Dawn broke, and morning light shone on Xianyang's city walls. Compared with the thousand-year-old cities found everywhere, this was a very young city.
Yet anyone who beheld it would feel a profound sense of oppression, one that even the towering, winding splendor of Mount Li could not conceal in the slightest.
This was now the center of all under heaven. In years past, King Wu of Zhou had marched out from here and defeated Yin Shang in the east.
Now Qin State would likewise drive its people forth from here to seize all under heaven.
Lü Buwei's power was truly overwhelming. He boldly declared that anyone who could cut passages from the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Lü Clan would receive a thousand pieces of gold, but who dared try?
This was not an academic discussion, but an undisguised demand to take sides: submission or opposition. The great nobles had no need to choose, and lesser men dared not choose.
This swelled Lü Buwei's prestige still further, but his conduct aroused concern and discontent among many of his retainers.
"Looking at successful reforms throughout the States, those supported by their rulers succeeded, while those abandoned by their rulers failed.
"Marquis Wenxin possesses immense power and the support of King of Qin Zheng. Yet instead of taking the proper path, he resorts to bluster and usurps the King of Qin's authority. Can this possibly be a road to success?
"If reform comes at the cost of trampling the king's authority, then even if it succeeds for a time, it will ultimately fail."
The Dukes and Ministers of Qin State, who had long since weathered countless political struggles, watched Marquis Wenxin Lü Buwei with mocking eyes.
To bring about a man's destruction, first drive him mad.
The more overbearing Lü