Huhai (230 BC-207 BC), surnamed Huan, Zhao, given name Huhai, was the second emperor of the Qin Dynasty. He reigned for only three years, but he buried the Great Qin Empire for more than five hundred years. Why? Look at Zhigang's Qin II Huhai
Zhao Gao Zhao Hu Hai ascended the throne in 230 BC, Hu Hai was born, he was the eighteenth prince of Qin Shi Huang. Among the many princes of Qin Shi Huang, Hu Hai's talent did not stand out in the slightest. However, it was such a mediocre person who ascended the throne of the emperor.
Qin II image
Although Qin Shi Huang was busy dealing with state affairs, he did not neglect the education of the children of the sect. At that time, the state of Qin was powerful, and the study conditions of the princes were very superior. Especially before Qin Shi Huang burned books to pit Confucianism, the Confucian atmosphere in the court was very strong. The princes learned from it knowledge such as etiquette and morality, among which Qin Shi Huang's eldest son, Fusu, was the best. Fusu was generous and benevolent, loved Confucianism, and was loved by Qin Shi Huang. Later, Qin Shi Huang burned books to pit Confucianism, which was opposed by Fusu. Although Qin Shi Huang was angry, considering that Fusu had the ability to govern the country, he sent him to the north to supervise the army of the general Meng Tian, which could not only avoid arguing with him, but also temper him. Unlike Fusu, although Hu Hai also learned some Confucian theory, he was not very interested in it. Coupled with the fact that the Qin Dynasty respected the doctrine of legalism in the process of management, Hu Hai was attracted to it as soon as he came into contact with it. Although Fusu was superior to Hu Hai in every way, the sudden death of Qin Shi Huang and Zhao Gao's deliberate usurpation of power put Hu Hai on the throne.
The image of Qin II Huhai's film and television dramas
Zhao Gao was originally just a eunuch in the palace, this person was not only strong, but also good at calligraphy and familiar with the law of prison, so he was deeply loved by Qin Shi Huang and was repeatedly promoted until he was promoted to the rank of Zhongche Fuling. Later, he became Hu Hai's teacher and had a very close relationship with Hu Hai. Although CRRC Fuling is not a very high official position, it plays a role that cannot be ignored. After Zhao Gao made the order of the Zhongche Mansion, he was mainly responsible for preparing the ceremonial guard of carriages and horses for the emperor. Not only that, but he also drafted edicts and talisman seals for the emperor. Therefore, he could often follow Qin Shi Huang's side, especially when Qin Shi Huang was on tour. In 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang made his last tour, accompanied by Zuo Cheng Prime Minister Li Si. After Hu Hai received permission from Qin Shi Huang, he followed his teacher Zhao Gao. At this time, Qin Shi Huang was already 50 years old, and after a long journey, he died of illness on the dune platform. Qin Shi Huang was unwilling to let the rivers and mountains he had worked hard to fight go down the drain, so he left an edict to Fusu, "Meng Tian with soldiers, and be buried in Xianyang", hoping that Fusu would inherit his father's business and carry it forward under the support of many important ministers in the dynasty. However, the insidious and cunning Zhao Gao will not think about the country's social welfare, what he needs is high-ranking officials and prosperity. Zhao Gao saw that Qin Shi Huang had died before the edict was issued, and immediately analyzed the disadvantages brought to Li Si by Fusu's accession to the throne in front of Li Si, and finally convinced Li Si. The two detained Qin Shi Huang's edict, and then discussed how to transport Qin Shi Huang's body back to Xianyang City. In order to prevent the news of Qin Shi Huang's death from leaking out, they arranged food and living for Qin Shi Huang as usual, and filled the accompanying car with abalone, using the fishy smell of abalone to cover up the putrid smell of the corpse. Soon, Zhao Gao, Li Si and others transported the body of Qin Shi Huang into Xianyang City. Subsequently, they published the falsified edict and made Huhai emperor.
Statues of Zhao Gao, Li Si and others tampering with the edict
In this way, Hu Hai effortlessly became the second emperor in history under the conspiracy of Zhao Gao and Li Si.
Governing the country violently harms others and harms oneself
In order to be able to sit safely on the throne, Hu Hai went on a killing spree, eliminating those who posed a threat to him while intimidating others, and wanted to make the court and the public submit to his feet. As early as before Hu Hai took the throne, Hu Hai, Zhao Gao, and Li Si had forged an edict and sent envoys to Meng Tian and Fusu, who were firmly guarding the territory of Daqin in the north, so that Meng Tian and Fusu would kill themselves. Fu Su only had in his heart the loyal monarchical idea that "the king wants his subjects to die, and the ministers have to die", and he killed himself without distinguishing between true and false. Meng Tian was unwilling to die an unknown death, so he was imprisoned.
