After the envoy left, the wicked man advised Ying Zheng: "Your Majesty, I believe that regardless of how the Kingdom of Sindhu responds, we should prepare for war."

Ying Zheng nodded slightly: "What you say is absolutely right, my dear minister. I had the same idea. Issue an order to the Ministry of Works to expedite the production of new weapons. In particular, make sure to build as many warships as possible capable of naval warfare!"

Meanwhile, on the southwestern border.

A Qin army patrol was on patrol along the border. Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar!

"Alert!" the captain immediately ordered. The soldiers lined up, nocked their arrows, and stood ready for battle.

The sound of hooves grew closer, and finally, a caravan of about a hundred people came into view. They were dressed in unusual clothes and rode tall warhorses, appearing to be a merchant caravan from a foreign tribe.

"Halt!" the captain shouted sternly. "Who are you people?"

The leading merchant reined in his horse and replied in broken Chinese, "We are merchants from Sindhu (India), and we wish to trade with your country..."

"Hmph!" the captain sneered. "Who doesn't know the rules of Great Qin now? Without a pass, no foreign race is allowed to enter!"

The merchant hurriedly pulled out a jade token from his pocket: "This is a pass we obtained in the Great Xia Dynasty, it can be used to..."

"Great Xia?" A cold glint flashed in the captain's eyes. "Great Xia has already been conquered by my Great Qin. Their passes have long been invalidated! Men, seize all of them!"

The soldiers immediately rushed forward and surrounded the caravan. The merchants were panicked and had no idea what was happening.

"My lord, spare us!" the caravan leader pleaded, kneeling on the ground. "We just wanted to do business..."

"Doing business?" the captain sneered. "Without the Grand Commandant's permission, no foreign tribe is allowed to set foot on the territory of my Great Qin! Take them all back to await their fate!"

The caravan was escorted to a border city and imprisoned. These Indian merchants were completely unaware that the Qin Dynasty's iron-fisted policy viewed all foreign tribes as potential threats and forbade them from freely entering or leaving the country.

Soon, their fate will be decided by the wicked husband—either they will be executed, or they will be taken hostage and used as bargaining chips to threaten India.

When the news reached Xianyang, the wicked man immediately ordered: "Bring these Indian merchants to Xianyang. I, the Grand Commandant, will interrogate them personally!"

...........

Half a month later, at the Grand Commandant's residence.

The Indian merchants were brought before the wicked man, their faces ashen and trembling with fear. They had already heard about the Qin Dynasty's treatment of foreign tribes and were terrified that they would suffer the same fate as other foreign tribes.

"Are you the merchants from India?" the wicked man asked condescendingly.

"Yes...yes, Your Excellency," the caravan leader said in a trembling voice, "we just wanted to do business..."

"Doing business?" the wicked man sneered. "Do you know what crime it is to enter the territory of my Great Qin without permission?"

The merchants turned pale and dared not answer.

"According to the laws of my Great Qin, you all deserve to die!" the wicked husband roared. "However..."

He then changed the subject: "Considering that your mistake was unintentional, this Grand Commandant may consider sparing your lives."

The merchants were overjoyed and immediately kowtowed, saying, "Thank you for your mercy, Grand Commandant!"

"However, I have a condition." The wicked man's eyes blazed. "After you return, you must convey my words to your king—if Sindhu wants to live in peace with Great Qin, it must acknowledge Great Qin's suzerainty and pay tribute annually. Otherwise..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture: "Otherwise, you will also disappear from this land forever, like other alien races!"

The merchants nervously agreed and were released back to India. The news quickly spread throughout India, causing a huge uproar.

The King of Sindhu summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures.

Some advocated uniting with neighboring countries to resist, but more people advocated surrender. This was because the Qin army had already conquered the Western Regions and Parthia, and although India was powerful, it was no match for Qin.

Ultimately, the King of Sindhu decided to send a special envoy to Daqin (the Roman Empire) to express his submission and accept Daqin's investiture.

Not only India, but also many island nations in the far southeast sent envoys to pay tribute. They brought precious gifts such as pearls, jade, and gold, hoping to gain the protection of the Qin Dynasty.

These countries included numerous small islands surrounding Japan, as well as tribes on the islands of the South China Sea. They had all heard of the might of the Qin Dynasty and feared that they too would become the next to be conquered.

On this day, officials gathered in Chengming Hall to witness a historic moment.

One by one, envoys from different ethnic groups stepped forward, presenting letters of state and gifts to the First Emperor, expressing their willingness to submit to the Great Qin and become vassal states.

Ying Zheng accepted the tribute with satisfaction and bestowed gifts upon the envoys of the various countries in return. He declared that from this day forward, these countries would be vassal states of Qin, obligated to pay tribute regularly and accept investiture from Qin.

"My beloved ministers," Ying Zheng said, surveying his assembled officials. "Today can be called the golden age of Qin! To the north, the tribes of the grasslands have submitted; to the south, the Dian and Yelang kingdoms have pledged allegiance; to the west, the Western Regions and Parthia kingdoms pay tribute; and to the east, the island kingdoms come to pay homage. My Great Qin has truly become a celestial empire!"

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!