Question

having han peasants and soldiers by the wall may have improved relations with the xiongnu which could have reduced future conflicts.

1. how could you use this document to argue that building the great wall was not worth the cost?

according to the document, building the great wall was not worth the cost because...

Explanation:

The only provided document snippet notes a potential benefit of the Great Wall (improved relations with Xiongnu to reduce conflict), but to argue it was not worth the cost, we infer the unstated tradeoff: the massive resources (labor, funds, lives) spent on constructing and manning the wall with peasants and soldiers could have been used for domestic needs like food, infrastructure, or supporting the population, while the conflict-reduction benefit is only a speculative "may have" outcome, not a guaranteed result.

Answer:

According to the document, building the Great Wall was not worth the cost because the enormous resources (labor, funds, and human lives) dedicated to constructing and staffing the wall with Han peasants and soldiers could have been allocated to critical domestic needs such as supporting the population, developing infrastructure, or addressing food insecurity, while the claimed benefit of improved Xiongnu relations and reduced future conflicts is only a speculative possibility, not a guaranteed or proven outcome.