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introduction
In 221 BC, the reign of the King of Qin ended the chaotic Warring States situation for many years, and finally eliminated the other six kingdoms and unified the world.
Ying Zheng ascended the throne and proclaimed himself the first emperor, which also opened the pattern of unification of China for thousands of years, and he can also be called "the first emperor of the ages", destined to leave his story in history.
(Yingzheng)
After Qin Shi Huang ascended the throne, he went on five consecutive tours, his footsteps passed through the north and south of China, why did he choose to go on such frequent tours? Even in the end, he died on the way out on the patrol, in order to seek immortal medicine and pursue immortality?
Or tour the world to show the power of Daqin? From the purpose of the first emperor's tour, we knew what he was looking for.
(Qin Shi Huang went on tour)
1. Worship ancestors and show their power against foreign enemies
In fact, the emperor's tour was nothing new in ancient times, such as the later Qianlong, which was also a southern tour many times. At that time, the first emperor frequently went on tours, one had its own purpose, and the other was tradition, and the "Book of Shang" recorded that as the Son of Heaven, he should patrol every five years, which shows that the Son of Heaven's patrol is originally a matter of course.
For the First Emperor, this is also the old tradition of their King Qin, and his ancestors King Huiwen of Qin, King Wu of Qin, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin all have records of frequent travel and even trekking mountains and rivers.
King Qin was diligent and diligent through six dynasties, and never gave up the concept of unification, and in the generation of Yingzheng, his character was very influenced by the old Qin people.
(Qin Shi Huang)
Therefore, the frequent patrol is really normal for Ying Zheng. Then it comes to the first purpose of his frequent patrols, to worship the ancestors to show the divine power of Daqin, and to be able to calm the world and resist foreign enemies. From the second year of his accession to the throne, he began large-scale construction of roads that extended to all directions from Xianyang as the center.
There are those leading to Shanxi, some Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and some to Gansu, and this road is built on a high scale, the road needs to be flat, the road is 50 zhang wide, and there is a tree every three zhang. Moreover, in order to go out on patrol and for the convenience of future generations, Yingzheng also created a post station, which allowed officials to rest in the post station, and the government passed documents between each other.
The preparations were ready, and the goal of Qin Shi Huang's first tour was obvious, that is, Tianshui, the homeland of the Qin people, Gansu. When Zhou Tianzi divided the seal, the ancestors of the Qin State started in Tianshui, and it took more than six hundred years for them to stabilize the Central Plains, and the King of Qin finally ruled the world. Such good news must be told to the ancestors.
(Qin Shi Huang Parade)
So Qin Shi Huang passed through Longxi from Ningxia and Gansu, and finally successfully arrived in Tianshuili County, this time to worship the ancestors, but also to indirectly show the majesty of the Qin Dynasty. After that, he set out east from Tianshui, followed the Qin people's eastward route, and finally returned to Xianyang.
At that time, not long after Qin Shi Huang pacified the Six Kingdoms, many of the remnants of the Six Kingdoms were still watching, and even according to records, in the original Chu land, the Qin army also clashed with people, which is likely to be the remnants of the Chu army. Especially the Qi State that was finally destroyed, the Qi State was the strongest besides the Qin State, so the government was even more guarded against the Qi people.
In the course of his four trips to the east, he traveled to Qi on three of them, which shows that Ying Zheng paid attention to and took precautions against the Qi state. In the fourth and fifth tours, Qin Shi Huang's goal became the north. There is another very important factor in this, that is, the Xiongnu.
(Huns)
The Xiongnu have always been entrenched in the north, and the Great Wall was also built to defend against the Xiongnu, who at that time repeatedly harassed the northern border and acted extremely.
So Qin Shi Huang sent the general Meng Tian to lead an army and march north. Meng Tian was a famous general of the Qin Dynasty, who used his troops quickly and soon won the battle against the Xiongnu, recovered lost territory, and established border defenses.
The Great Wall from Lintao to Shenyang was built, a barrier that the Xiongnu did not dare to attack rashly. Therefore, the fourth and fifth northern tours were also to patrol the border plugs and defend against foreign enemies. In the fourth time, Qin Shi Huang passed Shanhaiguan and arrived in Suizhong in Liaoning, and then returned to Xianyang from Inner Mongolia, and then sent 100,000 people from Xianyang to Yulin.
In the fifth, he sent degraded people to guard the border and expel the Xiongnu in the northwest region, setting up new counties in the area north of the Yellow River. He also let Meng Tian strengthen the defenses of the north, building city walls and military fortresses.
Therefore, these two northern inspections are obviously to ward off enemies, and they are also more extensive to publicize the prestige of the Qin Dynasty.
(Great Wall of Qin Ruins)
Second, worship the religious sacrifice mountain and look for the way of immortality
Ancient feudal society was convinced of the theory of ghosts and gods, especially the divine right of kings, and the divine right was the object of worship of the entire society. Therefore, emperors in ancient times also tended to create momentum for themselves, saying that they were born with visions to show their differences, which was the case throughout the era.
Eastern thought was centered on Shandong, so under such circumstances, Qin Shi Huang soon set out again. In 219 BC, a year after the first expedition, Qin Shi Huang's second expedition began, this time to various parts of the East, in which he sacrificed Mount Tai and carved stone tablets to praise himself and the Qin army.
During this tour, the first emperor often encountered windy and rainy weather, and once it rained heavily and could not travel, and Ying Zheng just found a tree that could shade the wind and rain, so this tree was also named "Five Great Doctors" by him. This patrol in the east, followed by a southward march, went to Anhui, Hunan and other places.
