"Historical Records"

It shows that "Li Si's Biography" is one of the famous chapters in "Historical Records" and has high historical and literary value.

The social and political background of "Li Si's Biography" is extremely broad. In fact, it almost involves the entire rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty. The rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty has a lot to do with Li Si. For example, Li Si's advice and resistance Zhuke summed up the historical experience of the Qin State in reusing guest ministers and reforming to strengthen itself. In fact, it put forward the general policy of employing people on their merits regardless of nationality. Qin Shihuang adopted this policy and "in more than twenty years, he actually united the world." The demise of the Qin Dynasty was directly related to the conspiracy of the ambitious Zhao Gao. The success of Zhao Gao's conspiracy was closely related to Li Si's greed for wealth and position and helping others to do evil. There is no separate biography of Zhao Gao in "Historical Records" (Volume 88, "Biography of Meng Tian" also only talks about his life experience and individual plots). His conspiracy activities are all narrated in this biography. In this way, this biography has a certain meaning. Speaking of which, it also has the nature of a joint biography with Zhao Gao.

The main literary feature of this biography is that it is good at psychological description. For example, at the beginning of this biography, the author chose a typical event in Li Si’s early life, that is, he saw the rat in the toilet and the granary. The rats in the story are both rats but in different situations. From this, we realize that humans are just like rats. Whether they are promising or not is determined by their environment. This means that those who climb to high positions will naturally be promising, and those who will be reduced to low status will naturally be promising. The lower class people are naturally incompetent, which reflects Li Si's admiration for wealth and glory.

In the twenty-seventh year of Qin Shihuang (210 BC), the First Emperor died of illness in Shaqiu (now northeast of Pingxiang, Hebei Province). He left an edict and ordered his son to help Su return to Xianyang for the funeral. Zhao Gao withheld the edict and wanted to make Hu Hai emperor so that he could usurp power. But this must be approved by Li Si before the conspiracy can succeed. Therefore, Zhao Gao used all his skills to persuade Li Si using threats, inducements, and both soft and hard tactics. Li Si began to denounce it as "the words of ruining the country", and then ordered: "You are rebelling against your throne!" Then he persuaded you: "Don't say anything more, you will offend me." Then he warned: "You are just like a human being. , stay safe!" His mood changed from anger to calmness, his tone changed from harshness to gentleness, and the trajectory of his psychological changes was clearly visible. Zhao Gao finally said: "If you listen to the advice of your ministers, you will always have a title, and you will be an orphan for generations. You will have the longevity of Qiao Song and the wisdom of Confucius and Mo. If you refuse to obey the order, it will harm your descendants, which is enough to chill your heart." Good people turn misfortunes into blessings, so where can you go? "The difference between high and low and poor all lies in "one's own place". This was Li Si's own theory. Zhao Gao used it to completely defeat Li Si. Li Si looked up to the sky and sighed, weeping and sighing. : "Hey! I'm alone in troubled times, and since I can't die, I'm going to take care of my life!" By now, Li Si had completely surrendered.

In addition, this biography contains almost most of Li Si's important articles. In addition to having their own literary and historical value, these articles are mainly important in revealing Li Si's character, psychology and overall conduct. effect. For example, the "Book of Remonstrance and Chasing Guests" shows Li Si's talent, wisdom and insights, while the "Book of Remonstrance to the Second Emperor" shows his character traits of coveting status and being licentious.

In short, although the author disapproves of Li Si's conduct, his description and comments are objective and fair.

Li Si was a native of Shangcai, Chu State. When he was young, he worked as a clerk in the county. He saw rats eating dirty food in the toilet near his office. Whenever someone or a dog came near, he would be frightened and run away. Later, Li Si walked into the granary and saw the rats in the granary. They ate the accumulated corn and lived under the big house without worrying about being disturbed by people or dogs. So Li Si sighed with emotion: "Whether a person is promising or not is determined by the environment he is in, just like a mouse."

