The real reason for the defection of Rees Dune

In 2 10 BC, one night shortly after Qin Shihuang died on a sand dune during his southern tour, People's Republic of China (PRC) Secretariat official Zhao Gao paid a temporary visit to Prime Minister Reese. They have been officials for many years and have known each other for a long time, but this time Zhao Gao didn't come for tea and chat. He harbored a shocking plot to decide the fate of the Qin empire: persuading the most powerful figures in the imperial court to tamper with the testamentary edict with him, putting Fu Su, the eldest son of the throne heir who was loved by the former emperors and won the hearts of the people, and Meng Tian, the general with outstanding military achievements, to death, and making Hu Hai, the little emperor, the emperor.

This seems an impossible task.

Qin Shihuang is as heavy as a mountain to Li Sen. Li Si was originally a frustrated young civil servant in a county of Chu. He immigrated to Qin in his thirties. At first, he worked as a copywriter in Xiangfu. It was Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, who had an eye for talent and was promoted to the position of Prime Minister all the way. Moreover, "all the men were Princess Qin and all the women married Qin's son", thus forming an interest relationship with the royal family. For the gratitude of the first emperor, Lisi never forgot, and faithfully helped the first emperor to realize the great cause of unifying the world, leaving a reputation of "eternal phase". Although Zhao Gao was a glib talker, Reese was the most outstanding thinker, politician, writer and eloquent master of that era. At that time, he risked his life to write a letter "exhorting guests to be expelled", which simply persuaded the headstrong king of Qin to take back his life. It should be more difficult for Zhao Gao to get Reese by "bluffing".

To the surprise of history, after several rounds of arguments, Reese actually obeyed. The death knell of Daqin Empire rang.

For more than 2,000 years, the reason for the defection of Rees Dune comes down to one word "greed": insatiable for the power and wealth gained by oneself, and keeping one's own phase. Hu Ceng, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem for the tomb of Lisi, "Don't think about Xianyang's bloody clothes when you retire", which represents the general view of the world.

This is really unfair to Reese! At that time, Reese was over 70 years old. At that time, he was already an ancient man. As a great scholar of Xunzi, Lisi knew the philosophy of ups and downs. Why did he change the stage of his work for several years at the great cost of betraying and betraying the first emperor?

In fact, if we look at Qin's political system and officialdom ecology, it is not difficult to find that the real reason for Reese's desertion is actually a word of "fear".

Reese fear, of course, is not a small "confidential secretary general of the office" Zhao Gao, this has nothing to do with Hu Hai's throne, but Zhao Gao pointed out the harsh facts:

"Officer's fellow officer also, fortunately, with the pen of a sword into Qin Gong, in charge of more than 20 years, have never seen Qin from the prime minister knighthood and II died over. The emperor has more than twenty sons, as you know. The eldest son is resolute and brave, trusting and brave. When he ascended the throne, he will definitely use Meng Tian as prime minister. After all, the monarch will not fail to understand that Hou Yinzhi returned to the village, and it will be clear. "-"Biography of Historical Records and Reese "

What a shocking word! Zhao Gao is a villain, but every word of this sentence is true. Shang Yang, the most respected legalist ancestor of Li Si, is also a foreigner. With the support of Qin, the iron fist reform made Qin rise rapidly. But when Pharaoh died, his head was cut off by the new king for treason. Another famous businessman, Lv Buwei, is a business tycoon. With superb political and business operation, Leng changed the father of Qin Shihuang who was taken hostage in other countries from a "junk stock" to an heir to the throne, paving the way for Ying Zheng to succeed to the throne. During his administration, he engaged in cultural projects such as the Spring and Autumn Annals of the State of Lu, expanding "soft power" for the State of Qin. At that time, Reese himself was introduced to the king of Qin. But "Lu Bole" was later born to die, and Ying Zheng, the king of Qin who once respected him as the "father", dismissed from office and rushed back to a remote fief. A few years later, even though he was dying, Ying Zheng didn't let go. He sent messengers all the way to kill him with a cup of poisoned wine sent by the court. Gan Mao, Fan Ju and Zhang Yi, who made great contributions to the prosperity of Qin, were also suspected by the king of Qin. Fortunately, they found out in time that they had left other countries before saving their lives.

Why did the Prime Minister become a high-risk occupation in Qin State? It's all the fault of legalists.

