I started on a deserted island and encountered Ying Zheng, who insisted I was an immortal.

Ying Zheng dropped the chopsticks from his hand onto the table.

He didn't pick it up.

Yes.

The people of the six states were also the people of Qin.

Why didn't he think of that?

Wang Ben, however, was straightforward. He thought of something else: "Sir, what if no one repairs the Great Wall and the Xiongnu attack?"

"beat!"

Zhang Ying was resolute.

"The six kingdoms have been crushed by our iron cavalry, how could we possibly defeat the mere Xiongnu?"

This rhetorical question was like a bucket of kerosene poured into Wang Ben's heart.

"Yeah! Let's beat the hell up!"

He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and exuded a fierce and murderous aura.

"The elite warriors of our Great Qin are invincible!"

Zhang Ying was satisfied with his reaction and continued to add more ingredients.

"Not only should we fight, but we should also let those surrendered soldiers from the six states fight."

"Isn't the Qin Dynasty founded on military merit? Then let's reward them with military merit."

"Kill one Xiongnu soldier, and you will be freed from slavery and regain your freedom."

"Kill ten, and you will be rewarded with ten acres of land and ten thousand coins."

"Having conquered that fertile land of the Hetao Plain, those who wished to stay were given land and settled down. Those who didn't wanted to were given a reward and sent home. Who would want to follow those old nobles and cause trouble?"

"What do ordinary people want? Just a peaceful life, enough to eat and wear, right?"

"Give them land, give them money, give them something to strive for. Use their swords to cut off the heads of the Xiongnu, to earn their own wealth and glory. This will not only deplete the able-bodied men of the six states, but also reduce the casualties of your Qin soldiers, and completely eliminate the Xiongnu threat. It's killing three birds with one stone, so why not do it?"

The cave was deathly silent.

The only sound was the "bubbling" of the earthenware pot.

Ying Zheng, Meng Yi, and Wang Ben stood there dumbfounded.

This knot that had troubled them for so long and consumed so much of their energy was so easily untied with just a few words.

Cut off their supply lines, divide and conquer them, and sustain the war through war.

Each step is intricately linked to the next, a truly exquisite feat.

for a long time.

Only then did Ying Zheng regain his voice.

"Meng Qing, have you memorized everything?"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I've remembered it all, not a single word is wrong." Meng Yi's voice trembled.

Ying Zheng slowly stood up, walked around the stone table, and went to Zhang Ying.

The firelight reflected off his face, creating alternating light and shadow.

He looked intently at Zhang-Ying and asked, word by word.

"What does the young gentleman think of Qin Shi Huang as a person?"

Zhang Ying picked up a piece of mutton, dipped it in the boiling broth, blew on it, and put it in her mouth.

He chewed on his meat and mumbled, "The achievements are undeniable, unprecedented. Ending centuries of war and freeing ordinary people from living on the edge every day—it's a worthwhile deal."

Zhang Ying put her chopsticks down on the table and abruptly changed the subject.

"But he has two fatal flaws."

"First, they are too protective of their own children; family rules are above national laws."

Ying Zheng and Meng Yi both stopped moving.

"I heard that there was a eunuch named Zhao Gao who committed a capital crime. Your brother Meng Yi, being impartial and incorruptible, sentenced him to death according to the law."

Zhang Ying's gaze swept across Meng Yi's face.

"And what happened? The Emperor Qin released him with just one word."

"Isn't the Qin Dynasty founded on law? How come when it comes to the imperial relatives and close ministers, the law becomes like toilet paper to wipe their bottoms?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ben was so startled that he almost spat out the meat in his mouth.

He knew about this; it was a palace secret, and apart from a few important officials, no one dared to mention it.

This disciple of the immortals, right in front of His Majesty and Minister Meng, so brazenly exposed his wounds?

He secretly glanced at Ying Zheng's expression, preparing to kneel down and beg for mercy at any moment.

Ying Zheng's facial features were taut, revealing no emotion.

He simply picked up his glass calmly, drank the wine in it, and then put it down.

"Is there anything else?"

"The second problem is that his vision is too narrow."

Zhang Ying picked up the wine pot and filled her cup again.

