A muddle headed account
First Emperor of Qin
The question of who is the biological father of Qin has not only become a mystery in the history of the Qin state, but also a public case that has been litigated for thousands of years in history. It has also become the talk of people after dinner for 2000 years.
Qin Shihuang, surnamed Ying Mingzheng, was born in Handan, the capital of the state of Zhao in the Warring States period (now Handan, Hebei). His father, Ziyi (later renamed Zichu), was a prince of the state of Qin who was held hostage in Handan. His mother was a dancer who was born in a wealthy family in Handan. Her name was not left in the history books, but she was called Zhaoji. Ziyi and Zhaoji meet and combine, during which a third party intervenes. This third party is LV Buwei, a tycoon who does business in Handan. It is precisely because LV Buwei intervened between Ziyi and Zhao Ji that after Ying Zheng was born, who was his biological father, Ziyi or LV Buwei? It will become an incomprehensible thing. For ordinary people, it is an unspeakable family affair to have an unknown father; For the royal family, it is a state affair related to the destiny of the dynasty. This concerns the Qin regime, which has been inherited from generation to generation for more than 600 years. Is it still surnamed Ying? Did the Qin state change its name when Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, ascended the throne? Because it matters so much, the question of who was the biological father of the first emperor of Qin has not only become a mystery in the history of the Qin state, but also a public case that has been litigated for thousands of years in history, and has become the talk of people after dinner for 2000 years.
Looking into the context of the matter, this case originated from the historical records. In other words, it was all caused by Sima Qian. Sima Qian described the life experience of Qinshihuang in the historical records of Qinshihuang, saying that Qinshihuang was the son of Prince Zhuangxiang of Qin. When King Zhuang Xiang was a hostage in the state of Zhao, he met Zhao Ji at LV Buwei’s home. He fell in love at first sight, married her and gave birth to the first emperor of Qin. He was born in the first month of the 48th year of King Zhao of Qin Dynasty (259 BC), and his birthplace was Handan.
However, when Sima Qian described the birth of the first emperor of Qin Dynasty in the historical records – biographies of LV Buwei, he said: LV Buwei lived with Zhao Ji, a beautiful Handan dancer, and knew that Zhao Ji was pregnant. Ziyi goes to LV Buwei’s house for a banquet. When he sees Zhao Ji, he falls in love at first sight. He gets up to propose a toast and asks LV Buwei to give Zhao Ji to him. LV Buwei was very angry at first. Later, considering that he had invested most of his property in Ziyi’s political future, he obtained investment for “fishing for strange things”
success
He had to push the boat with the current and send Zhaoji to Ziyi. Zhaoji conceals that she is pregnant. She marries Ziyi and gives birth to Ying Zheng as scheduled. The son is different from making Zhaoji his wife.
In different chapters of the same historical records, there are different records of the same event. This is the origin of the question of who is the father of Qinshihuang, just like Sima Qian’s enchanting array for us. So, which is right and which is wrong in these two different kinds of records? Which is the historical truth and which is artificial fiction?
Father son attitude
From Ying Zheng’s birth to Ying Zheng’s succession to the throne, Ziyi never had any doubt that Ying Zheng was his own son. He has consistently admitted that he is his eldest son.
For the time being, we will put aside the question of whether the biological father of Qinshihuang was Ziyi or LV Buwei. First, we will search for circumstantial evidence and focus on the parties involved in the incident.
Let’s first examine Ziyi. Ziyi is the son of King Xiaowen, the 32nd king of the state of Qin. His name is Ziyi. Ziyi was born in the 27th year of the reign of his grandfather King Zhao of Qin, which is equivalent to 280 BC. He later succeeded to the throne and became the 33rd king of the state of Qin, with the posthumous title of King Zhuang Xiang. When Ziyi was about 18 years old, that is, around the 43rd year of King Zhao of Qin (264 BC), the state of Qin and the state of Zhao agreed to make peace and exchange royal children as hostages. Ziyi came to Handan, the capital of the state of Zhao, as a king and grandson, as hostages, known as protons. When Ziyi was in Handan, it was the eve of the Changping war. In order to compete for the dominant power of the unified world, Qin and Zhao made an agreement on the surface, secretly expanded their troops to prepare for the war, and prepared to fight to the death. Therefore, Ziyi was in a very difficult situation in Handan. Ziyi got to know LV Buwei about two or three years after he arrived in Handan. He got Zhao Ji from LV Buwei and lived together before March of the 47th year (260 BC) of King Zhao of Qin Dynasty. Ying Zheng was born in the first month of the 48th year of King Zhao of Qin Dynasty. At that time, Ziyi was 23 years old.
