The King of Qin was already angry with Lao Ai for planning to kill Cheng Jiao, but now he led his army to rebel. He was extremely angry! Chang Wenjun Han Qi was ordered to judge Lao Ai strictly. Han Qi knew that this was a hot potato. He originally wanted to protect himself and shied away from not knowing the case, which would make him incompetent. However, he was severely reprimanded by the King of Qin. After seeing the courage of the King of Qin who was in power, Han Qi did not dare to shirk anymore, so he had to hold on. Scalp took over the matter of trial.
Although Lao Ai was the flesh of his wife at this time, Lu Buwei could not be happy.
Lu Buwei's eldest son was killed by the rebels during the rebellion, all the houses were destroyed, and the Lu Mansion was in a mess; now Lao Ai was captured alive again, and Lao Ai's trial would inevitably lead to him being involved, which was what he least wanted to see.
From the bottom of his heart, Lu Buwei did not want Lao Ai to rebel with force. His original plan was to rely on the King of Qin to gradually reduce the real power in Lao Ai's hands. If Lao Ai rebelled with force, both sides would suffer no matter whether he won or lost. Originally it was Lu Buwei who wanted Lao Ai to fall the most, but now that the King of Qin was about to put Lao Ai on trial, Lu Buwei became afraid. He and his retainers chose to remain silent and never reported anything.
The censors were not idle. First, they accused Lao Ai of being lawless, violating etiquette without authorization, and forming cliques for personal gain. Later, they exposed the scandal of Lao Ai's affair with the Empress Dowager Zhao, including the two illegitimate children who were also found and sent to the King of Qin. The King of Qin was furious and killed Lao Ai's two illegitimate sons in public! Although the Empress Dowager Zhao begged, the King of Qin still did not take back his order.
As the trial of the case progressed, Han Qi learned that Lu Buwei planned Lao Ai's entry into the palace. Of course, Lu Buwei could not have done this just to please the Empress Dowager Zhao. The risk of doing so was too great. It was most likely that the Empress Dowager Zhao instigated Lu Buwei. do. After thinking about this, Han Qi understood why Lu Buwei remained silent from beginning to end.
But even if he knew the truth, this was still a difficult case. Han Qi couldn't decide whether or how to sentence Lu Buwei, so he reported it to the King of Qin privately.
King Qin asked Li Si how to judge Lu Buwei. Li Si said: "From a legal point of view, Lu Buwei acted under the orders of the Queen Mother. Although what he did was inappropriate, he cannot be said to be wrong and should be punished accordingly." It may be difficult to convince the public. In addition, if the crime is increased at this time, it will further highlight the fault of the Queen Mother."
"Then Mr. Yi said he was pardoned?"
"Otherwise, as the Prime Minister, Lu Buwei failed to detect the rebellion launched by Lao Ai in advance. This is the first crime. After the mutiny occurred, he did not deal with it in time and did not send troops to quell the rebellion until he alarmed the king. This is the second crime!"
"I thought that my husband would be excused because he had been a disciple of Lu Buwei, but I didn't expect that my husband would attach great importance to the country! It is really a blessing for the Qin Dynasty!" King Qin became more and more satisfied with Li Si, and it was the right time to employ people after taking office. , King Qin wanted to take the opportunity to promote him.
"Your Majesty, you are ridiculous. I only think about your Majesty. Deposing Lu Buwei actually clears the way for your Majesty to take charge of the government. Lu Buwei has been in power for more than ten years. If the officials in the court do not devote themselves to Lao Ai, they will devote themselves to Lu Buwei. Now Lao Ai's power has disappeared. After being eradicated, Lu Buwei's power should no longer exist." Li Si knew in his heart that if he wanted to get ahead, he must drive Lu Buwei out of the court. There is no room for two tigers in one mountain! This is the opportunity that I have been waiting for for many years, how can I give up so easily.
King Qin agreed with Li Si's suggestion, but he also understood that he had just taken over the throne and his foundation was unstable. Lu Buwei had a big tree and deep roots. Dealing with Lu Buwei immediately might cause turmoil. Therefore, he only reprimanded Lu Buwei at the court meeting for not being able to see clearly and take preventive measures, which led to the Lao'ai rebellion. .
However, just by reprimanding him, many people came to the Qin Palace to intercede for Lu Buwei. Dao Xiangguo was indeed a meritorious person and should not be reprimanded. The more people came to intercede, the more wary King Qin became about Lu Buwei. Now it is enough to see how powerful Lu Buwei is. King Qin was secretly frightened, but remained calm on the surface, watching the performance of Lu Buwei and his disciples coldly.
