Strange life experience
At the end of the Warring States period, the struggle between countries was extremely fierce. Qin was one of the Seven Heroes at that time. Qin Zhaowang, the great grandfather of Qin Shihuang, listened to Fan Ju? Far attack near attack? Our strategy is to target the neighboring countries, South Korea and Wei, and unite with Zhao in the distance. According to the practice at that time, the two countries exchanged hostages to show their sincerity. Qin sent Qin Shihuang's father to see Zhao, not the grandson of the son of the prince (Qin Shihuang's grandfather). Zi Chu's mother, The Last Month Of Summer, is not favored by Ann Guo Jun, while Zi Chu is in the middle of more than 20 sons of Ann Guo Jun, not the eldest son, so her status is very low. She chose him when she chose the hostage, so he was sent to Zhao and survived as a hostage.
At that time, Lv Buwei, a wealthy businessman in Yangzhai, passed by Handan, the capital of Zhao State, and met a man who was good at speculating and profiting. When he met Zi Chu, he felt it? Strange goods can live? I used him to earn fame and fortune, so I fell in love with it. Being in a foreign country, Zi Chu felt lonely. Now someone cares so much about himself, which not only makes him grateful, but also makes them become good friends.
Lv Buwei decided to try his best to make Zi Chu not only return to the state of Qin, but also play an important role in the state of Qin, so he made a series of careful plans? He was very familiar with the inside story of Qin State at that time, and knew that Mrs. Huayang was Ann's favorite, but Mrs. Huayang had no son, so she made up her mind to let Mrs. Huayang take her stepson Chu as her son. Then, after Prince Ann Guo Jun acceded to the throne, Zi Chu is also a prince, and will certainly make countless money by using special political capital.
So Lv Buwei took her daughter out and made friends with Zi Chu. He himself went to Qin with a lot of rare treasures. When he arrived in Qin, he first found Mrs. Huayang's sister. Lv Buwei showed his eloquence, saying that Zi Chu was wise, smart, made friends all over the world, and ambitious. Although I am in a foreign land, I miss Ann Guo Jun and Mrs Huayang every day, and sometimes I burst into tears. Lv Buwei also persuaded Mrs. Huayang's sister to lobby Mrs. Huayang to adopt one of her sons as soon as possible, so that she can be a Chu Jun. Otherwise, what can we rely on when she is old and faded? Now being held hostage by Zhao, I miss the Prince and his wife day and night. Why not seize this opportunity to make Zichu his heir? Chu will be grateful in this way, and his wife will have a lifetime of support. Why not?
Although deeply loved by the prince, childless has always been the concern of Mrs. Huayang. After some lobbying by her sister, Mrs Huayang readily agreed to Lv Buwei's request, so she persuaded him to make Zi Chu his successor with the love of a Guo Junren.
Since then, Zi Chu's situation and status have changed greatly: Ann Guo Jun and Mrs Huayang gave Zi Chu enough money and asked Lv Buwei to be his teacher to help Zi Chu. The friendship between Lv Buwei and Zi Chu is getting deeper and deeper. Together, they are looking forward to Zi Chu's return to China to become a prince, preparing for the day when he succeeds to the throne.
Lv Buwei is a visionary. At this time, he has already begun to prepare for the future relying on Zi Chu to make great achievements in the State of Qin. First of all, he spared no expense to buy Evonne, a famous geisha in Handan, as his concubine. After she became pregnant, Lv Buwei said to her: I want to go to Qin to seek the world. Now he is Zhao's hostage, and he is not married. I want to give you to him, because he will definitely return to Qin, and he will definitely reign. After his death, our son will be regarded as the son of Zi Chu and inherit the throne. So isn't the world of Qin State ours? Evonne agreed.
So Lv Buwei deliberately created an opportunity for Zi Chu to meet Evonne. When Zi Chu saw Zhao Ji, he was immediately fascinated by Evonne's elegance and style, and Lv Buwei seized the opportunity? Generous? The beauty was slowly given away, but the fact that the beauty was pregnant was concealed. Appreciated Zi Chu immediately said that if he is the king of Qin in the future, he will enjoy wealth with Lv Buwei.
