Lu Buwei 's life is full of legends. From a wealthy businessman to a prime minister, he has carried too many secrets along the way. He is a participant in the creation of the Great Qin Empire and an insider of the secrets of the royal family. An identity like
not only brought Lu Buwei a great power, but also eventually pushed him into a dangerous abyss.
Prime Minister and Zhongfu, these identities have been added to Lu Buwei. However, no matter how prominent his identity is, he cannot be compared with the king of a country. When he becomes an obstacle to the power of the monarch, he only needs an edict to easily kill him.
Death Edict
In 237 BC, news came out of Xianyang Palace that King of Qin Ying Zheng decided to remove Lu Buwei from his position as prime minister and ordered him to move to Luoyang at home and stay unemployed.
After learning this news, Lu Buwei's heart that had been hanging for more than a year was finally relieved.
Just the previous year, the 21-year-old Qin Wang Yingzheng accidentally learned that the sanctuary next to the empress dowager Lao Ai dared to claim to be his "fake father".
Lu Buwei
Angry Ying Zheng hurriedly ordered someone to launch a secret investigation into Lao Ai. Soon, the truth was revealed. It turned out that Lao Ai was not a eunuch. Not only did he have an affair with the Empress Dowager, the two also secretly had two illegitimate children behind Ying Zheng's back.
This royal scandal instantly angered the young king, and he decided to punish Lao Ai.
However, before the victory of the political action was taken, the news that the king wanted to punish Lao Ai had already leaked.
Lao Ai saw that the matter was exposed, and he knew that his sins were unforgivable, but he didn't want to sit and wait for death. In order to make a living, Lao Ai decided to take risks. He falsely passed the Queen Mother's order and quickly gathered a group of palace servants to surround the palace where Ying Zheng lived. Seeing this, he hurriedly mobilized Xianyang soldiers to fight with him. In the end, Lao Ai was defeated and was killed for treason.
In 238 BC, the disaster of Lao Ai shocked Qin State , which also left a deep psychological shadow on Ying Zheng. All the people related to it were treated. Lu Buwei, who recommended Lao Ai to enter the palace, naturally could not escape the blame.
However, unlike the decisive killing in dealing with Lao Ai, Ying Zheng's decision to deal with Lu Buwei has been delayed.
After 13 months of suffering, things finally came to a conclusion. Lu Buwei breathed a sigh of relief in his heart when faced with the consequences of "relocation" and "dismissal".
Such a big thing happened, and it ended up being unemployed and relocated. I think Ying Zheng still couldn't bear to kill him
, which was the best ending for Lu Buwei at that time.
After all, this is not the first time Lu Buwei has done this kind of "inducing a wolf into the house".
In 243 BC, Ying Zheng had just succeeded to the throne, and Lu Buwei, as prime minister, recommended a river engineer from South Korea to Ying Zheng.
Zheng Guo
This man was named Zheng Guo. He advocated the importance of building canals and rivers to Ying Zheng. In the end, Ying Zheng was persuaded and ordered Zheng Guo to build canals and divert Jingluo. For this purpose, he specially recruited countless migrant workers from all over the country, spending a huge amount of money.
Zheng State's canal construction aroused dissatisfaction among the Qin royal family. They believed that such a large project could not be completed overnight, and it required the support of manpower, material and financial resources, which consumed the national strength very much and was not conducive to the development of Qin.
After investigation, Zheng State was indeed a detailed work sent by South Korea. The original intention of South Korea to send him to Qin was to persuade the King of Qin to build the canals, so as to achieve the goal of "exhausting Qin".
Although Zheng's "exhausted Qin" plan was exposed, he temporarily turned against South Korea and surrendered to Qin. In the end, Ying Zheng valued the benefits of the canal repair to Qin. He did not deal with Zheng, but continued to appoint him to carry out the canal repair cause to the end.
In this storm, although Lu Buwei, as the recommender of Zheng State, was not directly punished, he was somewhat affected in public opinion.
After this incident, the Qin royal family inevitably had doubts about strategists who were not from their own origins. Coincidentally, Lu Buwei, who was born in the Wei State, was also a non-Qin counselor.
A few years later, when Lao Ai treason broke out, Lu Buwei was inevitably pushed to the forefront again. This time, Ying Zheng did not execute him, but he did not want to indulge him anymore.
