Diqin Designer

Chapter 520 The Great Qin Silk Road, Initiated!
The Qin Dynasty was not small, but compared to the whole world, it was nothing.

Although the idea that the world belongs to the Qin Dynasty is a good one, it is a pipe dream to think that the Qin Dynasty can bring the whole world under its rule, given the limitations of transportation, communication and population in this era, even with a time traveler like Li Nian.

Even if you conquer overseas territories, the inconvenience of transportation and communication makes them difficult to control.

Since overseas territories are far from the mainland, given the transportation and communication methods of this era, if a problem occurs, it would take a long time for the news to reach the mainland, and by the time the mainland receives the news, takes action, and then sends the information back to the overseas territory, it would take even longer.

By the time we got there and back, the daylily was already cold!

Furthermore, in order to govern and control overseas territories and ensure their stability, it is essential to have a sufficient number of one's own people. However, the Qin state is currently short of manpower, making it impossible to conduct large-scale immigration overseas.

Therefore, although the world is vast and there are many good places, the Qin Dynasty could not possibly occupy them all.

In Li Nian's plan for the Great Qin, there was no intention to directly conquer the entire world from the land; the plan was to select the places that best served the interests of the Great Qin to occupy.

However, one cannot completely occupy these places, but one can exert influence and trade with the people of these areas.

The "Great Qin Silk Road Plan" was one of the earliest plans conceived by Li Nian for Great Qin. However, when the plan was first conceived, Great Qin's influence over the Western Regions was not very strong, and there were other matters to attend to, so it was shelved. But after Great Qin's wars with the Donghu and Yuezhi, Great Qin's influence was extended to the Western Regions. Liu Ji was appointed as the Great Qin's governor of the Western Regions, and the Western Regions Alliance was established by uniting the various states of the Western Regions. Great Qin then had the foundation to implement this plan.

The Silk Road was an important trade route connecting the East and the West, and it was of great significance to China. Exchanges between the East and the West existed long ago, but they were not officially opened by the government. The official opening of the Silk Road was during the Western Han Dynasty.

In the past, Emperor Wu of Han wanted to unite with the Yuezhi in order to deal with the Xiongnu, so he sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Western Regions in 138 BC.

Although the mission to unite with the Yuezhi was not accomplished during his mission, he traveled to various countries in the Western Regions and learned about their situations. This not only made the Han Dynasty aware of these countries in the west, but also brought back many special products from the Western Regions. If it weren't for Zhang Qian, the people of China would have had to wait many more years to eat certain fruits and vegetables.

In this world, the dynasty that officially opened the Silk Road will not be the Han Dynasty, but the Qin Dynasty!

The Qin Dynasty attached greater importance to the first "Silk Road Project" than Emperor Wu of Han did. Zhang Qian only brought one hundred people with him when he went on his mission, while the Qin delegation consisted of as many as one thousand people.

The Qin Silk Road Mission: Chief Envoy Wang Ling, Deputy Envoy Li Shiqi, Commander-in-Chief Cao Can, Deputy Commander Guan Ying, equipped with 500 infantrymen, 300 cavalrymen, 20 physicians, 80 scholars from various schools of thought, and several officials and other personnel.

In addition, there were more than a dozen Qin merchant caravans that accompanied the mission to the Western Regions.

After the Qin Dynasty established a governor-general's office in the Western Regions, formed an alliance with the various states of the Western Regions, and signed trade treaties with them, many Qin merchants organized caravans to travel to the Western Regions.

However, by now, only a few caravans remained that had traveled with the mission. This was not due to any accidents, but rather because most of the caravans parted ways with the mission after reaching their respective destinations in the Western Regions.

Moreover, the mission's destination was further west, and most caravans did not want to go that far.

The mission has now left the territory of the Western Regions Alliance and reached the area further west of the Western Regions, which is the site of Afghanistan in later Central Asia.

Of course, there is no Afghanistan yet; the country located in this region is called Bactria.

Over a hundred years ago, this place was a province of the Persian Empire. Later, after the Persian Empire was destroyed by Alexander the Great, this place became the center of Alexander's rule in his eastern territories.

After Alexander left, the area came under the rule of his general Seleucus, who relocated a large number of Greeks and Macedonians there during his reign.

More than thirty years ago, Theodosius I, the governor appointed by the Seleucid Empire to govern this area, took advantage of the Parthian rebellion to declare independence. More than ten years ago, Theodosius II's throne was usurped by his governor Eusidmus.

