Chapter 11 Authority

In the 37th year of Qin Shi Huang (210 B.C.), Bingyin, July Bingyin, sand dunes.

It's another hot summer, and Ying Zheng's body is still lying in a luxurious sedan chair, and the subjects of the empire are unaware that their great leader has died on the parade.

In the last days of his life, Ying Zheng was accompanied by his most trusted prime minister Li Si and his most beloved youngest son Hu Hai. In particular, the youngest son Hu Hai was able to accompany his father to participate in such a major national government event as touring the world, which shows that he has high expectations in his father's heart. This is what the other 20 or so princes are jealous of and dare not speak out. After all, it is not common for a country to travel around the world, and there are only 5 times in Yingzheng's life, and this is his last.

Hu Hai really didn't expect that such a majestic father would leave at this time. He had never experienced such a major setback, having lived in a greenhouse all his life, and his mind felt blank.

Hu Hai was at a loss, and his sad cry alarmed the soldiers around him.

Li Si, who has been in power for a long time, was also shocked and sad, he didn't expect the bad news of the death of the Son of Heaven to come so quickly, after all, Yingzheng was only less than 50 years old at this time, and he could still do something. However, Li Si quickly put away his sadness, because he keenly felt that if such a major event was not handled well, it would inevitably cause social turmoil.

Lees decided to block the news of the emperor's death.

【Lis】

Li Si was mainly worried that the emperor died outside the capital, and the imperial court had not officially determined the crown prince, and the rash announcement of the news would inevitably cause suspicion and controversy among the princes.

Ying Zheng, who died suddenly, made a serious mistake by not yet identifying the successor of the empire. Because he always believed that the election of the heir was the most important national event, and it was the key to the development and survival of the Qin Dynasty. The choice of which prince to choose, and the choice of when to announce it, are likely to raise important political questions, and he needs time to think them through.

At that time, the highest prestige was not Hu Hai, the youngest son who accompanied Yingzheng, but Hu Hai's elder brother - Fusu.

Fusu was guarding the frontier in the far north at this time. This does not mean that Fusu is highly used and given great responsibilities. On the contrary, Fusu was banished here. Because the year before, at that important imperial court meeting to discuss the implementation of the feudal system or the county system, Fusu stood in the wrong queue and chose to support Dr. Chun Yuyue.

Yingzheng considers the successor, and Fusu will definitely not be the first choice. Because many of Fusu's political views are contrary to Yingzheng's, and more importantly, Fusu has repeatedly contradicted himself on important public occasions. On several key political issues, Fusu stood in opposition to itself, such as the dispute between the feudal system and the county system, the implementation of the book burning order, and so on. Fusu opposed the county system, opposed the burning of books and pit Confucianism, opposed the construction of the Great Wall in the north and the expedition to Baiyue in the south, opposed heavy taxes and forced labor, opposed the overhaul of the palace and the Lishan mausoleum, and opposed all the new policies of the Qin Dynasty. Fusu believes that these policies implemented by his father are wrong. He even thinks that his father is a tyrant, which makes Yingzheng angry.

Although Fusu's objective conditions are the most suitable, he is the eldest son, the most suitable age, seniority, high prestige, and relatively capable, and the ministers also recognize him the most. But unfortunately, Fusu did not agree with the new policy that Yingzheng was proud of, and the political philosophy of Fusu was too far from Yingzheng's political philosophy. What Yingzheng can't let go of the most is the empire he created single-handedly, the political system he created. The objective conditions of Fusu are the most consistent, but the subjective conditions are extremely inconsistent, which is the biggest headache for Yingzheng.

Ying Zheng originally planned to wait and see, maybe when Hu Hai grew up, he would pass on the throne to him. He wanted to cultivate Hu Hai as a successor.

However, when Yingzheng's life came to an end, he knew that Hu Hai was currently difficult to take on the big responsibility. Because Hu Hai is too young and too young, it is difficult for him to deal with the tense and complicated situation of the Qin Dynasty, and the foundation has not yet been solidified.

Therefore, Yingzheng could only retreat to the second best place and chose the most secure Fusu. When Yingzheng was dying, he issued his last edict, ordering Fusu to return to the capital Xianyang immediately to inherit the throne. At the last moment of Yingzheng's life, he still thought about the Qin Dynasty's thousands of achievements.

【Zhao Gao】

But the edict was not eventually issued or made public, but was intercepted by a eunuch. This eunuch was Zhao Gao, who was later scolded for a thousand years, and his duty at this time was to supervise and deliver the emperor's letters and seal the imperial seal, which was an important post.

Zhao Gao, who was once the legal master of the prince Hu Hai. He was familiar with the legal affairs of the Qin Dynasty, which was one of the most valued skills of the Qin Dynasty, as the Qin State had always been a country that respected the rule of law. The Qin Dynasty believed that as long as the procedures of the law were clarified and everyone acted in accordance with the provisions of the law, then the country would run smoothly. He also wrote calligraphy very well, and participated in the Qin Empire's unified writing project.

Familiarity with the law means being able to control the functioning of the country. Superb calligraphy means that you can quickly enter the field of vision of the leader. Zhao Gao understood this truth, so he studied law and calligraphy very hard, trying to change his fate by studying law and calligraphy. From this level, the eunuch Zhao Gao and the prime minister Li Si are actually the same kind of people, both eager to change their fate and master a good platform. Therefore, Zhao Gao understands Li Si and can also see Li Si's thoughts.

But Zhao Gao and Li Si are different. Li Si studied the essence of law, inner cultivation, and practical kung fu, and learned from the best law professors in the country. And Zhao Gao studied the form of law, which was rote memorization, just scratching the surface. Zhao Gao only knew that the law was like this, and he could do it himself. However, Li Si also needs to study why the law operates in this way, whether the law operates in this way, whether it is helpful to the country's development and social stability, and whether it contributes to it.

