Preface
There are many tragic stories in ancient history that have been passed down to the present day, and one of them is particularly noteworthy. Fusu, as the eldest son of Qin Shi Huang, was supposed to be the heir to the throne, but his fate was unfortunate.
If he had rebelled against Meng Tian before he was given death, would they have a chance of survival, and what would be their chance of victory? Today, let us look for those possibilities that may have been ignored by history.
1. The military power of the Qin Dynasty was concentrated, and Zhao Gao Li Si conspired to establish a prince
In 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang died suddenly during his eastern tour. This earth-shattering news was tightly sealed by the eunuch Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao was a scheming man, and he had long been eyeing the throne of Qin Shi Huang. Now that the emperor has died, it is a good time for him to realize his ambitions.
Zhao Gao immediately got in touch with Prime Minister Li Si. Although Li Si was loyal to Qin Shi Huang on the surface, he had other plans in private. When he learned of the death of Qin Shi Huang, he conspired with Zhao Gao to discuss the question of who to appoint as emperor.
According to the inheritance law of the Qin Dynasty, the throne should have passed to the emperor's eldest son, Fusu. However, both Zhao Gao and Li Si knew that Fusu was an upright and benevolent man, and if he succeeded to the throne, he would inevitably abolish the harsh government of the Qin Dynasty, which was contrary to the interests of the two.
So, the cunning Zhao Gao came up with an idea: to make Hu Hai, the youngest son of Qin Shi Huang, emperor. Although Hu Hai is also a prince, he is young and ignorant, and if he ascends to the throne, he will inevitably become a puppet in the hands of Zhao Gao and Li Si.
Li Si was convinced of this. Although Hu Hai is the son of the prince, in terms of qualifications and prestige, he is far inferior to the emperor's eldest son, Fusu. If you want to make Hu Hai emperor, you also need a suitable reason. The two discussed for a long time and finally reached an agreement: Zhao Gao forged an edict to depose Fusu and establish Hu Hai as emperor. Li Si was responsible for encircling the ministers of the DPRK and China, paving the way for Hu Hai to ascend the throne.
In this way, a shocking conspiracy quietly unfolded after the death of Qin Shi Huang. Zhao Gao and Li Si used the power in their hands to manipulate the government and wanted to put Hu Hai on the throne. However, in order to successfully realize this plan, there are still two people they must get rid of: one is Fusu, the eldest son of the emperor, and the other is Meng Tian, the great general of the Qin Dynasty.
The two of them knew that if they wanted to get rid of Fusu and Meng Tian, there must be a justifiable reason. So, the two conspired again, preparing to label the loyal Fusu and Meng Tian as "rebellion". A bloody storm has quietly descended on this ancient land before Qin Shi Huang's coffin is in the ground.
Second, Fusu Mengtian was forced to commit suicide
When Zhao Gao and Li Si reached an agreement and prepared to make Hu Hai emperor, they both knew in their hearts that the emperor's eldest son, Fusu, and the great general Meng Tian would be the biggest obstacle to their plans.
Fusu is the eldest son of Qin Shi Huang, and in terms of seniority, he should inherit the throne. Meng Tian was a hero of the Qin Dynasty, and in the process of Qin Shi Huang's unification of the Six Kingdoms, he led his army to conquer and expand the territory of the Qin Dynasty. Today, Meng Tian guards the northern frontier against the invasion of the Xiongnu and has a heavy army.
Zhao Gao and Li Si knew that if they wanted to get rid of Fusu and Meng Tian, there must be a suitable reason. So, they came up with a poisonous plan: falsely spread the edict of Qin Shi Huang, framed Fusu and Meng Tian for rebellion, and forced them to commit suicide.
After the edict was issued, the envoy in charge of reading it rushed to the north and presented the edict to Fusu and Meng Tian, who were patrolling the frontier. Fusu was a loyal and filial person, and he never thought that his father would issue such an edict when he was dying. He was devastated, but he did not dare to disobey his father's will. So, in the presence of the messenger, he drew his sword and prepared to kill himself.
At this moment, Meng Tian on the side suddenly spoke. He was a battle-hardened general who was well-informed and saw the flaws in this edict at a glance. "Your Highness, slow down!" Meng Tian stopped Fu Su, "There is something strange about this edict! Qin Shi Huang has always trusted His Highness, how could he issue such an edict when he was dying? Besides, I led my troops to the north and was loyal, how could I rebel? There must be something strange about this matter!"
Meng Tian's words made Fusu calm down a little. He carefully studied the edict in his hand, and gradually discovered the flaws in it. However, he could not convince himself to disobey his father's will.
