Qin Shi Huangdi (259 – 210 BC) unified China by using advanced weapons and brutal tactics. The Qin Dynasty arsenals made swords and other weapons with a precision unknown in Europe. Trigger mechanisms for crossbows and arrows were made in runs of tens of thousands.
The Qin military machine had one command—attack.
At this time, the Roman Empire had gathered 80,000 troops to defend Rome against Hannibal. In China, the king of Qin had an army of one-million.
Bravery was valued above all else. When a Qin soldier was killed in battle, it was up to his fellow troops to avenge his death. The penalty for cowardice was death. More than two million will die before Qin Shi Huangdi conquerors all China.
Qin’s officers were advanced in rank by winning in battle. If you wanted to be advanced in rank, you brought back the head of an enemy solider. The honorable way to treat prisoners of war was to bury them alive.
Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was the father of a unified China. He was also brutal and ruthless.
To discover more, see The First Emperor: The Man Who Made China (Part 1 of 9)
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.
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