Diqin Designer

Chapter 373 The Huns’ Dilemma
It is foreseeable that when these Xiongnu students return from their studies in Daqin, the already divided Xiongnu society will become even more turbulent. When civil strife breaks out, even if the Xiongnu do not die, they will be severely damaged.

If these Xiongnu students could defeat their fathers and brothers in the struggle, they would imitate the Qin Dynasty and transform the Xiongnu in all aspects, turning them into the shape that the Qin Dynasty wanted.

If these Xiongnu students did not win, but instead encountered setbacks in the struggle with their fathers and brothers, they would most likely seek outside help. But where is the "outside" they are seeking help from?
There is no doubt that Daqin will become their first choice. In this way, Daqin can erode and control the Xiongnu by supporting these Xiongnu students who are inclined towards Daqin, and ultimately achieve the goal of completely annexing the Xiongnu.

Little Han Xin seemed to see a circle of ropes trapping the Huns, making it impossible for them to break free and thus becoming the prey of the Qin Dynasty. And the one who planned all this was none other than his Master Li!
Although this method is not a direct conquest by force, it can indeed destroy a country and trap it from all aspects, making it irretrievable.

Jiao Li continued, "Although Touman and others do not allow students from Xiongnu civilian families to study, this does not prevent Xiongnu civilians from learning about the Qin Dynasty."

"Even though they can't go to school, Xiongnu commoners can still learn about the things of the Qin Dynasty through other channels. They just don't know as much as the Xiongnu upper class, but it's easy for them to learn a few simple elegant words."

"If you meet a Xiongnu commoner who can say 'hello', 'have you eaten?', 'nice weather today!', 'thank you!' in a refined way, don't be too surprised."

Jiao Li smiled and said, "In fact, because Touman and others did not allow Xiongnu civilians to go to school, Xiongnu civilians became more curious about Daqin, and the Xiongnu people have a good impression of Daqin."

A Qin general asked, "Have Touman and his men ever thought of completely banning the circulation of Qin items among the Xiongnu civilians?"

As soon as he said this, the Qin general realized that he had asked a stupid question: Can Touman and others still prevent the Qin from influencing the Huns?
Regardless of whether Touman and others have the courage to do so, they now have many interests related to Daqin, can they give them up?

Even if Touman could bear to cut off his own flesh, would other Hun leaders be willing to do so?

Following the Qin Dynasty, they can wear gorgeous clothes, use exquisite utensils, drink good wine, and live a life that was unimaginable on the grasslands. How many leaders would be cruel enough to go back to the "shabby and simple" life they used to live?

Moreover, the Xiongnu had already offended the Donghu and Yuezhi by serving the Qin Dynasty as their younger brothers. If they betrayed and offended the Qin Dynasty again, they were worried that the Qin Dynasty would join forces with the Donghu and Yuezhi to divide the Xiongnu.

When Wang Ben asked Jiao Li and others about the current situation of the Xiongnu, Touman and others had already returned to the Xiongnu army's camp. They did not return to their homes immediately, but gathered in Touman's felt tent.

The Qin army tent was relaxed, and the atmosphere in Touman's yurt was not dull either. All the leaders were discussing enthusiastically what they had seen today.

I heard a Xiongnu leader praise: "The Qin Heavenly Soldiers are really as good as their reputation, they are really elite, no wonder they can conquer the six kingdoms, with such soldiers, there is no place in the world that we can't conquer? The Donghu and Yuezhi will surely be destroyed by the Qin Heavenly Soldiers, we don't need to worry."

Another Xiongnu leader said: "General Wang Ben is indeed a famous general. The Qin soldiers were flawless when they marched. The way they set up camp also opened my eyes. I didn't expect that they could set up camp like that. I learned a lot this time!"

Another Xiongnu leader said, "I didn't expect that young general is actually a disciple of General Wang Jian. He will surely become a famous general of the Qin Dynasty in the future."

Another leader said, "I am more curious about what is in those carriages that makes the general so confident and insists on using the strategy of dividing the troops to fight against the Donghu and Yuezhi. I guess there must be an amazing weapon among them, perhaps a precious bow that can shoot thousands of arrows in an instant..."

After hearing what this leader said, the other Hun leaders all laughed and shot out hundreds of arrows in an instant. How could there be such a weapon?

If that were true, the Qin army would not only be sent to deal with the Donghu and Yuezhi, but would also destroy them together.

But they did believe that the carriage was carrying weapons. If it was not weapons or armor, could it be food, clothing, or beauties?
After this leader started to guess what kind of weapon was in the carriage, another leader said, "Yi Zhihu, you guessed it was a precious bow that could shoot out hundreds of arrows. I guess it was a kind of armor that would make the wearer invulnerable and allow the Qin soldiers to charge in at will."

