Diqin Designer

Chapter 323 My Great Qin martial arts are also stronger than yours
Yao Zhi continued, "Wu Tang, the ancestor of Wu Ding and the founder of the Shang Dynasty, was also a king who could both govern the country and lead the army to fight. The founding king of the Zhou Dynasty, King Wu of Zhou, was also a king who could..."

Yao Zhi mentioned several of them in succession, which surprised the princes and ministers of the Peacock Kingdom. They thought that the Qin envoy was deliberately showing off to them how many kings in the history of Qin were capable of both governing the country and fighting wars.

But they found that the kings mentioned by the Qin envoys all belonged to the dynasty before Qin, not the Qin dynasty itself.

A minister of the Maurya Kingdom said: "The envoys are talking about the kings of the previous dynasty. Why don't they talk about your country's current dynasty?"

As soon as these words came out, those princes and ministers of the Peacock Kingdom who were unhappy but didn't know how to refute Yao Zhi were cheered up. The eyes they cast on Yao Zhi seemed to say:
You only talk about your ancient kings, not your Qin Dynasty kings, is there any? Chandragarbha and Ashoka are the two ancestors of our dynasty!

It seems that although your history in ancient times was excellent, it is not as good as mine now.

Facing this malicious question, Yao Zhi smiled and said, "It's not that I don't want to talk about it, but compared to directly leading troops to fight, the wise kings of my Great Qin are better at commanding generals!"

"Although you wise kings don't lead troops, you can discern talents and select and appoint qualified generals. This is called 'generals'. For example, Wu'an Jun was highly valued by King Zhao and became one of the most outstanding generals of our Great Qin."

"Another example is General Wang Jian, who was also highly valued by the Emperor, and was able to destroy five kingdoms by himself."

"Wu'an Jun once led an army to capture more than 400,000 enemy troops in the Battle of Changping. General Wang Jian once led a large army to attack and destroy the five kingdoms of Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, and Qi. When destroying Chu, General Wang Jian, under the order of Your Majesty, led an army of 600,000 to attack Chu, defeated the Chu general Xiang Yan, conquered the Chu capital Shouchun, captured the King of Chu, and destroyed the Chu Kingdom."

He didn't try to show off, but the princes and ministers of the Maurya Kingdom could all hear the meaning behind Yao Zhi's words.

The achievements of King Ashoka that you boast about, such as capturing 150,000 people, killing 100,000 people, and causing casualties of hundreds of thousands, are not worth mentioning at all compared to the glorious military exploits of Lord Wu'an and General Wang Jian.

Yao Zhi did not mention that Wu'an Jun buried alive the more than 400,000 Zhao soldiers. First, it might scare the kings, princes and ministers of Kongque. Second, the world is unified now, Zhao has been under the control of Qin, and we are all one Chinese family. It is better not to mention these things that will affect everyone's friendship.

We are all brothers. Although the Qin has won now, we cannot always expose our brothers' scars, even though there is not a single Zhao person in the delegation.

After hearing Yao Zhi's words, the princes and ministers of the Maurya Kingdom naturally did not believe it. They thought it must be a lie made up by the Qin envoys who deliberately wanted to suppress them.

The damn Qin people are full of lies. They want to be better than them in everything except admitting that they are stronger.

A prince of the Maurya Kingdom immediately doubted: "It's impossible. To capture more than 400,000 enemy troops, both sides must have deployed more than a million soldiers. Not to mention where to find so many soldiers, the consumption of weapons and food is also difficult to estimate. Even if our country wants to support a war with such a large number of troops, it will not be easy..."

What he meant was that none of us can sustain a war of this scale, so how can you Qin people sustain a war of this scale?

And according to what you Qin people say, at that time, you had not yet destroyed several other countries, and your national strength was definitely not as strong as it is now, and it was even more impossible for you to support it.

Yao Zhi replied bluntly: "Just because your country can't do it doesn't mean that Great Qin can't do it. Don't think that if you can't do it, others can't do it either."

"The Battle of Changping took place in the 47th year of King Zhao, at the right time..."

The envoys sent by Daqin were composed of old Qin people selected from the Daqin army, so they naturally had no lack of knowledge about the Battle of Changping.

Yao Zhi told the princes and ministers of the Maurya Kingdom about the Battle of Changping, still omitting the part about the massacre of the surrendered soldiers.

After listening to Yao Zhi's words, the princes and ministers of the Peacock Kingdom felt that this story might be true, because if it was made up, it would be difficult to make it so clear.

But in that case, they would need to re-evaluate the strength of the Qin State, and they were very reluctant to admit that there was a country in the world that was as strong as them.

As for the possibility that this country is stronger than them, they don't even want to think about it...

It is true that this is a continuation of the same lineage. This kind of arrogant and self-deceptive thinking is also reflected in the white elephant in later generations:
Our White Elephant is the strongest in the world. Although it is slightly inferior to the Eagle, it is not inferior to the Rabbit, and is even better than the Bull and the Bear. Why can't it sit in the sixth seat of the permanent member of the Security Council?
The princes and ministers of the Maurya Kingdom also heard some other things from the words of the Qin envoy.

