In 210 BC, Qin Empire Emperor Ying Zheng was accompanied by Li Si . Ying Zheng had more than 20 sons, but he liked his youngest son Hu Hai the most. Ying Zheng was a prisoner on this trip. He made the most fatal mistake by allowing Hu Hai to participate in the outing.
The traveling royal team passed through Danyang (northwest of Dangtu County, Anhui Province), arrived at Qiantang (Hangzhou City, Anhui Province), went to the Zhejiang Embankment, watched the rough Qiantang tide, and then headed westward to climb Mount Kuaiji ( South of Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province) to worship Emperor Yu. Then on the way back to Xianyang and walking to Pingyuanjin (the southern Yellow River ferry in Pingyuan County, Shandong Province), Yingzheng suddenly fell ill and was bedridden. At this time, Ying Zheng felt that he might die on the road and not even be able to return to Xianyang. He hurriedly ordered Zhao Gao, the eunuch who guarded the palace gate (the order of CRRC), to give the order to Fusu, the eldest son of Shangjun (Nanyuhe Town, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province): "Go to Xianyang immediately and meet the funeral car. Then he was buried." The imperial edict has been written and stored with Zhao Gao, but no envoy has been sent out yet.
On July 20th, the royal team came to the Sand Dune Palace Platform (Pingxiang County, Hebei Province), and Ying Zheng died of illness. Li Si considered that the emperor died outside, and he was afraid that the princes might launch a coup in the capital or other places, so he decided not to announce the funeral secretly. After putting Ying Zheng's body in the sleeping carriage and telling the public that the emperor was ill, the convoy continued towards Xianyang.
At this time, on the political stage of the Qin Empire, the Meng family was definitely the backbone of the entire Qin Empire. Three generations of the Meng family have dedicated themselves to the unification of the Qin Empire. From their grandfather Meng Ao , father Meng Wu , to Meng Tian , Meng Yi brothers, they are all core figures on the political stage of the Qin Empire. Ying Zheng I have great trust in the Montessori family. Meng Tian leads the army to fight outside, while Meng Yi works in the central government and participates in decision-making. Both brothers are loyal. In the court, not even the prime minister dared to offend them easily. Such a big family was actually defeated by a eunuch. What's the reason? Because Zhao Gao was smart and understood prison administration and law, Ying Zheng appointed him as the eunuch guarding the palace gate (order of the CRRC), and also asked his youngest son Hu Hai to learn law from Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao is so smart, it won't take long for his young master to have many cronies at his service. But Zhao Gao often made mistakes. Ying Zheng asked Meng Yi to try him, and Meng Yi sentenced him to death. Ying Zheng thought of Zhao Gao's quick response, so he specially ordered a pardon and the official was reinstated. In this way, Zhao Gao began to resent the Meng brothers and wanted to find opportunities for revenge.
Zhao Gao has always wanted to take revenge on the Meng brothers. Now the opportunity has come. Ying Zheng is dead and Hu Hai is trusted by him. Therefore, he suggested to Hu Hai: falsely pass on the imperial edict, order the execution of his brother Fusu in the name of Ying Zheng, and declare Hu Hai to be the prince. Hu Hai immediately accepted Zhao Gao's suggestion. Zhao Gao said: "This is a big event, and the prime minister must be involved." So Hu Hai and Zhao Gao came to Li Si together. Zhao Gao said to Li Si: "The imperial edict issued by the emperor to Fusu and the jade seal are all in In the hands of Hu Hai. Now, it's up to you and me to decide who is the legal heir. What do you think?" Li Si was shocked and said with a pale face: "We ministers should not discuss this issue." Zhao Gao said, "I asked. You: Your talent, strategy, achievements, popularity, and Fusu's trust in you, which of these five points is comparable to Meng Tian?" Li Si said: "No one can compare with it." Zhao Gao said: "Then. That's right, once Fusu becomes emperor, the prime minister will definitely be Meng Tian. What will happen to you, Li Si?" Li Si nodded in agreement.
