His name was glorified by the terracotta army. He himself did not want to repeat the mistakes of his parents and dreamed of gaining immortality even if for this he had to absorb mercury.
The biography of this man is amazing. He was born in difficult times, yearned for absolute power and stubbornly walked towards it. Deftly using intrigues, he was not afraid of direct armed confrontation. He invented a name for himself and laid the foundations for the emergence of a huge and powerful state on the political map of the modern world.
Childhood
Our hero was born in the Chinese city of Handan in 259 BC. e. He was named Ying Zheng. This name was formed from the name of the month of his birth. The boy's father Chuangxiang was of royal blood, however, among his ancestors were illegitimate, which did not give him the right to the throne. The family used it to make peace with neighbors, and at the time of the birth of the heir, the aristocrat was among the hostages of the warlike principality of Zhao.
Inspired by the birth of his son, the captive found a friend - the rich man Lu Buwei. He promised to do everything so that Ying Zheng grew up in the palace and was the crown prince. Indeed, the conspirators soon managed to return to the Chuangxiang homeland in the Shaanxi principality. Capital allowed the rogue, who arrived in the retinue of a noble family, to become the ruler of a small state himself. He used the noble baby as a cover for his swindle. The usurper declared himself regent with him. Chuangxiang did not receive any rights and privileges, he became depressed and soon died.
Youth
The nobility was unhappy with what was happening. They began to say that the personal life of the mother of the heir to the throne was not so pure. Chuangxiang's wife was called the regent's mistress, and her son was the fruit of this vicious relationship. Lu Buwei allowed Ying Zheng's coronation when he was 13 years old. He considered in a teenager a strong intellect and a desire to contribute to the development of the state. The nobleman retained the adoption of state decisions and the right to dispose of the treasury.
Lu Buwei was not a stupid person, he gave the young ruler a good education and now enjoyed his support in such undertakings as building irrigation canals, inviting scientists to write an encyclopedia, and encouraging literary creativity and philosophy. The teenager learned to invest public funds in long-term projects. He did not want to thank his mentor, knowing that he had become his mother's lover and encouraged her debauchery. In 237 BC. e. the sweet couple were publicly convicted of inappropriate behavior and sent into exile.
Conquest
Having got rid of custody, Ying Zheng became the sole ruler of the country. He curtailed the rights of the feudal lords and drove away the former ministers. The young man brought the sage and intriguer Li Si closer to him, who inflamed his ambitious dreams of expanding the borders of the state. The turbulent times only confirmed the correctness of these two - action must be taken immediately and uncompromisingly.
The young ruler moved to the East. After repelling the attacks of his neighbors, he began to take possession of their lands. Some kingdoms fell under the onslaught of his troops, some became prey through diplomacy. After capturing Handan, Ying Zheng ordered to find those who held his father captive and to execute them. Having no chance to resist the fierce warrior on the battlefield, the enemies sent hired killers to him, however, all attempts to destroy the commander ended in failure.
Emperor
By 220 BC. e. Ying Zheng owned all the lands he knew. The ruler did not want to be called a king, or a prince, this was not enough for him. He adopted the name Qin Shi Huang, which translated as "founder of the Qin dynasty." He was the husband of several princesses, who gave him sons who, over time, were capable of taking control of a huge empire. The sovereign did not allow any of his relatives to high positions. He feared that they would begin to hack the empire into allotments, destroying the results of his work.
The monarch borrowed the principles of governing a new immense country from the tyrants he conquered. He conveyed his orders to the people through officials. A common man could have made a brilliant career at court, but he could not bequeath land and power to his children. The castles of the rebellious aristocrats were demolished, and the construction of a powerful defensive line began on the western border, which will be called the Great Wall of China.
Immortality
The great Qin Shi Huang Ti possessed all earthly riches and seemed to rule over half of the world. He could not command only time. The emperor increasingly remembered the impending death and was interested in the existing recipes for immortality. He invited famous doctors and magicians to his place. In 213 BC. e. this infatuation with him became the subject of ridicule by the Confucian philosophers. Vladyka ordered them to be executed and their books destroyed.
After 3 years, the ruler once again set out on a journey to independently assess the state of affairs in his state. On the way, he felt unwell and decided to use the wonderful pills that one of the court charlatans prescribed to him. Taking medicine that contained mercury ended in the death of the sovereign. Li Si was beside him. As soon as the lord passed away, his advisor forged the will and started playing with the heirs to the throne. Qin Shi Huang was buried in a wonderful tomb, which was discovered only in 1974.
