He was not born on a throne, but raised in a cage.
In 259 BC, war and conspiracy marked the beginning of Ying Zheng’s life. Though a prince of Qin, he was held hostage in Zhao, the most dangerous pawn on the board from the moment he was born. In the famine-stricken Yong Alley, within an enemy palace rife with cold stares and murderous intent, a child endured nine years in hiding, with a silence and resilience beyond his age.
This is not merely a perilous journey home. It is the opening move in a game for all under Heaven. Lü Buwei’s lavish gamble, the court machinations of Lord Pingyuan and Lord Chunping, the long-range support of Qin’s iron cavalry, the murderous plots simmering in Zhao’s palace: countless hands are pushing or trying to destroy the fate of a child.
When he finally crosses Hangu Pass, behind him lie humiliation and hardship, forged into an iron will. Before him lies the political game of Xianyang, even more complex than the one in Handan. From hostage’s grandson to ruler of all under Heaven, he will tread on a blade with every step.
This is a story of “forging”: how one man is tempered into a sharp sword by a chaotic age, and how a nation sweeps across the Six Kingdoms through iron will.
