In 230 BC, the armies of the powerful Qin Shi Huang looked set to conquer all before them. But one neighboring kingdom, Yan, had other ideas and hatched a devious plan to assassinate him.

Qin Shi Huang had work on his enormous mausoleum started early in his reign. The terracotta warriors of the “underground army” guarding the mausoleum, unearthed in 1974, amazed the world.

In 230 BC, the armies of the powerful Qin Shi Huang looked set to conquer all before them. But one neighboring kingdom, Yan, had other ideas and hatched a devious plan to assassinate him.

He was called Qin Shi Huang or "First Emperor of Qin." He standardized the written script, weights and measures, and currency, and established the system of prefectures and counties. The ...