Introduction: This article is not for Zhao Gao's whitewashing, his actions are clearly recorded in history, bad people are bad people, everyone can see it. But although he is a bad person, we can't give him a random hat, otherwise, won't he also become a "deer for a horse"? Exploring and speculating on reasonable results from clues and restoring the truth of the matter is one of the purposes of historical research.
(Zhao Gao stills)
Zhao Gao's birth date is not recorded in the history books, about 256 BC, and Qin Shi Huang was in 259 BC, that is, Zhao Gao and YingZheng were of the same age, slightly younger than Yingzheng.
Zhao Gao's origin, from the perspective of his Zhao clan, should be the Duke of Qin or the Duke of Zhao, because the royal families of Qin and Zhao are both surnamed Zhao, and the title of Yingzheng is actually inaccurate, and he should be called Zhao Zheng at that time. Judging from Zhao Gao's status, he was definitely not a Duke of the Qin State, otherwise, if he was such a big official as a Duke, history would have recorded it. Therefore, he should be a member of the Zhao Guo Clan, and he should be a Shu clan. At that time, there were years of war between Qin and Zhao, and the ancestors of the Zhao Gao family were either held hostage by each other, or because they escaped, or because they were captured, and they were exiled to Xianyang in the Qin State.
In the "Chronicle of The Chronicle of Meng Tian Lie", it is recorded that "Zhao Gao's brothers are all hidden in the palace". Later, historians identified that the term "hidden palace" should be "hidden official". Hidden officials refer to persons who have completed their sentences or have a history of family crimes, and have nothing to do with palace punishment. The status of hidden officials is lower than that of ordinary commoners, and only half of the land of commoners. Because Zhao Gaozu came from the Zhao Kingdom, he took each other hostage, escaped, and was captured, and could become a lowly hidden official. But after all, he was born in the family of an official eunuch, and his origin determined that he was not an ordinary person who was illiterate, but had a certain family tradition.
In the Qin state after the Shang martingale reform, the most respected were soldiers, followed by officials, and again peasants. And being an official who is revered by the people is the greatest ideal of young Zhao Gao. If you want to become an official, you have to enter the school room, which is a school dedicated to training officials. Because of his family's academic background and his own hard work, Zhao Gao won his first position with excellent results: "Shangshu Shu Shi" (尚書卒史). ”
First, the history of Shangshu
Shang Shushi is not yet an official, but can only be counted as an official. Subordinate to one of the Nine Qings, the Shaofu was generally the department that managed the emperor's finances, and was a huge institution with a large number of subordinates.
Zhao Gao served as the lowest-ranking official, and in the history of Shangshu Lang, Shang Shu Lang had Shang Shu, Shang Shu Lang had Shang Shu, Shang Shu had Shang Shu Shu, Shang Shu Had Shang Shu Ling, and Shang Shu Ling directly belonged to Shaofu. That is to say, Zhao Gao was at this time a grammar secretary under Shang Shulang.
(Stills of Zhao Gao and Li Si)
However, this belonged to the close courtiers of the King of Qin, who could directly meet the Qin King.Yingzheng. After accumulating years and months, Zhao Gao was lucky, because he wrote a good letter and excellent professional quality was appreciated by Yingzheng, (according to the reason why Yingzheng later let Hu Haishi learn from Zhao Gao, it was precisely because of his calligraphy and literature and legal achievements) that he stood out from many Shangshu histories and was directly promoted to "Zhongche Fu Ling".
Second, the CRRC Government Order
Zhongche Fu Ling was a subordinate official of one of the Nine Secretaries of State. The original order was called Chefu Ling, and Yingzheng favored and trusted Zhao Gao to seal it as the Zhongche Fu Ling, plus a Chinese character, which means that you can freely enter and leave the forbidden place. Mainly responsible for the management of the emperor's carriage and horse, travel with the car. He is a mid-level official.
Although the official position is not large, it is of great significance in the process of Zhao Gao's growth, because he can always be with Yingzheng, consciously or unconsciously, he can contact the core of Qin politics and power, and have the opportunity to grasp the mind of Yingzheng. It had a great influence on his future influence in the Dune Revolution.
Third, Lang Zhongling
After Hu Hai ascended to the throne of Qin II, because of Zhao Gao's meritorious service, he was named Lang Zhongling, and Lang Zhongling was not a eunuch standing in the corridor to convey the emperor's orders. Rather, it was one of the Nine Secretaries, the most organized organization among the Nine Secretaries, mainly in charge of the guards of the palace. There are three types of subordinate officers:
The first is doctors, including Taizhong Doctor, Zhongda Doctor, and Counselor Doctor. Status is respected.
The second is Lang Guan, including Yi Lang, Zhonglang, Shilang, and Langzhong. The speaker is the highest rank. There is no fixed number of Zhonglang, Shilang, and Langzhong, and the main responsibility is to defend the palace, and also to manage a large number of palace guards.
The third is the Gurudwara, who is responsible for receiving guests for the emperor and acts as an emcee during the ceremony.
It can be seen that Lang Zhong's subordinates were the closest people to the emperor, which laid a good foundation for him to kill Qin II in the future.
Zhao Gao held these three official positions were very important positions, not for a person of low birth like a eunuch. Eunuchs had a special administrative body in the Qin Dynasty, which belonged to the eunuch orders under the Shaofu.
(Hu Hai stills)
There are two reasons why everyone thinks zhao gao is a eunuch:
I. The Biography of Li Silie records that Zhao Gao was a "eunuch". However, during the Qin and Han dynasties, the word "eunuch" did not refer to eunuchs in later generations, but to people who could enter and leave the forbidden place at any time at the emperor's side, that is, close guards. The purified man was called "eunuch", and the eunuch in the palace was called "eunuch" at that time. There is a distinction, which is a misunderstanding of the word.
Second, all the dynasties in Chinese history, such as the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, etc., all had a large degree of eunuch dictatorship. "Eunuchs have few good things, eunuchs misled the country" is also a historical fact, and people's psychology is full of hatred for eunuchs. The rumor that Zhao Gao is a eunuch as long as one person says it will immediately resonate with everyone, "Sure enough, it is eunuchs who have wronged the country!" This anger has been passed down from generation to generation. It didn't take reason to believe he was a eunuch.