According to Ying Zheng's request, Lu Buwei moved to Luoyang after resigning as prime minister. However, after arriving in Luoyang, Lu Buwei still lived a prosperous life. Not only did he have many wives and concubines, he also raised countless strategists and guests.
In Ying Zheng's opinion, Lu Buwei's indulgence in luxury is not a sin, but raising a strategist is suspected of being nostalgic for politics.
In fact, Lu Buwei, who moved to Luoyang, was not completely isolated from the world and did not care about political affairs.
At that time, many ministers in the Qin State took this opportunity to show their gratitude to Lu Buwei. They believed that Ying Zheng's removal of Lu Buwei was just a gesture, and sooner or later he would be restored to his post.
yingzheng
After all, even if Ying Zheng was angry, he would not forgive Zhao Ji , who had two illegitimate sons with Lao Ai. His mother can forgive him, so "Zhongfu" is not a waste of time. How could a son be unable to get along with his father?
Not only did the Qin people think so, but even the monarchs of other countries also have this view. Just after Lu Buwei moved to Luoyang, several envoys from the vassal states rushed to Luoyang to visit him and even gave him an official title to Lu Buwei, hoping to take this opportunity to please him so that he could establish good relations with Qin in the future.
Perhaps Lu Buwei wanted to use Proton Innocent to engage in venture capital through the intuition of a businessman's speculation, but he didn't expect that he really won the bet and gained such a huge political influence, which was indeed enough to make him proud.
However, for Ying Zheng at this time, Lu Buwei's complacentness was simply a naked threat to the monarchy, which was something he could not tolerate as a king of a country.
In 235 BC, Ying Zheng ordered people to send his own handwritten edict to Lu Buwei's home in Luoyang.
The edict is not long, only 30 words, but every word is heartbreaking.
"Records of the Grand Historian" records: Why did you achieve success in Qin? Qin vassed the king in Henan and ate 100,000 households. Why are you close to Qin? Known as Zhongfu. He and his family moved to Shu.
The fatal two questions in the edict made Lu Buwei feel unruly. He knew that he would definitely die this time. Why do
say so? The edict clearly stated that Lu Buwei's family would move to Shu, but it did not require him to die.
In fact, Lu Buwei knew very well that he was old and had to work hard all the way. He moved from Luoyang to the miasma-filled Shu area, which was probably in danger.
King Ying Zheng of Qin was obviously interested in killing this time. It can be said that this edict was like a death talisman, opening the countdown for Lu Buwei's life.
Lu Buwei's death
Is it the "lingchi" arranged by Ying Zheng, or does it make a comeback after finding oneself?
Win Zheng
When received the edict, Lu Buwei made his last choice in his life with a sense of dying.
Regarding this ideological struggle after Lu Buwei saw the edict, "Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of Lu Buwei" records: "Lu Buwei defeated himself and was afraid of being punished."
roughly means that Lu Buwei feels that his condition has worsened and is afraid of being killed.
Of course, he is not only afraid of being killed, but also afraid of implicating his family.
Ying Zheng has always advocated heavy punishment. In the disaster of Lao Ai, not only Lao Ai was sentenced to death, but his three tribes also suffered a catastrophe. Therefore, there were more than 4,000 guests and children who were implicated and moved to Shu to serve.
Lu Buwei saw Ying Zheng's pressing against him step by step. He concluded that he would not escape the fate of being killed sooner or later, so he decided to take the initiative to end his speculative life.
Of course, he was still betting on this step. Ying Zheng would be soft-hearted and could give his family a way out for his voluntary death.
Which way did Lu Buwei choose to die in the end? There are two statements about this in later generations.
The record of "Records of the Grand Historian" is very clear, saying that Lu Buwei eventually "died by drinking a chicken." Although there are only four short words, two different interpretations are derived from this.
The first interpretation is "drinking poison and dying", that is, committing suicide by taking poison. Because "金" is "金" and has the meaning of poisonous wine, later generations often understood the cause of Lu Buwei's death as "drinking poisonous wine to commit suicide." This understanding is indeed more reasonable under the historical circumstances at that time.
Lu Buwei sculpture
The second interpretation believes that the cause of Lu Buwei's death is excessive drinking. The reason is also on the word "阿", but they believe that this word did not mean "toxic wine", but ordinary wine.
In the " Shuowen Jiezi " written by Xu Shen in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there is only one explanation for the word "陈", that is, "光" means "光", which means "drinking wine with pleasure". As for the saying that "金" is "金", it was only later.
