Diqin Designer

Chapter 339: No more preaching?

Religion is bound to emerge, especially in this era. Instead of allowing foreign religions that are inconsistent with Chinese thought to occupy this high ground, it is better to establish a religion dominated by Chinese culture, which can also be used as a cultural and ideological weapon for China to attack the outside world.

If we don't do anything about it ourselves, will we have to allow foreign religions to enter and have a profound impact on China, just like in history?
It should be the Chinese religion that goes out and influences those foreign peoples, so that they all worship the Chinese gods and believe in the Chinese teachings!

Moreover, establishing a religion belonging to the Chinese civilization can also be used to guide the people and suppress the emergence of evil foreign religions among the people.

This is the case with many things. If you don't take the initiative to do it, people with ulterior motives will do it. Do you have to wait for people to set up a sect like the White Lotus before you react?
Li Nian continued, "Vice Prime Minister Li asked, 'If time goes on for a while, will they become the host?' This worry is indeed necessary, but it should not be excessive. Communication and integration with foreign people is inevitable, unless the Qin Dynasty closes its doors to the outside world and strictly prohibits communication and contact with foreign people. What we have to do is to let the Qin people always maintain a dominant position in this integration process."

The Han nationality itself is a large integrated nation. It did not develop from the Yanhuang ethnic group to later generations in a single way. Instead, it has integrated multiple ethnic groups in the long history. Many ethnic groups that were originally classified as barbarians have become part of the Han nationality. For example, the Qin people integrated the Western Rong, and the Chu people integrated some Baiyue and Baipu tribes.

The Great Qin planned by Li Nian must go out into the world and face various foreign ethnic groups. Then the Huaxia or Qin ethnic group in this world will also integrate many ethnic groups.

"First, we must encourage the people of Daqin to have children and improve the quality of their population. This way, Daqin will have a sufficient number of high-quality people to ensure the legitimacy of Daqin."

"Secondly, we need to restrict the people of foreign countries, spread our Great Qin culture to them, make them believe in our Great Qin teachings, and set a quota for the number of people who can be certified as Great Qin citizens each year. We need to give them hope, but also limit too many foreign people from being converted into Great Qin citizens."

But this strategy cannot last long. Once the quality of the foreign people's population improves and their knowledge increases, they will definitely fight for more rights and interests.

"Many ancient sages have discussed the debate between Chinese and barbarians. I will not elaborate on this here. However, the Qin Empire will certainly move towards the world in the future and become a world power. It will be open to all rivers and accommodate many foreign peoples. The debate between Chinese and barbarians should also develop with the development of the Qin Empire."

"For these foreign people, the places they live in and their appearances must be different from those of the Qin people. If we simply judge the Chinese and the barbarians based on this, it would be inappropriate and would easily exclude those who might have surrendered to the Qin."

The dynasties of ancient China sometimes had a problem, which was looking down on the barbarians. Even if the barbarians took the initiative to surrender to them, they still looked down on them. Although ancient China did have the capital to look down on the barbarians in most of the time, doing so was tantamount to pushing away the power that could have been used by itself.

"Li believes that we should mainly distinguish whether the people of foreign countries are Chinese or barbarians based on their degree of learning and identification with the Great Qin culture. Those who learn the etiquette of the Great Qin and follow the customs of the Great Qin can be regarded as the people of the Great Qin!"

The First Emperor and his ministers understood Li Nian's design. They insisted on maintaining the core dominant position of the Qin people, but transformed the people of foreign countries so that they could become spiritual Qin people who were equal in thought and culture although they were different from the real Qin people in appearance and place of residence.

But this transformation has limitations. Not every foreigner can become a citizen of the Qin State. To become a spiritual citizen of the Qin State, one must be qualified.

Li Si stood up and bowed to Li Nian, saying, "After listening to your words, Li Si has understood. Thank you for clearing up my confusion!"

Li Nian also returned the greeting, and then said: "If we conquer the Peacock Kingdom, there is another important point in governing it: whether sending a governor or enfeoffing a prince here, we must have a sufficient understanding of the Peacock Kingdom. We must not think that the Peacock Kingdom is inferior to the Qin Dynasty, and then be lazy, unwilling to understand it, unwilling to investigate, and govern with an arrogant mentality."

“Only when you know yourself and the enemy can you fight a hundred battles without danger. This is the principle of leading troops to war, and it is also the principle of governing a country and doing things.”

One of the main reasons why Britain was able to colonize Sri Lanka for so many years and govern hundreds of millions of people with only 200,000 people was that Britain conducted in-depth research and investigation on Sri Lanka. Senior officials sent to Sri Lanka had to learn Sanskrit and understand Sri Lanka's economy, geography, etc.

