Yan Le and Zhao Cheng waited downstairs for a while. Seeing that there was no movement above, they went up to check. They saw that the two men had hanged themselves from the beam, so they asked the sergeant to put their bodies down, and then rushed back to report to Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao was overjoyed when he heard that the second emperor was dead. He immediately led Zhao Cheng, Zhao Gui and other close relatives into the Xianyang Palace, went to the emperor's office, took the imperial seal, wore it on his body, and then summoned all officials to come. towards. When all the officials heard that the prime minister was going to court, they all came to the court tremblingly. Zhao Gao looked at the ministers and suddenly laughed and said: "The second emperor is extremely unethical and enjoys too much. He deserves his punishment. He has committed suicide to apologize! Now let's discuss the funeral together!" After listening to Zhao Gao's words, the officials said, Everyone was shocked and at a loss. Zhao Gao asked Yan Le to read a confession he had written long ago, to the effect of:
In the past, the First Emperor went on a tour and unfortunately died of illness in his palace in the sand dunes. The late emperor once left a decree to appoint his eldest son Fusu to inherit the throne. Unexpectedly, Hu Hai relied on his lustful power and colluded with Li Si to tamper with the decree and make Hu Hai the crown prince instead. After Hu Hai came to the throne, he and Li Si forged a posthumous edict, blatantly ordered the death of Fu Su and killed Meng Tian. When the second emperor became emperor, he had neither intelligence nor virtue. He also brutalized the clan, killed ministers, and made the government chaotic. Later, there was a large-scale construction project and excessive taxation, which led to people in Shandong rebelling one after another. His crimes are too numerous to describe. Now the territory of our Qin State is getting smaller and smaller, but the hateful Yi and Di people are invading the border in large numbers. At this time when the country was in danger, Prime Minister Zhao had to stand up and implement the Yi and Lu Ways to mediate the world and stabilize the situation. Now that the Hunjun is dead, the Prime Minister will take charge of the overall situation on behalf of the court.
As soon as the proclamation was read, the ministers in the audience burst into tears. Zhao Gao was furious and reprimanded his officials not to cry. Someone stood up and said angrily: "Zhao Gao, the traitor, how dare you deceive the world! Originally, you forced the second generation to usurp power and seize the throne. You also carried out mass killings to eliminate dissidents. Now you are criticizing the emperor. I will die with you today." !" After saying that, he picked up the wat board and rushed towards Zhao Gao. When Zhao Gao saw that this person turned out to be Geng Zhong, the chief official of Prime Minister Feng's Mansion, he was furious and ordered the warriors to push Geng Zhong out and chop him into mincemeat. Geng Zhong continued to curse him until his death. Zhao Gao killed Geng Zhong, and the courtiers were too frightened to cry anymore.
At this time, one of Zhao Gao's henchmen took the opportunity and said: "Because the second emperor did not understand the art of governing the country, the people of the six countries rebelled. Their purpose was to get rid of the Hunjun. Now that the Hunjun is dead, the Prime Minister You should be in charge of the overall situation. Your great virtue can be compared with King Wu of Zhou Dynasty! Since Prime Minister Zhao has contributed to the country and now has the national jade seal, why don't you follow the destiny and inherit the throne of Qin and serve as the commander-in-chief for all eternity? ?" When the ministers heard that someone was trying to persuade Zhao Gao to become emperor, they were in an uproar, and everyone broke up and left one after another.
When Zhao Gao saw this, he was furious and wanted to send people to capture everyone by force. Zhao Gui hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him and said: "Prime Minister, you can't do that. Now that the Second Emperor has just died, the ministers must not be able to figure it out. This is human nature. If they are pushed into a hurry, they will call on the people of Xianyang to rebel. Besides, they will also There are so many Huben guards. If they unite to fight against us, the situation will be difficult to control." Zhao Gao heard Zhao Gui's analysis and felt that it made sense, so he did not forcibly arrest the minister.
Zhao Cheng and others had been looking forward to Zhao Gao becoming emperor for a long time. Now seeing that all the ministers had dispersed, they shouted loudly: "Please, Prime Minister, please take the throne soon!" The tribesmen also echoed: "Please, Prime Minister, take the throne soon!" Come and fulfill the wishes of the people!" So everyone bowed down and worshiped Zhao Gao, and urged him to proclaim himself emperor. Seeing this opportunity, Zhao Gao happily said: "Okay, thank you for your kindness. I'm just a person with little talent, so I'm afraid I'm not qualified for the job." The tribesmen said in unison: "It's just destiny that cannot be violated. Please don't refuse, Prime Minister!" When Gao Yi heard this, he was very happy, so he followed the trend and said: "Okay, okay, since you said that destiny is hard to violate, then I will agree."
