Diqin Designer

Chapter 544 What exactly are the Qin people trying to do?
King Arsak I said, "Envoy, may my country participate in the sports games and expositions hosted by your country?"

Wang Ling smiled and said, "If Your Majesty wishes to participate, Great Qin will naturally welcome you. Great Qin holds the Games and Expos of the Nations to encourage more exchanges and interactions among nations, replacing battlefield conflicts with competition on the sports field, thereby promoting peace among nations. The more nations that participate, the better."

"However, the Games and Expositions of the Nations have only been held recently. If Your Majesty wishes to participate, you can only do so in the next one. Both the Games and Expositions are held every four years."

This is reasonable. If it were held annually, not only would the host country be exhausted from all the running around, but the participating countries would also be exhausted from traveling.

In those days, transportation was inconvenient, and it was common to travel for several months.

Those countries that are far from the Qin Dynasty had just finished participating in this year's Games, and their delegations had barely settled back home when they had to immediately prepare to send people to participate in the next Games. Most of the year was spent on the road.

It would be better to just have the delegation stationed permanently in Daqin, which would save the trouble of traveling back and forth.

Furthermore, holding sports meets and expos frequently can lead to aesthetic fatigue, reducing their appeal and thus lowering revenue.

Holding the event every few years allows the host and participating countries more time to prepare and catch their breath, while also maintaining public interest and preserving the value of the Games and Expo.

King Arsak I nodded and said, "Thank you for your information, envoy! Your country is truly a prosperous nation!"

Arsak I sighed, then, as if remembering something, asked, "May I ask, envoy, how many people does your country have?"

In this era, a relatively direct way to judge the strength of a country is to look at its population. Although this method of judgment is not absolute, a larger population means more soldiers, and the country is usually stronger.

If the Qin state was truly as powerful and prosperous as the Qin envoy described, its population must have been considerable.

Upon hearing Arsak I's question, Wang Ling immediately realized Arsak I's purpose in asking it: to judge the strength of the Qin Dynasty by its population.

But there was no point in hiding it. Wang Ling smiled and said, "If Your Majesty asks me about the number of people in Great Qin, it is not many, only a little over 20 million."

Upon hearing the translator's reply from the royal tombs, Arsak I and his Parthian ministers were initially taken aback: How many people? More than twenty million?
That's more than ten times their population!
Afterwards, Arsak I and his entourage thought to themselves: This is not much? Are the Qin envoys deliberately showing off to them?
This is definitely showing off!

With a population of over 20 million, including all the countries like Seleucid, Ptolemaic, and Roman, could there really be that many people?

People are the foundation of a nation, and Qin's population was more than ten times that of theirs, which meant that Qin's strength far exceeded theirs.

Moreover, a larger population means more things can be accomplished, and Qin's knowledge and craftsmanship are more advanced than theirs. Taking all these factors into account, the gap between them and Qin is likely to be even greater.

The Qin state was a giant elephant, while they were just a weak wolf cub on the grassland.

Fortunately, they were not adjacent to the Qin state; otherwise, having such a behemoth by their side would have made them extremely uneasy.

They struggled to deal with the Seleucids and only managed to hold them off with an alliance with Bactria, let alone the Qin state, which was even stronger than the Seleucids.

No wonder the states surrounding Qin were willing to obey Qin's orders and dared not disobey.

Some of our previous ideas about the Qin people may need to be changed; we must proceed with caution.

Arsak I, having rebelled against the Seleucus and gained independence over the years, had long understood that one cannot act solely on impulse and assumptions in this world; sometimes one must clearly recognize that one is weaker than the other and at a disadvantage.

Arrogance and a failure to recognize the situation will only lead to failure.

King Arsak I exclaimed once again, "Your country is truly powerful; my country cannot compare!"

After making that remark, Arsak I added, "I've heard that the envoy intends to sell your country's weapons and armor?"

Wang Ling nodded and said, "That is indeed the case. Now that Qin has unified the world, it no longer needs so many soldiers and armor. In addition, when it destroyed the six states, it seized a lot of soldiers and armor, which has led to a surplus of soldiers and armor in Qin. It is troublesome to destroy them, so it wants to sell them to others."

Upon hearing this, many Parthian ministers had strange expressions. The Qin envoy had just said that Qin was holding the Games and Expositions of the various states to promote peace among them, right? Then how do you explain selling weapons and armor to foreign countries?

