Chapter 154 Section 2 conditioned reflex

Li Si is now living a life of two points and one line, from the execution room to the prison cell, and from the prison cell to the execution room.Frightened by Zhao Gao's strict orders, the jailers feared that the punishment would not be severe, and the punishment would not be severe. They insisted on beating Li Si to admit that he had conspired against him. The ancient Romans once said that under severe torture, those who can bear the pain will not tell the truth, and those who cannot bear the pain will tell the truth.Montaigne also said: Torture is not enough to test the truth, it can only be tested to endure.

The reason why enduring pain is difficult is not only difficult physically, but even more difficult mentally.A person with strong willpower like Li Si's tolerance for pain should be said to be far higher than ordinary people.But on the other hand, the cruel punishment he received was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.Under endless rounds of torture, Li Si couldn't hold on any longer, he gave in, and he confessed.But the jailers paid no attention to his physical and mental pain, and still said sarcastic remarks, saying, "If you admit it earlier, it's over. Why do you have to suffer so many crimes for nothing?"

According to the annals of history, Li Si Nai was the first person in Chinese history who was beaten into a trick.However, such a record is nothing but a shame to Li Si; it is also not an honor to the empire. Hearing that Li Si confessed, Zhao Gao was overjoyed, but he was not in a hurry to report his merits to Hu Hai.According to the laws of the empire, Hu Hai still has the power of final adjudication. After Li Si made a confession, Hu Hai must send someone to review the case.If Li Si suddenly retracts his confession and refuses to admit treason, although Li Si may not be able to make a living because of this, at least it will bring countless troubles to Zhao Gaoping.

Therefore, Zhao Gao must completely dispel Li Si's idea of ​​retracting his confession.Therefore, Zhao Gao scientifically trained Li Si according to the law of conditioned reflex. Zhao Gao found a guest from the door and ordered him to pretend to be the censor sent by Hu Hai to review Li Si.When the fake censor arrived at the prison, he dismissed the others and said to Li Si, "I have come here by your majesty's order. There is no one here. If the prime minister has any grievances, you can tell the truth." This was the first warm and humane sentence Li Si heard since he was imprisoned.Li Si was so excited that tears filled his eyes, and Hu Hai finally sent someone.The long-term punishment has made Li Si become weak and credulous. He never suspected that the identity of the person in front of him might be false, but took him as a life-saving straw, held on tightly, and never let go.

Li Si held the hand of the fake censor and cried loudly, "Please tell your majesty that Li Si was wronged and Li Si is a loyal minister!"The fake censor didn't pay attention to listening, but only occasionally hummed to deal with it. The fake censor left before his feet, and the jailer came in behind him. He beat Li Si with a stick and reprimanded him, "I dare you to retract your confession, dare you to retract your confession!" Li Si couldn't bear the pain, so he could only hold his head and beg for mercy, and said, "Stop beating me, I will never retract my confession again."

Zhao Gao was still worried, so he sent another guest to pretend to be a visitor, falsely claiming that he was ordered by Hu Hai to review Li Si.Li Si still didn't wake up, and complained to himself in front of the false audience.Li Si was so angry that he burst into tears and wept with blood.Seeing this, the fake visitor feels pity, but there is nothing he can do to help. As soon as the fake visitor came out, the jailer came in again and beat Li Si again. In this way, Zhao Gao successively sent nearly ten groups of people, pretending to be Hu Hai's envoys, to test Li Si.Li Si didn't distinguish the truth from the false, and every time he retracted his confession, he confessed his grievances.Then, as usual, they were beaten with clubs or flogged.

Like Pavlov's famous experiment, Reese also formed such a conditioned reflex: as long as he retracted his confession, he would be beaten severely.He really didn't want to be beaten anymore, he really would rather die. False and true come true and false.When Hu Hai really sent someone to review the case, Li Si couldn't believe that the person in front of him was actually Hu Hai's emissary. He just repeated blindly, "I'm guilty, and I want to rebel." The envoy reported back to Hu Hai. Hu Hai not only would not have thought that Zhao Gao had done something in secret, but praised Zhao Gao: "If there is no Mr. Zhao, it will be sold by the prime minister."

Soon after, the envoy sent by Hu Hai to Sanchuan to collect evidence of Li You's collusion with the enemy also returned to Xianyang.For Li Si, the emissary brought back a good news and a bad news, and the good news and the bad news were actually the same news - Li You fought the enemy bravely in the front, even though he was outnumbered, he refused to surrender. It was broken by the coalition forces of Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, and died at the hands of Cao Shen. Losing a child in old age is naturally the worst news.However, Li You fought tenaciously on the front line and sacrificed his life for the country. He was called a hero of the empire, and the accusation of him collaborating with the enemy was naturally self-defeating.With his heroic sacrifice, Li You proved the innocence of Li Si's family, but it was good news.

It's a pity that Li You's sacrifice still couldn't save his family's fate.In the imperial court at this time, Zhao Gao has covered the sky with one hand and is omnipotent.In the future he can turn a deer into a horse, and now he can turn black and white.Under Zhao Gao's coercion and temptation, the envoy had no choice but to fabricate the facts, and said to Hu Hai, "It is true that Li You colluded with the enemy." So far, Hu Hai no longer had any doubts about Li Si's rebellion, so he ordered Zhao Gao to sentence Li Si. Zhao Gao said, "Li Si is among the three princes. He doesn't want to serve the country and be loyal, but he has a heart of disobedience. There is no more crime than this. Only severe punishment is not enough to secure the world and suppress all people. The sentence is: Li Si has five punishments, Kill the three clans."

There are five punishments, according to the "Hanshu Criminal Law Chronicle", the specific content is "first tattoo, cut off the left and right toes, kill them with flogging, slay their heads, and throw their flesh and blood in the market. Those who slander and curse will first cut off their tongues. "Even in the harsh Qin law, five punishments can be regarded as the cruelest punishment. Hu Hai took over and sighed, "Li Si served the late emperor for decades, and he has made great contributions to our Qin Li. The whole world has seen it, and it must not be forgotten. Without Li Si, I would not be able to have the honor of today's master. Knowing the favor and not repaying it, It's not human. I really can't bear the severe punishment."

Zhao Gao's face was as white as paper, and he was full of fear. After hearing what Hu Hai said, could it be that he wanted to forgive Li Si and let Li Si not die?If so, it would be all over.Hu Hai's words can make all the tricks he used in the trial of Li Si become futile.Li Si already understood that it was Zhao Gao who designed to frame him. Once Li Si escaped from death and tried his best to counterattack, how would Zhao Gao resist? Zhao Gao searched his brains, brewing his own rhetoric, and was about to persuade Hu Hai to uphold the original sentence, but Hu Hai continued, "Change the five punishments to be cut in half, and the rest will be as you said." Zhao Gao was overjoyed, and wished he could hug Hu Hai, and said in a coquettish voice, "You should have said it earlier, it made his heart skip a beat." In short, no matter whether it was five punishments or beheading, Li Si died after all, and also died without dignity.Perhaps, in Hu Hai's eyes, changing Gu Wuxing to beheaded at the waist, although it is a change of soup but not medicine, is already the maximum of his kindness.