Diqin Designer

Chapter 173: Is what the Shangshu said true?
Many people originally thought that rivers have no sources, or that their sources are in places beyond human reach, created by gods and immortals to make them flow throughout the world. But now they are told that they have sources and that they are in this place.

At this point, the importance of this place was heightened again in everyone's mind. Even if the environmental conditions of this place were really not good, it could not be abandoned. Instead, if Daqin had the spare capacity, it would definitely take this place back.

How can the source of a river be controlled by others?
Li Nian continued, "Not only do the rivers of Daqin originate here, but the rivers of Yangzhou also originate here. The reason why Daqin didn't know about Yangzhou for a long time, and Yangzhou didn't know about Daqin, is mainly because the mountains and rivers here are too high, which hindered the two sides and prevented them from knowing each other."

"The mountains here are difficult for a large army to cross. This is also the reason why Alexander was unable to march east to our Great Qin."

It turned out that they were blocked by the mountains, but the mountain must have been very high and the road must have been very difficult to travel on, which prevented the two parties from knowing each other for so many years.

Looking at the map, Ying Zheng and everyone else thought of a question: If it was true as Li Nian said, then it would be very troublesome for them to attack Yangzhou.

No, there is still a way. Ying Zheng and his ministers who are familiar with military affairs discovered that they could first open up the southwest direction and use it as a springboard to go to Yangzhou by land or sea.

The southwestern land they were looking at was the Indochina Peninsula. During the Han Dynasty, merchants passed through here to reach India. Although it was a detour, it was better than crossing the Himalayas.

Li Nian also mentioned this at the right time, pointing the stick at the Indochina Peninsula: "If you want to go to Yangzhou, it is relatively more suitable to start from here. This place is also similar to Yangzhou. It is hot all year round, with obvious dry and rainy seasons. Rainfall is concentrated in the summer. Even the coldest time of the year is often comparable to the early summer of the Qin Dynasty. Planting rice and other crops here can also yield several harvests a year."

That's really a place as warm as spring. Wouldn't the people living in such a place be very docile?
Everyone was thinking about it, and sure enough, they heard Li Nianyan say, "This place is rich in resources, good for farming and fishing, and the local people are also relatively docile."

"The terrain here is high in the north and low in the south, with many mountains and plateaus, but there are many plains in the southeast coastal areas, and there are many places to build good ports."

According to Minister Li, this is obviously another good place.

But looking at the entire map, the world is too big and there are too many good places. It is impossible for the Qin Dynasty to swallow it all now. And who knows whether what Minister Li said is true or false?

Li Nian moved the stick to the lower right corner of Shenzhou. There were two pieces of land on the sea there, like the two paws of a chicken or duck. He said seriously, "Daqin must take these two islands in the future. No matter what resources or products they have, we must take them!"

Everyone looked at the map and understood why Li Nian said that.

These two pieces of land are too close to Shenzhou or Daqin. In the hands of Daqin, they are a barrier and a line of defense for Daqin on the sea, which can help Daqin resist invasions from the sea in this direction.

But if it is in the hands of another country, if it is a big country that is hostile to Daqin, then the problem will be big. This country can use these two places as a springboard to launch an attack on Daqin or restrict Daqin.

Although there is no saying "I will not allow others to snore beside my bed" in this era, everyone understands the truth contained in this saying.

Having said this, Li Nian felt that it was enough and stopped talking.

His purpose was to let the officials of Daqin know that the world is big and not just Daqin. When thinking about certain policies in the future, they should not limit their vision to this land and let history repeat itself.

Knowing different things, having different perspectives and experiences will naturally lead to different ideas.

Li Nian said: "The world is big. It is not just Daqin. There are other countries as well. Although some places are still ignorant and far inferior to Daqin, if Daqin does not make progress on its own, it may be overtaken by others one day."

"This world is like a forest, with all nations and races in it, the weak are eaten by the strong, and the weak are enslaved by the strong."

"Dignity only exists on the edge of the sword, and truth only exists within the range. If the Qin Dynasty is overtaken by others and becomes weak, it will be enslaved and slaughtered by others."

"Li doesn't hope that day will come. I am willing to work with Your Majesty and the other gentlemen to create a prosperous era for the Great Qin, and make the Great Qin evergreen among the nations of the world!" After Li Nian finished speaking, Ying Zheng took the lead and echoed: "I am also willing to work with you to create a prosperous era for the Great Qin, and make our Great Qin evergreen among the nations of the world!"

After His Majesty had spoken, everyone immediately stood up, knelt down, and said in unison: "I am willing to work with Your Majesty to create a prosperous era for the Great Qin, and make the Great Qin everlasting among the nations of the world!"

After a passionate and generous oath, everyone stood up and sat down.

Hu Hai looked at the world map carefully, as if he had confirmed something, and asked with a smile: "Li Shangshu, you haven't mentioned Antarctica yet."

The others also looked at the map and found that Bozhou was indeed not mentioned.

Li Nian nodded and said, "Indeed, no one has said that. This is the South Pole, one of the two poles of the world. It is extremely cold and is covered by ice and snow all year round. There are few living creatures here. There is no country and no human habitation."

"For our Great Qin, it may be achievable in the next few decades, but it will be of no great use."

"As for the other pole, the North Pole, located in the north of Shenzhou, is better than the South Pole, but not much better. It is also extremely cold and covered with ice and snow."

"In fact, the North Pole and the South Pole each have an animal and a bird that are very amazing. The North Pole has a bear that can be nearly ten feet long and half a foot tall, with white fur all over its body, so it can be called a 'polar bear'. The South Pole has a bird called a 'penguin', which is very cute."

Such a big white bear made everyone feel very strange. It really is true that there are all kinds of wonders in the world.

After Li Nian answered Hu Hai's question, one of the ministers asked directly: "May I ask Minister Li, is what you said today true?"

The eyes of other ministers also fell on Li Nian. After listening to what Li Nian said, they also knew what Li Nian meant, but they still had to confirm whether what Li Nian said was true or false.

It is impossible that just because what Li Nian said seemed to be true, the ministers believed it and thought it was true.

Because this will concern the future strategic national policy of Daqin, how can we be so careless?

Li Nian never thought that just a few words from him could make all the ministers completely believe him. If that kind of thing really happened, these ministers would not be the founding heroes of the Qin Dynasty, but the top group of people standing at the top of this era.

It's normal to doubt and disbelieve!

Li Nian naturally would not say something like "Everything I said is true", because saying so would make the ministers even more unconvinced.

He laughed and said, "How could Li have been to so many places and known so many things? Some things are certain, but some things are just hearsay, and it is hard to say whether they are true."

Hearing that Li Nian himself was not sure whether it was all true, the ministers nodded secretly.

That's right. This Minister Li looks very young, probably in his early twenties, not much different from Prince Fusu.

He is so young. Even if he has traveled outside Daqin since he was a child, how many places can he have visited and how many things can he have confirmed personally?
He must have seen countries other than the Qin Dynasty and seen people and things other than the Qin Dynasty, but it is impossible that he has seen everything he said. Many of the things he said must have been hearsay from foreign countries.

But this is also remarkable, proving that there is indeed a vast world outside the Qin Dynasty, with countries and things that are different from the Qin Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)