How the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang ran away from death around a pillar

A way out can be found even from a seemingly hopeless situation. The main thing is not to give up, and then the chance that luck will smile increases many times over. The Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang, who ruled the Celestial Empire between 220 and 210 BC, probably knew about this. Therefore, he managed to escape from death, which was very close.

Qin Shi Huang ruled for only ten years, but during this time he managed a lot. He won a bloody war with six other Chinese states and united them into one empire. He also began the construction of the Great Wall of China and became the founder of the Qin Dynasty. The world-famous Terracotta Army is guarding his mausoleum.

Of course, having developed such a stormy activity, the emperor made himself many dangerous enemies. One of them was Yan, the crown prince of one of the occupied states. The prince was held hostage by Qin Shi Huang for several years, but managed to escape together with the general of the imperial army, Fan, who betrayed his master.

The prince soon regretted taking the traitor with him. Fan's betrayal infuriated the emperor much more than the flight of the hostage. The situation developed in such a way that a new war could begin, the purpose of which would be revenge on Yang and his supporters, and the capture of Fan.

Therefore, Prince Yan decided to send an assassin to Qin Shi Huang. The choice fell on the experienced and cunning warrior Jing Ke. He was ready to go to certain death and hit the emperor with a poisoned dagger. But even the most skilled killer could not get close to the monarch, guarded by thousands of bodyguards.

The monarch was very afraid of assassination attempts. By his decree, 270 palaces were built in different parts of the empire. No one knew where and when the emperor would appear, and any meeting had to be agreed in advance. The solution to the problem has been found. It turned out to be simple, although somewhat strange from the point of view of modern man.

Jing Ke and Prince Yan came to General Fan and asked him to… die. The murderer was supposed to bring the severed head of a traitor as a gift to the emperor. For the sake of such an occasion, Qin Shi Huang will definitely not refuse an audience. The traitor was persuaded to commit suicide for the cause or simply killed - the opinions of different sources differ. The assassin took the box containing the bloody gift and Prince Yan's letter and set off.

As expected, the emperor was delighted with the gift. He immediately agreed to receive the guest and made an appointment in one of the palaces. He even condescended to approach him. But when Jing Ke began to beat the numerous bows that are part of the famous "Chinese ceremonies", Qin Shi Huang saw a dagger hidden in his sleeve.

Noticing this, the killer began to convince the emperor that he was not going to kill him. He insisted that his goal was to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict with Prince Yan. But the frightened emperor did not listen to him - he took to his heels. The victim could have escaped, and Jing Ke, drawing his weapon, gave chase.

Fleeing, the emperor wanted to get his sword out of its scabbard, but it got entangled in the folds of ceremonial robes. Qin Shi Huang ran around the pillar that supported the ceiling and unsuccessfully tried to release the weapon, while Jing Ke chased him with a dagger. Everything happened so quickly and unexpectedly that the courtiers were taken aback. According to the rules of palace etiquette, it was forbidden to enter the chambers of the emperor with weapons. Therefore, the guards with swords and spears could not help - they were in the hall on the floor below.

Emperor Qin's physician Shi Huang was the first to pull himself together. He threw a bag of medicine at the killer, and this distracted him from the chase. A moment of confusion was enough for the emperor to finally draw his sword. He spun around and hit the killer in the thigh.

Jing Ke threw a dagger at the monarch in desperation, but missed. Then the officials of the emperor and the guards arrived in time and the unlucky killer was pierced by dozens of blades. Dying, Jing Ke exclaimed: "I failed because I was only threatening and did not intend to kill you!"

So, thanks to the pillar, the ruler of one of the most powerful empires of the ancient world escaped death. After the assassination attempt, Qin Shi Huang lived only a few months. He escaped the poisoned dagger, but fell victim to his own desire to live forever. The emperor was poisoned by mercury, which was generously added to his “pills of immortality” by the very quick doctor Qin Shi Huang, who saved his life.