Lã Bất Vi

**Lã Bất Vi** was a powerful merchant and politician of the state of Qin. A former Chancellor of the Right and later Chancellor of State of Qin, he was the leader of the Ryo Fui Faction at the beginning of Ei Sei's reign.

Ryo Fui had so much power and influence, that he was able to defy the king in court, while scheming to seize the throne behind his back. His ambition was to make war obsolete by integrating China economically. He wanted Qin to be a kingdom based on a powerful economy instead of pillage and plunder, where happiness and quality of life would be assured by a wide production of consumer goods.

## Thành Kiểu Tạo Phản

Vì đức vua đang còn nhỏ tuổi, chưa thể chấp chính, thế nên toàn bộ quyền hành đều nằm trong tay Lã Bất Vi. Tuy nhiên, trong triều đình, nhiều quan đại thần lại mưu đồ phò tá vương đệ Thành Kiểu cướp đoạt ngai vàng. Dù ông ta đã ra sức ngăn chặn, nhưng cuộc tạo phản vẫn diễn ra vào năm 245 TCN. Vương cung chìm trong biển lửa, thi thể chất cao như núi, khắp nơi đều là cảnh máu chảy đầu rơi.

Ryo Fui at the start of the series was in a military campaign against Wei while at the same time the Sei Kyou faction was rebelling against the Ei Sei faction in the capital of Kanyou. When a messenger was dispatched by the Ei Sei faction to inform him about the rebellion and to seek help, Ryo Fui had the messenger executed under the excuse that they were sent by Wei to stir up confusion. The true intention of Ryo Fui was to allow the Sei Kyou faction to overthrow Ei Sei and then he Ryo Fui comes later to suppress the rebellion, kills Sei Kyou in the course of that and makes himself the new king. When news of Sei Kyou's defeat by Ei Sei and his men reached him, he was furious. In Anime however, he went on to congratulate, although sarcastically, the King for retaining his throne.

## Personality

He loves gambling and has some luck with it. He likes to get what he wants and is used to it. He has shown great ambition in gaining the throne of Qin and slyness equaling to his ambition. Ryo Fui went to the extent of giving his fiancee to the past Qin king to win his trust and gain a higher ranking. He openly admitted that he tried to assassinate the king, forcing Ei Sei to show that he had no power to punish him for the crimes he committed.

## Thân Thế

Lã Bất Vi sinh ra ở Dương Địch, Hàn.

Lã Bất Vi vốn là một thương nhân qua lại giữa 2 nước Yên và Triệu. Ông ta đã hỗ trợ cho Trang Tương Vương, cha của Doanh Chính, lúc bấy giờ là Tần Vương đương nhiệm bằng nhiều cách, trong đó có hối lộ với số tiền mà ông kiếm được từ kinh doanh. Để chứng minh cho lòng thành của mình, Lã Bất Vi thậm chí dâng hôn thê của mình cho hậu cung của Trang Tương Vương. Nhờ đó mà ông dần nâng cao quyền lực và địa vị của mình trong Hoàng Cung, trở thành Hữu Thừa tướng.

Nhân tài đầu tiên ông chiêu mộ là Xương Bình Quân. Sau đó, để củng cố địa vị của mình, ông tiếp tục lập nên Tứ Trụ của Lã Bất Vi. Đó là một tập hợp những người giỏi nhất trong lĩnh vực của họ: Mông Vũ, Thái Trạch và Lý Tư.

## Story

### Assassination Plot Arc

Ryo Fui, due to his childish nature, sent assassins clans including Kyou Kai to murder Sei. The assassination attempt failed miserably. In Anime however, this not happened.

Ryo Fui returns to Kanyou with his Four Pillars. He openly admitted that he tried to assassinate the king, and knowing full well he had no chance of putting him on trial due to his overwhelming power in the court, Ei Sei passed it as a joke as if it was false. In effect, he began pressuring the Ei Sei faction by gaining support from many influential officials that went against the king, Shou Bun Kun, Shi Shi, and other ministers. In Anime, the threat was not included, but seen him congratulating the King in his victory.