The colonizers know the colonized better than they know themselves, so how can colonization be bad?
If Li Nian had not mentioned this, when he sent a governor to the Peacock Kingdom in the future, someone would definitely not take it seriously: You are just a small country, and we, the Great Qin, are here to govern you because we respect you. Why do you need to prepare so much?

Then after arriving in the Peacock Kingdom, he did not understand the local situation and just acted according to his own ideas, and then he found that things were not going well.

Wang Wan nodded in agreement and said, "It is just as you said, young master. We should not be self-righteous when governing a country. We should not do whatever we want just because we think certain things are natural!"

Li Nian said: "The above method can not only be used to govern the Peacock Kingdom, but also can be used as a reference for the Qin Dynasty to govern other countries. However, the Qin Dynasty will not use military force against the Peacock Kingdom at present, so this is a long-term plan."

"What we can do now is: continue to gather information about the Peacock Kingdom, learn about its armaments, geography, economy, etc., train the navy, and establish the Great Qin religion..."

The Qin Dynasty's navy is now developing well, whether it is officer training or shipbuilding. This is also due to the Qin Dynasty's own foundation. The Qin Dynasty was able to build a ship that allowed Xu Fu to lead three thousand boys and girls, which shows that its shipbuilding capabilities are not bad.

Moreover, when Xu Fu sailed east to seek immortality, he was not as well prepared as Li Nian, nor did he have Li Nian's operation of gathering craftsmen for training. The ships that the Qin Dynasty in this world will build will definitely be better than the ones Xu Fu took when he sought immortality.

After listening to Li Nian's words, the First Emperor looked at Li Nian and said, "Since this is the strategy you proposed, then how to set up this religion is up to you!"

Li Nian took over the task without hesitation. He was worried about letting other people do it. If this task was accomplished, it would affect China in this world for a long time and even have a profound impact on the history of this world.

Although Li Nian's actions will have a profound impact on the world, leading it to a different path from the original history, this incident will make the impact even greater.

In a flash, several days passed, and Master Moye and others finally waited for the First Emperor to summon them, and led by Gan Yu, they went to the Qin Imperial Palace.

Before officially entering the palace, looking at the palace's outer walls and pavilions, as well as the palace guards patrolling the palace, Master Maya and others felt a kind of grandeur that was not found in the Maurya Kingdom's palace.

The Maurya Kingdom’s palace was beautifully and magnificently built, but it always felt like something was missing. Master Maya and others now knew what was missing: it was the king’s domineering and majestic power!
Although the Maurya Kingdom’s palace is magnificent, it does not look like the residence of an emperor who rules the world. It does not have the grand momentum of ruling the world and attracting all nations to pay tribute.

But the Great Qin Imperial Palace does exist. It stands in the city of Xianyang, overlooking the world with a cold and domineering gaze, welcoming foreign envoys who come here to congratulate and pay homage, just like the Great Qin Emperor who lives in it!

After entering the palace, this feeling became even stronger, especially when they arrived in front of Zhangtai Palace. The invisible power emanated from the palace on the steps, shocking the world, dominating all directions, unshakable, incomparable, passing through the past and the future, as if it was the most central place in the world. With a voice of "Announce the Peacock Country monks to see you!", Master Moye and others were led into Zhangtai Palace. As soon as they entered the hall, they felt many eyes falling on them.

Master Moye did not dare to look around and bowed with the monks who entered the hall: "Maoye, the monk from the Maurya Kingdom, greets His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Qin!"

He did not dare to look up. He could only feel that the presence in front of him was something he could not look directly at. There was a heavy majesty coming from him, as if the person they were worshipping was not a human king, but a majestic god.

This feeling is not entirely the fault of Master Moye and others, it is also related to the architectural layout of Zhangtai Palace.

Chinese architecture, especially the imperial palace, where the emperor holds court and governs the country, is built with a special layout to embody the emperor's majesty and sacredness. Through the use of space, light and other means, the emperor sitting on the dragon throne looks extremely sacred and majestic.

It's like when the emperor is speaking on the dragon throne, his voice seems to come from high up in the sky. Even if the voice is not particularly loud, everyone in the hall can hear it thanks to the special spatial layout.

Master Moye and others were influenced by this, and combined with what they saw and heard in Xianyang City and the preconceived feelings before entering the palace, they felt that the Emperor of Qin was like a god.

Looking at Master Moye and others who were saluting to him, the First Emperor said, "Stand up!"

After Master Moye and the others stood up, the First Emperor asked, "I heard that you all came from the Maurya Kingdom, Tamolidi, and wanted to preach in Daqin. Is this true?"