The flags of kings have changed hands many times over the past hundred years, and this place has had several different owners.

However, as Wang Ling saw from his horseback position, the master of this place would have to change again. Even if the Qin Dynasty didn't come, the current master of this place wouldn't be able to hold on to it.

This is all the result of the Qin Dynasty's actions, as evidenced by the battle marks left in front of the city gate seen through the telescope.

Wang Ling was considering whether to send someone to the city gate to make contact. After all, they were entering another country, and informing the other party in advance could avoid some unnecessary trouble.

Just then, the city gate opened, and more than a dozen knights stepped out of the city and galloped toward their location.

Cao Can, who was wearing armor and also holding a telescope, said, "It must be that people in the city have discovered us and come to greet us."

The mission did not deliberately conceal its whereabouts, and since a war must have just taken place here, and the area was on high alert, it was quite normal for the other side to be able to discover them.

The other party should not have any ill intentions towards the Qin delegation for the time being, otherwise they would not have sent only a dozen or so knights. However, just in case, Cao Can still ordered the entire delegation to be on high alert.

Before long, the dozen or so knights rode up to a spot not far from the delegation and gradually came into view of it.

This was a strange team they had never seen before!
The first thing that caught their attention was the two flags the team was carrying.

There were two black flags. One of them had two strange patterns on it, one that looked like a bird and the other like a snake. The other flag also had a pattern, but it was neither a bird nor a beast; it should be a character.

If it were more than half a year ago, they wouldn't have recognized what was on those two flags, but now, from those who came from the east, they have learned that the bird-like pattern on the flag is called the "Black Bird," and the snake-like pattern on the flag is called the "Azure Dragon."

How strange! How could a dragon look like this? It's so different from the dragons they knew.

As for the pattern that looks like words on the other flag, it is indeed words, and the people coming from the east pronounced it as "Qin," a very strange pronunciation.

According to those people, these two flags belong to the state to the east called "Qin," and their presence here signifies that state!
According to those people, Qin was an extremely powerful state.

The Qin people had the most prosperous cities. The city walls they built were comparable to mountains. The streets in the city were paved with smooth stones, so they were spotless even on rainy days and never muddy. No one in Qin would litter in the streets. If someone did, it would be considered a shameful thing, and they would be scolded by other Qin people and even fined.

Of course, the Qin people were also very thoughtful. Knowing that some people might need to dispose of their waste or relieve themselves, they set up special "garbage cans" in the city and built public toilets for those in need, ensuring that their city remained clean. It is said that the Qin people also planted many flowers, trees, and shrubs in the city, so that flowers bloomed in all four seasons. Qin cities were always full of flowers and greenery.

The Qin people also had the most beautiful clothing, and everyone had clothes to wear. Even the precious fabric known as "silk" was worn by many people in Qin. Moreover, the Qin people's weaving and clothing-making skills were excellent, and the clothes they made were both comfortable and beautiful.

The Qin people also had the most delicious food. The salt they used was as white as snow and had no bitter taste. The sugar they used was also as white as snow and sweeter than the finest honey. The Qin people's cooking skills were also extremely high, with frying, stir-frying, steaming, and boiling all available. It is hard to imagine how delicious the Qin people's daily meals were.

The Qin people also possessed the most civilized etiquette and the most advanced knowledge. There were many scholars in the Qin state, and the Qin king, who was known as the "Emperor," sent them to various places to teach the Qin people etiquette and literacy. As a result, even the Qin people in remote areas of the Qin state were able to know etiquette and literacy.

But none of that matters. The key point is that, according to those people, the Qin people had the strongest army in the world!

It is said that the Qin army possessed a terrifying weapon called "cannon," which could shoot flames and roar like thunder from miles away to kill the enemy.

Oh, right, I heard that the Qin people have mastered the power of thunder. They can actively create thunder and even use it to emit light.

If that were true, wouldn't the Qin people have already mastered the power of the gods?

The strength of the Qin people is further evidenced by the fact that the Yuezhi people, who are currently fighting them, were forced to migrate here to seize their land after being defeated by the Qin people.

They had fought the Yuezhi people many times and suffered many losses, but the Yuezhi people, whom they found difficult to defeat, were actually a group of losers who had been defeated by the Qin people and even lost their territory.