(Five Doctors' Trees)
And when he toured the south, there were also many records of sacrifices, such as passing Pengcheng, the first emperor "fasting and praying at the temple", when he was in Hunan, he also sacrificed in Xiangshan, and when he was in Yunmeng, Hubei, he worshipped Yao Shunyu on Jiuning Mountain, and Dayu was also worshiped in Huiji. It can be seen that the first emperor went to war at that time, and he respected these theocratic rights.
Another point is that the Qin people also worship the sea god very much, and Shandong Linhai was the center of the East. Under many bonuses, Qin Shi Huang's number of trips to Shandong can be said to be quite large, and the reason why the first emperor went to sacrifice is another very important reason in the records of the "History".
For Qin, many mountains and rivers are in the east, and Qin's status is in the east, and it is impossible to move the capital rashly, so frequent eastern tours can make the ghosts and gods of the heavens and the earth, mountains and rivers protect the Qin Dynasty.
And for Ying Zheng, there is a more important point in his patrol, that is, the secret of finding immortality. Ying Zheng himself is very respectful of ghosts and gods and superstitions, which is actually the vast majority of ancient people's thoughts, and in the middle and late period of the reign, the world is in full swing, so that Ying Zheng does not want to let go, and he has a strong desire for immortality.
(Qin Shi Huang Xunxian asked)
He wanted to live forever, and also began to look around for the elixir of immortality, and Qi was close to the sea, there was a mirage, and many coastal legends were born, making people think that the other side of the sea is a fairyland, and you can seek immortality.
So when Qin Shi Huang traveled to Langya, many priests wrote together, saying that there were three sacred mountains in the sea, and they could help the first emperor find the secret of immortality.
So then, on three expeditions, when he arrived in Shandong, Qin Shi Huang ordered Fang Shi Xu Fu to lead 500 boys, boys and girls, and set off on a ship in search of immortality. But we also know that there is no immortality in this world, and after Xu Fu went to sea, he couldn't find immortals and immortal medicines, and he lost a lot of time and money.
(Xu Fu Dongdu)
He also deceived the first emperor that there were big fish in the sea, and during Qin Shi Huang's last tour, the first emperor personally shot arrows at the big fish, and then Xu Fu took a group of men and horses to the sea, and never returned. According to legend, this group went to Japan, which is also the predecessor of Japan, but this is only a legend.
But we can see that Yingzheng has a thirst for immortality, and even during the last cruise of his life, he did not give up the search for immortality. From the initial search for immortal medicine to the death of the first emperor, it can be said that he spent the second half of his life struggling to pursue the so-called immortal path, but all this is ethereal.
(Crossing the Sea to Seek Immortals)
Each time he stays by the seaside is long, months are possible. And the purpose of this is to be able to go overseas to find immortals. Therefore, Qin Shi Huang's frequent patrols are to find a way to find immortality, but his purpose of patrolling is definitely more than that.
After he ruled the world, several tours played a decisive role in the development and growth of the Qin Dynasty. The more you go on patrol, the more you can understand the people's livelihood, and the more you can highlight the great power style of the Qin Dynasty. For this emperor who has just pacified the world, this matter must be done.
Now we also have a certain understanding of why Qin Shi Huang frequently traveled. In fact, we can see in him the responsibility of being the king of a country, as the first unified emperor in all generations. For the first emperor, his merits were definitely greater than his faults.
(Qin Shi Huang)
Third, Qin Shi Huang died, and the world was in chaos
In 210 BC, the first emperor went on another tour to Hubei, Hunan, Zhejiang and other places, but when he was cruising to the area around Pingyuanjin, he suddenly fell ill.
probably also knew that his life was not long in coming, and the first emperor was secretive about the word "death", and by July, the government did not support it, and finally died in the dunes.
(Qin Shi Huang)
And Fusu, the son who was supposed to succeed to the throne, was forcibly deposed by the eunuch Zhao Gao, together with Hu Hai, as well as Li Si and others.
Subsequently, Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, ascended the throne, framed Fusu as unfilial piety, slandered Meng Tian for disloyalty, and finally forced the two to commit suicide. The three then ordered the convoy to return to Xianyang overnight, but the Qin people did not know that the first emperor had died.
They pretended that Ying Zheng was still alive, continued to pose as a patrol, and returned all the way back to Xianyang, where Zhao Gao and Li Si controlled the imperial government, Zhao Gao acted viciously, he killed Li Si in order to monopolize power, and Hu Hai was also Zhao Gao's puppet. Under the incompetent governance of Qin II, after the Dazexiang Uprising broke out, various parties responded, and since then the world has been in chaos, and the Qin Dynasty has collapsed.
If it weren't for the traitor, the time of the Qin Dynasty would not have been so short, but we have to sigh that if it weren't for the early death of the government, how the situation in the world would have changed, we still don't know. If the government had not died, our territory might have been larger and our development would have been stronger.
(Qin Shi Huang)
Therefore, Ying Zheng wants to seek immortality, this is really because of his life, there are still too many grand undertakings that have not been completed, he wants to create a prosperous era, but it is a trick from heaven, after Fusu was abolished, the Qin Dynasty really did not accept its existence.
Resources
MENG Xianbin. Qin Shi Huang's travels[M]. Sanqin Publishing House, 2006.
How many times did Qin Shi Huang cruise [OL].I Love History Network,2020-11-30