Chapter 34: The Changing of Dynasties

A short while later, while the many Qin soldiers atop the city walls were still reeling in shock, Li Yang, aboard the flying vessel, unleashed his mental power. The massive city gates, with a thunderous crash, toppled directly to the ground. Outside the city, Zhao Kuang observed as Wang Kun’s extraordinary means had already opened the gates. At his command, the army surged forward, pouring into the city.

“Hurry, loose the arrows! Loose the arrows!” On the walls, Li Si was jolted awake by the scene, paying no heed to the origin of the flying vessel. He frantically ordered the archers to shoot. Whoosh! Whoosh! Arrows flew forth in dense volleys, and in an instant a rain of arrows descended upon the advancing army outside the city.

Yet, in that moment, the arrows, once propelled by fierce momentum, seemed suddenly seized by an unseen force. Countless arrows wheeled about in midair and shot back toward the archers on the walls. In a heartbeat, the Qin archers were felled by their own arrows. Several arrows, as if guided by eyes, found their mark in a dozen or more key generals atop the walls—including Li Si and Zhao Gao.

For Wang Kun, though he wished to avoid needless slaughter, he knew that only by drawing blood at the outset could he establish sufficient awe. Moreover, the likes of Li Si and the other chief conspirators had to die. With the city gates breached and Li Si and his ilk slain on the spot, the city’s defenders were left leaderless. The moment Zhao Kuang’s army swept in, the disoriented garrison laid down their arms and surrendered on the spot.

Within just a few hours, the city of Xianyang had changed hands entirely. That very night, Wang Kun took residence in the imperial palace. The next day, Wang Kun, as the Holy Emperor, ascended the dragon throne, symbol of imperial authority. He immediately abolished the old state’s name, renaming Qin as Han—the Great Han Empire. The first year of the Holy Emperor’s reign was thus proclaimed.

After the regime change, Wang Kun ordered Zhao Kuang and others to dispatch troops to pacify the remaining cities. At the same time, he summoned a new group of craftsmen and laborers to resume construction of the Epang Palace, which had been left unfinished during the reign of the First Emperor of Qin. In the annals of the feudal dynasties, the Epang Palace was known as the grandest palace under heaven. Yet, according to the original course of history, when the brute Xiang Yu took Xianyang, he gave the order and had the near-completed palace burned to the ground.

Only ruins remained, a testament to the former glory that once stood as the world’s foremost palace. Now that Wang Kun had arrived in this era and altered history, he would not let the greatest palace under heaven go to waste.

A month later, in the land of Chu, within Xiang Yu’s camp, both Xiang Yu and Liu Bang frowned in hesitation as they read the invitation in their hands. In recent times, both men had learned clearly that the one who destroyed Qin, seized Xianyang, and renamed the empire as Han—the Holy Emperor—was none other than Wang Kun, whom they had once met briefly and called elder brother. Yet, in the past few months, both men were no longer who they once were. Especially Liu Bang, whose own ambitions to become king had begun to stir.

After a month, Zhao Kuang, with Wang Kun’s direct support, had already taken control of a vast region in the northwest around Xianyang. Only the southern lands of Chu and a few other strongholds remained under the control of so-called righteous armies. Wang Kun, wishing to unify the heartland at minimal cost, sent invitations to Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, summoning them to a banquet in Xianyang. This was, in truth, an opportunity extended by Wang Kun. If the two lacked the courage to accept the invitation, that would be the end of it. Once Wang Kun consolidated his hold over his current territory, he would dispatch troops to annihilate the remnant forces of Chu and the other six states. Faced with overwhelming might, even if Xiang Yu and Liu Bang were favored by fate, they would be powerless before Wang Kun’s dominion.

“Revered Father, the Holy Emperor of the Han Empire now enthroned in Xianyang is the very man whom Liu Bang and I once swore brotherhood with in Pengcheng.” Xiang Yu spoke, “Just now, Liu Bang and I received invitations, summoning us to a banquet in Xianyang.”

His words had barely fallen when Xiang Zhuang interjected urgently, “Brother, you must not go to Xianyang. If anything should happen to you, our hundred-thousand-strong army will be left without a leader!”

Fan Zeng, Xiang Yu’s trusted advisor, was silent for a moment before speaking. “According to our intelligence, the current Holy Emperor of the Han Empire is no ordinary man. Since he has sent these invitations to you and Liu Bang, this journey to Xianyang should pose no danger.”

“If the Revered Father agrees, then Liu Bang and I shall go to Xianyang together,” Xiang Yu replied.

That very afternoon, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, each accompanied by a handful of close confidants, set out for Xianyang on swift horses. By then, Xianyang had already been renamed Chang’an by Wang Kun, though Xiang Yu and his companions had yet to adopt the new name.

Two days later, in a secluded residence in Chang’an, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang met with Wang Kun. Seeing the two men, whom he had once whimsically accepted as his sworn brothers, Wang Kun smiled and said, “Second Brother, Third Brother—who would have thought that in so short a time, you have both become great generals.”

“Elder Brother, you overestimate us. Compared to you, we are hardly worth mentioning,” they replied.

“Very well,” Wang Kun continued. “Let me be plain. My Han Empire now holds more than half the lands once ruled by Qin. Only the southern regions of Chu remain in the hands of those who once opposed Qin. But now, the tyrannical Qin has fallen before my Han, and the former royal family is no more. I am offering you and the other righteous armies a chance to join the Han Empire. If you submit, you will be valued as pillars of the state. If you persist in obstinacy, there is only one fate—death.”

As he spoke these final words, Wang Kun’s smile faded entirely. Hearing this veiled threat, Xiang Yu’s heart immediately filled with displeasure. He had always yearned to restore Chu to its former glory. Now, Wang Kun’s actions seemed no different than those of Qin—merely changing the name of the state, but still seeking to dominate the central plains alone.

One had to admit, Xiang Yu was stubborn to a fault. According to history, had he possessed even a sliver of ambition, he would not have left the fruits of victory for Liu Bang to claim. For, as history tells, before being dispatched to Shu by Xiang Yu, Liu Bang had been but a minor subordinate under him—far weaker than the formidable and ever-victorious Xiang Yu.

Yet Xiang Yu, though on the verge of securing the throne, ultimately parceled out his hard-won territories among various lords, returning to Chu to rule in peace as its king…