The Qin State was not fair in its wars with others. Because the enemy generals were too defensive, the Qin State used rumors to alienate the enemy's monarch and his ministers, thereby replacing the enemy generals and defeating the enemy army.

After this issue was resolved, the princes and ministers of the Maurya Kingdom no longer had the idea of ​​showing off to Yao Zhi and others, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the two countries in various aspects, and demonstrating their superiority.

After the banquet, Yao Zhi and others left, but the princes and ministers of the Maurya Kingdom stayed.

The Lord of the Peacock Kingdom asked, "What do you think of what the Qin envoy said?"

A prince said: "What he said may be true or false!"

The King of Peacock Kingdom glanced at the prince. This answer was nonsense. It was either true or false. Could it be that there was a state of truth and falsehood overlapping?
At this time, another minister said solemnly: "Your Majesty, the Qin envoy said that Wu Ding's wife Fu Hao defeated a foreign enemy army a thousand years ago. As far as I know..."

The minister paused for a moment before continuing, "At that time, our ancestors once went on an expedition, but the record of the outcome of that expedition is unclear!"

The other princes and ministers who did not know the news were all stunned after hearing it, then they understood and gasped.

Is this to say that the place their ancestors went on an expedition to was actually the place where the Qin people came from, and then their ancestors were defeated by a female general?

The records are not detailed because it was a great defeat and the expeditionary force was all killed by the Qin ancestors, so they were embarrassed to leave any records.

A prince who held the "Great Qin and barbarians are small countries" theory immediately refuted: "Impossible, this is absolutely impossible. How could it be such a coincidence that our ancestors went on an expedition thousands of years ago and happened to conquer the ancestors of the Qin people?"

"This must be a lie that the Qin people knew about and deliberately made up!"

The more he spoke, the more he felt that he was right. The prince of the Peacock Kingdom said confidently, "The Qin people knew that this incident happened a thousand years ago, but there was no detailed record. We couldn't prove that they were lying, so we made up this lie."

"The Qin people are cunning, their words cannot be trusted! And even if their words are true, what does it matter?"

"It is a thousand years later now. We are not our ancestors. We will not be defeated by the Qin people again. Instead, we are..."

The prince glanced at the other princes and ministers, and the urgency he had when he retorted just now disappeared. He became calm and said, "This is a good opportunity to avenge our ancestors and bring back their remains. In the past, I didn't know if I should not do it, but now I know, so why shouldn't I do it?"

That would be a good excuse to send troops to attack the Qin people - to bring back the remains of ancestors from thousands of years ago.

Another minister said: "That's not right. Didn't we hear from the Qin envoy that Qin could send out hundreds of thousands of troops to launch a war with a million troops? Our country may not be able to win!"

The prince who said, "The Qin people are cunning and their words cannot be trusted!" said, "The Battle of Changping is obviously a lie made up by the Qin people. Also, the story of Wang Jian leading an army of 600,000 to attack Chu may be true, but there cannot be so many people. The Qin people just want us not to underestimate them!" The minister said, "But what if it is true?"

Seeing that both sides were about to quarrel over the Qin people again, the Peacock King said, "Everyone, I have already said not to quarrel over the Qin people. This matter ends here. It is getting late. Everyone, please withdraw."

Some princes and ministers still wanted to say something, but seeing that the Peacock King had a blank expression on his face and seemed not to want to hear any more from them, they could only bow and leave.

But not all princes and ministers really withdrew. Some princes and ministers quietly returned after withdrawing and were led to another palace room.

These princes and ministers are from the Maurya King's faction. Although the current Maurya King has been on the throne for only two years, he wants to do some bold things. For example, he believes in Jainism and wants to suppress Buddhism, which flourished because of his grandfather.

But Buddhism was powerful and had believers everywhere, including many princes and ministers. Although he was a king, it was not easy for him to suppress it immediately, so he naturally had to win over a group of people.

In fact, the Maurya Kingdom was not as prosperous and powerful as the princes and ministers of the Maurya Kingdom said. Instead, it was on the decline. After the death of King Ashoka, many places disobeyed the king's orders and demanded independence, but the king of the Maurya Kingdom was unable to solve the problem.

Today's Peacock Kingdom is like a pig with a green onion stuck in its nose - pretending to be an elephant!
The current ruler of the Maurya Kingdom is unable to resolve this situation because the Maurya Kingdom itself has too many problems, and Buddhist monks are one of them.

Buddhist monks did not work or pay taxes, but occupied large amounts of land, built many temples, and demanded donations from believers all day long, creating a serious burden on the economic production and development of the Maurya Kingdom.

Moreover, many Maurya people took the initiative to become monks because they saw that Buddhist monks led an easy and leisurely life.

