Qin Ershi Hu Hai acceded to the throne in 209 BC. He further aggravated the exploitation and oppression of farmers, taking "those who pay heavy taxes as bright officials" and "murderers as loyal ministers".
He asked farmers to pay more rice and straw, and brought their own grain to Xianyang for officials, troops and even dogs, horses and livestock to eat. He continued to build Epang Palace and sent people to defend from afar. The target of corvee recruitment has been further expanded, the sufferings of farmers have reached the extreme, and a large-scale peasant uprising has reached the point of explosive.
2. Peasant uprising
During the period of Qin Ershi, farmers lived a miserable life, dressed in cattle and horses, eating food from cats and dogs, and often fled to the mountains to hold riots under the persecution of violent officials. All this shows that the urgent political tyranny has intensified social contradictions. Qin Shihuang not only completed the cause of reunification, but also created conditions for overthrowing the Qin Dynasty.
Therefore, Jia Shan of the Western Han Dynasty said when talking about the "mountain bandits" in the Qin Dynasty: When Qin Shihuang was alive, his rule was already collapsing, but because the emperor and the founding ministers were suppressing, no one dared to confront the government.
3. Qin Shihuang's own luxury
In the ten years after Qin Shihuang's reunification, a huge army was maintained, a huge bureaucracy was established, many large-scale wars were waged, and huge national defense and civil construction were completed.
It is estimated that at that time, the national population was about10 million, and there were more than 2 million soldiers, accounting for more than one third of adult males. On the advice of Zhao Tuo and others, Qin Shihuang moved 500,000 Qin people from Guanzhong to Lingnan, where they merged with the local people. However, it led to emptiness in Guanzhong and greatly shook the ruling foundation of Qin.
Extended data:
After the Chen Sheng Uprising, Xiang Liang, the son of Xiang Yan, a famous Chu soldier, and Xiang Yu, the nephew of Xiang Liang, killed Qin Huiji County Guard in Wu (now Suzhou, Jiangsu) and rose up to respond. Soon Xiang Liang led 8,000 troops across the river to the north, and the team expanded to 670,000, and Lien Chan won.
The nobles of Fujian and Vietnam led the public to disagree, followed Qin Fanyang and turned against Qin. Liu Bang, the original curator of Peixian County, and some criminals fled to Shanze, and also attacked Peiling for rebellion, and were incorporated into Liang Jun. Xiang Liang named Chu Huaiwang's grandson King Chu. Later, Xiang Liang was defeated in Dingtao, and Han's army turned to the north and crossed the river to attack Zhao.
At this time, Wang Li did not let Meng Tian guard the northern frontier, but also led an army from Shang Jun (southeast of Yulin, Shaanxi Province) to the east, and surrounded the giant Lucheng (now Pingxiang, Hebei Province) where Zhang Er and Zhao Wangxie were stationed.
Chu Wang sent and Xiang Yu rescued Zhao, and Liu Bangxi entered the customs. Song went to Anyang and couldn't stay long. Xiang Yu killed Yi Song and led his troops across the Zhanghe River. After fierce fighting, he solved the siege of the giant deer and was promoted to a vassal and general. Later, Zhang Han, the general of Qin, led 200,000 people to surrender to him.
Liu bang detoured into Wuguan and arrived near Xianyang. At that time, Qin Ershi had been killed by Zhao Gao, and Zi Ying was demoted as the emperor, known as the King of Qin, and surrendered to Liu Bang. Liu bang captured Xianyang and Qin died.
Baidu Encyclopedia-"Dying" in Qin Dynasty