Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 111. Xianyang Palace City
Qin Shi's panic lasted for a moment.

Because she looked at Chi Nu and Wu Zi, and when they talked about burial alive, their expressions were frightened and panicked, yet vaguely proud, as if such an honor was not available to ordinary people.

She then realized that it would not be an easy task to persuade the King of Qin to abolish the practice of burying people alive with the dead when such a belief was passed down from generation to generation.

In that case, there's no point in panicking now.

She quickly calmed down.

The sound of horse hooves and wheels rolling was heard. Qin Shi pushed open the window and looked out, then held his breath and remained silent.

After a long while, she whispered:
"Is this... a bridge?"

Chi Nu tilted her head slightly to look. "Replying to Qin Jun, this is the north bridge of Shahe Bridge. It is about 130 zhang long and nearly 10 zhang wide. It was built the year the king became king."

"Because Your Majesty took a detour to the General's Mansion, you turned onto this road. However, Lord Qin enjoys Your Majesty's trust. If you have time, I will certainly accompany Your Majesty to Shanglin Garden, and we will also take this bridge there."

Wu Zi also knelt beside him and smiled. As they spent more time together, they were no longer as nervous and cautious as they were at the beginning, and their words were a little bolder:

"Does the Qin monarch enjoy civil engineering? The Shahe Bridge is unremarkable. We have many similar ones in Xianyang."

Today, the emperor's ceremonial procession is marching in an orderly manner on the wide bridge. Looking back, one can see the outlines of the hundreds of columns supporting the bridge below.

The shock during the Qin Dynasty was beyond words.

Such a great building, in such a backward era, the extreme landscape that the supreme imperial power can bring is far more majestic and magnificent, and more beautiful than she could have imagined!

Chi Nu said it very easily, but in fact, this Shahe Bridge is about 300 meters long and 22 meters wide - this is even wider than the NJ Yangtze River Bridge she had crossed before!
What is most shocking is that this is just one of the bridges in Xianyang City.

Further away, there is a huge and majestic palace, about ten to twenty meters high, covering a vast area and with an overwhelming imposing manner.

"Where is that?" she asked.

Is it the Xianyang Palace?
Wu Zi smiled and replied, "It is the Ji Temple. Once we get closer, you, Lord Qin, can take a closer look. However, although the Ji Temple is magnificent, I feel it is far inferior to the Xianyang Palace."

However, as soon as the words fell, Chi Nu's face turned pale. She immediately pulled Wu Zi down and knelt down: "It was this servant who spoke inappropriately!"

"The Ji Temple is the ancestral temple of our Qin State. How could this humble servant speak so lightly? I beg the Lord of Qin to punish me!"

The two men knelt on the ground, looking extremely humble.

Qin Shi wanted to say that this was not a big deal, but...

"Punish Wu Zi and keep him silent for an hour."

Whether it was a big deal or not, she had no say. If Wu Zi became bold due to her indulgence, the consequences would be unbearable for them.

The punishment was decided and both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Wu Zi still had a look of fear on his pale face. He knelt obediently on the side and dared not say anything more.

Qin Shi glanced at the two anxious people and slowed down his tone, "It's nothing to say these things to me. The king originally ordered you to tell me the current situation of Qin State, didn't he?"

Otherwise, how could two maids serving the King of Qin be so bold and speak so freely?

Chi Nu also nodded: "I understand, thank you, Lord Qin, for your tolerance."

But Wu Zi should never, ever, explain to the King of Qin that he insisted on saying that the Ji Temple was inferior to the Xianyang Palace...

Seeing their expressions calm down, Qin Shi continued to ask, "We've been walking for so long, and we haven't reached Xianyang Palace yet?"

Chi Nu whispered, "There are two or three hundred palaces in Xianyang City, and the King of Qin has only seen less than one tenth. But we're almost there."

"Once you pass Ji Temple and cross the Wei River, you will see Xianyang Palace."