So Li Si learned from Xunzi how emperors govern the world. . After completing his studies, Li Si judged that the King of Chu was not worthy of serving. The six kingdoms were already weak and there was no hope of making contributions to them, so he wanted to go west to Qin. Before leaving, he said farewell to Xunzi: "I heard that if a person encounters an opportunity, he must not miss it. Now every vassal state is fighting for the opportunity, and the lobbyists have real power. Now the King of Qin wants to annex all countries and rule the world as emperor. , this is a good time for political activists and lobbyists from civilian backgrounds to travel around and express their ambitions. They have a humble status and do not want to seek fame and wealth. They are like animals, only waiting to see ready-made meat. Eat, and grow a human face in vain, barely able to walk upright. Therefore, the greatest shame is humbleness, and the greatest sorrow is poverty.

Being in a lowly position and poor environment for a long time, yet still criticizing society, hating fame and wealth, and slandering oneself as uncontested is not the original wish of a scholar. So I will go to the west to lobby the King of Qin. ”

After arriving in Qin, just as King Zhuangxiang of Qin passed away, Li Si asked to be the benefactor of Qin Xiangguo Wenxinhou Lu Buwei. Lu Buwei appreciated him very much and appointed him Lang Guan. This made Li Si have When lobbying for opportunities, he said to the King of Qin: "Mediocre people often lose opportunities, but those who achieve great success are those who can take advantage of opportunities and be ruthless. In the past, although Duke Mu of Qin dominated the world, he did not move eastward and annex the six kingdoms of Shandong. What was the reason? The reason is that the number of princes is still large and the prestige of the Zhou Dynasty has not declined. Therefore, the five hegemons have risen alternately and respected the Zhou Dynasty one after another. Since Qin Xiaogong, the Zhou Dynasty has been weak and weak, and the princes have merged with each other. The area east of Hangu Pass has been transformed into six kingdoms. Qin has taken advantage of its victory and enslaved the princes for six generations. Nowadays, the princes obey Qin just like the counties obey the imperial court. With the power of the Qin State and the wisdom of the king, just like sweeping away the dust on the stove, it is enough to wipe out the princes, achieve the emperor's cause, and unify the world. This is the best opportunity that has never been seen in the world. If we are slack now and do not take this matter seriously, when the princes become stronger again and make alliance alliances, even though they are as wise as the Yellow Emperor, they will not be able to annex them. "Qin Shihuang appointed Li Si as the chief historian, followed his plan, and secretly sent counselors to various countries with gold and jade treasures to lobby. Those famous figures in various countries who could be bribed were given more gifts; those who could not be bribed were killed with sharp swords. They killed them. These were all strategies to alienate the relationship between the princes and ministers. Then, the King of Qin sent good generals to attack.

At this time, the Korean Zheng Guo built the channel. , came to Qin as a spy, and was soon discovered. The royal family and ministers of Qin all said to the King of Qin: "Most of the people who come from various vassal states to serve the King of Qin are lobbying for their king to alienate Qin. Please ask the king to expel all the guests. "Li Si was also among the guests planned to be expelled. So Li Si wrote:

I heard that the officials were talking about expelling the guests. I privately thought this was wrong. In the past, Duke Mu of Qin recruited talented people. , I found You Yu from Xirong, Baili Xi from Yuandi of Chu State in the east, Uncle Jian (jiǎn, minus) from Song State, and Pi Bao and Gongsun You from Jin State. None of these five people were born here. Qin State, and Duke Mu of Qin reused them and annexed more than 20 countries, and he was able to dominate Xirong. Duke Xiao of Qin adopted Shang Yang's new method and changed customs. As a result, the people prospered, the country became rich and powerful, and the people were willing to serve the country. Other countries also sincerely submitted, defeating the armies of Chu and Wei, and conquered thousands of miles of land. Today, the political stability is stable, and the country is strong. King Qin Hui used Zhang Yi's strategy to conquer the Sanchuan area, and annexed Ba and Ba to the west. Shu occupied Shangjun to the north, Hanzhong to the south, encompassed Jiuyi, controlled Yan and Ying, and occupied the dangerous Chenggao in the east, seizing fertile land and further disintegrating the alliance of the six countries. , so that they faced the west and served the Qin State, and their achievements have continued to this day. King Qin Zhao obtained Fan Sui (suī, urine), deposed Ranghou, expelled the Huayang Lord, made the public house strong, and eliminated the power of the private elite. Like silkworms eating mulberry leaves, they gradually annexed the lands of the princes, and finally laid the foundation for the great cause of unifying the world. These four monarchs all relied on the power of guest officials from other countries. From this point of view, there is nothing wrong with the guest officials. What about the state of Qin? If these four monarchs refuse to accept their guests and alienate their scholars, this will make the state of Qin neither rich nor powerful.

