Why was Li Si’s fate so tragic?
In his early years, Li Si was a small official guarding grain in Chu State. Promotion and salary increase were too far away from him. One incident changed his attitude towards life. This was also the "rat philosophy" that he later regarded as his guideline.
Li Si entered the toilet and saw the frightened rat running around in panic. The rat was wet and skinny. But when he returned to the granary he was guarding, he saw that the mice inside were all plump and round, and they did not panic at all when they saw people coming, as if this was what they deserved.
“The virtuous and unworthy people are like rats, it depends on where they are! - "Historical Records·Biography of Li Si"
Li Si believes that virtuous and unworthy people are like these rats. It's the same, it's just that the location is different. Li Si believes that as long as a person is in that position, wealth is just something that can be obtained easily.
So Li Si quit his job and set out to work. He went to the State of Qi and became a disciple of Xunzi. After several years of study, Li Si felt that learning was a very important thing if a person has dreams and goals. Happy things.
At that time, Yingzheng of Qin came to the throne. He analyzed the general trend of the world and found that Qi, Chu, Wei, Yan, Zhao, and Han were all unable to succeed. It was much easier to follow the trend than to turn the tide. So Li Si decisively bid farewell to Xunzi and "no time to slack off when the time comes." Li Si believed that the time had come for Qin to dominate the world, and the opportunity had arisen, and Li Si could no longer wait.
Li Si successfully entered. Qin, Li Si still chose to be the disciple of Lu Buwei, the most powerful person in the Qin Dynasty, and became Lu Buwei's disciple. Li Si's talent was quickly recognized by Lu Buwei, and Lu Buwei recommended him to become a general.
Li Si's talent was successfully revealed, and it can be seen that direction is more important than choice. Even if Li Si is talented, how can the emperor only see him when he appears in front of Ying Zheng? When appearing in front of Lu Buwei, once the talent is revealed, it is easier to be reused, which makes Li Si more recognized by the "rat philosophy" he summarized.
Li Si was successfully reused by the emperor, and Ying Zheng passed through Lao Ai. After the rebellion, Lu Buwei was dismissed and Li Si was appointed prime minister. Finally, he became famous, and Li Si became the prime minister for eternity. At this time, Li Si and Ying Zheng quietly changed their mentality, and his mentality changed. Life also began to go down in the process of change.
When a person had nothing, he spoke up and worked hard. When he had power and money, he began to always take the king's attitude into consideration and worry about an accident. There will be nothing left. Ying Zheng pursues immortality, but Li Si and others do not dissuade him, fearing that they will offend the king and lose their heads.
Everyone is destined to die. Ying Zheng is riding a crane to the west. Li Si also ushered in his own destiny at this moment. Ying Zheng's last command was to order his eldest son Fusu to return to Xianyang to preside over the funeral and ascend the throne.
Hu Hai and Zhao Gao and others planned to usurp the throne. He figured out Li Si's psychology. He was reluctant to give up his power. Zhao Gao gave an example. No one in the Qin Dynasty died well before, and Li Si's status was not as good as Meng Tian and others. Li Si hesitated, and Li Si obeyed.
Li Si joined Zhao Gao's group and supported Hu Hai as the throne. Since then, Li Si has been in Zhao Gao's hands. He was not only afraid of offending Hu Hai, but also afraid of offending Zhao Gao. Li Si was no longer the upright and outspoken Li Si. He bewitched Hu Hai and blocked the sky with one hand. Zhao Gao was still a man full of desire for power. As the prime minister, how could Li Si be alone? Li Si was beaten and tortured by Hu Hai, and finally Li Si had to plead guilty and be executed.
The reason why Li Si died so miserably was largely due to the limitations of the "rat philosophy", which made him lose his eyesight and ultimately made him lose his bottom line and be led by Zhao Gao. If he can stick to his true heart and not be taken advantage of by Zhao Gao and others, Fusu Zhai will have a kind heart, and Li Si's name will last forever.