After Zi Chu got Zhao Ji, he and Evonne saved for a rainy day. Eight months later, Zhao Ji gave birth to a son, and so did Zi Chu? Your own? The first son was named Zheng because the child was born on the first day of the first lunar month. Later renamed Zheng, because he was born in Zhao, so he called it.
Three years later, when Qin and Zhao were at odds and Handan was besieged, Zhao tried to kill Qin when he was besieged. So, he bought off the guarding city officials with a lot of money, which made him escape from Handan and return to Qin. Zhao Zheng and his mother escaped the fatal disaster under the cover of their grandmother's house.
When Zi Chu returned to Qin State to meet Mrs. Huayang, she cried and told her feelings of parting for many years. Because Mrs Huayang was originally a Chu woman, Zi Chu deliberately changed to wear Chu clothes. Mrs Huayang was very excited and said to Chu. I am a native of Chu, you can bend my mind, and I am willing to raise you as my son. ? So Zi Chu worshiped Mrs Huayang, the crown princess who was only three years older than him and had no children, as his mother. From then on, I greet you in the morning and evening, and I am very diligent.
Six years later, in 2 15 BC, Zhao Xiang, king of Qin, died and Guo Jun ascended the throne. This is King Xiaowen of Qin, Mrs Huayang is the queen, and Zi Chu is the prince. At this time, the relationship between Qin and Zhao was restored to the former friendly state, and Qin Shihuang and his mother were able to return to Qin. Emperor Xiaowen of Qin reigned for a short time. He first mourned for his father for a year, and died only three days after he officially ascended the throne. So he acceded to the throne as the king of Qin, that is, the king of Qin Zhuang, the wife of Huayang as the queen mother of Huayang, the biological mother as the queen mother of Xia, the queen and the heir. At this time, Zhao Zheng returned to the State of Qin, so he changed his name to Ying Zheng. Zi Chu didn't break his original promise. He not only made himself prime minister, but also made him an official, eating 100 thousand households in Luoyang, Henan Province, and having tens of thousands of children. Lv Buwei finally realized his long-cherished wish through speculation.
Zi Chu was exhausted by Xue Jing because of his chaotic life in the palace. He died of a stroke four years after he ascended the throne, at the age of 36. So in 247 BC, Ying Zheng, who had just turned 13 years old, ascended the throne of the king of Qin. Because of her youth, the Queen Mother Zhao Ji listened to politics and appointed Lv Buwei to handle state affairs. Guan zhong? .
Strive to swallow six countries
At that time, the relationship between Evonne and Lv Buwei was very good. Now, although she became the queen mother, she has a prominent position, but she has been widowed for a long time and can't stand the loneliness in the palace, so she and Lv Buwei came together again. However, as Ying Zheng grew up day by day, Lv Buwei was afraid that adultery would be exposed and lead to death, so he found himself a body double. He recommended Laoyi to Evonne and asked Laoyi to pretend to be a eunuch and serve Evonne in the palace. From then on, Evonne and Laoyi were insatiable in the harem, and Evonne soon became pregnant. Laoyi and Evonne colluded with each other, bribed fortune tellers, and lied that the palace was bad for the Queen Mother and they wanted to move to avoid disaster. Ying Zheng didn't know there was fraud, so he asked his mother to move to the Lama Temple. From then on, the mother and son were not in the same place, so don't worry, so that Evonne gave birth to two baby boys in succession, and Ying Zheng didn't know it. On the contrary, at his mother's request, he gave Lao Ai a long letter and gave thousands of handmaiden and food to his city, Yang Shan.
In this way, there are two people around Ying Zheng who pose a threat to his regime: one is Lv Buwei and the other is Ai. In the eighth year of the King of Qin, that is, in 239 BC, Ying Zheng was 21 years old. According to the old system of Qin, the coronation ceremony was held in the second year, and then he could take power. And Lao Yi demonstrated to him at this time, especially Lao Yi relied on his influence to privately divide the land, seal the Hou, and even secretly conspired with their illegitimate child to make them king. However, Ying Zheng remained silent in the face of provocation, but held a coronation ceremony as planned, secretly looking for opportunities to eradicate the threat.
