?The first person in the ages: a detailed account of the thousand-year historical achievements of Qin Shihuang Yingzheng

The first person in history: In 221 BC, the unification of China was inevitable. But it was accomplished by accident. Now that they are unified, the head of state is no longer a mere king. What should he be called? The ministers said, let's call him "Emperor Tai". He readily accepted the word "emperor", but felt that it was not enough, so he added the word "emperor". It's simple. His achievements have surpassed those of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in ancient times. He is the First Emperor, and his descendants are the Second Emperor, the Third Emperor... and the Eternal Emperor. > None of the later Chinese emperors were embarrassed to be like him, numbering from one to ten thousand, and they only dared to keep the dream of "eternal life" in their hearts. Although the unsatisfactory son soon ruined the family and the country, turning Ying Zheng's self-confidence into a joke, emperors of all dynasties still admitted that if they want to unify China, they must have this kind of naive and proud self-confidence. . > He was not born in Qin. In the first month of 259 BC, he was born in Handan, the capital of Zhao State, so his surname was Zhao and his name was Zhao Zheng. At this time, his father was a hostage exchanged from Qin to Zhao, and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy local businessman in Zhao. During the Warring States Period, Zhao Zheng's father left the country, married a local native, and gave birth to a second generation of immigrants. > But for their motherland, Qin, the hostages were the abandoned sons of the king. Only the son he dislikes the most will be thrown abroad as a hostage. As a hostage child, what hope does Zhao Zheng have for his future? Compared with the children of other princes and nobles, his childhood was simply bleak. There were no fine clothes and fine food, no hordes of slaves to serve him, and no one to teach him the skills of governing a country from an early age. The most unfortunate thing is that his great-grandfather, King Qin Zhao, did not pity their situation at all and frequently attacked Zhao. As long as Qin and Zhao are at war, Zhao Zheng's life will be even more difficult. During the protracted "Siege of Handan" launched by the Qin army, Zhao Guo was so angry that he wanted to kill Zhao Zheng's father. So, he abandoned Zhao Zheng's mother and son and fled back to Qin in a hurry. >>But from another perspective, Zhao Zheng’s childhood was lucky. At that time, the State of Zhao was the most powerful among the six kingdoms and the most promising to compete with Qin for unification. Its capital, Handan, is naturally a first-class city. Compared with Xianyang in the western region, Handan City's food, drink, entertainment, singing and dancing are no problem, and its material civilization is not inferior. What's more, since the reform of King Wuling of Zhao, Zhao State has not only implemented "Hu Fu riding and shooting" in the army, but has also been affected by "Hu Feng" in life. Walking on the streets of Handan, it is not uncommon to see people wearing ethnic minority clothes, riding ethnic minority horses, and selling ethnic minority goods. > Zhao Zheng, who grew up in this city, saw a colorful world. At least, he got to know the Central Plains, the ethnic minorities in the north, and the lives of the people from a very young age. Having seen a lot, he became knowledgeable, and the concept of "the world" vaguely sprouted in his heart. Compared with the princes and grandsons who were locked up in the palace of Qin, he had a broad vision, a free life, an unrestrained temperament, and his ability to unify the world developed in ignorance. When Zhao Zheng was 9 years old, his wandering life abroad ended - King Qin Zhao died, and Zhao Zheng's grandfather An Guojun succeeded to the throne for three days and died of poisoning. As a result, Zhao Zheng's father became King Zhuangxiang of Qin. Now, the State of Zhao had to be polite and send Zhao Zheng's mother and son back to the State of Qin. After returning to China, Zhao Zheng had a lot of messy family affairs. For example, everyone in the Seven Kingdoms knows about the triangular relationship between Lu Buwei and his parents. > He can't control so much. Qin's accumulated ambitions over several generations are waiting for him. He changed his name to Ying Zheng and wore the crown of a prince. Three years later, his father died. He ascended the throne at the tender age of 12, but showed an astonishing precocity - he entrusted state affairs to Lu Buwei, Li Si, Meng Ao and others, and quietly waited for the power of time. In the fourth month of the lunar calendar in 238 BC, the 20-year-old Ying Zheng held an adult ceremony in Yongcheng, the ancient capital of Qin, and officially took over the scepter of the country. In this year, he ordered: Lao Ai was killed, the Queen Mother was removed, and Lu Buwei was dismissed. > From then on, he focused all his attention on work. The dream of unifying the world started with the destruction of Zhao in 229 BC and gradually became a reality. Among them, his most effective assistant was the general Wang Jian; the most famous battle Wang Jian fought for him was the battle to destroy Chu. > At first, Ying Zheng wanted to use the young and energetic Li Xin to attack Chu. He asked Li Xin: "I plan to attack Chu. How many people do you think the general will call?" Li Xin replied: "No more than 200,000 people." Ying Zheng said Asked Wang Jian again, Wang Jian replied: "We must have 600,000 people." Ying Zheng smiled and said: "General Wang is old and timid.

