What would happen if Qin Shihuang made Fusu the crown prince?

The accession of Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, to the throne is generally considered to be a coup. The general theory is as follows:

Although Qin Shihuang has never established a prince, his most important son is Fusu. . However, Fusu had strong opinions on the policies of the First Emperor and repeatedly made suggestions on political affairs, which angered Yingzheng and demoted him to Mengtian's army as a supervisor.

In 210 BC, Qin Shihuang toured the country for the fifth time. Unexpectedly, he fell seriously ill halfway through. Ying Zheng, who knew he was about to die, ordered Fusu to rush back to Xianyang from Shangjun to host his funeral there. Although the first emperor did not say it explicitly, the implication was naturally that Fusu would inherit the throne.

However, this imperial edict was intercepted by Zhao Gao and others. After the death of the first emperor, Zhao Gao teamed up with Li Si to conspire to install Hu Hai as emperor, and falsely conveyed an imperial edict ordering Fusu to commit suicide. Fusu really got into the net. After the news of Fusu's suicide came, Hu Hai was overjoyed, so he announced the death of Emperor Shi and ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor.

This is the famous "Dune Coup", which comes from Sima Qian's "Historical Records". For two thousand years, it has been regarded as the true nature of history books.

The image of Hu Hai with a miserable face in film and television dramas

However, in 2009, Peking University received a batch of Western Han Dynasty bamboo books donated from abroad, among which "Zhao Zhengshu" was Provides another completely different statement.

The Zhao Zheng here is Ying Zheng. In the pre-Qin Dynasty, the surname was the surname and the surname was the surname. The two were not actually opposite. Why is there such a distinction? To put it simply, the surname indicates the blood relationship, while the surname indicates the current political identity.

The surname Ying Zhengzhong is passed down from ancient times. His surname is Zhao. Because Ying Zheng's ancestors rebelled and were sealed in Zhao City, and the nobles of the pre-Qin Dynasty often used their fiefdoms as their surname, so this branch of the Qin State took Zhao as their surname.

In the Han Dynasty, people were confused about surnames, so some people called Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng, others called him Zhao Zheng, or Zhao Zheng.

"Zhao Zhengshu" mainly records the historical data from Qin Shihuang's fifth tour, to Qin II's execution of ministers such as Meng Tian, ??Li Si and the descendants of the royal family after he ascended the throne, to the fall of the Qin Dynasty.

Some of it is opposite and some are different from the narrative of Qin Dynasty history books in Sima Qian's "Historical Records". Among them, the biggest difference is the difficulty of Hu Hai's accession to the throne.

The above is the version of "Zhao Zhengshu":

A long time ago, Zhao Zheng, the king of Qin, traveled around the country and fell ill when he arrived at Baidi. Before he died, he couldn't help but burst into tears and let out a long sigh. Then he said to the ministers beside him: You are all traitors, help me plan who should be appointed.

Prime Minister Li Si and Yushi doctor Feng Quji risked their lives and replied: It is too far to establish the capital now. If the ministers come, for fear that someone will secretly plot against you, please appoint the prince Hu Hai as your successor. King Qin replied with one word: Yes.

After the death of King Qin, Hu Hai inherited the throne and immediately killed his eldest brother Fusu and Lieutenant Mengtian, and granted amnesty to criminals across the country.

We can draw two conclusions from the above description. First, the author of "Zhao Zhengshu" did not recognize the orthodoxy of the Qin Dynasty, so he called Qin Shihuang the King of Qin, implying that he was just one of the kings of the Warring States Period. . Second, Hu Hai's accession to the throne was officially appointed by Qin Shihuang during his lifetime. In fact, there was no so-called "Dune Coup".

Since the birth of "Zhao Zhengshu", a group of history book lovers have exclaimed that "the three views have been destroyed", thinking that they were deceived by Sima Qian. However, it's really not that complicated.

Beida Jian "Zhao Zhengshu"

The Sima family has been a historian for generations. Therefore, when Sima Qian wrote "Historical Records", there was a lot of information about the war. Not only did he see the official historical materials of the Qin State with his own eyes, but he also referred to all the materials he had access to at the time, so-called "collecting old news from all over the world." After comprehensive comparison, he selected the ones he thought were reliable and included them in "Historical Records".

In contrast, the origin of the historical materials of "Zhao Zhengshu" is not clear to us now. At the same time, it is hard for us to believe that he has access to more and more reliable historical data than Sima Qian.

More importantly, what is recorded in "Zhao Zhengshu" is isolated evidence, and there is no weak support from other historical materials. But the evidence alone cannot stand, and we cannot recognize the authenticity of the version of "Historical Records" just because it is novel and subversive.

Then, someone asked, are you talking about it for so long just to prove that the historical stories that everyone is already familiar with are indeed true? Isn't this a pain in the ass?

Be patient, everyone must believe in the author's character. My personal view is very clear: the Dune Coup did not actually exist, and Hu Hai's accession to the throne was recognized by Qin Shihuang. I just think that the authenticity of the version of "Historical Records" cannot be recognized solely based on the content of "Zhao Zhengshu".

Therefore, three pieces of evidence will be added to the version of "Zhao Zhengshu" below:

First, according to "Historical Records", the eldest son Fusu was dissatisfied with Qin Shihuang's burning books and harassing Confucians. After a series of policies, the angered Emperor Shi was sent to the southern hinterland and became a supervisor in Meng Tian's army.

