This is the most lethal letter in history, just 30 words, let the two Monarchs of the Qin State and the "Zhongfu" of the King of Qin without saying a word, drank the poison and committed suicide.
Let's take a look at this letter - What is the merit of Jun to Qin? Qin Fengjun Henan, eating 100,000 households. Why did Jun he kiss Qin? Known as the middle father. He and his family migrated to Shu.
Translation: What credit do you have to Qin Guoguo? The State of Qin divided you into 100,000 households in Henan. What is your blood relationship with the King of Qin? But he dared to call himself the Middle Father. You and your family have moved to Shudi.
This is a letter written by Qin Wangzheng to Lü Buwei.
What is puzzling is that in the letter of the Qin King, he only ordered Lü Buwei to move to Shudi, but why did he commit suicide?
1. Qin Wangzheng suddenly woke up: this person must die
Because of the incident, The Qin Dynasty intervened to exterminate the three clans, killed the two brothers of the half-mother, drove the mother-in-law out of Xianyang and moved to Yongcheng, and the diners were also driven to Shudi. Qin Wang Zheng originally wanted to kill Lü Buwei, but because of his great achievements in the former dynasty, coupled with the intercession of the people, he "could not bear to bring the law" and could not bear to bring him to justice.
Qin Wangzheng opened his eyes to Lü Buwei, if there was no following scene, perhaps Lü Buwei could land safely. Shi Zai, "In the old age, the envoys of the princes and guests looked at each other in the Tao, and asked Wen Xin Hou." A year later, the princely states rushed to send guests and emissaries, and the crowds on the road continued to come to visit Lü Buwei. The State of Qin dismissed Lü Buwei from the post of Xiangguo, and the princely states were worried about this talent.
In case one of the six eastern countries impressed Lü Buwei, who was idle at home... The consequences were unimaginable, and Qin Wangzheng suddenly realized that this person had to die, and could not just be dismissed, so he wrote the letter. In the letter, he asked Zhongfu two times and asked to move to a remote Shu land, which was only the beginning of a complete reckoning, and Qin Wangzheng's combined fist was about to be punched.
2. Lü Buwei suddenly woke up: he had to die
According to Lü Buwei's wisdom, this text message had made him smell the commotion before the storm came. Although he was dismissed from his post and idle, in the eyes of the princely states, he was like a stranger who was a hostage in Handan in the past. Even if there is great determination, even if it will never go to the princely states... But will Qin Wangzheng believe in his promises?
As a subordinate who committed a capital crime and lost his position and was suspected of defecting to the enemy by the king, any explanation is pale, and only death is clear. Moreover, Lü Buwei's greatest credit was to help the Yiren ascend to the throne, and now the son of the Yiren did not buy this account, believing that he did not have a great contribution to the Qin state, but became the middle father of the Qin King, which was equivalent to a complete negation of Lü Buwei.
The killing machine hidden behind this text message has been revealed, and Lü Buwei can certainly decipher it, so he "slightly invaded himself and feared the curse" (thinking that the danger was forcing himself, worried about being killed), so he drank poison and committed suicide. Instead of being tried sooner or later, announcing a bunch of crimes and dying, it is better to seek death yourself, so as not to be humiliated, which is not only Lü Buwei's helplessness, but also an inevitability.
3. The death of Lü Buwei: It is also the death of the "smeller"
Regarding the death of Lü Buwei, Sima Qian once made such an evaluation: Confucius's so-called "hearer" is his Lü Zihu? Translation: When Confucius says "smell", he means people like Lü Buwei, right? How to understand Sima Qian's words?
This sentence is from the Analects.
Zi Zhang asked: How can a reader achieve mastery?
Confucius said: What do you mean by mastery?
Zi Zhang replied: Externally, we must have a reputation among the princely states. Internally, there must also be a reputation in Dr. Qing's home.
Confucius said: This is called hope, not mastery. Mastery is to stand upright and righteous, judge the words of others, observe the expressions of others, and always humbly give in, so that the outside can be reached internally. Reputation is not like this, on the surface to pursue benevolence, in fact, contrary to benevolence, but calmly deal with it, such a person can also gain prestige externally and internally.
Confucius's "smell" is interpreted in a modern context, which refers to those who are superficially moral, full of benevolence and morality, and put on a noble appearance, but in fact have no moral bottom line, have low character, do whatever they want for selfish interests, even in the face of doubts and punishments, and have no shame. Although these people can also get some benefits and gain some visibility, what will be the result? Go without saying!
So, is it appropriate for Sima Qian to use Confucius's "smeller" to describe Lü Buwei? After receiving a text message from Qin Wangzheng, although Lü Buwei did not have any intention of letting you commit suicide, he chose to cut himself off, does this mean that Lü Buwei has realized the ugliness of his human nature?
I'm afraid this is another new mystery...
References: "History", "Zizhi Tongjian", "Lü Shi Chunqiu", "Analects", interested people can read in detail