Chapter 49 48 The Dune Conspiracy

In 210 BC, Qin Shihuang went to the southeast to inspect.Along with him were Prime Minister Li Si and eunuch Zhao Gao. His youngest son Hu Hai asked to go with him.Qin Shihuang usually liked his youngest son, so of course he agreed. Qin Shihuang crossed the Qiantang River, arrived at Kuaiji County, and then went north to Langye (now Jiaonan County, Shandong).Starting in winter and not coming back until summer.On the way back, he felt unwell and fell ill in Pingyuanjin (now south of Pingyuan County, Shandong). The accompanying medical officers gave him medical treatment and medicine, but nothing worked.

When he arrived at Shadu (now west of Guangzong County, Hebei Province), Qin Shihuang became more and more ill.Knowing that he would not recover from his illness, he told Zhao Gao, "Write to Fusu quickly and tell him to go back to Xianyang as soon as possible. If I am not cured, ask him to host the funeral." After the letter was written, before it could be handed over to the envoy for delivery, Qin Shihuang had already died. Prime Minister Li Si discussed with Zhao Gao and said: "It is still far away from Xianyang, and it is not possible to arrive in a day or two. If the news of the emperor's death spreads, I am afraid there will be confusion inside and outside; it is better to keep it secret for the time being. After mourning, hurry back to Xianyang and make sense again."

They put Qin Shihuang's body in the car, closed the door, and lowered the curtains so that no one could be seen outside.Except for Hu Hai, Li Si, Zhao Gao and five or six servants in the entourage, none of the other ministers knew that Qin Shihuang was dead.The convoy headed for Xianyang as usual, and every time it went to a place, all civil and military officials played outside the car as usual. Li Si asked Zhao Gao to send someone to send the letter quickly, and asked his son Fusu to rush back to Xianyang.Zhao Gao is Hu Hai's confidant and has a grudge against Meng Tian's family.He secretly discussed with Hu Hai, intending to pass on Qin Shihuang's will, kill Fu Su, and let Hu Hai inherit the throne.Of course Hu Hai couldn't wish for it, and he fully agreed.

Zhao Gao knew that he wanted to do such a thing, so he had to discuss it with Li Si, so he went to Li Si and said, "Now the emperor's edict and jade seal are in Hu Hai's hands, and it is up to the two of us to decide who will take over the throne. You see what to do?" Li Si was taken aback, and said, "How do you say such subjugation? This is not something we should talk about as courtiers!" Zhao Gao said: "Don't worry. Let me ask you first, is your talent comparable to Meng Tian? Is your contribution comparable to Meng Tian? Is your relationship with Fusu comparable to Meng Tian?"

Li Si was stunned for a while before saying, "I can't compare to him." Zhao Gao said: "If Fusu becomes emperor, he will definitely worship Meng Tian as prime minister. At that time, you have no choice but to return to your hometown. This is an obvious thing. Young master Hu Hai has a good heart and treats people kindly. If he becomes emperor, you I'll never get enough of it for the rest of my life. You should think about it." After Zhao Gaolian coaxed and threatened him, Li Si was afraid that after Fusu succeeded to the throne, he would not be able to keep his position as prime minister, so he conspired with Zhao Gao and Hu Hai to forge an edict to Fusu, saying that he could not make meritorious service outside, and instead hated his father. The emperor also said that general Meng Tian and Fusu conspired, they should both commit suicide and hand over the military power to the deputy general Wang Li.

Fusu received this false edict, cried and wanted to commit suicide.Meng Tian suspected that the edict was forged, and wanted to help Su to appeal to Qin Shihuang.Fusu was an honest man and said: "Since my father wants me to die, how can I appeal again?" Just like that, he committed suicide. Zhao Gao and Li Si hurriedly urged the people on their way.At that time, it was the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, the weather was still very hot, there were not many days, the corpse had already rotted, and the car emitted a bad smell. Zhao Gao sent people to buy a large amount of salted fish and asked the ministers to put a basket on each car.The smell of salted fish around the convoy covered up the smell of Qin Shihuang's body.

When they arrived in Xianyang, they announced the news of Qin Shihuang's death, held a funeral, and falsely passed on Qin Shihuang's will, and Hu Hai succeeded to the throne.This is Qin II. After the Second Emperor and Zhao Gao buried Qin Shihuang, they were guilty of thieves, fearing that the matter of usurping the throne would be leaked.Zhao Gao urged Hu Hai to kill his brothers and ministers, condemned twelve sons and ten princesses to death, and countless ministers were imprisoned.A year later, Zhao Gao used tricks to instigate the Second King to arrest Li Si, who was the accomplice, and kill him.Zhao Gao himself became the prime minister and held the power alone.