(The more things change, the more they stay the same.)
Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/batterymill/38926290565
Han, Reign of Gaozu year 1, Luoyang, Imperial Palace
“Right . . . in any case, why did Fusu accept the imperial execution decree without resistance?”
“Your Majesty must consider that between the . . . suicide of Fusu and his appointment to the Ordos Loop was a period of three years, more than enough timespan for a shrewd political operative, such as Li Si, to consolidate power.”
“How did Li Si manage to become de facto emperor with the crown prince Fusu, supported by the Meng family, in opposition to him?”
“Your Majesty must remember that the overarching directive of Qin Shi Huang was the diminution of feudal, regional autonomy while expanding Qin central bureaucracy with himself at the central intersection of power. Qin Shi Huang amassed such power within himself that the organs of state could not move without his command. Here was a man, who even as he lay dying from our poison, failed to dictate an official testament regarding succession, so conceptually intrench was he within the power structure of the state apparatus. Yet, mortal he was, and with his faculties diminishing each minute, the state required, no demanded, emperor’s commands. Thus, when Qin Shi Huang became increasingly debilitated, Li Si, as the Chancellor was left with all the levers of power.”
“What of the Imperial Secretariat and the Grand Commandant?”
“Ha ha! Without an emperor to advise, what use are the Right and Left Lords of Qin? Li Si conspired with the chief attendant Zhao Gao to tailor the information flowing in and out of the Imperial inner chambers. Since Qin Shi Huang was increasingly becoming non-communicative, it would be probable that the Imperial edicts from the second year of Qin Shi Huang’s poisoning were all forgeries by Zhao Gao and Li Si. The Meng faction, of course, jockeyed for position within the Qin bureaucracy, expecting their dear emperor to ascend towards divinity in the near future. Yet, they were brilliantly led into a trap by Li Si virtually from the moment the news of Qin Shi Huang’s poisoning spread through the imperial court.”
“How?”
“The imperial court correctly surmised that the appointment of the crown prince was for his safety and security; thus, the political influence shifted from the Three Lords towards Fusu’s household. The Meng faction lobbied the court to appoint Meng Tian as military commandant of the Ordos Loop and Meng Yi as imperial tutor for Fusu’s son Ziying. Li Si half-heartedly opposed the Mengs’ appointments, but with the court and the dying emperor favoring the Meng faction, Meng Tian's and Meng Yi's appointments were foregone conclusions. Having lost his opposition, Li Si proffered the position of chief magistrate of Xianyang to Meng Yi, in addition to his being appointed imperial tutor to Ziying, as a conciliatory gesture. The Meng faction hastily accepted Li Si’s recommendation without forethought, ignorantly falling into the snare.”
“How does Meng Yi becoming governor of the Imperial capital harm the Meng faction?”
“By accepting the duties of chief magistrate, Meng Yi was effectively bound to the capital, and by extension his imperial charge, Ziying, was held hostage at Xianyang. In essence, Fusu’s family was imprisoned at the Imperial capital, even as the crown prince was building his power base in the Ordos Loop. Furthermore, by confining Meng Yi to the capital, the principle member of the Meng faction was excluded from the mobile Imperial court of Qin Shi Huang’s three year peregrination.”
“Meng Yi was no fool. Why would he accept such arrangements?”
“From Meng Yi’s perspective, his elevation to the chief magistracy guaranteed his faction’s ascendancy. Not only were the Mengs in charge of a potential new capital, but they were to be entrusted with the security of the old. The intersections of power were firmly within the Meng faction’s control, as Meng Yi requested and was granted political appointments for his clients within the capital by the Chancellory. Yet, the Meng faction failed to recognize the reality of Qin revolution, which resulted in their ultimate destruction.”
“What is the Qin revolution?”