At this moment, someone had already brought the Second Emperor's Gunlong robe, crown, jade belt and Xiuyun shoes on a plate. Zhao Gao was above the court and put on the emperor's new clothes in front of everyone. After he was dressed, he ran to the imperial steps with small steps. Suddenly someone snickered secretly. Zhao Gao reacted immediately and stopped quickly. It turned out that when he was serving the emperor, he always walked up to the palace, so he got used to it and forgot his identity at this time, so he made a fool of himself. Zhao Gao blushed with embarrassment for a moment and had to cough to relieve himself, trying to adjust the embarrassing situation that he had just lost his composure. Zhao Gao regained his composure at this time, took a square step, and walked up to the Golden Step Danbi with his head held high.
When Zhao Gao came to the throne, he did not sit directly. Instead, he first raised his head and looked at the Golden Palace carefully, and then looked around. He saw that the Golden Palace was indeed magnificent, especially the emperor's throne, which was even more brilliant. Zhao Gao did not expect that he had come step by step from a slave to reach the throne of the Emperor today. How incredible it was. What he saw in front of him was the most noble and supreme position in the world. Since ancient times, there have been countless heroes and heroes, and they have fought fiercely for this position. It is such a rare position, but it suddenly appeared in front of me today. When Zhao Gao thought of this, his vision suddenly went dark, and there was another "buzzing" sound in his head. He suddenly felt like the world was spinning and he had a splitting headache. At this time, another cry of "Long live your Majesty, long live, long live your Majesty!" came from the audience. The voice seemed to come from beneath the ground. It was dull and weird, like a tsunami. Zhao Gao quickly raised his head and looked around, only to see the main hall. The golden dome spun, as if it was about to collapse, and the huge carved beams and painted pillars seemed to be falling on his head. Zhao Gao was so frightened that he turned around and ran down Danbi, almost falling down. The people kneeling below were all shocked when they saw Zhao Gao in this state. They didn't know what Zhao Gao saw, so they all looked up to the ceiling of the Golden Palace. But they looked for a long time, but couldn't see anything, so they all asked: "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? What did you see?" Zhao Gao felt dizzy, his heartbeat increased, and he couldn't explain what was going on. .
Seeing Zhao Gao like this, Zhao Gui asked: "Your Majesty, did you see something?" Zhao Gao told everyone about the hallucination just now. Zhao Gui then had an idea and hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, this is all my fault. It is a cloudy day today and the light in the palace is dark. Why did we forget to light the lamps for you!" He hurriedly ordered the palace people to light all the lampstands. The candles above are all lit. After a while, the candles lit up. Zhao Gui and others invited the prime minister to ascend the throne again.
Zhao Gao patted his chest and walked towards the emperor's throne again. This time, he came to the throne very carefully. But as soon as he sat down, a strong wind suddenly blew in from the door of the temple, and the curtains moved with it. At this moment, a palace official suddenly shouted in panic from outside: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty has come in! It's Your Majesty, it's Your Majesty!"
Everyone who heard this was shocked and lost their minds. They didn't know who the palace man was talking about, so they turned around and looked at the door. They saw a palace man running in and standing there motionless. Zhao Ping said angrily: "Isn't Your Majesty sitting up there? What are you talking about?" The palace man said tremblingly: "I just...I just saw...I saw the Second Emperor walking in. I He also walked in, but he...why is he missing?" After hearing this, everyone felt terrified, and they all looked around, looking for where the second son was. At this time, Zhao Gao was so frightened that he suddenly stood up and rushed down Danbi. He kept shouting: "Boy Hu Hai, where are you? I'm not afraid of you! Come out!" But he couldn't do anything. Out of sight. Zhao Ping, Zhao An, and Zhao Pan were extremely angry at this time, so they all pulled out their swords, pointed at the palace servant and said: "You bastard, you are talking nonsense!" The three of them went to kill the palace servant just now. . Zhao Gui hurriedly tried to dissuade him: "No! No! Today is the happy day of His Majesty's enthronement. You can't ruin His Majesty's happiness!" The three men stopped and shouted at the palace officials: "Get out!" The palace man turned around and ran out in a hurry.
Zhao Gui and others once again supported Zhao Gao as the throne. Zhao Gao once again calmed down, calmed down his emotions, and walked towards the throne. But something strange happened again. Suddenly, another strong wind blew into the hall, and the curtains on the left and right were lifted up. Some of the curtains even knocked over the candles on the candlesticks. Just when everyone felt incredible. , Zhao Gao suddenly saw that the golden dome of the hall collapsed again. He was so frightened that he quickly left the throne, but stumbled and fell to the ground, lying there motionless. Everyone was stunned with fear, and they all looked around together, as if they were looking for the ghost of the second generation. After a while, Zhao Gao suddenly started twitching non-stop, and his teeth could be heard chattering. People looked at Zhao Gao nervously, only to see his eyes staring at the ceiling, as if he had seen something, as if he was possessed by an evil spirit.