Now, Your Majesty. Luo Zhi Kunshan's beautiful jade, the Suihou's pearl, the He clan's jade, the moon pearl, the Tai'a sword, the Xianli horse, the green phoenix flag, and the spiritual drum. They are produced in the Qin State, but Your Majesty loves them very much. Why? If they must be produced in the Qin State before they are used, then the luminous jade cannot be used to decorate the court, and the rhinoceros horn and ivory products cannot be admired by you. The beauties of Zheng and Wei cannot be included in your harem, and good horses cannot fill your stables. The gold and tin from Jiangnan should not be used, and the gold and tin from Xishu should not be used. Paintings should not be used as paint either.

If the things you use to decorate your harem, act as concubines, and be pleasing to the eye and the ears, must come from the Qin State before using them, then hairpins decorated with Wandi pearls, earrings inlaid with jade beads, and Dong'e white silk stitches I cannot offer you the exquisite clothes and gorgeously embroidered ornaments, and the fashionable and elegant, beautiful and quiet Zhao women cannot stand by your side. And those who bang the earthen altars and pots, play the zither, slap their thighs, and scream to satisfy the appreciation requirements, this is the authentic music of the Qin Dynasty. Musical pieces such as "Zheng", "Wei", "Sangjian", "Zhao", "Yu", "Wu" and "Xiang" are music from other countries. Now you abandon the set of Qin music of banging earthen altars and pots and listen to the sounds of "Zheng" and "Wei"; you don't listen to playing the zither but enjoy the music of "Zhao" and "Yu". What's the reason for this? To put it bluntly, it is just for the pleasure of the eyes to satisfy the viewing needs of the ears and eyes. But this is not the case when you employ people now. You don't ask whether the person can be used or not, and you don't ask about the merits of the person. As long as he is not a native of Qin, he will be dismissed, and as long as he is a guest, he will be expelled. It seems that what your Majesty values ????is beauty, music, pearls, and gems, and what he despises is talent. This is not a way to unify the world and subdue the princes.

I have heard that a vast land will produce abundant food, a vast country will have a large population, and a strong army will make the soldiers brave. That's why Mount Tai can be so tall without rejecting the soil; rivers and seas can become so deep and wide without being picky about small streams; and only those who achieve kingly status can show their great virtue by not abandoning the masses. Therefore, regardless of whether the land is southeast or northwest, the people do not distinguish one country from another. The grains are abundant all year round, and ghosts and gods grant blessings. This is the reason why the Five Emperors and Three Kings are invincible in the world. But now, Your Majesty, you have abandoned the people to help the enemy, expelled the guests and made them contribute to other vassal states, made the talented people in the world retreat and did not dare to go west, stopped and did not dare to enter Qin, this is what people think. He said "lend weapons to the enemy and send food to thieves"!

There are many items not produced in Qin that are worth cherishing; there are also many scholars who were not born in Qin who are willing to be loyal. Now you are expelling guests to support the enemy, hurting the people to help the enemy, weakening yourself internally, and creating resentment with the princes externally. If you continue like this, it is impossible to keep the country from danger.

So, the King of Qin abolished the order of expelling guests, restored Li Si's official position, finally adopted his strategy, and his official position was promoted to the position of Tingwei. After more than twenty years, he finally unified the world and respected the king as "Emperor". The emperor also appointed Li Si as prime minister. They also demolished the city walls of counties and counties in various countries, destroyed weapons in various places, and stated that they would no longer be used. The Qin State did not have an inch of enfeoffed land, nor did it make the emperor's sons or brothers kings, nor did it confer meritorious officials as princes, so that the country would never have the scourge of war from now on.

