"The way of the first emperor to cause chaos is to use Zhao Gao. The scourge of the husband and the eunuch is like a poison beast, and there is no one who does not break the liver and gall. —Su Shi.The Northern Song Dynasty writer Su Shi's evaluation of Zhao Gao couldn't be more appropriate, for Qin Shi Huang and his Great Qin Empire, Zhao Gao was a ** poisonous snake that gnawed away the foundation of the empire.
Those famous ministers who unified the world for Qin Shi Huang were like pieces of paper straw, ruthlessly harvested and exterminated by this little-known eunuch.
Li Si, the once prominent prime minister of Great Qin, and Meng Tian, who was a powerful Huns, were defeated in this game of power, and only mediocre people who were willing to refer to deer as horses were left in the court.
And Qin II Hu Hai, the supreme ruler of Great Qin, was also reduced to kneeling and begging for mercy but could not be seen, and was finally killed.
From a eunuch with no real power to the supreme power holder, Zhao took less than three years.
Therefore, how much energy a person has depends not on how high his status is, but on his distance from the highest power.
Let's take a look at Zhao Gao's career and how to clear the customs and seize the imperial power.
Zhao Gao, the surname of Win, Zhao, the date of birth is unknown, about Zhao Gao's life experience, there are the following records in the "Historical Records":
"Zhao Gao, Zhao Shu's subordinates, Zhao Gaokun's brothers, all born in the hidden palace, his mother was tortured, and the world is lowly. ”A few words but a great amount of information is hidden, first of all, "Zhu Zhao Shu" is the meaning of the Zhao family, so Zhao Gao is a disciple of the Zhao family.
His mother was sent to the Hidden Palace for violating the criminal law and was sent to the Hidden Palace, which at the time referred to the state-run handicraft workshops of the Qin State, where Zhao Gao and his younger brothers were born, although they were descendants of the clan, but they were humble and poor.
In addition, we know from the above clues that Zhao Gao was originally a distant branch of the Zhao clan, and his ancestors were later exchanged as protons to the Qin State.
Zhao Gao was born in the Qin State, and both Zhao and Qin are surnamed Ying, the same family and the same clan, Zhao Gao is not only the clan of the Zhao State, but also related to the clan of the Qin State.
is such a relative who can't be beaten, but it is enough to pave the way for his future development.
Although Zhao Gao lived in poverty, he was diligent and studious, especially proficient in the law, and when he grew up, he inherited the position of his father's "knife and pen officer" and entered the first job.
Zhao Gao is not only capable, thorough study of Qin law, but also good at observing words and feelings, and soon won the appreciation of Yingzheng, who promoted him to the order of the CRRC government, took charge of the emperor's chariot and seal, and also asked him to teach his young son Hu Hai to judge the case and break out of prison.
At this point, Zhao Gao entered the core power layer of the Qin Empire, and it is worth mentioning that Zhao Gao was not a eunuch when he entered the palace, but was castrated for breaking the law in middle age, and he had been in the palace for many years before being promoted by Yingzheng.
At this time, although Zhao Gao was among the nine kings, he was at best only a close minister of the emperor's side, and he did not have much real power.
Especially Meng Yi, he is the supreme secretary, he is a member of the palace, and he is the real henchman of Qin Shi Huang, and no one takes Zhao Gao to heart at this time.
It's just that everyone, including Ying Zheng, underestimated Zhao Gao, and for many years he has been holding back, low-key assisting Hu Hai, flattering and flattering, and winning Hu Hai's trust, and all this is hiding his ulterior ambitions.
The opportunity to belong to Zhao Gao in 210 BC came, and in this year Qin Shi Huang died of illness in the sand dunes.
Before he died, he summoned Zhao Gao and asked him to draft an edict for his eldest son Fusu, asking him to return to Xianyang as soon as possible to preside over the funeral and inherit the unification.
And Zhao Gao finally took off his disguise, first withheld the edict and did not send it, and then asked Hu Hai to come and persuade him to replace him.
