Diqin Designer

Chapter 372 The Current Situation of the Huns

After shouting, the Qin people and the Huns in the tent looked at each other and suddenly laughed. Although many people didn't understand why they were laughing, since everyone else was laughing, they could only laugh along.

After this laugh, the atmosphere in the tent became relaxed and friendly again. Everyone sat down and continued to listen to Wang Ben talk about his strategic ideas. Touman and others raised some questions. The banquet without wine ended in an atmosphere of joy for both the guests and the hosts.

After Touman and the others left, Wang Ben looked at Jiao Li who stayed behind and asked, "It's been almost a year since I last saw the ambassador, right?"

As Wang Ben was the supreme commander of the Qin army, and Jiao Li was the ambassador of the Qin army to the Xiongnu, it was natural for the two to meet.

Jiaotou shook his head and said, "It was still some time before the one-year mark. When Jiao returned from his mission, he reported to Your Majesty at the Zhangtai Palace. The general was there at the time."

At that time, Jiaoli and Chen Ping were sent on diplomatic missions to visit the Xiongnu, Donghu, and Yuezhi tribes. They reported to the First Emperor and the Qin officials in the Zhangtai Palace. It was also at that time that, based on the diplomatic reports of Jiaoli, Chen Ping and others, it was judged that it might be necessary to send troops against the Donghu and Yuezhi.

This war against the Donghu and Yuezhi was not a spur-of-the-moment idea, but had been planned a year ago. During the New Year's celebration, the envoys sent by the Donghu angered the First Emperor, which made everyone think that troops should be sent against the Donghu and Yuezhi.

The Donghu people dared to disrespect the First Emperor today and could not distinguish between the great and small kings. Wouldn't they have to poop and piss on the head of the Qin Dynasty tomorrow?
Wang Ben then asked, "Are all the people in the embassy well? Is there anything I can help you with? Before I left, His Majesty summoned me and asked me to say hello to everyone in the embassy on his behalf."

"You are far away from Daqin and working for Daqin in Xiongnu. It is not easy. If you have any difficulties and need help, let me do my best to solve them for you. If I cannot solve them, please report to him after you return."

This was the decision that the First Emperor made for himself after listening to the story of "The Thirteen Soldiers Returning to Yumen". The Qin Dynasty would not abandon its soldiers outside the country. The Han Dynasty was able to leave behind such historical stories that have been passed down through the ages, so his Qin Dynasty could do the same. Not only could it do it, but it would also do it better than the Han Dynasty.

After hearing Wang Ben's words, Jiao Li and others were all moved, and some even wiped their eyes.

This phenomenon may seem fake to modern people, but to the people of this era, "I will repay your kindness on the Golden Terrace and die for you with the Jade Dragon" is not just two catchy lines of poetry, but the life creed they truly practice.

The king's recognition and support will really make people repay it with their lives. This is also in line with the mainstream values ​​of this era: take life and death lightly and value promises more!

Therefore, when they heard Wang Ben mention that His Majesty still remembered them even though he was far away in Xianyang, and asked Wang Ben to greet them on his behalf and care about whether they encountered any difficulties, how could they not be moved?

Jiao Li and the others stood up and saluted in the direction of Xianyang: "Your Majesty, we are deeply grateful for your grace. We will serve Your Majesty and the Great Qin with all our hearts and souls until our death!"

The phrase "Devote all one's energy to the cause until death" did not originally exist at that time. They heard Li Nian mention it and learned it from him when they were receiving training.

Wang Ben shook his head and smiled, "You are all pillars of our Qin. If Your Majesty were here, you would not let any of you die. Please take your seats!"

After sitting down again, Jiao Li said to Wang Ben: "Thank you, General, for conveying His Majesty's intention to us. However, we are not in much trouble now. It's just that we have been away from home for a long time, and everyone in the embassy will miss their homeland and their families."

Wang Ben sighed and said, "This is human nature, but I am sorry that I cannot solve this difficulty for you. I will report to Your Majesty when I return."

The Qin embassy staff stationed abroad are not allowed to bring their families with them. It is normal for them to miss their loved ones after a period of time.

Jiao Li said quickly: "General, you misunderstood. This is not a problem. I just want to tell you a few things. Except for not being able to reunite with our families, we have everything we need to eat and drink here. There are not many difficulties."

Seeing that Jiao Li and the others didn't seem to have many problems that needed his help, Wang Ben said, "You are the envoys of the Great Qin stationed in the Xiongnu, and your responsibilities are heavy. If you have any difficulties, you must speak up, don't hide it!"

Jiao Li nodded, and Wang Ben asked again: "What is the current situation of the Xiongnu?"

This was the purpose of Jiao Li and others staying, to introduce to Wang Ben the conditions of the Xiongnu, Donghu, Yuezhi and other tribes as they knew them. Although they had sent many things back to Xianyang through secret letters, there were still some differences between what was said in the letters and what the real people said.

