When people mention Zhao Gao, they often naturally think of the idiom "referring to a deer as a horse". Zhao Gao started out as a small eunuch, relying on the favor of Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, to turn the Qin Dynasty upside down in the last few years of its rule, pushing the Qin Dynasty's tyrannical rule to its peak, thus accelerating its demise. . Therefore, Lu Jia sighed: "Qin's criminal law remains unchanged, and the Zhao family is destroyed by death (referring to the demise of the Qin Dynasty)." Liu Xiang, the editor of "Warring States Policy", even bluntly said: "Qin Xin has the same surname (that is, the clan, here refers to Zhao Gao). When the king is in decline, he will not have the same surname, but his body will perish and the country will perish. Therefore, the king's rule of the world depends on the execution of the law, not on the belief of the same surname." [Edit this paragraph] Tampering with the imperial edict and establishing the emperor Zhao Gao was originally a certain figure in the Qin State. After becoming the king, his father was a distant relative of the King of Qin. Because of his crimes, Zhao Gao (played by Zhang Shi) in the TV series "Myth" was tortured, and his mother was implicated and became a slave. Zhao Gao's brothers were all humble. When Qin Shihuang heard that he was strong and proficient in law, he promoted him to the position of Emperor Cheyu, the commander of the CRRC, and asked him to teach his youngest son Hu Hai to judge cases and prison sentences. Because Zhao Gao was good at observing words and expressions and being ingratiating, he quickly won the appreciation and trust of Qin Shihuang and his son Hu Hai. Once, Zhao Gao committed a serious crime. Meng Yi did not dare to follow the law and wanted to punish him with death. However, Qin Shihuang pardoned him and restored him to his original position. From this, it is not difficult to see Qin Shihuang's preference for Zhao Gao, but he had absolutely no intention of doing so. He thought that this favorite minister who was "sensitive to matters" in his eyes would become the culprit who ruined the Qin Dynasty in the future. In October of the thirty-seventh year of Qin Shi Huang (210 BC), the over fifty-year-old Shi Huang fell ill on his fifth tour. Although he has been searching for the secret recipe of immortality all his life and "talking about death", he still cannot resist the natural laws of life. As his illness worsened day by day, Qin Shihuang knew that his end had come, and his top priority was to quickly determine the appointment of a heir apparent. He weighed his more than twenty sons one by one and felt that although Hu Hai was the most loved by him, he knew his son better than his father. "Believe in others and strive for success", coupled with the assistance of General Meng Tian, ??he will undoubtedly be a virtuous king. Moreover, according to the primogeniture system, it should also be passed down to him. The First Emperor no longer hesitated and summoned Zhao Gao, who was also in charge of the emperor's seals and issuing orders, and asked him to draft an edict for his eldest son Fusu. At that time, Fusu was supervising the army in Shangjun (now southeast of Yulin, Shaanxi). The First Emperor ordered him to entrust the military to Meng Tian and rush back to Xianyang to preside over the funeral. This effectively confirmed the identity of his successor. After the edict was sealed, the First Emperor ordered Zhao Gao to send an envoy quickly to send it out. Unexpectedly, the old and cunning Zhao Gao pretended to agree, but secretly withheld the edict. It turned out that Zhao Gao had served at the top level of the Qin State for many years and was already familiar with the cruelty of the power struggle in the palace. He understood that once Fusu became emperor, he would definitely be ignored and ostracized, so this edict was extremely detrimental to him. Only by supporting Hu Hai, who is obedient to his words, can he possibly ensure his future status. As a result, a vicious plan gradually formed in Zhao Gao's mind. On Bingyin of July, Qin Shihuang died on the sand dune platform (now Taitai platform in the northwest of Guangzong, Hebei Province). In view of the fact that the emperor died outside the palace and the crown prince had not yet been established, Prime Minister Li Si was afraid that the world would be in chaos when the truth was known, and that many of Qin Shihuang's sons would rise up to fight for the throne, so he blocked the news and placed the coffin in a carriage (in ancient times, it could be slept in). The car had windows, which kept it warm when closed and cool when opened. Later it was also used as a funeral car. Wherever the procession passed, food was presented and officials played everything as before. Therefore, except for the accompanying Hu Hai, Zhao Gao and five or six favored ministers who knew that the First Emperor had passed away, everyone else was kept in the dark. One evening the convoy stopped for accommodation. Zhao Gao felt that the time had come, so he came to see Hu Hai with the withheld imperial edict, and persuaded him to replace him: "Now the power is entirely in the hands of you, me and the prime minister. I hope you can make plans early." Hu Hai had long dreamed of being the emperor one day. The throne is just because of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness that I dare not act rashly.