Many ministers did not attend Gan Yu's briefing. After hearing what the First Emperor said, many of them raised their eyebrows and looked at Master Moye and others. These foreigners wanted to preach to the Qin Dynasty? Could they compare with Confucianism or Legalism?
The Emperor of Daqin asked them directly about their purpose right from the start, which made Master Moye feel uneasy. Since entering the territory of Daqin, they have realized that preaching in Daqin may not work. This is not a small barbaric or ignorant country, but a country stronger than their Maurya Kingdom.

But they had anticipated this situation and thought about how to deal with it. He said, "We dare not deceive His Majesty the Emperor. We monks do intend to preach in your country!"

"In my country of peacocks there is a wise man called 'Buddha'. He observed the affairs of the world and understood the principles of the world. He established a teaching called 'Buddha'. I, a humble monk, am a disciple of Buddhism."

"What I am preaching is actually the Buddha's Dharma. The Dharma can lead people to be good, eliminate disasters, and free people from internal and external disasters. The world will be at peace, and all people will be at peace!"

The First Emperor asked: "Since Buddhism is so good, is the Peacock Kingdom free from disasters and catastrophes, and is everyone living in peace?"

If he didn't know about the power of Daqin, Master Maya might have concealed it and said that the Maurya Kingdom was a virtuous country and the people in the country were all kind and good. But now he shook his head and said, "No, but this is not the fault of Buddhism. Buddhism only saves those who are predestined."

Before the First Emperor could continue to ask questions, Master Moye continued, "I see that your Majesty's people are blessed by the gods, have great wisdom and great blessings, and do not need to be saved by Buddhism."

After hearing Master Moye's words, Gan Yu and others in the hall smiled. These monks were full of confidence before they set out from Tamolidi, as if as long as they reached Daqin, Buddhism would be spread and the people of Daqin would convert.

Why are you backing off now?
He even flattered His Majesty that the people of Qin were blessed by God, had great wisdom and great fortune, and took the initiative to admit that the people of Qin did not need to be converted by Buddhism.

The First Emperor glanced at Master Moye. This guy reacted well. He knew that it would be bad if he continued to insist on preaching to the Qin Dynasty, so he slid down to his knees decisively.

Master Moye and others were not really stupid. They knew that if they continued to say in front of the Emperor of Qin that they wanted to spread Buddhism to Qin, it might cause the Emperor of Qin to be disgusted and put their lives in danger. Of course, they would change their words to save their lives.

The missionary work can be put aside for the time being, but if they anger the Qin Emperor and he kills them in anger, then what is the point of preaching?

"Buddha, it's not that we disciples don't want to spread your wisdom, it's just that the situation is like this!" Master Moye sighed in his heart.

The First Emperor did not care. He had no intention of letting these monks preach in the Qin Dynasty. He waited for him to retreat on his own initiative. "Since you don't want to preach, do you have anything else to do in my Qin Dynasty?"

Originally they came here mainly to preach, but now this mission has been abandoned. Fortunately, they found another target along the way.

Master Moye said: "I have heard that there are many wise men in your country, called 'Confucius', 'Laozi', 'Mozi', and they have left behind Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Legalism and other schools. I would like to learn and exchange with scholars from your country. I beg Your Majesty to grant me permission!"

They wanted to use this to understand the cultural thoughts of the Qin Dynasty and learn from its strengths to make up for its weaknesses. If these schools of thought, known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought," were superior to their Buddhism, they would learn from them and fill in the gaps in their Buddhism.

The First Emperor said, "I can approve this, but there are conditions: First, you must abide by the laws of Daqin. Although you are from another country, you must abide by the laws of Daqin within the territory of Daqin. Second, I will send people to learn the language and writing of the Peacock Kingdom from you, and you must teach it well."

The first condition did not bother Master Moye and others, but the second condition frightened them. The Emperor of Qin asked them to teach the language and writing of the Maurya Kingdom. What did he want to do?
It definitely isn’t as simple as learning it so that it’s easier to communicate with the Peacock Kingdom!
Along the way, they heard many things about the Great Qin Emperor. It was under his rule that the other six kingdoms on this land were destroyed and unification was achieved.

Although they were reluctant to admit it in their hearts, this was a king who was more capable and wise than King Chandra and King Ashoka.

Do you know that the Qin Emperor may have great ambitions, and do they have other choices now?

If you don't agree, you will probably die immediately!
In the first place, they should not have come to Daqin from Tamalidi. If they had not come, they would not have faced this choice. But this is just their idea of ​​covering their ears and stealing the bell. They will not contact Daqin, but Daqin will contact them, and the result will be the same.

They are the prey that has been targeted by the Qin Dynasty in this world forest and they cannot escape!
In the world's forest, the strong prey on the weak and strength is respected. Backward nations will be beaten. If they are backward and not beaten, it is just because others don't want to beat you.

(End of this chapter)