Later, Zhao Gao sought the support of Prime Minister Li Si, and he took advantage of Li Si's weakness of greed for power to help Su succeed to the throne, and Meng Tian was bound to replace him with the reason that Li Si would support Hu Hai.
As the founding father of the Qin Dynasty, Li Si was born in cloth, and only because he followed the first emperor for many years and helped unify the world to have this power and status, and finally compromised with Zhao Gao after a fierce ideological struggle.
With Li Si's support, Zhao Gao began to implement his plan step by step, and if he wanted to support Hu Hai, the first step was to get rid of the Fusu henchmen.
The core of the Fusu group is the Mengshi brothers, the elder brother Meng Tian is the first fierce general of the Great Qin, who once attacked the Xiongnu in the north, garrisoned the Hetao, and was in charge of 300,000 elite troops, and his younger brother Meng Yi served the emperor.
One of the two brothers is in charge of foreign affairs, and the other is for internal planning, and they are trusted by Yingzheng, and the other generals dare not compete for favor, so Zhao Gao is ready to take the Mengshi brothers first.
Just when Yingzheng died of illness, Meng Yi was sent to Mount Tai to prepare for the sealing of Zen, and Zhao Gao just took advantage of this gap to get in the way.
After conspiring with Li Si, he first pretended to be the order of the first emperor and made Hu Hai the crown prince, and then concocted an edict and sent it to Shangjun, giving Fusu and Meng Tian self-judgment on the charge of "disloyalty and filial piety".
Fusu was once punished to the border for burning books and discord with Ying Zheng, over the years the father and son have been deeply estranged, as soon as the edict arrived, Fusu cried loudly, drew his sword and committed suicide, and it was useless to dissuade Meng Tian, but the two never knew that Ying Zheng had died.
Fusu was simple, but Meng Tian refused to die without explanation, so the envoy imprisoned him and brought him back, and handed over the military power to the deputy general Wang Li.
At this time, Meng Yi, who was kept in the dark, went out and returned, and was detained in Daidi before he could react.
Zhao Gao hated Meng Yi to the core, and it was Meng Yi who presided over the law enforcement when he was tortured by the palace, but fortunately he left a life under the protection of Ying Zheng.
Now that Zhao Gao is in power, how can he let go of this opportunity for revenge, Hu Hai returned to Xianyang to inherit the throne, and Zhao Gao was named Lang Zhongling, becoming Hu Hai's most trusted decision-maker.
In order to prevent the Montessori brothers from resurrecting, Zhao Gao concocted their crimes, beguiled Hu Hai and forced them to judge themselves. Then he committed suicide by swallowing medicine.
After getting rid of the Montessori brothers, Zhao Gao turned the spearhead to the Qin royal family, according to historical records, Zhao Gao killed 12 brothers of Hu Hai in Xianyang at one time, political enemies and dissidents were killed countless times, and the entire Xianyang was a sea of blood.
Zhao Gao is proficient in the art of legalism, and knows that in the monarch's ** empire, only by mastering the emperor can he ensure the permanence of his position, so he lured Hu Hai to ignore the government and enjoy himself and his henchmen, while he and his henchmen grasp all the power.
As the saying goes, human greed knows no bounds. A year ago, Li Si cooperated with Jiao Zhao for his own selfish desires, and now Zhao Gao's greed is even more than Li Si.
He began to turn his gaze to the position of prime minister under one person and above ten thousand, and Li Si became the next target of his purge.
However, Li Si is not so easy to deal with, he has served as prime minister for many years, and his influence is huge, and the right prime minister Feng Quji, the general Feng Zheng and the general Zhang Han who commanded the troops abroad are also his henchmen.
Just when Zhao Gao was planning to bring down Li Si, the empire was already in crisis.
