Zhao Gao, a treacherous minister in history, is a rare master of calligraphy. Yang Xin of the Southern Dynasty's "Cai Gu Lai Can Write Names of People" said that Zhao Gao was good at seal script. It was even said that Zhao Gao was good at seal script and taught Hu Hai, the youngest son of Qin Shihuang, and wrote the sixth chapter of "Ai Li Pian". Wang Min of the Northern Wei Dynasty listed fifty-nine masters of calligraphy in the Qin, Han and Wu periods in the middle volume of "Ancient and Modern Chinese Characters", including Zhao Gao. From these, it is not difficult to see that Zhao Gao is indeed quite accomplished in calligraphy, but his works cannot be studied.
Zhao Gao is a distant relative of the Zhao clan (there is also a saying that he is a distant relative of the Qin clan). After the family fell into decline, his mother violated the criminal law and had her body parts mutilated. After serving her sentence, the Qin Dynasty specially took in these prisoners. The hidden palace is a place where sinners are housed, and it is here that Zhao Gao was born.
Zhao Gao's life can be described as a legend. He was good at observing people's emotions and was also good at flattering people. When he was the official of Zhongche Mansion, he was highly appreciated by Qin Shihuang and his son Hu Hai. Later Qin Shihuang died on his fifth tour. On the way, before he died, he called the person in charge of the seal and Zhao Gao into the account, ordered his son Fusu to hand over the affairs of the county to Meng Tian, ??and immediately returned to Xianyang to preside over the funeral ceremony of the First Emperor. This was also his recognition of Fusu. of inheritance rights.
However, after the death of Qin Shihuang, Zhao Gao secretly issued the imperial edict. Li Si was worried that the sudden news of the death of the first emperor before the crown prince was established would cause chaos in the court, so he helped Zhao Gao conceal the fact that the first emperor died. . Zhao Gao found Hu Hai with his seal and edict, encouraged Hu Hai to rebel, and then pulled Li Si on board. An imperial edict ordered the death of the young masters Fusu and Meng Tian, ??and Hu Hai successfully ascended the throne, but he was debauched by nature and could not be used for much purpose.
Zhao Gao engineered Li Si's death and became the prime minister during the Second Qin Dynasty. He could be said to be the real power in the government and the de facto emperor of Qin. However, when Liu Bang captured the city of Xianyang, Zhao Gao wanted to usurp the throne and force Hu Hai to death, but was opposed by the ministers. Zhao Gao had no choice but to support Ziying to take the throne. However, Ziying knew what Zhao Gao had done since he was a prince and did not want to become a prince. He was a puppet, so he planned to kill Zhao Gao on the day he ascended the throne, and implicated the three clans (mother clan, father clan, and wife clan).
Zhao Gao, who had been in power for a while, fell to the ground and died in peace.