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* FrontLineGeneral: In the ActionColdOpen, a soldier shows his fearlessness in battle against the Han, and a dying officer asks his name so he can be promoted. Turns out he's talking to the king.
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* FrontLineGeneral: In the ActionColdOpen, a A soldier shows his fearlessness in battle against the Han, and a dying officer asks his name so he can be promoted. Turns out he's talking to the king.
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* BystanderSyndrome: When Jing Ke starts attacking Ying, everyone in the Imperial court just watches in shock. After Ying fends Jing off and kills him, [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments he herds the]] ''[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments entire]]'' [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments court away]] by angrily yelling at them that not one of them tried to help him.
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* BystanderSyndrome: When Jing Ke starts attacking Ying, everyone in the Imperial court just watches in shock.shock (someone shouts to draw his sword, but only one court official helps him do so by grabbing the king's scabbard). After Ying fends Jing off and kills him, [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments he herds the]] ''[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments entire]]'' [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments court away]] by angrily yelling at them that not one of them tried to help him.
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* FrontLineGeneral: In the ActionColdOpen, a soldier shows his fearlessness in battle, and an officer asks his name so he can report his courage to Ying Zheng. Turns out Ying Zheng is RightInFrontOfMe.
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* FrontLineGeneral: In the ActionColdOpen, a soldier shows his fearlessness in battle, battle against the Han, and an a dying officer asks his name so he can report his courage to Ying Zheng. be promoted. Turns out Ying Zheng is RightInFrontOfMe.he's talking to the king.
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* FrontLineGeneral: In the ActionColdOpen, a soldier shows his fearlessness in battle, and an officer asks his name so he can report his courage to Ying Zheng. Turns out Ying Zheng is RightInFrontOfMe.
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* InfantImmortality - BRUTUALLY averted. A young girl commits suicide, and all the children in the Zhao capital are buried alive.
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* InfantImmortality - BRUTUALLY BRUTALLY averted. A young girl commits suicide, and all the children in the Zhao capital are buried alive.
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* LonelyAtTheTop: Ying Zheng succeeds in his goals, but he finds himself isolated and alone, brokenly repeating his 'destiny' to himself, having lost Lady Zhao, his father and any semblance of trust in everyone else.
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* PyrrhicVillainy: All Ying Zheng achieves with all his atrocities? He finalizes his destiny, but is left alone and miserable, with his own courtiers not bothering to defend him from an assassination.
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** This is a case of TruthInTelevision. Ying Zheng forbade officials from carrying weapons in the throne room, thus when the assassination attempt occurred, nobody present had weapons to defend the First Emperor.
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** This is a case of TruthInTelevision. Ying Zheng forbade officials from carrying weapons in the throne room, thus when the assassination attempt occurred, nobody present had weapons any weapon to defend the First Emperor.
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** This is a case of Truthintelevision. Ying Zheng forbade officials from carrying weapons in the throne room, thus when the assassination attempt occurred, nobody present had weapons to defend the First Emperor.
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** This is a case of Truthintelevision.TruthInTelevision. Ying Zheng forbade officials from carrying weapons in the throne room, thus when the assassination attempt occurred, nobody present had weapons to defend the First Emperor.
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** This is a case of :Truthintelevision:. Ying Zheng forbade officials from carrying weapons in the throne room, thus when the assassination attempt occurred, nobody present had weapons to defend the First Emperor.
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** This is a case of :Truthintelevision:.Truthintelevision. Ying Zheng forbade officials from carrying weapons in the throne room, thus when the assassination attempt occurred, nobody present had weapons to defend the First Emperor.
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** This is a case of :Truthintelevision:. Ying Zheng forbade officials from carrying weapons in the throne room, thus when the assassination attempt occurred, nobody present had weapons to defend the First Emperor.
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* BystanderSyndrome: When Jing Ke starts attacking Ying, everyone in the Imperial court just watches in shock. After Ying fends Jing off and kills him, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny he herds the]] ''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny entire]]'' [[CrowningMomentOfFunny court away]] by angrily yelling at them that not one of them tried to help him.
