Chapter 23 Chapter 23 The Patriot Zhao Gao

When Zhao Gao is mentioned, we will think of the idiom "referring to a deer as a horse". The story of "pointing a deer into a horse" is like this: When Qin Shihuang's son Qin II was in power, Zhao Gao, who had soared from a eunuch to a prime minister, wanted to rebel, but he was afraid that the ministers would not agree, so he tried it first.He offered a deer to the stupid emperor and said, "This is a horse." But Qin Ershi was not so stupid that he couldn't tell the difference between a horse and a deer, so he smiled and said, "Prime Minister, you made a mistake, right?" , called the deer a horse." Then he asked the ministers next to him, some of them remained silent, some said it was a horse, and some said it was a deer.Afterwards, Zhao Gao secretly killed everyone who said it was a deer.

Zhao Gao's domineering, sinister and vicious can be clearly seen in the confusion of deer and horse, and the reversal of right and wrong. Undoubtedly, in the chess game of the Qin Dynasty's demise, Zhao Gao was a very critical piece. However, as the prime minister of the Great Qin, Zhao Gao's pawn not only failed to stop the wheel of the Qin Dynasty's demise, but accelerated the process.His selfish desires and ambitions are certainly an important factor, but his nationality and origin are also an aspect that cannot be ignored. Zhao Gao was not a native of Qin, but a native of Zhao, and he was a well-known nobleman.When Qin Shihuang destroyed Zhao Guo, Zhao Gao was captured, and what was even more unfortunate was that he eventually became an eunuch who was neither male nor female, that is, an eunuch.According to Zhao Gao's character and conduct, he could not commit suicide by drowning himself like Qu Yuan, a senior official in Sanlu, when his country was ruined and his family was in ruins, nor could he follow Boyi and Shuqi at the end of Shang Dynasty and die without eating Zhou Su. But like them, they miss their homeland as much as they do.

Zhao Gao did not die tragically, but survived in humiliation, because hatred defeated grief in his heart, and he wanted to avenge Zhao Guo and himself. Although Zhao Gao was full of deep-seated hatred for the Qin Dynasty in his heart, on the surface he was full of smiles and obedience to Qin Shihuang, gained the latter's absolute trust, and gradually grasped the initiative of the Qin Dynasty court. Zhao Gao knew that Qin Shihuang was not a fuel-efficient lamp, so he never dared to go to war.After Qin Shihuang died of illness, the great eunuch appeared on the political stage with heavy makeup. He colluded with the then prime minister Li Si and forced the death of Prince Fusu and general Meng Tian under the guise of the first emperor's will.Then Hu Hai, the youngest son of the first emperor, came to the throne. This is the famous emperor Qin II in history.Later, Zhao Gao brutally killed all the princes and princesses of Qin Shihuang to vent his hatred for the Qin Dynasty.Later, he and Li Si scrambled for power and made internal strife, and with the help of Qin II, he mercilessly eliminated the former allies, and day and night planned to seize the emperor's unique power.In the third year of Qin Ershi, Zhao Gaoyi did not do anything, and killed the stupid emperor.

Under Zhao Gao's crazy toss, the Qin Empire, which was already in decline, was getting closer and closer to death. It is undeniable that Zhao Gao is a bad person, but he is a patriot to some extent in his bones, just like a "patriot" missile launched by Zhao State to Qin State before its demise.Although Zhao Gao did not witness the demise of the Qin Dynasty with his own eyes, he must have tasted the thrill of pushing the enemy country into the tomb.As soon as Zhao Gao died, the Qin Dynasty collapsed in the torrent of peasant uprisings.