PFC Chapter 52 Calling a Deer a Horse, The Wangyi Palace Coup
Chapter 52 Calling a Deer a Horse, The Wangyi Palace Coup
Because of Zhao Gao's instigation, the relationship between Li Si and Hu Hai reached a freezing point. Li Si was filled with fear and, in order to regain Hu Hai's trust, proposed a set of "supervision and accountability techniques".
In his memorial to the throne, Li Si said: If a wise ruler can implement the "art of supervision and accountability", his ministers will not dare not serve the king wholeheartedly; if a ruler cannot implement the "art of supervision and accountability", such as Yao and Shun, he will be more hardworking than the common people and will suffer.
What is the "art of supervision and accountability"?
In reality, it was a combination of harsh laws and the monarch's autocratic rule.
Li Si said, "Only an enlightened ruler can severely punish minor offenses. If even minor offenses are severely punished, how much more so serious offenses? Therefore, the people dare not commit crimes."
This means imposing severe punishments on officials and common people for minor offenses, so that no one dares to act rashly.
A monarch must exercise absolute authority over his subjects, control them, and not be influenced by them.
Li Si believed that only such a monarch could do whatever he wanted.
By implementing the "method of supervision and accountability," the officials and the people will not dare to rebel, and the monarch's position will be secure.
Li Si's advocacy of "the art of supervision and accountability" stemmed from both his attempt to curry favor with Hu Hai and his inheritance of Legalist thought. In his memorial to the throne, he repeatedly quoted the words of Bu Hai and Han Fei to support his views.
However, Li Si put it more bluntly. The foolish and ridiculous Hu Hai, disregarding the resistance of the people, adopted Li Si's "method of supervision and accountability".
Afterwards, those who committed numerous murders were hailed as "loyal ministers," while those who were cruel were labeled as "wise officials," causing widespread resentment throughout the land. With the contradictions escalating, this undoubtedly worsened the already dire political situation of the Qin Dynasty.
In July of the second year of Hu Hai's reign (208 BC), after a series of meticulous plans, Zhao Gao finally fabricated charges against Li Si, which could no longer be changed.
Li Si, escorted to the execution ground by being cut in half at the waist, was filled with remorse, but it was too late. If he hadn't been greedy for personal gain during the Sand Dune Plot, how could he have ended up like this?
Hu Hai's incompetence and Zhao Gao's malice were things he had not foreseen. This prime minister, whose merits and demerits were mixed, lamented on his deathbed: "Now half the country has rebelled, yet they are still not awake. With Zhao Gao as their assistant, I will surely see the enemy reach Xianyang, and deer roaming the court."
Inside Xianyang, Li Si was executed by being cut in half at the waist for treason. This once highly accomplished statesman thus ended his life.
After Li Si's death, Zhao Gao ascended to the position he had always dreamed of, rightfully becoming the prime minister, and making all military and political decisions.
By this time, the Qin Dynasty had long lost the glory and grandeur of its early years under Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
Zhao Gao had long since stopped taking Hu Hai seriously. He believed that the Qin Dynasty's fate was sealed and that he was in the best position to usurp power, so he began to plot how to change the Qin Dynasty's rule.
He had no idea how many of the court officials would listen to him or how many would oppose him.
So he devised a plan to test his authority and find out who dared to oppose him. He first went to Huhai's palace and gave Huhai a inflammatory report on the uprisings and anti-Qin movements in various places. He also said that half of the ministers in the court did not come to the palace to discuss matters, making it impossible for him, the prime minister, to issue decrees and orders.
Hu Hai said anxiously, "Given this situation, what should we do?"
"If Your Majesty attends court and personally governs, things might be easier," Hu Hai said. "That's easy. I'll hold court early tomorrow."
The next morning at court, Zhao Gao appeared leading a deer, which surprised the court officials and sparked much discussion.
When Hu Hai arrived, Zhao Gao greeted him with a beaming smile, saying, "Your Majesty, this is a fine steed, which I have specially prepared for you today."