After the case of Lao Ai was found out, the King of Qin ordered the car to split Lao Ai and destroy his three tribes! Twenty people including Wei Wei Jie, Nei Shisi, Zuo Yi Jie, and Zhongda Fu Ling Qi who participated in the rebellion were also executed, and their heads were hung on the gates of Xianyang City; Lao Ai's retainers were sentenced according to the severity of their crimes. , more than 4,000 people lost their titles and moved to Shu. It was freezing cold this month, and countless people froze to death.
The disposal of Queen Mother Zhao has been delayed for three months. As the biological mother of King Qin and the Queen Mother who assisted in the government, what she did made King Qin most angry. It can be said that Lao Ai's rebellion was the result of Queen Mother Zhao's connivance.
The King of Qin ordered the Queen Mother Zhao to be expelled from Xianyang and moved to Yongcheng. Mother and son would never see each other again! Empress Dowager Zhao cried bitterly and begged, "It was not my original intention for Lao Ai to rebel. It was also my impulsive choice to kill Lu Buwei. When I learned that he wanted to harass the palace, I realized the seriousness of the problem. I will inform you quickly, please, Wang Nian, please go online because of the deep love between mother and son for many years!"
King Qin still couldn't bear the scandal of his mother having an affair and having a child, so he said: "This is all a punishment for the mother's impulsiveness. You should spend the rest of your life in Yongcheng to reflect on it!"
After the Queen Mother Zhao was expelled from Xianyang, many people came to plead for her, thinking that King Qin's behavior was unethical. The King of Qin was angry that the Empress Dowager Zhao had teamed up with Lao Ai to frame Cheng Jiao, which made him unkind. The second was that the Empress Dowager Zhao had an affair with Lao Ai and gave birth to a child, which made him unjust. Therefore, he executed all those who came to intercede for the Queen Mother. ! Twenty-seven people were killed before and after! The King of Qin issued an order, saying: "Anyone who dares to plead for the Queen Mother again will have his hands and feet cut off and be executed immediately!"
For a time, no one dared to give advice.
At this time, Mao Jiao, who was a guest in Qin, asked to see him. King Qin thought to himself, could he be here to intercede for the Queen Mother again? He sent an envoy to warn him, "Did you know that anyone who came to remonstrate with the Queen Mother about pardoning the Queen Mother was killed?"
Mao Jiao said: "Of course I know! And I also know that the king has ordered that anyone who pleads for mercy will have their hands and feet chopped off and be executed immediately!"
After hearing the reply, King Qin thought that he was not here to plead for the Queen Mother, so he received him. Entering the court, Mao Jiao introduced himself to his family: "Your Majesty, Mao Jiao, is from the State of Qi. Today I have come to persuade the King about the Queen Mother's affairs!"
King Qin was startled and said, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
Mao Jiao replied: "I heard that there are twenty-eight stars in the sky. Now the king has executed twenty-seven of them. I am here to make up the number of twenty-eight. I am not afraid of death!"
King Qin said angrily: "This kid came here to disobey my order on purpose. Come here! Prepare a big pot quickly, I'm going to cook him."
Mao Jiao said: "I heard that long-lived people are not taboo about talking about death, and kings are not taboo about studying the demise of their country. People's lifespan will not be long because they taboo about death, and a country will not be preserved because it is taboo about its demise. The life and death of a person, the country The survival and death of human beings are what an enlightened monarch would most like to study. Please listen to what I have to say before you kill me!"
At this time, King Qin became curious about this daring scholar, and asked: "Okay, just finish what you said, so that you can understand!"
Mao Jiao said: "A loyal minister does not say flattering words, and a wise king does not do things that go against the world. Now, the king has done extremely ridiculous things. If I don't make it clear to you, I will let you down."
The reason why the world respects Qin is not only because Qin is powerful, but also because the king is a wise monarch and has won the hearts of the people. Now, it is unkind for the king to tear his false father apart; to kill his two younger brothers is to be unfriendly; to put his mother under house arrest is to be unfilial; to kill ministers who have given loyal advice is the deeds of Xia Jie and Shang Zhou. How can such a character convince the world?
If the people of the world knew that the king had done such a thing, they would definitely not care about Qin anymore. I am really worried about the State of Qin and the king... I have finished speaking, please execute the sentence! "
After saying these words, Mao Jiao untied his clothes, walked out of the hall, and lay down before His Highness to be tortured.