Therefore, under the conspiracy of Li Si, Zhao Gao, and Hu Hai, they issued an edict in the name of the deceased Ying Zheng and sent envoys to declare Hu Hai as the prince. Then he blamed Fusu for not being able to expand his territory, and complained that he was not allowed to return to Xianyang and become the prince. At the same time, he also condemned Meng Tian: he did not know how to correct Fusu's mistakes and participated in unethical behavior.In this way, he ordered the two men to commit suicide and handed over the military power to the deputy commander Wang Li. After receiving the imperial edict, Fusu burst into tears and committed suicide. Meng Tian firmly believed that Ying Zheng would not issue such an order and prepared to verify the facts, but Hu Hai's envoy handed Meng Tian over to the Military Law Department and imprisoned him in Yangzhou (Zichang City, Shaanxi Province).
Hu Hai was relieved to know that Fusu was dead and was ready to let Meng Tian go. At this time, Meng Yi went out to worship the gods of mountains and rivers on behalf of Ying Zheng to seek blessings, and returned after completing his mission. Zhao Gao thought of his old enmity and warned Hu Hai: "When the late emperor wanted to make you the prince, only Meng Yi opposed it. Now it is better to kill him to get rid of future troubles." So he arrested Meng Yi and imprisoned Daijun (Wei, Hebei Province) county). Later, Hu Hai decided to execute the Meng brothers. When Meng Tian was about to be executed, he said: "Our Meng family has served the Qin Empire for three generations since my grandfather. Now I am leading an army of 300,000 people outside. Although my body is in prison, I still have the strength to launch a resistance. However, I would rather die than persist. He was righteous and did not dare to live up to the teachings of his ancestors, but also showed that he did not forget the great kindness of the late emperor." Then he swallowed poison and committed suicide.
The author said: The death of the Meng brothers was the first bloody head to fall in the great changes in the Qin Empire's political power. Among the tragic fates of Fusu and the Meng clan, Meng Yi was the only one who did not accept the edict of "granting death" and refused to commit suicide. Meng Yi was openly killed. In the late Qin Empire, the Wang Group with Wang Jian Wang Ben and his son as the axis and the Meng Group with Meng Tian and Mengyi brothers as the axis were recognized as the two most meritorious families in the empire. Now, the Meng brothers have been sentenced to death together, and the depth of the consequences left in the entire Qin government is unimaginable. The direct impact is that the morale of the Qin State army has greatly collapsed, leading to the rapid disintegration of the Qin State's military discipline and style. After the death of the Meng brothers, Hu Hai and Zhao Gao became more and more murderous. Important officials and royal descendants almost died unexpectedly.
There are three reasons why the three parties of Li Si, Zhao Gao and Hu Hai succeeded in changing the imperial edict and usurping the throne. First, Ying Zheng should not have brought Hu Hai with him on this trip. If Hu Hai did not participate in this trip, then the conspiracy of the three parties would never happen. The root is destroyed. Second, Meng Yi was originally one of the members of this royal team outing, but because he left the emperor during the final hunting tour (during the period when Ying Zheng was ill, Meng Yi was sent to sacrifice to the gods to pray for blessings. In ancient times, after people fell ill, some The habit of going to the sacred mountain to pray for blessings). If Meng Yi had not left the emperor, the possibility of Li, Zhao, and Hu conspiring against each other would definitely not have occurred, because Meng Yi was the chief minister of the emperor's study and the person directly in charge of the emperor's secret documents. Moreover, important ministers who supported Fusu would never leave the emperor's edict unissued. Third, Fusu himself had no ability to judge. When he saw the death edict, he sought death indiscriminately and did not listen to General Meng Tian's advice. What if Fusu listened to Meng Tian's opinion and verified the facts first, and then decided what to do next? The outcome would definitely be different, and the Qin Empire would not be destroyed so quickly.