Mr. Lu Simian pointed out that according to modern political conventions, the prince will not leave the capital, let alone serve in the army. If you do this, you are implying that it will not establish its meaning. Therefore, Qin Shihuang let Fusu serve as the supervisor of Mengtian's army, which actually maintained the meaning of making him his heir.

At the same time, from this perspective, Fusu's suicide is not difficult to understand.

"Historical Records" records that after the death of Qin Shihuang, Hu Hai and others forced Fusu and Mengtian to commit suicide. After Fusu received the news, he was about to draw his sword and kill himself without saying a word, but Meng Tian on the side persuaded him: "The emperor is patrolling outside and has not established a prince. Now there is just an envoy, and the son will He committed suicide. Who knows if this is not a trick conceived by others? I hope your son will complain to the Pope again. If it is true, then it will not be too late to commit suicide."

Of course Meng Tian's words were selfish. Because if Fusu doesn't die, he won't die either. But in any case, his suggestion was reasonable, and he later did the same. But Fusu refused to listen at all, and refused to even defend himself. He would not commit suicide immediately unless he insisted.

This will inevitably make people suspicious, because no one is not afraid of death, even generals like Meng Tian who are accustomed to life and death have repeatedly appealed to Qin II. What's the reason?

A reasonable explanation is that Fusu 100% believed that this was an order from the First Emperor, so it was useless to argue, but it was just humiliating himself. It is better to know a father than a son. Since Fusu had such an idea, it means that the relationship between him and the First Emperor was already very tense.

Inferring from this, how could the First Emperor think of making Fusu, who was at peace with him, the crown prince before his death?

The image of Fusu in the bright moon of Qin Dynasty

Secondly, Qin Shihuang had thought about making Hu Hai the prince, and had made his opinion public.

"Historical Records: Biography of Meng Tian" records that after learning that Fusu was dead, Hu Hai deliberately let Meng Tian go, but Zhao Gao wanted to destroy the Meng family, so he encouraged Hu Hai Kill brothers Meng Yi and Meng Tian.

The reason he gave for Meng Yi to die was: the First Emperor had deliberately made Hu Hai the crown prince, but Meng Yi repeatedly dissuaded him, which finally eliminated the First Emperor's motives.

Hu Hai was furious after hearing the news, so he immediately ordered Meng Yi to be killed and informed him of the reason for his death: The late emperor had wanted to make me the prince, but you tried to dissuade him in every possible way. Now the Prime Minister thinks you lack loyalty and wants to kill your people. I can't bear it, so I just give you the death penalty. This is already a great luck. Just figure it out yourself.

Meng Yi responded: "If you think that I cannot understand the late emperor's intentions, then I will become an official when I am young. Until the late emperor's death, I have always been trusted and my official career has been smooth and smooth. , It should be said that I can clearly understand the late emperor's intentions.

If you think that I don't understand the prince's talents, then only the prince can accompany the late emperor and travel around the country. Compared with other princes, there is a big difference. Yes, what else do I have to doubt?

The late emperor’s appointment of the prince was a result of many years of contemplation. What suggestions and plans could I dare to make to avoid the death penalty? Afraid of being implicated and insulting the reputation of the late emperor, I hope the doctor will think carefully about this and let me die as I deserve."

Obviously, Meng Yi thought that the crime assigned to him by Hu Hai was groundless, but he did not. Ken died so mysteriously, hence this statement. According to Meng Yi's actions, Qin Shihuang indeed deliberately made Hu Hai the crown prince, and he did so after many years of thinking.

What Meng Yi said before his death should be trustworthy.

Thirdly, when Qin Shihuang was on tour, all the princes stayed in Xianyang, and only Hu Hai followed him, which revealed Qin Shihuang's doting on Hu Hai. However, it's not just that.

In the past, there was always one-sided criticism of the emperor’s parade, thinking that it was a self-driving tour of China where the emperor indulged in enjoyment, sensuality, and romance. Such a move is perfect, but it only causes more harm to the people and money.

Such an impression of history books stems from the various negative impacts brought to society by the parades of Emperors Qin, Han, Wu, Sui Yang, Ming Wu, etc., and at the same time because of the literati’s influence on Kangxi and Qianlong’s journey to the south of the Yangtze River. Rendering of anecdotes.

Sculpture of the First Emperor’s Parade

But this is obviously a misunderstanding. An obvious reason is that given the traffic conditions during the Qin and Han Dynasties, it is difficult to say that Qin Shihuang's parade was a happy event, not to mention that he himself died of illness during the parade.

In fact, Qin Shihuang’s tour was a political activity, which had the same significance as the modern emperor’s tour. Its purpose was to use political power, control local political power, pay homage to mountains and rivers, and unify social thinking. etc.

Because of this, every time Qin Shihuang visited, he was followed by an administrative team headed by Li Si to handle national government affairs.

The first emperor’s five tours were not for sightseeing. Among the more than 20 princes, he only took Hu Hai on the trip. Of course, it was not to go on vacation with his family, but to let him Get more exposure to national affairs to cultivate his ability to deal with political affairs. The goal implicit in this is self-evident.

If you are tired of watching, I will post a joke to make you happy and relax

It is extremely sad

In ancient times, visiting brothels was a fashion, and sleeping with other people’s wives was It's a pig cage, but now it's fashionable to sleep with other people's wives. Visiting a brothel means going to jail. In ancient times, when you went to a brothel, after entering the room, the lady would make you a cup of tea and say: "Young master, don't be impatient, little girl first" Play a song for the boy. But now when you go to a massage parlor, after entering the room, the lady will say: Hurry up, hurry up, every time you think of the loss of traditional culture, it makes people feel extremely sad!