$BEAT

Qin Shi Huang became the first emperor of a unified China in the 3rd century BC. He put an end to the Warring States period by defeating his rivals with military force. Under him, laws, measures of length and weight, writing, and even the width of cart axles were unified — the country became a single mechanism for the first time. However, the governance of Qin was based not on trust but on fear. Harsh laws of Legalism prescribed severe punishments for the slightest offenses. Dissenters were executed, scholars who criticized the government were buried alive, and books of philosophical schools were burned to erase alternative viewpoints.

Grand projects — the Great Wall, roads, palaces, and the tomb with the Terracotta Army — drained the population. Millions of peasants were conscripted for forced labor, taxes increased, and discontent grew. Externally, the empire appeared monolithic and invincible, but after the death of Qin Shi Huang in 210 BC, the system instantly cracked. Within a few years, uprisings began, and the Qin dynasty collapsed, having lasted less than two decades.

Moral: projects built on fear and the illusion of control may appear powerful, but without trust and sustainable foundations, they crumble quickly, just like the Qin empire.