Marx said: "Interests are the most practical, and there is nothing more practical in this world than destroying one's own enemies." ”
Turning over the pages of Chinese history, in the court and officialdom, intrigue, deceit, deception, and reversal of black and white can be described as everywhere. Schemers make more friends and few enemies. There is a strange phenomenon, "The greatest enemy of loyalists is often not external opponents, but conspirators hidden inside." ”
The "History of Qin Shi Huang Benji" records a story: "Zhao Gao wanted to be chaotic, afraid that the crowd would not listen, but set up a test first, and held the deer to sacrifice to the second, that is, "Ma Ye." The second laughed and said, "Misguided? Deer are horses. "Ask left and right, left and right or silent, or say that the horse is a shun Zhao Gao, or the one who speaks the deer." The one who speaks in the yin of Gauin is the law. The latter courtiers are afraid of heights. ”
This is the famous story of the deer as a horse.
Zhao Gao in the stills
Zhao Gao is a legend. He was originally a descendant of an aristocrat of the State of Zhao, and after the State of Qin destroyed Zhao, he escorted the children of the nobles of the State of Zhao to Xianyang. Zhao Gao became the lowest slave from an aristocratic elite of the Zhao state, and his social status was very different. As a small ant-like figure, the people around him can call, punish, scold, and even beat him at will. However, Zhao Gao did not give up on himself, still worked very hard to live and work, from the small eunuch who worked as a miscellaneous servant at the bottom to the "Zhongche Fu Order" step by step, becoming the personal secretary of Qin Shi Huang, responsible for mastering the seal of Che You. Zhao Gaosheng was born with a long stature, personable, a table of talents, very much in line with the style of Qin Shi Huang's employment, and sensitive to political affairs, good at observing the color, he studied the laws of the Qin State assiduously, often showed his talents in front of people, and gradually passed to the ears of the Qin Emperor Yingzheng, and the effort finally paid off. Shi Zai: "The First Emperor heard of his strength, passed through the prison law, and took it as the order of the Zhongche Government, so that Hu Hai was taught to be imprisoned, and Hu Hai was fortunate." Zhao Gao became the "chief of staff" of the second son, Hu Hai. Qin Shi Huang was cruel by nature, and Zhao Gao had always been careful to greet and serve attentively, and did not dare to slack off a little. Because of his long-term immersion at the bottom, Zhao Gao learned to engage in conspiracies and play tricks, and under his small robe, he covered up his huge political ambitions. He is also a successful orator. In 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang died in the Xingtai sand dunes during his fifth eastern tour. He seized the opportunity to persuade Hu Hai with an offensive plan to star in a "dune coup". At first, Hu Hai still couldn't make up his mind and asked Zhao Gao to find Li Si, and Zhao Gao said: "The edict and the seal given by the emperor to the eldest son are in Hu Hai's hands, and who is to be the crown prince is only a word from you and me." Therefore, the three of them united to become a community of interests, tampered with Qin Shi Huang's will, forced the death of Qin Shi Huang's eldest son Fu Su, and vigorously promoted Hu Hai's successful ascension to the throne.
High risk is the high reward. After Hu Hai succeeded to the throne, Zhao Gao was "great in merit" and was greatly favored, serving as Lang Zhongling, one of the Nine Secretaries, in charge of palace guards and commanding the emperor's attendants, and was the most trusted official around Hu Hai. But Zhao Gao was still not satisfied, and dreamed of gaining greater power. His top priority was to use Hu Hai, a fool, to further consolidate the power in his hands, form his own circle of power, and remove all obstacles to the peak of power.