In the thirty-fourth year of Qin Shihuang (213 BC), he held a banquet in Xianyang Palace to entertain the ministers. Dr. Zhou Qingchen and others praised Qin Shihuang's military might and virtue. Chun Yuyue, a native of Qi, advised: "I heard that the Yin, Shang and Zhou dynasties ruled for more than a thousand years, and enfeoffed their descendants and meritorious officials as their supporting arms. But now, although Your Majesty has unified the world, your descendants are still common people. If Once the disaster of Tian Chang and Liu Qing seizes the throne, and there are no strong supporting ministers in the court, who will be relied on to save it? I have never heard of a dynasty that did not learn from ancient experience and ruled for a long time. Now Zhou Qingchen and others are flattering you in person to aggravate your mistake, and you are not a loyal minister." The first emperor handed over this argument to Li Si. Li Si thought this argument was absurd, so he discarded it and wrote to the emperor: "In ancient times, At that time, the world was scattered and in chaos, and they were disobedient to each other, so the princes came together. Generally speaking, public opinion praised the ancient times to deny the present, and decorated the reality with some exaggerated and unrealistic words to disturb the reality of society. People thought that their own school of learning was the best. , in order to negate the emperor's policies and decrees. Now your majesty has unified the world, distinguished right from wrong, and made all the people in the country respect the emperor. However, hundreds of schools of thought and various schools of thought have come together to criticize the imperial court's laws and regulations. Next, he immediately discussed it from the point of view of his own school. When he returned home, he felt dissatisfied. When he went out, he discussed it in the streets and alleys. He gained fame by criticizing the monarch. He thought that being different from the court meant that he was highly capable, and led the lower class people to create slander. If this continues without prohibition, the power and prestige of the monarch above will be reduced, and private gangs will be formed below. Therefore, it is better to prohibit the collection of "Poems", "Books" and other scholars. The works of hundreds of schools of thought were all swept away.

Thirty days after the order is issued, if anyone still disobeys, he will be sentenced to tattoos and hard labor in building the city. Not included in the purge are books on medicine, divination, planting, etc. If anyone wants to learn the law, he should take officials as his teachers. "Qin Shihuang approved his suggestion and confiscated the Book of Songs, Shangshu and the works of various schools of thought, in order to make the people ignorant and make it impossible for people in the world to use ancient things to criticize the current court. Revise the legal system and formulate laws and regulations. It all started with Qin Shihuang. He unified the writing system and built villas throughout the country. In the second year, the first emperor went on tours and pacified the ethnic minorities in all directions. Li Si made a lot of efforts in these measures.

Li Si's eldest son Li You served as the governor of Sanchuan County. His sons married princesses of the Qin State, and his daughters married the royal family of the Qin State. When Li You, the governor of Sanchuan County, took leave to return to Xianyang, Li Si held a banquet at his home. All the civil and military officials went to toast Li Si and there were thousands of horses and horses in front of the gate. Li Si sighed with emotion: "Oh! I heard Xun Qing say, ‘Don’t overdo things’. I, Li Si, was originally a commoner in Shangcai, a commoner in the streets. The emperor did not understand that I was of low talent, so he promoted me to such a high status. Nowadays, no one who is a minister has a higher position than me. It can be said that I am extremely wealthy and prosperous. However, the peak of development of things is about to begin to decline, and I still don’t know where it will end up! ”

In October of the thirty-seventh year of Qin Shihuang (210 BC), he went on a tour to Kuaiji Mountain and went north along the coast to Langye Mountain. Prime Minister Li Si and the CRRC Order and Fu Xi Order Zhao Gaodu Qin Shihuang had more than 20 sons. The eldest son Fu Suyin repeatedly advised the emperor, and the emperor sent him to Shangjun to supervise the army. The youngest son Hu Hai was very favored and asked to accompany him, and the emperor agreed. . None of the other sons followed him.

In July of this year, Qin Shihuang arrived at Shaqiu and was very ill. He ordered Zhao Gao to write an edict to Prince Fusu, saying: "Give the army to Meng Tian. Hurry to Xianyang to attend the funeral and then be buried. "The letters were sealed, but before they were delivered to the envoy, Qin Shihuang passed away. The letters and seals were all in the hands of Zhao Gao. Only his youngest son Hu Hai, Prime Ministers Li Si and Zhao Gao, and five or six trusted eunuchs knew about the death of the First Emperor. The rest of the ministers didn't know. Li Si thought that the emperor died outside and the crown prince was not officially established, so he kept it a secret and placed the body of the First Emperor in a car that could be kept warm and ventilated. The food and drinks were presented as usual, so the eunuch pretended to ask the emperor to approve the report from the officials.

