Qin Heng 1

Author: Wang Yun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: When first reading The Sorrow of Qin, I thought the book was unremarkable, with a slow plot progression and insufficient character development. Upon rereading The Sorrow of Qin, I was amazed at Wang Yun's ingenious craftsmanship. It became clear that many initially awkward parts were actually foreshadowing, and the book was filled with brilliant moments that transformed the mundane into the extraordinary. It is truly admirable. I strongly recommend reading The Sorrow of Qin multiple times—read with heart, read with effort, read with dedication! The main attraction of The Sorrow of Qin on Qidian is its subtle and elegant charm. After reading it, one feels refreshed, as if bathed in spring breeze, with a more ethereal and transcendent quality than typical works of the same genre. There is little of the dirty,istic, and it seems like an ancient melody shrouded in mist, making one unwillingly immerse oneself in it. The author's grasp of history is absolutely exceptional—great job! Vote for it!
Under the Moon, Maple Leaves The Death of Lü Buwei can be considered inevitable, primarily due to the personalities of the Qin King and Lü Buwei. Perhaps because they were father and son, both were arrogant, clever, and self-assured. Especially Ying Zheng, in his eyes, no one could compare to him, and the power of the realm should rest solely in his hands. Lü Buwei had governed Qin for many years, and most of Qin's power rested in his hands, something Ying Zheng could never tolerate. Therefore, regardless of the relationship between Lü Buwei and Ying Zheng, as long as he held significant power, his fate was sealed.
Saint Seiya After reading the Mysteries of the Ages in the back, let me guess how the author will write. Yesterday, I read The Romance of the Warring States and saw that Ying Zhu succeeded to the throne. Although I already knew that Zi Xing was a fictional character, I still felt sorry that such an outstanding talent was not remembered in history. Haha, I suspect the author might let the hero be moved by beauty and give up the throne, taking the beauty to retreat to the Peach Blossom Spring. The anonymous tomb owner in the Peach Blossom Spring might be Zi Xing. I don’t know if I’m right—wait until I finish the book to see. Haha, I hope the process is written vividly and beautifully. I’m waiting for updates every day.
The Sword Is Dust The division of Jin among the three states of Han, Wei, and Zhao marked the beginning of the Warring States period. By the later stages of the Warring States, the feudal lords of various states began to usurp the title of king, forming a situation where Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qin were the seven dominant powers. Among them, Qin gradually became the most powerful feudal state, with ambitions to the six other states. The ancestors of the Qin people were Bo Yi, who helped Yu the Great control the floods. Later, the first Qin ruler was merely a vassal of another state, holding the title of a viscount. Later, because Qin Xianggong played a crucial role in escorting King Ping of Zhou (Ji Yizhou) to Luoyang to establish a new royal court, he was ennobled as a count and ranked among the feudal lords. At the same time, Qin received land in the area of Qishan, the birthplace of the Western Zhou, drove out the Dog, and expanded its territory by thousands of miles, becoming a great power. However, Qin was located in a remote area, adjacent to the Dog, with abundant land but a small population. Except for the bravery of its soldiers, it was far less developed than the Central Plains states. It wasn’t until Qin Xiaogong implemented the reforms of Shang Yang that the state truly became powerful.
