How One King Destroyed 6 Kingdoms and Unified China

How did one king bring six rival kingdoms to their knees—and become China's first emperor? In the chaos of the Warring States period, Ying Zheng inherited Qin's formidable war machine and set out to do what no ruler had achieved: unite China. But victory wasn't inevitable. An assassin hid a dagger inside a map. A brilliant general was destroyed by court intrigue. A fortified capital fell to floodwaters. And Ying Zheng's own disastrous decision against Chu nearly derailed the entire campaign. This documentary follows Qin Shi Huang's rise, the strategies and betrayals behind Qin's conquest of Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, and Qi, and the political system he built after 221 BC. He unified a land divided by centuries of war—but why did his dynasty collapse so soon after? Subscribe for more stories of the decisions, rivalries, and turning points that changed history.