"The general's words are very true," Fusu sighed, "but my father's edict has been issued, how can I disobey it? besides, if I don't die, I am afraid that my father will be suspected of rebellion." In order to prevent my father from having peace under Jiuquan, I can only apologize with death. "
With that, Fusu drew his sword again, and in the exclamation of everyone, he killed himself. The eldest son of the emperor, who was only thirty years old, died unjustly. After Fusu's death, the envoy pointed the finger at Meng Tian again. However, how could Meng Tian be such a loyal servant as Fusu? Although he did not dare to openly disobey the edict, he also refused to be arrested.
"Three generations of my Meng family have done their best for the Qin Dynasty, how could I ever have the slightest intention of rebellion?" Meng Tian argued, "If I really want to rebel, why wait until today? I have 300,000 elite soldiers under my command, and if I want to oppose Qin, it will be as easy as a hand!" Meng Tian's words made the envoy speechless. Although they were instructed to act, they also knew that what Meng Tian said was true. However, Zhao Gao's will has been made, and they cannot afford to slack off in the slightest.
When the envoy was at a loss, Zhao Gao sent a new secret edict: if Meng Tian insisted on refusing to judge himself, he would be corrected on the spot. The envoy had no choice but to urge Meng Tian again. Meng Tian knew that he was afraid that he would be in a catastrophe today. Although he had a heavy army, he did not dare to disobey the emperor's orders easily. He thought about it again and again, and finally chose to commit suicide by taking poison.
In this way, two loyal ministers of the Qin Dynasty, one was the eldest son of the emperor, and the other was a general who had made great achievements, and they were forced to commit suicide by Zhao Gao and Li Si on trumped-up charges. And their death also cleared the last obstacle for Hu Hai's ascension to the throne in the future.
3. The Mengtian family is loyal and commendable
Meng Tian's death really made countless people sigh. This once powerful general died unjustly like this, which is really embarrassing.
Meng Tian was born into a family that had served the Qin Dynasty for generations. His grandfather, Meng Fu, once followed Qin Xiaogong on his eastern expedition and defeated the Jin Kingdom, which was the army of tigers and wolves. His father, Meng Wu, was an outstanding general who once led an army to attack the Six Kingdoms and made great contributions to the unification of the Qin Dynasty.
Meng Tian has been exposed to it since he was a child and is deeply influenced by his family. He learned martial arts since he was a child, and when he grew up, he was known for his bravery and good fighting. During the reign of Qin Shi Huang, Meng Tian led his army on many expeditions, attacking cities and plundering land, expanding a lot of territory for the Qin Dynasty.
However, what made Meng Tian most proud was his exploits in guarding the northern frontier against the invasion of the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu were the most troublesome foreign enemies of the Central Plains Dynasty at that time, they were brave and good at fighting, came and went like the wind, and often harassed the borders of the Qin Dynasty.
In order to completely solve the Xiongnu problem, Qin Shi Huang sent Meng Tian to lead his army north and built a great wall on the frontier to resist the invasion of the Xiongnu. This is the famous "Great Wall" in later generations. Meng Tian led the army to build the Great Wall, and it took ten years to do it. During these ten years, they overcame many difficulties, resisted countless attacks by the Xiongnu, and finally built this defense line that stretched for thousands of miles.
However, what Meng Tian didn't expect was that his great military exploits for the Qin Dynasty ended up in exchange for a killing disaster. When Zhao Gao and Li Si conspired to get rid of Meng Tian, what they feared most was that Meng Tian would lead his army to rebel and avenge Fusu. After all, Meng Tian had 300,000 elite soldiers under his command, and if he rebelled, the consequences would be unimaginable.
However, although Meng Tian hated the conspiracy of Zhao Gao and Li Si, he never thought of rebelling. In his heart, loyalty to the Qin dynasty has gone deep into his bones, a belief he inherited from his grandfather and father.
Even in the face of Zhao Gao's persecution, Meng Tian did not waver. He would rather commit suicide than betray the Qin Dynasty and become a rebellious minister and thief. Meng Tian's death made Zhao Gao and Li Si temporarily relieved. However, they never imagined that although Meng Tian died, his loyalty touched heaven and earth.
After Meng Tian's death, his subordinates transported his body back to his hometown. Along the way, hundreds of people saw each other off, kneeling in front of Meng Tian's coffin, weeping bitterly. It is said that when Meng Tian's tomb was built, the soldiers did not use shovels, but dug the earth with their own hands. They took off their robes, tore them into strips of cloth, wrapped them around their hands, and carried the earth to the tombs one by one.
In the end, Meng Tian's tomb turned out to be piled up into a small mountain. The soldiers tearfully comforted Meng Tian's soul in the sky, saying that this tomb is the mountains and rivers of Daqin, and it is the home that General Meng guarded with his life. Although Meng Tian died, his loyalty, his bravery, and his selflessness remained forever in the hearts of future generations. It wasn't until the fall of the Qin Dynasty that people learned the truth about Meng Tian's death.