In the same year when Zhao Jihuai was Yingzheng, that is, in the 47th year of the reign of King Zhao of Qin (260 BC), the battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao broke out. The state of Zhao was defeated, and 400000 troops of the state of Zhao were buried alive by general Bai Qi of Qin. Handan was shocked by panic. The following year, the Qin army took advantage of the victory to invade the territory of the state of Zhao. In the 49th year of King Zhao of Qin Dynasty, the Qin army began to besiege Handan for a long time. After Ying Zheng was born in the war, Ziyi’s family fell into the sea of hatred of the Zhao people and was in danger of accidents at any time. In the 50th year of King Zhao of Qin Dynasty, LV Buwei and Ziyi ventured out of Handan and returned to the state of Qin. Zhao Ji and three-year-old Ying Zheng stayed in Handan. They were chased by Zhao people and narrowly escaped death. Relying on the hiding of Zhao Ji’s family, they survived. Ziyi, who returned to the state of Qin, officially became the heir of Prince an Guojun, and took a wife and had children. At that time, Ying Zheng was 4 years old. He was hiding in Handan with his mother. The information was unknown.
In the 56th year of King Zhao (251 BC), King Zhao of Qin died. Yingzheng’s grandfather anguojun ascended the throne and became king of Qin. He was king Xiaowen. Taking this opportunity, the state of Qin reconciled with the state of Zhao, who returned Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng to the state of Qin. Ziyi meets Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng again after six years of separation. It is not difficult to imagine the feeling of life and death between the husband, wife and son. He has officially become the prince’s son Yi, with Zhaoji as the prince’s wife and Ying Zheng as the prince’s heir. He has made an unforgettable explanation to his wife and eldest son. At that time, Ying Zheng was 9 years old.
King Xiaowen was already in his fifties when he ascended the throne. He died three days after he formally ascended the throne. Ziyi succeeded the throne and became king of Qin. He was King Zhuang Xiang. After King Zhuang Xiang ascended the throne, Zhao Ji became Queen, 11 year old Ying Zheng became crown prince, and LV Buwei was appointed prime minister. Three years later, King Zhuang Xiang died. Ying Zheng, 13, inherited the throne. Zhao Ji became Queen Mother. LV Buwei continued to serve as prime minister. Since Ying Zheng was not yet an adult, the Empress Dowager and LV Buwei took charge of the political power.
Through the above simple review, we can clearly see that from the birth of Ying Zheng to his succession to the throne, Ziyi never had any doubt that Ying Zheng was his own son. On the contrary, after a long life and death, he also loved Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng after he got married and had children, and always consistently admitted that they were his own wife and eldest son. Within the complex royal family and government of the state of Qin, and among the enemies and friends of the royal marriage, there was no doubt, and no gossip. So far, the state affairs of the state of Qin and the family affairs of the king of Qin have been in good order. In other words, if we look at it from the perspective of the king’s Government of the state of Qin and the difference between his father and his son, until Ying Zheng ascended the throne and became the 34th king of Qin, the question of who was the father of the first emperor of Qin simply does not exist in history.
The motives of Zhong Fu Lu Buwei
Lu Buwei not only had no motive to commit the crime, but was only cautious to avoid suspicion. The so-called story of offering a pregnant woman to catch a strange woman can only be a message in the market, and later generations can add gags.
