Diqin Designer

Chapter 183: No marriage! No tribute! No submission!
The route that Li Nian designed for Daqin, or the route that he designed for China in this world, must not only lead in military power and shock the entire world, but also demonstrate cultural superiority, so that other ethnic groups and countries will recognize and envy them, and be proud to know Chinese characters, speak Chinese, and be proud to be a member of Chinese civilization.

To some extent, culture is more important than military force.

After all, dynasties will eventually collapse. No matter how hard Ying Zheng tried to build the everlasting Qin Empire, and Li Nian helped him, one day, the Qin Empire would still come to an end.

But even if the dynasty collapses, Chinese civilization will continue to exist.

Li Nian knew that he couldn't and would not be able to stop the demise of the Qin Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty could not always maintain its lead and shock the entire world. So, he made Chinese culture the mainstream culture of this world, established a Chinese civilization circle, and marked the future countries of this world with the Chinese mark in advance.

Li Nian was also in the Zhangtai Palace at this time. He usually did not attend court meetings. He came here today just to see what Maodun Chanyu looked like. If he did not come to see him, he might not be able to see him again.

Because Ying Zheng had already made a plan to kill Maodun, Li Nian had read the plan and found it to be very simple and crude: frame him, then kill him quickly, leaving Maodun no chance of survival.

Li Nian originally thought that Ying Zheng would come up with a detailed plan to kill Maodun, but he didn't expect that he would use such a crude reason. He was wondering if killing the leader of the Huns' delegation like this would have a bad impact.
The Qin Dynasty should at least have some dignity, right?

But he soon remembered the actions of the Han envoys during the Han Dynasty, and felt that the reason given by Ying Zheng was already a good one. It was unreasonable for the envoys of the Han Dynasty to cause trouble for other countries.

Maodun was unaware of the disaster that was about to happen to him, and said to Ying Zheng: "Thank you, Emperor Qin, for your generosity. When we return, we will report to the Chanyu and return all the land within a year!"

This kind of talk is just for fun; anyone who believes it is a fool, but no one has come out to say that Maodun is lying with his eyes open.

Afterwards, the atmosphere in Zhangtai Palace was peaceful:
The Huns want to buy thirteen spices, yes; the Huns want to buy salt, yes; the Huns want honeycomb coal, yes; the Huns want to send people to learn from the advanced experience of the Qin Dynasty, yes...

Although the Huns' request to purchase weapons was rejected, everyone was still very happy. Ying Zheng was delighted. The Huns had little money and would pay with cattle, sheep and horses, and Daqin just happened to be in short supply of these livestock.

The Huns were also very happy. They could buy the things that the Qin people were using now, and their quality of life would definitely improve after they returned.

Seeing that everyone was happy, Maodun felt that the time and atmosphere were ripe, and perhaps he could mention the idea he had been thinking about for a long time. He bowed to Ying Zheng and said, "Your Majesty, the great Emperor Qin, Maodun has something to ask of you!"

Having reached a series of deals with the Xiongnu, Ying Zheng was in a good mood. He looked at Maodun and asked with interest, "You are the prince of the Xiongnu, do you have something to ask of me?"

Maodun said, "Only His Majesty the Emperor of Qin can make the decision on this matter! I am thirteen years old this year, already strong, but still unmarried. I would like to ask Your Majesty to marry a princess of the Great Qin, so that the Xiongnu and the Great Qin can have a lasting friendship."

These were not Maodun's original words, but a translation. However, after hearing the translation, the Zhangtai Palace suddenly became quiet, and the smiles on the faces of the ministers disappeared.

This made everyone in the Xiongnu delegation confused. The prince didn't say anything excessive, so how could these Qin people be so quiet?
Because there is only one princess in the Qin Dynasty who is of marriageable age.

There are many women in the royal family, but your Majesty has only one daughter, and this princess has been promised to that one.

Although he was often not seen, His Majesty trusted him very much. He was not His Majesty's son, but he was granted the status of a prince and allowed to live in the palace. He also announced that he would marry his daughter to him during the ceremony of his enthronement.

Not many young masters have received such favor and kindness.

Maodun probably did not want to marry the princess. To him, as long as she was a princess of the Qin Dynasty, it would be enough. However, what he said might cause her to think too much.

Even the ministers who thought that a princess should be married to Maodun did not dare to speak out. They were not stupid. If they jumped out at this moment, they might offend both that person and His Majesty.

Maodun also felt that something seemed wrong, but he didn't know what had happened and it was difficult to speak up. The situation was unclear, and the more he spoke, the more mistakes he would make.

He just wanted to marry a Qin princess to increase his political capital. With the status of the Qin emperor's son-in-law, his father, the Chanyu, would not be able to touch him after he returned to the Xiongnu. He could also attract many Xiongnu people to join him, paralyze the Qin State, and give the Xiongnu time to develop...

This move killed several birds with one stone. All he had to pay was that he married a woman he might not like. He did not need this woman to be the daughter of the Qin Emperor, he only wanted her identity.

Besides, she was just a woman. It was common to marry off girls as a marriage partner. His father had sent away countless Xiongnu women over the years. Maodun didn't understand why the hall suddenly became quiet.

Li Nian glanced at Maodun. He knew what Maodun was thinking. Marrying a daughter as a concubine was indeed common. The Han Dynasty had practiced marriage as a concubine, but he did not like this practice. He preferred the Ming Dynasty's way.

He also knew that Maodun had no intention of targeting him and did not really want to marry the daughter of the First Emperor. Maodun only wanted the woman he married to have the identity of a princess of the Qin Dynasty.

But now everyone in the court and the country knew that the only daughter of the First Emperor who had reached the marriageable age was his fiancée. Maodun's attack was not directed at him, but now it became a target, and he had to respond!
However, it was obvious that this kid Maodun had not received enough intelligence before coming.

But this was not the first time for this guy. Later, he wrote a sexually harassing letter to Lu Zhi, obviously not knowing Lu Zhi's temper.

In fact, it was not that Maodun did not know Li Nian, but that he knew him, but not completely. He knew that Li Nian was a prince of the Qin Dynasty and believed that Li Nian was the son of the First Emperor.

Under the gaze of all the ministers, Li Nian stood up. When the Xiongnu envoys and others saw that it was a young man who stood up and spoke, they all guessed who this person was.

Could this person be the one who calmed down the Qin people? Did the prince's words offend this person?
Li Nian said: "I think this is not feasible. Not to mention whether the prince Maodun's words of 'a hundred years of peace between the Xiongnu and the Qin' are possible, just to exchange a woman for the well-being of the Qin, I feel quite ashamed."

"Is it that my Great Qin generals are afraid to fight, or are my Great Qin officials so foolish, incompetent and cowardly that they need a woman to protect us?"

The ministers were not too impressed with Li Nian's words, because someone had said so before, but everyone still did it often. Although it was a bit shameful to do so, it was practical. It was just that the current Qin Dynasty did not need it because it was strong enough.

Li Nian continued, "I believe that a country should have dignity and national character, and should do the following: no marriage alliances, no compensation, no cession of territory, no tribute, no vassalage, the emperor guards the country's gates, and the king dies for the country!"

(End of this chapter)