Portrait of Gongzi Fusu
At the beginning of the first year of Qin II (209 BC), Hu Hai followed his father Qin Shi Huang in touring the world, and stone inscriptions were also erected everywhere he went. However, Qin Shi Huang carved the tablet to record merit, and Hu Hai had no merit and no virtue, so he had to carve his words with his courtiers on stone, so that future generations could not help but endure. After Zhao Gao's return, Zhao Gao, who had been promoted by Hu Hai to Lang Shuling, sent a rumor to Hu Hai, suggesting that Hu Hai kill dissidents nationwide in order to establish his prestige. Therefore, Hu Hai and Zhao Gao raised their butcher knives to the elders and ministers of the dynasty, and the inside and outside of Xianyang City suddenly became more murderous. Officials in the central and local dynasties inevitably suffered an unprecedented catastrophe, for example, Zhao Gao, considering that Meng Tian might rehabilitate Fusu, used rumors to hoodwink Hu Hai, not only getting rid of Meng Tian, but also Meng Tian's younger brother Meng Yi. Not only that, Hu Hai was afraid that his brothers and sisters would know about the evil deeds he had committed, and without thinking about brotherhood, he brutally killed them. Once, he executed twelve brothers in the city of Xianyang; Again, he crushed six brothers and ten sisters in Duyou (present-day Xianyangdong, Shaanxi). Among Hu Hai's many brothers, Jiang Lu and the other three have a calm personality and act cautiously everywhere. Hu Hai couldn't find a reason to frame them for a while, so he temporarily imprisoned them. After executing many of his brothers, Hu Hai instructed Zhao Gao to force them to commit suicide. Jiang Lu said to the people sent by Zhao Gao: "We always remember the etiquette of the dynasty and abide by the system of the dynasty everywhere, why should we die?" "It is a pity that the people who came only carried out the order, and it was futile to tell them about the grievances. The three Lu drew their swords out of their sheaths and wiped them towards their respective necks. In April of the same year, Hu Hai expressed that he would fulfill his father Qin Shi Huang's last wish, recruited farmers nationwide to continue the construction of the unfinished Afang Palace and Lishan Cemetery, and dispatched 50,000 soldiers to Xianyang City to guard it. In order to solve the grain problem, Hu Hai issued an edict that all localities must bring grain and grass to Xianyang on time, and the transporters must bring their own rations, and cannot use the grain in the area of 300 miles around Xianyang. Before Hu Hai became emperor, he was a disciple of Qiao, he only knew how to eat, drink and have fun, and after becoming an emperor, he was still idle and had nothing to do. Once, he said to Zhao Gao: "Life is like a white horse passing through the gap, extremely short. Since I am the emperor, I should enjoy it in time. What do you think? "Zhao Gao can't ask for it, and naturally flatters so that he can be authoritarian. However, Hu Hai is not at ease, because temporary comfort is within reach, but permanent pleasure is difficult to touch. So he found Li Si and said to Li Si: "I heard Han Fei say before that when Yao ruled the world, he lived in a thatched house, drank wild vegetable soup, wore linen clothes in summer, and wrapped in deerskin in winter; When Dayu was curing the water, he kept running and busy, so that his calves lost hair, and later he died. Being an emperor is so hard, I am afraid that it is not their original intention, but it should be proposed by those scholars who are accustomed to living a poor life. If he owns the whole world, but does not get any benefit from it, how can the emperor have the mind to govern the world? I want to have fun for the rest of my life, do you have any suggestions? Fearing that he would fall out of favor, Li Si devoted himself to writing an article called "The Art of Superintendence and Responsibility", detailing how to dictate power and ruthlessly govern the people. Hu Hai has strengthened his supervision and cracked down on criminal rebels throughout the country. The officials forced the people to rebel, and the cruel rule of Qin II made the silent people no longer silent. In July of the same year, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rose up, and people who had suffered from harsh government oppression and severe torture laws finally broke out, actively responding to and supporting the uprising. Subsequently, uprisings sprang up one after another. Not only that, the descendants of the various princely states that were destroyed by the Qin State have raised the banners of various countries and ceded the land to become kings. For a time, the Qin Empire, which Qin Shi Huang had painstakingly established, became fragmented.
Rebelled against the violent Qin and rose up
However, for everything that happened outside, Hu Hai has been kept in the dark. Because he was willing to hear about the peace of the world and not the chaos in the world, so that no one dared to report that someone was plotting a rebellion. When Chen Sheng's rebel army gradually approached Xianyang City, Hu Hai still did not believe that anyone had rebelled. Therefore, the traitor who knew how to observe words and be good at patting horses said that Chen Sheng was just a thief, and the local authorities had the ability to arrest him without alarming the emperor. Hu Hai did not give up, but asked the other courtiers separately, and anyone who said that Chen Sheng was going to rebel was punished for the crime of "not saying what is appropriate." At the beginning of the second year of Qin II (208 BC), hundreds of thousands of rebels arrived in the water, and the situation was very critical. Shaofu Zhang Han suggested pardoning the Lishan prisoners, then issuing them weapons and directing them to quell the chaos. Hu Hai had no choice but to agree. Zhang led his executioners to defeat Zhou Zhang's army and killed Zhou Zhang at Cao Yang (present-day eastern Lingding County, Henan). Subsequently, Huhai commanders Shi Sima Xin and Dong Yi led troops to reinforce Zhang Handan. They won repeated victories, killing Chen Sheng Yucheng (40 li east of present-day Baofeng County, Henan), striking Xiang Liang Yudingtao (in present-day northern Su County, Anhui), and destroying Wei on Linji, winning short-term peace for Huhai. In order to better control Hu Hai, Zhao Gao is constantly thinking of ways. He said to Hu Hai: "The first emperor ruled the world for many years, and he was full of prestige among the courtiers, and no one dared to act arbitrarily. You have just become emperor, it is best not to discuss matters with the ministers in the court. Otherwise, you will find it difficult to contain them because of insufficient deterrence, thus exposing your weaknesses in the deliberations and tying yourself up in the exercise of imperial power. Hu Hai thought that Zhao Gao's words were very reasonable, and after that, he discussed with Zhao Gao alone, and rarely met with the ministers.