No matter what weapon it was, it must have been extraordinary. It gave the Qin army great confidence and made them believe that even if they divided their troops, they could still defeat the Donghu and Yuezhi.

At this time, another leader said: "Have you noticed that the Qin Heavenly Soldiers seem to be divided into different groups. For example, the Qin Heavenly Soldiers who follow and guard the carriages are dressed differently from other Qin Heavenly Soldiers. There is a special pattern painted on their clothes."

Of course, the Xiongnu leaders noticed this obvious point. One of them said, "Perhaps it's because these Qin soldiers are responsible for escorting the things on the carriage, so they are dressed differently."

Another leader shook his head and said, "I thought they were not only escorting the items on the carriage, but they were also responsible for activating the items on the carriage, so their attire was different!"

Hearing this point of view, a Xiongnu leader said: "Does this mean that these Qin Heavenly Soldiers are the main force of Qin's expedition this time?"

The other leaders also showed a look of realization. Those Qin soldiers who were escorting the emperor's carriage were the real main force of Qin's expedition this time?
Apart from a special pattern on their clothes, I don't see how they are different from other Qin troops?

This made them even more curious about what was carried in those carriages. Could it really be some terrible weapon?

Thinking of this, the originally lively atmosphere in the yurt suddenly became quiet.

Everyone had mixed emotions; they were old and no longer had the ambition they had in the past, but they were not stupid.

The Donghu and Yuezhi posed a threat to them, but did the Qin Dynasty not pose a threat to them?

After the Qin Dynasty conquered the Donghu and Yuezhi, would it have destroyed them as well?

It's not impossible!
All the leaders could think of this, but no one said it out loud. Some things can be known in the heart, but cannot be said openly.

Looking at the silent leaders, Touman, who was sitting in the main seat, sighed secretly. He did not dare to say that the Great Qin was also a threat to the Xiongnu, even though he was the Chanyu, the nominal supreme ruler of the Xiongnu. This was because he was the biggest beneficiary of the Xiongnu after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Xiongnu and the Great Qin, and had a lot of interests with the Great Qin, so it was difficult for him to be cruel enough to cut his own flesh. At the same time, he did not know how many of the leaders present would stand on the side of the Great Qin and become his enemy after he said this.

The current Huns were no longer the Huns that his leader had the final say over. The Qin people had great influence, and many leaders were secretly trading with the Qin people behind his back. If he failed to handle one of them properly, his life might be in danger. The worst that could happen to the Qin people was that they would support another Khan who was close to them to take the throne.

Rather than losing the position of Chanyu, losing his life, and being replaced by someone else, it is better to make do with it and pretend that he knows nothing.

'I am really old. Maodun is right. Maodun died in Qin not because he offended Li Nian by asking to marry the princess of Qin, but because he was younger and more ambitious than me. What Qin people need is not an ambitious Xiongnu Chanyu, but a Chanyu who is addicted to pleasure and has no ambition! '

Touman felt bitter in his heart. In fact, he had already figured out the real reason for Maodun's death. But what was the point of knowing it? He had no way and no ability to change it.

Looking back with a clear mind, the Qin Dynasty had dug pits all over the land for the Xiongnu. Even if he now ordered a ban on all contacts with the Qin people and immediately migrated north, west or east, away from the areas influenced by the Qin people, would those leaders listen to him?
Moreover, even if he dared to do so, all the leaders were willing to obey his orders, but this would be a betrayal of the Qin Dynasty, and they had already betrayed the Donghu and Yuezhi. If the angry Qin people joined forces with the Donghu and Yuezhi to strangle them, they would truly die without a burial place and their entire clan would be wiped out!

Instead, they pretended not to understand and continued to rely on the Qin people. They could still spend a very pleasant and comfortable time now, but they didn't know what the future would be like. Their life and death were not in their own hands.

But now they are addicted to pleasure, honest and obedient. Perhaps the Qin people will not make things too difficult for them in the future, and may even let them live well. It is said that the king of Qi who surrendered voluntarily is still alive, but cannot leave Xianyang.

Touman didn't know that the King of Qi Jian in history had a bad end. After he surrendered voluntarily, he was starved to death by the First Emperor. The King of Qi in this world was able to save his life and live a decent life thanks to Li Nian's advice to the First Emperor.

At that time, Li Nian suggested that King Jian of Qi could be made into a template for a king who voluntarily surrendered to the Qin Dynasty, so that kings of other countries and leaders of foreign nations who wanted to surrender to the Qin Dynasty in the future would have an example to follow and would not have to fight to the death with the Qin Dynasty.

Not only Touman had this idea, many Xiongnu leaders also thought so. They were aware of the threat posed by the Qin Dynasty to the Xiongnu, but it was difficult to change it.

