Diqin Designer

Chapter 318: The Tamolidi People Envoy Daqin
The incident that Yao Zhi and others were worried about, that the Tanmolidi people would kill them, did not happen at night, and the night passed peacefully until dawn.

Not long after everyone woke up, someone came to invite them, saying that the mayor invited them to have breakfast. Yao Zhi and others thought in their hearts that they were probably invited to come over to discuss something. It seemed that the people of Tammo Lidi were indeed very anxious!
After washing up, Yao Zhi and others followed the invited people to the mayor's residence. As expected, all the high-level officials of Tanmo Lidi who they met yesterday were there. Many of them looked like they had not slept well. It was most likely that they had been discussing matters until very late last night.

The mayor of the city cheered up and called out to Yao Zhi and the others, "Dear guests from Daqin, please take a seat!"

There are no chairs or stools in the Peacock Kingdom. They are accustomed to sitting on the ground. But unlike the Qin Dynasty, their sitting posture is not so particular. They can kneel or sit cross-legged.

After Yao Zhi and others were seated, the mayor smiled and asked, "How did you sleep last night, guests? Did you have a good sleep?"

Yao Zhi smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Mayor. I slept very well last night. I haven't slept so soundly in a long time. We came from Daqin, trekking through mountains and rivers, and passing through dense forests. It's good enough to find a suitable place to stay every day, not to mention sleeping soundly and comfortably."

"There are many insects in the mountains and forests. If they bite you, it will be painful and itchy. If you don't have some means to drive away the insects, you will not be able to sleep all night. It is even more difficult to fall asleep when it is windy and rainy. The same is true when sailing on the sea. The ship is bumpy, how can you feel at ease in a house?"

"Thanks to the mayor and everyone else, we can have a good rest!"

The mayor nodded and said, "I also traveled when I was young. Although I haven't traveled as far as you have, I know that the road is difficult. It is really not easy for you to come all the way!"

After saying this, the mayor changed the subject and said, "You all had lunch and dinner yesterday, but not breakfast yet. Please have breakfast today!"

Yao Zhi smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Mayor. I'm just looking forward to seeing it for myself."

That being said, Yao Zhi and others didn't have much expectations for the cuisine of Peacock Kingdom. The food here was almost all in a paste, and just looking at it gave off a "clean and hygienic" taste.

Furthermore, these locals rarely use tools when eating, preferring to use their hands directly. As far as Yao Zhi and others know, the way the Peacocks use the toilet is rather peculiar, and they are used to using their hands to solve the problem...

Although they would wash their hands afterwards, Yao Zhi and others still felt that there was a residual smell. And these Peacock People who used their hands to go to the toilet would also cook food, and the feeling was even more subtle.

In other words, it was difficult to refuse, otherwise Yao Zhi and others would rather eat dry food. After a while, the breakfast food was served. Perhaps it was to show off to them that Tammo Lidi was rich and that there were many delicacies in Peacock Kingdom. There were quite a few kinds, but as Yao Zhi and others guessed, many of them became mushy.

Looking at the mushy food in front of them, Yao Zhi and the others had no choice but to eat it. It tasted good, but when they saw the color and shape of the food and thought about the people who made it, they felt complicated.

Moreover, not only did they have to eat it, but they also had to praise the food, which made Yao Zhi and others feel even more complicated.

They ate and talked, mainly with the mayor and others asking about what happened on the way here. Yao Zhi and others knew that they wanted to go to Daqin, but they didn't point it out.

After breakfast was over and everyone washed their hands, the mayor looked at Yao Zhi and said with a smile, "I invited you all here today not only to enjoy breakfast with you, but also for another matter."

Upon hearing this, Yao Zhi and the others secretly said "Here they come!", but on the surface they remained calm and listened to the mayor: "From what you said, the Great Qin is also a powerful country. We want to make friends with the Great Qin, and we want to send an envoy to the Great Qin to meet His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Qin."

"But no one from my country has ever been to Daqin, and I don't know what difficulties and dangers there are on the way. But you have come all the way from Daqin, so you know how to come and how to return. May I ask if I can get your help? With your help, the delegation will surely arrive in Daqin smoothly."

They stopped pretending and told Yao Zhi and others that they wanted to send an envoy to Daqin and asked Yao Zhi and others to lead the way for them.

After the mayor finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent, and the top executives of Tammo Lidi, led by the mayor, all turned their eyes to Yao Zhi.

Yao Zhi didn't seem to notice that many people were looking at him. He didn't answer immediately, but frowned and thought.

