Lü Buwei's Last Choice A short letter triggers a fateful choice
Lü Buwei's lifelong ambition from a merchant to an important minister of the Qin State was not only the pride of the Qin State, but also the pride of his father and son, Qin Shi Huang. However, in the ninth year of Qin Shi Huang (238 BC)."Cao Gong's change"Later, Lü Buwei's condition deteriorated severely, and he finally committed suicide by drinking St. John's wort because of a text message from Qin Shi Huang. Why did Lü Buwei want to die because of a letter that was only 30 words?
Although Lü Buwei made great contributions to the father and son, the hidden danger that determined his fate had long existed.
Lü Buwei was originally a businessman. Handan, the state of Qin, saw Isren publicly"Outstanding", he invested his family wealth to put Isren on the throne of the monarch, and in return, Lü Buwei became the king of Qin. After King Xiang of Qin Zhuang ascended the throne, he was first named the Prime Minister of Qin, the Marquis of Wenxin, and then respected as the Xiangbang, and was named when Qin Shi Huang ascended the throne"Doctor"。Later, after Qin Shi Huang ascended the throne, Lü Buwei was respected as a prime minister, called"Doctor", whose status was unmatched for a while.
The Yiren who was taken hostage to Handan originally had no chance to take the throne of Qin, but with the help of Lü Buwei, he was able to return to China and ascend to the throne. If it weren't for Lü Buwei's success in putting Yiren on the throne, Qin Shi Huang would not have become the king of Qin at all. Therefore, Lü Buwei, as an important minister who assisted King Xiang of Qin Zhuang and Qin Shi Huang, even if he did not contribute to the Qin State, he definitely contributed to Qin Shi Huang's father and son.
At the beginning of Qin Shi Huang's accession to the throne, he was only 12 years old, and almost all the government was in the hands of Lü Buwei, and Lü Buwei's mother Zhao Ji was originally the concubine of Lü Buwei's family. Therefore, in the first years of Qin Shi Huang's reign, Lü Buwei not only held great power, but also rebelled in the palace for a long time, and often committed adultery with Zhao Ji.
When Qin Shi Huang was old, Lü Buwei was worried about what would happen between him and the Empress Dowager Zhao Ji, so he did everything possible to introduce Chang Yu to Zhao Ji, wanting to take the opportunity to escape. After entering the palace, I was scared"Extraordinary ability"quickly won the favor of Zhao Ji, and Lü Buwei took the opportunity to leave the palace.
Later, with the support of Zhao Ji, Chang Yu gradually extended his minions from the harem to the palace, and Zhao Ji also moved to Yongcheng, the capital of the former Qin, with Chang Yu because of the bad feng shui of the queen mother's bedroom. Since then, with Yongcheng as the base, Chang Yu's power has grown rapidly, not only was he named the Marquis of Changxin, many fiefs were divided, and the affairs of the palace were all handled by him alone, and there were thousands of child servants and guests at home, and even the guests who came to Chang Yu to ask for officials were as many as 1,000 people.
Although Lü Buwei had successfully exited the harem at this time, as Chang Yu became more powerful and arrogant, he had actually detonated a time bomb and became the fuse. Moreover, the scandal between him and Zhao Ji cannot be hidden.
Qin Shi Huang's"The palace of the king"After the outbreak, Lü Buwei's situation was even worse.
In the ninth year of the reign of King Qin (238 BC), Chang Yu made an alliance with Zhao Ji and was so arrogant that he proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huang"False Father", scolding the ministers. He said that not only was he not a eunuch, but also said that Qin Shi Huang's wife Chang Yu and Zhao Daoling, the Empress Dowager of Zhao, had two sons. He said that not only was he not a eunuch, but he also had two sons of Empress Dowager Zhao.
Qin Shi Huang, who was 21 years old at the time, was furious when he learned of this and immediately ordered a thorough investigation into the matter. After Chang Yu found out, he was ready to resist to the death. When Qin Shi Huang announced that he would hold a coronation ceremony in the Yongcheng Herb Palace where he and Zhao Ji lived, Chang Yu knew that he could not take it lightly, worried that he would jump off the wall in a hurry, thinking that his crime had not yet been revealed, and it would take time to prepare for the rebellion, so he chose the time of Qin Shi Huang's coronation as the time of rebellion very confusedly.