Qin II image
At this time, Li Si began to self-reflect, regretting that he had made a big mistake because of a bad thought, and wanted to change his mind. Seeing that the rebel army was rising, the people's livelihood was deteriorating, and the dynasty was in decline, he went to consult with the right chancellor Feng Qiqi and the general Feng Hao, asking for the reduction of peasant taxes, the cessation of the construction of the palace, and the abolition of all kinds of errands, but Hu Hai refused. Not only that, but Hu Hai also blamed them for the thieves, believing that they were in their place and not seeking to govern, so he imprisoned the three of them and investigated their crimes. The right chancellor Feng Quqian and the general Feng Yu committed suicide to avoid insult, and Li Si was unwilling to die like this and was imprisoned. Zhao Gao saw that Li Si had different intentions, and immediately told Hu Hai that Li Si had the intention of conspiring against him and should get rid of him immediately. Hu Hai obeyed Zhao Gaoyan and quickly sent people to monitor Li Si and search for evidence of Li Si's crime. When Li Si heard the news, he was angry and listed Zhao Gao's crimes one by one, and played Hu Hai. Hu Hai had already made no distinction between black and white, and took Li Si's music to Zhao Gao by the way. Zhao Gao was furious after seeing it, and fabricated charges to stop Li Si from physical torture, and had to plead guilty. At the beginning of the third year of the second reign of Qin (207 BC), Zhao Gao became prime minister. Soon, Li Si was sentenced to tribal punishment, and all three tribes were destroyed. At that time, Zhao Gao gave full play to his expertise in being familiar with the criminal code, and used "five punishments" to make Li Si die well. The "five punishments" include five punishments: tattoo (stabbing face, a kind of humiliating punishment in the Qin Dynasty), chopping (cutting off the nose), chopping off the left and right toes (cutting off the feet), waist chopping (cutting the waist into two sections with a guillotine), and scabbing (chopping into meat puree). Zhao Gao murdered the minister while running his own power. Under his manipulation, his brother Zhao Cheng held the post of Commander of Zhongche Prefecture, and his son-in-law held the post of Commander of Xianyang County. Soon, Zhao Gao's minions were all over the court. Although his power was no longer matched, he did not act recklessly, but tested the attitude of the ministers towards him beforehand. In August of the third year of Qin II (207 BC), Zhao Gao offered Hu Hai a deer at a court, but he told Hu Hai that it was a good horse. Hu Hai thought that Zhao Gao had said the wrong thing, and said with a smile that it was a deer and not a horse. However, Zhao Gao did not think that he was wrong, and instead described the deer as a horse. Hu Hai saw that Zhao Gaozhi was wrong, so he asked the ministers around him. These ministers either pretended to be deaf or mute, or agreed with Zhao Gao. Soon, Zhao Gao consulted with his brother Zhao Cheng and son-in-law Yan Le, and decided to kill Hu Hai and make his son the emperor. Subsequently, Lang Zhongling was instructed by Zhao Gao to falsely claim that there were thieves in the palace. In order to prevent Yan Le from retreating, Zhao Gao ordered him to pursue the thief while holding his mother to Zhao Gao's palace. Yan Le rushed to Huhai's Qin Palace with more than a thousand people and killed everyone he wanted. After seeing Hu Hai, Yan Le scolded Hu Hai for being incompetent and asked him to cut himself. Hu Hai said he wanted to see the prime minister, but he refused. Therefore, Hu Hai, who was greedy for life and afraid of death, said that he could not be an emperor, but was willing to be the king of the county, the marquis of ten thousand households, and even the common people, but he was all rejected. Subsequently, Yan Le ordered the soldiers to kill Hu Hai, and Hu Hai killed himself without waiting for the soldiers to approach.
Mausoleum of Emperor Qin II
After Hu Hai's death, Zhao Gao, Zhao Cheng, and others made Gongzi Ying, the son of one of Hu Hai's elder brothers, emperor, and buried Hu Hai in Yichunyuan'an, Dunan (present-day southwest of Xi'an) with the rites of the people.