After all, they work hard on the farm, but their harvest has to be used to pay taxes and donations to the monks. So why not become one of the monks and live a leisurely and happy life together?

From the perspective of the development of the Maurya Empire, Buddhism had to be suppressed. From the perspective of personal beliefs, he did not believe in Buddhism. Like his ancestor King Chandra, he believed in Jainism, which was different from his grandfather King Ashoka.

Now that Buddhism is so powerful, it naturally blocks the development path of other sects. Only by suppressing Buddhism and snatching the cake occupied by Buddhism can they develop.

As a result, the Maurya King gathered a group of princes and ministers who believed in Jainism and disliked Buddhism.

This Jainism is an interesting and outrageous sect.

It appeared earlier than Buddhism. Its teachings emphasize disrespect for gods, equality of all beings, opposition to the caste system, the belief that everyone can achieve enlightenment, non-discrimination against women, opposition to killing, opposition to Brahmanism, opposition to fatalism, and advocacy of fasting during ascetic practice, which led to some believers starving to death during their practice.

King Chandraprastha, who founded the Maurya Empire, was a devout Jain and starved to death in his later years.

This is one of the reasons why it is believed that Chandra was not born a Kshatriya but a Shudra.

If King Chanprajna was born into a Kshatriya family, there would be no reason for him to believe in Jainism, which opposes the caste system.

Jainism has a far-reaching influence on thought. Buddhism has drawn on it, and a certain Mahatma’s non-violent non-cooperation also drew on it.

Although Maurya Buddhism opposed the caste system, it actually turned a blind eye to it, neither promoting it nor denying it, and both sides lived in harmony.

However, Jainism was being spread everywhere, but most people could not stand its outrageous rules and doctrines.

For example, it opposes killing and prohibits all industries related to killing, including agriculture. It also requires people to practice asceticism and fast. If they fail to achieve enlightenment through asceticism, they will have to eat instead.

But what is very interesting is that Jainism still exists in modern India, but Buddhism has disappeared. Perhaps it is precisely because of its unique doctrines and rules that it can continue to exist.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, the Peacock King said, "I asked you all to come here because I have something to discuss with you: First, the people of Tammo Lidi have sent monks to the Great Qin Kingdom."

This is easy to understand. Tamakuri is a famous city with a prosperous Buddhism in the Maurya Kingdom. They sent monks to the Qin Kingdom obviously because they saw that the current king believed in Jainism and were afraid that Buddhism would be suppressed and affect them, so they went to the Qin Kingdom to preach and leave a way out.

One person said, "King, those people from Tanmo Lidi want to preach in Qin State. They are preparing a way out for themselves!"

The Peacock King nodded and said, "I think so too, but how do you think we should deal with this matter?"

After a moment of silence, one of them said, "King, why not let them go? If they can really succeed in preaching in Qin, they will no longer be interested in our country. When they leave, our religion will not have to be hostile to them."

Another person objected, "What if they succeed in preaching in Qin but do not want to leave and still covet our country? By then, they will have Qin as a retreat and it will be even more difficult to deal with them."

This makes sense. If Buddhism spread to the Qin State, it would not necessarily be a good thing. Instead, it would likely become more troublesome.

In fact, they were really overthinking. Not to mention whether Buddhism could take root in the present-day Qin Dynasty, even if it succeeded, under the influence of Chinese culture, it would become Chinese Buddhism and would not be spread back to them.

"Your Majesty, you should quickly send an envoy to Qin to explain to the king of Qin the shortcomings of Buddhism and not allow him to develop and grow in Qin."

If one wants to suppress Buddhism, one must not only not let it escape, but also block its retreat as much as possible, cutting off its chances of making a comeback.

The King of the Peacock Kingdom said, "We should act according to this strategy. I will send a letter to the King of Qin to explain the shortcomings of Buddhism and make him aware of the harm of Buddhism so that Buddhism will not take root in Qin."

This matter was considered to be settled, and the Peacock King asked again: "What do you think of Qin? How should we get along with Qin?"

Although I have discussed this matter with the ministers before, there were also princes and ministers from other factions present at that time, and they would give different opinions due to their interests and other factors.

Now these are all his own people, they have common interests and goals, and will be closer in opinions.

One person said: "It is still uncertain whether what the Qin envoy said is true or not. We should treat it with caution as the king said."

"In fact, the Qin envoy said that there are schools of thought within the Qin territory, but there is no clear sect, and all schools of thought must abide by the law. This is something we can learn from. We should send envoys to Qin to observe the Qin schools of thought and see how they manage the various schools of thought."

After hearing Yao Zhi say that although there were hundreds of schools of thought in the Great Qin, they were schools of thought rather than sects, and that they had to obey the king's orders and follow the laws, the King of the Maurya Kingdom began to wonder how great it would be if Buddhism, Jainism, and Brahmanism in their Maurya Kingdom could be like this.

Someone has proposed sending envoys to Qin to investigate and observe, which is exactly what the Peacock King wants, so he said, "This is feasible."

(End of this chapter)