The main features of the new reforms were: first, emphasizing military merit. Commoners could rise to prominence through military achievements, benefiting the entire family. Driven by this incentive, the Qin people fought bravely and died without fear. Second, emphasizing agriculture. Grain was the foundation of the state, and its importance was even more pronounced in warfare. Therefore, Qin people served in the army during wartime and farmed during peacetime, solving the problem of troop recruitment while ensuring military supplies, laying a solid material foundation for future unification wars. By the time of Qin Wuwang, Qin’s strength had reached an unprecedented peak. Qin Wuwang intended to attack Wangcheng and replace the Zhou dynasty. At that time, King Xian of Zhou (Ji Yan, the last Zhou king) had just ascended the throne. The Zhou dynasty had weakened to the extreme, with the retaining only a name. Han and Zhao divided Zhou’s territory in half, and the territory directly ruled by the king was only a hundred miles in circumference, with a population of only thirty thousand households. The Western Zhou vassal states and the Eastern Zhou vassal states further divided the territory directly ruled by the king. Wangcheng Luoyi (now Luoyang) was only fifteen miles in circumference. The Western Zhou vassal state built a smaller city next to Wangcheng, called Chengzhou. The nominal role of the Western Zhou Duke was to assist the, but in reality, the Zhou royal family lived near the Western Zhou Duke’s fief, with no true royal territory. Qin Wuwang sent Gan Mao as the general and took a year to capture Yiyang (now southwest of Luoyang), the capital of Han, opening the way eastward. Because he was eager to see the Nine Tripod Vessels of Zhou, the Qin king ignored his ministers’ objections and went to Wangcheng himself. Upon hearing the news, King Xian of Zhou was terrified and knew that the Qin king came with ill intentions, but fearing his military might, he had to send an envoy to welcome him with great ceremony.
The Nine Tripod Vessels of Zhou were cast after Yu the Great controlled the floods, using tribute gold from the nine regions of Jing, Liang, Yong, Yu, Xu, Yang, Qing, Yan, and Ji. These vessels had been passed down through the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties for over two thousand years and were ceremonial artifacts exclusive to the. Qin Wuwang arrived at the grand hall of the Zhou palace and saw the nine vessels arranged in a row. He asked, “How heavy is the tripod vessel of Yongzhou?” The Qin capital was originally in Yongcheng, but later moved to Xianyang, but Yongcheng had always been the site for the Qin royal family to hold ceremonies for enthronement and sacrifices. The tripod keeper replied, “Each vessel weighs a thousand.” After the Shang dynasty fell, King Wu of Zhou ordered the Nine Tripod Vessels moved from Yin to Haojing. Moving each vessel required ninety thousand people and a year. He exaggerated the weight to discourage the Qin king from moving the vessels.
Qin Wuwang, proud of his strength, laughed and said, “A thousand can do nothing to me?” He stepped forward and lifted the tripod with both arms, showing off his power. But just as he took a step, his strength failed, and the tripod fell, striking his leg. Qin Wuwang cried out in pain and collapsed unconscious. In a panic, the people lifted the tripod from his leg and carried him back to the inn for treatment. The tripod keeper also reported the incident to King Xian of Zhou. Due to his severe injuries, Qin Wuwang vomited blood several times that night and died in the inn without leaving a will. The king was terrified, fearing a large-scale attack by Qin forces. He disregarded his status as the and personally mourned and arranged the funeral, sending a Zhou prince to escort the coffin back to Qin.
When this news spread, people, superstitious by nature, believed that the Zhou dynasty had not yet reached its end. Qin Wuwang’s disrespectful behavior had angered the ancestors of the Zhou dynasty, leading to this retribution. With Qin Wuwang’s death and no heir apparent, his half-brother, Prince Ying Ji, supported by his mother’s clan, competed with the other brothers for the throne. Qin continued to experience internal turmoil, completely ignoring the matter of punishing Zhou. Three years later, Qin Zhaoxiang Wang Ying Ji ascended the throne, ennobling his mother as Xuantu Hou and his two maternal uncles as Ranghou and Huayang Jun, giving the foreign relatives unprecedented power. To regain the throne, Qin Zhaoxiang Wang first ennobled his two brothers, dividing the power of the foreign relatives, and then heavily relied on Fan Ju, weakening the power of his mother’s clan internally while adopting the strategy of “alliance with distant states and attacking nearby ones” externally. He allied with Yan and Qi in the distance while attacking Han, Wei, Zhao, and Chu nearby. During his reign, neighboring states were repeatedly attacked and their territory seized by Qin, greatly weakening their power. The states occasionally formed alliances to resist Qin, combining their strengths to fight the strong. Qin also sent envoys to implement the policy of “alliance with nearby states and attacking distant ones,” causing the feudal states to waver, sometimes allying with Qin to dominate the weak.