"The First Warrior of the Qin Kingdom" Meng Tian: A family of three generations of loyal men, in charge of an army of 300,000, who would rather die than rebel. What happened next?

The prosperity of a dynasty begins with the appointment of talented people and the determined reform; while the decline of a dynasty begins with internal strife and life-and-death conspiracy struggles.

The ability of Qin to unify the six kingdoms and annex the four seas was inseparable from the assistance of virtuous ministers and famous generals; the death of his second generation was inseparable from the instigation of sinister villains.

And Meng Tian, ??the "first warrior of the Qin State", happened to be a witness and personal experience of a dynasty's transition from prosperity to decline.

Flower of Famous Generals

Meng Tian, ??like Wang Ben and Wang Li at the same time, also came from a famous military general family during the Warring States Period.

Meng Tian's grandfather Meng Ao defected from Qi to King Zhaoxiang of Qin. Just in time for Shang Yang's reform, Qin established the military merit system and established an army known as the "Tiger and Wolf Division". With his extraordinary bravery, he led troops to attack South Korea and Zhao State successively, until he became a minister.

Meng Tian’s father, Meng Wu, followed the famous general Wang Jian. He served as deputy general twice and participated in the battle to conquer the Chu Kingdom. He was also one of the famous military generals at that time.

It was in such an atmosphere of growing up environment that Meng Tian and his younger brother Meng Yi were influenced by each other since childhood, and gradually grew into young heroes with great ambitions, determined to charge into battle and serve the country. He was talented and well-versed in military literature, and he showed great military talent very early.

His military exploits are shining

In 221 BC, Meng Tian appeared in history books for the first time, following Wang Ben to attack Qi. The battle went extremely smoothly. After the fall of Qi, he was naturally named Neishi (the highest administrator of the capital of Qin) for his merits.

But Meng Tian’s story did not end there. After the Qin State annexed the world, the Huns in the north became Qin Shihuang’s biggest worry. They have been harassing the border all year round, making it difficult for the people on the border to live in peace, and presenting a desolate and dilapidated scene.

After that, Meng Tian was ordered to lead an army of 300,000 people to conquer the Huns in the north. This journey was majestic and unstoppable. Henan was recovered one after another (the area around Yikezhao League in the south of Hetao in present-day Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), and thirty-four counties were established from Yuzhong to the north of Yijinhuoluo Banner in present-day Inner Mongolia) to Yinshan.

Then he led his army across the Yellow River, occupied Yangshan, immigrated to the border, and managed the originally desolate border with great vigor.

In order to further resist the Xiongnu, he recruited strong men and connected the Great Wall originally built by Yan, Zhao and Qin into one, and built it from Liaodong in the east to Lintao (now Minxian County, Gansu) in the west. Great Wall.

The Great Wall stretches for thousands of years and remains majestic, blocking countless ethnic minorities who intend to go south, buying breathing time for the Central Plains dynasties and benefiting future generations. Meng Tian’s contribution is indispensable.

After this battle with the Huns, Meng Tian became famous and powerful in all directions. After that, he stationed in Shangjun for more than ten years. The Huns no longer dared to act rashly, and the border was able to recuperate, develop production, and gradually become prosperous.

Qin Shihuang undoubtedly loved and cherished talents. Meng Tian was so talented that he undoubtedly gained his appreciation and favor.

He not only trusted Meng Tian, ??but also got close to Meng Tian's younger brother Meng Yi. Meng Yi was Qin Shihuang's close servant inside and rode in the same carriage with him when outside.

One of the two brothers fought hard outside, and the other made suggestions in the court. Their reputation was unparalleled for a while, and no one in the civil and military circles in the court dared to compete with them.

Lao Tzu once said: "Blessings are where misfortune lies; misfortunes are where blessings lie." Although the two brothers have great glory, at the same time, the root of their misfortune is quietly buried, just like a stone. A time bomb that could explode at any time.

