The Great Qin Empire, Book One: Black Tornado, Part Two

Duke Xiao of Qin and Shang Yang enacted reforms to strengthen the state. Qin grew from weakness to strength, reclaimed lost territory, and began its rise. In this age of great contention, when rival powers vied for supremacy and the land changed by the day, and in the Warring States period, when heroes emerged and a hundred schools of thought contended, the western frontier of China was undergoing an unprecedented “black upheaval.” In 362 BC, Duke Xian of Qin was struck by a poisoned arrow and died in battle. His legitimate son, Ying Quliang, ascended the throne before his father's coffin and became known to history as Duke Xiao of Qin. Qin was looked down on by the other great powers and was weak. The six states east of the mountains had also formed an alliance and were plotting to divide Qin.

The young ruler, Duke Xiao of Qin, was twenty-two. He wrote the shame of his country's past in blood on a monument and issued a proclamation throughout the realm, seeking worthy talent and vowing to strengthen Qin through reform. After repeated discussions and assessments of the scholars who came to Qin, Shang Yang distinguished himself. At the head of a boat on the Wei River, Shang Yang set out his governing principles and won Duke Xiao over with Legalist thought. Duke Xiao appointed him chancellor, and the two began twenty years of sweeping reforms. Shang Yang, a master of Legalism, took charge of the reforms in their entirety and led Qin step by step in establishing a system of law suited to a state at war. Qin's new army was trained, the country grew wealthy and its people strong, and commoners eagerly fought for the state and competed to earn military merit. After years of laboring for the country, both Duke Xiao and Shang Yang were exhausted, though neither was yet fifty. Duke Xiao recalled the crown prince, Ying Si, who had been in exile for twenty years, then died. Ying Si ascended the throne and became known as King Huiwen of Qin. The six states seized the opportunity to pressure Qin, demanding that Shang Yang be executed to appease the realm. To keep Qin from falling into civil war, Shang Yang surrendered his political and military authority and calmly went to prison, where the old aristocracy had him torn apart by chariots. Ying Si used the occasion to eliminate all the old nobles who opposed reform, established Shang Yang's laws as the laws of the state for all ages, and set about figuring out how to break through the six states' encirclement and secure Qin's rise as a great power.