Hu Hai looked at it and thought, "This isn't a horse, it's clearly a deer!" He pointed at the deer and laughed, saying to Zhao Gao, "Prime Minister, you've made a mistake. This is a deer, how can you say it's a horse?"
Zhao Gao, without batting an eye, said, "Your Majesty, please look carefully; this is indeed a fine steed."
Hu Hai looked at the deer again, and said with some doubt, "How can a horse have antlers?"
Zhao Gao turned around, pointed at the assembled ministers, and said loudly, "If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can ask the ministers."
Hu Hai looked around at his ministers and asked them to give their opinions.
The ministers looked at each other, bewildered by Zhao Gao's utter nonsense, and muttered among themselves: What is Zhao Gao up to? Isn't it obvious whether it's a deer or a horse?
When the ministers saw the smile on Zhao Gao's face and his eyes darting around, they understood his intention.
Some timid but righteous people lowered their heads and dared not speak, because telling the truth would betray their conscience, while telling the truth would risk being harmed by Zhao Gao in the future.
Some honest people insist that it is a deer, not a horse.
A clever person stepped forward and said, "This is a horse."
After speaking, he looked at Zhao Gao, who showed a satisfied expression.
"This is indeed a thoroughbred!" Several more people chimed in. The rest remained silent.
Hu Hai began to doubt his own judgment. He asked everyone in court to speak, but only one or two people said, "It is a deer."
Hu Hai thought he was ill and that's why he mistook a horse for a deer, so he summoned the Grand Diviner in the palace who was in charge of divination and asked him to cast a divination for him.
The Grand Diviner, acting on Zhao Gao's instructions, solemnly declared, "Your Majesty, in the spring you offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth and honored the ancestral temples and spirits, but your fasting was not earnest, and you did not strictly adhere to the taboos, resulting in today's inability to distinguish between deer and horses. Now you must follow the example of the most virtuous and holy ruler and solemnly and earnestly perform the ritual of fasting."
Hu Hai believed the words of the diviner and, under Zhao Gao's arrangement, went to Shanglin Garden to fast and abstain from sexual activity.
Hu Hai, ostensibly fasting in the Shanglin Garden, actually spent his days hunting and playing games. One day, he drew his bow and shot a passerby who had mistakenly entered the garden to death.
When Zhao Gao heard about this, he told Hu Hai to focus on recuperating and to act as if nothing had happened.
But Hu Hai felt very awkward and was depressed every day.
One night, he had a nightmare in which he was riding a horse and hunting in a hazy state when suddenly a tiger jumped out of the jungle and killed his horse. He woke up in a fright.
The next day, he ordered someone to find a diviner to interpret his dream. A long time passed, and the diviner did not arrive. Instead, Zhao Gao came before him and asked with concern, "I heard Your Majesty had a dream and wanted to find someone to interpret it, but I stopped them. Think about it, there are rebel armies everywhere now. If the diviners knew you were unwell and passed this message on to the rebels, they could seize the opportunity to attack, and everything would be over."
Upon hearing this, Hu Hai suddenly realized his mistake and said to Zhao Gao, "I was truly foolish. It is all thanks to your reminder, Prime Minister."
Zhao Gao quickly said, "Your Majesty, my analysis of your dream suggests that you killed an innocent person without cause, which is unacceptable to your heart and also unacceptable to Heaven. If this happens, the spirits will not accept the offerings, and Heaven will send down calamities. Now, your only way to avoid disaster is to leave the palace."
Hu Hai continued to follow Zhao Gao's advice and went to Wangyi Palace, eight miles outside the city, to avoid disaster.
Meanwhile, the rebel army was growing stronger day by day.
After the failure of the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising, the anti-Qin rebels led by Xiang Yu and Liu Bang continued their anti-Qin campaign with even greater momentum.
In the Battle of Julu (southwest of present-day Pingxiang County, Hebei Province) in the third year of Qin Er Shi's reign, the main force of the Qin army was defeated by Xiang Yu, losing all its elite troops, and the general Wang Li was captured.
The people rose up in rebellion and charged straight towards Xianyang City, their advance unstoppable.
Soon after, Liu Bang, who had raised an army in Pei County, stormed into the border and marched straight towards Hangu Pass.