Since Qin Shi Huang had secretly made all the necessary preparations, Chang Yu's rebellion did not cause major turmoil and was quickly put down. Chang Yu was finally dismembered and shown to the public, the three clans were exterminated, Chang Yu's two children Zhao Ji were killed, and Zhao Ji was imprisoned in Yongcheng.
After the outbreak of the Wei Gong Rebellion, Qin Shi Huang wanted to take the opportunity to kill Lü Buwei, but because there were many guests and debaters who stood up for Lü Buwei, and Lü Buwei made great contributions to the Qin state, Qin Shi Huang dismissed him from his position as a meritorious hero, and only after Zhao Ji was brought back to Xianyang, he was sent from the capital to the fiefdom of Henan
Although Lü Buwei was deposed, there seemed to be no danger, after all, he was not executed for such a crime as disturbing the government, which was already a great luck. Moreover, based on Lü Buwei's own merits and long-term exercise of power and strategy, there may not be a day when he will ascend the throne in the future, and even all walks of life in Shandong believe that Lü Buwei was only convicted because of Chang Yu's suggestion, so the mission to visit Lü Buwei has not ended, and its importance to Lü Buwei has not been alleviated in the slightest.
Although Lü Buwei saved his life with the strength he had formed over the years and the merits he had accumulated, he did not expect that Qin Shi Huang would want to kill him even more because of this strength, after all, a powerful monarch like Qin Shi Huang would never allow a powerful minister like Lü Buwei to exist.
The letter erased Lü Buwei's exploits. Suicide is the best option.
That's right"A teacher for one day, a father for life"。If Qin Shi Huang wanted to seize power, he had to eliminate Lü Buwei's influence in the imperial court. Lü Buwei, who once held a high position, undoubtedly became an obstacle to Qin Shi Huang's seizure of power. Although Lü Buwei has been dismissed, he is still in the city, how can Qin Shi Huang not be afraid of him?
In fact, Qin Shi Huang wanted to kill Lü Buwei at this time, and the confusion between him and Chang Yu in the palace was no longer big, because the most important reason was that Lü Buwei's power threatened Qin Shi Huang. But after all, Lü Buwei has made great contributions to the Qin State and Qin Shihuang's father and son, so he also needs a reason to kill Lü Buwei that can block the mouths of people in the world.
Qin Shi Huang then sent a letter to Lü Buwei from Xianyang Palace:"What credit do you have in the Qin State? Emperor Qin divided 100,000 households in Henan. What do you have to do with Qin? His name is the middle father. You and your family should move to Shudi! "Meaning to say:"What good deeds did you Lu Buwei do for the Qin State? You asked Qin to give you 100,000 households in Henan. What is your relationship with the State of Qin? Dare to call yourself a doctor? So, he was ordered to move his family to Shudi.
This letter seems to be an accusation of Lü Buwei's behavior, but it is actually a fatal attack on Lü Buwei's heart. In just a few words, Qin Shi Huang erased Lü Buwei's contribution to the Qin State and Lü Buwei's father and son, and sarcastically said:"Don't think that with your past achievements, you can live and work in peace.
Lü Buwei was undoubtedly extremely clever, because after reading this letter, he realized that he could no longer avoid this fate, and there was only one way to die at the moment. Lü Buwei knew very well in his heart that Qin Shi Huang did not kill himself at this moment, not only by virtue of his own merits, but also not enough to die, but also to give himself the opportunity to protect his family and reputation, if he really wanted to let go of Qin Shi Huang's ruthless killing, then this is probably a point of no return for Lü Buwei.
In desperation, Lü Buwei could only commit suicide by drinking mugwort. After Lü Buwei's death, Qin Shi Huang held him accountable, not only punishing his family and clansmen, but also allowing all the followers of Chang Yu who had moved to Shu to return to the capital.