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* BystanderSyndrome: When Jing Ke starts attacking Ying, everyone in the Imperial court just watches in shock. After Ying fends Jing off and kills him, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments he herds the]] ''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny ''[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments entire]]'' [[CrowningMomentOfFunny [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments court away]] by angrily yelling at them that not one of them tried to help him.
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[[quoteright:241:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_emperor_and_the_assassin.jpg]]
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''The Emperor And The Assassin'' (original title 荊柯刺秦王) is a movie about the rise of the First Emperor, directed by Chen Kaige and released in 1998. At the time, it was China's most expensive film ever produced. It starred Creator/GongLi as Lady Zhao, Li Xuejian as Ying Zheng, and also had Creator/ZhouXun in a supporting role.
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''The Emperor And The Assassin'' (original title title: 荊柯刺秦王) is a movie about the rise of the First Emperor, directed by Chen Kaige and released in 1998. At the time, it was China's most expensive film ever produced. It starred Creator/GongLi as Lady Zhao, Li Xuejian as Ying Zheng, and also had Creator/ZhouXun in a supporting role.
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In the third century BCE, as China is in the throes of the Warring States era, the ruthlessly ambitious Ying Zheng turns his realm of Qin into a fearsome military machine and poses a growing threat to the existence of the six other kingdoms. Ying's favored concubine, Lady Zhao, suggests a ploy that would give Qin a ''casus belli'' to invade the rival state of Yan: she will have her face branded and use it as a pretext to defect to Yan, where she will convince the king to send an assassin to kill Ying.
to:
In the third century BCE, as China is in the throes of the Warring States era, the ruthlessly ambitious Ying Zheng turns his realm of Qin into a fearsome military machine and poses a growing threat to the existence of the six other kingdoms. Ying's favored concubine, Lady Zhao, suggests a ploy that would give Qin a ''casus belli'' ''[[PretextForWar casus belli]]'' to invade the rival state of Yan: she will have her face branded and use it as a pretext to defect to Yan, where she will convince the king to send an assassin to kill Ying.
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* CycleOfRevenge: Ying Zheng is aware of this trope (it [[FromNobodyToNightmare happened to him]] after all) and so orders all the children buried alive so they won't grow up to take revenge.
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The best hit man in Yan, Jing Ke, is chosen for the mission, but Lady Zhao discovers he has chosen not to kill again, and is living the rest of his life as a beggar. As she learns about the circumstances of his choice, Lady Zhao begins falling in love with Jing Ke, and after witnessing the brutal slaughter of children by the Qin army in her home state of Zhao, genuinely allies with Yan against Qin and wants the assassination attempt to succeed. Jing Ke, however, [[ForegoneConclusion fails to kill Ying]], and the latter is now free to complete his takeover of the land and become QinShiHuangdi, the [[ImperialChina First Emperor of China]].
to:
The best hit man in Yan, Jing Ke, is chosen for the mission, but Lady Zhao discovers he has chosen not to kill again, and is living the rest of his life as a beggar. As she learns about the circumstances of his choice, Lady Zhao begins falling in love with Jing Ke, and after witnessing the brutal slaughter of children by the Qin army in her home state of Zhao, genuinely allies with Yan against Qin and wants the assassination attempt to succeed. Jing Ke, however, [[ForegoneConclusion fails to kill Ying]], and the latter is now free to complete his takeover of the land and become QinShiHuangdi, UsefulNotes/QinShiHuangdi, the [[ImperialChina First Emperor of China]].
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* BystanderSyndrome: When Jing Ke starts attacking Ying, everyone in the Imperial court just watches in shock. After Ying fends Jing off and kills him, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny he herds the]] ''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny entire]]'' [[CrowningMomentOfFunny court away]] by angrily yelling at them that not one of them tried to help him.