Zhao Gao therefore withheld the edict given by the First Emperor to Fusu and said to the prince Hu Hai: "The emperor." After his death, there was no edict to make the princes king, but only an edict to the eldest son Fusu. When the eldest son arrives, he ascends the throne and becomes emperor, but you don’t even have a fief of any size. What should you do? Hu Hai said: "That's how it is." I have heard that a wise monarch knows his ministers best, and a wise father knows his son best. When my father died, he did not issue an order to divide the princes, so what else could he say? Zhao Gao said: "That's not the case." The power in the world today, no matter who's life or death, is in the hands of you, me and Li Si! I hope you will think about it carefully. What's more, controlling the ministers and surrendering to others, ruling others and being ruled by others, can they be the same thing? "Hu Hai said: "It is unrighteous to abolish an elder brother and establish a younger brother; it is unfilial to disobey the father's edict and fear death; it is incompetence to rely on the help of others to get up because of one's own limited talents. These three things are all It is treasonous and unethical, and the people of the world will not obey. I will suffer disaster myself, and the country will perish. Zhao Gao said: "I have heard that Shang Tang and Zhou Wu killed their monarchs, and everyone in the world praised their actions as moral and moral. It cannot be regarded as disloyal." King Wei killed his father, and the people of Wei praised his merits. Confucius recorded this incident, which cannot be regarded as unfilial. What's more, you can't stick to small details when doing big things, and you don't need to be humble enough to do great virtues. The customs in the countryside are different, and the working methods of officials are also different. Therefore, worrying about small things and forgetting big things will cause disaster in the future; being hesitant at critical moments will definitely regret it in the future. Do it decisively and boldly, avoid even ghosts and gods, and you will definitely succeed in the future. I hope you do as I say. Hu Hai sighed and said: "Now that the emperor has passed away and the funeral has not yet ended, how can we use this matter to appeal to the prime minister?" Zhao Gao said: "Time, time, too short to plan!" I'm like carrying dry food to drive a fast horse on the road, for fear of delaying the opportunity! "

After Hu Hai agreed with Zhao Gao's words, Zhao Gao said: "If you don't discuss it with the Prime Minister, I'm afraid the matter will not succeed. I hope to discuss it with the Prime Minister for you.

