Diqin Designer

Chapter 313: Master Ma Ye of the Peacock Kingdom

'It's already autumn in Daqin, but it's still so hot here.'

Yao Zhi, Gan Yu and others were standing at the gate of a temple. They saw pilgrims coming in and out continuously. It was obviously a temple with quite a lot of incense.

The Takan tribe is small with a small population, so there is no such temple. Therefore, Yao Zhi and his companions are no longer in the Takan tribe, but have arrived in a large tribe to the south of the Takan tribe.

The architectural style inside the Buddhist temple is obviously different from that of the local area and the Qin Dynasty, giving Yao Zhi and others a very strange feeling, as if they can smell something.

The appearance and clothing of Yao Zhi and others, which were different from others, aroused the curiosity of some pilgrims. Some people whispered: Are these people the Qin tribe that has been making a lot of noise recently? Where is the Qin tribe? Is it adjacent to the Peacock Kingdom? I heard that they have a lot of treasures. Is it true?
They are outsiders from the Qin tribe. The Qin tribe is not adjacent to the Peacock Kingdom. It is said that to our north, it is a very powerful and wealthy tribe with tens of millions of people and over a hundred cities. The people of the Qin tribe do have many treasures.

Some people don’t believe it. How could there be a tribe with tens of millions of people in the world?

The discussions reached the ears of Yao Zhi and others. Yao Zhi and others could understand them, but they had heard such discussions many times and did not take them seriously. They just let the local people talk.

After a while, a young local man wearing strange clothes walked out of the Buddhist temple and walked towards Yao Zhi and others. Yao Zhi and others knew that the clothes worn by this local man were monk's clothes, which were the clothes worn by Buddhist disciples called "monks".

After walking in front of Yao Zhi and others, the local monk made a strange salute to them and said in the local language: "Master Moye is waiting for you donors in the temple, please follow me!"

Yao Zhi responded: "Thank you, little master!"

Yao Zhi and his companions followed the local monks into the Buddhist temple. They could only see part of the building from the outside, but now it was presented to them in its entirety. It was indeed very different from the buildings of the Qin Dynasty, not only in shape but also in color and material.

Buildings shaped like gourds are painted white, giving people a sense of elegance and simplicity, while Buddhist temples where pilgrims come in and out are mainly painted red and gold, looking solemn and sacred.

Many buildings have one thing in common: they have several floors and a pointed roof. I don’t know why the pointed roof is built, but it does look exotic.

Yao Zhi and his companions were led to the backyard of the temple, which was quieter than the front yard where pilgrims came and went. Before they arrived, a voice was heard: "I was just giving a lecture to a donor. I was unable to greet you in person. Please forgive me, donors!"

Yao Zhi and his companions looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged monk who looked different from them standing at the door of a Zen room, looking at them with a smile.

The middle-aged monk looked different not only from them, but also from the local people. His eye sockets were deeper, his nose bridge was higher, and his skin was whiter than the local people. He looked similar to Yao Zhi and the others.

This middle-aged monk was the reason why Yao Zhi and his companions came to visit this Buddhist temple. It was said that he came from the Peacock Kingdom and came here to spread Buddhism to the people.

After hearing the news, Yao Zhi and others came, hoping to learn more about the Peacock Kingdom from the middle-aged monk.

After hearing what the middle-aged monk said, Yao Zhi and his companions knew that they had seen the real master, and they hurriedly bowed. Yao Zhi smiled and replied in the local language, which he was not very fluent in, "Greetings to Master Moye! Master, the fact that you are willing to see us is already a favor to us, so how can you blame us?"

Master Moye invited Yao Zhi and others to enter the meditation room and sit down. The young monk who had just led the way prepared drinks for them. It was not tea, but something made of fruit juice, water and some seasonings mixed together.

Yao Zhi took a sip and found that the taste was not irritating, but rather refreshing, with a light fruity aroma lingering between his lips and teeth.

Master Moye looked at Yao Zhi and his companions and knew that they were led by Yao Zhi, so he asked Yao Zhi, "I heard that several of you donors are from the Qin tribe in the north?"

Yao Zhi put down the cup in his hand and said with a smile: "Master, it is not 'tribe', but 'Da Qin'. Our Da Qin is a country, how can a mere tribe summarize it?"

The locals have not yet established a country and do not quite understand what the concept of a country is. It would be fine if they called Daqin the Qin tribe, but Moye came from the Peacock Kingdom, so he should be able to understand.

After hearing Yao Zhi's words, Mo Ye was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "So it's the Great Qin Kingdom. I really thought that you donors came from a tribe called 'Qin'."

After saying this, Moye asked curiously: "Since Daqin is a country, doesn't Daqin also have a king?"

