Diqin Designer

Chapter 298: Xiangyangzhou (Happy New Year, everyone!)
Li Nian became a teacher again, teaching a group of people, but this time there was no school built. The location was in a palace in Liuying Palace. The people who listened to his lectures were a group of Qin soldiers and doctors.

The selection criteria for these people not only require a certain level of combat capability and a strong sense of investigation, but also require a healthy and strong body, a flexible mind, strong hands-on ability, good outdoor survival experience, etc. Of course, the requirements for doctors are more relaxed.

These people were listening to Li Nian's speech meticulously. There was also someone in the hall who was responsible for recording what Li Nian said so that it could be compiled into a book after class for the listeners to review.

The reason these people were selected here was not to train special forces for Daqin, but Li Nian wanted to teach them some wilderness survival skills for future generations, and then let them carry out missions to some special areas, such as Yangzhou (India).

India and Daqin are separated by the Himalayas, which are not easy to cross, so the only option is to take a detour, and the detour is either from the south or from the Western Regions.

But no matter which route you take, you will encounter problems of survival in the wild. The southwest direction has to cross the tropical rainforest, and the west region may encounter deserts.

The route chosen by the Qin Dynasty today is to pass through Baiyue (Guangxi to Vietnam), then pass through the later Laos region, enter Myanmar, and finally reach India.

Looking at the map, this route is rather strange. Even if one wants to bypass the natural barrier of the Himalayas, one should choose to go through the southwest (Guizhou and Yunnan) to Myanmar. What's the point of taking a detour by going through Hubei and Hunan to Guangxi?
This is actually because Guizhou, Yunnan and other places at that time were not part of the Qin Dynasty and were not under its jurisdiction. Moreover, these places were even more mountainous and forested than the Baiyue area, and the terrain was even more rugged. Those who understand the terrain of Yunnan and Guizhou know it, so in history, when the First Emperor conquered the Baiyue, he did not set his sights on this place.

It was not until the time of Emperor Wu of Han that people officially turned their attention to this issue, and then a classic idiom appeared: Yelangzi's arrogance!
In fact, it was not only the ruler of Yelang who was arrogant. Other rulers in this area also did that. They asked the question that left the Han envoy speechless: Which is greater, the Han or our country?

This is enough to show how remote this place is. If it were a little less remote, the local king would not have asked this question. It also shows that this place has not had any exchanges with the Central Plains for a long time.

Moreover, there are many barbarian tribes here. Since they are unaware of the existence of a larger world outside and know only the might of the Han Dynasty, they have no fear of the Han Dynasty.

Zhang Qian once sent people to explore the road to Sindhu (India) through this passage, but they failed. One reason was that the terrain was too steep and difficult to travel; another major reason was that they were blocked by the local Yi tribes.

Sima Qian recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian: "The people of Kunming have no ruler and are good at robbing and pillaging. They often kill and plunder Han envoys, and no one can get through. However, I heard that there is a country riding elephants more than a thousand miles to the west, called Dianyue."

If these barbarian tribes knew about the Han Dynasty and understood its great reputation, would they dare to steal, kill and plunder the Han envoys?
It was precisely because of their ignorance that they dared to act in this way, which eventually attracted the army of Emperor Wu and made them surrender to the Han Dynasty, becoming an inseparable part of China from then on.

Li Nian originally thought that the southwest should have been returned to the Qin Dynasty. When making plans to go to India, he intended to go directly from Yunnan and Guizhou to Myanmar. However, after checking, he found out that this was not the case at all.

Therefore, this plan had to be scrapped. This place had no idea of ​​the power of the Qin Dynasty. I was afraid that if they sent an envoy, they would encounter the same situation as the Han envoy.

Li Nian had no choice but to consider a new route, so he came up with the plan of taking a detour to India from the land of Baiyue. Anyway, he still had to send people to the Champa area (which also belonged to Baiyue at this time) to get rice seeds, and by the way, he could also investigate the current situation in Laos and Myanmar.

As for why not consider going around it from the Western Regions?

The reason is that not only is the route there equally difficult, but there are many countries in the Western Regions. Although it is not as isolated as Dian and Yelang, they have heard of the reputation of the Qin Dynasty, but after all, the Qin Dynasty has not given them the same fatherly love as the Han Dynasty, so they are not so afraid.

Moreover, the route to the Western Regions may not be easier than taking a detour through Baiyue. One has to pass through deserts and plateaus, and the journey is not smooth.

Finally, after some research, the First Emperor and Li Nian decided to take a detour from Baiyue to Yangzhou. Now that the plan had been decided, preparations had to be made.

