The First Emperor

When he was thirteen, he found the underside of the Imperial Seal. Carved there were five words: Qin will fall after three generations. High above the heavens is a book. Every person, every city, and every river in the mortal world has a page in it. If your name is written there, a thread is attached to you. If there is a thread, Heaven can claim you. The Six Kingdoms had been divided for a thousand years. They were not unable to unite; Heaven simply would not allow it. Ying Zheng was the only person whose name could not be found. So nothing he did in his life was for the sake of history. He burned the books so Heaven could no longer read the mortal world's accounts. He built the Great Wall, repaired the roads, unified the written language and standardized the tracks, stitching the Nine Provinces into a single name so Heaven could never tear them apart again. He buried the scholars beneath condemnation, gathering up the curses to forge a thicker armor for all under Heaven. He knew the price. He bore the name of tyrant and took on the curses of ten thousand generations, yet could not even protect his son. He ruled for thirty-seven years, guarding against Heaven for thirty-seven years, only to lose in the end to a forged imperial edict. On the night at Dune, he closed his eyes, but his soul did not disperse. From the silver rivers beneath Mount Li, he watched the rain at Daze Township, the fires at Julu, and the blood at Wu River. He watched the system of measures, tracks, writing, and laws he created rebuild all under Heaven in the hands of a low-ranking official. He watched the people who had cursed him for two thousand years finally use his system to uphold his empire. Two thousand years later, the underground palace was opened. A bone fragment bore a single character: Ying. A report read: Possibly a place name, unverified. And the character Heaven had erased returned on its own. What Heaven wanted was a Nine Provinces divided and ruled. What he gave them was a name that would last forever. China.