蒙恬列传 — Shiji

Meng Tian was originally from the state of Qi. His grandfather, Meng Ao, left Qi to serve King Zhaoxiang of Qin and rose to the rank of Senior Minister. In the first year of King Zhuangxiang of Qin, Meng Ao was appointed a Qin general and attacked Han, capturing Chenggao and Xingyang, where he established the Sanchuan Commandery. The following year, Meng Ao attacked Zhao and took thirty-seven cities. In the third year of the First Emperor's reign, Meng Ao attacked Han and captured thirteen cities. In the fifth year, he attacked Wei and took twenty cities, establishing the Eastern Commandery. In the seventh year of the First Emperor, Meng Ao died. His son was Meng Wu, and Meng Wu's son was Meng Tian.

Meng Tian once studied legal matters and literature. In the twenty-third year of the First Emperor's reign, Meng Wu served as a supporting general under Wang Jian in an attack on Chu, dealing them a crushing defeat and killing Xiang Yan. In the twenty-fourth year, Meng Wu attacked Chu again and captured the King of Chu.

Meng Tian had a younger brother named Meng Yi. In the twenty-sixth year of the First Emperor, Meng Tian, drawing on his family's distinguished military record, was appointed a Qin general and attacked Qi, defeating them soundly. He was made Neishi, the Director of the Capital. After Qin had unified the empire, it sent Meng Tian with an army of three hundred thousand to drive back the nomads in the north and recover the region beyond the Yellow River. He built the Great Wall, adapting to the terrain to create strategic defenses, stretching from Lintao in the west to Liaodong in the east, extending over ten thousand li. He then crossed the Yellow River, seized the northern slopes of the Yang Mountains, and extended the fortifications winding northward. His forces remained encamped in the wilderness for more than a decade, stationed in Shang Commandery. At this time, Meng Tian's prestige commanded the respect of the Xiongnu.

Zhao Gao was a distant relative of the Zhao royal family. Several of his brothers were born in the penal workshops, and his mother had been punished and executed—his family had been despised for generations. The King of Qin heard that Zhao Gao was capable and well-versed in legal codes, and appointed him Chief of the Palace Carriages. Zhao Gao privately tutored Prince Huhai in judicial matters. When Zhao Gao committed a serious crime, the First Emperor ordered Meng Yi to judge him according to the law. Meng Yi, not daring to pervert the law, sentenced Zhao Gao to death and stripped him of his official status. The emperor, however, considering Zhao Gao's useful service, pardoned him and restored his rank.

When the First Emperor wished to tour the empire, he sent an expedition from Jiuyuan straight to Gan Quan, commissioning Meng Tian to construct a road from Jiuyuan to Gan Quan, cutting through mountains and filling valleys—an eighteen-hundred-li route. The project was never completed. In the winter of the thirty-seventh year of the First Emperor, he set out on a tour, traveling south to Kuaiji, then along the coast, heading north toward Langye. The emperor fell ill along the way and sent Meng Yi to pray to the mountains and rivers, with orders to return. The emperor died at Shaqiu, and the death was kept secret from the court. At that time, the Chancellor Li Si, Prince Huhai, and Zhao Gao, the Chief of the Palace Carriages, were the only ones present. Zhao Gao, who had cultivated great favor with Huhai, wished to place him on the throne. He also resented that Meng Yi had sentenced him according to the law and not on his behalf. Seizing the opportunity, he conspired with Chancellor Li Si and Prince Huhai, and they established Huhai as crown prince.

Once the crown prince was confirmed, they sent envoys to accuse Prince Fusu and Meng Tian of crimes and order their deaths. Fusu killed himself. Meng Tian, suspicious, requested clarification. The envoy placed Meng Tian in the custody of an official and installed a replacement. Huhai, having learned of Fusu's death, intended to release Meng Tian. But Zhao Gao feared that the Meng family would regain prominence and influence, so he plotted against them.

When Meng Yi returned, Zhao Gao took the opportunity to scheme for the destruction of the Meng family, saying to Huhai: "I have heard that the late Emperor intended to raise up worthy men and establish a crown prince long ago, but Yi advised against it. If he knew the prince was capable yet persistently opposed his enthronement, then he was disloyal and sought to mislead the sovereign. In my foolish view, he should be executed." Huhai agreed and had Meng Yi imprisoned at Dai. Meng Tian had already been confined at Yangzhou.

The envoy understood Hu Hai's intentions, refused to listen to Meng Yi's plea, and thereupon killed him. The Second Emperor then sent an envoy to Yangzhou, ordering him to say to Meng Tian: 'Your faults are too many, and your younger brother Meng Yi has committed a grave crime, so by law the Prefect of the Capital is implicated.' Meng Tian said: 'From my ancestors down to my descendants, our family has accumulated merit and trustworthiness in Qin for three generations. That is why all the world and later ages take this as a warning. Future descendants should likewise take this as a mirror.'

When the funeral reached Xianyang and the late emperor was buried, the crown prince ascended the throne as the Second Emperor. Zhao Gao, now his close confidant, daily heaped slander upon the Meng family, searching for their offenses and bringing charges against them. Ziyang remonstrated: "I have heard that King Zhao of old executed his capable minister Li Mu and employed Yan Ju instead; that the King of Yan secretly sanctioned Jing Ke's plot and broke faith with Qin; and that the King of Qi executed his loyal ministers and appointed Hou Sheng. These three rulers, by changing ancient ways, lost their kingdoms and brought ruin upon themselves. Now the Mengs are Qin's chief ministers and strategists, yet Your Majesty wishes to discard them in a single stroke—I dare not approve of this. I have heard that hasty judgments cannot govern a state, and that solitary cleverness cannot preserve a ruler. Executing loyal ministers and installing men of base character will, internally, cause the officials to lose trust in the sovereign and, externally, alienate the soldiers' loyalty. I dare not approve."

The Second Emperor would not listen. He sent an envoy named Qu Gong to Dai with orders for Meng Yi: "The former Emperor wished to establish a crown prince, yet you opposed him. Now the Chancellor considers you disloyal, and your entire clan must share the punishment. I cannot bear to execute you myself—it is mercy enough. Consider your situation."