Zhao Gao said to Prime Minister Li Si: "When the First Emperor passed away, he gave his eldest son an imperial edict to Fusu, ordering him to attend the funeral in Xianyang and establish him as his heir. The emperor died before the edict was sent, and no one knew about it. The imperial edict and talisman given to the eldest son by the emperor are all in Hu Hai's hands. Who should be appointed as the prince only depends on a word between you and me. What should you do about this? Li Si said: "How can you say such words of subjugation to the country!" This is not something you should discuss as a minister! Zhao Gao said: "Evaluate for yourself, who is more capable than Meng Tian?" Who gets more credit? Who has more far-reaching plans and never makes mistakes? Who do the people of the world support more? Who has a better relationship with the eldest son Fusu? Li Si said: "I am not as good as Meng Tian in these five aspects, but why are you so demanding of me?" Zhao Gao said: "I was originally a slave of a eunuch. I was lucky enough to enter the Qin palace with my familiarity with prison laws and documents. I have been in charge for more than 20 years. I have never seen a prime minister who was deposed by the King of Qin get a title and pass it on to the next generation. Yes, they all ended up being killed. The emperor had more than twenty sons, as you know. The eldest son Fusu is resolute and brave, trusting and good at motivating scholars. After taking the throne, he must use Meng Tian as prime minister. Obviously, you will not be able to resign and return home with the seal of Tonghou in the end. I have been ordered by the emperor to educate Hu Hai and let him study law for several years, and I have never seen him make any mistakes. He was compassionate and kind, honest and kind, despised money, respected scholars, was smart but not good at words, and respected the wise with every courtesy. Among Qin Shihuang's sons, no one could catch up with him and could be established as his successor. You think about it before you decide. Li Si said: "You should just do whatever you need to do!" I, Li Si, only carry out the emperor's last edict, and my own destiny is subject to God's arrangements. What should I consider and decide? Zhao Gao said: "It seems that peace may be dangerous, and danger may be safe." If you don't make a decision early in the face of safety, how can you be considered a wise person? Li Si said: "I, Li Si, am a commoner in the streets and alleys of Shangcai. Thanks to the emperor's promotion, I was appointed prime minister and made a marquis. My descendants all received noble status and generous treatment. Therefore, the emperor put the country in danger." The important task was entrusted to me, how could I fail to live up to his trust? A loyal minister will not be harsh and dedicated because of fear of death; a filial son will not harm his health by working too hard; ministers will only keep their respective duties. Please stop talking and don’t let me, Li Si, also commit the crime. Zhao Gao said: "I heard that saints do not follow the rules, but adapt to changes and follow the trend. They can predict the root when they see the signs, and they can predict the destination when they see the trends." And things are just like this, there is no immutable truth! Now the power and destiny of the world are in the hands of Hu Hai, and I, Zhao Gao, can guess his intentions. What's more, to subdue the inside from the outside is rebellion, and to subdue the top from below is rebellion. Therefore, when frost falls in autumn, flowers and plants will wither, and all things will be regenerated as the ice and snow melt. This is an inevitable result of nature. How come you didn't even see this? "Li Si said: "I heard that the Jin Dynasty changed its crown prince, and the three generations were unrest; the brothers Duke Huan of Qi fought for the throne, and his elder brother was killed; Shang Zhou killed his relatives and did not listen to the advice of his ministers, and the capital was reduced to ruins, and the country was endangered. ; These three things are against God's will, so there is no one to worship in the ancestral temple. I, Li Si, am still a human being, how can I participate in these conspiracies! Zhao Gao said: "If the top and bottom work together, the cause can be long-lasting; if the internal and external cooperation is consistent, there will be no mistakes." If you follow my advice, you will be a marquis for a long time and pass it down forever. You will be as long-lived as the immortals Prince Qiao and Chisongzi, and as wise as Confucius and Mozi. Giving up this opportunity now and not listening to my advice will definitely bring harm to future generations, which is chilling enough. People who are good at dealing with people and moving with the camera can turn misfortunes into blessings. What do you want to do? Li Si looked up to the sky and sighed with tears: "Alas!" Unfortunately, we are in troubled times, and since I can no longer remain loyal to death, where will I place my destiny? So Li Si obeyed Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao reported to Hu Hai and said, "I was informed of Prime Minister Li Si by your order. How dare he disobey the order?" "

So they discussed together and forged an edict from Qin Shihuang to Prime Minister Li Si, making Hu Hai the crown prince. They also forged an edict to the eldest son Fusu, saying: "I patrol the world, pray and offer sacrifices to various places. The gods of famous mountains pray for longevity. Now Fusu and General Meng Tian have led hundreds of thousands of troops to garrison the border for more than ten years. They have been unable to advance. The soldiers have suffered many casualties and have not made any achievements. Instead, they have written many times to slander what I have done. He could not be dismissed and returned to Beijing to become the prince. He was resentful and dissatisfied day and night.

Fusu was unfilial as a human son and committed suicide with a sword! General Meng Tian was out with Fusu. If he didn't correct his mistake, he should have known about his plan. As a minister, he was not loyal, so he was ordered to commit suicide and handed over the army to the deputy general Wang Li. "Seal the edict with the emperor's jade seal, and ask Hu Hai's retainers to take the edict to Shangjun and hand it to Fusu.

After the envoy arrived, he opened the edict, and Fusu burst into tears and entered the inner room to commit suicide. Meng Tian stopped Fusu and said: "The emperor is away and has not appointed a prince. He has sent me to lead an army of 300,000 to guard the border. The prince will serve as the supervisor. This is an important task in the world. Now that there is only one messenger coming, you immediately commit suicide. How can you know that there is no falsehood in it? I hope you will ask for instructions again. It will not be too late to die after you have the answer. "The envoy urged again and again. Fusu was a kind man and said to Meng Tian: "The father ordered his son to die, what else do you need to ask for? " He immediately committed suicide and died. Meng Tian refused to commit suicide, so the envoy immediately handed him over to the officials and imprisoned him in Yangzhou.

