227 BC · Qin court at Xianyang Theater
227 BC
With Qin's armies closing in, Crown Prince Dan of Yan sent the swordsman Jing Ke to Xianyang bearing a map of Yan territory — and, rolled inside it, a poisoned dagger. As Jing Ke unrolled the map before King Zheng, the blade appeared; the king tore free of his sleeve and, unable to draw his long sword in panic, at last ran Jing Ke through against a pillar. 'The map unrolled, the dagger revealed' became a proverb for a plot's fatal exposure.
Commanders