English Version
The Qin dynasty, the first state to unify China, was built through the achievements of Ying Zheng—later known as the First Emperor—and many generals and strategists. Yet the vast empire collapsed with shocking speed. By the reign of the Second Emperor, Huhai, Qin was crushed by forces associated with Xiang Yu of Chu and Liu Bang.
Many reasons are given for Qin’s fall, but one crucial incident took place immediately after the First Emperor’s death. As mentioned in earlier discussions of this history, Ying Zheng unified China at the age of 39. Only ten years later, at 49, he died while traveling on an imperial inspection tour.
A Death Known Only to a Few
The First Emperor had many children. Near the end of his life, he reportedly left instructions naming his eldest son, Fusu, as his successor and ordering him to oversee the funeral rites.
At first, only a small number of people knew the emperor had died: the close attendants traveling with him, and Huhai, the emperor’s youngest son, who would later become the Second Emperor.
The man who turned this situation to his political advantage was Zhao Gao, a eunuch trusted by the First Emperor. He would become one of the central figures blamed for leading Qin toward ruin.
When the First Emperor realized death was near, he entrusted his final letter to Zhao Gao, ordering him to deliver it to Fusu, who was stationed in the north.
But Zhao Gao made a disastrous and ambitious choice.
At the time, the high-ranking people on the tour were limited: Zhao Gao the eunuch, the chancellor Li Si, Huhai the youngest son, and a few attendants and caretakers. The legitimate heir, Fusu, had been placed in the north by the First Emperor. Some accounts say this was because Fusu had angered the emperor with political criticism.
Also in the north were Meng Tian and his younger brother Meng Yi, names familiar to fans of Kingdom. Under normal circumstances, Zhao Gao’s role was simply to deliver the emperor’s will to Fusu. Instead, he defied it.
Zhao Gao’s Scheme
Zhao Gao persuaded Huhai, the youngest son, to take the throne. He also convinced Li Si by appealing to his interests and fears.
According to this account, everything was driven by Zhao Gao’s ambition.
There are different theories about Huhai’s age at the time. Some say he was 21; others say he was only 12. Either way, Zhao Gao likely believed that someone so young could be controlled.
Li Si, meanwhile, was the most powerful figure after the First Emperor, but he is said to have carried a political vulnerability: he was not originally from Qin. At one point, there had been a movement within Qin to exclude “foreigners,” meaning people from outside the Qin state.
Zhao Gao also had reasons to fear Fusu. It was possible that Fusu might bring up Zhao Gao’s past crimes.
In the end, a falsified will was sent to Fusu. It reportedly declared Huhai the Second Emperor and ordered Fusu to take his own life.
Fusu obeyed and died. Military leaders such as Meng Tian, who questioned the order, were arrested.
Zhao Gao then placed Huhai on the throne as the Second Emperor and created a system in which all official petitions had to pass through Zhao Gao. He also condemned and eliminated Qin generals who might become his enemies, weakening the empire from within.
The Lie Told to the Second Emperor
Zhao Gao’s plan had worked, but Huhai became a foolish ruler devoted to luxury.
The unified empire had already been held together largely by the overwhelming authority of the First Emperor. Under the Second Emperor, resentment only grew stronger. Huhai expanded the extravagant Epang Palace and continued policies that ignored the suffering of the people. Rebellions soon broke out.
At first, the Second Emperor did not even understand the seriousness of the uprisings. Chancellor Li Si recognized the danger and proposed measures to deal with the crisis.
But by then, Zhao Gao’s authority had risen above even the chancellor’s. By manipulating the Second Emperor, Zhao Gao had Li Si executed by being cut in two at the waist.
Zhao Gao then became chancellor himself. But the rebellions could no longer be hidden, especially as Xiang Yu and Liu Bang became more active. Zhao Gao decided on another desperate solution: to kill Huhai, the Second Emperor.
The “Horse and Deer” Test
Zhao Gao knew that murdering an emperor would put his own position in danger. So he devised a test to find out who in the court would oppose him.
