On the 15th day of the 10th month of the 17th year of Emperor Xiaoming of Han (74 AD), Ban Gu said:
The Zhou Dynasty's rule was over. According to the law of the transformation of the five virtues, a benevolent monarch would not replace the mother's virtue with the son's virtue. However, the Qin Dynasty just did that, the rule of the First Emperor Lu Zheng was cruel and tyrannical. However, he was able to annex the world at the age of thirteen as a vassal, indulge in lust, and raise his clan. He reigned for thirty-seven years, with his military force everywhere, making political decrees and passing them on to future emperors. He probably received the power of a saint, and the Yellow River God gave him cheats books, his body was backed up by the Wolf and Fox Stars of arrows and crossbows, his feet were on the Three Stars of Punishment, and the Heavens helped him to drive away the rebellion, and he was finally called the First Emperor.
After the death of the First Emperor, Hu Hai was very stupid. The Lishan Mausoleum was not yet completed, and he wanted to build the Afang Palace just to fulfill the will of the First Emperor. He said: "Anyone who is noble and owns the world can do whatever he wants. How can a minister try to abolish what the previous emperor did?" He killed Li Si and Feng Quji and appointed Zhao Gao. His words are really heartbreaking! He has a human head, but he makes the sound of livestock. Without power, one cannot boast. If one's sins are not serious, one will not perish easily. In the end, the throne cannot be retained. Cruelty and tyranny can only make the reign shorter. Although the Qin State occupied a favorable terrain, it still could not be preserved.
Ziying succeeded to the throne according to the order, wearing a jade crown, gorgeous clothes, and a yellow umbrella on his car. All officials followed him to worship the ancestral temples. If a villain sits in a position that he shouldn't sit in, he will definitely be confused and live in complacency. However, Ziying had long-term ambitions. He eliminated his doubts, and the father and son together took decisive measures. Right inside the door, they easily killed Zhao Gao and defeated the traitor for the First Emperor and the Second Emperor. After Zhao Gao's death, the guests and relatives had not been fully comforted, the meal had not been swallowed, and the wine had not been touched, that the Chu soldiers had slaughtered Guanzhong, and the real master had descended on Bashang. Ziying rode a white horse in a plain car, tied his neck with a silk rope, and held the talisman and seal in his hands to surrender to the future Emperor Gao. Just like Zheng Bo holding a thatched banner and a phoenix knife, King Zhuang of Chu retreated seven miles. The Yellow River cannot be stopped if it bursts, and a fish cannot be restored if it rot. Jia Yi and Sima Qian said: "If Ziying had the talent of an ordinary monarch and only had ministers of average talent, even if Shandong rebelled, the land of Qin could still be preserved, and the sacrifices to the ancestral temple would not be cut off." The long-term decline of Qin led to the collapse of the world. Even if there were talents like Dan the Duke of Zhou, no way to display his cleverness. However, they blamed a new monarch who had just ascended the throne for this. It was wrong!
There is a folk rumor that evil originated from Qin Shihuang and reached its peak during the reign of Hu Hai. This is reasonable. Jia Yi and Sima Qian blamed the new monarch again, saying that the land of Qin could have been preserved. This is what people call, that there’s no understanding the changes of the times. Ji Ji surrendered to Qi by offering the city of Xi, and the Spring and Autumn Annals did not mention his name to show praise. When I read the "Qin Annals", came to Ziying's chariots torn Zhao Gao apart, I never failed to praise his decisiveness, and also pity his ambition. Ziying has done his best in terms of life and death.
孝明皇帝十七年十月十五日乙丑，曰：
周历已移，仁不代母。秦直其位，吕政残虐。然以诸侯十三，并兼天下，极情纵欲，养育宗亲。三十七年，兵无所不加，制作政令，施于后王。盖得圣人之威，河神授图，据狼、狐，蹈参、伐，佐政驱除，距之称始皇。
始皇既殁，胡亥极愚，郦山未毕，复作阿房，以遂前策。云“凡所为贵有天下者，肆意极欲，大臣至欲罢先君所为”。诛斯、去疾，任用赵高。痛哉言乎！人头畜鸣。不威不伐恶，不笃不虚亡，距之不得留，残虐以促期，虽居形便之国，犹不得存。
子婴度次得嗣，冠玉冠，佩华绂，车黄屋，从百司，谒七庙。小人乘非位，莫不怳忽失守，偷安日日，独能长念卻虑，父子作权，近取于户牖之间，竟诛猾臣，为君讨贼。高死之后，宾婚未得尽相劳，餐未及下咽，酒未及濡唇，楚兵已屠关中，真人翔霸上，素车婴组，奉其符玺，以归帝者。郑伯茅旌鸾刀，严王退舍。河决不可复壅，鱼烂不可复全。贾谊、司马迁曰：“向使婴有庸主之才，仅得中佐，山东虽乱，秦之地可全而有，宗庙之祀未当绝也。”秦之积衰，天下土崩瓦解，虽有周旦之材，无所复陈其巧，而以责一日之孤，误哉！俗传秦始皇起罪恶，胡亥极，得其理矣。复责小子，云秦地可全，所谓不通时变者也。纪季以酅，春秋不名。吾读秦纪，至于子婴车裂赵高，未尝不健其决，怜其志。婴死生之义备矣。
The end of A6
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