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* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Jing Ke gets one at the beginning of the movie when the blind daughter refuses his "pity" and commits suicide cursing him. Ying Zheng will have another at the end of the movie, when [[spoiler: Chang Xin does exactly the same to the Emperor]]
* HourglassPlot: The movie begins with Jing Ke after he has crossed his DespairEventHorizon because his HeelFaceDoorSlam, and Ying Zheng, loved by Lady Zhao, is full of hope trying to build TheEmpire because UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. The movie ends with Jing Ke dying knowing he is loved by Lady Zhao and that he tried to make up for all his sins, while Ying Zheng crosses his DespairEventHorizon after his own HeelFaceDoorSlam, being LonelyAtTheTop with ZeroPercentApprovalRating
* HourglassPlot: The movie begins with Jing Ke after he has crossed his DespairEventHorizon because his HeelFaceDoorSlam, and Ying Zheng, loved by Lady Zhao, is full of hope trying to build TheEmpire because UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. The movie ends with Jing Ke dying knowing he is loved by Lady Zhao and that he tried to make up for all his sins, while Ying Zheng crosses his DespairEventHorizon after his own HeelFaceDoorSlam, being LonelyAtTheTop with ZeroPercentApprovalRating
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* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Jing Ke gets one at the beginning of the movie when the blind daughter refuses his "pity" and commits suicide cursing him. Ying Zheng will have another at the end of the movie, when [[spoiler: Chang Xin does exactly the same to the Emperor]]
Emperor]].
* HourglassPlot: The movie begins with Jing Ke after he has crossed his DespairEventHorizon because his HeelFaceDoorSlam, and Ying Zheng, loved by Lady Zhao, is full of hope trying to build TheEmpire because UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. The movie ends with Jing Ke dying knowing he is loved by Lady Zhao and that he tried to make up for all his sins, while Ying Zheng crosses his DespairEventHorizon after his own HeelFaceDoorSlam, being LonelyAtTheTop withZeroPercentApprovalRatingZeroPercentApprovalRating.
* HourglassPlot: The movie begins with Jing Ke after he has crossed his DespairEventHorizon because his HeelFaceDoorSlam, and Ying Zheng, loved by Lady Zhao, is full of hope trying to build TheEmpire because UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. The movie ends with Jing Ke dying knowing he is loved by Lady Zhao and that he tried to make up for all his sins, while Ying Zheng crosses his DespairEventHorizon after his own HeelFaceDoorSlam, being LonelyAtTheTop with
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* InfantImmortality - BRUTUALLY averted
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* InfantImmortality - BRUTUALLY avertedaverted. A young girl commits suicide, and all the children in the Zhao capital are buried alive.
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* ObfuscatingStupidity / ScheherezadeGambit: Realising his target is watching him like a hawk, Jing Ke pretends to collapse in fear and confesses he's been sent to kill the Emperor. Ying Zheng is so overjoyed at this (it's exactly the pretext he needs to launch his invasion) that he lets his guard down.
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* ObfuscatingStupidity / ScheherezadeGambit: Realising Realizing his target is watching him like a hawk, Jing Ke pretends to collapse in fear and confesses he's been sent to kill the Emperor. Ying Zheng is so overjoyed at this (it's exactly the pretext he needs to launch his invasion) that he lets his guard down.
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* HeyItsThatGuy - In a previous life, [[RedCliff Cao Cao]] was an assassin, whom the [[Film/CurseOfTheGoldenFlower Empress]] fell in love with.
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''The Emperor And The Assassin'' (original title 荊柯刺秦王) is a movie about the rise of the First Emperor, directed by Chen Kaige and released in 1998. At the time, it was China's most expensive film ever produced. It starred Creator/GongLi as Lady Zhao, Li Xuejian as Ying Zheng, and also had ZhouXun in a supporting role.
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''The Emperor And The Assassin'' (original title 荊柯刺秦王) is a movie about the rise of the First Emperor, directed by Chen Kaige and released in 1998. At the time, it was China's most expensive film ever produced. It starred Creator/GongLi as Lady Zhao, Li Xuejian as Ying Zheng, and also had ZhouXun Creator/ZhouXun in a supporting role.
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* ArmorIsUseless: Averted - the Emperor's life is only saved because he's wearing armor under his robes.
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* DirectedByCastMember: Chen Kaige plays Lu Buwei.
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* ObfuscatingStupidity: Realising his target is watching him like a hawk, Jing Ke pretends to collapse in fear and confesses he's been sent to kill the Emperor. Ying Zheng is so overjoyed at this (it's exactly the pretext he needs to launch his invasion) that he lets his guard down.
