Chapter 3 Instigator of misbehavior

From ascending the throne to the second emperor of Qin, he slaughtered wantonly and acted recklessly, resulting in his death.All of this has a lot to do with his teacher Zhao Gao.It would not be an exaggeration to say that the political affairs of Qin II's first dynasty were all in the hands of Zhao Gao.So, what kind of person is this powerful Zhao Gao?According to the general saying in history, we all think that he is a typical treacherous minister.However, after carefully searching the relevant records in the history books, we will find that there is another possibility that is faintly emerging.

All of this must start with his surname. His surname is Zhao, which is the same as the monarch of Zhao State during the Warring States Period.According to "Historical Records", it is "all Zhao Shuyuan belonged to", that is to say, he is a descendant of Zhao Wang's family.At that time, it was already the eve of Qin's unification. In the face of Qin Shihuang's fierce military attack, the six kingdoms of Shandong soon collapsed, and many royal families and nobles of the six kingdoms were captured and killed.Zhao Gao's family, as nobles of Zhao State and distant relatives of King Zhao, escaped the fate of being killed, but became captives of Qin State.His father was castrated, and his mother became a slave of the Qin Palace.Zhao Gao and several of his brothers were also sentenced to castration and made servants of the Qin Palace.

The former wealth and honor were wiped out overnight, and the descendants of the noble royal family suddenly became low-level slaves in the Qin Palace.I don't know how Zhao Gao responded to this huge change of identity.What we can see is that he stands out from the slaves with his talent.Because he was smart and capable, and well versed in the law, Qin Shihuang promoted him to be the official of CRRC. Facing this former enemy and current boss, Zhao Gao waited on him carefully.It is hard to say that as a descendant of the Zhao royal family, he will not have the heart of revenge.At that time, the descendants of the nobles of the six countries were very dissatisfied with the rule of the Qin Dynasty and refused to let go of every opportunity for revenge. The big hammer that Zhang Liang threw at Bolangsha showed this point.But Qin Shihuang was very shrewd and cruel. Even if Zhao Gao wanted to take revenge, he had to hide his desire in the deepest part of his heart and dare not reveal it in words or deeds.Otherwise, you will incur the disaster of killing yourself.But Qin Shihuang really appreciated Zhao Gao's talent very much.Zhao Gao had committed a capital crime and had been sentenced to death by Meng Yi. Qin Shihuang actually showed mercy outside the law, which not only saved his life, but also restored his official title.Later, he made him the teacher of his beloved youngest son Hu Hai, teaching Hu Hai calligraphy, characters and the knowledge of prison laws and regulations.

If Zhao Gao had despaired of assassinating Qin Shihuang, then fate brought him another possibility.Hu Hai is the son of Qin Shihuang and may become the master of the Qin Dynasty in the future. Although he is only the youngest son of Qin Shihuang, he is still far away from the emperor's throne.But Qin Shihuang did not establish a prince, perhaps because he was still fantasizing about his immortality and didn't want to think about the heir behind him.But this also means that each of his sons has an equal chance, even though the chance is very slim.Zhao Gao did not ignore this, he taught his young master Hu Hai with all his heart, soon he made Hu Hai trust him and never leave him. He felt that he was completely able to control this young master.

So, in the sand dunes in 209 BC, all Zhao Gao's efforts were rewarded.He successfully withheld the edict of Qin Shihuang ordering Fusu to ascend the throne, and successfully persuaded the powerful prime minister Li Si to unite with him and elect his student Hu Hai to the throne.With Hu Hai's trust in him, he has already stood at the pinnacle of Qin Dynasty's power. Zhao Gao is a very talented person.He can memorize the laws of the Qin State fluently, which is undoubtedly the key to mastering the entire state affairs in the Qin Dynasty, which "ruled the country by law".He is also proficient in writing. Together with Li Si and Hu Wujing, he compiled the official script of the Qin State, Xiaozhuan, and wrote "Yan Li Pian" as a model for people to copy.He is quick-witted and able to grasp the situation calmly and quickly, which can be seen from the part of his rhetoric that persuaded Li Si to support Hu Hai.With his talent and the fact that Qin Er Shi obeyed his advice, it is not impossible to assist Qin Er Shi to be the master of the Ming Dynasty and make the Qin Dynasty politically clear and prosperous.However, what we have seen from history is not the case at all.Zhao Gao seems to be using all his talents to push the Qin Dynasty into the abyss of destruction.

When Qin Ershi was worried because of the wrong arrival of the throne, Zhao Gao cleverly transferred this worry into deep suspicion of the Qin Dynasty's clan.So the massacre began: killing Qin's eldest son Fusu, killing Qin's general Meng Tian, ​​killing Qin's clan son and princess, killing Qin Wenchen's military generals, killing Qin's prime minister Li Si, and killing Qin Ershi Hu Hai himself.Killing all the way down, the temple of the Great Qin Empire was almost empty.If Zhao Gao intends to take revenge, he must be very happy to see this situation.The tyrant Qin Shihuang caused him to destroy his country and ruin his life, so he almost killed all his descendants and put his country in jeopardy.

So he fueled Qin II's misconduct and asked him to continue to overhaul Afang Palace and Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum.And this may be exactly what Zhao Gao is looking forward to.Therefore, he will be suspicious of the general Zhang Han who has made great contributions to the suppression of the rebellion, which makes him surrender to Xiang Yu in order to avoid disaster.When the Guanzhong Rebel Army became more and more powerful and aggressive, even Qin Ershi, who was too fatuous to be in charge, expressed concern and asked each other, but he said lightly: "They are all small groups of thieves, and they have been arrested all over the place. Your Majesty need not worry about such trivial matters."

But this is all speculation. According to the existing historical data, we cannot be sure whether Zhao Gao did all this for revenge, or just because of his abnormal psychology as a eunuch.However, there is a record in the history books that seems to be able to give us a possible answer. According to the "Benji of Qin Shihuang" and "Benji of Gaozu" in "Historical Records", Zhao Gao had an alliance with Liu Bang, and the condition for him to destroy the clan of Qin State was to become king in Guanzhong.At that time, the rebels rose up, and the six kingdoms had become independent one after another. As a descendant of the Zhao royal family, Zhao Gao might also have a little idea of ​​​​reviving his homeland, so he forced Qin II to be killed.It's just that Zhao Gao may have overlooked a question, as a eunuch, how can he be king.

Therefore, after the death of Qin II, Zhao Gao unceremoniously wore the jade seal used by the emperor on his body.But the officials around him didn't listen to him, and the emperor's palace seemed to collapse several times. Zhao Gao felt that it was God's will, and he was not allowed to be king and emperor, and seeing that the officials would not agree, he had no choice but to Give up, and change Ziying to be the king of Qin.Later, although he was killed by Ziying's design, the Qin Dynasty perished immediately.Regardless of whether Zhao Gao is a power traitor who harmed the country, or a righteous man who took revenge, he has already achieved his goal.As for the truth of history, I am afraid that we can only guess slowly after more than two thousand years of smoke and dust.