Zhang Han, having failed to secure assistance and fearing punishment from the court for a defeat, led his 12-strong army to surrender.
Seeing an opportunity, the former nobles of the six states declared themselves kings and marched westward together. Zhang Han's defection dealt a heavy blow to the already crumbling Qin Dynasty.
What finally broke the camel's back was Zhang Ling's declaration that the whole country should rise up and purge the court of corrupt officials!
Subsequently, Lord Ningguo Zhang Sili and Lord Xunquan Zhao Sineng led their troops out of Chencang Road to Guanzhong, while Zhang Ling himself led his elite troops out of Baoxie Road to Guanzhong.
After learning of Zhang Ling's uprising, Hu Hai, who had been moved by Zhao Gao to Wangyi Palace outside the city, was unable to eat or sleep properly. He fasted and observed abstinence at Wangyi Palace every day, living in constant fear.
He sent an envoy to question Zhao Gao: "Didn't the Prime Minister always say that the bandits in Guandong couldn't pose a threat and that the King of Liang wouldn't rebel? How did things come to this!"
Zhao Gao was already alarmed when he heard that Zhang Ling had raised an army. Now that Hu Hai had become suspicious and dissatisfied with him, if he did not act soon, things might get complicated later.
He understood that the troops stationed in Jiangcheng were no match for Zhang Sili and Zhao Sineng, and that defeat was inevitable in this battle.
Driven by the desire to experience being emperor even before his death, Zhao Gao summoned his brother, the physician Zhao Cheng, and his son-in-law, the magistrate of Xianyang, Yan Le, to discuss how to preemptively launch a coup and depose Huhai.
Zhao Gao was in charge of directing the overall operation, while Zhao Cheng, the physician, was chosen as an inside agent because he had free access to the palace, and Yan Le was the main attacker.
After everything was arranged, Zhao Cheng spread rumors in the palace, pretending that there were thieves and ordering Yan Le to send troops to pursue them, which left the palace defenses weak.
Meanwhile, Yan Le instructed some of his personal guards to disguise themselves as peasant soldiers, kidnap his mother, and secretly send her to Zhao Gao's house. At the same time, he led more than a thousand men to Wangyi Palace under the pretense of pursuing thieves.
They rushed to the palace gates and shouted at the gatekeepers, "Robbers have entered the palace! Why didn't you stop them?"
The gatekeeper was baffled and asked, "The palace is heavily guarded inside and out, how could a thief have entered?"
Without allowing any explanation, Yan Le swiftly drew his sword, killed the gatekeeper, and stormed into Wangyi Palace.
They hacked down anyone they encountered and shot arrows at anyone they saw; in an instant, the palace was filled with flying blood and flesh, a gruesome sight. The Imperial Guards were terrified; some fled, while others fought desperately.
Before long, all the fiercely resisting guards were killed in battle, and Yan Le and his men broke into the inner room.
Hearing the sounds of fighting in the courtyard, Hu Hai was already terrified.
Just then, a stray arrow flew in through the window and knocked down the bed curtains behind him.
Hu Hai was so frightened by what he saw that he was speechless and his whole body went limp. It wasn't until Zhao Cheng and Yan Le walked in that he understood what had happened.
Hu Hai was both shocked and furious. He hurriedly summoned his attendants to protect him, but they had already fled. Only one eunuch stood by his side.
He grabbed the eunuch's clothes and screamed hysterically, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Now look what's happened! What am I supposed to do?!"
The eunuch mustered his courage and said, "It is precisely because I dared not speak normally that I have survived to this day. Otherwise, I would have been executed by the Emperor long ago."
Upon hearing this, Hu Hai deflated like a punctured balloon, hanging his head in dejection. He realized that he had indeed brought this situation upon himself.
Yan Le rushed in front of Hu Hai, who retreated while trembling as he said, "I am the Son of Heaven, how dare you murder me!"
Yan Le retorted fiercely, "You arrogant and tyrannical ruler, you plunder the people's wealth and harm the innocent; everyone in the world has the right to kill you. What else do you have to say?"
