"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, news from the front! An army of one hundred thousand has appeared at the border of our Qin!"
"One hundred thousand? Where did this army come from??"
"We are still unaware of their origin, but they are very distinctive. Their skin is either white or black!!"
"Black? Could they be Kunlun slaves??"
Ying Zheng knew nothing of white or black people.
He only knew that the legendary Kunlun slaves were entirely black.
Thus, upon hearing of black-skinned individuals, Ying Zheng instinctively thought of Kunlun slaves.
However, the Crusades were not Kunlun slaves, but a force of slaughter.
Lin Tian, hearing this description, had a rough idea of where they came from.
But before that, he needed to confirm their exact identity.
"Besides their skin color, do they have any other special characteristics??"
"Characteristics... Each of them rides a warhorse, their shields are small and round, and they all bear a special mark!"
"A special mark? What kind of special mark?"
"They all have a special pattern on them!!"
With that, the messenger drew the pattern they spoke of.
The so-called special pattern was, in fact, a cross.
This was the faith of the Crusades and their primary source of strength.
They answered to their Pope.
Therefore, each one of them bore a cross mark.
Upon seeing this mark, Lin Tian immediately confirmed their identity.
"The Crusades!!"
"Hmm? My son, you know of their existence??"
"I do!! They are from a powerful nation in the distant West, a nation primarily driven by religion, with a formidable army!"
"A powerful nation?? Is their country larger than our Great Qin?"
"In terms of territory, their country is indeed larger than the current area of Great Qin!!"
The Crusades were initiated by the Pope of Roman Catholicism, and their scale was vast, occupying a considerable amount of land.
If calculated purely by territorial area, the current Great Qin might not match them.
But in terms of military strength, Lin Tian was confident he could completely overwhelm them.
Ying Zheng, upon hearing that their country was even larger than Qin, did not react with fear. Instead, his eyes lit up with interest.
"Their country is truly larger than our Great Qin?"
"Indeed! Furthermore, where they are located, there are not only their country but also other nations!"
"Those countries also occupy vast territories and possess numerous soldiers!!"
"Hiss! So there are truly so many powerful nations in this world!"
Earlier, Lin Tian had told Ying Zheng that there were many countries in the West.
However, at that time, Ying Zheng had not seen other countries. While he trusted Lin Tian's words, he still couldn't imagine how many powerful nations existed in the West.
After all, in many people's minds, unifying the six states was equivalent to unifying the world.
The world of the Son of Heaven was only so large.
The appearance of the Crusades directly convinced Ying Zheng, making him firmly believe that in the distant West, there were powerful nations and armies.
At the same time, Ying Zheng's ambition was ignited.
Since those Western nations could come to Great Qin, why couldn't Great Qin march to their lands?
If Great Qin marched to their countries, the land Great Qin would conquer would be immeasurable.
And the Great Qin Empire would become unprecedentedly powerful.
Even he, the First Emperor, would be praised by millions for eternity.
Thinking of this, even the First Emperor could not suppress his inner excitement.
"Then... could our Great Qin also go to their countries??"
"Absolutely!"
"In fact, we could even forge an empire on which the sun never sets!!"
"What is an empire on which the sun never sets??"
Ying Zheng had no concrete understanding of the term "empire on which the sun never sets."
His knowledge of this world was extremely limited.
However, since Ying Zheng was interested, Lin Tian naturally had to explain it to him properly.
"Because the world we inhabit is round, when it is day for us, it is night on the other side of the world!"
"When it is day for them, it is night for us!!"
"As long as we occupy the other side of the world and make it our Great Qin territory, our land will forever be illuminated by the sun!"
"Wherever the sun shines, it shall be Qin land!!"
In Lin Tian's heart, he had long harbored the ambition to conquer the entire world.
Especially after Great Qin unified the six states, his desire grew even stronger.
However, he had never found a suitable opportunity to propose attacking other countries.
Thus, this matter had been put on hold.
What he was saying now was actually his own ambition.
At this moment, Ying Zheng was clearly shocked by Lin Tian's ambition.
Especially the phrase "empire on which the sun never sets," which seemed to possess a special magic, lingering in Ying Zheng's mind.
He had originally thought that the rising and setting of the sun were immutable events.
A nation would inevitably experience the sun's rise and fall.
But after Lin Tian's explanation, Ying Zheng suddenly felt that perhaps, Great Qin's sun could truly never set.
However, to achieve this, it would be necessary to go to distant lands and conquer vast territories.
Therefore, Ying Zheng looked at Lin Tian with a hint of worry and reluctance.
"My son, if it were you... do you have the confidence to build our Great Qin into an empire on which the sun never sets??"
"To be frank, Father, I do have such aspirations. What I wish to forge is precisely an empire on which the sun never sets!!"
"You... you truly have the confidence to achieve this? You know, we don't even understand those distant countries!!"
"Father, when it comes to warfare, I have never been afraid!"
"As long as I am given a hundred thousand troops, I dare to march against the Western nations!!"
Lin Tian indeed possessed such confidence. He even wished he could march to the Western nations right now.
Those places possessed far too much wealth and resources.
Those wealth and resources should be sent back to Great Qin.
Lin Tian's words clearly conveyed his determination to Ying Zheng.
This made Ying Zheng's heart feel somewhat relieved.
Since Lin Tian said he could achieve this, he would surely be able to.
Therefore, Ying Zheng had no need to worry about this matter.
What they needed to decide next was how to deal with the Crusades.
...