Among the dozen or so knights, the two leaders had mixed feelings. In their past understanding, Macedonia was the strongest among all the kingdoms when that great emperor was still alive, and after that emperor's death, the Hellenistic kingdoms became the strongest, the Seleucid Kingdom, and their Bactrian Kingdom...

I never imagined there was a powerful nation to the east, and based on the information I've gathered, that country is very likely even stronger than Macedonia was during the reign of that great emperor.

It was perhaps fortunate that the great emperor was unable to continue his eastern expedition; otherwise, his glorious achievements might have ended in that eastern land.

Although they were reluctant to believe these things, if the Yuezhi people were really defeated by the Qin people and forced to abandon their land and flee, they had no choice but to believe it!

The Yuezhi people, who were utterly powerless against the Qin people, were a formidable enemy that caused them great trouble...

Looking at this group of people, every Qin soldier was armored, and although the Qin knights were still on horseback, one could sense that once they charged, they would be like an invincible sword that could pierce through everything.

Could their phalanxes handle these Qin cavalry?
It is estimated that they will have difficulty dealing with them. They even have a hard time dealing with the Yuezhi cavalry, let alone the Qin cavalry.

Even if they could deal with the Qin cavalry, the Qin also had their magical cannons, which were said to be able to kill both men and horses. Their phalanx defended with shields, and they would probably become easy targets for the cannons.

However, this Qin army did not seem to be there to fight them. No large-scale Qin army was found, only this one. Although the Qin people might be stronger than them, it would be a gross underestimation of them to think they could attack them with such a small force.

Moreover, this Qin army brought many chariots and a number of non-soldiers, making them even less likely to engage in battle.

This must be a Qin delegation, sent on a mission to them!

Upon approaching, to avoid any misunderstanding with the Qin people, a dozen knights deliberately slowed their horses and slowly approached the Qin army.

The closer proximity allowed the dozen or so knights to get a clearer view of the Qin army.

All Qin soldiers were serious and unsmiling. Whether cavalry or infantry, every Qin soldier had a solemn and indifferent expression, standing quietly or riding on horseback, waiting for the commander's order to turn from stillness into a sharp killing weapon.

What a well-trained army!

The two leaders were both surprised and impressed. They wondered if the expeditionary army led by that great emperor back then had such discipline, but their Bactrian army certainly did not.

The Qin people's armor, hairstyles, skin color, and clothing were all different from theirs.

The two leading the Qin group were wearing a type of clothing they had never seen before, and their hair was combed on top of their heads and tied up with a strange object, forming a peculiar shape.

As for the clothes, the sleeves were very wide, and it seemed to be a single piece, covering the upper and lower body. A strange belt was tied around the waist, with a ring that looked like it was made of jade attached to it. The weapons of the two people also seemed to be connected to the belt.

The Qin people were truly strange; they were unlike any other people they had ever met in other countries. Yet, it was immediately clear that these Qin people came from a powerful, civilized, and courteous nation, unlike the barbaric and uncivilized people of other states and tribes.

However, the Qin people's civilization and etiquette should be very different from theirs, but civilized and courteous people should also be treated with courtesy when they arrive!

The dozen or so knights did not get too close, keeping a distance between them. The leader took the initiative to bow and speak, but what he said was not understandable to Wang Ling, Li Shiqi and the others. It was somewhat similar to the language of some countries in the Western Regions, but also different.

It should be those Western Region countries that were influenced by Bactria, or rather, the Hellenistic countries.

But now that the Great Qin has come to the Western Regions, everything must be changed for our Great Qin. They must all adopt the Great Qin language as the official language, and the languages ​​of the Hellenized countries can go to hell.

For this mission, Wang Ling and his entourage naturally prepared a translator. With the translator's retelling, they understood what the man was saying. In the words of the Great Qin, it was: "Governor Ay Hami's Shizamd greets you, esteemed guests. May I ask where you all come from?"

"Ay Hami" is the name of a city, but not the fortress ahead. The fortress ahead is just a border town under its jurisdiction. Using the Qin Dynasty's prefecture-county system as an analogy, Ay Hami is the seat of a prefecture, and the governor of Ay Hami is the prefect.

Of course, in the Hellenistic states, the governor had more power than the county magistrate.

The city of Ai-Hamui also had another name, "Alexandria in Despair," which shows that even though Alexander the Great was dead, the Hellenistic countries still held him in high esteem.

(End of this chapter)