104. Who Destroyed the Qin Dynasty？

In the history of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, left behind achievements that could never be erased. But the way such a huge empire rose so quickly in only fifteen years, and then collapsed in an extremely short time, is not something often seen in the long course of human history. The founding of the Qin dynasty marked the formal establishment of the first centralized imperial system in Chinese history, and that system shaped the political order of the next two thousand years. When we look back on this period, we often focus our attention on Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, and think that the direction of the empire was decided entirely by his personal will. But in reality, the operation of an empire depends on a vast bureaucratic system, and the choices made by the few people at the top of that system can often determine the fate of the whole state. In the final years of the Qin dynasty, there were two figures who played a decisive role in the destruction of the dynasty. They were the Chancellor Li Si and the Palace Commandant Zhao Gao.