After a long while, Yao Zhi didn't reply, and the mayor couldn't hold back any longer: "Whether you agree or not, just give me your answer. What's the matter with you not saying anything?"

But the mayor did not show this emotion. He smiled and asked, "Does your Excellency have any difficulties? If so, please tell me!"

Yao Zhi then spoke: "The city chief wants to send an envoy to the Qin Empire to meet His Majesty the Emperor. If Your Majesty knew about this, you would definitely be delighted. However, the city chief..."

Yao Zhi hesitated halfway through his words, which made the mayor want to go over and grab Yao Zhi's neck and shake him hard: Hurry up and say what you want to say!
After hesitating for a while, Yao Zhi said, "If the mayor sends an envoy to Daqin, would it be inappropriate if the king of your country knew about it? We are here this time to make friends with your country on the order of His Majesty the Emperor."

The mayor of the city smiled and said, "Your Excellency has misunderstood. We did not have to send a private delegation to Daqin, but the king ordered us to send envoys. Your Excellency does not need to worry!"

Yao Zhicai didn't believe such nonsense. It was obvious that these people wanted to bypass the King of Peacock Kingdom and send people to Daqin privately. They would not obey the "King's order" at all.

But since people have said so, Yao Zhi did not delve into the issue. If he did, it might not end well. He said, "Then I am relieved! However, the Emperor ordered us to go on a diplomatic mission to your country. In addition to establishing good relations with your country, he also asked us to exchange what we have with your country and bring back some things that your country has but our Great Qin does not have. This duty has not yet been completed. I am afraid I can only..."

Before he finished speaking, the mayor took over and said, "This is easy to handle. Although Tanmo Lidi may not have all the things that the Peacock Country has, it is also very rich. We can help you search in Tanmo Lidi. Maybe we can find the things that you want to bring back to Daqin."

What the city said meant was: We will help you find things to bring back, but you also have to help us go to Daqin.

Yao Zhi knew when to quit. If he didn't agree to their conditions, they might resort to some "bad tactics", which would be disadvantageous.

He pretended to think and weigh the options, then said, "In that case, thank you, Mayor! If you can really help us find the things that the Emperor ordered us to bring back, we can divide into 100 people and return to Daqin first."

It is impossible for all the members of the delegation to lead the way for this group of Tamolidi people as they have to continue their mission to Hua City. However, it is possible to assign some people to lead them. It is also a good opportunity to send the products and intelligence collected along the way back to Daqin first.

The mayor also understood what Yao Zhi meant. He knew that it was impossible for all the Qin people to lead the way for them. Besides, a hundred people were enough. He said, "A hundred people are enough!"

Then he said: "Your Excellency, how about we go and find what you want today?" It seems that the situation in the Peacock Kingdom is indeed not optimistic for these Tammolidi people. They are so anxious. But this is a good thing for Yao Zhi and others. The more anxious the other party is, the higher the price they will offer, and they will benefit more.

Yao Zhi smiled and said, "Since the city chief has said so, we will follow the host's wishes!"

The mayor immediately arranged for Yao Zhi and others to search for what they wanted in Tanmo Lidi, and even opened his treasure house and let Yao Zhi and others go in to search. He also gave Yao Zhi and others authority to walk freely in most areas of Tanmo Lidi.

After learning that the mayor allowed their activities, Yao Zhi and others did not hesitate to inspect the places they were unable to visit yesterday.

Tanmo Lidi is a port city, which naturally gathers all kinds of items coming from all directions. Yao Zhi and others really found many products here that were not available in the Qin Dynasty, and the cotton that Li Nian asked them to find was also among them.

In a flash, several days passed. One afternoon, Yao Zhi and others were discussing matters in the room again. Because the delegation from Tanmo Lidi was about to set off, they also had to send a hundred people back to Daqin.

Yao Zhi said: "Gan Yu, you will go to Daqin first this time. There are several things you must do: First, bring back the products you have collected. These things will be of great use to our Daqin. For example, if those fruits and spices take root in Daqin, everyone in Daqin will be able to eat them, including our future descendants."

Gan Yu nodded. Many of the things they were going to bring back were seeds, fruit seeds, and spice seeds. If they could be planted in Daqin, it would greatly enrich people's diet.

Yao Zhi added: "Secondly, we must bring back the information we have collected along the way to your majesty and the young master. This is of utmost importance and must not be lost. With this information, it will be more convenient for your majesty and the young master to send people over in the future!"

As they traveled, they naturally collected and recorded various things they encountered along the way, such as which tribe they would encounter on a certain section of the road, how to deal with this tribe, what taboos they had, their military strength, their cultural customs...