Zhao Gao is a legal craftsman, while Li Si is a legal artist.

This may be because Li Si himself has no support, nor does he have any capital, so he needs to learn his kung fu hard so that he can find a better platform, and his person is relatively free, he can give up his job to pursue his dreams, and have plenty of time to enrich himself. But Zhao Gao couldn't, Zhao Gao himself was born in the Qin clan and had superior family conditions, but he was implicated in his mother's violation of the criminal law and was detained in the palace to engage in low-level affairs. Zhao Gao's personal freedom is not at his disposal, he cannot quit his job to pursue his dreams, he can only master the most important skills in the shortest possible time.

【Zhao Gao】

Zhao Gao was really reluctant to send this edict to Fusu in the end, not only because his relationship with Hu Hai was closer, but also because he had committed a serious crime and was punished by Fusu's generals, Fusu would never reuse him, and might even punish him.

He didn't have a family or country in his heart, and these grand concepts not only felt ethereal to him, but also useless. He just wants to save his life, and he just wants to hold on to power. Only by firmly grasping the power can he save his own life, which he knows very well. Now is a critical moment in his life, and he must do everything he can to reverse his fate.

Zhao Gao did not hesitate and went straight to Hu Hai's carriage. When he saw Hu Hai, he went straight to the point and said, "The eldest son is the emperor, and the son has no size, so he can't do anything about it." (Fusu is about to inherit the throne, and you will have nothing, what can you do now?) ）

Hu Hai, who was indulging in sadness, had not yet reacted, and he was really surprised that he suddenly had to face such a life problem. Hu Hai had never actually thought about it, he didn't think about what he could do at all.

"The father sacrifices his life, and does not seal the sons, what can be said." Until this moment, Hu Hai still thinks in his heart that it is natural for his father not to divide the land for himself, and as a son, he has no reason to force it.

Of course, Zhao Gao is not just talking about dividing the land, but about a greater ambition - the world of the Qin Dynasty.

Hu Hai was terrified, he had never thought of such a rebellious thing as he had received a royal higher education since he was a child. It is unrighteous to abolish the elder brother, it is unfilial piety not to obey the father's edict, and it is impossible to be sparse and shallow, the three are against morality, the world is not satisfied, and the body is in danger, and it will inevitably be scolded by everyone!

Hu Hai is just a child. It didn't take much effort for Zhao Gao to convince Hu Hai. It is too simple to let Hu Hai accept his advice with peace of mind, after all, he grew up watching Hu Hai. The difficulty lies in convincing the actual controller of the current state affairs - Prime Minister Li Si.

【Lis】

Ying Zheng died suddenly, and Li Si only realized that this was a crossroads of the country, but he did not realize that this was also a crossroads in his life. At this time, he was still busy dealing with national government affairs, as well as dealing with various trivial matters after Yingzheng's death, such as how to not make others feel strange. He wants to give others the illusion that the emperor is still alive, and he has no time to think about his future.

When Zhao Gao came to his carriage and tried to win him over, Li Si hadn't even begun to think about it. However, at this time, he has no time to think about it, he must make a choice immediately, whether to choose Huhai or Fusu, which platform is the most beneficial to him.

Will Fusu believe me, will he accept me and reuse me? Will he share my political ideas? Will he appreciate my abilities? Will Hu Hai and Zhao Gao poison themselves? Should I surrender to Hu Hai? Lees's mind is very chaotic, and he must make the most important choice in his life in the shortest possible time.

But soon, Li Si found that he had no choice, and fate had forced him to turn to Hu Hai. Because whether it is from the perspective of retaining his own power or from the perspective of maintaining political ideas, it is impossible for him to choose Fusu. The political ideas advocated by Fusu were completely different from his own, and the new policies of the Qin Dynasty were almost all written by Li Si, and Fusu precisely believed that Li Si had misled his father Yingzheng. Or Zhao Gao is right, he must choose Hu Hai.

When Li Si made this choice, he didn't take Zhao Gao seriously at all, because he felt that Zhao Gao was just an inconspicuous servant in the court, and it was impossible to do much. But in the end, it turned out that he was wrong, Li Si was defeated by Zhao Gao, and the Qin Dynasty was defeated by Zhao Gao.

【Fusu】

Ying Zheng's edict was not delivered to Fusu in the end.

What Fusu received was another edict forged by Zhao Gao. This false edict accused Fusu of having no merit of size, resenting day and night, being unfilial to the son of man, and giving a sword to self-judge.

Since his father's rejection of all his proposals, Fusu's mood has been very low. This depressed mood became even stronger after being relegated to the north, he felt that his ideas were incompatible with his father's ideas, and he could not change his father's approach, and he was really ashamed of himself, the country, and the people.

During this time in the army, his mood was always depressed and he often couldn't sleep. When he received his father's last edict, he felt that the last straw that broke the camel's back had finally come, and that it was finally going to fall. The worst nightmare in my heart has finally come true.

Fusu, who advocates Confucian culture, has read poetry and books since he was a child, and is familiar with Confucian classics such as "Analects" and "Book of Rites". The king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die. Fusu wielded his sword and ended his life to follow his father.

In the autumn of this year, Hu Hai became the emperor and was the second. Zhao Gao was appointed as Lang Zhongling because of his meritorious service, and became the most trusted high-ranking official of the current emperor Hu Hai.

Prime Minister Li Si retained his position, thinking that everything would be like the Yingzheng era, and the track of the empire would continue to move in the original direction. But he didn't know that a different kind of dark age had come, and the best times had passed.