When envoys are sent abroad on long journeys, they must master some necessary knowledge of survival in the wild so that they can deal with any accidents in a timely manner. Moreover, Laos and Myanmar have a tropical monsoon climate, and the personnel sent abroad have to cross rainforests and other environments, so they must be prepared in advance.

Moreover, these preparations will be useful in the future, whether for other overseas diplomatic missions or for military purposes.

Li Nian pointed a small wooden stick at an insect drawn on paper and said to the soldiers who were listening to his lecture: "You may encounter this kind of insect on your way to the mission. It is non-toxic and can be eaten after pinching off its head. The protein content is ten times that of beef."

Unfortunately, the soldiers and doctors of the Qin Dynasty did not understand the meaning of Li Nian's words. They were just surprised that in Li Nian's words, these insects were better than beef?

Since he has painted a lot of things after coming to Daqin, Li Nian's painting skills are now quite good. Not to mention conveying some divine will, there is no problem in drawing the appearance of real objects.

The insects on the paper were painted by Li Nian quite realistically. This cannot be done randomly. The idea should be conveyed but not the form. This is to educate these soldiers and doctors. If they cannot recognize them when needed, there may be big problems.

Li Nian added: "Of course, I don't recommend you to eat insects unless it is necessary. I still hope that you can reach your destination safely without having to use the things I teach you."

After saying this, Li Nian pointed to another kind of insect on the drawing paper: "This kind of insect is also edible, and its characteristics are..."

Listening to Li Nian talking about another edible insect, the audience was amazed and admired in their hearts. They were amazed at Li Nian's erudition and his knowledge of so many edible insects, and they admired him because he might have eaten these insects himself, what a ruthless person.

No wonder he could become a prince and be highly regarded by His Majesty. Just this ruthlessness is something that not everyone can do.

After Li Nian finished talking about the insects on the drawing paper, a eunuch immediately took down the drawing paper and pasted a new one, this time with some plants drawn on it.

"If you lose the food you carry on the road, these plants can also be used to fill your stomach. Some of them contain water, which can be used to replenish water when there is a lack of water. The water they contain is cleaner than uncooked water."

At this point, Li Nian changed the subject and said, "I would like to remind you again that you cannot eat or drink anything you want on the road, especially raw water."

"In the dense forests you will pass through, the raw water contains more microorganisms than water sources in general areas, and the possibility of causing illness is higher if you drink it."

Everyone nodded seriously. Their lives were at stake, so they had to be careful!
Li Nian continued to talk. He not only talked about which animals and plants are edible, but also about paying attention to possible dangers on the way, how to deal with emergencies, how to make fires, build temporary camps, make hunting and fishing tools, guard against wild beasts and insects such as leeches... These people will not only receive theoretical training from Li Nian, but there will also be hunters who will come to tell them how to survive in the dense forest and various precautions. There will even be experienced Baiyue people who will come to guide them. Afterwards, they will be sent to the border between Daqin and Baiyue for field exercises, and only those who pass the exercises will be sent on diplomatic missions.

A few months later, the two teams set out from a small town on the border of Daqin and moved forward under the escort of the Xiou army.

It was called an escort, but in fact it was also meant as surveillance. Although the Xiou people did not think that these two Qin teams could cause any trouble, the number of people in these two teams was less than a thousand. It was impossible for the Qin people to deal with them with such a small force, but it was always better to be careful.

In this wave of diplomatic missions, stronger forces among the Baiyue, such as Xiou, also sent people to accompany the Qin people. Their idea was simple. If the Qin people could gain benefits during the mission, they might be able to take the opportunity to get a share of the profits.

This matter was reported to the First Emperor and Li Nian. Li Nian shook his head at the time. They were indeed not fools. When they saw Daqin's actions, they would follow suit if they thought there were benefits, just like the beginning of the Age of Discovery in Europe.

Initially, the European countries had no idea of ​​great voyages and colonization. They were all desperately competing inward on the European continent, trying their best to beat their distant relatives or neighbors. Portugal was really not good at fighting among the countries, and could not beat these guys. So it turned its eyes to the sea, and an idea flashed in its mind: we can't beat these guys on land, but the sea is still an undiscovered treasure land with great potential.

Portugal was the first country to enter the sea before other European countries, and because no one competed with them, Portugal reaped a rich harvest.