After Hu Hai succeeded to the throne, not only did not change the ** of the Qin Shi Huang period, but intensified it, putting a heavy burden on the people of the world, and finally formed the phenomenon of "those who are deep in taxation are officials, and those who kill people are loyal ministers".
The unbearable suffering of the common people finally set off an uprising against the tyrannical Qin rule like a volcanic eruption, and first Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rose up in Daze Township.
Then, the aristocratic forces of the Six Kingdoms led by Xiang Yu also began to move, and petty officials such as Liu Bang also joined the ranks of the uprising, and they formed a powerful force, invincible, and greatly shook the foundation of the Qin Empire.
Li Si, as the country's chief assistant, is as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, although he is very selfish, but he can't bear to let Qin Shi Huang's hard work be ruined, and he repeatedly wants to see Qin II but can't see it.
At this time, Qin II had already been isolated by Zhao Gao, and he indulged in lust in the deep palace, and he didn't know anything about the uprising and riots.
Zhao Gao not only did not study the countermeasures, but set up a situation for Li Si, and he pretended to be sad and said to Li Si:
"The Kanto group of thieves is like hair, the warning letter is on the day, the lord is more served, governing the Afang Palace, and gathering useless things for dogs and horses. The ministers have repeatedly admonished, just because of the humble position, there are many words that are not heard, the prince is the prime minister, the position is high and the responsibility is heavy, why not admonish? ”The subtext is that the emperor's depraved appearance is all his own fault, and I don't listen to it, the prime minister is high and powerful, and you still have to admonish him.
Zhao Gao's words are credible, sows can go up the tree, but Li Si just believes it, he is really shrewd and confused for a while.
I would like to see it, but His Majesty often lives in the deep palace, and I can't find a chance to see it!
Zhao Gao saw that Li Si was fooled, and said with a sneer, no problem, wrap it up on me, as long as the prime minister is willing to speak, he must pay attention to his humble position, and when he sees that the emperor is free, he will report it immediately.
Then it was Zhao Gao's performance time, Zhao Gao knew that Hu Hai was addicted to wine, and he was very disgusted that others would disturb him when he was having fun.
So, whenever Zhao Gao saw Hu Hai indulging in singing and dancing, he sent someone to inform Li Si to come to the audience, and Hu Hai put up with it once or twice, but he couldn't stand it.
Hu Hai was already young and vigorous, and his behavior was impetuous, and he couldn't suppress the fire after a long time, and scolded:
"I have a lot of time when I have nothing to do on weekdays, the prime minister doesn't come, I am having fun, and the prime minister comes to ask for help! How can the prime minister deceive me when I am young, so I dare to despise me! ”As soon as Zhao Gao saw Hu Hai on the set, he immediately fanned the flames:
"The plot of the dunes, the prime minister and Yan. Now His Majesty has been established as the emperor, and the title of prime minister is not added, and he hopes to split the land and become the king. Your Majesty, the prime minister has bad intentions and intends to rebel, so you must guard against it! ”That's right, this Li Si is deliberate, Dune is plotting, this old boy didn't catch anything, he hated it in his heart, he just wanted to rebel!
When Hu Hai heard this, the Tianling cover was about to be turned over, and he hurriedly asked the reason, and Zhao Gao began his reasoning unhurriedly.
First of all, Chen Sheng, who rebelled **, was a native of Cai in Chu State, and was a fellow townsman with the prime minister, and the prime minister's eldest son Li You, as the guard of Sanchuan County, did not attack the bandits, not only that, but the minister also heard that Li You and Chen Sheng often had correspondence.
Hu Hai was already tired of Li Si, and when he heard Zhao Gao say this, he had a nose and eyes, so he immediately sent someone to investigate Li Youtong's theft.
At this time, Li Si realized that he had been deceived, and while complaining about his grievances, he pointed out that Zhao Gao had evil intentions and acted in danger, reminding the second to be careful.
One is the veteran prime minister who leans towards the government and the opposition, and the other is an intimate master who has accompanied him since he was a child.