These are all valuable information, and will be of great value if the Qin Dynasty wants to send people here or target these places in the future.

Just like Tang Xuanzang was valued by Erfeng after returning to the Tang Dynasty, the main reason was not that he traveled 108,000 miles to bring back the Buddhist scriptures, but his knowledge of the countries in the Western Regions, which allowed Erfeng to understand the situation in that area.

Yao Zhi continued, "Third, you must inform your majesty and the prince of the situation of the Peacock Kingdom and Buddhism in detail. You must not allow Buddhism to spread in Daqin. Fourth, you must be careful on the road and beware of the Tamolidi people."

Gan Yu said: "Don't worry, Ambassador. We will definitely bring back news and goods! You and I should also be careful. We are going back to Daqin, but you still have to continue your mission. To be honest, I never felt this way before, but this time, I felt that I was very far away from Daqin."

This made the others fall silent. Although the selection intentionally chose those who were unmarried, they had parents and relatives at home. They had been away for more than half a year and missed their hometown.

It has been another year in Daqin now. I wonder if my parents at home are doing well?

But I think it should be safe. Now that the world is settled, Your Majesty will no longer recruit troops on a large scale. In addition, Your Majesty has also reduced taxes and corvee labor. Life will definitely be more hopeful than before.

Gan Yu said: "Take care, Ambassador and everyone else. I will definitely bring back your letters!"

Since one hundred people were going back, the others naturally asked these one hundred people to take letters back to report their safety to their relatives and friends in their hometown.

Yao Zhi nodded and said, "Rest well today. We will set off tomorrow. The journey will be bumpy and it will be difficult to rest peacefully on the road."

At the same time, the mayor of Tammolidi, Master Moye and others were facing a group of monks in the largest temple in Tammolidi. They were all monks who were selected to preach in Daqin.

The mayor of the city said: "I believe you all already know the purpose of this mission, which is to go to a foreign country called 'Qin'!"

Yao Zhi and others made such a big fuss when they arrived at Tanmolidi, and they have appeared everywhere in Tanmolidi in recent days. How could the monks not know about it?
"This country is located in the northeast of our country. The people of this country are different from us in appearance, customs, clothing, and language. They have not heard the wonders of Buddhism and are barbarians. You are going to this country to spread the wonderful Dharma of our Buddha to this country, so that they can get rid of ignorance and barbarism and gain the wisdom of Buddha."

"This mission is a long one. We have to cross the sea by boat and climb mountains. It is extremely difficult. You must have great will and wisdom!"

These were selected monks who were young, strong, and determined to be Buddhists. After listening to the city elder's speech, they responded in unison: "It is our great wish to spread the Dharma for our Buddha. We will not return home unless we enter Qin to spread the Dharma!"

Seeing that the monks were very enthusiastic and confident in spreading the Dharma, the mayor nodded and said, "This time, I am sending you to Qin to spread the Dharma, not only to make them listen to my Buddha's wisdom, but also to open up another pure land for my Buddhist sect. This is very important, and I thank you for your dedication!"

The monks were not stupid. Moreover, Tamolidi was a port city. People from all over the Peacock Kingdom came here and naturally brought all kinds of news.

From these news, they knew the situation in the Maurya Kingdom. The current king did not like their Buddhism and would probably suppress it. They needed to create another pure land so that they could go there to avoid disaster when they were suppressed.

This was not just about spreading the glory of our Buddha to foreign barbarians, but also about their own safety, status and privileges. The monks responded solemnly: "We will do our best!"

The mayor of the city said: "This time, you will be led by Master Moye on your mission to the Great Qin Kingdom. Master Moye has been in contact with the Qin people for a long time and knows their words and affairs. I hope you will follow Master Moye's lead on the way. If you encounter any difficulties, do not act on your own and report to Master Moye."

Master Moye smiled and said, "Don't worry too much, everyone. Although the journey to Qin is long, there will be Qin people accompanying us this time. I will also tell you about the affairs of Qin. I am willing to help the world save people and let all nations in the world hear the Buddha's voice!"

The mayor of the city, the nobles of Tammolidi, and the monks also sang along with Master Maye: "May the Buddha save the world and let all nations hear the Buddha's voice!"

This loud voice came from the temple. When the Buddhist civilians outside heard it, they immediately put their hands together and knelt down towards the temple.

Yao Zhi and his companions were staying not far from the temple and they also heard the sound. After they understood the content of the sound, one of them snorted, "These people still want to save the world and all the nations in the world?"

(End of this chapter)