Diqin Designer

Chapter 557 One Month of Training, Sharp Weapons Initially Forged
After learning that Cao Can had mocked them for being cowardly, some Parthian soldiers couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward.

An Anxi soldier looked at Cao Can on the platform and said, "General, we are not cowardly rats!"

The translator literally renders "cowardly as a mouse" as "cowardly as a mouse," which isn't wrong in itself, but it still sounds a bit odd for the Parthian soldiers to say, "We are not cowardly mice."

After learning from the translator that the Parthian soldier was talking about dogs, Cao Can looked at him and said, "You say you're not rats, then prove it to me!"

The Parthian soldier said, “I will prove it to you, General.”

After saying this, the Parthian soldier looked at the two hundred Qin soldiers in formation and asked, "General, can we choose anyone from among them?"

Cao Can said, "Of course, I will not go back on my word. You may challenge any one of them at will, but while you are challenging, neither side should kill the other."

A few minor injuries are nothing, but if someone dies, regardless of which side loses the life, it will be of no benefit to the mission.

If anyone on the mission were to die, it would severely damage the strong image the mission had cultivated among the Parthians and also demoralize the Qin army on the mission.

If any Parthian soldiers were to die, it would cause them to harbor resentment towards the mission: the Qin people were too domineering, killing their people on their own territory in order to establish their authority over them.

This leads to resentment, resistance to the mission, and non-cooperation with its instructions.

After listening to Cao Can's words, the Parthian soldier looked carefully for a while, then raised his hand and pointed to a tall Qin soldier in the ranks, saying, "General, I want to have a match with him!"

Since it is a challenge, one should choose to challenge the strongest in the Qin army. If one chooses the weakest in the Qin army, it would not be honorable even if one wins.

Moreover, choosing the seemingly weaker members of the Qin army only further confirms the Qin general's statement: they were cowardly, which is why the weaker members of the Qin army were chosen.

This Parthian soldier wanted to show the general from Qin that the Parthians were not cowardly; they had courage and dared to challenge the strong.

Cao Can looked at the Qin army ranks in the direction pointed by the Parthian soldiers: "Qin Qiang, step forward!"

The Qin soldier pointed out by the Parthian soldier stepped forward. He was indeed a tall and burly Qin soldier in the ranks, but whether he was the strongest was another matter.

The surname "Qin" for Qin Qiang was chosen by his family when the First Emperor issued a decree that all people in the Qin Dynasty should have a surname. Many old Qin people also chose the surname "Qin".

Many soldiers in the Qin army that escorted the envoy had "Qin" as their surname.

Soon, Qin Qiang and the Parthian soldier stood on the platform, and the Parthian soldier chose to wrestle with Qin Qiang.

Below the stage, the Parthian soldiers watched the two men intently. With a wave of his hand from the Qin general, the two drew closer...

Many Parthian soldiers had expected this to be a fierce and intense contest. Even though the Qin people were strong and there was a gap between them and the Qin people, those among them who dared to stand up and challenge the Qin people were elites and not too far behind.

Moreover, this was not a battlefield battle, and the Qin people could not use their superior weapons and armor, so they could only rely on their physical strength.

It's a matter of who is physically stronger; they aren't that much weaker than the people of Qin.

However, the truth is that after the two met, the Parthian soldier only lasted a short while before Qin Qiang threw him to the ground.

Although this Parthian soldier was an elite member of the Parthian army, Qin Qiang had selected an even more elite force from among the elite troops of the Qin Dynasty.

How many soldiers did the Parthians have, and how many soldiers did the Qin Dynasty have?

The two sides were not on the same level in terms of the number of people they could select. Qin Qiang, who was selected from the many soldiers of Qin, was not only stronger than all the Parthian soldiers, but also stronger than most of them. And this Parthian soldier was among the majority.

After Qin Qiang threw the Parthian soldier to the ground, he extended his right hand to him.

The Parthian soldier was taken aback for a moment, then reached out his right hand and took Qin Qiang's hand, and Qin Qiang pulled him up.

The Parthian soldiers below the stage fell silent for a moment, then burst into cheers.

Although the people of Qin were very strong, they were not as arrogant and conceited as the Seleucids.

The people of Qin were not arrogant; on the contrary, the Seleucids, who were not as strong as the people of Qin, were very arrogant. I don't know what those Seleucids were so arrogant about.

This greatly improved the Parthian soldiers' perception of the Qin delegation.