Moreover, it takes time to send the secret letter to Xianyang, and there is a lag in information. Now that I have met Jiao Li and others, it is natural for me to get first-hand information.

Jiao Li straightened his expression and said, "General, the situation of the Xiongnu is similar to what we said in the secret letter. Touman and others are prosperous, while the Xiongnu people are poor. The Xiongnu people are full of resentment towards Touman and others. Sooner or later, the Xiongnu will have civil strife! However..."

Jiao Li changed the subject: "This time, the victory over Donghu and Yuezhi should delay the civil strife. According to our spies in the Xiongnu, among the Xiongnu people, the reputation of Daqin is better than that of Touman and others. Many people in the Xiongnu people lament that they were not born in Daqin."

After hearing Jiao Li's words, many Qin generals in the tent smiled. Making people from other countries wish they could be born as their own people, doesn't this just reflect that their own country is better?

The Huns lamented that they were not born in the Qin Dynasty, which actually meant that the Qin Dynasty was better than the Huns. Of course, this made the Qin generals feel proud of it.

At the same time, there was a hint of contempt in their expressions. The Xiongnu Chanyu and the leader actually made the people under their rule envy being citizens of another country.

If Li Nian knew what these Qin generals were thinking, he would definitely criticize in his heart: Second brother, don't laugh at eldest brother. In history, you Qin people were not much better than the Huns today. Otherwise, why would there be the saying 'I am afraid that Pei Gong will not become the King of Qin'?
At this point, Jiao Li said in a strange tone: "Some people among the Xiongnu people even think that since Daqin and the Xiongnu are brothers of China and are one family, the Xiongnu should be incorporated into Daqin so that they can become the subjects of Daqin. There are quite a few Xiongnu people who hold such ideas. They even spontaneously formed an organization and secretly approached us."

Wang Ben asked, "Have you promised them?"

Jiao Li shook his head and said, "We neither refused nor agreed, but we gave them some help to keep their hope of merging the Xiongnu into the Qin Dynasty."

Wang Ben nodded and said, "Well done. It's not the right time yet. We need to be careful. We need Touman and others to govern the Xiongnu now, not to govern them directly!"

Jiao Li said: "I have told them that the Great Qin has just pacified the world and has many domestic affairs to deal with, so it is temporarily unable to respond to them. In addition to the Xiongnu people, some Xiongnu nobles also secretly hope that the Great Qin can turn the Xiongnu into a part of the Great Qin, and most of them are small Xiongnu nobles."

Wang Ben smiled and said, "This is not surprising. The Xiongnu Chanyu and the chieftains are in the upper echelons. They eat meat, while the Xiongnu nobles can only drink the soup they leave behind, and sometimes they don't even get any. As for the Xiongnu people, they don't even have soup to drink!" "Especially now that the Xiongnu and the Qin Dynasty have come together, it has brought huge benefits to the Xiongnu, and the Chanyu and the chieftains have taken the lion's share of the benefits. Of course, they are unwilling to accept this."

"That's what Master Li Nian said. He used a large snack that could be cut into pieces to tell us that the snack was delicious, but Touman and the others ate it up, leaving only a little leftover for the little Xiongnu nobles. How could they be willing to accept that? They wanted to eat more snacks, too!"

Jiao Li smiled and said, "That's right. They secretly said that if the Qin Dynasty assimilates the Xiongnu, they can use them to govern the Xiongnu and guarantee that they will be absolutely loyal to the Qin Dynasty."

Before Wang Ben could speak, a Qin general in the tent sneered, "How can we guarantee that, just by words? And how is their governance of the Xiongnu different from the governance of the Xiongnu by Touman and others now?"

Yes, supporting these small Xiongnu nobles to come to power is just replacing a group of people like Touman with different appearances. So why bother? It is better to keep Touman and others.

Jiao Li glanced at the Qin general who was speaking. "So, we didn't agree to their request directly. We only made some verbal promises. Touman and his men currently have a good attitude towards the Qin Empire. If we change a group of people, they may not have the same attitude as Touman and his men."

Touman and his people not only have a good attitude towards Daqin, but also have little ambition and are very ruthless in exploiting the people internally, which is very much in line with the interests of Daqin. If they change a group of people, it would add to the trouble if someone who wants to make the Huns great again were to be mixed in among them.

After talking about the situation of the Xiongnu from the top to the bottom in relation to the Qin Dynasty, Jiao Li talked about other aspects of the Xiongnu: "With the help of the Qin Dynasty, the Xiongnu is actually quite strong now. In the past year, Touman and others have purchased a lot of weapons and armor from the Qin Dynasty to equip their soldiers."

As for the big business of arms, Daqin also conducted certain transactions with the Xiongnu last year. What they sold were weapons confiscated from the six countries by Daqin. Those were not very sophisticated, but for the Xiongnu now, they were rare treasures.

