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Text: Yanyan
Edited by Yeon-yeon
Preface
Qin Shi Huang, as the first emperor in Chinese history to unify the six kingdoms, his fame and achievements have long been passed down through the ages.
However, in his later years, the first emperor of the ages took great pains to hide himself, and not only his whereabouts were secretive, but even his mausoleum was full of mystery and weirdness. Why did a generation of emperors hide themselves so unfathomable?
What is he afraid of, or what is he guarding? What's even more puzzling is that the legend says that his mausoleum was designed as a huge shackle, but what are the considerations?
Who can resist the magic of power?
Under the manipulation of Lü Buwei and Empress Dowager Zhao, the throne of King Qin once became a fictitious position. The young Ying Zheng could only observe silently behind the scenes, appreciating how the people in power wielded power in a frenzy.
He saw how power drives people crazy, how it makes people lose their minds, how it deprives people of their dignity. But while observing, he also knows that only by controlling the key to power can he control his own destiny.
From then on, he was determined to seize the supreme power and always focus on consolidating and expanding it. The stars have changed, time flies, and when the supreme power finally fell into his hands, Yingzheng had no scruples about doing evil.
In the long war to unify the world, he made a painful determination to implement the policies of "burning books and pit Confucianism" and "cars on the same track", hinting at his rather dictatorial determination to dominate the world.
With Li Si's help, he achieved a high degree of centralization of power, implemented the system of three princes and nine secretaries and the county system, and completely concentrated power in his hands.
"Peek-a-boo"
However, just as he was at the pinnacle of power, the shadow from his childhood once again dragged him into a dark hell.
In 221 BC, Ying Zheng finally swept away the rule of the Six Kingdoms and established a unified Qin Dynasty, and since then he has been the supreme emperor known as "Qin Shi Huang" by the world.
In this year, he married the wife of a famous family, indulged in pleasures, and carnivaled. The following year, he embarked on the famous trip to Xiangshan Mountain, admiring the grass and trees in the mountains, and enjoying the pleasure of dominating the unification.
Who would have thought that at this moment, a nightmare that had not surfaced for many years suddenly made a comeback, causing the First Emperor to fall into a deep panic. That's right, it's the game of "hide and seek" that he has been forced to play since he was a child, like a curse, tormenting him all the time.
It turned out that when Qin Shi Huang was still in power, he and his mother had been on the run. At that time, because their father and son Chu were forced into exile due to political conspiracy, their mother and son had to hide everywhere, for fear that they would be found by the Zhao people and executed.
In their opinion, as long as they show up in broad daylight, they may be targeted by the enemy, so they can only hide in dark and damp corners, always on guard.
It was this experience that made the First Emperor have an obsession with darkness and concealment since he was a child. Only by being in the dark can he gain some sense of security.
In that game of "peek-a-boo", the deeper you hide, the greater the safety factor; The more you hide in a dark corner, the more secure you feel.
And when the first emperor really gained the power to rule the whole country, he could no longer get rid of this psychological shadow. The past that had scared him to the point of madness still lingered in his mind.
Dodge the last stand of death
Time flies, time flies. Qin Shi Huang's outstanding exploits and brilliant deeds have long made him a model for a generation of emperors. But as an ordinary person, he can't escape the fate of aging and death after all.
As he grew older, various ailments began to afflict the once heroic and fearless emperor. His health deteriorated, and even minor symptoms could make him feverish overnight. The threat of death loomed step by step, making him feel the fragility and powerlessness of life.
In the past, whenever the ghost of death approached, he could take a break into a dark corner and seek a respite there. But now, he is one person under ten thousand people, where can he hide his traces?
Moreover, as the king of a country, the First Emperor could not give up on himself. In order to govern the country and secure the country, he still had to continue to work day and night to deal with the country's affairs.
Death, you haunting ghost, why does it haunt me? In spite of all my power, how will you allow me to live in peace? Is that all the power I've been pursuing all my life? How could I be willing to resign myself to my fate!
This fear of death put the First Emperor in a desperate situation. During the day, he reluctantly pretended to be indifferent and calmly handled government affairs; But in the dead of night, he would fall back into struggle in his dreams.
The huge dormitory was like a cage, holding him firmly and making him breathless. Gradually, the First Emperor began to recall the days when he was forced to go into hiding.
Although he was poor at the time, he could at least take a breather in a dark corner. Perhaps, this is still the last chance to get rid of the threat of death! So, in previous years, he began to embark on frequent cruises.
During this time, he constantly changed his place of residence, making it impossible for outsiders to control his whereabouts. During this irregular cruise, he also stayed in the dark as much as possible and avoided too much contact with others.
Although he is still the emperor admired by the whole country, he hides all day long, for fear of being targeted by death, and he has returned to the situation of "hide and seek".
During the tour, Qin Shi Huang also searched for immortal arts, hoping to find the secret recipe for immortality. Unfortunately, until the last moment of his life, he still failed to do so.
In 210 BC, during a trip to the sand dunes, he was plotted by the eunuch Zhao Gao and died.
Perhaps it was because of the fear of death that Qin Shi Huang was extremely cautious and mysterious when he buried his own mausoleum. Not only did he set up a lot of killing machines to prevent theft and excavation, but even all the workers involved in the construction of the cemetery were buried alive in the end, and the news of the permanent blockade of the mausoleum was leaked.
It can be said that Qin Shi Huang could not get rid of his obsession with privacy and security throughout his life. Whether it is about his whereabouts before his death or about the mausoleum after death, he has a kind of caution that borders on paranoia.
Even when he was in power, he never really gained spiritual freedom and security. In the depths of his heart, there has always been a "hide and seek" puppet, ghostly.
Zhao Gao's puzzle
After the death of Qin Shi Huang, according to the arrangement before his death, the eldest son Fusu should preside over the funeral and take the throne. But fate is often bizarre and treacherous, and under the operation of Zhao Gao, the Qin Dynasty finally fell into a bloody storm.
Zhao Gao came from a humble background and was repeatedly implicated in the struggle between the government and the opposition in the Qin State. The experience of being forced to live in poverty since he was a child made him familiar with the game of "hide and seek".
He knew the psychology of the hiding, the fear and paranoia that grew in the unsecured darkness. Qin Shi Huang's various behaviors are also clear to him.
Taking advantage of the Qin Dynasty's eagerness to quell the civil strife in which Zhao Gao was seen as a coup d'état, Zhao Gao devised to induce Qin II to ascend the throne. The second is young and cowardly, and he is already conceited and helpless, and it is easy to be led by Zhao Gao.
In order to ensure that the second is content to be a hider in the game of "hide and seek", Zhao Gao even tempted him to immerse himself in the sound of dogs and horses. As a result, it was no longer Qin II who held the power in the court, but Zhao Gao himself.
It wasn't until Ziying was able to enter the later stage and unify the Central Plains that he saw Zhao Gao's true intentions. In order to avoid being bewitched again and falling into the quagmire of the game of "hide and seek", Ziying made up his mind and killed Zhao Gao.
epilogue
History is like a pool of muddy water, where chance and necessity reflect each other, strange and fantastical, unfathomable and profound. A generation of heroes, a terrible life, but it is also difficult to escape the fetters of childhood memories.
Qin Shi Huang's last hiding was not able to get rid of the clutches of death. But his determination to pursue power has been engraved on the monuments of history. From this life trajectory, we may also be able to get a glimpse of another dark side of human nature.