"He built the Epang Palace, the Lishan Tomb, the Great Wall... These things he did were quite significant, but his eyes were always only on the small territory of the six states."

"He thought that after destroying the six states, the world would be at peace, and he would be the only one in power."

Zhang Ying scoffed.

"He knows nothing."

"While he was basking in the glory of unifying the six kingdoms, there were countless other powerful nations in the far west and south."

"The Peacock Empire"

"Rome."

"The Kingdom of Macedonia".

"The Kingdom of Honto"

Carthage.

With each name Zhang Ying uttered, the faces of the three Qin leaders paled a little more.

These words were like sounds from beyond the heavens; they recognized each individual word, but when combined, they were completely beyond their comprehension.

"Sir... what are these...?" Meng Yi's voice was dry, and the willow twig pen in his hand hung in mid-air, not knowing how to put pen to paper.

Ying Zheng and Wang Ben stared intently at Zhang Ying, awaiting his next words.

"The Peacock Empire, located in the land of Sindhu, which is what you call India, has a population of 26.5 million and its national strength is no weaker than your Great Qin."

Wang Ben's breathing suddenly became heavy.

He had thought that with the six kingdoms pacified and no more great wars in the world, his dragon-slaying skills would have no use, and he was feeling very frustrated.

Upon hearing that there was another empire with comparable strength to the Qin Dynasty, the blood in his body instantly boiled.

"Don't get excited first," Zhang Ying glared at him.

He turned to look at Ying Zheng.

"More than a hundred years before the Qin King, there was a young man in the west named Alexander who spent seven years conquering eastward from the western continent, reaching the Mauryan Empire. His battle line stretched for more than 10,000 miles, and he was only a step away from your Qin Kingdom."

"If others could conquer the east, why couldn't Qin Shi Huang conquer the west?"

Zhang Ying stood up and paced in the firelight.

"The world is vast, it's a pity that the Qin Emperor couldn't see it."

A soft "snap" sound.

Ying Zheng crushed the pair of wooden chopsticks in his hand.

The broken splinter pierced his palm, but he was completely unaware.

He lowered his head, his voice carrying a sense of desolation.

"I... am old."

"Old man my ass!"

Zhang Ying's angry shout startled Wang Ben and Meng Yi, making them tremble.

"At most, he's in his forties. In our area, that's the prime age for a man to make a name for himself! What do you mean 'old'? That's just making excuses for yourself!"

"Though the divine tortoise lives a long life, it too has its end; the flying serpent riding the mist, in the end, turns to dust."

"An old steed in its stall may still aspire to gallop a thousand miles; a hero, though old, may still cherish lofty ambitions!"

Zhang Ying's voice echoed in the cave, each word like a heavy hammer blow to Ying Zheng's heart.

Clang.

The willow branch pen in Meng Yi's hand fell to the ground.

He was completely dumbfounded.

He angrily rebuked His Majesty to his face, and even said that His Majesty was making excuses for himself.

Is this disciple of the immortals made of iron?

At this moment, his and Wang Ben's worldviews completely collapsed and shattered.

Their belief in the unification of the world turned out to be a case of being like a frog in a well, with a limited perspective.

"Why did Alexander the Great launch his eastern expedition? To plunder wealth, land, and people!"

Zhang Ying walked back to the table and pointed to the mutton bubbling in the pot.

"If he could do it, why couldn't Qin Shi Huang?"

"The remnants of the Six Kingdoms, the Baiyue of Lingnan, the Xiongnu of Hexi... In the face of the true global order, these are all just minor skirmishes, not worth mentioning!"

Ying Zheng slowly raised his head.

The desolation and confusion in his eyes vanished, replaced by a blazing fire.

He didn't know who Cao Cao was, but these few lines of poetry reignited his long-dormant ambition.

Yes, he's not even fifty yet.

He conquered six kingdoms and established unprecedented achievements.

But he is far from being able to rest on his laurels and wait for death.

Ying Zheng suddenly stood up, and because the movement was so sudden, he knocked over the stone bench behind him.

He ignored it.

He looked at Zhang Ying and spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice like the clash of metal echoing through the cave.

"I will do it even better than Alexander!"