After lvbuwei and Ying Yiren escape, the abandoned Ying Yiren’s wife Zhaoji and her eldest son Ying Zheng have to stay in Handan surrounded by heavy troops. Under the background of the bad relationship between Qin and Zhao, what was the life of Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng? According to the records of the historian, “Zhao wanted to kill his son Chu’s wife, and the daughter of his son Chu’s wife Zhao Hao’s family had to hide, so the mother and son had to live.”
A few words revealed that the way Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng lived in Handan was very difficult. Due to the information barrier, Zhaoji at this time did not understand the situation in Xianyang, but she knew that she was a mother, and that her own flesh and blood were facing a possible death at any time. She needed her full care to avoid any harm. It was out of selfless maternal love that she made full use of all kinds of social relations of her family, and took her son to hide in order to survive. Despite her constant fear and hardships, facing the threat of a narrow life from the Zhao regime, she won miraculously, not only saving her own life, but also the life of young Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng and his mother depended on each other and spent six years in Handan.
In order to conceal his identity and hide easily, Ying Zheng had to follow Zhao Ji’s surname and change his name to “Zhao Zheng”. A child has just learned to walk and talk. Before he can call his father, his father disappears and cannot meet. Not only that, but even the father’s surname must be given up. What a devastation it is to a young and ignorant mind!
In the historical records of the first emperor of Qin, Sima Qian described the image and personality characteristics of the first emperor of Qin, that is, “the king of Qin is human, bee accurate, long eyes, sincere birds, jackals, and has a tiger and wolf heart with little kindness”. Apart from the personality characteristics and beautiful and ugly appearance of Qinshihuang, this passage at least illustrates such a problem: his physique is relatively weak. “Zhiniaoyue” literally means that Ying Zheng’s body has the defect of chicken breast. Guo Moruo extended his explanation that Ying Zheng once suffered from rickets, so there should be no misunderstanding; As for the “jackal sound”, it refers to hoarseness. It is somewhat far fetched to explain that Ying Zheng had tracheitis. We know that the so-called rickets, from childhood malnutrition. It can be seen that Ying Zheng stayed in the state of Zhao before he was eight years old. Although he did not dare to say that he did not have enough food and clothing, at least his food was poor and he lacked necessary nutrition.
In addition to being scared, hiding and malnourished, the orphans and widows were also bullied and suffered from the coldness of the world, leaving young Ying Zheng with an unforgettable memory. Correctly speaking, it is a memory of hatred. Handan is a ruthless City, inhabited by many enemies who take advantage of others’ danger and bully others. So that after the state of Qin destroyed the state of Zhao and captured the capital Handan, Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, specially returned to Handan. Note that this is not the so-called return home in gold, but a journey of revenge. He commanded the Qin army and killed all the enemies who had bullied their mother and son! It can be seen that hatred is deep and great.
Ying Zheng did not want to mention the tragic experience of Handan, and tried his best to avoid dealing with relevant people. According to the historical records – biographies of assassins, Prince Dan of Yan state, while Ying Zheng was staying in Handan, also happened to live here as a proton. He was a child with good relationship with Ying Zheng. Later, Ying Zheng became king of Qin, and Prince Dan was sent to Xianyang, the capital of Qin, as the proton of Yan. He thought that Ying Zheng would treat himself favorably for the sake of old love. Unexpectedly, Ying Zheng was cold and indifferent and had no friendship. This also became one of the important reasons why Yan Prince Dan sent Jing Ke to assassinate Ying Zheng.
After returning to the state of Qin, Ying Zheng, eight, met relatives he had never met before. However, Grandpa anguojun (King qinxiaowen) died just a few days after meeting; The so-called grandma, the Empress Dowager Huayang, is not pro either; As for Empress Dowager Xia, in order to become the prince’s own mother, her father also became a postnatal grandmother in a funny way. Even when she died later, she could not be buried with her grandfather. The Empress Dowager Huayang was qualified to be buried together. Besides, they have no nurturing grace for themselves. How can they have feelings?
As for his father, who was a stranger (Zichu), he was already the king of Zhuang Xiang. Ying Zheng had only a vague impression of the his father since he was a child. He did not get any father’s love in times of the hardship. Although the father and son are reunited now, King Zhuang Xiang, as the king of a country, has to take care of state affairs, maintain filial respect for the two empresses, and have fun at the right time. How can he spare time to care for this strange son? There’s another one under Zichu’s knee watching
It is conceivable that the balance of emotion is tilted when the younger son Cheng Juan grows up.
In addition, the strict and cumbersome etiquette systems with orderly dignity and inferiority in the court objectively blocked or even closed the communication and exchange of family affection and friendship. Ying Zheng, dressed in Chinese clothes and brocade, wandered through the tall and towering palace. Looking up, he saw that no one could play games with him or talk to him except the eunuch maids who were submissive around him, who were noble elders with impassive faces.
Therefore, whether in the bullied Handan or in the strange palace of the Qin state, in Ying Zheng’s eyes, there is only one real family member, that is, he has been taking full care of his mother; His emotional world, in addition to hatred, the rest of his love is also concentrated on his mother.
“A little kindness but a wolf’s heart”. Well, from the selfless love of their mother; The heart of the tiger and the wolf originates from the ruthless external world.
Therefore, although Ying Zheng had both parents, he was brought up by a single parent; Although he has a younger brother, he is still the only child worthy of the name; Although he was the noble and supreme Prince of Qin, he was inferior to the children of ordinary people before he got the name, and then he was completely alone. These factors combined to create his strong Oedipus complex and cruel heart of tiger and wolf.
As a result, he was not as submissive, mediocre and incompetent as his great grandfather King Zhaoxiang, nor as muddled and sluggish as his grandfather King Xiaowen, nor as servile and servile as his father King Zhuang Xiang. He only loves his mother and believes in himself. He is full of doubt, indifference and even hatred towards the outside world.
This conclusion is a key to unlock Ying Zheng’s various extreme behaviors.