The envoy came back to report that Hu Hai, Li Si, and Zhao Gao were all very happy. After arriving in Xianyang, the funeral was announced. , Prince Hu Hai became the second emperor, and appointed Zhao Gao as Lang Zhongling, who always served the emperor in the palace and held great power.

Qin II was idle in the palace, so he called Zhao Gao to come with him. After discussing it, he said to Zhao Gao: "A person's life in this world is as short as riding six horses and flying across a gap. Now that I have ruled the world, I want to satisfy all the desires of my ears and eyes, enjoy all the fun I can think of, make the country peaceful, the people happy, protect the country forever, and enjoy the rest of my life. Is this idea possible? Zhao Gao said: "This can be done by a wise monarch, but it should be taboo by a confused monarch." I take the liberty of saying something that I am not afraid of beheading, so please be a little more careful. All the princes and ministers are suspicious of Sha Qiu's conspiracy, and these princes are all your brothers, and these ministers were appointed by the late emperor. Now that Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, these people are resentful and dissatisfied, fearing that they will cause trouble. What's more, although Meng Tian is dead, Meng Yi is still leading troops outside. The reason why I am worried is just that I am afraid that there will be bad results. Your Majesty, how can you enjoy this? "The second generation said: "What can we do? Zhao Gao said: "Implement strict laws and cruel punishments, kill all those who break the law and those who are implicated, until the entire clan is exterminated, kill the ministers of the dynasty and alienate your brothers and sisters, and make the poor people rich." , making the originally humble people noble. Eliminate all the former emperor's old ministers, re-appoint those you trust and keep them by your side. In this way, they will be grateful to you from the bottom of their hearts, eradicate the harm and put an end to the conspiracy. No one in the group will not receive your favor and accept your kindness. Your Majesty, you can sit back and relax and enjoy yourself. There is no better idea than this. "The Second Emperor thought that Zhao Gao's words were right, so he revised the law. So the ministers and princes were guilty, so they handed him over to Zhao Gao and ordered him to interrogate and punish him. He killed minister Meng Yi and others, and ten princes were beheaded on the streets of Xianyang Twelve princesses were also shown to the public in Du County and executed by having their limbs mutilated. Their property was confiscated and returned to the emperor, and countless others were jointly punished.

Young Master Gao wanted to escape for his life, but was afraid of being executed by the whole family, so he wrote a letter saying : "When the late emperor was alive, I would give him food when he entered the palace and give him a ride when he left the palace. The clothes in the emperor's palace were given to me by the late emperor; the horses in the stables in the palace were also given to me by the late emperor. I should have died with the late Emperor but failed to do so. This is unfilial as a son of man and unfaithful as a minister. There is no reason for a disloyal person to live in this world. Please allow me to die with the late emperor, hoping to bury me at the foot of Mount Li. I just ask the emperor to show mercy to me. After the book was presented, Hu Hai was very happy. He called Zhao Gao and showed him the book, saying: "This can be said to be embarrassing and helpless?" Zhao Gao said: "How can you plot a rebellion when the ministers are worried all day long that they will die before it's too late!" "Hu Hai agreed to Gongzi Gao's request and gave him 100,000 yuan for burial.

The laws and punishments at that time became more and more cruel day by day. Everyone among the ministers was in danger, and there were many people who wanted to rebel. II. The Epang Palace was built, straight roads and chi roads were built, taxes became heavier and heavier, and military service was endless. So Chen Sheng, Wu Guang and others who were recruited from the Chu area to guard the border rebelled and raised troops to the east of Xiaoshan. They were heroes. They swarmed up, established themselves as princes, and rebelled against the Qin Dynasty. Their troops attacked until Hongmen before retreating. Li Si repeatedly tried to find opportunities to remonstrate, but the second emperor did not allow it.