"You will not only be able to see the Xianyang Palace, but also the palaces of the six kingdoms—the king specially ordered them to be built. Every time he conquered a kingdom, he would build a similar palace next to the Xianyang Palace."

"Among them, the Chu Palace was particularly magnificent. According to palace servants, the Zhanghua Terrace of the Chu people was so beautifully carved with beams and painted with rafters that one had to rest three times just to get enough energy to enter the palace."

"Therefore, I heard that the Chu people called Zhanghuatai also Sanxiutai." Qin Shi was shocked and speechless.

She had heard before that the Forbidden City covers approximately 0.73 square kilometers. After touring it, she felt it was vast and magnificent.

Then I heard that the Xianyang Palace was about ten square kilometers, which I found even more unimaginable.

Now, she is about to see it.

At this moment, she only hated herself for having too little experience, but was also glad that she had seen enough.

The carriage moved forward steadily, and there was no noise during the march.

……

It was already dusk, and bonfires were burning on both sides of the road. At the edge of the Wei River, palace servants were carrying buckets of water to the palace city to prevent natural disasters.

Qin Shi stared at his watch for another half hour before he heard Chi Nu remind him again, "Lord Qin, the Xianyang Palace is just ahead."

In the dim purple twilight, the shadow of a huge building appeared high up in front.

There was a bright fire in the palace, and candles were flickering in the corridors. The neat, tall and big pillars supported the huge palace. The ground seemed to be four or five meters higher than the flat rammed earth palace foundation.

"Is this the Xianyang Palace..."

Qin Shi raised his head slightly, all his shock hidden in the night.

Chi Nu was slightly startled. "Replying to Lord Qin, as far as I can see, it is the first floor of Xianyang Palace."

"If you want to go to the Great King's palace, you can't see it from here. You need to go up another three meters from the first floor to the second floor of the palace. Then go deeper and extend to the palace, which is where the Great King spends his daily life."

Qin Shi was already numb from the shock.

"He built a city on Hua, and used the river as a pond. He occupied a city a million feet high, and faced an unfathomable abyss..."

Qin Shi murmured "On the Failure of Qin" in a low voice, and only then did he realize that the ancients were not exaggerating.

She was ignorant when she was studying!

Finally, she withdrew her gaze in silence, and then asked, "Then... where should I stay tonight?"

Chi Nu didn't hear what she was saying, and only bowed her head slightly. "During the day, the Zhou Palace Commander followed the king's instructions and assigned this servant to serve the King of Qin, and to stay at the Orchid Pool Palace at night."

"Don't worry, Lord Qin. Lanchi Palace is not far from the King's Fang Palace. The King often goes here to feast and enjoy the scenery, and he treats guests, envoys, the Prime Minister, and the Nine Ministers with great respect."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Qin Shi with obvious respect and conviction:
"Your Majesty's power subdues the four seas, and the whole world submits to you. The King of Qin has earned Your Majesty's trust and respect, which is truly a blessing from heaven."

Wu Zi on the side didn't dare to speak, but at this moment, his eyes were also extremely pious.

Qin Shi was speechless.

It turns out that the statement “The king’s power conquers the four seas…” is not an exaggeration.

***[Data on bridges and palaces are from the CCTV documentary "Discovery" on the archaeological site of the Qin Xianyang Palace. There may be omissions, but the data is generally consistent.]

The layout of the palaces is similar. Qin Shi Huang was a renowned figure-builder, not only for his Terracotta Warriors, but also for the fact that he actually built the palaces of the six kingdoms. Unfortunately, Xiang Yu set it ablaze, and the fire raged for three months (the unfinished Afang Palace only burned for three days). This demonstrates the sheer scale of the palaces, a rare sight in the world.

Thanks for the reward from Kuange.

I spent three hours writing this chapter while researching. It was so hard!

It's obviously a fabrication, but you still refuse to make up nonsense. I don't know what fabrication you're making up...

(There are many reasons why I don’t write directly about Qin Shi Huang. One of them is that I haven’t visited the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang yet, so I don’t dare to write [my nonsense]

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(End of this chapter)