Countless people sighed for it, and they all sighed that a loyal and good general like Meng Tian should have been respected and loved, but he ended up so miserably, which has to be said to be a tragedy.
However, although Meng Tian died, his spirit lived forever. The feeling of dedication for the country and the people, and the courage to die and regard death as home, have become a model for countless people with lofty ideals in later generations.
Fourth, there are a few chances of victory for Fusu Mengtian to raise troops
The tragic deaths of Fusu and Meng Tian made countless people sigh. People can't help but ask, if the two of them had been fighting at that time, would the result be different?
To answer this question, we must understand the military system of the Qin Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty was a highly centralized state, and the power to mobilize troops was in the hands of the emperor. Although army generals also have a certain amount of military power, they can only act within the prescribed limits and cannot move troops without authorization.
The core of this system is the famous "tiger charm" system. The so-called tiger talisman is a token used to dispatch troops. It was divided into two halves, one half in the custody of the emperor and the other in the custody of the generals. Only when the two halves of the tiger are together can the general mobilize the army.
Although Meng Tian was a general of the Qin Dynasty, he only had half of the tiger talisman in his hand. Without the emperor's order, he had no right to mobilize the entire army. This means that even if Meng Tian wants to raise an army and serve the king, he will be greatly restricted.
In addition, the army of the Qin Dynasty also had a characteristic, that is, the loyalty of the soldiers was extremely high. This loyalty stems from the Qin Dynasty's harsh legal system. In the Qin Dynasty, if a soldier disobeyed the order, not only would he be severely punished, but even his family would have to sit together.
Under this kind of high pressure, the soldiers obeyed the emperor's orders, so to speak. Even if a general like Meng Tian wants to convince the soldiers to rebel, it may not be an easy task.
What's more, the Qin Dynasty also had a strict supervision system. In every army, there was a "supervising army" sent by the emperor to supervise the generals' every move. If any wrongdoing is discovered, the prison guards have the right to immediately bring them to justice on the spot.
Under such circumstances, if Meng Tian recklessly raised troops, he would likely be detected by the prison guards, and thus incur the disaster of death. Even if it is a fluke and succeeds, it will be difficult to mobilize more troops, and I am afraid that it will not be possible in the end.
Of course, this does not mean that Fusu and Meng Tian have no chance of winning at all. After all, both of them have high prestige in the army, and if they can convince some of the soldiers, there is still some hope.
However, even then, the difficulties they face are enormous. First of all, the army of the Qin Dynasty was organized according to the counties, and the armies of the various counties were not closely connected with each other. If you want to mobilize more troops, you have to convince the generals of each county one by one, which is a long process.
Secondly, there is another characteristic of the Qin Dynasty's army, that is, the interests of the soldiers are closely linked to the imperial court. The Qin Dynasty implemented a system of "military meritorious", and soldiers were rewarded for their meritorious service and could obtain titles and land. If Fusu and Mengtian rebelled, the soldiers could lose these benefits, which would also affect their loyalty.
Finally, there is another factor that cannot be ignored, and that is time. Zhao Gao and Li Si took immediate action after the death of Qin Shi Huang, which can be said to have seized the opportunity. If Fusu and Meng Tian want to raise troops, they must act as soon as possible, otherwise they will miss the opportunity.
However, it is not easy to persuade enough soldiers and mobilize troops in a short period of time? Not to mention, Zhao Gao and Li Si will also use various means to obstruct their actions. Combining the above factors, we can draw a conclusion: if Fusu and Meng Tian rebelled, although the chances of victory were not impossible, they were also extremely slim.
History has no ifs, and we have no way of knowing what would have happened if the two had raised an army, but one thing is certain, and that is that their loyalty and courage will always be worthy of admiration for future generations.
As Cao Cao lamented, although Meng Tian died, his spirit lived forever. The courage to die and regard death as home, and the feeling of dedication to the country and the people, are destined to become a model for countless people with lofty ideals in later generations.
And Fusu, the eldest son of the emperor of the Qin Dynasty, although he also died, his loyalty, filial piety and integrity remained in the annals of history forever. Although he failed to ascend to the throne, he won the respect of all ages. The years go by, and the vicissitudes of life. The Qin Dynasty has long been history, but the story of Fusu and Meng Tian has remained in people's hearts forever. Their lives, though short, shine with eternal light.
epilogue
The temptation of power made Zhao Gao and Li Si take risks, which eventually led to the fall of the Qin Dynasty. However, the loyalty and courage of Fusu and Meng Tian have been forever engraved in the long river of history and have become models for future generations of people with lofty ideals.
The years go by, and the rivers go down. However, the story of Fusu and Meng Tian warns us that abuse of power will inevitably reap the consequences, and that only by benefiting the people with a sincere heart can we win the respect of future generations.