[Before we begin, let me show you a video I specially filmed for your enjoyment!]
As Shi Jin finished speaking, the sky screen abruptly switched scenes. The original explanatory interface was instantly replaced by a vibrant background.
Ying Qingyue only needed one glance before sharply raising her hand to cover her eyes. This familiar abstract parody style—she could predict what was coming even with her eyes closed.
But others remained bewildered until a striking headline appeared on screen: “If Qin Shi Huang Made Promotional Videos.”
Immediately, a strongly rhythmic soundtrack kicked in as subtitles flashed synchronously with sound effects:
“Small Seal Script!”
“Great Qin’s Officially Designated Writing System!”
“Epic Cost-Effectiveness~”
“One Character Outperforms Six!”
Ying Zheng nodded in approval. Exactly!
If the people of the six conquered states had this awareness, would he be so troubled?
“Breaking communication barriers between the six states – universally applicable across the nation without hassle~”
Great Qin’s citizens: “…”
The next moment, Shi Jin first changed into coarse cloth short garments, hunched her back to cosplay a farmer, and chuckled in a simple, honest tone: “I’m using Small Seal Script!”
Then she wrapped herself in a cloth skirt, carrying a bamboo basket to portray an elderly woman, smiling with curved eyes: “I’m using Small Seal Script!”
Finally, she donned armor and helmet to play a Qin soldier, declaring resolutely: “I’m using Small Seal Script!”
Three split screens instantly appeared simultaneously, with all three characters shouting in unison: “We’re all using Small Seal Script~!”
The watching commoners found it novel, initially murmuring along with the subtitles about Small Seal Script… official writing system, their expressions filled with curiosity.
When they saw Shi Jin’s portrayal of the hunched-back farmer, the crowd burst into laughter. Several old farmers in coarse cloth pushed each other playfully, pointing at the screen and joking: “Doesn’t that look exactly like Old Wang from our village?”
When the elderly woman with her bamboo basket appeared, the female spectators were even more delighted. A woman wearing a blue headscarf tugged at her companion’s sleeve: “Look at this portrayal, it’s just like when we go to the market to buy cloth!”
“If everyone nationwide used the same writing system, we wouldn’t need to gesture wildly when dealing with merchants from the south anymore!”
Someone immediately chimed in: “After all, it’s His Majesty’s decree. How could we have a choice?”
“But honestly, using Small Seal Script for accounting now means making fewer mistakes than before!”
The scene shifted to Shi Jin dressed in imperial robes cosplaying Qin Shi Huang, raising her hand to display Small Seal Script bamboo slips, saying earnestly: “Crafted by top-tier experts – you can always trust Great Qin court’s aesthetic taste~”
The screen then cut to Li Si, one of the project leaders: “We’ve systematically upgraded based on the original six states’ writing systems, striving to make every character beautiful, memorable, and easy to write.”
The most brilliant part was the ending—
Qin Shi Huang faced the camera with a smile so amiable it bordered on benevolent: “The Unified Writing System series – use it if you want, use it even if you don’t want to.”
As the words fell, tiny black text suddenly popped up in the screen corner: “Don’t want to use it? Then die.”
All the ministers instantly froze, an inexplicable chill running down their spines.
That smile wasn’t amiability—it was clearly a warning.
Before anyone could recover, the video shifted again: against a crudely edited chariot backdrop, Qin Shi Huang raised his hand and asked: “What’s most important in building chariots?”
The farmer scratched his head: “Good timber?”
The elderly woman pondered: “Good design?”
The Qin soldier clenched his fist: “Good horses?”
Qin Shi Huang slowly shook his head, his tone resolute: “No, it’s the distance between the wheels. Adjust the wheel track uniformly to six feet.”
The three immediately chimed in with clear voices:
“More stable!”
“Faster!”
“More efficient!”
At the end of the video, Qin Shi Huang gave a slight nod to the camera, a gentle smile on his face: “The ‘Standardized Wheel Track’ series design—wishing you smooth travels in life~”
Li Si and other veteran ministers stared at the sky screen, their mouths twitching speechlessly.
Meanwhile, Ying Qingyue had just taken a sip of tea and spat it out upon hearing those words, not even bothering to wipe the tea stains splashed on her clothes.
This content creator is too wicked—turning serious national policies into catchy memes and embedding so many subtly sarcastic jokes. What a talent!
As she laughed, she suddenly remembered a dark joke she’d come across in her previous life that remained vividly clear to this day.
Qin Shi Huang was history’s earliest top idol.
Because scholars back then all fell for him—
—literally fell into pits! The “burying of scholars” was still a pit after all!
“…”
Ying Zheng initially watched with a faint smile, dismissing it as amusing novelty talk fabricated by later generations.
But when he saw farmers, elderly women, and Qin soldiers speaking in unison, and watched the standardized wheel track segment, the amusement in his eyes gradually faded.
This was no mere entertainment.
Every line in the sky screen’s skits emphasized the convenience of small seal script and the benefits of standardized wheel tracks. Even the joking remark “you’ll use it whether you want to or not” subtly aligned with his determination to implement national policies.
More ingeniously, while commoners enjoyed the amusement, they simultaneously internalized messages about nationwide small seal script adoption and the efficiency of standard six-foot wheel tracks.
This approach worked more subtly and effectively than officials repeatedly posting notices and proclaiming decrees.
Considering this, Ying Zheng summoned an attendant, his voice carrying barely detectable approval: “Issue an order for all commandery governors to transcribe the sky screen’s explanations about standardized writing and wheel tracks, posting them in prominent marketplaces.”
Then he looked back at the sky screen, a smile returning to his lips: “Later generations’ propaganda methods prove more effective than my officials’ work.”
[After watching the video, let’s return to our main topic haha.]
[The Qin Imperial Highway system radiated nationwide from Xianyang as its center, serving both as rapid channels for political decrees and creating convenient conditions for material circulation and personnel movement—truly the transportation artery that successfully consolidated Qin dynasty rule and promoted social development.]
[This leads many to jokingly wonder: Could the King of Qin have been a time traveler?]
What is a time traveler?
Ying Zheng was momentarily puzzled.
Literally, “chuan” meant penetrating through, “yue” meant crossing over—combined, did it refer to someone capable of traversing time and space, coming from the future?
He had built the imperial highways merely to ensure military orders reached border regions within ten days and grain carts connected the six states within half a month. How did this give rise to such bizarre speculation?
[After all, thousands of years ago, he established this transportation network comparable to “early expressways,” demonstrating remarkably advanced thinking.]
[It must be said The First Emperor possessed extraordinary strategic foresight. Although the construction of Qin Imperial Highways consumed civilian labor and faced controversy, it truly achieved “sins in the present generation, merits for millennia.” Its road network logic even influenced later transportation planning.]
[Just like our modern expressways that also prioritize “efficient connectivity”—from ancient imperial highways to contemporary expressways, what changes are technology and speed, while what remains constant is transportation’s crucial supporting role in national development.]
Although they didn’t know what an expressway was, everyone could understand from the sky screen’s narration that it must be similar to His Majesty’s road construction projects—beneficial to both the nation and its people.
Regarding this, Ying Qingyue had to admit that her father Shi Huang’s title as the unparalleled emperor throughout history was truly well-deserved.
Despite the controversies among later generations about his book burnings, scholar burials, and harsh policies, none would ever dispute his designation as the unparalleled emperor of all ages.