In Zhao Gao's eyes, the two brothers of the Meng family, 300,000 commanders Meng Tian and Shangqing Meng Yi, the two brothers, one inside and one outside, with military power, and high authority, were the candidates that Zhao Gao first considered removing. Zhao Gao's focus on the problem has three aspects: First, the Meng family is loyal subjects, Meng Yi and Meng Tian are upright and loyal, and they will not obey Zhao Gao's command, and Zhao Gao estimates that they will not be able to win them over. Second, Zhao Gao once had a festival with Meng Yi. Zhao Gao was once tried by Meng Yi for breaking the law, and Meng Yi was not afraid of power, and the trial was impartial and selfless, and according to the Qin Law, Zhao Gao was sentenced to death. Perhaps it was Zhao Gao's hard work in creating the image of "capable subjects and loyal subjects" in front of Qin Shi Huang, who was "highly sensitive to things, pardoned, and reinstated his officials", Zhao Gao luckily escaped a disaster, and the officials were reinstated. In this way, Zhao Gao hated and feared Meng Yi and wanted to get rid of it quickly. Although Fusu has been killed by a false edict, Mengtian, who has a relatively iron relationship with Fusu, is still there, and if he does not cut the grass and remove the roots, he is bound to make a comeback in the future. It can be seen from this that in the official arena, talent is a double-edged sword, if it is favored by the superior and used by him, it is a talent, even a talent; if it cannot be used by the superior, then these so-called talents are negative assets and become a scourge of his political future.
Zhao Gao (stills)
Zhao Gao was very worried that the two Meng brothers would be reused by Hu Hai of Qin II, posing a threat to him. Therefore, Zhao Gao "destroyed the evil Montessori day and night, begged for his sins, and impeached him." However, Hu Hai of Qin II had no ill feelings toward Meng Yi, but under the provocation and blow of Zhao Gao's nails, he ruthlessly imprisoned Meng Yi, who had returned from praying for Qin Shi Huang to the famous mountains and rivers, in Daidi (present-day Dai County, Shanxi).
The conspirator's greatest weapon is to go into rumors and do nothing wrong. Zhao Gao decided to adopt the policy of "breaking through one by one", and he took advantage of the convenience of being by Hu Hai's side at dawn and night, saw the needle in the seam, and constantly "made small reports" to Hu Hai: "Emperor Xian wanted to make you crown prince, but Meng Yi resolutely opposed it, which was disloyalty. Therefore, this unfaithful minister should be removed. Hu Hai drank Zhao Gao's "Ecstasy Soup", never listened to the advice of other loyal ministers, and resolutely ordered the death of Mengyi, who entrusted people to pass on the words: "The first lord wants to make a prince, but you criticize him." Now, the Prime Minister thinks that you are unfaithful and sin against your family. I can't bear it, and I only give you one death, which is also very lucky. ”
Meng Yi faced the messenger and tried to defend: "Once upon a time, Qin Mu used three sages to be buried and sentenced Bai Lixi to a trumped-up crime, so his nickname was 'Miao'. King Zhaoxiang killed Wu'an Jun Baiqi, King Chuping killed Wu Hao, and King Fuchai of Wu killed Wu Zixu. The above four monarchs have all made major mistakes, and the people of the world criticize them. He advised Qin II to "govern the country morally without killing innocent subjects, and the punishment should not be imposed on the innocent." However, the messenger was very clear about the mission of his trip, and could not listen to Meng Yi's complaint at all, and eventually killed Meng Yi.
After Meng Yi was killed, it was Meng Tian's turn. The Messenger said, "Your own sins are great, and your brother has committed a great sin, and he has been punished by you." Meng Tian defended: "Three generations of our family have contributed to Qin. I command an army of three hundred thousand, and even now that I am imprisoned, I am strong enough to wage a rebellion. However, I 'know that I will die and keep my righteousness, and I don't dare to dishonor the teachings of my ancestors', and I cannot bring shame to our Montessori family. Meng Tianyi said sternly: "My Meng clan, for generations without two hearts, will eventually end up in such an end, it must be rebellious and rebellious, bullying the king." But the emissary Ren Mengtian struggled with his lips and tongue, and only repeatedly said: "I am only enforcing the law according to the emperor's will, and I dare not pass on your words to the emperor." Seeing that the appeal was hopeless, Meng Tian died of despair and deep sorrow and anger.
