Qin Shi Huang: Three Assassins, a Hidden Death, and the Coup Inside the Funeral Carriage

In the seventh month of 210 BCE, Qin Shi Huang fell ill at Shaqiu, many weeks from the capital at Xianyang. He was on his fifth inspection tour of the eastern empire. The Records of the Grand Historian places his death at the Pingtai palace when he was only forty-nine. The court did not announce it. Chancellor Li Si, the eunuch Zhao Gao, the emperor’s youngest son Huhai, and a few trusted eunuchs kept the news secret. They placed the body in a cool carriage, continued to receive reports, and acted as if the emperor was still approving documents. When the smell became impossible to hide in the summer heat, carts of rotten fish were sent in front of and behind the carriage.

This was not a delay of a few hours. The procession continued for almost two months before the capital was told that the emperor had died. During that time, the men holding the imperial seal and the sealed succession order could decide who would rule. The death at Shaqiu therefore became a struggle for control. The eldest son, Fusu, was stationed on the northern frontier with General Meng Tian. Huhai was travelling with Zhao Gao and Li Si.