Full text:
The First Emperor of Qin was also Prince Zhuangxiang of Qin. King Zhuang Xiang was the hostage of Qin in Zhao. When he saw Concubine Lu Buwei, he took her and gave birth to the first emperor. King Zhao of Qin was born in Handan in the first month of the forty-eighth year of his reign. When he was born, his name was Zheng and his surname was Zhao. When he was thirteen years old, King Zhuang Xiang died, and Zheng Dai was made King of Qin. At that time, Qin had merged with Ba, Shu, and Hanzhong, and Yue Wan had Ying, and established Nanjun.
To the east of Shangjun in the north, there are Hedong, Taiyuan, and Shangdang counties; in the east to Xingyang, after two weeks of destruction, Sanchuan County was established. Lu Buwei was appointed prime minister, granted a title of 100,000 households, and was named Marquis Wenxin. Inviting guests and tourists, hoping to unite the world. Li Si was a sacrificer. Meng Ao, Wang Jue, Hegong and others were the generals. When the king was young, he first came to the throne and was appointed minister of state.
In the sixth year, Han, Wei, Zhao, Wei, and Chu attacked Qin and captured Shouling. Qin sent out troops, and the troops of the five countries stopped. After pulling out the guards and forcing Dongjun, the king, Jiao, led his relatives and moved to Yewang, blocking his mountains to protect Wei's river. In seven years, the comet will first appear in the east and see the north, and in the fifth month it will see the west. The general died. Attack the capitals of Long, Gu and Qing, and return the troops to attack Ji. The comet will appear in the west again on the 16th. Queen Mother Xia died.
In the eighth year, the king's younger brother, Chang'an Juncheng, general, attacked Zhao and rebelled. He stayed in the camp to death, killed all the military officials, and moved his people to Lintao. The general died on the wall, and his soldiers Tunliu and Puhe rebelled and killed his body. When the fish in the river are big, the light carts and heavy horses will be eaten. Lao Ai was granted the title of Marquis Changxin. Give him the land of Shanyang and let Ai live there. The palaces, carriages, horses, clothes, gardens, and gardens are full of horses and hunting. No matter how big or small, everything depends on Ai. Taiyuan County in Hexi Province was renamed as Ai State.
In the ninth year, a comet appears, or it reaches the sky. Attack Weiyuan and Puyang. In April, go to Suyong. Jiyou, crown, with sword. Hou Ai of Changxin was aware of the rebellion, and corrected the royal seal of the king and the queen mother to send out the county soldiers and guards, officers and cavalry, Rong Zhai Lord, and the people who wanted to attack Qinian Palace to cause chaos. When the king knew about it, he ordered the prime ministers Changping Jun and Changwen Jun to attack Ai. During the battle in Xianyang, hundreds of people were beheaded, and they were all given the title of nobility. All the eunuchs who were in the battle were also given the first level of nobility.
Ai and others were defeated. That is to say, he ordered the people in the country to give him a million dollars if he was alive; to kill him, he would give him 500,000 yuan. Wait for everything. Twenty people, including Wei Wei Jie, Nei Shisi, Zuo Yi Jie, and Zhongda Fu Ling Qi, all bowed their heads. The chariot is broken and the clan is destroyed. And those who sacrifice others will be ghosts. He also seized the title and moved more than 4,000 families to Shu, with their houses and mausoleums. The moon is freezing and there are dead people. Yang Duanhe attacked Yanshi. The comet can be seen in the west and north, and it will be eighty days south of Dou.
Vernacular translation:
The First Emperor of Qin was the son of King Zhuang Xiang of the State of Qin. King Zhuang Xiang once lived in Handan City of Zhao State as the grandson of King Zhao of Qin. He saw Lu Buwei's concubine there and fell in love with her very much, so he married her and gave birth to the First Emperor. Qin Shihuang was born in Handan in the forty-eighth year of King Qin Zhao (259 BC). After birth, he was named Zheng and his surname was Zhao.
When he was thirteen years old, King Zhuang Xiang died, and Zheng succeeded to the throne and became King of Qin. At this time, Qin's territory had annexed Bajun, Shujun and Hanzhong, crossed Wanxian County to occupy Chu's Yingdu, and established Nanjun; it took the east of Shangjun to the north, and occupied Hedong, Taiyuan and Shangdang. County; go east to Xingyang, destroy the Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou countries, and establish Sanchuan County.
Lü Buwei was the Prime Minister of the country and was granted a title of 100,000 households. His title was Marquis Wenxin. He solicited guests and tourists, hoping to annex the world. Li Si was a sacrificer. Meng Ao, Wang Jue, Hegong and others were the generals. The King of Qin was young and had just ascended the throne, so he entrusted state affairs to his ministers.
