Chapter 1: Childhood

In 256 B.C., in the cold winter, Pei County, Chu State.

On this day, Zhongyangli suddenly became lively, and two families ushered in new life at the same time. Relatives, friends and neighbors came to congratulate them, carrying sliced mutton and home-brewed wine.

The Liu family and the Lu family were happy to add a new child and each gave birth to a son. We have no way of knowing the guest's congratulatory message, but it is definitely not a "grand ideal" such as "study hard, become a great official in the future, and glorify the ancestors". This is because it took many years for the imperial examination system to be created, and that was several dynasties later.

At this time, the appointment of officials was mainly in the hands of the local princes, and they had to rely on the recommendation of the wealthy nobles. Only a very small percentage of people try to get into the public service by studying. The appreciation of the princes and ministers depends on whether your thinking can bring them substantial benefits, not how much you read and how well you write. No matter how much poetry and books are read and how beautifully the articles are written, if you are not able to govern the country, it will be of no benefit.

In ordinary people's homes, reading and writing is just a dispensable, even a bit of a luxury skill. For families like the Liu family and the Lu family who have no background, farming is the top priority, and studying will only delay their career.

The generals don't dare to hope for glory and wealth, and a bumper harvest is their greatest wish. The guests may want to congratulate the two families on having another good helper in cultivating the fields, and they will definitely be able to do more farm work and keep their own property in the future.

When the Liu and Lu families heard these congratulatory words, they naturally smiled, because the vision was in the center. No one would expect too much fame from these two new beings, and no one could have imagined that one of them would one day start an empire and become the supreme ruler of that empire.

The baby of the Liu family is called Liu Ji. The baby of the Lu family is called Lu Juan. These two are not particularly elegant names, Ji is the meaning of the fourth, and Juan is the meaning of the child.

In particular, the name Liu Ji is even more casual. Liu Ji is what Liu Si means, because he is the fourth in the family.

The person with this name grabbed a handful. Ordinary people are too lazy to come up with names, and generally the fourth son is called Ji. There may be hundreds of villages with the same surname, called "Liu Ji". Standing at the entrance of the village and shouting - Liu Ji, maybe every household will respond.

Naming the child so casually shows that these two families do not have much culture and do not have much family background. The relatives, friends and neighbors who came to congratulate him could not give any advice, indicating that they had only made friends with some people from the bottom of society, and few of them were educated.

Indeed, they are all very ordinary and simple peasant families, and their ancestors do not have too many great achievements to show off. Just like many people now, they don't know their family history. As the elders pass away one after another, the memories of the ancestors five generations ago will gradually become blurred.

But this does not prevent them from having a happy life, and it cannot hide the happiness they are overflowing at this time.

The father of the Liu family, who laughs the most happily and can't close his mouth, is called Mrs. Liu. And the mother, who was holding the child in her arms, still looking very weak and her face was a little pale, was called Liu Yuan. This newly arrived baby is already their fourth son. Previously, they had already given birth to two boys and a girl. The eldest brother Liu Bo, the second brother Liu Zhong, and the third sister all surrounded the new member at this time to celebrate his arrival. (The family has no names...... ）

Mrs. Liu is a diligent and honest farmer, who usually saves money and accumulates a little surplus, and his life is quite passable. Liu Yuan should also be a simple peasant woman, but unfortunately she died early. Later, Liu Taigong continued the string and gave birth to a fifth son, named Liu Jiao, the word game. The new wife's family may have some culture, and the names of the children and grandchildren are not as casual as the eldest and second, and there are also table characters.

When Mrs. Liu is fair, she likes to go to the downtown area, sell some wine, buy some baked cakes, watch cockfights, and play kickball. Life is quite nourishing. When he goes out, he brings Liu Ji the most. Because the eldest brother and the second brother have to guard the property at home, and the fifth brother usually likes to stay at home and read, they don't have much time to travel.

Since he was a child, he followed his father to the market, and Liu Ji slowly became contaminated with a strong market atmosphere, and at the same time, he also developed the habit of street gangsters and practiced social skills. Liu Ji seems to be very close to the uncle and aunt in Pei County, and there is no sense of distance from his peers. He likes to get close to strangers, and slowly develops this self-familiar character.

For Liu Ji, there is an elder brother who carries the family business, and a younger brother who is diligent and studious. He had no interest in doing farm work, nor did he intend to make a profit in business, let alone cultivate those so-called aristocratic skills, such as martial arts and calligraphy, the Four Books and the Five Classics, and so on. He doesn't need to worry about the family's property, and the burden of the country is not his turn to worry.

At the age of 19, Liu Ji wandered around the countryside all day long, drunk and meaty, fighting cocks and kickball, without life pressure at all, and his happiness was slow. If there is no accident, this young man in Pei County is likely to marry a daughter-in-law, have a few children, guard his own one-third of an acre, and finish this ordinary life like his father.

