After thinking it over, Brian Clark realized that the largest crowd he had ever personally experienced was a Mazu pilgrimage group, with over ten thousand people. But aside from the risk of getting stepped on a few times or being jostled, as long as you kept an eye on your wallet, there didn’t seem to be any real danger, right?

“Bloodshed?”

A sudden thought lit up Brian Clark’s face—he finally remembered a bloody incident! It was an exhilarating scene: a minor quarrel escalated into a street brawl involving dozens of people. Because he was taller and sturdier than his companions, he became the main target. In a panic, he picked up a stone and hurled it with a “crack,” splitting open some unlucky guy’s head.

Along the way, people did try to talk to Brian Clark, but since it had only been a short time, he could barely understand a little and couldn’t speak at all. The language barrier made communication impossible even if he wanted to, and with his already heavy mood, he started acting all deep and brooding. His nerves and fear left his face pale, making him look like someone just recovering from a serious illness.

Ever since they set out, Uncle had started looking at Brian Clark differently, but what he thought was a kindly gaze seemed fierce and menacing to the worried Brian Clark.

At this time, it was the early period of the Qin dynasty’s unification of the six states. King Zheng of Qin had just swept through the six states of Shandong, but the southern tribes and northern Xiongnu were stirring restlessly.

The Central Plains were momentarily at peace, but the nomads took advantage of the Qin army’s southward deployment to launch large-scale raids, and the Yue tribes in the south kept attacking the southern border regions.

Not long after the Qin army swept through the Central Plains, the main forces were stationed in Shandong and various southern locations, making it impossible to redeploy quickly. In this special situation, the sons of Guanzhong became the main targets for conscription.

Uncle’s family had served the country on the battlefield for generations. By his generation, most of the men had died for the nation, leaving only two males in the family: himself, already forty-three, and a sixteen-year-old youngest son still serving in the south (Chu region).

Qin had risen in the west, and from the Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States, had formed deep blood feuds with the Shandong states. Every generation of Qin people dreamed of destroying the Shandong states—not just for fame, fortune, and territory, but also to honor their ancestors. By Uncle’s generation, all the Shandong states had been destroyed by Qin. Could it be that both national and personal vendettas had finally been avenged?

After the destruction of the six Shandong states, who knows what the upper-class nobles thought, but the common people became much simpler and more straightforward.

The world is full of all kinds of people, each with their own thoughts. The dream that had taken generations to achieve was now realized, but this was the beginning of confusion for many. Many people felt that with the Shandong states gone, the systems established by Lord Shang (Shang Yang) for waging war had lost their purpose. For a while, they didn’t know where to seek military merit and wealth in the future, leaving them feeling empty inside. When they came to their senses, they realized it was time to think about themselves.

Uncle’s family had a bit of land, and he was getting old. The fields needed someone to inherit them, and he had always tried to find a way for his youngest son to live a peaceful life. But Qin law could not be disobeyed: every household’s good sons had to serve the country. He was old enough to farm, but his youngest son was of military age. Just when Uncle was at his wits’ end, Brian Clark fell from the sky.

Here was a sturdy guy who couldn’t speak the language (at least couldn’t understand it)—wasn’t he the perfect substitute for his youngest son’s military service? Qin law didn’t say you couldn’t have someone serve in your place; it was just that Qin people were used to earning wealth on the battlefield, so no one wanted to find a substitute. But wasn’t the situation different now? Uncle, who had some brains, made a snap decision, and so the story unfolded.

Although this wasn’t exactly aboveboard, it definitely wasn’t malicious. Uncle had traveled to many places in his youth and understood many languages. He couldn’t understand what Brian Clark was saying and simply took him for a barbarian. For a barbarian to join the Qin army was an honor—not only would he gain a clean background, but he could also earn merit and achievements on the battlefield. Uncle believed that Brian Clark would be grateful to him for life—at the very least, when he put on that military uniform, Brian Clark would automatically take the military merit and rank that should have belonged to Uncle’s family...

Chapter 0004: This Is the Fierce Qin

Since the reforms of Shang Yang (originally surnamed Wei, later taking “Shang” from his fief), Qin had become a society of farming and war: the old stayed home to farm, the young and strong fought for the country. The twenty-rank system was a product of Shang Yang’s reforms.

In an era with few farming techniques, harvests depended on the whims of nature. Good weather meant good times, but in years of famine, people suffered.

How could one quickly gain wealth? Of course, by violent means!

Qin forbade private fighting; robbing your own people was unacceptable, so you could only go rob the enemy under the state’s banner. Thus, Qin placed great emphasis on military merit. For the Qin people, the enemy’s heads were wealth—the more enemies you killed, the more land you owned, and the higher your status.

Under this system, the people of Qin rejoiced at the prospect of war. They longed for the state to keep organizing “group robbery” campaigns, where they could gain both honor and money through violence—hence the misery of the six states. The problem is... Brian Clark was more familiar with “bang bang bang” than with “clang clang clang.” He’d played with firearms during military training, but never tried cold weapons. How was he supposed to handle this?

Don’t underestimate the brutality of cold weapon combat—it’s far bloodier than killing from a distance with guns. Fighting with cold weapons requires tremendous courage, and those without such experience often can’t bear it.