Dada responded: "Your Majesty, please speak."
I paused and then said: "The Great Khan made the entire tribe move to the vicinity of the Great Wall. How to solve the grazing problem? All your food is supplied by Great Qin. What will you do if the Great Qin forces fail to capture you one day? The Qilian Mountains are so fertile. Wouldn’t it be a pity to give up the ranch?”
I asked three questions in a row, and Dada fell into deep thought.
After a long time, he said: "I had no choice but to make this decision."
Then he raised his head and looked at me: "Since your envoy has thought of these problems, do you have any good ideas?"
I nodded: "I have a plan, the Khan can consider it."
"The biggest difference between Da Qin and you is that Da Qin is a farming country, while you are a nomadic country. Da Qin's grain and cloth are what you need, and your cattle and horses are what Da Qin needs."
"My proposal is: First, you surrender to the Great Qin, but you don't have to move near the Great Wall, and you don't have to reduce the army. The Great Qin will give you 400,000 catties of grain every month. Of course, this is far from what you need. What is missing can be exchanged with the other side through trade. The cattle and horses are exchanged for my food and cloth.”
"Secondly, although you do not have to reduce the number of troops, Da Qin will send supervisory troops to your army. The supervisory army will not command your army to fight, but if your army takes any action, it must be approved by the supervisory army."
"Third, not only to supervise the army, Da Qin will also divide the north of Qilian Mountain into five counties and place county guards there. Da Qin will also gradually move Qin people there. You can keep your living habits, but you are not allowed to move between the five counties. Even if you move at will, you must abide by our laws and regulations after entering counties and cities."
"What does the Great Khan think?"
Dada showed a solemn expression on his face.
His previous promise to abandon the army was only a temporary measure, and the tribe was still under his control. To put it bluntly, Da Qin only needs to feed him every month to support him. If one day Da Qin doesn't want to support him or can't afford it, he can always take the tribe to find another way out.
But if you go by what I say, then his title of Great Khan has become a false name. With the army in the hands of Da Qin and the tribes being forcibly separated and isolated, it would be impossible for him to escape Da Qin's control in the future.
Either they are completely controlled by the Qin Dynasty, but their own tribe can survive; or they are annexed by the Xiongnu or Qiang tribe, but they are of the same tribe anyway, and they may not necessarily be used as cannon fodder to attack Qin.
How to choose, that is the question.
Seeing that he was a little hesitant, I opened my mouth and drew another pie for him.
"The reason why I, Da Qin, won't let you abandon the Qilian Mountains is because of Da Qin and you."
Dada raised his head and asked, "What do you mean by this?"
I took a sip of tea and responded: "The Qin Dynasty is in urgent need of good horses to strengthen our Qin cavalry to fight against the Xiongnu. The pastures in the Qilian Mountains are rare and excellent pastures, with luxuriant water and grass and a suitable climate. How will you have enough cattle and horses if you abandon the Qilian Mountains? Trade with Da Qin? Da Qin won’t get a good horse, and you won’t get food, which is of no benefit to us."
"There is also another important reason. Now that the Central Plains is stable, we, the Qin Dynasty, have no rivals in the east. But there are many countries in the Western Regions that the Qin Dynasty intends to trade with and obtain products that the Qin Dynasty does not have."
"To go to the west, the most convenient road is the valley north of the Qilian Mountains. Da Qin calls it the Hexi Corridor. By occupying the Hexi Corridor, Da Qin can directly connect to the Western Regions."
"If the Great Khan agrees to my policy, I can make the decision, and you can share ten percent of the tariffs earned from trade. I, Da Qin, have already estimated the benefits of trade with the Western Regions, and their value is indescribable."
Dada's eyes lit up, and his heart was already shaken.
Seeing his expression, I chuckled to myself. Enough benefits have been given, it’s time to put some pressure on them.
"The strategy I mentioned to the Great Khan is actually something I started planning after the Second Emperor of Great Qin came to the throne. Even if the Great Khan did not take the initiative to find me, I, Great Qin, are bound to win the land in the Hexi Corridor! The emperor once said: The land west of Hexi can be planned by the whole country! It has been more than two years since my second emperor came to the throne, and the planning will definitely be completed. "
Dada was shocked. He didn't expect that not only enemies from the north and the south were eyeing him, but even the state of Qin was also coveting him. If three enemies attack the Northern Qiang tribe together...
Thinking of this, Dada no longer hesitated, stood up and clasped his fists and said: "Your envoy has thought carefully about my tribe, and I am willing to act according to your envoy's policy!"
I also stood up and said with a smile: "We will wait and see. The Great Khan will be happy with his choice today."
Dada hesitated for a moment and then said: "It's not that I don't trust your envoy, but can your envoy guarantee that the Emperor of Qin will agree to this policy?"
I laughed, turned around and winked, and asked Wang Li, "Wang Li, do you think the emperor will agree?"
Wang Li bowed and saluted, smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty is true to his word. Since he is here to discuss with the Great Khan in person, he will definitely stick to his word!"
Dada was shocked when he heard this. He looked at me in disbelief and stuttered slightly: "Your envoy...is your envoy the Emperor of Qin?"
I nodded: "I am very happy to hear that the Great Khan intends to surrender to the Qin Dynasty. To show my respect for the Great Khan, I specially came to discuss important matters with the Great Khan in person. Because of the long distance, the emperor's body is inconvenient, so he conceals his identity. Don’t blame me for sweating.”
Dada calmed down, learned the etiquette of the Qin Dynasty and bowed, and solemnly said: "The Emperor of the Qin Dynasty has extraordinary courage, I have no doubts at all!"
I responded: "The Great Khan cherishes his people and wishes to carry out his affairs. I am very relieved."
"After I returned to Xianyang, I immediately ordered people to come here to discuss matters with the Great Khan. I hope that our Great Qin can have good relations with the Northern Qiang clan for generations!"
Dada solemnly said: "Thank you, Emperor Qin."
After reaching a consensus, I took Wang Li and left.
Dada looked at my retreating back and sighed: "With this young hero, the Qin Dynasty is unstoppable!"
Then he galloped away on horseback.
The group returned to Didao. I counted the time. Today is the fourth day, so there is still some time.
After thinking for a moment, I said to Wang Li beside me: "I heard that Li Xin is also in Longxi. Do you know where he is specifically?"
Wang Li cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, since the 26th year of King Qin's reign, Li Xin followed my father to conquer Qi State, and Li Xin returned to the fiefdom of Longxi County without ever becoming an official. He is still in Changgu, Longxi County."
I hummed: "Finally, now is the year of destiny."
Wang Li replied: "Yes."
Not knowing what I meant by mentioning Li Xin, he didn't answer.
"Meng He, rest for an hour and then we will return to Yongcheng."
After a quick meal, I took Meng He to Yongcheng. As we approached Longxi County, the sun was almost setting.
After thinking about it, I took Meng He to Changgu.
Anyway, we are looking for a place to stay and have a rest. We have already arrived in Longxi County, so why not stop by to see Li Xin.
Li Xin is very similar to Huo Qubing. The same youthful success, the same love of surprise attacks and the use of troops, and the same flash of death like a shooting star. The difference is that Li Xin was given a slap on the wrist after he achieved success as a young boy, and became unknown after a huge defeat.
Meng Tian is good at defense, but if he wants to completely solve the Xiongnu's troubles, he must have people like Li Xin and Huo Qubing. Only they can stand on the same starting line as the Xiongnu cavalry.
Soon the group arrived at Changgu.