Touman sighed again in his heart. Perhaps he should not have established diplomatic relations with Daqin a year ago. If he had not established diplomatic relations, perhaps there would not be the worries today.

As soon as this thought came to mind, Touman immediately rejected it. Even if he did not agree to Daqin's conditions and establish diplomatic relations with Daqin at that time, other leaders might not secretly communicate with the Qin people.

As long as other leaders are willing to interact with the Qin people, the Qin people's goal can still be achieved. Moreover, if they do not establish diplomatic relations with the Qin people, the Qin people will go to the Donghu and Yuezhi to make an offer...

Touman understood: "From the beginning, we had no choice but to follow the Qin's plan. What a powerful plan! The one who could devise this plan must be a man of statecraft. It must have been designed by that Master Li Nian! Why wasn't this person born in the Xiongnu? If he was born in the Xiongnu, I would help him become the next Chanyu!"

Touman thought to himself, full of regret and resentment. The Qin Dynasty was already strong enough, and with such a great talent to support it, how could the Huns compete with it?
If Li Nian knew what Touman was thinking, he would definitely sneer and ask, "If I were in the Xiongnu, would you help me become the next Khan of the Xiongnu?"
As Maodun was your son, you were quite wary of him and refused to pass the throne of Chanyu to him, which led to Maodun causing you to suffer the "father dies and son laughs".

"If you want to fight against the Qin, you must be as powerful as the Qin. The Xiongnu... are far inferior to the Qin. Unless you can destroy the Donghu and Yuezhi, subdue the Western Regions, and unite the forces of all parties, you can resist the Qin. But how difficult it is!"

Touman thought of a way to compete with the Qin Dynasty. This way was the way in history that Maodun led the Huns to rise and made the Huns have the strength to compete with the Han Dynasty.

This is something that can be done, but it is not easy and will take a certain amount of time. The Qin Dynasty will not sit idly by and watch the Xiongnu grow stronger, destroy the Donghu, swallow the Yuezhi, and intimidate the Western Regions. Unless a huge internal strife occurs in the Qin Dynasty and it has no time to take care of them, they will have a chance to rise.

But the current Qin Dynasty obviously will not have this level of civil strife. It is said that the Qin Dynasty has revised the Qin laws, reduced taxes and levies, used Qin soldiers as officials to make up for the lack of manpower in local governance, and appointed various Qin princes to guard various places. It also quelled the rebellion raised by the old nobles of the six countries and spread the crimes of the nobles of the six countries to the world, making it difficult for the old nobles of the six countries to incite people and cause chaos...

If there had been no internal strife in the Qin State, the Huns would have had no chance to rise!
Let's imagine further that even if the Qin Dynasty ignored their rise and allowed them to swallow up the Donghu and Yuezhi and intimidate the countries in the Western Regions, while they were spending time doing these things, the Qin Dynasty was also developing and becoming stronger.

The population of Daqin is as high as 20 million, which may be more than that of the Xiongnu, Donghu, Yuezhi and the countries in the Western Regions combined. The land is also fertile and vast, and its development potential is greater than theirs.

Although Touman was in Xiongnu, he knew a lot of news about Daqin, such as the strange things that happened in Xianyang every once in a while.

It is said that there is a strange device in Xianyang City that can run by itself when coal and water are added into it. People can use it to pump water at noon every day. Many people in Xianyang will wait there at night to see this device.

Although rare objects may not necessarily enhance a country's strength, especially its military strength, this also shows that they know much less than the Qin people. The Qin people are developing rapidly, and they may not be able to keep up with the pace of development.

The leader previously guessed that the Qin army might have a precious bow in their chariots that could shoot thousands of arrows in an instant. Although this was a deliberate exaggeration, the Qin people might be able to make a bow and crossbow that could shoot multiple arrows in an instant.

It may take them ten days to develop for every one day that the Qin people spend. Even if they have accomplished all that, when they look back, they will find that the Qin has become even stronger than before. Not only has the gap not narrowed, but it has become even bigger. Before, they could still see the back, but now they can't even see the back.

Moreover, it was obvious that the Qin Dynasty was still growing stronger, but the Xiongnu might not be able to swallow up the Donghu and Yuezhi and subdue the Western Regions. At least in Touman's opinion, it was difficult to do so.

The Huns’ dilemma cannot be resolved!

Touman came to a conclusion in his mind, and he spoke with a lack of interest: "Today, the general of the Great Qin led the army to help us quell the threat of Donghu and Yuezhi. We must cooperate well!"

Seeing Touman speaking, the other leaders echoed, "Don't worry, Chanyu, we will cooperate with you!"

After these two sentences, Touman stopped talking, and the leaders in the yurt left one by one.

(End of this chapter)