symbols and asked, "What is this?"

The Xiongnu who brought back the map said: "According to the Qin people, each of these symbols represents a product of these places, including minerals such as gold, silver, copper and iron, as well as rare flowers and plants unique to the local area."

"These places are extremely rich in resources, such as the gold mines. I heard that gold is everywhere and can be easily picked up."

"Moreover, there are plenty of prey and fruits there, so you don't have to worry about food. If you are hungry, you just need to go into the forest and there will be endless food."

(End of this chapter)