Zhao Gao was a deceitful, ambitious person. Although he was already the prime minister of Qin Ershi, he still wanted to further advance to the throne. He knew that many ministers would oppose him, so he thought of a plan.
One day, Zhao Gao brought a deer. Qin Ershi asked him: 「Why are you bringing a deer?」 Zhao Gao replied: 「I want to present you a good horse.」
Qin Ershi said to Zhao Gao: 「This is obviously a deer. Why do you say this is a horse?」 Zhao Gao then replied: 「This is obviously a good horse. If you don’t believe it, you can ask the ministers.」
The ministers listened to Zhao Gao’s lies and looked at each other, did not know how to answer. They wanted to tell the truth, but they were afraid of Zhao Gao’s power. The coward ministers said that this is indeed a good horse. The honest ministers insisted that it was not a horse.
Not long after the event, the ministers who told the truth were jailed one after another by various means of Zhao Gao, and even some ministers were killed.