Although Lao Ai's authority is increasing day by day, he is an ordinary person after all. When he is proud, he will inevitably get carried away. One day, he got drunk with a minister and had an argument with him. Lao Ai scolded each other and said, I am the fake father of the King of Qin. How dare you quarrel with me? Don't you know how to compete blindly like bats? Unwilling to be humiliated, the minister told Ying Zheng these words. When Ying Zheng heard the news, he flew into a rage and immediately sent someone to investigate secretly. Later, I got a tip-off that Lao Ai was not a eunuch, but had an affair with the Queen Mother and gave birth to a child. After learning the news, Lao Ai was unwilling to do nothing, so he forged letters to take the opportunity to rebel and killed Ying Zheng. The result was put down by Qin Shihuang, who had long been on guard. Lao Ai was arrested, eventually dismembered by five horses, and three families were killed. His accomplices killed more than 20 people, involving as many as 4000 people. Two illegitimate children born to Empress Zhao and Lao Ai were also killed, and Empress Zhao was placed under house arrest. Finally, under the persuasion of his ministers, Ying Zheng personally took his mother back to Xianyang.
Lv Buwei sent false eunuch into the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager and committed the crime of deceiving the monarch. They were supposed to sit together, but because they were former Wang Ligong, they were removed from the title of Prime Minister and ordered to hang out in the countryside of Henan. Lv Buwei lived in Henan for more than a year, and the vassal states of Shandong sent more envoys to inquire, and the envoys came in an endless stream. After this incident was known by Ying Zheng, in order to prevent him from plotting regime change, Ying Zheng sent someone to send Lv Buwei a suicide note, in which Lv Buwei was reprimanded. What contribution have you made to the state of Qin, but you can seal Luoyang and eat 100 thousand yuan? What is your relationship with Qin, but you got the title of Guanzhong? Go to Xishu! ? After reading the letter, Lv Buwei sighed and almost cried. He thought that if he told Ying Zheng that he was his biological father, Ying Zheng, who was violent and arrogant, would never let himself go in order not to expose his dirty laundry, but if he went to Xishu, there would be no good result. After careful consideration, he thought it would be better to commit suicide, so as not to suffer. He took the wine, barely swallowed it, and died instantly. A few years later, Evonne also died. After Evonne's death, Ying Zheng quietly buried his mother in Zi Chu's mausoleum.
At this point, Zheng Can can be said to have eliminated all opponents who posed a threat to his regime, so he began to take military action against the six countries. Under Ying Zheng, there are a group of talented civil servants and military commanders. With their assistance, Ying Zheng adopted the policy of "making far-reaching friends and attacking near", concentrating its forces, making it easy first, then difficult, breaking through in the middle, then sweeping its wings, and finally destroying it. Seize the opportunity in time in the implementation. Flexibly changing the main attack direction, military attack accompanied by political disintegration, the combination of the two was handy, which accelerated the process of reunification, and it took ten years to destroy the six countries and unify China.
Korea was the first to be wiped out. In the 14th year of the Qin Dynasty, that is, in 233 BC, South Korea ceded territory to become a vassal, which failed to save the fate of extinction. Three years later, Qin captured the king of South Korea and destroyed South Korea. Then the State of Qin attacked the State of Zhao, captured the King of Zhao, and Gongzijia fled to Dai Jun, known as Daiwang. In the twenty-fifth year of the King of Qin, Dai Wang was also captured, and Zhao finally perished.
In the twentieth year of the King of Qin, General Wang Jianling led his troops to attack Yan. To the west of Yishui, Qin defeated Yan and Dai. Capture Ji Cheng (now Beijing), the capital of Yan State. The prince fled to Liaodong. Later, the prince had to kill Taizi Dan, who sent Jing Ke to assassinate the king of Qin, and dedicated his head to Qin Jun for peace. By the twenty-fifth year of Qin dynasty, the last prince? I caught it and lost my face. At the same time, Wei was destroyed by Qin Jun.
In the twenty-third year of the King of Qin, Qin Jun attacked the State of Chu, but was defeated by the Chu army because of too few troops. The King of Qin sent veteran Wang Jian to war, followed his advice and gave 600,000 troops. As a result, it took Wang Jian three years to finally win the state of Chu.
