It turned out that the Wang sisters didn't know where the emperor was. When they came to find out, Zhao Gao got ahead of them. The royal sisters were so angry that they rushed in without waiting for the gatekeeper's report. They rushed into the palace and shouted where His Majesty was. When the people in the palace saw that it was Wang Sister, they didn't dare to stop her. At this time, Zhao Gao had already led his men to rush over from the side corridor. Seeing the menacing Wang Sisters, he immediately ordered the warriors to capture them all. Although the royal sisters were angry, they were women after all, and they were all extremely weak. How could they withstand the powerful tiger guards and were tied up. When they saw that Zhao Gao was causing trouble here again, they cursed him as a rebellious minister and traitor who was causing harm to the country and the people. It's a pity that the king's sisters were arrested and taken to the city without even seeing the second generation.
Zhao Gao then went into the palace and said to the Second Emperor: "Your Majesty, back then Sun Wu killed the two concubines of King Wu and made the Kingdom of Wu dominate. Now if we don't torture those who rebelled against us, it will not be enough to warn others. ." The Second Emperor understood what he meant and asked what punishment method was best. Zhao Gao said cruelly: "If you want to make those people with evil intentions completely afraid of you, you have to use the punishment of splitting the car!" The second generation nodded and said yes. Zhao Gao prepared to execute the princess of Qin by splitting her chariot into pieces.
As an important part of the ancient legal system, punishment's development and changes are essentially a reflection of the development and progress of the entire Chinese society. The reasons for the development and changes of the penal system are multi-layered. Different eras have different characteristics, and different people in power at the same time also have different measures. But the general development trend is from primitive barbarism, backwardness, and cruelty to civilization and cautious punishment. But in the Qin State two thousand years ago, the criminal law was still very cruel and heinous. For example, the chariot-breaking punishment is a kind of torture in ancient China. It is commonly known as dismemberment by five horses. It means that the head and limbs of a person are tied to five chariots, hitched to the horses, and pulled in different directions. A person's body is torn into five pieces, so it is called a car split. Sometimes this punishment was carried out without a cart, but directly with five oxen or five horses, so the chariot split was commonly known as five oxen or five horses. The cracked chariot was called the chariot shaft or chariot shaft in ancient times. You must know that it takes a lot of effort to cut off a person's head and limbs, let alone pull them off, and the pain suffered by the victim can be imagined. This is simply unparalleled torture!
The people in Xianyang City were seeing off the Wang Sisters. Some of them were angry, some lamented, and some shed tears. Although people deeply resented the wrong decision of II and Zhao Gao, they did not dare to speak and could only express deep sympathy for the princesses who were about to be sentenced. The common people are thinking: Although Qin is a country with extremely strict legal system, you cannot do anything as you please, and all actions must be carried out under the premise of being permitted by national laws. But why is there now a cruel life-and-death struggle within the Qin State? The great human king, the First Emperor, gave birth to more than twenty princesses. Why did he kill them all at once? Have they really committed a heinous crime that is unforgivable? Why is it so unlucky to be born into an emperor's family? You see, the princes are so handsome and smart, and the princesses are so beautiful and virtuous. Now they all have to die young. God is so cruel! This life is really unpredictable, and misfortunes and blessings are also very unpredictable! When everyone was in disbelief, Zhao Gao had already escorted ten beautiful and kind-hearted princesses to the execution place for execution. Suddenly bursts of sad wailing burst out from the crowd, and the suppressed sounds grew louder and louder. In the end, people could no longer control their emotions, so they all burst into tears.
As the supervisor, Zhao Gao saw the people crying. Not only did he show no mercy, he also scolded the officials inhumanely, asking them to stop the people immediately. The officials yelled at the people watching, asking them to stop crying immediately. But how is this possible? People's emotions are naturally revealed in different circumstances. How can people's emotions be changed by force and intimidation? Not to mention human beings, even stone men and iron men would shed emotional tears at this time. However, Zhao Gao not only personally caused this human tragedy, but also wanted to use power to change people's emotional world in an extremely inhumane manner.
When the time for execution arrived, there was a sudden silence on the execution ground. Zhao Gao ordered the sergeants to execute them one by one with the extremely cruel torture of being broken into pieces. It was pitiful for the ten princesses of the First Emperor. They were usually favored and pampered, but now they were about to die. When the people saw the execution, they were so frightened that they covered their faces. In a short time, the ten princesses were tied to the carriage by the executioner... But none of the brave princesses begged for mercy from the executioner, and no one begged for life. They all behaved very strongly, and they fought Zhao Gao until they died. He cursed endlessly.