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* ObfuscatingStupidity: ObfuscatingStupidity / ScheherezadeGambit: Realising his target is watching him like a hawk, Jing Ke pretends to collapse in fear and confesses he's been sent to kill the Emperor. Ying Zheng is so overjoyed at this (it's exactly the pretext he needs to launch his invasion) that he lets his guard down.
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* YouCantFightFate: Being a HistoricalFiction, this movie has a ForegoneConclusion. The movie exploits this trope by showing Jing ke and Ying Zheng sincerely trying to refuse to cross the DespairEventHorizon by KickTheDog. So, even when their HeelFaceDoorSlam sets both of them as TheAtoner, Jing Ke continues to be a ProfessionalKiller in an attempt to kill Ying Zheng, and Ying Zheng becomes TheEmperor because [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans all the crimes he had done need to be justified by assuring an Empire with Peace]].
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* {{Hypocrite}}: Destined to be TheEmperor Ying Zheng and ProfessionalKiller Jing Ke both have crossed the MoralEventHorizon a long time ago, but they haven’t cross the DespairEventHorizon until the movie begins: When both of them attempt to PetTheDog, TheDogBitesBack by HeelFaceDoorSlam them, ensuring the emperor and the assassin get a HeelRealization.
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''The Emperor And The Assassin'' (original title 荊柯刺秦王) is a movie about the rise of the First Emperor, directed by Chen Kaige and released in 1998. At the time, it was China's most expensive film ever produced. It starred GongLi as Lady Zhao, Li Xuejian as Ying Zheng, and also had ZhouXun in a supporting role.
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''The Emperor And The Assassin'' (original title 荊柯刺秦王) is a movie about the rise of the First Emperor, directed by Chen Kaige and released in 1998. At the time, it was China's most expensive film ever produced. It starred GongLi Creator/GongLi as Lady Zhao, Li Xuejian as Ying Zheng, and also had ZhouXun in a supporting role.
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** More likely a case of BystanderSyndrome.
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** More likely a case of BystanderSyndrome.BystanderSyndrome.
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* ObfuscatingStupidity: Realising his target is watching him like a hawk, Jing Ke pretends to collapse in fear and confesses he's been sent to kill the Emperor. Ying Zheng is so overjoyed at this (it's exactly the pretext he needs to launch his invasion) that he lets his guard down.
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* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: EVERYBODY hates Ying Zheng by the time the credits roll. To the point where not a single subject lifts their hand to defend him during the assassination attempt.
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* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: EVERYBODY hates Ying Zheng by the time the credits roll. To the point where not a single subject lifts their hand to defend him during the assassination attempt.attempt.
** More likely a case of BystanderSyndrome.
** More likely a case of BystanderSyndrome.
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* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown - When [[spoiler: Chang's]] forces have found themselves surrounded in the palace courtyard, Ying demands their surrender. They don't at first, but a few volleys of arrows convince the survivors to lay down their weapons...at which point, Ying orders [[spoiler: Chang's]] men to be slaughtered, anyways
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* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown - When [[spoiler: Chang's]] forces have found themselves surrounded in the palace courtyard, Ying demands their surrender. They don't at first, but a few volleys of arrows convince the survivors to lay down their weapons...at which point, Ying orders [[spoiler: Chang's]] men to be slaughtered, anywaysanyways.
* PhraseCatcher: Invoked by Ying Zheng, when he orders a servant to always say to him: ''"Remember that your destiny is to unite the six kingdoms"''.
* PhraseCatcher: Invoked by Ying Zheng, when he orders a servant to always say to him: ''"Remember that your destiny is to unite the six kingdoms"''.
