Before reading this article, let's ask a question: Who died at the hands of the Great Qin Empire?
According to Sima Qian's statement in the "Records of History": The state of Qin died at the hands of Hu Hai, but the culprit of the death of Qin should be Zhao Gao, because when Qin Shi Huang died of illness in the sand dunes, it was Zhao Gao who instigated Hu Hai and Li Si, the chancellor, to tamper with the emperor's will, to establish Hu Hai as emperor, and at the same time to kill the prince Fu Su, who was supposed to succeed to the throne.
After Hu Hai ascended the throne, he was dimwitted and incompetent, coveting pleasure, and the power of the state was in the hands of Zhao masters. As a result, the people were bored, and then a nationwide peasant uprising gradually broke out. In the end, the Great Qin Empire collapsed under the attack of various peasant rebel armies.
Since then, the name Zhao Gao has been forever nailed to the column of shame of history.
But is this account in the Chronicle of History true history?
Not necessarily!
（1）
At the beginning of 2009, Peking University accepted a batch of bamboo janes rescued from overseas, a total of more than 3300 pieces, the latest date of the transcription should be in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, so this batch of bamboo Janes is called "Peking University Tibetan Western Han Bamboo Book".
The contents of this batch of bamboo books all belong to ancient classics and contain nearly twenty kinds of documents, of which the third volume is called "Zhao Zhengshu". This volume mainly records the conversation between Qin Shi Huang and Li Si before his death.
Some of the contents of the Book of Zhao Zhengshu are quite similar to those in the Records of History, but there are very large differences in some particularly important historical events!
For example, the "Book of Zhao Zheng" mentions that Hu Hai's succession was approved by Qin Shi Huang before his death, rather than being caused by Zhao Gao, Hu Hai, Li Si and others conspiring to tamper with the edict after Qin Shi Huang's death.
King Zhao of Qin is traveling the world... Sick.
The first words of the chancellor and the imperial chancellor Si and Yushichen went to the death of the disease: "Now that the road is far away and the period of the emperor is a group of ministers, I am afraid that the minister has a plan, please make The Son Hu Hai the successor." Wang Yue: "Yes." ”
These two sentences are in the vernacular: Zhao Zheng (i.e., Qin Shi Huang) fell ill (died soon) while traveling... Li Si and Feng Wentai said to him: "Now that we are far away from the capital, I am afraid that the chancellor will change, so it is better to make Hu Hai the crown prince." Qin Shi Huang said, "Yes." ”
After that, it was the (Qin) king who died and Hu Haili.
From this account in the Book of Zhao Zhengshu, it can be seen that the reason why Hu Hai was able to inherit the throne was because the left chancellor Li Si and the right chancellor Feng Qi, before qin shi huang's death, sent a message to him to request that Hu Hai be made crown prince to prevent the chancellor from changing. Zhao Gao did not show his face at all in this process.
Therefore, It is very likely that Zhao Gao is just a back pot man.
（2）
Moreover, the reason why Hu Hai was able to succeed to the throne made logical sense.
At that time, Qin Shi Huang sent Fu Su to the frontier very early, but when he toured the world, he always took Hu Hai with him. From this, it can be seen that Qin Shi Huang was more certain of Hu Hai in his heart.
Because When Qin Shi Huang first unified the world, he planned to implement the county system, but Confucian Fusu raised objections, believing that the sub-feudal system was an ancestral system and could not be changed. Since then, Qin Shi Huang has slowly become estranged from Fu Su.
On the other hand, although Hu Hai was not very capable, he was a person who was cultivated by the ideas of the Fa, and Qin Shi Huang believed that he could inherit his own thoughts and will. Therefore, passing the throne to him and letting him inherit his own governing strategy is also a normal consideration.
So, why does the record of Zhao Gao tampering with the will and testament appear in the "Records of History"?
According to many scholars, there were already many different versions of the history of the last years of the Qin Dynasty in the early Han Dynasty, and the "Records of History" may have only selected one of the most recognized by Sima Qian.
（3）
Finally, according to the record of the third volume of the Bamboo Book of the Western Han Dynasty of Peking University, "Zhao Zhengshu", Hu Hai's ascension to the throne was the proposal of Li Si and Feng Toyi, which was approved by Qin Shi Huang and had nothing to do with Zhao Gao, and he may just be a pot-backer.