If the Seleucids had won, they wouldn't have even reached out to help the other person up; they'd be lucky if they hadn't kicked him a couple of times and said something like, "Barbarians are barbarians; they can never beat us."

This was actually a step that Cao Can and others had planned before their arrival. If the Qin soldiers defeated the Parthian soldiers in the challenge, they were to show humility and tolerance in order to increase the Parthian soldiers' goodwill towards the delegation.

The way to govern people is nothing more than “using kindness and severity together, and clearly distinguishing between rewards and punishments.” To lead these more than 10,000 Parthian soldiers well, we must do the same, making them aware of both our authority and our kindness.

“恩” does not necessarily mean kindness or favor; it can also mean benefit or goodwill.

Although this Parthian soldier was defeated, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of other Parthian soldiers to challenge him; on the contrary, more Parthian soldiers stepped forward to take on the challenge.

Some challenged themselves with wrestling, some with weightlifting, and some with sprinting...

They managed to turn this first meeting between the Qin delegation and the Parthian soldiers into a mini-sports meet.

The Qin soldiers did not win all the challenges; in some of them, they lost to the Parthian soldiers who came to challenge them.

But this did not make the Parthian soldiers think that the Qin people were weak; on the contrary, they thought that the Qin people were very strong, and that the Qin people were much easier to get along with than the Seleucids.

After all the challenges were over, Cao Can, Guan Ying, and the other generals returned to the stage and looked down at the more than 10,000 Parthian soldiers.

Cao Can said, "I take back what I said before. You are not cowards, but brave warriors!"

Upon hearing Cao Can's words, the Parthian soldiers below the stage all smiled, feeling that they had gained the approval of the Qin people and had a sense of being praised and honored.

They failed to realize that they had grown close to Cao Can and others, and even valued the words of Cao Can, a Qin general.

“But…” Cao Can changed the subject, “We are not here today to play and have fun with you, but to lead you to conquer the Seleucids!”

"In my opinion, given your current strength, you are no match for the Seleucids."

Seeing the Qin general become serious, all the Parthian soldiers lost their smiles and also became serious.

"In the coming days, I will be training you all, and you must do your best to complete the training."

These borrowed Parthian soldiers certainly couldn't be taken directly to the battlefield to fight the Seleucids; they had to be trained for a period of time first.

For example, teaching them some flag signals would make it easier to command them on the battlefield when there is a language barrier. On the other hand, this would also give the generals of the delegation time to adapt to the Parthian soldiers.

Parthian soldiers and Qin soldiers differed in many ways, such as the tactics they used on the battlefield, their equipment, and their mindset.

The generals of the mission needed to understand and adapt to them, knowing their strengths and weaknesses, in order to lead the Parthian soldiers effectively.

On the battlefield, any tiny detail can determine the outcome of a war. Sending over ten thousand Parthian soldiers directly to the battlefield without any training or preparation greatly increases the likelihood of problems arising.

Cao Can and his men set up camp here and began training the more than 10,000 borrowed Parthian soldiers.

Upon learning in the Parthian palace that the Qin people had easily subdued more than 10,000 soldiers, Arsak I said, "These Qin people are truly formidable. If left unchecked, I fear that in a while, those soldiers will all join them."

If this matter had been left unattended and the Qin people had been allowed to win over the hearts of their soldiers, those 10,000-plus soldiers might have ended up with the surname "Qin".

What's truly frightening isn't that these 10,000-plus soldiers followed the Qin, but rather that if they remained loyal to the Qin, the Qin would be able to accomplish many things.

Arsak had not previously felt that the Qin people posed a threat to him because although Qin was strong, it was far away, and the Qin delegation did not have many soldiers.

However, if the more than 10,000 soldiers he lent to the Qin people were to pledge allegiance to the Qin people, then the situation would change.

The Qin people have the ability to train these 10,000 soldiers into elite troops, and they are also skilled commanders. At that point, the Qin people might have other ideas...

The Qin people can borrow troops, but they must know that these 10,000 troops are borrowed and do not truly belong to them.

Arsak I looked at the Parthian prince standing below and said, "Ardaban, the Qin army is leading a campaign against the Seleucus this time, and you will accompany them!"

Ardaban understood Arshak I's concerns; they couldn't allow the Qin people to take over these ten thousand soldiers, or they might be in big trouble.

Ardaban said, "Father, rest assured, I will be vigilant at all times and will not allow the Qin people to breach the contract."

