132 Lao Ai

A6.3 

Lao Ai was titled Marquis Changxin, and the land of Shanyang was granted to him as his residence. The palaces of Qin, the carriages, the clothes, the gardens, and the hunting grounds, were all enjoyable at Lao Ai's will. The decisions of the state affairs, no matter how big or small, all went through him. The Hexi and Taiyuan counties were made into Lao Ai's fiefdoms. In the ninth year, a comet appeared and streaked across the sky. The Qin State attacked Yuanyi and Puyang of the Wei State. In April, the king lived in Yongdi. In the year of Jiyou, the ceremony was held to crown the king, who began to wear a sword. When his plan to rebel was discovered, Lao Ai the Marquis Changxin stole the seals of the King and of the Queen Mother, mobilized the infantry and cavalry in the county, and the leaders of the Rongdi tribe, and his own servants, preparing to attack the Qinian Palace and launch a rebellion. The king found out and sent the Prime Ministers, Lord Changping, and Lord Changwen, to mobilize the soldiers to crack down on Lao Ai. The two sides fought in Xianyang, and the Qin army had hundreds of killings. Those who had military merit were all rewarded with titles, and the eunuchs who participated in the battle were also granted a higher level of titles. Lao Ai was defeated and fled. Then the king issued an order to the whole country: "Anyone who captures Lao Ai alive will be rewarded with one million coins; Anyone who kills Lao Ai will be rewarded with five hundred thousand coins." Lao Ai and others were all apprehended. Guardian Jie, court bookkeeper Si, chauffeur Jie, minister Qi, and twenty others were all beheaded and displayed to the public. Lao Ai was chariot-torn and displayed to the public, and his entire clan was wiped out. Even Lao Ai's guests were punished with forced labor in the ancestral temple if their crimes were minor. More than 4,000 families were implicated and stripped off of their titles and exiled to Shu, and to live in Fangling. This month, the weather was very cold and there were people frozen to death. Yang Duanhe attacked the Yan clan of Wei. A comet appeared in the west and then in the north, following the Big Dipper to the south for eighty days. In the tenth year (237 BC), Prime Minister Lü Buwei was dismissed from his position for his Implication with Lao Ai. Huan Yi was appointed as a general. The envoys from Qi and Zhao came, and the King of Qin hosted a banquet. Mao Jiao of Qi advised the King of Qin: "Qin aims to unify the world, but the king has a bad reputation for exiling his mother, the Queen Mother. I am afraid that the princes will betray Qin after hearing about this." The King of Qin then welcomed the Queen Mother back from Yong County to Xianyang and let her live in Ganquan Palace again.

嫪毐封为长信侯。予之山阳地，令毐居之。宫室车马衣服苑囿驰猎恣毐。事无小大皆决于毐。又以河西太原郡更为毐国。九年，彗星见，或竟天。攻魏垣、蒲阳。四月，上宿雍。己酉，王冠，带剑。长信侯毐作乱而觉，矫王御玺及太后玺以发县卒及卫卒、官骑、戎翟君公、舍人，将欲攻蕲年宫为乱。王知之，令相国昌平君、昌文君发卒攻毐。战咸阳，斩首数百，皆拜爵，及宦者皆在战中，亦拜爵一级。毐等败走。即令国中：有生得毐，赐钱百万；杀之，五十万。尽得毐等。卫尉竭、内史肆、佐弋竭、中大夫令齐等二十人皆枭首。车裂以徇，灭其宗。及其舍人，轻者为鬼薪。及夺爵迁蜀四千余家，家房陵。是月寒冻，有死者。杨端和攻衍氏。彗星见西方，又见北方，从斗以南八十日。十年，相国吕不韦坐嫪毐免。桓齮为将军。齐、赵来置酒。齐人茅焦说秦王曰：“秦方以天下为事，而大王有迁母太后之名，恐诸侯闻之，由此倍秦也。”秦王乃迎太后于雍而入咸阳，复居甘泉宫。