He brought a deer before the Second Emperor and said, “I have found a rare horse.”
Naturally, Huhai replied that it was a deer.
Zhao Gao then asked the other ministers in the palace. Those who said it was a horse were allowed to live. Those who said it was a deer were executed.
In other words, this was Zhao Gao’s way of identifying people who would not dare contradict him. As a result, even more capable officials disappeared from Qin.
This episode is often connected with the famous “pointing at a deer and calling it a horse” story, and in Japanese it is frequently introduced as part of the background behind the horse-and-deer characters used for the word baka, meaning “fool” or “idiot.”
The Fall of Qin
Zhao Gao rose all the way to chancellor and eliminated the Second Emperor, one of the First Emperor’s own sons. Some accounts say Huhai was murdered; others say he was forced to commit suicide.
Zhao Gao then tried to secretly make contact with Liu Bang, who was advancing with the goal of overthrowing Qin. Liu Bang completely ignored him.
Zhao Gao next announced that Ziying, who is said to have repeatedly warned him just as Li Si had done, would be placed on the throne. But Ziying understood that Zhao Gao bore responsibility for the empire’s decay.
In the end, Ziying had Zhao Gao and his entire clan killed. Ziying, the last ruler of Qin, later surrendered to Liu Bang, but was ultimately killed by Xiang Yu. With that, the Qin Empire was completely destroyed.
The First Emperor’s reforms remain controversial, but he expanded Qin’s power in part by promoting talent regardless of status. Zhao Gao, by contrast, became a model of foolish and destructive rule after the emperor’s death, eliminating anyone who did not serve his own plans.
After the First Emperor spent his life creating the strongest state in China, what followed was the weakening of that power by a trusted eunuch from within.
For travelers interested in Qin history, many related sites and museums are major cultural destinations today. Visit only official areas, follow local rules, and treat historical ruins and tomb-related sites with care.
Japanese Language
