Chapter 1: Living in the Great Qin Dynasty, Marrying, and Having Children (Please Support and Vote)
Chapter 1: Wearing the Qin Dynasty’s Robes, Marrying and Having Children (Please bookmark and vote)
I am your emperor!
The sovereign of all under heaven!
I have brought an end to over five centuries of chaos!
Former enemies have all become my subjects!
Rejoice!
My subjects!
My achievements shall be cast upon bronze vessels, engraved upon the highest mountains!
My glory shall illuminate the world!
Drink deeply!
My subjects!
My legacy will benefit your descendants and be passed down through eternity!
I am the First Emperor!
In 221 BCE, General Wang Ben led the army south to attack the State of Qi. King Jian surrendered without a fight, and Qi fell!
Thus, Qin conquered the six kingdoms, unifying the realm!
At that time, King Zheng of Qin had swept across the six states, uniting the lands for over three years. The might of Qin was at its zenith!
The remnants of the six kingdoms hid in the shadows, licking their wounds, trembling under the fearsome authority of the First Emperor!
All the world knew: As long as the Ancestral Dragon lives, who dares to rebel!!!
In the third month of spring, the sun shone brightly, orioles flew beneath the eaves, and grass grew lush.
In a small fenced courtyard fragrant with birdsong, three simple wooden houses stood.
Within the courtyard, several flourishing peach trees bore clusters of pink blossoms. Beneath the trees, seven or eight little chicks clustered around two adorable little girls with braided hair, chirping merrily.
By the vegetable garden at the front of the courtyard stood a long-haired man holding a brush, diligently writing on a bamboo slip. Occasionally, he would pause to bite the brush tip before continuing.
“This year is 219 BCE. The great Qin is about to launch its southern campaign against the Hundred Yue tribes. In nine years, Master Ying will ‘ascend’ to the immortal realm. Rebellion is impossible—this lifetime holds no chance for rebellion; no money, no food, no followers. I can only cling to someone powerful to survive.”
“Husband, it’s time to eat.”
From a nearby house, smoke curled upwards. The thatch on the stove crackled and popped.
A slender, pale young woman, appearing no more than eighteen or nineteen and dressed in coarse linen, stepped out, calling out loudly. Her frail body seemed as if a gust of wind might topple her, showing signs of long-term malnutrition.
“Wife, coming right away.”
The long-haired man quickly scribbled a few lines in the vegetable patch:
“How to cling to a powerful patron? On the importance of clinging!”
This man was Yang Zimo, the eccentric long-haired figure, and the woman was his wife, whom he had married a few years ago. They were poor. The children in the courtyard were theirs: the elder named Yang Xuanji, the younger Yang Xuanyin.
The story behind this is long.
Simply put, on a dark, stormy night years ago, amidst flashing lightning and roaring thunder, Yang Zimo—clad in a yellow riding jacket, standing atop a golden chariot, holding a peerless treasure—was expelled from a mysterious organization. Bitter and unwilling, he let out a long howl to the heavens, only to be struck by a bolt of lightning.
From that moment on, one more person who wasted air while alive, wasted land when dead, and wasted money by lingering in between ceased to exist.
When he awoke, he found himself lying in a trap, where neither the moon nor stars shone above, and no human smoke flickered below. He had spent the entire night there.
The next day, dappled sunlight filtered through leaves, landing squarely on his eyes.
Warm and pleasant!
Though his body was warm, his heart felt icy cold.
“Second brother, why are you still holding a monkey? Never seen a hairless monkey before? Bring it back to show everyone!”
As two scruffy, skinny men in tattered coarse cloth, wielding wooden longbows, grumbled nearby, Yang Zimo rolled his eyes and fainted.
Over the years, Yang Zimo gradually calmed from his initial confusion, helplessness, and fear. Thanks to the tender care of Lin Wanniang, the daughter of the local village head, he slowly accepted reality and began a new life.
The men who had mocked him as a hairless monkey were Lin Wanniang’s two elder brothers. Had it not been for Lin Wanniang’s timely intervention, Yang Zimo might have already passed into the cycle of reincarnation.
Five years was enough time for him to gain a general understanding of the world. The country he now lived in was called Qin, the village of Qingniu lay within Jibei Commandery, under the jurisdiction of Tai’an City.
According to the history he roughly remembered, after unification, the Ying family of the Zhao clan planned to hold a grand Fengshan ceremony on Mount Tai, to demonstrate their virtue surpassing the Five Emperors and their deeds rivaling the Three Sovereigns.
But nine years later, Qin would plunge into chaos after the death of Ancestral Dragon. The empire would collapse under the combined treachery of the Second Emperor Huhai and the imperial gravedigger Zhao Gao, vanishing from the annals of history.
Living in this primitive and chaotic era of Qin, even his knowledge of over two millennia of later history and culture proved of little use.
Now, the mighty Emperor Ying Zheng ruled all under heaven with unchallenged will. Even the shining stars of the early Han—Xiang Yu, Liu Bang—trembled under the First Emperor’s dominion, daring only to rebel after his death.
For five years, Yang Zimo had wanted to cling to a powerful patron, but the very thought of the First Emperor made his legs tremble uncontrollably.
Historical records show that in the wars of Qin’s conquest of the six states, twenty-two battles were fought, over a hundred cities were captured, and 1.81 million enemy soldiers were annihilated.
This was made possible by Qin’s military merit rank system of twenty levels, which strengthened the entire nation’s martial prowess.
The discovery of the Yunmeng Qin slips at Shu Hudi proved that Qin was a nation ruled by law, with highly developed, comprehensive legislation.
All men aged fifteen to sixty were required to serve in the military, with conscription rates once reaching one in five.
After unification, Qin established uniform standards for axle width, script, weights and measures, social ethics, and administrative regions, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent prosperity of the Chinese nation.
They excavated canals and ditches to bolster national power, built the Great Wall to defend against northern nomads, and constructed a vast network of highways centered on Xianyang—the Straight Roads—enhancing the First Emperor’s control over the realm.
Yet, the southern campaigns against the Hundred Yue and the Lingnan lands, the construction of the Lishan Mausoleum and the Epang Palace, demanded the conscription of millions of laborers and slaves. The people of Qin lived almost constantly under forced labor.
With the collective punishment systems of fifteen-households and hundred-households, no one dared to escape unauthorized. Coupled with the household registration system later adopted by subsequent dynasties, the entire Qin populace was tightly bound to the land.
For over two thousand years, the rise and fall of dynasties was always about land. The history of the Chinese people is, in essence, a history of land. Sadly, the Qin dynasty, which forged the great civilization of the Chinese nation, lasted only fourteen years.
Its advanced rule of law, household ranking system, assembly-line production methods, and mass manufacturing techniques all testify to the greatness of this kingdom. Alas, the First Emperor lacked a globe, and thus the world missed a measure of brilliance!
No one dares judge the merits or faults of the First Emperor. His existence enabled the Chinese descendants to create over two millennia of radiant civilization, ensuring the endurance of Chinese culture and influencing the entire world.
His faults are clear, and his achievements outstanding—benefiting his era and all future generations!
Dear readers! This humble author is new here, please lend your kind support!
(End of chapter)