eunuch who conspired with Li Si to influence the succession to the First Emperor

eunuch who conspired with Li Si to influence the succession to the First Emperor

Zhao Gao? (207 BC), surnamed Ying, surnamed Zhao. During the second emperor of Qin Dynasty, the prime minister was appointed as the official of Zhongche, and also the official of Fuxi, "in charge of more than 20 years". After the death of the first emperor of Qin, Zhao Gao launched a coup. He conspired with Prime Minister Lisi to forge an imperial edict, forcing Fusu, the eldest son of the first emperor of Qin, to commit suicide, and establishing huhai, the youngest son of the first emperor, as emperor, as the second Emperor of Qin. During his term of office, he monopolized power, formed a clique for personal gains, imposed heavier taxes and services, and administrated more harshly. In 208 BC, he designed to kill Lisi, and then became the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty. In the third year, he forced Qin II to commit suicide and made Ziying king of Qin. He was soon killed by Ziying and killed the three ethnic groups.

Zhao Gao started as a eunuch, relying on the favor of Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin Dynasty, pushed the tyrannical color politics of Qin Dynasty to the peak, thus accelerating its demise. Therefore, Lu Jia sighed that "Qin's criminal law remained unchanged, and Zhao's family died" (referring to the fall of Qin Dynasty); and Liu Xiang, the editor of ZhanGuoCe, was even more outspoken: "Qin believed that the same surname was king, but it was not easy for him to have the same surname when he declined, but he died and his country died. Therefore, the king's rule of the world lies in the practice of law, not in believing in the same surname. "

In addition, Zhao Gao was also a great calligrapher in the Qin and Han Dynasties. Xu Shen's preface to Shuowen Jiezi in the Eastern Han Dynasty said: "Zhao Gao wrote Yuanli chapter, which was based on Shi Zhen's big seal script, or rather provincial." There are 59 calligraphers of Qin, Han and Wu dynasties in Wang Qing's ancient and modern annals, including Zhao Gao. Yang Xin's caigu lainengshu Ren Ming in the Southern Song Dynasty is called Zhao Gao's "good da Zhuan". The Da Zhuan in the volume of shuduan written by Zhang Huaiyu in Tang Dynasty said: "Zhao Gaoshan's Zhuan. Teach Hu Hai, the youngest son of the first emperor. " He has six chapters of Yuanli chapter.

Life of the characters

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Zhao Gao's life experience is controversial. Zhao Gao and his brother were both born in the "hidden Palace" where his mother was physically disabled after being punished for violating the criminal law.

When Qin Shihuang heard that he was hardworking and proficient in law, he promoted him to be the commander of emperor Che Yu in Zhongche Prefecture, and asked him to teach his young son Hu hai to judge the case and sentence him to prison. Because Zhao Gao was good at observing words, observing colors and flattering, he soon won the appreciation and trust of Hu Hai. Once, Zhao Gao committed a felony. Meng Yi did not dare to disobey the law, so he was sentenced to death according to the law. Zhao Gao was so clever that the first emperor of Qin pardoned him and reinstated him.

Dune coup

In October of the 37th year of the first emperor of Qin Dynasty (210 BC), the first emperor, who was over half a hundred years old, fell ill on his fifth tour. Although he has been searching for the so-called secret recipe of immortality all his life and "hates others talking about death", he still can't resist the natural operation law of life. With the aggravation of the disease day by day, Qin Shihuang knew that his time had come, and the most urgent task was to determine the establishment of the crown prince as soon as possible. Although his eldest son Fu Su often disagreed with his own political views, he was "resolute and brave, trusting and courageous". With the help of general Meng Tian, he would undoubtedly be a wise king. Moreover, according to the eldest son inheritance system should also be passed on to him. At present, the first emperor no longer hesitated. He called Zhao Gao, who was in charge of the emperor's seals and issuing orders, and asked him to draw up an imperial edict for his eldest son Fu Su. At that time, Fu Su was supervising the army in Shangjun (now the southeast of Yulin, Shaanxi). The first emperor ordered him to entrust the military to Meng Tian and rush back to Xianyang to preside over the funeral. This has actually confirmed the identity of his successor. After the imperial edict was sealed, the first emperor ordered Zhao Gao to send messengers to send it out quickly. Unexpectedly, Zhao Gao made a false promise. However, because the prince Fu Su was always at odds with himself, he worried that his personal status would be disadvantageous after the prince Fu Su succeeded to the throne, and his young son Hu Hai was fatuous and ignorant. If Hu Hai succeeded to the throne, he would be easy to control. Therefore, the imperial edict was secretly withheld.

In July, Bingyin, the first emperor of Qin Dynasty died on the dune platform (now the northwest platform of Guangzong, Hebei). In view of the fact that the emperor died outside the palace and the prince has not yet been established, the Prime Minister Li Si was afraid that the world would be in chaos when people knew the truth, and that many sons of the first emperor of Qin would fight for the throne one after another, so he blocked the news and put the coffin in a rickshaw (a car that could lie down in ancient times, with windows, which was warm when closed, cool when opened, and later used as a funeral car). Where the procession passed, he offered food and hundreds of gifts Everything is the same as before. So at that time, except for Hu Hai, Zhao Gao and five or six favorite ministers who were with them, they knew that the first emperor had passed away, the rest of them were kept in the dark.

One evening, the motorcade stopped to stay. Zhao Gao felt that the time had come, so he came to see Hu Hai with the imperial edict and advised him to take his place: "now the power is in the hands of you, me and the prime minister. I hope you will make plans as soon as possible." Hu Hai had long dreamed of being the emperor, but he didn't dare to act rashly because of his loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness. After listening to Zhao Gao's intimate words, he still hesitated and sighed: "the news of his father's death has not yet been announced to the world. How can we go to trouble the prime minister?" Zhao Gao said with confidence: "young master, you don't have to look forward to the future. You can't miss the opportunity and never come back. I can't do this without the support of the prime minister. I'm willing to plan with the Prime Minister for my son. " Hu Hai immediately agreed.