“Qin effectively ended the feudal institution as a viable entity within the imperium. All political and social power flowed from the Dragon throne, through the vast Qin bureaucracy, which countenanced no challenge to its pre-eminence. The inevitable consequence of such sociopolitical arrangement is diminution and destruction of great famiies/clans analogous to that of the Meng faction. All political positions derive their power from Qin Shi Huang’s decrees and not from hereditary privileges. Though individuals may rise within such sociopolitical matrix, ascendance of families/clans would be fundamentally anti-Qin.”
“Then why did Qin Shi Huang allow for the rise of the Mengs?”
“It was not the Qin Shi Huang who elevated the Mengs, your Majesty, but Li Si. Mengs were one of the prominent families within the Qin, but not to the degree to which they ascended, following Qin Shi Huang’s poisoning.”
“But Li Si will have eliminated the entire Meng family in three years. Why would he allow them to gather such power?”
“For several reasons, your Majesty. For Li Si to continue governing the Qin, through Qin Shi Huang, he required cooperation from the Chief Attendant, Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao was known to have held animosity towards Meng Yi, based on a trivial account of the latter advising Zhao Gao’s execution to the emperor. With the Mengs in ascendancy, Zhao Gao feared for his life under Fusu’s rule and readily agreed to participate with Li Si in his conspiracy. In addition, Li Si needed to uncover the Meng faction’s support base and adherents, in order to effectively eliminate them. As those whose fortunes are exalted gather enemies and arouse envy, Li Si was able to identify potential members for his anti-Meng coalition. For the Mengs, who perceived their future secure, Li Si was able to lull into dangerous complacency. All this Li Si accomplished without giving the Mengs any real power.”
“What? You just recounted all the appointments the Mengs and their followers wrested out of the Chancellory!”
“The Dragon throne may have been occupied by a dying man, but it was not empty. As long as Qin Shi Huang could be propped-up on his palanquin, the imperial court, and by extension the Qin empire, revolved around him. The Qin imperial capital was not at Xianyang, or the Ordos Loop, but wherever the Imperial Majesty deigned to visit. Thus, as long as Qin Shi Huang lived, Fusu was merely a governor of an outer province, subject to the laws of Qin and His Imperial Majesty’s edicts, which were above all written law. Appointment granted can equally be taken; Li Si bought for himself valuable time in exchange for forms of power.”
“How did Li Si use his time?”
“Li Si used the Imperial Guard to persuade local authorities to voluntarily surrender regional privileges and accept expanded central control. He encouraged disbanding of large agricultural estates, in favor of privately owned, smaller scale, family farms, thereby reducing the power and influence of feudal remnants. He enforced Qin standardization of measure, currency, and language, further subverting regional identities. He recruited the most promising and brilliant minds into his ever-expanding, mobile imperial court, thereby further centralizing the Qin government at the expense of draining locality of valuable talent. Li Si ensured that all the stipend of regional officials were disbursed from central government treasury, and not from regional stores, illustrating for all regional officials, with which entity lies their interests. Ha ha, he even forced local authorities to suppress regional superstitions because they offended his rational legalist sensibilities! Most importantly, Li Si instructed the Imperial Guard to assume the responsibility regarding security and legal enforcement of every city Qin Shi Huang visited, outwardly for the safety of his liege, but in reality, to perfect the Guard’s ability to occupy and control a city for his eventual coup.”
“Li Si planned his coup from the beginning!”
“No, your Majesty. Li Si was an obedient and loyal servant to the Qin emperor. His loyalties simply did not transfer to those in position due to accident of birth.”
“What was Li Si planning? To become emperor himself?”