After Qin Wangzheng heard what Mao Jiao said, he was extremely shocked. What Mao Jiao said was reasonable. Now that he had just become the king, he had lost the hearts of the world. How could he talk about the great cause of unification in the future? So, he personally walked down the hall, helped Mao Jiao up, and said: "Sir's words are very true. I am willing to change my ways and listen to your teachings!"
Mao Jiao further advised: "The people who came to advise the king in the past were all loyal ministers. I hope that the king would bury them generously so as not to upset the hearts of loyal ministers in the world. The Qin State is trying to unify the world, and the king cannot have the bad reputation of migrating his mother and queen."
King Qin said: "People in the past came to accuse me. None of them explained the truth about the unification of the world. Sir's words made me enlightened. How can I not listen?"
Therefore, the King of Qin adopted Mao Jiao's suggestion, buried the killed people with lavish burials, and personally led a convoy to Yongdi to take the Queen Mother back to Xianyang. The relationship between mother and son was restored.
Not long after, the King of Qin introduced Mao Jiao into the court and worshiped him as Shangqing.
After the King of Qin took office, he wanted to increase his prestige in the military, so within a few months, he appointed Wang Jian, Yang Duanhe, and Huan Qi as generals, and at the same time promoted a group of young generals to important positions.
As the King of Qin deepened his control over the government and the army, the conditions for deposing Lu Buwei were ripe. But Lu Buwei didn't realize it at this time. He thought that the King of Qin's treatment of him was just a reprimand. He had sent a large number of lobbyists to the King of Qin to intercede for him, believing that once the matter was over, he could still regain his former power.
Therefore, after being reprimanded by the King of Qin, Lu Buwei still maintained a grand display. He renovated the mansion that was destroyed by Lao Ai, and the scale was even grander than before. There was still an endless stream of people coming to visit, and the house was like a city. Even many dignitaries came to curry favor. King Qin saw all this and hated Lu Buwei even more.
One day, Tai Chang came to report that the comet first appeared in the west, then in the north, and followed the Beidou to move south for eighty days, which meant that the phase changed and the prime minister changed.
So the King of Qin ordered Lu Buwei to be removed from the post of Prime Minister, and Xiong Zhuang, Lord of Changping, took over the post of Prime Minister. In fact, all this was planned by Li Si. He was in charge of Taichang and knew that King Qin believed in destiny, so he ordered Taichang to report to King Qin in this way to strengthen King Qin's determination to depose Lu Buwei.
As soon as Lu Buwei was dismissed from office, he used various means to put pressure on the young King of Qin. He sent his retainers and former officials to intercede on his behalf. The lobbyists came to the palace and said to the King of Qin: "Prime Minister Lu is your father-in-law and has worked hard for the country for ten years." He has made numerous military exploits over the years and should not be dismissed."
"This matter is God's will. I have no choice but to temporarily wrong the Prime Minister!" King Qin could only comfort him like this.
"So, please your Majesty, please restore Lu Xiangguo's position as soon as possible. Da Qin cannot live without him." The lobbyists were still reluctant to give up.
A month later, the King of Qin still had not restored Lu Buwei's phase, and more and more people were interceding for Lu Buwei. The King of Qin felt unprecedented pressure. Looking at the situation, he was afraid that the court would not be able to operate unless Lu Buwei's phase was restored, so he asked Li Si for his opinion, saying : "Nowadays, more and more people are interceding for Lu Buwei. How should we deal with them?"
Li Sijin said: "The more people intercede for him, the more it means that he usually uses the king's rewards to bribe many people. These people only know about Lu Buwei, but not the king. Lu Buwei was originally a commoner. If it weren't for the former king's high regard, How could he be where he is today? Everything that Da Qin has now is not due to him. On the contrary, everything he has is given by Da Qin! The king is now rich in the world, and An Neng can be controlled by a common man! If everything is done according to the law, everyone in the world will be safe. fear!"
The King of Qin felt that Li Siyan was reasonable. He gradually realized how powerful the power in his hands was. In the whole world, it was the king's land, the shore of the land, and it was the king's ministers. As long as he was determined to do what he wanted to do, no one could stop him. So he ordered that no one else interceding for Lu Buwei would be received.
Through this incident, the King of Qin also realized that Lu Buwei's retainers only served Lu Buwei. They only followed Lu Buwei's orders and did not take him as the King of Qin at all. From this moment on, the King of Qin also regarded Lu Buwei's retainers as hostile forces.