Lisi was one of the founding fathers of Qin Dynasty. He followed the first emperor for many years, helped him unify the world and govern the country, so he enjoyed a high reputation in the court. Zhao Gao saw that only when he won Li Si's throne could he succeed. For this reason, he took a lot of trouble. Zhao Gao learned that Lisbon was born in Buyi, and it was because he could not bear to be humble and poor that he served the first emperor of Qin Dynasty. Although he is now in the third rank and enjoys all the glory and wealth, he still worries about his future from time to time, for fear that one day everything in front of him will come to nothing. Therefore, he decided to attack from his weakness.

Zhao Gao goes straight to Li Si and confides to him without fear: "the emperor's death is unknown to outsiders. I have the imperial edict and Fuxi for the eldest son Fusu. It's up to the prime minister and Gao to decide who is the prince. Let's see what the prime minister does."

Liz was shocked and recognized his intention to usurp the imperial edict. At the moment, he flatly refused and said, "how can you say such treacherous words! Li Si was originally born in a humble family. Fortunately, he was promoted by the emperor, and he became a distinguished man today. The emperor entrusts the survival of the world to you and me. How can he fail him? "

Seeing that the positive lobbying was ineffective, Zhao Gao changed the subject and asked, "prime minister, in your opinion, who are you better than general Meng Tian in terms of talent, merit, strategy, confidence in the world and trust in Fu Su?" Liz was silent for a long time and said sadly, "it's not as good as it is." Zhao Gao further explored: "the prime minister is a wise man, and I'm afraid he can see the interests more clearly than Gao. Once the eldest son ascends the throne, the post of prime minister will surely fall into Meng Tian's hands. When the time comes, can you still get a good end? Hu Hai's son, Tzu Jen Dun Hou, is actually the best candidate to have an heir. I hope the prime minister will measure it carefully. "

At the moment, Lisi was in a state of confusion. After a fierce ideological struggle, he finally compromised with Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao knew that Ji had become a success and was overjoyed. He immediately conspired with Lisi to appoint Hu Hai as the prince under the command of the first emperor. In addition, he concocted an imperial edict and sent it to Shangjun to punish Fu Su and Meng Tian for being unfaithful and unfilial.

After receiving the imperial edict, Fusu broke out like a bolt from the blue. He burst into tears and turned back to the tent to commit suicide. Meng Tian had a close relationship with the first emperor Suri. He doubted the unexpected Edict and dissuaded him: "Your Majesty is out on tour now, and he has not set up a prince. All the princes must be looking at you with a peeping heart. He appointed you and me to supervise the army and guard the border, which shows the depth of trust. Today, I suddenly sent messengers to send a death order. How can I know if it's deceitful? It's better to make a plea and find out that it's not too late to die. " That emissary had been instructed by Zhao Gaohu Hai and others for a long time, and only kept urging on one side. Although Fu Su had seen Zhao Gao's fake imperial edict for a long time. However, it is still believed that Qin Shihuang's father blamed him. He said, "when your majesty ordered me to supervise the army, I had no heart to be the prince. Today, Hu Hai has been designated as the youngest prince. Your majesty will be afraid that all the princes will not accept it, especially me. You and I lead 300000 troops to guard the border and guard against thieves. They are powerful enough to rebel. Although your Majesty's divine power descends from heaven, we have to guard against them. Your Majesty gave me death, and that's why. If I don't die for a day, your majesty won't be at ease for a day. " Then he killed himself with a sword. When Meng Tian refused to die, the emissary imprisoned him in Yangzhou (now in the north of Zichang County in Western Shaanxi). The military power was handed over to the Deputy General Wang Li, and Li Si's cronies were arranged to serve as the guards. Then he went back to recover his life. When Hu Hai heard that Fusu was dead, he wanted to release Meng Tian. At this time, when Meng Yi came back from sacrificing famous mountains and rivers for the first emperor, Zhao gaoben had a long grudge against him. At the same time, he was worried that the Meng family would regain power in the future, so he slandered Hu Haijin: "the former Emperor had long wanted to choose a virtuous prince, but it was because Meng Yi repeatedly stopped him that he did not implement it. It's better to kill this kind of person who is unfaithful to the Lord and will never suffer from it. " Hu Hai believed it, so he sent someone to detain Meng Yi in Daidi (now the northeast of Yuxian County, Hebei Province).

Seeing that the obstacles had been removed, Zhao Gao suggested that Hu Hai should go back to inherit the throne as soon as possible. Due to the hot weather, the body of Shihuang has begun to rot, and the stench comes from the car. Zhao Gao ordered people to buy a large number of abalone to cover up the stink, and the whole party went back to Xianyang in a mighty manner. Then they lost their lives and announced the whole world. Soon, an unprecedented grand funeral was held. Hu Hai, the crown prince, was the emperor of Qin II. Zhao Gaoguan was granted a doctor's order and became Hu Hai's most trusted decision maker.

Eliminate Zhongliang

Soon after Hu Hai ascended the throne, he began to pursue a life of extravagance and lust. In order to show the emperor's prestige, in the spring of the first year of his accession to the throne (209 BC), he followed the example of the first emperor and traveled along the east line until he reached the seaside. He went south to Kuaiji, and finally returned from Liaodong. In addition, he also overhauled the Afang palace, recruited 50000 strong men to guard Xianyang, and collected the world's exotic flowers and plants, rare birds and animals for his own fun, so that "Xianyang 300 Li"

Chinese PinYin : Zhao Gao