LV Buwei was honored as the second father by the first emperor of Qin, that is, the father’s generation second only to his father. He was another suspect who was the father of the first emperor of Qin. If we examine LV Buwei’s life in history, it is not difficult to see his relationship with Ying Zheng. LV Buwei was born in Puyang, the capital of the Wei state at that time, and his former address is in the south of Puyang City, Henan Province. LV Buwei was born in a family of merchants, and he was successful in international trade. He was called a Yangzhai tycoon. Yangzhai, in today’s Yu County, Henan Province, is the old capital of South Korea. The so-called Yangzhai tycoons, in our words today, are business tycoons headquartered in Yangzhai. LV Buwei met Ziyi when he was doing business in Handan, the capital of the state of Zhao. With the shrewd eyes of businessmen, he was keenly aware of Ziyi’s special commodity value and thought that Ziyi was a rare commodity. After careful consideration and careful planning, LV Buwei boldly made a decision on the transformation of his career and life. He resolutely liquidated his business and invested in Ziyi’s political future. He packaged Ziyi and lobbied for an Guojun’s wife, Mrs. Huayang, in order to make Ziyi the heir of Prince an Guojun and succeed to the throne in the future, which is the most risky investment.
If LV Buwei regards his son as a rare golden egg, in his unparalleled business vision, Mrs. Huayang is an incubator. After LV Buwei invested in Ziyi, Mrs. Huayang became his public relations target. Mrs. Huayang was born in the most powerful relatives of the MI family in the state of Qin. Her grandfather was the uncle of King Zhao of Qin and was granted the title of MI Rong, the powerful subject of emperor Huayang. The title of Mrs. Huayang was directly inherited from emperor Huayang. Mi Rong, the elder sister of Huayang Jun, is the mother of King Zhao of Qin, the grandmother of an Guojun, the Empress Dowager Xuan, who has been upholding the state policy of Qin for many years
Cixi
Empress Dowager. The marriage of Mrs. Huayang to Mr. an is a political marriage
marriage
, the reason why Prince an was able to become the prince depended on the power of Empress Dowager Xuan and the MI family. The subsequent developments were predicted and manipulated by LV Buwei step by step. LV Buwei came to Xianyang with a lot of jewelry as the messenger of protons and sons. He first bribed the brothers and sisters who persuaded Mrs. Huayang to succeed through their cooperation. Mrs. Huayang recognized lingziyi as her adopted son, and then gave a blow at the bedside, so that anguojun officially established lingziyi as the heir of the crown prince.
It can be seen that first, LV Buwei successfully applied the business principle of mutual benefit, mutual complementarity and mutual benefit to politics. Through a series of investment plans, Ziyi and Mrs. Huayang worked together to win the king’s power and finally won the power of the state of Qin. 2? The historical event that LV Buwei lobbied Mrs. Huayang to make Ziyi the heir of the crown prince seemed complicated and dramatic on the surface. Its essence was that a prince of a certain family surnamed Ying once again formed a political alliance with Mi’s relatives. 3? The issue of Ziyi’s royal lineage is the key to the whole incident. According to LV Buwei, the investment value of Ziyi lies entirely in his royal blood. LV Buwei lobbied madam Huayang, and his selling point was all in Ziyi’s royal blood.
LV Buwei can be said to be the first-class wise man in Chinese history. He invested all his property and his whole life in Ziyi’s political future. LV Buwei’s action was like a gamble of putting all his eggs in one basket. All the bets were placed on the unique lineage of the Qin royal family. The pure lineage of the king of Qin is the essence of rare goods, and it is also the fundamental interest that determines LV Buwei’s action. For LV Buwei, it was a matter of life and death that he dared not neglect to maintain the purity and credibility of the lineage of the king of Qin.
The activities of historical figures have their own local motives at that time. When we tried the question of who was the father of Qinshihuang as a historical public case, if we regarded LV Buwei as a suspect, it can be said that he had no motive to commit the crime, and he had to be cautious to avoid suspicion. The so-called story of offering a pregnant woman to catch up with strange things can only be a message from the public. The gags added by later generations are not only completely inconsistent with the behavior of a big businessman and politician, but also impossible to achieve.
Above, through the examination of the two suspects who may be the father of Qinshihuang, we can generally draw the following conclusion: from the birth of Ying Zheng to his accession to the throne, no one ever doubted whether he was the son of Ziyi. In other words, the mystery of who was the father of Qinshihuang did not exist from the birth of Qinshihuang to his accession to the throne. Rumors added by later generations are not the original appearance of history.