Diqin Designer

Chapter 555 Borrowing troops is no easy task

Arsak I was in no hurry and patiently waited for his son to think it over.

After a while, Ardaban said, "Father, I believe we should grant the Qin envoy's request!"

Arsak I glanced at him and said casually, "Why do you think so?"

When Ardaban heard that his father did not refute him, he knew that his answer was correct, and his father was also thinking of granting the Qin envoy's request for troops.

Ardaban said, "First, borrowing troops from the Qin envoy will enhance the friendship between our country and Qin, and it will be easier for us to ask Qin for help in the future."

Of course, this is based on one premise: the people of Qin valued their reputation and the credibility of their state.

If the Qin people turn their backs on them and forget that Parthia helped them, then there's nothing that can be done.

However, the Qin state was large and powerful in the east and enjoyed considerable prestige among the eastern states, so it should have upheld its national credibility.

If the Qin state did not uphold its national credibility, what would the smaller states that followed Qin think and feel?
If Qin treats Parthia, who helped them, this way, then they are even less likely to keep their word with us.

Who would truly follow a leader who lacks credibility? They might be afraid he'd betray them one day...

Ardaban continued, "Secondly, the Qin envoy is not lending money for nothing; there will be benefits involved, such as the three hundred sets of Qin's fine armor that the Qin envoy mentioned."

"Three hundred sets of fine armor are a bit too few. We can ask the Qin envoy to add some more. We can also ask Qin to offer us more benefits when we trade with them, such as lowering the prices of goods they sell to us and allowing us to send more students abroad..."

We certainly can't lend troops to the Qin people for nothing; we have to get something in return from them. As for what specific benefits we want from the Qin people, that has to be discussed!

Arsak I nodded in satisfaction. Of all his sons, this was the one he loved the most. He was quick-witted, wise, humble, and composed. If he were to pass the throne to him in the future, Parthia should be safe.

The reason why this son was sent to escort the Qin delegation out of the country earlier was to give him an opportunity to make contact with the Qin delegation and establish friendship.

The Qin people have already extended their reach. Given their strength, their influence on the western countries will only grow. Maintaining good relations with the Qin people now will benefit the future of our nation.

Arsak I was getting old and could keenly sense the decline of his body with age. He didn't know when he would pass away, so he had to make some arrangements for his affairs before he died.

Ardaban then raised a third point: "Thirdly, the Qin envoys dared to claim that they could defeat the Seleucids and seize their cities..."

Ardaban paused for a moment, then said, "Father, the Qin people may have mastered a way to break the Macedonian phalanx. If the Qin people really have such a method, we must learn it from them!"

They rest in peace in the Macedonian phalanx. These days, which of these countries doesn't use the Macedonian phalanx?

If you dare not use it, then wait for defeat on the battlefield!

So many countries used the Macedonian phalanx, and naturally they were also trying to figure out how to break it. But since Alexander the Great perfected it, this phalanx has had almost no weaknesses.

For at least all these years, no country has been able to come up with an effective tactic against the Macedonian phalanx.

Later, many countries basically reached a consensus: the Macedonian phalanx was invincible, had no flaws, and there was no way to break it in the world.

Over time, although everyone used the Macedonian phalanx on the battlefield, few people thought about how to break it.

The idea that "the Macedonian phalanx is unbreakable" has been treated as a well-known axiom.

This also aligns with Western thinking.

Don't assume that the West was very open and progressive in ancient times just because it had scholars like Archimedes and Euclid. In fact, Westerners' thinking is far more stubborn and conservative than that of Eastern peoples.

This also led to the West, despite having Greek civilization, lagging behind the East for a long time. Many of the things they believed in were still those from ancient Greece, with little progress.

Theories such as the ether theory, white light being the purest form of light, the heavier objects falling to the ground first, and the geocentric model, etc.

For a long time, Westerners firmly believed in these beliefs and hardly questioned them, until the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration arrived, and things improved.

In fact, the fact that the West has been able to firmly believe in some erroneous things for thousands of years demonstrates its stubborn and conservative thinking.

The same applies to the Macedonian phalanx. Western countries have developed the idea that "the Macedonian phalanx is invincible and unbreakable." Because of their conservative and stubborn thinking, they find it difficult to consider that the invincible Macedonian phalanx could be broken.

The Romans later figured out that the Roman legions were defeated by the Macedonian phalanx, a defeat so devastating that it shook their belief that the Macedonian phalanx was invincible.