The sudden prosperity of a certain Portuguese in Europe has attracted the attention of other European countries: How come this guy was so poor that he had to eat dirt yesterday, but he is eating white bread today? There must be a reason for him to go from a pauper to a rich man overnight!
It was impossible to conceal the fact that Portugal was focusing on developing its maritime business, and other countries soon learned about it, which led to the Age of Exploration when Western countries rose.

However, what is interesting is that although the Age of Discovery was initiated by Portugal, its development was not as good as that of the later-developing European countries and was rather poor.

Today, the Baiyue tribes have seen the actions of the Qin Dynasty and want to follow suit, which is similar to the great voyages initiated by Portugal.

After some consideration and discussion, the First Emperor and Li Nian decided to agree: this matter must be passed through their place, which is not easy to conceal. Even if the Qin Dynasty refuses, the Baiyue people can still send people there themselves, which will be more difficult to control. Instead, letting the Baiyue people participate can control the actions of the Baiyue people under their noses and reduce some difficulties. For example, the Baiyue people have rich experience in surviving in dense forests, which is conducive to the smooth completion of the task.

As for whether the Baiyue people would gain many benefits from this, become powerful, and pose a serious threat to the Qin Dynasty?

Li Nian believed that some benefits might be achieved, but they would not be big, let alone pose much of a threat to the Qin Dynasty: Baiyue was not a country, but was divided into many tribes, and their size was quite limited compared to the Qin Dynasty. For the giant Qin Dynasty to take one step forward, others would have to take a hundred steps to catch up.

This is the gap in the size of countries. A big country can easily take a step, but a small country has to pay a huge price to catch up.

The Baiyue people wanted to follow in the footsteps of the Qin Dynasty and emulate its development. However, given their size, this might not necessarily be a good thing but could be a bad thing. Imitating the Qin Dynasty in everything would only drag them down!
The team composed of Daqin and Baiyue tribes passed through the lands of Xiou and Luoyue and entered the Laos and Myanmar regions of later generations.

Although these two places are inhabited, there is no country formed, and the tribes are still independent. The team encountered a local tribe.

The process was not particularly thrilling. The person who explored the way ahead for the delegation discovered the tribe first. After returning and reporting to the delegation, the delegation decided to contact the local tribe.

Taking into account the possible language barrier between the two sides and the possibility of conflicts during communication, the main force stayed in hiding in one place and only sent a team of thirty people carrying gifts to approach.

It was a sunny morning with clear weather and a gentle breeze. Many villagers in Wata Village were resting in the village, and only a few were farming outside.

Due to the terrain and climate, although this place is not rich, it is not difficult to get some food and drink. This also makes the local people seem very leisurely. After all, they don't need to cultivate the fields as intensively as they did in the Qin Dynasty, for fear of not taking good care of the crops in the fields and resulting in no harvest in the year.

Moreover, there were not many people at that time, and natural resources were abundant, enough for their survival. Once the survival problem was solved, other problems would not be considered big problems.

What's wrong with lying down for a while, what's wrong with relaxing for a while? Anyway, you have food and drink, so you won't die of hunger or thirst!

In the hearts of many villagers in Wata Village, they didn't even realize it. They just thought that today would be another ordinary day like any other. Day after day, year after year, the days have always passed like this.

But the villagers of Wata who were working leisurely in the fields suddenly saw a group of people appearing in the distance. Could they be coming from other villages?

The villagers didn't take it too seriously. Apart from fighting with animals, they didn't have any major conflicts on a daily basis, especially with outsiders.

After all, everyone had enough to eat and drink, and there were no precious things, so what was there to fight about? Therefore, their lives were leisurely and they rarely fought with others.

But as the group got closer, the villagers noticed something was wrong; the clothes these people wore were very different from theirs!
No, it was not different from what they wore. Even in the nearby villages, and not even at the chief’s place, they had never seen such clothes before.

Moreover, many of these people were quite tall. As they got closer, some sharp-eyed people noticed that those tall people looked slightly different from them, such as having lighter skin color.

No matter how slow they were, the villagers realized that this was not someone from the neighboring village!

Since they are not from nearby villages, where did these people come from and what is their purpose?
These people were coming towards them, obviously heading for their village.

Some villagers quickly ran to the village. Soon, all the villagers in Wata Village learned the news: outsiders were coming, strange outsiders were coming. They were very tall and wore strange clothes, but those clothes looked good, better than those worn by the leader.

What? You don’t believe it? Come on, those outsiders are coming towards the village and you’ll be able to see them soon.

If the villagers of Wata Village had the system, they would definitely receive a prompt: Ding, the system reminds you that the Qin envoys have arrived and will share the Qin civilization with you!
(End of this chapter)