Coupled with Zhao Gao's performance of wiping away tears, Hu Hai firmly believed that Li Si, an old thief, was a bully, so no matter how Li Si advised, Hu Hai just didn't listen.
At this critical moment, Li Si played another bad move, he actually signed the right prime minister Feng Qujian and the general Feng Zao Shangjuan II, suggesting that the construction of the Afang Palace be suspended to reduce the burden of forced labor and alleviate the anger of the people.
This is not good in normal times, at this juncture, didn't you Li Si make it clear that you are forming a party and forcing the palace!
Xiu Afang Palace was originally set by the first emperor, and now thieves are everywhere It is your responsibility, do not think about quelling the rebellion, but start my idea, what qualifications do you have to occupy the position of prime minister and general, and immediately dismiss Li Si and the Feng brothers from their posts.
At this point, Li Si was completely defeated in the struggle with Zhao Gao, and could only be slaughtered like meat on a chopping block.
Li Si is very tenacious, it is better to die than to live, he believes that he will have a chance to defend himself, but it is a pity that he can only admit it when he encounters a political hooligan like Zhao Gao.
Didn't you Li Si admit to rebellion? Then he was tortured every day to extract confessions, tortured to death, and beat Li Sipi until his flesh was open and his body was incomplete.
Not only that, Zhao Gao also sent his cronies to pretend to be the imperial history around Hu Hai, as long as Li Si appealed in person, he would be tortured, Li Si was used to pampering, how could he stand this kind of torture, and he confessed to the false confession of rebellion after coming and going.
Later, Hu Hai really sent someone to interrogate him, Li Si thought it was still the same as before, so he still used a fake mouth, but Hu Hai believed it, and Li Si's tragic end was doomed.
In July 208 BC, Li Si and his people were beheaded in Xianyang, and before his execution, Li Si said to his second son:
"I want to lead the yellow dog with Ru Fu, and go out to Cai Dongmen to chase the cunning rabbit, how can I get it! ”
This imperial prime minister, who was once one person and above 10,000 people, has seen everything at this time, and in the face of death, there is neither grandiose rhetoric nor angry and remorseful rebuke and scolding, but looks forward to the life of ordinary people, which is really pitiful.
A politician who has been in power for decades and a young and vigorous emperor was cut off by a eunuch and was tricked around, I don't know if the eunuch is too cunning or the two men are too stupid.
At the same time, Li Si's eldest son Li You was killed in the rebellion, and Zhao Gao deceived Hu Hai and corrected him.
At this point, Zhao Gao finally became the prime minister justifiably, but this is not the end, and soon a good show of pointing the deer as a horse will be staged.
For ordinary people, being prime minister is already a very popular minister, and he can enjoy the pleasure of power with peace of mind, but Zhao Gao, a eunuch, cannot be described by ordinary thinking, his appetite is too big, and it is simply insatiable.
After all, there is another person above the prime minister, that's right, the next step is to start attacking Hu Hai.
One day, Zhao Gao took advantage of the time to congratulate him, and ordered someone to bring a deer to Hu Hai, but said that it was a thousand-mile horse.
Hu Hai was confused, but the deer and the horse were still distinguishable, and laughed: This is obviously a deer, how can it be said to be a horse? Is the prime minister old and confused?
At this time, Zhao Gao turned his head and threw the question to the ministers, this question stopped everyone, who didn't know that this was a deer, but the key was not the problem of the deer and the horse, but the question of standing in line.
Many ministers succumbed to Zhao Gao's obscenity, and they were busy saying that they were horses, and they were all engaged in politics, and children only told the truth.
The minister with a little conscience chose to remain silent, after all, it was too ridiculous to refer to the deer as a horse, and some people who did not know or were unwilling to give in to Zhao Gao gave the answer to the deer, and the result was of course obvious, and all the ministers who said that it was a deer were all wiped by Zhao Gao.
