A Kingdom in Silent Crisis

In the tense summer of 310 BCE, the Qin capital Xianyang lay eerily quiet—too quiet for Chancellor Gan Mao’s liking. The sudden death of the mighty King Wu of Qin had left a power vacuum, and the absence of movement from key figures like Ying Zhuang and Wei Ran gnawed at him. As the first chancellor-general in Qin’s history, Gan Mao bore the weight of stabilizing the realm under King Wu’s dying mandate. Yet the stillness was deafening.

Gan Mao’s paranoia grew. After a discreet meeting with General Bai Shan yielded no answers, he rode under cover of dusk to Zhangtai, seeking Wei Ran. What followed was a heated confrontation—guards barred his path despite his royal insignia, and Wei Ran’s icy demeanor hinted at secrets unfolding. The revelation came in a hushed exchange: Prince Ying Ji, the rightful heir, was en route from exile in Yan, escorted by Mi Rong’s troops. The plan was set—tomorrow, they would strike.

The Conspiracy Unfolds

Meanwhile, Ying Zhuang, a royal cousin with ambitions of his own, received alarming news: Bai Qi had marched north to counter a Zhao invasion, while Mi Rong escorted Ying Ji south. This disrupted Ying Zhuang’s scheme to exploit Zhao’s diversion. His confidant, Ying Li—a disfigured strategist—proposed a desperate gambit: intercept and kill Ying Ji in the Luo River valley.

Ying Zhuang’s forces, disguised as Zhao soldiers, ambushed Mi Rong’s convoy in the treacherous Fu Mountains. But the trap backfired. Mi Rong’s men, forewarned, turned the tables. Ying Li, realizing betrayal, bit off his tongue rather than face capture. His corpse, ghastly with its shock of white hair and bloodied face, was sent back to Xianyang as a grim trophy.

The Night of Blood

With Ying Li dead, Ying Zhuang abandoned subtlety. At midnight, his loyalists stormed the palace, aiming to expose King Wu’s hidden corpse and frame Gan Mao for regicide. But Wei Ran, anticipating the move, had lured them into a kill zone. Qin’s elite Iron Eagle warriors, clad in black armor, overwhelmed the rebels in the royal寝宫 (sleeping quarters).

Ying Zhuang fought like a cornered beast, disdaining his ancestral sword to duel Wei Ran bare-handed. But a distraction—Wei Ran’s feigned call to the queen mother—left him vulnerable. Mi Rong’s kick sent him crashing onto a stone table, his spine snapping on impact. By dawn, the coup was crushed.

Legacy of the Crisis

The failed revolt reshaped Qin. Ying Ji ascended as King Zhao, with Wei Ran and Mi Rong consolidating power. Gan Mao, though victorious, grew wary of his allies and later defected to Qi. The episode exposed the fragility of Qin’s succession system, paving the way for stricter controls under future rulers like Qin Shi Huang.

Historically, the coup underscored a pivotal truth: in Warring States China, legitimacy was won not just by birthright, but by the ruthless calculus of loyalty and force. The silent streets of Xianyang had roared—and the kingdom emerged stronger, its path to unification clearer than ever.

(Word count: 1,560)

—
Note: This account blends historical records (e.g., Records of the Grand Historian) with dramatized dialogue to capture the tension. Key figures like Bai Qi and Wei Ran later became central to Qin’s rise.