“What his intentions were, we are uncertain. What we do know is that when Qin Shi Huang ascended to join his ancestors, Li Si quickly marched the mobile court back to Xingyang, while continuing to issue Imperial edicts in his dead emperor’s name. Li Si, or rather the dead Qin Shi Huang, ordered Meng Yi to consult with spiritual masters regarding fortuitous succession ceremonial rituals and also to conduct liturgy for the health of the emperor. Li Si sent courtiers to the Ordos Loop with the imperial summons for Fusu and Meng Tian to present themselves at the Imperial Court in Xingyang. Sadly for Meng Tian, his queries into the state of affairs at Xianyang was unanswered, as Meng Yi was now out of the capital on a fool’s errand, with Li Si’s Imperial Guard occupying Xianyang under martial law. Meng Tian advised caution, but the crown prince could not be persuaded to delay his departure; after all, failure to present himself at the appointed time on imperial summons was capital offense under Qin law, and Fusu did not wish to raise the flag of rebellion, while his family was held hostage at Xingyang, against the might of the Qin state. Upon their arrival, Fusu and Meng Tian were promptly arrested by the Imperial Guard on charges of treason and escorted to the interrogation chambers. Fusu agreed to gracefully end his life as a loyal subject of Qin Shi Huang, on the promise that his family will be spared indignities and execution. Meng Tian was more stubborn, demanding an audience with the now dead emperor; he did not survive his interrogation.”
“Bu ke si yi!”
“Ha ha! Yet, such unfathomable events did occur, your Majesty. Li Si bluffed Fusu into committing suicide, and with his death, the entire Meng faction fell from their supposed position of power. No confessions or interrogations were necessary with Fusu’s suicide all but indicating the fact of his treason. The sifting of Meng loyalists from the capital was as swift as it was merciless. The entire Meng family was processed, as well as any in Xingyang who had the misfortune of having inherited the said unfortunate surname. The offices at the capital were efficiently purged, so that even with the bloated mobile court, Li Si could not fill all the vacant positions without importing more bureaucrats from the outer provinces. All the officials at the Ordos Loop and the officers of the northern army were similarly processed with the great northern experiment abandoned, along with the magnificent Qin wall, so recently and skillfully built by Meng Tian. Meng Yi was killed on his way, returning from his liturgical service dedicated to prolonging the dead emperor’s life, by assassins; sadly, he was not even accorded a legal warrant. With the Meng faction safely buried, Qin Shi Huang elevated to godhood, Li Si became de facto emperor of Qin.”
“Yet, his reign lasted less than two years. How did he lose power so . . . efficiently?”
—to be continued—
Well this makes things clearer.
This Li Si character is quite cunning, his machinations all done with surgical precision, quickness, and apparently stunning forethought—one almost cannot help but marvel. And yet, this same person lost power within 2 years? Quite a cliffhanger! I wonder whether he did that on purpose!
Oh wow! This is incredible stuff and I can't wait to find out what happens! I've only ever read one book that touches a bit of Chinese history (Wild Swans) but I'm tempted to seek out more.
Thanks for updating this wonderful series, Soo :)
PS I tried to google translate: 'Bu ke si yi' but it wasn't very helpful. It gave me 'B U incredible'. What does the B U stand for?
Bu ke si yi is one of those "four logograph" expressions of which the Chinese are so fond. It loosely translates to "unbelievable" (literally "cannot" "comprehend").
For historical accuracy, let me identify some "artistic" revisions within this post: according to the records, both Fusu and Meng Tian committed suicide while in the Ordos Loop, though Meng Tian was arrested when he questioned his suicide order. A messenger was sent to Meng Yi at the suburbs of the capital with the suicide order; apparently Meng Yi began to babble that the emperor had no reason for decreeing the suicide order, so the messenger had to kill him personally.
For the narrative consistency regarding power consolidation, a shrewd political operative in the vein of Li Si, would not risk the northern army revolting by sending suicide orders, while the persons of interest were in command of their area and divisions. I took the inspiration of political purges from Stalin's Terror; and his modus operandi was to first, arrest and isolate persons of interest before extracting their confessions. I felt that the purge of the crown prince and his general would also require a sterile interrogation chamber.
Thanks for explaining the 'four logograph'.
WOW! Suicide orders are fascinating!!! It's such an alien concept (to me).
Great use of artistic licence! You have very ably combined world terrors of tyranny to produce something really special. Thanks for filling in the background.