Yao Zhi smiled and corrected him, "The ruler of our Great Qin is not a king, but the great emperor. 'King' is not enough to describe your majesty's achievements, only 'Emperor' can be used to address him."

"In my Great Qin, there used to be seven kings, but now there is only His Majesty the Emperor. The six kings are gone, and the four seas are one. His Majesty the Emperor is the king of kings!"

Mo Ye nodded. He understood what Yao Zhi meant. The current king of Daqin was no longer called the king, but the "emperor". There had been six kings in Daqin who had fought with the current king of Daqin, but they were all destroyed by the king of Daqin.

This made Moye feel a little unhappy, because it meant that the King of Qin might be a king who killed countless people, and it was unknown how many lives were lost because of him.

But Moye did not reveal it. The reason why he was willing to meet Yao Zhi and others was because he also wanted to understand Daqin through Yao Zhi and others.

When he learned that there was a Qin tribe in the north that was very populous, powerful and wealthy, his first reaction was: If such a tribe really existed, he would definitely go there to preach and spread the Buddha's wisdom to that ignorant land!

The Great Qin King killed many people. At most he was just like Ashoka. No, he was definitely not as good as the great Ashoka.

Although Ashoka killed many people in the first half of his life and was known as the "Black Ashoka", he was known as the "White Ashoka" in the second half of his life. He was dedicated to doing good and allowed more people to listen to the Buddha's teachings.

The reason why he was here was that he was influenced by King Ashoka and came to this ignorant land to spread the Buddha's teachings to the ignorant people there.

What virtue and ability does the King of Qin have to compare with the great Ashoka?
But even if he cannot be compared with Ashoka, the King of Qin is still a king. Even if the Qin Kingdom is not as big as the Maurya Kingdom, it should be stronger than where he is now.

If he could guide the King of Qin to respect and worship Buddha and turn him into a figure like Ashoka, then his merits would be…

Thinking of this, Moye couldn't help but get excited. He, Moye, wanted this tremendous achievement!
Yao Zhi and his men didn't know what Moye was thinking, otherwise they would have beaten him to death on the spot. How could Ashoka be compared with His Majesty the Emperor? How dare this bald man look down on His Majesty the Emperor?

If the emperor humiliates me, I will die. Today, we, the ministers, will avenge the emperor!

Moye asked again: "How wide is the land of Daqin, and how many people are there? I have heard that the land of Daqin is ten thousand miles wide, and there are tens of millions of people. Is this true?"

Yao Zhi nodded and smiled: "It's true!"

Moye didn't quite believe what Yao Zhi said, thinking that there must be some water in it, and that these Qin people must have exaggerated their country. But it didn't matter, even if there was some water in it, it was inferior to the Peacock Kingdom, and the Great Qin Kingdom should also be a big country.

Moye asked again: "Is there any Buddhism in the Great Qin? Or is there anyone as wise as my Buddha?"

Yao Zhi was certainly not a stupid man, as he was chosen as an envoy of the Qin Dynasty to go to the Peacock Kingdom. After Moye asked these two questions, he understood Moye's intention. This bald man from the Peacock Kingdom with no hair on his head wanted to spread Buddhism in the Qin Dynasty.

During this journey, he learned a lot about Buddhism. Yao Zhi believed that this was not a good sect, at least he did not like it and did not want it to spread to Daqin.

These Buddhist monks do not take the initiative to engage in production, but instead demand money and goods from believers, eat meat and drink alcohol, and in some places, monks even require women to go to the temple before getting married...

This really opened the eyes of Yao Zhi and others. They felt it was outrageous, but what was even more outrageous was that the local people could actually accept it.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled, "There is no Buddhism in the Great Qin, but there are many people as wise as Buddha, such as Confucius of Confucianism, Mozi of Mohism, Laozi of Taoism... and His Majesty the Emperor and Master Li Nian, all of whom are very wise."

Moye frowned. Are there so many wise men like Buddha in the territory of Daqin?
Confucius of Confucianism, Mozi of Mohism, Laozi of Taoism...

It is absolutely impossible. How can one country have so many wise people?
Even the Peacock Kingdom has never existed, let alone the Great Qin Kingdom. This Qin person must be lying to him!
Moye was very sure that Yao Zhi was lying to him. If he had only mentioned Confucius of the Mohist school, Mozi of the Taoist school, Laozi of the Confucian school... it would have been fine, maybe he could have been fooled, but this Qin man should never include the King of the Great Qin and that Master Li Nian among them.

How wise can the King of Qin be?

Can he be compared with King Ashoka, or can he compete with Buddha?
Even the great King Ashoka was not as wise as the Buddha and could only become a follower of the Buddha, let alone a king of a foreign country?