A few days later, Li Si invited his fellow generals Feng Jie and right prime minister Feng Quji to jointly submit a memorial, suggesting that the construction of Afang Palace be suspended and the border guards and transfers be reduced to alleviate public anger. The second generation was angry with Li Sibon and was about to explode. He roared: "These are the achievements started by the late emperor, and we must continue to work on them! Now, I have only been on the throne for two years, and the bandits are rising. It is entirely because of your inability to suppress it, but you want to undo what the late emperor did. As you, The important ministers of the two dynasties have no right to repay the late emperor and are not loyal to me. How can they occupy the positions of prime minister and general?" After that, he ordered them to be handed over to the judicial officer for trial. Feng Quji and Feng Jie were very sad. In order to avoid being humiliated, they committed suicide in prison soon. Hu Hai sent Zhao Gao to interrogate the case of Li Si and his son's rebellion. Zhao Gao, who harbored evil intentions, immediately revealed his devil-like nature. He tortured Li Si every day to extract a confession, until Li Si's skin was bruised and his body was completely bruised. Li Si couldn't bear it anymore, so he had to make a false confession. The reason why he did not commit suicide was because he thought he was a talented eloquent and a meritorious official of the Qin Dynasty; and he did not commit rebellion. Maybe he would be pardoned by writing a letter to the Second Emperor. But the naive Li Si didn't know that the path to remonstrance was completely controlled by Zhao Gao's party, and all the appeals fell into Zhao Gao's hands. The wanton Zhao Gao tore the book into pieces with disdain: "Prisoners are still qualified to submit letters!" in order to stop Li Siqu's mouth. He sent his cronies to dress up as Yushi (supervisor), Yezhe (official name, in charge of communicating for the king), and Shizhong (official name, there were five people in the Qin Dynasty, who came and went in the palace and in the east chamber to perform affairs), and took turns to interrogate him. If Li Si confesses the truth, he will be tortured until Li Si insists on false confession and does not change his confession. Later, the Second Emperor really sent someone to interrogate him. Li Si thought it was the same as before, so he still responded with a false confession. After Hu Hai saw the confession, he thought Li Sizhen wanted to rebel, and was grateful to Zhao Gao: "If it weren't for my love for you, I would have been betrayed by the prime minister!" By the time the envoy investigating "Li Youtong's theft" arrived in Sanchuan, Li You had already been led by Xiang Liang. Killed by the rebels. Zhao Gao saw that there was no evidence of death, so he deceived the second generation and said that he had been executed on the spot. In July of the second year of the Second World War (208 BC), after a series of careful planning, Li Si's charges were finally woven by Zhao Gaoluo, and they could no longer be changed. Li Si rushed to the execution ground where he was cut in half, but he felt regretful but it was too late. If he hadn't been greedy for temporary self-interest during the Shaqiu conspiracy, how could he have ended up where he is today? Hu Hai's stupidity and Zhao Gao's viciousness were both unexpected by him. Before his death, this prime minister, who had both merit and demerit, had keenly sensed the aura that Qin was bound to perish: "Half of the world is now rebels, but their hearts are not yet broken. With Zhao Gao as an assistant, I will definitely see the invaders." As far as Xianyang, elk are roaming the court. "Under the rule of Hu Hai and Zhao Gao, the Qin Dynasty had completely lost its vitality.
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