In four years (243 BC), he captured the cities of Minyi and Yougui. In March, the march was stopped. The hostages of the State of Qin went to the State of Qin from Handan, and the prince of the State of Zhao also returned to Handan from the State of Qin. On Gengyin Day in October, locusts flew from the east and covered the sky and the sun. The plague spread throughout the country. The common people donated a thousand stones of grain and were awarded a first-level title.
In the fifth year (242 BC), General Meng Ao attacked Wei and pacified Suanzao, Yanyi, Xuyi, Changping, Yongqiu, and Shanyang City. He captured them all and captured 20 cities. City. Start setting up East County. There was thunder this winter. In the sixth year, South Korea, Wei, Zhao, Wei, and Chu attacked Qin together and captured Shouling.
In the eighth year (239 BC), King Qin's brother Chang'an Jun Chengyu led an army to attack Zhao and rebelled in Tunliu. As a result, all his officers were killed and the people there were moved to Lintao. The general who came to attack Cheng? died, leaving soldiers Pu Hao in the camp. He rebelled again and died in battle. After his death, he was tortured by flogging his body. Fish from the Yellow River rushed to the shore in large numbers, and people drove carriages to the east to find food.
Lao Ai was granted the title of Marquis of Changxin and was given the land of Shanyang to live there. Palaces, carriages, horses, clothes, gardens, and hunting were all left to Lao Ai's will. Everything, no matter how big or small, is decided by Lao Ai. He also changed Taiyuan County in Hexi Province to a feudal state of Lao Ai.
In nine years (238 BC), the comet appeared again, sometimes crossing the entire sky. Attack Yuan Yi and Pu Yang Yi of Wei State. In the fourth month, King Qin stayed in Yongdi. On Jiyou day, the king of Qin held a crowning ceremony to show that he had reached adulthood and wore a sword.
The rebellion caused by Changxin Hou Lao Ai was discovered. He misappropriated the King of Qin's seal and the Queen Mother's seal, and mobilized the capital's troops, bodyguards, official cavalry, Rongdi tribe leaders, and retainers in an attempt to attack Qinian Palace. Start a rebellion. After the First Emperor learned about it, he ordered the Prime Ministers Changping Jun and Changwen Jun to send troops to attack Lao'ai.
In the battle of Xianyang, hundreds of people were killed, and the King of Qin awarded them all titles of nobility, and the eunuchs who participated in the battle were also awarded first-level titles. Lao Ai and others were defeated and fled. Immediately an order was issued to the whole country: Whoever captures Lao Ai alive will be given a reward of one million; whoever kills him will be given a reward of 500,000. Lao Ai and others were all captured.
Twenty people, including Wei Wei Jie, Neishi Si, Zuo Ge Jie, and Zhongda Fu Ling Qi, were all sentenced to owl punishment, that is, their heads were cut off and hung on a wooden pole. Lao Ai was punished by being quartered on a chariot with five horses as a public demonstration, and his family was destroyed. As for his retainers, those who committed minor crimes were punished with ghost wages, that is, they had to serve three years of hard labor collecting firewood for the ancestral temple. More than four thousand families were deprived of their official titles and moved to Shu County to live in Fangling County.
Although this month belongs to Mengxia, it is very cold and some people freeze to death. Yang Duanhe attacked Yanshi. The comet appeared in the west and soon in the north, appearing continuously for eighty days from the Beidou to the south.
Source: From "The Chronicles of Qin Shihuang" by Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty.
Extended information:
Background:
After the Qin Dynasty destroyed the six kingdoms in the twenty-sixth year of his reign (221 BC), the title of king was not enough to show off his career. He is called the emperor. He also continued to implement Shang Yang's Legalist policies since Xiaogong's Reform, strengthened the autocratic monarchy, weakened the power of the old aristocracy, and promoted aristocrats who rose through military merit.
The land ownership system of the Qin Empire basically maintained the "king-owned" land system of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and changed "king-owned" to "state-owned". In 216 BC, Qin Shihuang ordered farmers across the country to report the actual amount of land they owned in order to collect taxes. It was also implemented that even civilians could be awarded land and titles as long as they had military merit.
Although the Qin State implemented the "land grant system" during Shang Yang's reform, and farmers' land was nominally owned by the state and cultivated privately, this move allowed the people across the country to actually occupy the land that was originally "owned by the king." Soon it evolved into a situation where farmers and officials could freely buy and sell land, so Qin's Shang Yang Reform ultimately facilitated the development of private land.
After Qin Shihuang abolished the feudal system, he established a system of counties, counties and bureaucracy from the central to local levels. The country was initially divided into thirty-six counties. Later, with the expansion of the land, it was increased to forty-six counties, and Xianyang was designated as the capital.
The highest bureaucrats in the central government are the prime minister, the imperial censor and the Taiwei, also known as the "Three Dukes". The chief of the local county is the guardian, and the chief of the county is the order. The county system initially broke down the patriarchal system of blood relations, while the feudal system and bureaucracy replaced the hereditary system of the nobility.