First of all, the profile of the character

Zhao Gao (? -before 207), won the surname Zhao. Qin Ershi is the Prime Minister. Zhao Gao, a distant relative of the Qin imperial clan, entered Qin Gong as a eunuch (this eunuch is not the eunuch of later generations). He used to be the official of CRRC and Fuxi, and he was "in charge for more than 20 years". After the death of Qin Shihuang, Zhao Gao staged a coup in the sand dunes. He conspired with Prime Minister Lisi to forge letters, forcing Fu Su, the eldest son of Qin Shihuang, to commit suicide, and made Hu Hai, the youngest son of the first emperor, emperor, Qin Ershi and doctor. During his tenure, he monopolized power, used power for personal gain, taxed more, and his administration was more harsh. In 208 BC, he designed and killed Li Si, and then he became the prime minister of the Qin Dynasty. In the third year, he forced Qin Ershi to commit suicide and made Zi Ying king of Qin. It was soon designed and killed by Zi Ying, killing three tribes.

Zhao Gao started as a eunuch, relying on the favor of Qin Ershi and Hu Hai, and pushed the tyrannical politics of the Qin Dynasty to the peak, thus accelerating its demise. Therefore, Lu Jia sighed: "The criminal law of Qin people will remain unchanged, and Zhao will be destroyed (referring to the demise of the Qin Dynasty)", while Liu Xiang, editor of Warring States Policy, even bluntly said: "The surname (that is, imperial clan, here referring to Zhao Gao) is king, and it is not easy for him to share the same surname, but he will die. Therefore, the king's rule over the world lies in the law, not in the belief in the same surname. "

Second, the story of referring to a deer as a horse:

After the death of Qin Shihuang, Zhao Gao and Li Si were dictatorial. In order to keep their power, they forged the "imperial edict", which made Fu Su, the eldest son of Qin Shihuang who should have inherited the throne, commit suicide, and controlled Hu Hai, the second son of Qin Wang, to become Qin Ershi. Zhao Gao became the prime minister of higher vocational education. Zhao Gao, who is "under one person and above ten thousand people", is still not satisfied, and he plans to usurp the throne day and night. However, he doesn't know how many ministers in North Korea can listen to him and how many people oppose him. So he thought of a way to test his prestige, and at the same time he could find out how many people dared to oppose him and who they were.

One day, Zhao Gao brought a deer into the palace and said to Qin Ershi with a big smile, "Your Majesty, I will give you a good horse." Qin Ershi looked at it and thought: This is not a horse, this is obviously a deer! He smiled and said to Zhao Gao, "The Prime Minister has made a mistake. There is a deer here. How can you say it's a horse? " Zhao Gao said with a straight face: "Please see clearly, this is indeed a swift horse." Qin Ershi looked at the deer again and said incredulously, "Why does a horse have horns on its head?" Zhao Gao turned around, pointed to the ministers and said loudly, "Your Majesty can ask the ministers if you don't believe me."

Ministers were all at a loss by Zhao Gao's nonsense, and whispered privately: What is this Zhao Gao doing? It's obviously a deer or a horse! Ministers see Zhao Gao sinister smile on his face, eyes staring at you in turn, suddenly understand Zhao Gao's intention.

Some timid people with a sense of justice dare not speak with their heads down, because they are sorry for their conscience by telling lies and are afraid of being framed by Zhao Gao in the future. Some honest people insist that this is a deer rather than a horse. There are also some adulterers who usually follow Zhao Gao closely and immediately support Zhao Gao's statement and say to the emperor, "This is indeed a swift horse!"

Therefore, Zhao Gao punished those honest ministers who did not obey him by various means, and even copied them. Since then, the idiom "refer to a deer as a horse" has been forgotten.

Third, the explanation that a deer is a horse:

Explanation: Point to the deer and say it is a horse. Metaphor deliberately turns black and white and confuses right and wrong.

From: Historical Records of the First Qin Emperor: "Zhao Gao wanted to make waves, and he was afraid that his ministers would not listen, so he set up a checkpoint first and offered a deer in the second place, saying,' Ma Ye.' II smiled and said,' Is the Prime Minister wrong? Call a deer a horse. Left ask right ask, left ask right ask, or silence, or say Ma Yishun Zhao Gao. "