General Lee was decisive and brave, and his words were correct. ” He sent Li Xin and Meng Tian to lead 200,000 troops to attack Chu. Wang Jian didn't argue, he just excused himself as sick and returned to his hometown in Fuping, Shaanxi. >> At first, Li Xin went very smoothly, taking two big cities in Chu State one after another. He proudly planned to join forces with Meng Tian, ??unaware that the main force of the Chu army was closely following them. The Chu army pursued Li Xin for three days and three nights, and finally took action, attacking Li Xin's two military camps and killing seven captains. The Qin army was defeated. > When the news reached Xianyang, Ying Zheng was shocked. He immediately rushed to Wang Jian's hometown and solemnly apologized: "I did not adopt the general's strategy and trusted Li Xin, which caused the Qin army to suffer humiliation. Now, I heard that the Chu army is approaching day by day. Although the general is sick, can he bear to abandon me?" ?》> Ying Zheng apologized repeatedly, and Wang Jian finally came back with only one condition: 600,000 people. Ying Zheng agreed and personally sent the army to the expedition. On the front line, Wang Jian built a strong fortress and defended it without fighting. The soldiers rested, bathed, and had good food and drink every day. After a while, Wang Jian asked: "What game are the soldiers playing?" His subordinates reported: "There is a stone throwing competition to see who can throw the farthest." Wang Jian nodded: "The soldiers can come in handy."> Sure enough, rest and recuperation The long-awaited 600,000 Qin army, like a tiger and wolf army, killed the Chu general Xiang Yan, captured the Chu king and carried the cud, and the Chu state was destroyed. > In 221 BC, Ying Zheng got his wish and became the Qin Shi Huang who unified the world. He used his endless imagination and creativity to build an unprecedented empire - he occupied the Chinese character "朕", and his orders were "每"; all counties and counties in the country were judged by him, regardless of the details; he gathered the world The wealth was in Xianyang, and the weapons of the world were confiscated in Xianyang. As he grew older, the unrestrained and tenacious nature of his youth turned into willfulness and weirdness. He hated civilians, so he nicknamed them "Qian Shou"; he hated businessmen, so he arrested them and sent them to attack South Vietnam; for some reason, he also hated married people, and all his sons-in-law joined the army like prisoners. . > Of course, his imagination also left many masterpieces. For example, the "Chidao" he built was wide and straight, and some sections were even paved with wooden tracks. It looked no different from today's railways. He cruised comfortably on his "wooden railway" to find a new dream - immortality. In the pursuit of immortality, no one is as high-spirited and unyielding as our First Emperor. He twice sent alchemists into the sea to search for immortal prescriptions. The result is, of course, never to come back. Why was Qin Shihuang, who was proficient in legalist statecraft and good at keeping things secret, willing to be deceived by charlatans? > In 221 BC, a meteorite fell in Dongjun. On the meteorite was engraved "The First Emperor died and the earth was divided." He killed all the nearby residents and set fire to the meteorite. Why is a domineering man who is confident that he can rule for eternity so afraid of a "reactionary slogan"? Rather than fearing death, it is better to say that he is afraid that the building of a unified country will collapse. Qin Shihuang understood better than anyone else that the unified empire he built entirely revolved around him. When he is there, unity is there; when he is not there, unity is not there. > Finally, in the summer of 210 BC, a pair of chariots and horses galloped on the road leading to Xianyang, raising up feet of yellow sand and wafting the stench of abalone, trying their best to hide the most important secret of the empire - the death of Qin Shihuang. On the way to cruise. But the lonely soul of Qin Shihuang clung to all the feudal emperors of later generations. Most of them inherited Qin Shihuang's shortcomings: being aloof and arrogant. But few people learn his strengths: self-confidence and creating a future. >