So you're selling weapons to other countries to promote peace?

This time, however, the Parthian ministers did not step forward to accuse the Qin envoy of contradicting himself.

This Qin envoy reveals that Qin was by no means a kind and honest country.

Indeed, how could a powerful nation possibly have virtuous people?

Wang Ling then asked, "Does Your Majesty also wish to purchase it?"

Arsak I said, "That is exactly what I intend to do, but there is one thing I would like to ask your country to grant..."

Wang Lingqi said, “Your Majesty, please speak freely!”

Arsak I then said, "Could your country refrain from selling weapons and armor to the Seleucids, Ptolemaic countries, and only sell them to our country...?"

Arsak I initially considered asking if it could be sold only to them, but then felt it would be inappropriate to abandon his ally Bactria, so he added, "Sold only to our country and Bactria?"

This wasn't out of loyalty to an ally, but because Bactria was located in the east, and if the Qin people were to transport their weapons and armor there, they would have to pass through Bactrian territory, which would be difficult to bypass.

What if Bactria is excluded, and then they simply refuse to let anyone obtain Qin's weapons and armor? Or what if Bactria negotiates an exclusive contract with Qin and abandons them?

Moreover, their peace also requires an alliance with Bactria to jointly deal with Seleucus.

The Bactrians could accept that the Qin people sold their weapons and armor to the Bactria, but they absolutely did not want to see the Qin people sell their weapons and armor to the Seleucids.

Even if it offends the Qin people, they will find a way to prevent Seleucus from obtaining Qin's weapons and armor.

To avoid making the Qin envoy feel threatened, Arsak I added, "Rest assured, envoy, we will purchase your army and armor at a reasonable price and will certainly not let your country suffer any losses!"

After speaking, Arsak I and the Parthian ministers in the palace all looked towards the royal tomb, awaiting the reply from the Qin envoy.

This request was actually somewhat unreasonable. The Qin envoy could have easily refused: "We Qin can sell our weapons and armor to whomever we want. Why should we agree to your request to sell only to you and not to anyone else?"
Who do you think you are, having the right to interfere in the affairs of my Great Qin?
However, it would be better to reach an agreement directly with the Qin envoy than to offend the Qin people later.

While they waited, Wang Ling did not give a direct answer. He said, "If Your Majesty can offer a price that satisfies Great Qin, this matter is not unnecessarily open to discussion!"

The Qin Dynasty was willing to sell weapons and armor for two main reasons: first, to make money, and second, to destabilize the situation in certain countries. In fact, even if Arsakh I hadn't mentioned it, the Qin Dynasty had no intention of selling weapons and armor to the Seleucus.

The reason is that Seleucus was stronger than Parthia and Bactria. Only an alliance between the two countries could withstand Seleucus, and that was without Seleucus using his full strength.

If Seleucus had been determined to destroy both countries, Parthia and Bactria might not have been able to hold out any longer.

The Qin Dynasty did not want to see a situation where the Seleucids were strong and the Parthians and Bactria were weak. Of course, it would be better if the strength of both sides were more balanced so that the fighting could be more intense.

What the Great Qin most wanted to see was the Parthians, Bactria, and Seleucids fighting tooth and nail, until both sides suffered heavy losses, the more brutal the better.

Therefore, the Qin Dynasty intended to strengthen Parthia and Bactria.

Hearing that the Qin envoy did not directly refuse, indicating that the matter was possible, Arsak I breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, the atmosphere in the hall relaxed, completely unlike the tense atmosphere that had arisen when the Qin delegation first arrived. The atmosphere became as harmonious as if the two sides were one family.

King Arsak I hosted a banquet for the Roman delegation. During the banquet, the Roman delegation told King Arsak I and his entourage about Roman affairs, such as Roman history, the religion they practiced, and the current doctrines of Roman Buddhism.

Arsak I and the others were astonished. The Qin state was indeed very different from theirs, and it sounded much stronger and more advanced.

The supreme god, the Heavenly Emperor, worshipped by the people of Qin, sounded more powerful and noble than the gods they believed in.

This was inevitable; it was a setting that Li Nian added, and in terms of setting, it definitely sounded more lofty and superior than the god they currently worshipped.

After the banquet ended, the Qin delegation departed, but Arsak I and the Parthian ministers who had attended the banquet remained.