The Second Emperor instead blamed Li Si and said, "I have an opinion. I heard it from Han Feizi. He said, 'Yao ruled the world, and the palace was only three feet high. The oak rafters were used without cutting them, and thatch was used as the roof. Without pruning, even the accommodation conditions in a hotel would not be more difficult than this. They wear deerskin coats in winter and linen clothes in summer, make coarse rice for rice, use wild vegetables for soup, use earthen pots to eat, and use earthen bowls to drink water. Even a janitor's life would not be more miserable than this. Xia Yu opened the Dragon Gate, opened the Daxia Waterway, dredged many rivers, built many dikes in twists and turns, and channeled the stagnant water into the sea. He had no white flesh, no hair on his calves, thick calluses on his palms and soles, and his face was dark. He eventually died of exhaustion and was buried on Kuaiji Mountain. Even the labor of a slave would not be more severe than this." Is it possible that the most noble people in the world want to work hard, live in hotel-like dormitories, eat the food of janitors, and do the work of slaves? These things are all done by people with low talents. It is not what wise people do. When those wise people rule the world, they just use everything in the world to satisfy their own desires. This is why people regard ruling the world as noble. A wise person will surely be able to stabilize the world and govern the people. If he cannot even benefit himself, how can he govern the world? That is why I want to be ambitious and enjoy the world forever without causing harm. ?" Li Si's son Li You was appointed as the governor of Sanchuan County. Wu Guang and others rebelled and moved west to occupy the territory. They came and went as they pleased, but Li You could not stop them. After Zhang Han defeated and expelled the army of Wu Guang and others, he sent envoys to Sanchuan to investigate one after another, and blamed Li Si for why he allowed the thieves to be so rampant as he was the third prince. Li Si was very frightened, and he valued his title and salary very seriously. He didn't know what to do, so he went along with Ashun II's wishes and asked for forgiveness, so he wrote a letter to reply to Ashun II:

Wise A monarch must be a monarch who can fully grasp the way to be a monarch and exercise the skills of governing to supervise his subordinates. If the subordinates are strictly supervised and supervised, the ministers will not dare not do their best to serve the monarch. In this way, once the positions of the monarch and his ministers are determined, and the rules for the relationship between superiors and subordinates are also clarified, then no one in the world, whether talented or virtuous, will dare not not do their best to serve the monarch. Therefore, the monarch can dominate the world without any restrictions and enjoy the ultimate pleasure. Wise monarch, how can you not see this clearly!

That’s why Mr. Shen Buhe said: “If you possess the world but don’t know how to indulge your sexual desires, this is called treating the world as your own shackles.” Such words have no other meaning. They just mean that they do not supervise and blame their subordinates. But he worked hard for the people of the world, just like Yao and Yu, so he was called "shackles". If you cannot learn from Shen Buhai and Han Fei's brilliant skills, implement supervision measures, and focus on making yourself comfortable and happy with the world, but only worry about it in vain and work hard for the people, then you are the slaves of the people, not the emperor who rules the world. What is so noble about this! If you let others devote themselves to you, you will be noble and others will be humble; if you let yourself devote yourself to others, you will be humble and others will be noble. Therefore, those who devote themselves are humble, and those who accept sacrifice are noble. This has always been the case from ancient times to the present. Since ancient times, the reason why virtuous people are respected is because the respected people are noble; the reason why unworthy people are hated is because the unworthy people are humble. Yao and Yu were people who dedicated their lives to the world. They respected them based on the world's evaluation. This also lost the intention of respecting the virtuous. This can be said to be a huge mistake. Isn't it also appropriate to say that Yao and Yu regarded the world as their "shackles"? This is a fault that cannot be blamed.

So what is the reason why Mr. Han Fei said, "A loving mother will raise a prodigal son, but a strict master will not have strong slaves in his family"? This is the inevitable result of being able to impose severe punishments. Therefore, Shang Yang's new law stipulates that anyone who spreads ashes on the road will be sentenced. Sprinkling ashes on the road is a minor offense, but adding punishment to it is a severe penalty. Only a wise monarch can severely punish misdemeanors. If you are severely punished for a misdemeanor, how much more serious crimes? Therefore, people dare not break the law. Therefore, Mr. Han Fei also said: "A few feet of silk will be taken away by ordinary people when they see it. A hundred yi of beautiful gold will not be taken away by thieves." It is not because ordinary people are greedy, but a few feet of silk are extremely valuable. , the thieves have an indifferent desire for profit; nor is it because the thieves behave noblely and despise the huge profits of a hundred yi gold. The reason is that once captured, they will be punished casually, so the thieves dare not seize the white gold; if the punishment is not resolutely imposed, then generally