Zhao Gao came out and came to see Hu Hai happily and said: "It's done." Hu Hai took Zhao Gao's hand and asked excitedly: "I didn't expect that the Prime Minister would agree so readily!" Zhao Gao laughed and said: "I was ordered by the young master to inform him. How dare Li Si disobey him?" At this time, the sound of cockcrows continued to be heard. Zhao Gao therefore urged Hu Hai to see the prime minister immediately and teach him how to speak. Hu Hai kept the teacher's words in mind and came to see Li Si according to Zhao Gao's wishes. When Li Si heard that Hu Hai was coming, he hurried out to greet him. He showed great respect and invited Hu Hai into the lobby. He knelt down and said, "I discussed with Zhongche Ling last night and thought that the young master was very smart. I wanted to make him the prince. I don't know. What do you think?" Hu Hai was overjoyed when he heard that the prime minister had agreed to make him the prince. He said, "When my father passed away, he handed over important matters to the prime minister, and everything will be subject to your arrangements. If I can successfully inherit the throne, you will Not only will your position not be shaken, you are also the Duke of Zhou of our Great Qin Kingdom!" After Hu Hai said this, Li Si was really happy and hurriedly changed his name to Hu Hai as 'His Royal Highness the Crown Prince'.
The two then summoned Zhao Gao, and the three of them planned together. So he wrote the first corrective edict and established Hu Hai as the prince. Zhao Gao stamped it again and sealed it. Li Si was worried that Fusu and Meng Tian would raise an army to investigate, so he discussed a good strategy with Hu Hai and Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao thought of a vicious plan and said sinisterly: "It is better to create another edict, accuse the two of them of their previous mistakes in the tone of the emperor, and order them to commit suicide. This way there will be no worries!" Hu Hai cried when he heard that he was going to kill his eldest brother. He stopped and said: "How can I bear to kill my brother innocently?" Zhao Gao said: "Since ancient times, we have to be brave and decisive when doing important things. Being kind and soft-hearted is not enough. If we don't kill Fusu now, he will know the truth of the matter in the future. I will definitely kill you! Should the crown prince decide whether you should die or he should die?" Hu Hai burst into tears and said, "It's up to you two to handle this matter. I can't bear to participate!" Zhao Gao then asked Li Si to do it again. He wrote a second corrective edict in the tone of the First Emperor, granting death to Fusu and Mengtian. Li Si was also worried that if Fusu and Meng Tian rebelled against the imperial edict, a mutiny would be triggered. The three of them were frightened and discussed for a long time. Li Si decided to send a soldier as a supervisor to replace Fusu, and then bring the emperor's Tai'a sword with him, so that everything would be safe. The supervisor's name was Tian Tuo. He accepted the order from the prime minister, and set off with the envoy after taking the imperial edict. They rushed straight to Shangjun.
The three of them tampered with the edict and felt that the matter had been settled, and they were all very happy. In order to prevent others from discovering the flaws, they quietly loaded the body of the First Emperor into the carriage before dawn. Everything was ready, and it was already daybreak. Li Si also pretended to have the emperor's order and asked the chariot to set off. Zhao Gao arranged a close confidant general near the chariot and guarded it very closely. Baiguan knew nothing about what happened last night.
The team marched from Jingxing Pass to Jinyang, the capital of Taiyuan County. The weather was very hot at this time, and the emperor's body was already emitting a peculiar smell. Zhao Gao ordered each official to put a basket of abalone on the car to mix the smell. The ministers and soldiers could not tell what was causing the stench. Everywhere we went, the logistics staff still presented meals as usual, and the ministers reported state affairs as usual. However, their memorials were all received by the eunuchs and handed into the carriage, where Li Si or Zhao Gao approved the official documents. Although they were marching in such a hurry, no one knew that the human king Qin Shihuang had passed away. The driver rushed to Jinyang, then took a shortcut through Anyi, the capital of Hedong County, and went straight to Xianyang.
The envoy rushed to Shangjun day and night. At this time, Fusu and Meng Tian happened to be in Fushi City, the prefecture of Shangjun. When they heard that the emperor's envoy had arrived, they hurriedly came out to greet them, and then knelt down to listen to the edict. The envoy unfolded the edict at that time and read it loudly:
I travel around the world and pray for blessings from gods when I meet them, so that I can live a long life. Now Meng Tian has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and has been stationed on the border for several years, but he can't move forward any further. The craftsmen and people are struggling to build the Great Wall, and many people have died. This is all your fault. As a son of a man, Fusu wrote many letters to slander the government. As a minister, he really didn't understand the etiquette of being a minister. As Fusu's father-in-law, Meng Tian could neither correct his mistakes nor teach him to learn well. It was obviously because of the relationship between son-in-law and father-in-law that he deliberately protected him. A minister who does not know how to be filial to his master and a minister who does not know how to be loyal to his master is an unforgivable sin. Now Meng Tian handed over the military power to his deputy general Wang Li, and Tian Tuo acted as the supervisor of Fusu's army. I grant you two to commit suicide with the Tai'a Sword, execute it immediately!
After hearing the edict, Fusu and Mengtian were astonished by the sudden blow. Fusu felt that his eyes were dark, and he stood up after a while. He looked at the sword and the edict in the messenger's hand with dull eyes. When he saw that the sword was the Tai'a sword worn by his father, his mind suddenly "buzzed" "There was a sound and I almost fainted. He braced himself, took the sword and the edict tremblingly, and walked towards the inner hall.