Qi was finally wiped out. When Qin fought against the other five countries in succession, Qi not only stood by and made an alliance with Qin, but didn't realize that his future was the same as that of the other five countries. Therefore, Qi did not make any preparations for war. When the Five Kingdoms were destroyed in the twenty-sixth year of the King of Qin, Qi sent troops to prepare for the resistance to Qin and broke off diplomatic relations with Qin, but it was too late. After Wang Ben, the general of the State of Qin, finally destroyed the State of Yan, he led a large-scale army south and captured the King of Qi alive in World War I. Since then, after the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, feudalism formed on the land of China ended and the six countries were unified in Qin. The territory of Qin is extremely vast, starting from the Great Wall and Yinshan Mountain in the north and reaching Vietnam in the south, which is now the Lingnan area. Qin also set up Nanhai, Guilin and other places for management. The western boundary of the territory is Longxi and the eastern boundary extends to Liaodong.
At this point, Ying Zheng was only 39 years old.
Carry out reform and build an empire
After the unification of the six countries, Ying Zheng thought he was highly respected in Huang San and contributed to the five emperors, so he called the emperor and the emperor together? The emperor? So he called himself the first emperor, which means that from now on, all the emperors in China are called emperors. Zheng Gang is called the first emperor, which means that his descendants have been called II, III and even the whole world since he started. He carried out a set of reform measures to maintain the unification of the feudal empire, which played a great role in the unification and development of China's politics, economy and culture.
According to Qin Shihuang, if the emperor wants to master the political power of the whole country, he can no longer enfeoffment governors and manage a place like the Western Zhou Dynasty, which leads to the final independence of governors, uncontrolled central government and chaos in the world. So he abolished the enfeoffment system since the Yin and Zhou Dynasties and implemented the county system, that is, the whole country was divided into 36 counties, which had jurisdiction over counties. The chief is the chief, and the chief has two names, one is the county magistrate (more than 10,000) and the other is the county magistrate (less than 10,000). Below the county level are Xiang, Ting, Li, Shi and Wu, which is a paramilitary management system. Five grassroots people are a unit, and the corporal is responsible. What is made up of ten, and who is in charge.
Set up three officials and nine ministers in the central government to assist the emperor in handling state affairs. Sangong is the Prime Minister, Qiu and an imperial envoy. The prime minister is the chief executive, who assists the emperor in handling government affairs and is also responsible for managing civil and military officials. Qiu is the highest military and political chief in charge of military affairs, but he has no military power at ordinary times and has to obey the emperor's orders in wartime. Moreover, he needed the emperor's Jeff to mobilize the army, and the military power was actually in the hands of the emperor. The inspector is responsible for supervising officials and is also the deputy prime minister. Imperial edicts are generally handed over to the prime minister for execution by the imperial censor.
Under the three fairs is Jiuqing: Feng Chang, who is in charge of ancestral temple etiquette; Langzhongling, responsible for conveying the emperor's orders and the emperor's guards; Wei Yan, the chief bodyguard of the imperial court, is responsible for the daily guards of the emperor's residence; Servants, whose main job is to serve the emperor and take charge of his chariots and horses; Ting Wei, in charge of national judicial affairs, is responsible for hearing major cases; Temple branch, responsible for the country's external affairs and internal minority affairs; Living in Zheng Zheng is an official who specializes in royal affairs; Manage the internal history of Ji Xia, manage the central finance, and be responsible for the national tax work; Shaofu was the emperor's private financial official, who managed all the Yamazawa Lake and palace handicrafts of the emperor.
The management of officials in the Qin Dynasty was very strict, and many laws were enacted to punish officials. Officials who break the law are not privileged as in the Western Zhou Dynasty, but are given heavier punishment. This made the bureaucracy of the Qin Dynasty very clear and the efficiency of the government extremely high. The requirements for officials are very strict, and they must be familiar with the law, but they are also given high positions.
In this way, from the central government to the local government, all rights were concentrated on the emperor, which greatly strengthened the centralization of monarchy.