"Records of the Grand Historian" was written before the Eastern Han Dynasty. From this point of view, Lu Buwei's "drinking the croaker and dying" should mean "drinking the croaker and dying".
This explanation is also reasonable for Lu Buwei.
Lu Buwei is not only willing to pursue wealth and power, but also a person who is good at learning from his ancestors. He once imitated the famous scholars of the pre-Qin period, recruited thousands of guests, collected the academic studies of hundreds of schools, and compiled the book " Lushi Chunqiu ".
In this book, there is a record of the deeds of "sickness and death" because of the suspicion of King of Wei , and because he was suspicious of King of Wei , he drank day and night, and eventually died of "sickness and wine". Lu Buwei's "die while drinking a chicken" may be imitating Xinlingjun's "sick and died after drinking."
Of course, whether it is to commit suicide by taking poison or to die of pain, Lu Buwei's death was the result of his own death. This is his tragedy and his destiny.
The Tragedy of Speculators
From the businessman to the prime minister, Lu Buwei took 13 years. His tragedy was also destined when he targeted Yi Ren, and his fate was only to be reaped the consequences. In 262 BC, Lu Buwei met the Qin prince Yiren who was working as a proton in Handan City.
As a businessman who travels all year round, Lu Buwei naturally has a very good news. He soon discovered that although this strange man was in a down-and-out position, his identity was extraordinary.
Yiren's father was the Qin State's An Guojun . At this time, he had succeeded to the throne and became the new King of Qin. Although he had many sons under his knees, the most favored lady Huayang did not give birth to a son.
Qin Zhuangxiang King (Yinren) film and television image
After learning about these situations, Lu Buwei saw the opportunity. In his opinion, Yiren is "singular goods" and is likely to become the next candidate for the "King of Qin".
It can be seen from this that Lu Buwei initially invested in Yiren still had the mentality of "stocking goods" by merchants. Perhaps in his opinion, investors are no different from investing in goods.
Since it is an investment, it has to be a return. Of course, Lu Buwei's decision to help Yiren was not pitiful to this down-and-out crown prince. He was not a philanthropist, but a speculator. He valued the supreme power symbolized by the throne of the Qin King.
Lu Buwei promised to help Yiren ascend the throne, but he also asked Yiren that after the matter was completed, "please get the Qin State and the king to share it."
Judging from Yi Ren's performance, he can definitely be called a person who is grateful. In 250 BC, with the help of Lu Buwei, Yiren finally got what he wanted and successfully succeeded to become the new monarch of Qin.
The strange man who became the queen of Qin did not treat Lu Buwei badly. He immediately promoted Lu Buwei to him and appointed him as Prime Minister, Wenxinhou .
However, Yiren obviously did not want to fulfill his promise to "share Qin and the king". As compensation, Yi Ren gave 100,000 households in Luoyang to Lu Buwei, which was also considered to repay Lu Buwei's kindness for his understanding.
In fact, according to the power in the hands of Yiren at that time, he could not give Lu Buwei a little fief, and even kill him, and he was completely destroyed. But he didn't, but his kindness had been repayed.
From then on, he and Lu Buwei were only divided into monarch and ministers.
Lu Buwei
The two of them went from "comrades-in-arms" who jointly planned major events to the king and minister who had different lords and subordinates. It seemed to be outside the plan, but in fact it was reasonable.
In fact, Lu Buwei's investment is destined to not get the profits he expected, because Yi Ren's promise itself is impossible to fulfill.
Imagine how he would choose a down-and-out proton who is in a foreign country and faces a gamble that can change his destiny?
What's more, the bargaining chips in this big bet are the royal power he has not yet possessed. He is generous to others and to make his own future. Who would refuse such an opportunity?
However, when Qin State is under the control of Yi Ren, the situation is very different.
As the saying goes, "Where can you let others snore on the side of the bed?" What's more, do you give up half of your country? Therefore, the promise that Lu Buwei asked Yi Ren was itself a "blank check" that could not be fulfilled.
However, the reason why Lan Yinxuguo and Lu Buwei were used by Yiren is only because he only invested Yiren as a commodity. He confidently thought that he could control the future, but he never wanted to be put on a "commodity".
Fortunately, although Yi Ren did not fully fulfill his promise, he did not destroy the bridge, and Lu Buwei's investment still paid off.
Not only that, Lu Buwei, as a speculator, also kept a backup plan.