Moye did not expose the Qin man's lies. He knew that in some matters, it was enough to know the truth in one's heart and it was better not to expose it. However, he had concluded that the Qin Kingdom did not have a wise man like Buddha, nor did it have a sect like Buddhism.

Alas, the great Qin Kingdom is indeed a barbaric and ignorant place, and the people there must be a group of barbarians who do not know the wisdom of Buddha.

However, our Buddha and King Ashoka are compassionate and want everyone in the world to know our Buddha’s wisdom. Now that we know that the Qin State is ignorant, it should be saved by our Buddha.

Moye smiled and said, "I never thought that the Great Qin Kingdom would have so many wise men. I believe that the Great Qin Kingdom must be rich and powerful, and all industries are doing well. I wonder if I can go there in my lifetime to listen to the wonderful music of the wise men of the Great Qin Kingdom."

Sure enough, this bald man from the Peacock Kingdom wanted to go to Daqin to spread Buddhism, but Yao Zhi couldn't just say to Moye: Your Buddhism is useless, so don't go to Daqin.

He smiled and said, "The Great Qin Sea embraces all rivers. As long as Master wants to go, he can go there naturally."

Yao Zhi believed that with the wisdom of His Majesty and the young master, they would be able to see the shortcomings of Buddhism and would not let the bald man succeed. It would also be a good opportunity for the bald man to see what true wisdom is.

This will save him from asking such ridiculous questions as the leader of the Takan tribe, "Who is greater, Qin or me?"

Yao Zhimenqing, the bald man from the Peacock Kingdom, certainly did not believe his words and thought he was just talking big. He might even be mocking him in his heart. He really wanted to see Moye's expression when he saw the power of the Qin Dynasty and knew that he was not lying. That would be very exciting.

Moye had asked almost all the questions, so Yao Zhi began to ask his questions: "Master, we are here on a mission to your country under the order of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Qin Dynasty. May I ask how we can get to your country?"

Moye did not answer the question immediately. He found a blind spot and asked curiously, "Donors, when I was in China, I had never heard of the name of Daqin, nor had I seen anyone from Daqin. How did you know about our country?"

The question that Mo Ye asked was actually: We don’t know your Great Qin, and you Great Qin shouldn’t know us, so how do you know us now?

Yao Zhi smiled and said, "It is because there is a young man in my Great Qin who is extremely talented and knowledgeable. He knows everything about astronomy and geography. It is because of him that we know your country. We didn't know it before!"

Mo Ye asked, "Is it that Master Li Nian?"

Yao Zhi nodded and said, "That's right!"

Moye did not ask Li Nian how he knew about it. Perhaps Master Li Nian had traveled to the Peacock Kingdom, or perhaps he heard about it somewhere else. This was quite normal.

"In this case, Master Li Nian must be the first Qin person to know about our country!"

Moye changed the subject and asked, "May I ask why the donors have come to our country?"

Yao Zhi smiled and said, "Of course, it's for the two families to be on good terms and exchange what they have. When the Emperor heard about your country from the young master, he was overjoyed and said, 'I thought the world was only the Great Qin, but there is such a country. We should be on good terms with it and exchange what we have. We should exchange the wonders of the Great Qin for the treasures of this country, observe their customs and people, understand their food and architecture, and report back to me!'"

These words were of course made up by Yao Zhi. The First Emperor never told them these things at all. It was Li Nian who told them when he was training them that at least in name they should carry the banner of "the two families are on good terms and share what they have".

You can't just say "We are here to find out about your situation and obtain your local products", because that will definitely make people unhappy.

Moye did not doubt what Yao Zhi said. In fact, in his heart, even if these Qin people came with bad intentions and had strong malice towards the Peacock Kingdom, he was not afraid.

Because in his opinion, the Maurya Empire is the most powerful country in the world. It is only in recent years due to the belief in Buddhism that the country has become peaceful. You must know that in the era of Black Ashoka, Ashoka killed people so many times that rivers of blood flowed and heads rolled down.

About forty years ago, when King Ashoka conquered Kalinga, he captured 150,000 people, killed 100,000 people, and caused hundreds of thousands of casualties. Which other country could do this?
The Great Qin State was certainly not as strong as the Peacock State. These Qin people boasted that they had tens of millions of people, but the actual population might be less than one million, not enough for the Peacock State to destroy in one battle.

So, what is there to fear, what is there to be afraid of?

On the contrary, it was only after these Qin people saw the huge gap between them and the Maurya Kingdom that they would be more convinced to believe in Buddha, which would be beneficial for him to preach in the Qin Kingdom in the future.

After thinking this, the smile on Master Moye's face became even more intense, leaving Yao Zhi and others puzzled.

What is this bald man from the Peacock Kingdom thinking about?

(End of this chapter)