But Shi Huang knew that he would die soon and under his imperial sign he wrote an order to his oldest son, Fu Su. Fu Su had been banished beyond the Great Wall because he had had the audacity to remonstrate with the all-powerful emperor on the policy of his government. He was ordered to meet the funeral procession at Xianyang and bury his father at the mausoleum there. Of course it was understood that Shi Huang wanted Fu Su to be his successor. Shi Huang gave the letter to the eunuch Zhao Gao, who was the man responsible for the stables and wagons and he was also responsible for the imperial mail. But the decree of succession was never sent since Zhao Gao had his own plans regarding the question of successor, Shi Huang's last command was ironically the first that wasn't obeyed. Shortly afterwards he died on a summer night in the year 210 BCE.
Aware of the risk for rebellions in the now discontented empire, Li Si, the prime minister, came up with a bold plan. With the help of Hu Hai, Shi Huang's second son, and Zhao Gao and some other trusted eunuch's he made an effort to hide the death of the emperor in an elaborate game. Hundreds of the others official and military personal in the imperial party never suspected a thing, fish was put in a wagon behind the imperial wagon and thus through its bad smell drenching any smell from the emperors corpse. Orders to commit suicide where sent in the name of Shi Huang, to Fu Su and a reputable general by the name Meng Tian, and both had obediently taken their lives when the imperial party returned to the city, Shi Huang's death was then made known to the public and he was put to rest in his tomb along with some of his childless concubines and some servants.
A false decree was then promulgated in the name of the deceased Emperor. In accordance with this Hu Hai ascended the throne under the name of Eh Shih, or Second Emperor. Eh Shih proved a worse tyrant than his father, whose vices he inherited but without his greatness. During his short reign, Zhao Gao became the real power.
Zhao Gao soon outmaneuvered Li Si, he let Li Si go through "The Five Pains", these consisted of having your nose cut up, cutting of a hand and a foot, then you were castrated and finally you were cut in half in line with the waist. He also executed Li Si's family down to the third generation.
Rebellion was rife throughout the empire. In less than two years the descendants of the earlier Six States had planted small kingdoms alongside those of other rebel leaders. The rebellion grew to a civil war that lasted for several years which was devastating for the empire.
Eh Shih was murdered by Zhao Gao, and Shi Huang's grandson was placed on the throne. He gave himself up to Liu Bang, the first general who entered the Pass, and afterwards the founder of the Han Dynasty and brought with him the jade seal of state. He had been on the throne for less than 200 days; but in this brief time, however, he had succeeded in punishing Zhao Gao for the murder of his uncle. So, in the year 206 BCE, the Qin dynasty ended, a dynasty that lasted but a few decades, but left traces in history which has lasted for millenniums.