Hu Hai, still clinging to a desperate hope that Zhao Gao could save him, asked tremblingly, "May I see the Prime Minister?"
Yan Le flatly refused: "No way!"
Hu Hai, still unwilling to give up, pleaded with a mournful face, "Then, could I be given the title of a prince? Or even a marquis with ten thousand households?" Ge Le shook his head. Hu Hai cried out in despair, "As long as I can save my life, I'd rather be a commoner!"
Yan Le said impatiently, "I am here on the orders of the Prime Minister to rid the world of a tyrant. No matter what you say, it's useless. Just kill yourself!"
Only then did Hu Hai realize that the mastermind behind this palace coup was none other than Zhao Gao, whom he respected and trusted immensely. He was heartbroken and filled with remorse, but there was nothing he could do. He could only take one last, wistful look around the magnificent palace, recall his extravagant and comfortable life of the past, grit his teeth, draw his sword, and cry out, "My father is the First Emperor, and I am the Second Emperor. What am I doing?" Then he drew his sword and committed suicide.
Yan Le returned to Xianyang and reported to Zhao Gao that Qin Er Shi (Hu Hai) had died.
Zhao Gao was overjoyed upon hearing this. He immediately took out the seal of Qin Er Shi, which he had kept for many days, and put it on his body, preparing to ascend the throne and usurp the throne.
Meanwhile, the body of Qin Er Shi Hu Hai was still lying in Wangyi Palace. Zhao Gao treated him like an ordinary commoner, hastily prepared a coffin, and haphazardly buried him in Du Nan Yichun Palace.
Zhao Gao, fully armed, took a bronze mirror and carefully examined himself. The more he looked, the more he felt he resembled an emperor, and he danced with joy.
However, to his utter surprise, everyone in the palace, from the eunuchs to the officials, simply stared at him coldly, without uttering a word; the palace was utterly silent.
Since Zhao Gao had already donned the emperor's robes, he was in a bind and had no choice but to become emperor. Besides, his long-cherished wish was to reach the pinnacle of power.
Today the opportunity has come. Although the officials opposed him with silence, Zhao Gao didn't care. He just thought that whoever persisted to the end would be the victor. He wanted to test his endurance with the ministers.
Zhao Gao, dressed in the emperor's robes and wearing the emperor's jade seal, ascended the palace. As soon as he sat on the emperor's throne, he noticed that the palace was shaking violently, as if it was about to collapse. Zhao Gao was so frightened that he hurriedly retreated from the palace.
Zhao Gao was not giving up and tried twice more, but each time he had the same feeling.
However, the thought that Zhang Ling's army was about to besiege the city made him grit his teeth and decide to ascend the throne and experience being an emperor.
At this moment, a minister stepped forward, glaring at him and angrily shouted, "Who are you? What makes you think you are the ruler of the state?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Le immediately drew his sword, ready to strike: "Insolence! How dare you disrespect the Emperor!"
"What a joke! What kind of emperor is Zhao Gao? He doesn't deserve the title!"
"You bastard, Zhao Gao was nothing but a dog kept by the First Emperor, and you, Yan Le, are even more so a dog kept by that Zhao dog!"
"Yan Le, you son of a bitch!"
The ministers, who usually obeyed Zhao Gao's every word and were terrified of him, now seemed to have lost their minds, and they all accused and insulted Zhao Gao and Yan Le.
Perhaps the news of Zhang Ling's uprising made them feel that Qin could still be saved, or perhaps they were truly loyal to Qin; no one knows why.
Some of the more agitated ministers even disregarded decorum and began to beat Yan Le.
They wouldn't stop until they had beaten Yan Le to death, turning him into a bloody pulp before they finally gave up.
Zhao Gao watched all this without saying a word or making any move.
He knew his dream of becoming emperor was about to be shattered, because not only did the officials disagree and the ministers disobey, but the palace was also about to collapse, which even Heaven itself did not agree to!
Man proposes, God disposes. Faced with this predicament, Zhao Gao backed down. In front of all the officials, he took off the emperor's robes, removed the emperor's jade seal, and walked out expressionlessly.