Zhao Gui boldly stepped forward to check, and everyone called for help. After a long time, Zhao Gao slowly woke up, and then said: "I don't know why, but I saw the temple collapsing many times, and suddenly the surroundings seemed to be on fire, and then I didn't know anything anymore! Did you see that the temple was about to collapse?" Everyone said they didn't. When Zhao Gao was completely awake, he no longer dared to approach the emperor's throne. Zhao Gao thought to himself: This must be because God did not allow him to be the emperor. In order to save himself, he suddenly laughed loudly and said: "I don't want to be the emperor at all, I just want to make you happy! What happened today is just for a laugh!" "After hearing what Zhao Gao said, people didn't know whether it was true or not, and they all looked at each other in confusion. Zhao Gao said: "Hurry up and help me up. I have to do something serious." Zhao Gui and others helped Zhao Gao up together. Zhao Gao sat on the Pill King, and then he felt that everything was normal, and murmured to himself: "I got rid of the faint king just to support justice. How could I have any wrong ideas? Now I want to recommend a Qin king." My young master is to be the emperor, who do you think can take on this great responsibility?" Everyone felt incredible and wanted to continue to persuade him to join. Zhao Gao laughed and said: "I just want to be Yi Yin and Zhou Gong, that's enough!" After saying that, Zhao Cheng asked Zhao Cheng to summon all the officials to go to court again, and never dared to mention being emperor again.
At this time, the officials heard that Zhao Gao did not want to be emperor, but wanted to appoint someone else as emperor, so they reluctantly came to court. When Zhao Gao saw all the officials coming, he said happily: "Everyone, what happened is too sudden. I can't accept it, let alone you? You are frightened. As the saying goes, 'A country cannot live without a king for a day.' Now I ask you to choose one as soon as possible." A young master will be the heir of Qin, right? Huh?...You guys discuss and discuss, who is the most suitable?" The officials just looked at me and I looked at you, but they didn't say anything. Because everyone knows that all the princes in the royal family are dead, how can there be any heirs? Isn't this Zhao Gao's nonsense? Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhao Gao smiled and said, "Ying Ziying, the son of Lord Chang'an, has been without a father since he was a child. He has lived in a deep palace for a long time. He behaves himself and has no bad deeds. This person can inherit the throne!" When the ministers heard that Ziying, the son of Lord Chang'an, was to be made emperor, they all agreed. Zhao Gui disagreed, and said with concern: "Prime Minister, although Ziying lives in seclusion, I have never heard that he has any special talents?" Zhao Gao laughed and said, "Among the Qin clan, this person is the only one who still has the ability." Now, in terms of title, he is the nephew of the First Emperor. Nephews inherit the position of uncles and uncles, which has happened since ancient times! Moreover, Ziying has already had a virtuous name, and the people will definitely support him, so the matter of the crown prince is decided!" Baiguan He said happily: "Okay! Li Ziying is the best! Li Ziying is the best!"
However, Zhao Gui felt sorry for him, and said to Zhao Gao in private: "Prime Minister, originally you were the most suitable to be the emperor. Since you don't want to be the emperor, I am worried that Ziying is young and powerful, and I don't know what he has in mind? Once he takes the throne, he won't listen. What should I do if you say so?" Zhao Gao laughed, drew circles with his right hand, and then said slyly: "Guanzhong is all under my control. I want him to stabilize the situation first. If he doesn't obey in the future, If I want, I will take him..." Zhao Gao said and made a beheading gesture with his hands. Then he said: "He is just a chess piece in my hand, hehe! Haha!" Zhao Gui saw that Zhao Gao had already made up his mind, so he smiled heartily and said: "The prime minister's concerns are very serious, and his plan is very clever. We Not as good as you!"
This Ziying is the son of Chang'an Jun Chengjiao. Since his father left Qin, Ziying has grown up in the deep palace and is already in his thirties this year. Ziying knew the dangers in the palace and was always very self-disciplined, keeping his emotions and emotions in check. In order to protect himself, he never interacted with the ministers of the court. But he was born to be a person who cared about the country and its people. Although he was extremely dissatisfied with Qin's political power and extremely hostile to Zhao Gao, he never showed any sign of dissatisfaction. Now seeing that Zhao Gao openly committed regicide and asked him to become emperor, he secretly swore in his heart: He must find an opportunity to get rid of Zhao Gao. In order to prevent Zhao Gao from seeing his true thoughts, he pretended to be unassertive and mediocre. Now I suddenly heard that Zhao Gao had summoned him. Knowing that the opportunity had come, he led his confidant Han Tan to see Zhao Gao.
When Ziying came to the palace gate, he saw that Zhao Gao had already led the officials to greet him. Ziying pretended to be very scared, and obeyed everything Zhao Gao said. However, Zhao Gao had a grudge. In order to reduce Ziying's power and control him, he said to the officials: "Qin used to be a vassal state. He became emperor only after the First Emperor unified the world. Now that the six kingdoms have been restored, Qin His territory is also limited to Guanzhong, so Qin should no longer have an emperor, but should call the former King of Qin." After hearing Zhao Gao's words, the ministers all said in unison: "The prime minister cannot be demoted." Zhao Gao scolded him. The ministers said: "I decide the affairs of the country. You can only obey! Obey! Do you understand?" The ministers had no choice but to accept it with humility. At this time, Ziying pretended that he had no objection and completely obeyed Zhao Gao's orders. Zhao Gao no longer had any psychological precautions against Ziying.