Because the state of Qin used Shang Yang to govern the country with legalism, the king of Qin gained absolute autocratic privilege and lived the best life among kings of all countries. Everything in the world, big or small, depends on the world. He is not only not supervised by the lower people, but also not restricted by the governors, nobles and clergy within the ruling class. No wonder the new king who succeeded to the throne personally hated Shang Yang, but he was deeply impressed by Shang Jun's system and did everything right. Under an unrestricted monarchy, there is no room for an independent judicial system. Only in the king's mind can subjects be killed and captured. The prime minister is in charge of all officials and the prime minister is in charge of state affairs. Under one person, above ten thousand people, if he has both talent and achievements, as well as disobedience, that is the greatest threat to the supreme imperial power. Therefore, without the favor of the king of Qin, the prime minister would be in trouble. Even if I want to return to ordinary people, I can't get it. You must destroy your body and eradicate the root cause. Because your close partisans and students are still there, their influence is still there, and the possibility of a comeback is there. How can the king rest assured?

This absolute autocratic system, initiated by legalists, turned the living prime minister into a prey around the monarch tiger. The monarch's favor is the only amulet for the prime minister and other senior officials. The first emperor died suddenly, and Reese's amulet suddenly failed. Will it be renewed by the possible new emperor Fu Su?

The answer is no, this is the source of Reese's fear.

Reese and Fu Su are selfless friends with different political views. Li Si once supported Qin Shihuang's "burning books to bury Confucianism", but Fu Su tried his best to stop it. So, in a rage, my father rushed to the Great Wall Corps, and Meng Tian, the commander in chief, "came down to exercise". In other countries during the Warring States period, it is also a great event for Lisi to "retire" after the new owner took office and go back to his hometown to spend his old age. But in the Qin empire, which advocated legalism, Reese had only one dead end. In the political design of Legalists, there is no "withdrawal mechanism" of prime ministers. Therefore, protecting the pet and keeping watch is to save lives, not to save the lives of family members. From ancient times to the present, Li Sibo knows everything, and I have been the highest judicial officer of Qin State, Ting Wei, for many years. How could I not know this bloody "Prime Minister's Shipwreck History"? He and Fu Su had estrangement, and have been in politics for decades. How can he have nothing on his political opponents? What would Reese do if the new emperor dug up the old accounts that Han Fei was killed by his slanderers and settled them together? Gan Mao, Fan Ju and Zhang Qian are still on the run. Now Daqin dominates the country, where can he escape? Even if Reese spared no effort, Qin has the cool method of "yi nationality" and "sitting together", he can't ignore the consequences of beheading more than 100 people of his descendants and three families, can he? No wonder Zhao Gao once knew that Reese was in a mess, and finally he began to cry regardless of the face of the Prime Minister.

He was really scared, that trembling fear. It is not so much fear of Fu Su as fear of Qin's autocratic system without judicial independence. At the moment, Zhao Gao brought Hu Hai's promise to let him continue to be prime minister, which is undoubtedly a card for his family to avoid death. How does Reese refuse its temptation?

It is not the personal character and style of the king of Qin that makes senior officials feel insecure and afraid in the face of imperial power, but the original intention of legalist system design. Only this fear of infiltrating into the bone marrow can make senior officials absolutely succumb to the absolute authority of the king and dare not have the fantasies of rebellion and crime. It is not difficult to understand that "fear" has become an epidemic throughout the Qin court. Because they understand that once the king turns against them, there is no just and independent judicial system to be their shield. General Zhang Han was the last pillar of the crumbling Qin Dynasty. He was afraid that Zhao Gao would be sentenced to slander Qin Ershi. He surrendered to the enemy, who killed his uncle in the battle and sent Xiang Yu. Zhao Gao himself, because he had been enemies with Fu Su's confidant Montaigne, was afraid of being retaliated after Fu Su's superior position, so he instigated the dune coup. Later, because he was afraid that II would ask him about the crime of ineffective suppression of the anti-Qin Yijun, he simply killed the new emperor who was cornered in that year. When the lower classes, such as Chen Sheng and Guangwu, were in danger of being beheaded, they rebelled out of fear, and the days of the powerful Daqin Dynasty ended. Originally, it was to ensure the permanence of imperial power, but it led to the consequences of its demise the next year, which was probably unexpected by the sages of Legalism.