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* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Jing Ke gets one at the beginning of the movie when the blind daughter refuses his "pity" and commits suicide cursing him. Ying Zheng will have another at the end of the movie, when [[spoiler: Chang Xin does exactly the same to the Emperor]]
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* HourglassPlot: The movie begins with Jing Ke after he has crossed his DespairEventHorizon, and Ying Zheng full of hope trying to build TheEmpire because UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. The movie ends with Jing Ke dying knowing he is loved by Lady Zhao and that he tried to make up for all his sins, while Ying Zheng crosses his DespairEventHorizon being LonelyAtTheTop with ZeroPercentApprovalRating
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* HourglassPlot: The movie begins with Jing Ke after he has crossed his DespairEventHorizon, DespairEventHorizon because his HeelFaceDoorSlam, and Ying Zheng Zheng, loved by Lady Zhao, is full of hope trying to build TheEmpire because UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. The movie ends with Jing Ke dying knowing he is loved by Lady Zhao and that he tried to make up for all his sins, while Ying Zheng crosses his DespairEventHorizon after his own HeelFaceDoorSlam, being LonelyAtTheTop with ZeroPercentApprovalRating
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* HourglassPlot: The movie begins with Jing Ke after he has crossed his DespairEventHorizon, and Ying Zheng full of hope trying to build TheEmpire because UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. The movie ends with Jing Ke dying knowing he is loved by Lady Zhao and that he tried to make up for all his sins, while Ying Zheng crosses his DespairEventHorizon being LonelyAtTheTop with ZeroPercentApprovalRating
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* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: EVERYBODY hates Ying Zheng by the time the credits roll. To the point where not a single subject lifts their hand to defend him during the assassination attempt.
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''The Emperor And The Assassin'' (original title 荊柯刺秦王) is a movie about the rise of the First Emperor, directed by Chen Kaige and released in 1998. At the time, it was China's most expensive film ever produced. It starred GongLi as Lady Zhao, Li Xuejian as Ying Zheng, and also had ZhouXun in a supporting role.
In the third century BCE, as China is in the throes of the Warring States era, the ruthlessly ambitious Ying Zheng turns his realm of Qin into a fearsome military machine and poses a growing threat to the existence of the six other kingdoms. Ying's favored concubine, Lady Zhao, suggests a ploy that would give Qin a ''casus belli'' to invade the rival state of Yan: she will have her face branded and use it as a pretext to defect to Yan, where she will convince the king to send an assassin to kill Ying.
The best hit man in Yan, Jing Ke, is chosen for the mission, but Lady Zhao discovers he has chosen not to kill again, and is living the rest of his life as a beggar. As she learns about the circumstances of his choice, Lady Zhao begins falling in love with Jing Ke, and after witnessing the brutal slaughter of children by the Qin army in her home state of Zhao, genuinely allies with Yan against Qin and wants the assassination attempt to succeed. Jing Ke, however, [[ForegoneConclusion fails to kill Ying]], and the latter is now free to complete his takeover of the land and become QinShiHuangdi, the [[ImperialChina First Emperor of China]].
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!!Contains examples of:
* TheAtoner - Jing Ke gives up on his life as a hit man after his last assassination involved killing a swordsmith and his entire family. However, he spared the smith's youngest daughter because she was blind. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, [[DrivenToSuicide the girl took her own life]], and dies out of anger for Jing Ke for robbing her of her family]]. Ultimately, he only agrees to kill Ying Zheng because he actually thinks it's the right thing to do.
* BatmanGambit - Having Yan send an assassin to kill Ying is a deliberate move to give the latter the excuse he needs to invade Yan
* BeardOfSorrow - When Jing Ke becomes a beggar out of sorrow, he sports the requisite unkempt look.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished
** Even branded on the face with a hot iron, Lady Zhao remains beautiful.
** Granted, the brand only appears on the side of her cheek, but [[RavenHairIvorySkin considering this is Gong Li we're talking about]]...
* TheConspiracy - [[spoiler: The Marquis of Qin, Chang Xin, plans a coup d'etat to remove Ying Zheng from power, so as to place one of his sons (which turns out to be Ying's half-brother, due to Chang having fathered two sons...with Ying's ''mother'', no less) on the throne. This is a result of him losing faith in Ying's radical decision-making, which includes starting his war to unite China and removing the Prime Minister Lu Buwei of Qin from office]].
* DefectorFromDecadence - Ying's head general, who begins to lose faith in his king's methodical ways of eliminating his political opponents.
* EmpathyDollShot - Subverted as Lady Zhao arrives at a ransacked Zhao capital too late and finds small drums and other children's toys littered across the ground. Upon further inspection, she proceeds to find the kids as well...'' [[MoralEventHorizon buried alive]]''.
* TheEmperor - Ying Zheng
* ForegoneConclusion - Since Ying Zheng will become the First Emperor of China, Jing Ke must obviously must fail the assassination attempt.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: The brand on Lady Zhao's face is small enough that it doesn't detract from her beauty, but presumably the severe pain involved was the selling point in her scheme with the emperor.