From now on, Zhao Gao said whatever he said in the court, a fart is fragrant, but the common people in the Kanto region and the nobles of the Six Kingdoms are not ministers in Xianyang City, if you don't let me live well, I will overthrow you.
In 207 BC, the main force of the Qin army was defeated by Xiang Yu in the Battle of Julu, and the elite was lost.
Coach Zhang Han was already in the same party as Li Si, if he fled back to Xianyang, he would not be able to eat and walk, so he simply did not do anything, and led his 200,000 troops to surrender, and the Great Qin Empire had no one who could fight anymore, and it was only overturned in an instant.
As the saying goes, paper can't contain fire, and when the uprising first broke out, Hu Hai was deceived into saying that he was a thief, but this thief was too powerful, and after three years of fighting, not only was it not eliminated, but it intensified.
It wasn't until Zhang Han surrendered that Hu Hai knew that his empire was almost over. He angrily questioned Zhao Gao:
"Didn't the prime minister always say that the Kanto thieves couldn't become a climate, how did it get to this point today? ”Zhao Gao was a little panicked this time, whether it was Meng Tian or Li Si in the past, it was just a party struggle under the court, but this time he was facing the emperor, and if he didn't do it, his life would not be guaranteed, and everything he got would come to naught.
The frenzied Zhao Gao had a heart, and now he can only make a desperate bet, he found his younger brother Zhao Cheng and son-in-law Yan Le and other cronies to plot to kill the monarch and usurp the throne, your surname Ying can be the emperor, what can I Zhao Gao not!
In August 207 BC, Zhao Gao launched a coup d'état, more than 1,000 heavily armed soldiers approached the Wangyi Palace where Hu Hai lived.
Hu Hai just woke up from a dream, it turned out that the first evil who harmed Daqin was around, but the naïve Hu Hai also blamed the attendants around him, why didn't you tell me earlier, Zhao Gao, a virtuous person, didn't tell me earlier, the attendants were also very aggrieved, we told you, life has long been gone.
At this time, Yan Le rushed to Hu Hai, and the sword hit his neck, and Hu Hai said stiffly at this time:
"I am the true dragon emperor, you dare to kill the king! ”Yan Le sneered, thinking to himself who are you pretending to be when your life is gone, and then scolded Hu Hai for being cruel and unreasonable, anyway, all the responsibility is yours alone, and we are going to do the right thing for heaven today.
Hu Hai was completely cowardly, crying and begging to see the prime minister, and after being refused, he begged Dao to be a common man as long as he saved his life.
But now all this has become a luxury, and the desperate Hu Hai can only choose to cut himself in the end, which is the last decent time in his life.
Yan Le reported to Zhao Gao the news that Hu Hai had died, Zhao Gao was overjoyed, he thought that he was in power and opposition, and with the blessing of the blood of the Ying surname Zhao, the throne was foolproof, so he was ready to announce his accession to the throne.
However, all the civil and military officials under the court bowed their heads and refused to obey, and these old ministers and nobles who followed the first emperor to annex the world finally showed their last blood, and they resisted Zhao Gao with silence.
At this time, Zhao Gao was scared and instigated for the first time, and the silent resistance of the ministers frightened him more than the swords and swords outside.
Helpless, he had to temporarily change his mind and pass the jade seal to Ziying, a member of the royal family, but because the control of Great Qin was only Guanzhong, Ziying canceled the emperor title and reinstated himself as King of Qin.
Ziying knew that he was just a puppet, but as a descendant of the surname Win, he still retained the blood of his ancestors, and he secretly decided to kill Zhao Gao with his own hands to avenge his family and the people of the world.
On the day of the enthronement ceremony, Ziying said that he was sick and refused to go, so Zhao Gao had to invite him in person.
As soon as Zhao Gao arrived, the eunuch Han Tan was quick and hacked him to death with a knife, and Ziying immediately summoned the ministers, counted Zhao Gao's sins, and razed his three clans, so that the first eunuch in history completed his sinful life in such a sloppy way.