Under Qin law, a commander who loses his army is beheaded!
In the twenty-second year of King Zheng of Qin, the Qin army invaded Chu and suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Chengfu. Seven commandants were killed, and only three hundred men remained of the two-hundred-thousand-strong army.
The commander, Li Xin, was gravely wounded.
Even if he made it back to Qin, he would not escape execution.
On the day he returned to Xianyang, the whole city was filled with furious citizens of Great Qin.
A storm of rocks and gobs of spit pelted him all the way there.
A woman in plain clothes sat in a bullock cart.
From behind the curtain, she said coolly, "General Li, I'll buy your life!"
Her name was Ba Qing. She was a favored guest of King Zheng of Qin and the wealthiest woman in Great Qin.
In the history books, she was known as "Widow Qing of Ba."
A defeated general condemned by all under Heaven, and the richest woman who bought his life.
He fell into the dust, then climbed back into the world of the living, one military merit at a time, rising from a convict to the Marquis of Longxi.
From Chu to Yan and Qi, her merchant banners followed the edge of his sword, opening the way across the Six Kingdoms.
She used her wealth to reforge his army, while the sword in his hand opened the trade routes between Yan, Qi, and the Hundred Yue.
In court, King Zheng of Qin, whom later generations would call the greatest emperor of all time, secretly watched to see whether Li Xin still stood straight-backed.
Outside the court, Zhao Gao, Palace Attendant of the Imperial Carriage Office, secretly counted how many days Li Xin had left to live.
Those years that the history books barely mention were the story of two people who refused to accept their fate, each entrusting themselves to the other.
This story is entirely fictional and unrelated to real history.
It was as if I could see the whole process of the Qin Dynasty working together to unify the six kingdoms. Li Xin's iron-blooded loyalty and bravery, the process of falling from the dust and rising again are tearful, and the heroine Ba Qing is even more unforgettable, thumbs up👍
Passionate and unyielding, Li Xin is great👍