* HeyItsThatGuy - In a previous life, [[RedCliff Cao Cao]] was an assassin, whom the [[Film/CurseOfTheGoldenFlower Empress]] fell in love with.
* InfantImmortality - BRUTUALLY averted
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown - When [[spoiler: Chang's]] forces have found themselves surrounded in the palace courtyard, Ying demands their surrender. They don't at first, but a few volleys of arrows convince the survivors to lay down their weapons...at which point, Ying orders [[spoiler: Chang's]] men to be slaughtered, anyways
In the third century BCE, as China is in the throes of the Warring States era, the ruthlessly ambitious Ying Zheng turns his realm of Qin into a fearsome military machine and poses a growing threat to the existence of the six other kingdoms. Ying's favored concubine, Lady Zhao, suggests a ploy that would give Qin a ''casus belli'' to invade the rival state of Yan: she will have her face branded and use it as a pretext to defect to Yan, where she will convince the king to send an assassin to kill Ying.
The best hit man in Yan, Jing Ke, is chosen for the mission, but Lady Zhao discovers he has chosen not to kill again, and is living the rest of his life as a beggar. As she learns about the circumstances of his choice, Lady Zhao begins falling in love with Jing Ke, and after witnessing the brutal slaughter of children by the Qin army in her home state of Zhao, genuinely allies with Yan against Qin and wants the assassination attempt to succeed. Jing Ke, however, [[ForegoneConclusion fails to kill Ying]], and the latter is now free to complete his takeover of the land and become QinShiHuangdi, the [[ImperialChina First Emperor of China]].
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!!Contains examples of:
* TheAtoner - Jing Ke gives up on his life as a hit man after his last assassination involved killing a swordsmith and his entire family. However, he spared the smith's youngest daughter because she was blind. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, [[DrivenToSuicide the girl took her own life]], and dies out of anger for Jing Ke for robbing her of her family]]. Ultimately, he only agrees to kill Ying Zheng because he actually thinks it's the right thing to do.
* BatmanGambit - Having Yan send an assassin to kill Ying is a deliberate move to give the latter the excuse he needs to invade Yan
* BeardOfSorrow - When Jing Ke becomes a beggar out of sorrow, he sports the requisite unkempt look.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished
** Even branded on the face with a hot iron, Lady Zhao remains beautiful.
** Granted, the brand only appears on the side of her cheek, but [[RavenHairIvorySkin considering this is Gong Li we're talking about]]...
* TheConspiracy - [[spoiler: The Marquis of Qin, Chang Xin, plans a coup d'etat to remove Ying Zheng from power, so as to place one of his sons (which turns out to be Ying's half-brother, due to Chang having fathered two sons...with Ying's ''mother'', no less) on the throne. This is a result of him losing faith in Ying's radical decision-making, which includes starting his war to unite China and removing the Prime Minister Lu Buwei of Qin from office]].
* DefectorFromDecadence - Ying's head general, who begins to lose faith in his king's methodical ways of eliminating his political opponents.
* EmpathyDollShot - Subverted as Lady Zhao arrives at a ransacked Zhao capital too late and finds small drums and other children's toys littered across the ground. Upon further inspection, she proceeds to find the kids as well...'' [[MoralEventHorizon buried alive]]''.
* TheEmperor - Ying Zheng
* ForegoneConclusion - Since Ying Zheng will become the First Emperor of China, Jing Ke must obviously must fail the assassination attempt.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: The brand on Lady Zhao's face is small enough that it doesn't detract from her beauty, but presumably the severe pain involved was the selling point in her scheme with the emperor.
* HeyItsThatGuy - In a previous life, [[RedCliff Cao Cao]] was an assassin, whom the [[Film/CurseOfTheGoldenFlower Empress]] fell in love with.
* InfantImmortality - BRUTUALLY averted
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown - When [[spoiler: Chang's]] forces have found themselves surrounded in the palace courtyard, Ying demands their surrender. They don't at first, but a few volleys of arrows convince the survivors to lay down their weapons...at which point, Ying orders [[spoiler: Chang's]] men to be slaughtered, anyways