In 247 BC, the 35-year-old Yiren died after only three years of reign. As the queen, Zhao Ji became the queen mother, and his son Ying Zheng also became the new King of Qin.
Qin Zhuangxiang Mausoleum
Zhao Ji was originally Lu Buwei's concubine. In order to bribe Yiren who was still a proton in Zhao State, Lu Buwei presented Zhao Ji to him.
Later generations are rumored that Zhao Ji was pregnant when she was sacrificed, and Ying Zheng was originally the son of Lu Buwei. We don’t know what the truth is, but this does not affect the historical fact that Ying Zheng later became the First Emperor , nor does it affect the occurrence of the tragedy of Lu Buwei’s suicide.
In 247 BC, the 13-year-old Ying Zheng succeeded to the throne, and Lu Buwei remained the prime minister.
The new King of Qin is only 13 years old, and the orphan and widowed mother have a close relationship with him. Lu Buwei feels that his speculation has ushered in a new situation.
Indeed, if Ying Zheng was a gentle person, or just a puppet without his own opinion and at the mercy of others, perhaps Lu Buwei might have escaped the fate of the tragedy.
However, man's calculations are not as good as God's calculations. Although Ying Zheng is young, his methods are much more ruthless than ordinary people.
Ying Zheng was born in Zhao State and returned to Qin State at the age of nine to recognize his ancestors. Ying Zheng, who lived in Zhao State, once followed his mother's surname. Later generations often linked this with his life experience, thinking that Yiren suspected that he was not his biological child, so he was only allowed to follow his biological mother's surname Zhao at the beginning. This speculation of
may not be true.
Distribution map of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period
Judging from the time of Ying Zheng's origin, it was 259 BC, and it was in the war between Qin and Zhao. As the proton stranded in Zhao, Yi Ren can be imagined.
Therefore, letting Zhao Ji give birth to a child with her surname at this time does not necessarily mean that he has doubts about the child's blood relationship, but perhaps it is simply out of the protection of his children as a parent.
However, even with his mother's surname, Zhao Ji and his son were unable to escape from Zhao's eyes and ears. After Lu Buwei and Yiren fled back to Qin, their mother and his son became hostages left by Qin in Zhao, and were imprisoned for a time, and their lives were very difficult.
This tragic childhood experience made Ying Zheng develop a tough but cruel personality since he was a child. When he became the King of Qin and had supreme power, this domineering personality was even more revealed.
Back then, after learning about the scandal of Zhao Ji and Lao Ai, Ying Zheng put their illegitimate son in a sack, threw it into a paste in front of his mother, and then imprisoned his mother Zhao Ji.
Ying Zheng can treat his biological mother without mercy, let alone Lu Buwei, the "Zhongfu"?
Win Zheng
However, Lu Buwei does not seem to have a clear understanding of this. He was proud of his "Zhongfu" and was once immersed in the great dream of assisting his son in destroying the six kingdoms and unifying the world. Little did he know that in Ying Zheng's eyes, he was even more annoying than the six countries.
For the people, as the prime minister, Lu Buwei is undoubtedly a powerful minister below one person, but in the face of the king, he is the "dog and horse" of the King of Qin, and he must always be suspicious and guard against his master.
In the political turmoil of Zheng State and Lao Ai, Lu Buwei's behavior was simply dancing in Ying Zheng's taboo area. He was in a high position but frequently damaged the interests of Qin State and frantically tested Ying Zheng's patience.
An ambitious monarch, he cannot allow anyone to pose a threat to his status and power, even if this person is his father.
Finally, when all the kindness is exhausted, only hatred remains for the monarch and ministers. Once this hatred arises from Ying Zheng's heart, it is destined to be with Lu Buwei forever.
It can be said that Lu Buwei is a failed speculator. He spent half his life in this political speculation, and was determined to seize the greatest political reward. For this reason, he even betrayed his concubine and the country. He had no position, only interests, and finally he was forced to commit suicide by Ying Zheng, who was supported to the throne with one hand, which was considered a consequence of his own gain.
Overall, Lu Buwei is a successful businessman. He is good at speculation, understands business principles best, and is well versed in the relationship between business and politics. He has thus become a generation of wealthy businessman. However, he was not a mature politician. He was a very powerful minister but could not properly handle the relationship between the king and the minister. In the end, he was destined to have to dig his own grave and die with regret.
It’s true that the mechanism is too smart and I’ve lost Qingqing’s life!
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