"Reading Notes" Episode 26: Han Fei's "Difficult to Say" and Li Si's "Difficult to Say"

Editor's note: As a reading note of the Zizhi Tongjian, it will be updated every Monday. The chronological order and selection of materials for the Chinese chapters are based on the author's learning progress and personal superficial understanding and cognition. For a reader who studies international relations and strategy, all international and domestic issues and governance methods seem to be answered in the General Commentary.

Fourteenth Year of the First Emperor (Pentachen, 233 BC)

Han Fei's "difficult to say" and Li Si's "difficult to say"

Han Feizi was killed by his classmate Li Si.

Han and Li were both students of Xunzi and were in the same discipline. Because Li Si was jealous of Han Fei's talents, he made a verbal attack on the King of Qin and sent someone to poison Han Fei. The situation is like this:

Han Fei is a Korean prince who is good at the study of criminal name magic. Seeing the weakening of Korea, he wrote several times to suggest that the King of Han, but it was not adopted. Han Fei was deeply disappointed that the Korean officialdom at that time had won the victory and was a traitor, so he observed the successes and failures of past history, and composed fifty-six articles, such as "Lonely Anger", "Five Silverfish", "Inner Reserve", "Outer Reserve", "Saying Forest", and "Saying Difficulty", with more than 100,000 words.

Among them, "Difficult to Say" refers to "lobbying difficulties". In a word.

At that time, king Han offered his territory and jade seal, asked himself to be a vassal of the Qin state, and sent Han Feijin to see the king of Qin. The King of Qin heard about Han Fei's sage and wanted to see him. As soon as the two men saw each other, Han Fei also specially chose the topic of "how to break the strategy of cooperation among various countries" to discuss. Finally, a harsh sentence was shelved: "The name of the overlord is not successful, the neighboring princes do not dynasty, the great king beheads his subjects to martyrdom, and the king seeks disloyalty for the king." Simply put, if Han Fei's plan is ineffective and he is willing to be killed, he will wake up those around the king who are not sincerely loyal. You said that the profession of lobbyist at that time was easy?

The King of Qin was very happy to hear this, but still hoped to "let the bullets fly a little longer", and did not immediately adopt Han Fei's strategy.

In this gap, Li Si was very worried that he would be replaced by Han Fei, so he "reminded" the King of Qin in a serious tone, saying that Han Fei was a "foreigner", untrustworthy, even more unreliable, and could not let the tiger return to the mountain, it was better to kill him. The King of Qin felt that it was reasonable at that time, so he first locked it up and waited for it to fall. And Li Si was afraid that the night would be long and dreamy, so he sent someone to send poison to Han Fei and tell him to commit suicide early. Han Fei wanted to find an opportunity to explain to the King of Qin, but he was bitter that he could not see the King of Qin. After all, man is a knife trick, "non" is fish and meat, and suicide is actually killing him. Later, the King of Qin regretted it and sent someone to pardon Han Fei, but it was too late. Han Fei's "Saying Difficult" has become his fate.

Although history cannot be assumed, if Han Fei had not died at that time, and the King of Qin had adopted Han Fei's strategy, there might not have been such a traitorous minister as Zhao Gao, after all, Zhao Gao and his ilk were a "poison" in Han Fei's "Five Beetles". The Qin Dynasty may not die twice, and perhaps his classmate Li Si will also die well.

Speaking of Li Si, he was really a talented and immoral person, jealous of his ability, and fierce in heart.

He "reminded" Han Fei, the King of Qin, that he was a "foreigner", but wasn't he himself? Li Si is a native of the Chu state. At that time, the clan ministers of the Qin state believed: "The princes and countries who came to the Qin state as officials were all lobbying for their masters and discording the monarchs and subjects of the Qin state, so they had to expel those people." Li Si wrote to the King of Qin to the effect that the Qin State sought merit from Mu Gong, filial piety used merchant martingale, King Hui used Zhang Yi, and King Zhao used Fan Ju, from weak to strong, which was not used as a "foreigner". As a generation of holy kings, it is necessary to be thirsty for the virtuous. The King of Qin thought it was justified, so he restored Li Si's official position and abolished the expulsion order. Now that it was Han Fei's side, what Li Si had done was simply contradictory.

Lis is also a fierce person. The "Na Xian" strategy he offered to the King of Qin was simple and crude: for the talents of various countries, those who could be bought with heavy money would be bought with heavy money, and those who could not be bought with heavy money would directly send assassins to assassinate them. This style of painting is very similar to the consistent methods of the CIA and the Israeli Mossad in reality. Of course, one thing drops one thing, and Li Si "plays" zhao gao.

Let's just say how Liz died. The situation is the same as that of the year when it set up a trap for Han Fei. Later, When Hu Hai of Qin II came to power, believing that Li Si was suspected of rebellion, Zhao Gao declared a personal vendetta and arrested Li Si's clan and guests. Zhao Gao judged Li Si, also simple and rude, directly fighting more than a thousand times, Li Si could not bear the pain, beat into a confession, admitted that there was a rebellion.

Li Si was really wronged, not willing to commit suicide, and at the same time conceited and eloquent, believing that he had merit to the country, so he wrote to Qin II, counting his own merits for the country and his loyalty to the King of Qin, hoping that the second could change his mind. Helplessly, Zhao Gao's officials abandoned Li Si's letter and blocked it with one sentence: "How can a prisoner go to the book?!" ”

Zhao Gao also sent more than a dozen of his protégés and guests, disguised as imperial historians, gurus, and attendants, to take turns to interrogate Li Si, and if Li Si changed his confession and answered truthfully, he would send people to beat him with a staff, and it would be a so-called "iron case". Later, the second sent someone to interrogate Lisi, who thought that he was the same as before and never dared to change his confession. Therefore, the second said happily, "If it were not for Zhao Gao, I would have almost been betrayed by The Prime Minister." In the end, Li Si was beheaded in public, and the three tribes of Ling Yi were not allowed to die well.

Li Si's "difficult to say" is really bitter to say, and there are injustices that cannot be said. After all, isn't this "self-inflicted sins and not living"?

Compared with the situation of Han Fei and Li Si after they were imprisoned, they were killed without a chance to appeal. In the darkness, the cycle of cause and effect, who does God let go?

In a word, laugh.