Today, the Qin delegation has arrived, allowing them to learn that there is a country called "Qin" in the east.

If what the Qin envoy said is true, then the arrival of the Qin delegation could very well affect the situation of the various states, and they must consider it carefully.

Arsak I summoned the envoy of Eusidmus I, pointed to two suits of armor and several swords in the hall, and asked, "Are these the armor and weapons of the Qin people?"

Euthydemus I's envoy examined the armor and swords carefully and replied, "Indeed, they are Qin soldiers' armor!"

Arsak I nodded and ordered his men to bring their armor and swords.

Arsak I personally picked up a knife and slashed it into their armor.

After glancing at the marks left on the armor, Arsak I put down his sword and picked up another sword of the same design. This time, he slashed at the Qin soldier's armor.

Arsak I examined the mark left on the Qin armor by the knife with a displeased expression, but said nothing. He then tested the Qin sword on both sides' armor.

The Parthian ministers in the hall watched as Arsark I continued his experiments, and the more they watched, the more somber their expressions became, just like Arsark I's.

Because in the experiment, their armor and weapons were completely inferior to those of the Qin people, whose armor and weapons were far superior to theirs.

Although the quality of weapons cannot completely determine the outcome of a war, when both sides are equal in other aspects, if there is a difference in armor and weapons, the side with better armor and weapons will obviously have an advantage.

Their armor and weaponry are currently inferior to those of the Qin, while the Qin are clearly not inferior to them in other aspects. So, if they were to encounter the Qin on the battlefield...

It's very likely that they were defeated!

Fortunately, the Qin people were far away from them.

Arsak I put down his sword and said to the ministers in the hall, "Anyone may try."

After Arsak I gave his permission, Parthian generals immediately stepped forward, picked up swords, and began experimenting with them just like Arsak I had done, reaching the same conclusions.

After dismissing the envoy of Eusidmus I, Arsark I, while observing the other participants' experiments, asked, "What are your thoughts on the Qin state?"

One minister said, "Qin is indeed a powerful state, but what that Qin envoy said is likely an exaggeration."

Even if the Qin envoy exaggerated, if there was even a fraction of the truth in his words, Qin was still a country far more powerful than them.

With a population of over 20 million, even if the actual population is only 30%, that's still over 6 million people, several times more than that.

Another minister said, "From the fact that the Qin people established the Western Regions Alliance, allowed students from other countries to study there, and held the inter-state sports games and expositions, it can be seen that the Qin people have great ambitions. They want to be the leader of all the states and become the king above all the states!"

"Now that the Qin people have sent envoys, it shows that they are no longer content to stay in the east and want to extend their reach to us. It is fortunate that we are far away from Qin, otherwise Qin might not have sent envoys, but would have directly dispatched troops."

Upon hearing this, a Parthian general retorted with some dissatisfaction, "So what if we're going to send them out? Are we afraid of the Qin people? The Qin people may have better armor and weapons than us, but on the battlefield, superior armor and weapons don't guarantee victory."

The minister said, "I naturally believe that we can defeat the Qin people, but the strength of the Qin people should not be underestimated."

Another minister said, "The purpose of the Qin people sending envoys this time is also very clear. They want the other states to know about them and to know that there is a country called 'Qin' in the far east. They want to spread their word among the states."

The Qin people chose to send an envoy instead of launching a direct military campaign like Alexander the Great, which was a good thing. The Qin people's approach was quite mild and would not harm them.

One minister asked in bewilderment, "But what's the point? Even if the other states know about them, they won't acknowledge them as leaders. The Qin people's knowledge and craftsmanship are far more advanced than ours, even surpassing the Seleucids and Ptolemy. Why would they need to copy ancient texts?"

"You all don't really believe that they copied the classics because their Prince Li Nian was curious and sent them back to Qin, do you?"

This is indeed a puzzling question. The Qin people's knowledge and craftsmanship should be superior to theirs, far surpassing them. Why would they copy their things?

Could it be that the Qin people's knowledge and craftsmanship were not actually that advanced, so they wanted to copy them and take them back with them?

Based on what the Qin people displayed, this is unlikely. Whether it was the beautiful crown made of precious jade, or the paper and armor, they all indicated that the Qin people had craftsmanship that surpassed theirs.

Arsak I and his ministers pondered this question, truly unable to understand why the Qin people, who were more powerful and advanced than them, would copy their classics.

(End of this chapter)