Duke Xiao of Qin held the stronghold of Hangu Pass and the land of Yongzhou. The king and his ministers held on firmly while looking at the Zhou Dynasty. They had the intention of sweeping the world, encompassing the universe, encompassing the four seas, and swallowing up the eight wildernesses. At that time, Lord Shang assisted him, and he established laws and regulations internally, worked hard on farming and weaving, and prepared for defense and war. Externally, he fought against the princes by forming alliances with other states, so the Qin people singlehanded took over the area beyond Xihe, the west of the Yellow River.
After Duke Xiao died, King Hui and King Wu inherited the old business. According to the legacy, they annexed Hanzhong in the south, Ba and Shu in the west, reaped the fertile land in the east and took the key counties. The princes were afraid, and they held an alliance to weaken Qin. They did not care about precious objects, treasures, and fertile land so the people of the world joined forces and made friends with each other. At that time, Qi had Mengchang, Zhao had Pingyuan, Chu had Chunshen, and Wei had Xinling. These four lords were all wise and loyal, generous and loving, respected the virtuous, and valued the scholars, agreed to stay together to destroy Qin’s alliance, and joined forces with the people of Han, Wei, Yan, Chu, Qi, Zhao, Song, Wei, and Zhongshan. Therefore, the scholars of the six countries, such as Ning Yue, Xu Shang, Su Qin, and Du He, made plans for it. Qi Ming, Zhou Zui, Chen Zhen, Zhao Hua, Lou Huan, Zhai Jing, Su Li, and Yue Yi were all in agreement with it. Wu Qi, Sun Bin, Dai Tuo, Er Liang, Wang Liao, Tian Ji, Lian Po, and Zhao She controlled their troops. They often attacked Qin with ten times the land and millions of people. The Qin people opened the passes to welcome the enemy, and the armies of the nine countries fled and did not dare to advance. Qin did not have the cost of losing arrows and arrowheads, but the princes of the world were already trapped. So they dispersed the treaties and fought to cede land to Qin. Qin had spare strength to control its weakness, chasing the enemy to the north, The flowing blood was enough to make the shield floats. The Qin State took advantage of favorable conditions to divide the world and divide the mountains and rivers. Strong countries requested to submit and weak ones came to pay tribute. It stayed that way during the reigns of King Xiaowen and King Zhuangxiang, their reigns were short, and the country was peaceful, and nothing major happened.
秦孝公据殽函之固，拥雍州之地，君臣固守而窥周室，有席卷天下，包举宇内，囊括四海之意，并吞八荒之心。当是时，商君佐之，内立法度，务耕织，修守战之备，外连衡而斗诸侯，于是秦人拱手而取西河之外。
孝公既没，惠王、武王蒙故业，因遗册，南兼汉中，西举巴、蜀，东割膏腴之地，收要害之郡。诸侯恐惧，会盟而谋弱秦，不爱珍器重宝肥美之地，以致天下之士，合从缔交，相与为一。当是时，齐有孟尝，赵有平原，楚有春申，魏有信陵。此四君者，皆明知而忠信，宽厚而爱人，尊贤重士，约从离衡，并韩、魏、燕、楚、齐、赵、宋、卫、中山之众。于是六国之士有宁越、徐尚、苏秦、杜赫之属为之谋，齐明、周最、陈轸、昭滑、楼缓、翟景、苏厉、乐毅之徒通其意，吴起、孙膑、带佗、兒良、王廖、田忌、廉颇、赵奢之朋制其兵。常以十倍之地，百万之众，叩关而攻秦。秦人开关延敌，九国之师逡巡遁逃而不敢进。秦无亡矢遗镞之费，而天下诸侯已困矣。于是从散约解，争割地而奉秦。秦有余力而制其敝，追亡逐北，伏尸百万，流血漂卤。因利乘便，宰割天下，分裂河山，强国请服，弱国入朝。延及孝文王、庄襄王，享国日浅，国家无事。
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