Although Meng Tian was shocked, he had more experience and had experienced many things, so he was not as confused as Fusu when things happened. At this time, he suddenly calmed down, and when he saw Fusu entering, he hurriedly followed him. Fusu held the sword in his arms and cried a few times before committing suicide. Meng Tian hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his sleeves, saying: "Sir, wait a minute, this happened too suddenly! Your Majesty is on a tour now and has no contact with us. Why did your Majesty want us to die? Besides, we are not at fault! Besides, Your Majesty will not be so heartless!" He was wise throughout his life and would never make decisions carelessly. He sent me to lead an army of 300,000 to 400,000 men to be stationed in the north, and also asked the young master to be my supervisor. This is a major matter related to the safety of the world! Now it is only because of the arrival of an envoy , you commit suicide. Who knows if this is someone else's plot? I ask the young master to ask His Majesty for instructions again and ask what crime he has committed? It will not be too late to die after asking for instructions!" Fusu cried bitterly: " The Lord orders his subordinates, and the father orders his son, so what else do you need to ask for? Look, this is the Tai'a sword that my father often wears!" Meng Tian looked at the sword and said, "Your Majesty asked us to be here. There is a purpose in leading troops. The State of Qin implemented a system of prefectures and counties and did not develop a system of feudalism. None of your majesty's sons can command an army or acquire land, so he sent your son to be my supervisor. This is what your majesty means: If there is an emergency in the court, you are the eldest son, and the eldest son is the heir to the throne, so your majesty asked me to help you, which shows how wise he is! Now his majesty is on tour, far away from the capital. What happened between the capital and the outside world? We There is no way of knowing. Please calm down, sir, and never die without knowing why. I will immediately send someone to the east at night to meet His Majesty in person and ask for the reason!"
Fusu was silent for a long time and said disappointedly: "I know my father's temper best. The life and death of others are just a matter of thought to him. Since ancient times, if the king teaches his ministers to die, they will have to die; if the father allows his son to die, the son will have to die. Die! There is nothing to ask for." Meng Tian said angrily: "If an accident happened to His Majesty outside, it was not his original intention, but a conspiracy of traitors! You died without knowing it, and you were wrong. Is it their trap? According to my father's guess, your majesty must have had an accident outside. Your majesty asked you to be my supervisor in order to prevent unexpected events within the court. Now my father has three strategies, please choose from me: First, we Immediately kill the envoy, raise 100,000 troops, march to Xianyang, take control of the capital first, and then ask the emperor for instructions on the crime. This is the best strategy. Second, immediately send someone to inquire about the emperor's current situation, and then ask for instructions on the crime. This is the middle strategy. Third, The young master fled to the Xiongnu country alone. I sent someone to complain to your majesty and ask for the reasons. This is the best policy. In short, we will wait for instructions before making a decision. Even if we are guilty, we still have to work hard! Your majesty will definitely regret it and pardon us. No matter what , Young Master must not die first. Please follow Father's plan to keep yourself useful, and then do something useful!" Fusu raised his head and said slowly: "If we follow your plan and ask for instructions, it is indeed Father who wants us to die. What? We are treason! Wouldn't it be more unjust to die at that time and be charged with treason? Old general, stop talking. If you don't want to die, please tell your father whether I can help Suning die. Do something unfaithful, unfilial, or unjust!" After saying this, he raised his sword and wiped his neck. Meng Tian hugged Fusu and shouted: "How can this be rebellion? It is done according to the emperor's original intention, for the sake of the country of Qin! You foolish young master, please wake up!" At this time, the envoy followed. Coming in, he and Tian Tuo urged Meng Tian ruthlessly: "Does the general want to resist the imperial edict and rebel?" When Fusu heard the word 'rebellion', he raised his head and shouted, pushed Meng Tian away, and committed suicide.
When Meng Tian saw that Fusu was dead, he lay on the body and cried loudly, his heart broken. Meng Tian refused to die inexplicably like this and did not commit suicide. The envoy captured him, took away the general's seal, and put him in a prison cart. The deputy general, Wang Li, was shocked and at a loss when he saw what happened so suddenly, so he had to take over the general's seal. Tian Tuo served as the supervisor. When the soldiers heard that Fusu had been killed and Meng Tian had been arrested, their morale was in an uproar. There is a poem lamenting Fusu:
As soon as he drew the knife, he sighed and lamented. The regret and injustice are now ancient and strange.
If Fusu listens to the big plan, a hundred thousand soldiers will come.
The messenger rushed back to the capital at starry night with Tai'a's sword in hand to resume his life. By this time the emperor's chariot had arrived in Xianyang. Hu Hai, Li Si, and Zhao Gao were overjoyed when they heard that Fusu had died and that Meng Tian was being held in custody in Yangzhou County, so they announced the funeral. The ministers and people were shocked when they heard that the First Emperor had passed away. Prime Minister Feng Quji and Li Si led hundreds of officials to put on mourning and set up a mourning hall to pay homage. Because Lishan Mausoleum was not completed yet, the coffin was temporarily placed in Xianyang Palace.
Immediately after Li Si, the left prime minister, took over as regent, he summoned all officials to go to court. Zhongche ordered Zhao Gao to read out the edict in public, establishing Prince Hu Hai as emperor, the second emperor, known as Qin II in history. The ministers were shocked. They did not expect that the young son Hu Hai would be the one to take the throne. After the new emperor ascended the throne, Feng Quji remained the right prime minister, and Li Si became the left prime minister. But Li Si had made a contribution to the establishment of the new emperor, and the affairs in the court were mainly decided by him, while the positions of other officials remained unchanged. Hu Hai promoted Zhao Gao to the rank of Lang Zhongling. From then on, Zhao Gao entered the palace and served under the new emperor, and the power of the palace fell into his hands.