If the phalanx is truly invincible, how could we possibly lose?
Through this process of deliberation, the Romans gradually developed the Roman legion. While other nations were still using the outdated Macedonian phalanx, Rome had already adopted the advanced Roman legion, thus ushering in Rome's golden age.

Like his father Arsak I, Ardaban also considered the immense impact it would have if the Qin people had truly mastered the method to break the Macedonian phalanx.

The bad news is that the Macedonian phalanx has been broken by the Qin people and will no longer be invincible. They, who have been using the Macedonian phalanx for years, will have to change their tactics.

The good news is that the Qin people did not reveal their method to the public, and other countries are unaware of it. If they can learn how to break the Macedonian phalanx from the Qin people, they will be ahead of other countries.

Taking advantage of this, they might be able to break free from the situation of being outnumbered and outmatched by the Seleucids, turning from weak to strong, from small to large.

This is a great opportunity for them to rest in peace!
After listening to Ardaban's reasons, Arsak I said, "What you say is correct. Regardless of the other points, the third point alone is that we have to lend troops to the Qin people. This is also a bait that the Qin people deliberately threw out for us. And we have no choice but to take this bait."

The Qin envoys had clearly seen this, and they were sure they would take the bait!
This is also why Arsak I did not immediately grant the Qin envoy's request: although the Qin people pretended to be very polite and seemed to be asking for his help, he actually had no choice. This subtle pressure from the Qin people made him somewhat uncomfortable.
Just like when the Qin people sold them weapons and armor, the Qin people's attitude seemed to be "whether you buy or not is up to you," but could they really refuse to buy?
Arsak I added, "The people of Qin are powerful and their methods of doing things are quite formidable."

"When the people of Qin do things, they should consider all kinds of situations and decide on a solution before they act. You should learn from the people of Qin and learn their strengths! This time, the people of Qin are borrowing troops, so you will be in charge of handling it."

Ardaban was overjoyed upon hearing Arsak I's words; his father had chosen him as heir apparent and placed high hopes on him. Despite his inner elation, Ardaban did not show it, instead cautiously replying, "I will certainly not fail my father's mission!"

Then Ardaban asked, "Father, how many soldiers should we lend to the Qin? Which armies should we lend them? Are they weak or strong?"

Arsak I gave Ardaban an approving look; it was good that his son hadn't become arrogant because he had taken a liking to him.

Arsak I said, "The troops to be lent to the Qin state this time should include both elite and ordinary soldiers. As for the specific number, you can discuss and decide with the Qin envoy."

Ardaban immediately understood Arshak I's intention: he couldn't lend the Qin army weak soldiers who were old, weak, sick, or disabled, but lending them all his elite troops wouldn't work either, because the Qin army might not take them seriously.

Since they're just borrowed soldiers, not their own people, they can be used however they want; if they die, they die.

Therefore, it is best to lend both elite troops and ordinary soldiers to the Qin state.

Moreover, there was another reason for using ordinary soldiers: to see if the Qin people's method of breaking the Macedonian phalanx could also be used by ordinary soldiers.

Using elite troops to break through the Macedonian phalanx and using ordinary soldiers to break through the Macedonian phalanx are two completely different things.

The latter method, representing the Qin people's approach to breaking the Macedonian phalanx, was universal and applicable to most states. Its impact was far greater than that of using an elite force to break the Macedonian phalanx.

In short, if the Qin people could break the Macedonian phalanx with ordinary soldiers, it would prove that their method was universal and applicable, and the Macedonian phalanx would decline from then on.

The thought that Alexander's perfected and invincible phalanx might be ended by the Qin people filled Ardaban with a sense of melancholy. The era that Alexander had started was coming to a complete end, and the one who drew the curtain for him was the Qin people from the east.

It's no wonder that the people of Qin were dismissive of Alexander's eastern expeditions and didn't realize how powerful the Macedonian Empire was during Alexander's time; in fact, they were much stronger.

The era ushered in by Alexander the Great has come to an end, and the West is about to enter the era of the Qin people!

This was also one of the main reasons why Li Nian suggested that the First Emperor send delegations to the western countries: to bring the influence of the Qin Dynasty to the western countries, to end the things that originally had an influence on the western countries, and to make them turn to learn from the Qin Dynasty and accept the Qin Dynasty's ideas and culture.