The Fall of the Meteor

Meng Yi is an upright man, enforces the law strictly and is not afraid of the powerful. One time, Zhao Gao, who was still a chamberlain at the time, made a mistake and was sentenced to death according to law, but was pardoned by Qin Shihuang.

Since then, the seeds of hatred have taken root in Zhao Gao's heart. He has been looking for opportunities to kill the Meng brothers.

In 210 BC, Qin Shihuang died of illness in a sand dune during a tour. Zhao Gao and Prime Minister Li Si quickly blocked the news, but Meng Yi, who was ordered to pray for Qin Shihuang outside, had no idea.

Zhao Gao was very clever. After blocking the news, he immediately seized Qin Shihuang's imperial edict. He was worried that it would be detrimental to him to reuse Meng Tian after Fusu came to the throne, so he conspired with Hu Hai and forced Li Si to forge the imperial edict and pass on the emperor's location. Hu Hai also fabricated charges to kill Fu Su and Meng Tian.

In the feudal era, if the king wanted his ministers to die, the ministers had to die; if the father wanted his son to die, how could the son dare not disobey? Fusu didn't have much excuse and had no choice but to commit suicide with hatred. However, Meng Tian had doubts and made demands to the envoys who came to deliver the edict, begging him to be innocent.

The envoy was helpless, so he took Meng Tian to Yangzhou and imprisoned him to await the decree of Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin. After Fusu's death, Hu Hai felt that no one could threaten his status, so he wanted to let the Meng brothers go.

But Zhao Gao was afraid that the two would gain power against him again, so he insisted on driving them out to death.

He first spread rumors, claiming that Meng had said bad things about Hu Hai in front of the First Emperor on the issue of establishing a prince, which successfully aroused Hu Hai's resentment. He immediately ordered Meng Yi to be imprisoned and killed. Then, he sent envoys to grant death to Mengtian.

Meng Tian had already learned about the death of Qin Shihuang at this time, and also learned about the murder of his younger brother Meng Yi.

The messenger declared: "There are too many kings, and your brother Meng Yi has committed a serious crime, and the law is against the internal history. He gave poisonous wine to death."

Now that the words have been spoken, everything has become clear. The first emperor's "posthumous edict" previously accused him of being unfaithful, and Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, added another charge of "simultaneous sitting". The two "crimes" were punished at the same time, and he could no longer defend himself. With 300,000 troops in hand, rebellion is easy. For the sake of loyalty, he can only drink poisonous wine and die unjustly.

A glass of poisonous wine ended the short life of this famous general, and at the same time played an elegy for the declining Great Qin Empire.

After Meng Tian died, Zhao Gao applauded him. He immediately set out to eliminate dissidents, eradicated one by one the pillars on which the Qin Empire relied on to maintain the important responsibilities entrusted by Qin Shihuang, and personally pushed the Qin Empire into a state of irreversible danger. abyss.

At this time, the Qin Dynasty was full of gold and jade, but inside was ruined. There was only a mere appearance of a shelf. As long as someone pushed it lightly, it would collapse.

In the first year after Meng Tian's death, that is, in 209 BC, war broke out, the princes rioted, and the previously prosperous border became desolate again.

The Huns took advantage of the chaos to occupy the Hetao Plain, and quickly grew in strength. They unified the northern grasslands in one fell swoop and became the biggest enemy of the Central Plains Dynasty again.

In 206 BC, Liu Bang led his troops into Hanzhong, Prince Qin Ying surrendered out of the city, and the Qin Dynasty fell. The Qin Empire, which was once so powerful, quickly withered like an epiphyllum and never regained its former glory.

For Meng Tian, ??later generations have their own opinions on the evaluation. Some people praised him for being loyal to generations, brave and good at fighting, severely inflicting heavy losses on the Xiongnu, and making him famous in all directions; others commented that he went on a massive construction project to build the Great Wall, which led to people's poverty and complaints.

However, for himself and the Qin Dynasty, what he did is still worthy of praise. If you are a minister, you must be loyal, and you must abide by your duties for the country. Your life will not be in vain, your heart will be clear, and your death will be honorable.