Kingdom rolls on as usual –  a commercial colossus in Japan, virtually ignored here and in the English-speaking fandom generally.  It was the #3 franchise in sales for June (trailing only Spy x Family and Tokyo Revengers), and this week saw the announcement of its third live-action theatrical film.  The anime is of course well behind the manga, but about to reach one of the critical nexus points in the story.  That would be the official coronation of Zheng – and it doesn’t take a genius to understand that this is an extremely dangerous time both for the king and for Qin.

If you recall (or even if you don’t – Xin reminds us often enough) that was the milestone by which time Xin pledged to have become a general.  In effect, the true commencement of their childhood promise to unify China.  On the whole Xin is holding up his end of the bargain remarkably well.  Along with Teng’s promotion to Great General comes Wang Ben and Xin’s promotions to Brigadier – 5,000 man general.  That means only one step to go to fulfill his promise, and for the moment he stands relieved that Wang Ben wasn’t leapfrogged directly to general, bypassing brigadier.  But it’s clear he was closer than Xin – it was the opposition of Teng and the high commander (on the grounds that without being a brigadier one can’t understand the true weight of being a general) that forestalled it.

For the nonce, Wang Ben (what a wang) is sent south to bolster the border with Chu, leaving Xin to stand at Teng’s side as Zhuyong is fortified.  This is a potentially advantageous position, surely, as the invasion of Wei stands to be Qin’s next great conquest.  But Xin has to cope with serving under Luong Guo, a stickler for everything Xin isn’t in life.  He even asserts the need to break up the Fei Xin forcer and Qian Lei, as with the 3,000 troops she commands Xin has too many direct reports for a brigadier.  But she asserts that she’s with the Fei Xin force to the end, one way or the other.

At this stage it’s Zheng’s position that looks the more perilous.  As Changwen notes Lu Buwei isn’t about to stand idly by and let Zheng cement his hold on power at his own expense, but for the moment the wily chancellor is eerily quiet.  He seems content to allow the rise of Ai to vex the young king.  Zheng still feels a duty to his mother despite all she’s done to him, but he can’t possibly sit idly by as her rump country chips away at his own power base.  Naturally Qin’s neighbors are doing everything they can to fatten up Ai, and this is all part of the Queen Dowager’s master plan.

What isn’t part of her master plan is going to war with Xianyang – she’s happy to pay protection money to her friends at court to keep that from happening.  But there are interests in Ai who feel differently, and Lao Ai is beginning to feel the rumblings of ambition.  He’s ever-deferential to the Queen-Dowager and clearly loves her, yet still muses about not sharing the wealth with Xianyang, and there’s a part of him that’s not horrified when the Zheng and Chu envoys insist that he should be called “King”.  These interests see Lao Ai as a tool in their hands, just as the Q-D does – but one suspects he may wind up being less malleable than either believes.

The fact that the Queen-Dowager is pregnant again – and that she intends to keep the child – is a fascinating complication.  The fact remains that in this place and time countries were not matriarchies – even if she was the architect of Ai’s creation, the men in power were always going to resent deferring to her.  Lao Ai is the one caught in the middle – self-loathing and of humble (though not peasant) origins, his new station is surely one he never expected to attain.  As one side dangles the lure of true power in front of him, the other offers love – albeit one-sided – and family.  As the drama plays out in the two capitals of Xianyang and Taiyuan, Lao Ai is clearly going to be one of the lead actors.