That is, to carry out cultural invasion of Western countries, interrupt their original process of Hellenization and being influenced by Greek culture, and instead replace it with the process of Qinization.

Li Nian harbors grand ambitions towards the western countries, aiming not only to spread the culture of the Qin Dynasty but also to suppress the existing cultures of the West.

In the future, he will have Qin spread the idea to the western countries: your original culture is backward and ignorant, and it is these things that have caused you to fall behind. If you want to become as powerful and advanced as Qin, you must first discard your backward culture, such as your original writing, language and customs.

Just like during the Republic of China era, some masters believed that one of the reasons why China lagged behind the West was the use of Chinese characters. Therefore, they advocated abolishing Chinese characters and replacing them with the Latin alphabet in order to align with the international community.

Li Nian planned to do the same to the Western countries of this era: abolish their backward languages ​​and scripts, and adopt the Qin script in order to align with the Qin.

A day later, Wang Ling and his entourage returned to the Parthian palace, where they were arranged by Arsakh I to discuss matters with Ardaban.

In a palace, Wang Ling and his entourage sat on one side of a long table, while Ardaban and his entourage sat on the other. Wang Ling and his entourage were on the left, and Ardaban and several Parthian ministers were on the right.

Borrowing troops is no small matter. It's not that Arsak I could immediately hand over 10,000 troops to Wang Ling and his group just because he agreed to lend them. Wang Ling and his group could then immediately take these 10,000 troops to fight the Seleucids.

First of all, these 10,000 soldiers were Parthians, and there was a language barrier between them and the Qin delegation. This problem had to be solved.

It's impractical for Cao Can, Guan Ying, and others to have interpreters translate word by word when they're on the battlefield commanding these Parthian soldiers. Battlefield situations change rapidly, and opportunities are fleeting. By the time the "I speak—you translate—he listens" process is over, the opportunity may have already been lost.

Secondly, the Qin delegation did not have enough generals to directly command 10,000 Parthian soldiers. They had to use Parthian generals who were already in the army, and how to command these Parthian generals was also a problem.

Furthermore, the Qin delegation did not have the provisions and weapons to supply these 10,000 Parthian soldiers; the Parthians had to provide them.

Borrowing troops is one thing, but borrowing provisions and weapons is another.

There are still many problems to be solved. Borrowing troops is not something that can be done simply by you wanting to borrow them and me being willing to lend them, especially in the case of the Qin delegation, which is in a foreign country.

After both sides were seated, Ardaban looked at the royal tomb sitting opposite him and said, "My father has entrusted me with the entire matter of borrowing troops from you all. Now I will discuss this with you envoys on behalf of my father."

After saying this, Ardaban laid the foundation for the negotiations: "Out of the deep friendship between our country and your esteemed nation, my father is willing to help you."

The purpose of borrowing troops is not for personal gain or benefit, but for the friendship between the two countries. Although the two countries have only been exchanging ideas for a little over a month, has this affected the depth of the friendship?
Since the King of Qin had agreed to the request for peace, they felt they had to show their gratitude. King Ling immediately said, "We are deeply grateful for Your Majesty's friendship. We thank Your Majesty for extending a helping hand to us during our time of difficulty! May the friendship between our two nations last forever!"

After the translator relayed Wang Ling's words, Ardaban also said, "May the friendship between our two countries last forever!"

After agreeing with this statement, Ardaban gave a look to a Parthian minister standing next to him, and a document written on papyrus was presented to the royal tomb by the minister.

Ardaban said, “The envoy may take a look first and see where there are any shortcomings so that we can discuss them together.”

This is a military loan agreement drafted by the Parthians, in both simplified Chinese and Parthian script. It records how many soldiers are to be borrowed, from which Parthian armies they come, what battles they have participated in, their ages, the weapons they use, the types of battlefields they are suited for, and who the generals of these armies are...

This meant that Wang Ling would have some understanding of the troops he was going to borrow. The fact that the Parthians were able to produce this agreement in just one day shows that they had put a lot of thought into it.

The agreement to borrow troops also mentioned issues such as obstacles in communication between the Qin delegation and the soldiers, but did not mention the supply of food and military equipment.

After reading the military loan agreement, Wang Ling did not speak, but instead handed it to Li Shiqi, who was sitting to his right.

Ardaban and the others were also very patient, quietly waiting for the delegation members who came to participate in the discussions to finish reading the agreement.

(End of this chapter)