Li Si, as a guest secretary and a "foreigner", won the appreciation and trust of Yingzheng, and eventually sat on the position of the chancellor of the Qin State. It can be seen that his ability is very comparable to that of others, and it can also be proved that his "words" are deeply in line with the intention of the first emperor.
Next, let's take a look at Lis's life and deeds.
First, the monarch and the subject are divided into plans, and the government must be looked at separately.
Li Si, a Chu Shang Cai ren, studied under Xunzi. In his early years, he was a county official, not willing to be mediocre, and came to Qin to seek a way out. After Becoming the queen, Li Si seized the opportunity to write a letter of advice, which probably meant that against the famous people of those princely states, they could use money to make friends, and those who did not want to cooperate could be solved by force.
This is the so-called "plan to leave its monarchs and subjects", to divide its monarch-subject relationship from within the state. After that, Yingzheng adopted this strategy, and Li Si became a "guest secretary".
Second, with the "Book of Expulsion", to save the career of the career.
At that time, a Korean canal repairer named Zheng Guo in Qin was found to be a spy. In addition, in the territory of the Qin State, there were many spies of the Six Kingdoms. As a result, the ministers of the Qin Dynasty wrote letters one after another, asking Yingzheng to expel these "outsiders", so as to avoid the "spying" work for their respective masters. Lis, no doubt, was also among the expulsions, and certainly did not rule out that some people were jealous of his talents.
In this regard, Li Si was not willing to leave, and under the persuasion of his friend Meng Tian, he wrote the famous "Letter of Expulsion":
"The courtiers discussed evicting the guests, and secretly thought that it was too much. Xi Mugong asked for soldiers, took Yu Yu Rong 1 in the west, Xi Yu Wan in the east, Ying Jian Uncle Yu Song, came to Pi Leopard, and Gongsun Zhi Yu Jin. These five sons were not born in Qin, but Mu Gongzhi and the twenty kingdoms, and then dominated Xi Rong. Filial piety uses the law of merchant martingale, changes customs and customs, and the people are prosperous..."
Among them, he cited examples in the history of the Qin state in which the King of Qin reused "outsiders" to obtain great benefits. For example: filial piety uses martingale, and King Hui uses Zhang Yi. It can be seen that it was the former Qin kings who did not avoid the strategy of talents, "only the appointment of talents", which made the Qin kingdom have the prosperity and prosperity it has today.
Li Si used the powerful facts as a theoretical basis to propose: If the King of Qin is too concerned about the "origin" of talents, then it may make the country no longer strong. Sure enough, after Reading it, Yin Zheng retracted the original government decree.
At this point, Li Si assisted all the way, and finally, reached the peak of his life.
Third, why did Li Si later "join forces" with Zhao Gao to tamper with the will? It also left a great stain on his political career.
First of all, let's talk about Zhao Gao, who entered the palace as a eunuch because of the "fault" of his parents. Some say that his mother violated the criminal law, and some say that it is his father, which can no longer be verified. According to the laws of the time, Zhao Gao was tortured by the palace and became a eunuch. This person is very good at "observing the color of words" and "clever words and color", which is very appreciated and trusted by Hu Hai.
In addition, Zhao Gao is extremely ambitious and does not lack "wisdom". Here is a piece of historical data that shows how he "wrestled" with Li Si. The Biography of Lislie records that the Second Emperor was furious: "I often spend many idle days, and I do not come to the prime minister." Our side is private, and the minister comes to ask for help. Isn't it less than me? And fix me? ”
It can be seen that Li Si ignored Zhao Gao as a person, or it can be said that he underestimated Zhao Gao's "intentions". In the beginning, Why did Zhao Gao try to lift Hu Hai and not other princes, precisely because he could control Hu Hai.
Later, Hu Hai ignored the government and relied on Zhao Gao to "decide."
At this time, Li Si was already a marginal figure, as long as Hu Hai's "dissatisfaction" was magnified, He could let Li Si "cause trouble". Therefore, he deliberately chose to let Li Si "meet" when Hu Hai was very busy.
As a high-ranking minister, he was later moved by a eunuch who changed his mind for no other reason than "personal and family interests." Therefore, some people have analyzed that Li Si only tampered with the will under the inducement and threat of Zhao Gao.
At that time, Li Si and Fu Su were at odds in their personal political views. Therefore, he may not be worried that after Fu Su takes the throne, he will threaten his current vested interests. At the same time, he also overestimated his ability to control the big picture.
At the beginning, Li Si came to the Qin Kingdom and surrendered to Lü Buwei's door, and his subsequent series of events made him dare not "pull the party into factions." However, behind Zhao Gao, there was a big tree of Hu Hai, which was doomed to be impossible for him to resist.
In addition, there was also evidence of Zhao Master's "conspiracy to change the edict", which made Li Si extremely passive.
In fact, from Li Si's personal experience, it is the word "power" that ultimately killed him.
At that time, he was not willing to be a petty official, and worshiped Xunzi as a teacher, and Han Feizi was his classmate, and later he also went to the Qin Kingdom. Although Han Feizi's eloquence was not good, his writing was excellent, and according to historical records, Han Feizi's later imprisonment was the victim of Li Si's rumors. It can be seen from this that Lis would not allow anyone to shake his position.
Although Li Si had the talent to govern the country, he did not calculate that Hu Hai was so "obedient" that he did not resemble his father at all. I thought that by installing him as emperor, I could protect my interests from loss. However, he overlooked the point that Zhao Gao wanted much more than he thought.
So, can you make a hypothesis? If Li Si had taken a step back and completely escaped from the official arena, would he have been able to save his own life and his people's lives?
Of course, history cannot be repeated.
Although Li Si made many contributions to the Qin state, judging from the subsequent "betrayal" of the king, it should be said that he was a "speculative politician". However, he was too obsessed with "power" and eventually ended up with the tragic end of being beheaded.
Throughout history, all the people who have achieved great achievements have been the trend of interest, and Li Si is the same. He has never been able to give up his own interests, even as a prime minister, he cannot get rid of the influence of self-interest. In the end, for their own interests, they destroyed the foundation of the entire Qin Dynasty, which is also sad and lamentable.
Resources:
["History, Volume 87, Li Silie Biography, Twenty-seventh, Shiji, Volume 6, Qin Shi Huang Benji No. 6, Shi Ji Vol. 5, Qin Benji No. 5]