At this time, the Huns were not yet the top-level Huns in history that controlled the countries in the Western Regions, treated the Western Regions as a blood trough, and could compete with the Han Dynasty, but a poor and destitute Huns.

"According to our judgment, with the strength of the soldiers under Touman and others, none of the Donghu and Yuezhi can be their opponents, but Touman and others lack confidence in their strength and always think that they are not strong enough. Moreover, after Touman and others bought the weapons and armor, they only gave them to the warriors of their tribe, not to those small tribes. They used them more for internal defense rather than external attack!"

After hearing this, Wang Ben didn't feel surprised. He now knew the historical deeds of Touman and Maodun. Touman's actions were consistent with the history told by Master Li Nian.

A Qin general laughed and said, "The Xiongnu used to be a wolf, but General Li Mu has turned them into a dog."

Another Qin general also said: "Although General Li Mu is a general of Zhao and was once an enemy of us, I have to say that General Li Mu's ability to lead troops is indeed very strong. The Xiongnu, Donghu, and Yuezhi, which one has not suffered at his hands? Just for this, I admire him!"

In fact, after years of development, the Huns had recovered from the disastrous defeat with Li Mu, otherwise they would not have dared to sneakily invade the Hetao region when the Qin Dynasty was conquering the six kingdoms.

But although they have recovered their vitality, they no longer have the high-spirited and enterprising spirit they had in the past. Otherwise, they would not have been blackmailed by the Donghu and Yuezhi, nor would they have been repelled more than 700 miles by Meng Tian later.

After Touman's death, the Xiongnu, led by Maodun, defeated the Donghu and Yuezhi in a short time, turning the Donghu people into slaves of the Xiongnu and forcing the Yuezhi people to migrate westward.

From this we can see that during the time of Touman, the Xiongnu already had enough strength, but Touman was unable to bring it into play. Instead, he surrendered to the Donghu and Yuezhi.

Jiao Li added: "From what we know, the soldiers under Touman and others also have a good impression of Daqin. If Daqin and Xiongnu go to war one day, they should be able to turn against them."

The soldiers under Touman and others were also civilians. Although they lived better than other Xiongnu civilians or even slaves, it was not much better. Especially when they knew that the Qin Dynasty was superior to them, the Xiongnu, in all aspects, it would be better for them to work for the great Qin Emperor instead of working for the Chanyu and the leaders.

If they worked hard for the Emperor of Qin, the Qin's military merit system would even give them the opportunity to be granted titles of nobility and become prime ministers, and to become figures like Chanyu or chieftain.

"In terms of trade, the Xiongnu's output was relatively single, and their trade with the Qin Empire was almost entirely in the form of livestock, whereas the Qin Empire provided the Xiongnu with a wide variety of goods."

"The trade between the Qin Empire and the Xiongnu has little impact on the Xiongnu civilians, because they can hardly afford the goods from the Qin Empire. However, the Xiongnu upper class now admires the goods from the Qin Empire very much and is proud to use them. This is the current trend among the Xiongnu upper class!"

"Some Xiongnu leaders would not wear clothes that were not made of Daqin cloth, would not drink wine that was not made of Daqin, and would not use utensils that were not made of Daqin..."

Although the things of the Qin Dynasty are indeed good, if one is so dependent on and obsessed with the things of the Qin Dynasty, problems will inevitably arise in the long run. Moreover, the goods that the Xiongnu can trade with the Qin Dynasty are limited, which will make the problem even greater.

Jiao Li added: "In terms of culture, the Xiongnu people are also proud of speaking the Daqin language, learning the Daqin characters, and knowing the Daqin customs. Touman and others have specially learned some elegant language."

Thinking about how Touman and others greeted him in elegant language when they met today, Wang Ben nodded. Although it was not very standard and had a strong Xiongnu accent, it was indeed elegant language.

"The embassy opened a school in Touman City, but Touman and others did not allow common Xiongnu children to attend, so they only set up six classes, and all the students were children of noble birth. Many of the Xiongnu children sent to Xianyang were their brothers, but they were the ones who were not popular."

A Qin general laughed and said, "It is not wrong to throw the unwelcome descendants to Xianyang and keep the beloved descendants by your side!"

This approach seems to be correct, but in fact, no matter what choice is made, it will ultimately lead to a result that is unfavorable to the Huns.

The Xiongnu children who learned advanced cultural knowledge in Daqin would surely stir up a fierce storm with their elders and brothers when they returned to Xiongnu in the future. They would think that after studying in Daqin, they were better than their brothers who stayed in Xiongnu and should deserve their excellent status.

But their elders and brothers will not be willing to give up power. If they let their descendants and brothers get more, they will get less, and fierce conflicts will inevitably arise between the two sides.

And because they studied abroad in Xianyang, grew up in the rich atmosphere of the Qin Dynasty, and were deeply influenced by the Qin Dynasty, many people would naturally tend to lean towards the Qin Dynasty and would imitate the Qin Dynasty in reforming the Huns.

(End of this chapter)