Two stones were removed in succession. Zhao Gao was extremely happy, and the next goal was to kill The Minister Li Si. Li Si's history of struggle in the Qin Kingdom is quite inspiring, and his ultimate fate is also a good negative teaching material. Li Si was credited with establishing and consolidating the Great Qin regime, and he was also the architect of many of the Qin Dynasty's policies that influenced the millennia that followed. However, Li Si made the wrong choice question on the "Dune Coup", and put the weight of the second half of his life on the second son," "stupid egg" Hu Hai, and the conspirator Zhao Gao, causing him to lose his reputation, and finally ended up with a "Yi San" ending. Legend has it that after Li Si was beheaded, he wrote down seven tragic words, and also said: "Now the rebel has half of the country, and the heart has not yet been yuya, and with Zhao Gao as the support, I will see Kou to Xianyang, and the elk swim in Chaoye." This means, "Now the rebels own half the country, but they are not satisfied." If Zhao Gao continues to assist Qin II, then the rebels will fight in Xianyang, and the elk will also graze at the imperial court." Li Si, who wrote the ancient Xiongwen "On Passing the Qin", was a wise man, and this sentence was later verified. Li Si, a native of Shangcai County, Henan Province, smiled and said to his son before being sent to the execution table, "How can you get the East Gate of the Lead Dog?"
Li Si was dead, and no one could stop Zhao Gao's dictatorship. Zhao Gao raised a butcher's knife to his loyal subjects and those who refused to follow him to "point out deer as horses", and killed wildly, whether it was a prince or a princess, he was not spared, and even killed 12 princes and 10 princesses in one day, and died outside the capital with a tragic crush, and the blood flowed like a river.
The terrible thing about schemers is that they use the confusion of their leaders to fabricate facts and harm people invisibly. This is why Meng Yi, a heavy minister in the DPRK, Meng Tian, a general who commanded 300,000 troops, and Li Si, a minister who was full of poetry and books, all died in the weak and weak Zhao masters. The poet Chu Mai wrote three poems of the Seven Laws with a sense of loneliness: "Si is a jackal but he comes to power, and he lights a fire and dry firewood." Referring to the ordinary things of Sang Scolding, he mourned with great emotion. The thief shouted that the thief was a ghost, and in the dream he said that the charcoal of the dream turned into ashes. I don't know how to persuade by suppressing and suppressing the slander of king Li. "Si is the Jackal but on the stage, mistakenly turning the fart into a spring thunder." Catching the wind and catching shadows is not a fact, referring to the deer as a horse and not a virtuous material. No matter the occasion, it must be criticized, and every meeting scolds Xiucai. Please jun into the urn once remembered, rabbit dead dog cooking dust. Si was the Jackal but came to power, and Ning Cheng Zhang Tang came again. Severe punishment is a real disaster, and unjust imprisonment is a natural disaster. Turning hands into clouds and raining hands, one person rejoices and everyone is sad. Without virtue, the vessel leaked, and the father of Qing was tyrannical and eventually unlucky. ”
There are very few conspirators in Chinese history like Zhao Gao, who are fierce, mad, and have strong endurance, who have been hiding for twenty years, and once they gain power, they will stir up the wind and rain in the world, set off bloody rain, and even the supreme throne of the Ninth Five-Year Plan dares to sit down. Zhao Gao was like a gigantic silkworm, knowing when to hide and when to reveal, when Qin Shi Huang was in power, he only worked hard to deal with chores for the leader, hid his ambitions, and did not dare to reveal half a point. Because he knew that Qin Shi Huang was a man of great talent and had a terrifying wrist, he had killed In one fell swoop Lü Buwei, a minister who was like a man of heaven and power, and no one under his command could make any waves. Zhao Gao, as the eunuch general of Qin Shi Huang's side, hid himself every day, silently planned, never revealed half a sentence, never consulted with anyone, never publicized himself, in his earth-shattering plan, Gongzi Fusu, the general Meng Tian, Shangqing Mengyi, Cheng Xiang Lisi, Qin II Hu Hai, and even the entire Qin Empire's imperial court hundred officials, all of them were just a chess piece in Zhao Gao's hands!
Special Commentator: Mai and Yuki
Source: Information Office of Heshan Municipal People's Government
Editor-in-charge: He Zhiqiang