Cao Can and others were well aware of Arsak I's purpose in sending Ardaban; he clearly didn't trust them and had sent someone specifically to keep an eye on them.

Cao Can and the others did not object, because they were borrowing troops after all, and the actual ownership of the troops still belonged to the Parthians; they were only borrowing them temporarily.

However, some things cannot be prevented by trying!

Qin will not wage war against Parthia at present, but it is still possible to create some favorable conditions for Qin in advance and plant some traps for Parthia.

The term "planting mines" was coined by Li Nian Gongzi, meaning to set up one or more hidden dangers.

These 10,000-plus soldiers were the tools the mission planned to use to plant mines for the Parthians, and the method of planting the mines would be quite aboveboard.

A month later, Wang Ling, Li Shiqi, Cao Can, Guan Ying, and others looked at the army below the platform.

Compared to a month ago, these more than 10,000 people have undergone considerable changes, especially in their spirit and morale, and they are already showing some signs of the Qin army.

Simply put, it has shed its former frivolity and become more stable, showing the characteristics of a strong military.

Of course, it still can't compare to the elite troops of the Qin Dynasty, but in the West, if led by a good general, it is already a force that is not weak.

Ardaban was also there, and he was even more shocked to see how the Qin people had trained more than 10,000 people into what they were now, day after day.

Although these 10,000-plus people were not the old, weak, sick, or disabled, they were not the most elite troops in Parthia either. However, after being trained by the Qin people, they might already be able to fight against the most elite troops.

He was now even more grateful for his father's wisdom; if he hadn't been sent here to keep an eye on things, many of the more than ten thousand soldiers would probably have turned to the Qin.

No, even if he were watching, many of these 10,000 soldiers might be close to the Qin people.

But these past few days, watching the Qin people train these more than 10,000 people, he has also learned a lot about their military training methods. Qin is indeed a powerful country, as can be seen from their military training methods.

However, Cao Shen, Guan Ying, and other generals were not entirely satisfied with the more than 10,000 soldiers below them.

Although these more than 10,000 soldiers have become stronger, they are still some distance from being the elite troops of the Qin Dynasty.

But Cao Shen also knew that they could not train these 10,000 soldiers to be as good as the Qin elite troops.

First, there wasn't enough time; they couldn't possibly spend too much time training over 10,000 people. Second, Wang Ling and the others wouldn't agree; they were only borrowing troops, and these 10,000 people would eventually be returned to Parthia. Training them to be like the elite troops of the Qin Dynasty would ultimately benefit Arsak I.

This is also an unspoken reason why Arsak I lent troops to the mission: he wanted to see how the Qin people trained their soldiers.

The mission's requirements for the more than 10,000 Parthian soldiers were simple: they just needed to be usable and didn't need to be trained to be too elite.

As the highest-ranking general of the delegation, Cao Can naturally commanded these more than 10,000 Parthian soldiers. Looking at the soldiers below, he said, "After a month of training, you have done well and are already showing the signs of a strong army!"

"But whether we are a strong army or not still needs to be tested on the battlefield. True strength is shown on the battlefield, not just by believing we are strong. Do you have the confidence to defeat the Seleucids on the battlefield?"

More than 10,000 Parthian soldiers below the stage shouted in unison, "We have confidence!"

After being trained by the Qin people for a month, they could clearly feel that they had become stronger. Whether it was their individual physical fitness or the tactical coordination of the entire army, they had made considerable progress.

They are now fully confident of defeating the Seleucids on the battlefield.

Sensing their growing strength, the more than 10,000 Parthian soldiers trusted Cao Can and his men even more. These Qin generals were truly capable, not just empty talkers.

During this month, they felt the power and terror of the Qin people even more.

Qin generals would sometimes arrange for them to fight against the Qin army. With equal numbers of troops, they were no match for the Qin army. The Qin army could defeat them with minimal casualties, while they would have to pay several times the price to annihilate the Qin army.

Even as their month-long training was drawing to a close, in their final confrontation with the Qin army, they remained steadfast in this manner.

This also means that although they had been trained by Qin generals for a month, they were still far from being as good as the Qin army.

When those Qin soldiers practiced fighting against them, they didn't rely on their superior armor and weapons; everyone had the same equipment.

It is said that there were hundreds of thousands of such Qin soldiers in the Qin state, which is terrifying to think about.

That's a misunderstanding. The Qin soldiers escorting the envoy were all elite troops; the Qin state didn't have that many.

(End of this chapter)