Seeing that he could not recover, Lu Buwei temporarily returned to his fiefdom of Luoyang. People who admired him also traveled thousands of miles to visit him. Although Lu Buwei was dismissed from office, the front of Lu Mansion was more lively than before!
The vassal states in the east received the news that the King of Qin personally executed Lao Ai and deposed Lu Buwei, and their reactions were different.
The King of Qi, the King of Zhao, and the King of Han all thought that the King of Qin was bold in doing things, so they all sent envoys to celebrate the King of Qin's taking over. This was the first thing that made the King of Qin feel face-saving after the King of Qin took office. The King of Qin was very happy and gave him a banquet to entertain him!
However, the King of Chu and the King of Wei felt that the King of Qin was jealous of the virtuous and capable, so he deposed the talented Lu Buwei. They thought to themselves, Qin State does not need such a talent, so we will use it! So they rushed to send envoys to invite Lu Buwei to come to their country to become prime minister! I'm afraid someone else will get there first. Lu Buwei was also very proud of this. He warmly entertained the envoys and had banquets with the guests every day.
Lu Buwei didn't realize that the messenger sent by the vassal state was clearly a ghost!
Not only that, Lu Buwei also has a large number of disciples and former officials serving as officials in Xianyang. He also knows the dynamics of Xianyang very well. There are still many people who come to him asking for official positions, and he will always provide enthusiastic guidance.
Of course, all of this cannot escape the eyes of King Qin. In King Qin's view, Lu Buwei has become a major threat to Qin. Once he goes east to become the prime minister of the Six Kingdoms, many of Qin's secrets will no longer be secrets. The King of Qin had been sending people to secretly observe Lu Buwei and his retainers from beginning to end. The current situation made the King of Qin even more worried. Whether Lu Buwei went to the six countries to become prime minister or rebelled, it would be extremely detrimental to the Qin State.
At this time, Li Si also got the news that Lu Buwei had been invited by the Six Kingdoms in Luoyang, so he went to see the King of Qin and said: "Lü Buwei lives in Luoyang, which is adjacent to the Six Kingdoms. Once there is a change, we will not be able to respond." Li Si meant that Lu Buwei might interact with the Six Kingdoms. Collaborate with Qin.
King Qin was also extremely worried and said, "In your opinion, how should I deal with this?"
"How about moving to Shu to eliminate the feudal lords?"
The King of Qin thought it was feasible, so he gave Lu Buwei a letter, which read: "What contribution have you made to the State of Qin? The State of Qin sealed you in Henan, with a settlement of 100,000 households. How are you related to the State of Qin? You were actually Don’t you feel ashamed to be called Zhongfu? You’d better move to Shu with your family!”
After receiving the edict, Lu Buwei was devastated. Only now did he understand that the King of Qin's fear and anger towards him had reached such an extent, even more than that of Lao Ai, who had just been executed. He was afraid that after moving to Shu, he would be further demoted and end up like Lao Ai. Being punished by the same three tribes, he thought for a long time and decided to commit suicide in order to save his family. That night he drank poisonous wine and committed suicide.
Since Lu Buwei died of suicide, a state funeral could not be held. His followers collected his body, organized a private funeral, and held a burial ceremony for Lu Buwei.
The news of Lu Buwei's suicide reached Xianyang, and the King of Qin finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he was still worried that Lu Buwei's retainers would complain about Lu Buwei and trigger a rebellion. Therefore, all Lu Buwei's retainers were exiled regardless of whether they attended the funeral or not. If they are from Han, Zhao, and Wei, they will all be expelled from the country; if they are from Qin, those with a salary of more than 600 shi will have their titles removed and be exiled to Fangling; those with a salary of less than 500 shi and who did not attend the funeral will also be exiled to Fangling, but not deprived of the title.
At the same time, an order was issued, "If anyone dares to abuse power again, Lao Ai and Lu Buwei will be their precedents!"
After dealing with Lu Buwei's retainers, the King of Qin felt that the threat from Lao Ai was no longer there, and the country was once again employing people, so he pardoned Lao Ai's retainers who had migrated to Shu and allowed them all to return to the capital.
Lu Buwei became the Prime Minister of the most powerful country in the world from a businessman through operation. He has been in office for thirteen years and can be said to be a rare shrewd person. But after he became famous, he didn't know how to restrain himself. In the end, he started well but struggled to end well!