And the Qin Wang Yingzheng, who was far away in the northwest and was only 3 years older than him, was far behind. The 22-year-old Ying Zheng is not only the hope of the entire Qin State, but also the ambition to annex the Six Kingdoms.

Ying Zheng is obviously under much more pressure than Liu Ji.

【Ying Zheng】

Ying Zheng was born in Handan, the capital of Zhao State. He has the blood of the Qin royal family in his body, and his father is the son of the Qin State. But they didn't enjoy much glory and wealth, because their father was just one of the many Qin princes, and he was almost forgotten by the Qin people, and he was serving as a hostage in Zhao at this time.

They were detained in Handan. As political bargaining chips, their fortunes change with changes in relations between nations. When the relationship between the two countries is friendly, they will be treated as guests of honor and courtesy; When relations between the two countries deteriorate, they are met with cold reception and humiliation, and they will be arrested and killed at any time.

At this time, the relationship between Qin and Zhao was precisely the lowest and worst period. Because not long before that, the Qin army invaded Changping, the capital of Zhao, and more than 400,000 Zhao soldiers who had surrendered were killed by the Qin army. When the soldiers and civilians of Zhao Guo heard the news, they were shocked and terrified, and they were full of grief. In Handan City, where hundreds of thousands of people are in place, it is no longer possible to send soldiers, and women, old and weak, have gone to the army to help. Food is also becoming more and more scarce, and it is not uncommon to hear about burning human bones and eating human flesh.

Relations between the two countries fell to rock bottom in an instant.

Ying Zheng's family is in Zhao State, surrounded by hateful eyes, and there is danger of accidents at any time. Who would have thought that the future Emperor of the Ages would be so embarrassed at this moment, and his life would be as fragile as an ant.

What Xiao Yingzheng didn't expect was that when he needed care the most, his father was far away from him. With the help of his friend Lü Buwei, his father absconded back to Qin, leaving their mother and son behind. This parting lasted for six years. By the time they see each other again, they may have forgotten each other's faces.

Yingzheng, who lost his father's care, could only rely on his mother for his life and spend the darkest time in his life. His mother may have comforted him countless times, and his father would soon be back to pick them up and take them back to their own home.

This is not their home, this is not their home. Ying Zheng suddenly felt that everything around him was very unfamiliar, and the surroundings were cold, without a trace of temperature.

It has been 6 years since I was reunited with my father.

In these 6 years, it was a critical period of Yingzheng's enlightenment, but for him, it was a prisoner-like life. Ying Zheng's childhood was bleaker than that of ordinary people, he lacked his father's care, and his mother was worried all day long. The people around him don't seem to be very friendly to him, even though he is just a child. The seeds of inferiority, self-blame and a little depression were planted in Yingzheng's heart.

At the age of 8, Ying Zheng followed his mother and returned to his own country, Qin, a place where he no longer needed to be despised by others. At this time, his father was already the prince of Qin, and from the obscurity of the past to the attention of the public, it can be described as infinitely beautiful. Although the current Ying Zheng has not fully understood the bitterness and glory and dignity in it, he can already feel that this place is different from before, and his mother is obviously much more cheerful than before. It's just that when he saw his father in the Qin court, Ying Zheng felt very strange.

When he was in Zhao State, his mother's requirements for Ying Zheng were very strict, because she was worried about his personal safety, and he was not allowed to move around at will. And now that he has returned to Qin, his father's requirements for him have become even stricter. Because since Yingzheng returned to China, his father began to educate and discipline Yingzheng according to the requirements of the future king. They pinned their hopes for the future on Yingzheng.

He had to get up early every day, familiarize himself with the scriptures and strategies, and practice martial arts and archery. Receiving systematic cultural education and military and political training, and being familiar with the legal system and official government affairs of the Qin State are the inevitable requirements for the successor of the Qin State. Xiao Yingzheng felt more pain than before, and there was less freedom than before.

However, what Yingzheng didn't expect was that this time turned out to be the most comfortable time in his life. Because only five years later, his father died, and he had to take on the responsibility of the country in the future. This time, his father left behind not only their mother and son, but also the entire country.

Before he had time to grow up, Ying Zheng, who was only 13 years old, ascended to the highest throne of the Qin State. He wants to carry on the legacy of his ancestors and lead the country to glory.

During the first nine years of his reign, Xiao Yingzheng did not actually hold power, and everything was controlled by his mother and his middle father, Lü Buwei, his father's best friend, as well as many elders of the Qin royal family.

The young and old Ying Zheng didn't know when he became silent, and he learned to hide his emotions in his heart and not reveal them easily. Nine years of training have given him a deeper understanding of his life and his country.

The 22-year-old Ying Zheng, full of ambition and ambition, held a coronation ceremony in Yongcheng, the old capital of the Qin State, and began to personally manage the government. (In April, Shangsu Yong.) Ji You, crown, with a sword. ）