Strange to say, just when the princesses had just been executed, the sky suddenly became cloudy, and soon there was a cool breeze, and heavy snow fell. This strange phenomenon is inexplicable, so the people of Xianyang really believe that there are strange injustices in the world and heavy snowfall in June. This is why God will shed tears for them again! It's still the turn of summer and autumn, so why did it suddenly snow heavily? People who saw this phenomenon couldn't help but become afraid, so people ran in panic on the execution ground, causing chaos in the entire execution ground. At this time, the executioners were also frightened. They no longer listened to what Zhao Gao said, but ran randomly among the crowd, as if God wanted to kill them. At this moment, time and space seemed to have stopped, and the entire Xianyang City seemed to have turned into an eerie underworld...
When the ministers of the court heard that Zhao Gao had executed ten princesses by car-breaking, they were all shocked and lost their minds. Li Si shed tears and sighed: "Misfortune lies where blessings depend, and fortune lies where misfortune lies." I, Li Si, am guilty of the Shaqiu conspiracy! My late emperor, my late emperor! I'm so sorry for you! I'm also sorry for the great Qin State. Ah!" A poem lamented Li Si and said:
It’s hard to write a book about seeking skin from a tiger, but God’s likeness predicts disaster.
In the past, thieves were a hidden danger, so why lament the misfortunes and blessings now?
There was also a young master named Ying Gao in the palace. Because of his physical disability, he did not go out all year round. Now that he saw that a disaster was imminent, he wanted to escape, but he was worried that his mother would be implicated, so he came and said to her: " All the brothers and sisters are dead, and I am the only one who is still alive, because I am a disabled person! If we don't find a solution as soon as possible, will it affect you, mother?" Gao's mother said sadly: "Don't worry, my son. As long as your mother is here, they won't do anything to you!" Ying Gao said: "Disaster will befall you one day. The child thought hard. Instead of waiting to die, it would be better to accompany the late emperor. This will also give him a reputation as a virtuous and filial piety. Mother Only then will everything be safe!" Gao's mother burst into tears and cried: "I would rather die than let you leave me. My son doesn't have to be stupid, my mother must protect you!" Mother and son hugged each other and cried all night. .
The next day, when his mother was not paying attention, Ying Gao sneaked out of the palace to see the Second Emperor and said, "When the late emperor was here, he often gave me clothes and delicious food. Now I would like to accompany the late emperor. Only in this way can I repay the kindness of raising him." After hearing this, the Second Emperor asked Zhao Gao: "Can this thing work?" Zhao Gao said very happily: "A minister dies for the king, and a son dies for his father. This is an eternal saying. How can it not work?" The second generation was overjoyed and immediately rewarded Ying Gao with 100,000 yuan as burial expenses. Ying Gao accepted the reward, thanked him sadly and left. The Second Emperor asked Zhao Gao again: "Is this because he originally wanted to rebel, but now he made such a decision when he saw that his colleagues were all dead?" Zhao Gao smiled in agreement and said: "Yes, yes, yes, Your wise Majesty, you are so right! They can't even save their own lives, so of course they will never have the idea of rebellion in the future." After hearing this, the second generation jumped up with joy.
Suddenly, heartbreaking cries came from outside. Someone came in and reported, "Young Master Gao's mother asked to see you." Zhao Gao quickly said to the Second Emperor: "Young Master Gao wanted to rebel, and it was his mother who instigated it. Now Gao is taking the initiative to bury the late emperor because he is afraid of harming his mother. Although his son is filial, his mother may not agree, so she must be here to plead for mercy, and Ying Gao's mother should be thrown into the cold palace. Then the people will say: Your Majesty enforces the law and does not avoid the late emperor's concubines, then the world Everyone will think you are the wisest king!" The Second Emperor said, "Great, let's throw her into the cold palace." The guards on the left and right agreed and walked out. After a while, Ying Gao's mother's cries were no longer heard.
The young master went out of the palace and came to his residence. He heard that his mother had entered the palace to plead for him. He thought that if the emperor agreed, Zhao Gao would frame him, so he quickly ordered the palace people: "After I die, you will bury me in the palace." Next to the late emperor's mausoleum." After saying this, he hanged himself in the hall. The indiscriminate killing of the second generation aroused great anger among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty. In the next few days, many people came to the court to remonstrate. But the Second Emperor didn't listen to them at all. Not only that, he also dismissed all the three ministers who came to remonstrate. There is a poem praising the First Emperor:
The history of the ages has lamented the rise and fall, so why should the successors learn from the First Emperor?
It is difficult for angels to help Su stand up, and even more so for his flesh and blood to kill each other.