中国を史上初めて統一した秦は後の始皇帝である政や数多くの将軍・軍師の功績によって広大な帝国を作ることが出来ました。しかし、 秦帝国はあっという間に滅亡 してしまいます。二世皇帝、 胡亥の代で楚の項羽と劉邦によって完膚なきまでに潰されてしまいます。。秦帝国滅亡の理由は数多く語られていますが、 始皇帝が亡くなった直後、とある事件 が起きていました。以前にも紹介しましたが、中国を統一したのは39歳の時であり、 始皇帝はそれから僅か10年後の49歳のときに巡遊中に亡くなってしまいます。
。始皇帝には多くの子どもがいましたが、死の間際に始皇帝は嫡男であった扶蘇（ふそ）を跡継ぎにし、葬儀を執り行う遺書を残したのです。亡くなった当初、始皇帝の死を知っていたのは巡遊に付き添っていた側近と2世皇帝となる末子の 胡亥だけだったのです。。この状況を政治的に利用したのが、 始皇帝が信頼を寄せていた宦官の趙高 という人物でした。秦帝国を滅亡に導いた宦官の趙高。。巡遊をしていた始皇帝は自らの死を悟ると、統一以前より信頼していた趙高に自身の遺書を渡して、北方にいる嫡男であった扶蘇に伝えるように命じます。
しかし…この趙高という宦官はとんでもない愚策に走るのです。当時、巡遊に付き添っていた高官は、宦官の趙高、宰相であった李斯、そして末子の 胡亥と数人の付き人や世話係のみでした。。嫡男であった正当な後継者の扶蘇は始皇帝によってこの時北方へと置かれていました。政治的な発言によって始皇帝の機嫌を損ねたことが原因であるとも言われています。ちなみに、扶蘇と同じく北方にいたのは、 キングダムでお馴染みの「蒙恬」や弟の「蒙毅」 が挙げられます。通常であれば、始皇帝の遺言を扶蘇に届けるのが趙高の役割でしたが、大胆にも趙高はこの遺言に逆らうのです。
そして末子であった 胡亥を後継者にすべく説得し、宰相の李斯にも利害を説いて丸め込みます。。これら全ては趙高の野心から行われたものだったのです。。末子であった 胡亥の年齢についてはいくつかの説がありますが、21歳であったという説と12歳であったという説があります。いずれにせよ、その若さから取り込めると踏んだのでしょう。。一方の宰相であった李斯はいわば始皇帝に次ぐ権力者でしたが、秦国出身ではないという負い目があったとも言われています。当時、秦国の中で外国人（秦国以外の人間）を一時期排除する動きがあったのです。
また、趙高自身も過去の罪を扶蘇に取り上げられる可能性のある身でした。様々な問題はありましたが、結果的に扶蘇には改ざんされた遺言が届きます。この遺言には二世皇帝を 胡亥にする決定と、扶蘇に自害をするように命じる内容が書かれていたようです。。この偽の遺言を見た扶蘇は自害し、これに疑問を覚えた蒙恬などの武将は捕縛される事態となります。趙高は二世皇帝に 胡亥を擁立し、全ての上奏に際して趙高を通さなければいけないという体制を作ります。。また、自身の敵になりそうな秦国の武将達は次々と断罪し、自ら国力を削っていったのです。
二世皇帝についた嘘。自分の思惑通りに事を運んだ趙高でしたが、二世皇帝の 胡亥は贅沢ばかりを覚える暗愚な君主となります。。元々、始皇帝という強力な人物の威光によって何とか治められていた統一国家はさらに不満を募らせます。二世皇帝は阿房宮という豪華な宮殿を増築したり、民を顧みない政治を余計に行なった事で、すぐに反乱が起こります。しかし、この反乱さえも二世皇帝は当初は知らずの状態でしたが、事態を重く見た宰相の李斯が打開策を提案します。ですが、すでに趙高の権威は宰相よりも上にあり、 二世皇帝をうまく操った上で李斯を胴斬りの刑によって処刑 させてしまいます。
そして後任の宰相に趙高自身が就きますが、もはや反乱は項羽や劉邦の活躍によって隠し通せない状況となっていました。ここで、 趙高は打開策として二世皇帝である 胡亥をも殺害する計画 を考えるのです。。馬鹿の語源となった趙高。。皇帝を殺害すれば、流石に自身の立場も危ないと考えた趙高は、二世皇帝の前に鹿を連れてきて「珍しい馬がいました」と言います。。当然、 胡亥は「それは鹿であろう」と答えます。。ここで趙高は宮中にいた他の群臣にも尋ね、「馬である」と言った人物は生かし、「鹿である」と言った人物は処刑することにしたのです。
要するに、自分に意見出来ない人間のみを判断する趙高なりの目利きだった訳です。結果的に、この行動によって更に優れた人材も秦帝国から減ることになりました。秦帝国滅亡。宰相にまで登り、仮にも始皇帝の息子の1人である二世皇帝を殺害（または自害させたという説もあり）した趙高は、裏で打倒秦を掲げて迫る劉邦に内通しようとしましたが、完全に無視されます。そして李斯と同じく、趙高を何度も諌めたと言われる 子嬰（しえい）を皇帝に擁立することを告げますが、この子嬰（しえい）という人物は秦帝国が廃れた責任は全て趙高にあることを見抜いていました。
。結果、趙高は 子嬰によって一族もろとも殺され、最後の皇帝として子嬰も劉邦に降伏するも、最後は項羽によって殺害され、秦帝国は完全に滅亡することになるのです。。始皇帝の改革は賛否両論はあったものの、身分には関係なく人材を登用することによって力を広げてきた人物でした。しかし、この趙高は暗愚のお手本のように始皇帝の死後、自身の思惑通りにいかない人物を全て断罪しました。始皇帝が生涯をかけて中華最強の秦を実現した後に待っていたのは、信頼していた宦官による国力の減退だったのです