### Alliance Arc

He oversees the truce between Zhao and Qin, acting as he was speaking in behalf of Qin. Then, he went on the banquet, and sit in front of Ri Boku, after Shin got dragged out.

### Third Faction Arc

The king looked to his callous Queen Mother for support against the Ryo Fui faction. She held absolute control over the Royal Harem and not even Ryo Fui had influence in her territory. The Queen falsely made it believe she was providing help to the king but in reality, was already in alliance with Ryo Fui in which they both had sexual relations and past intimate feelings for one another. Fortunately, one of the palace girls named Kou heard Ryo Fui and the Queen's conversation on murdering the king and taking the throne. Ei Sei found out about this and began taking charge against Ryo Fui by spreading rumors on his affair with the Queen with the help of Shi Shi which weakened his support from ministers from the court.

### Sanyou Aftermath Arc

Later on, he gains the position of Chancellor of the state which gave him much more power, second only to Ei Sei. With this development, Ei Sei reluctantly released Sei Kyou from prison in which they agreed to assist each other against Ryo Fui. The king gains numerous support from ministers of royal blood and his power greatly increases. He is seen in the war meetings between Ri Boku as well in the discussions on how to defeat the Allied Coalition in which he shows great weariness.

### Coalition Invasion Arc

He was mentioned by Ri Boku, wanting to deal with Ryo should Sei get captured.

### Conspiracy in the Court Arc

He commanded Ho Kaku and Ryuu to set up Sei Kyou. Then, when the news arrived at the rebellion of Tonryuu, he nominated that Sei lead the subjugation, but the King has other person in mind.

After the rebellion, he was confronted by Shin after the latter heard him talking to his cohorts.

### State of Ai Arc

He went to the coronation ceremony, but posted his loyalists in Kanyou to assist the Ai Army. Then after the ceremony, he went with Sei to Kinen Temple for a debate. He admitted the loss, and was exiled to a small province of Qin right afterwards.

### Western Zhao Invasion Arc

Ryo Fui was stripped of his rank for his crimes against the Kingdom, and exiled to city of Kanan.

### Interlude

Ryo Fui's presence in the Kanan area naturally attracted some of his former followers and many dissidents of Ei Sei's regime. In time, this faction was becoming too powerful to be ignored by the King, cause it could very well start a civil war within the Kingdom (in a crucial hour of the war between Qin and Zhao, nonetheless).

The head of Intelligence, Shi Shi, advised the King that Ryo Fui should be executed regardless of treasonous conduct, given that his presence alone would suffice to rally his majesty's enemies. However, the King had other plans and decided to talk to the former Chancellor face to face.

When Ryo Fui and Ei Sei met for the first time after the exile, the monarch looked straight into his eyes and saw no reason to believe that Ryo Fui was a threat. The former Chancellor replied that his majesty's kindness was as much his strength as it was his weakness, for it could inspire loyalty, but it also barred him from making tough choices - like listening to Shi Shi's advice and taking his head off! Ei Sei left the conversation by reaffirming to his former rival that he still believes in the inherent goodness of men.

### Zhao Crisis Arc

In a month or so, from Kanan came an intelligence report directly to the royal palace. It said that the former Chancellor of Qin, Ryo Fui, had committed suicide by drinking a cup of wine mixed with Zhen poison. With Ryo Fui's demise, the entire faction positioning themselves around his name and prestige, crumbled to dust, effectively ending the civil war menace. This was the final mention of Ryo Fui's name in the annals of the Shiji.

However, as Ryo Fui's body was being found at Kanan's palace, a carriage was leaving the city transporting a man and a couple of women in complete secrecy. Inside the carriage's body, the women asked Ryo Fui if no one would notice that the dead body belonged to someone else, to which he replied that it didn't matter, that he just planned to travel the lands and witness Ei Sei's ascension, and the unification of China.

## Ngoài Lề

* Nhân vật này dựa trên thừa tướng Lã Bất Vi ngoài đời thật.
* Ở Hồi 100, bản tính "trẻ nít" của Lã Bất Vi được thể hiện theo lời của Thái Trạch.

## Tham Khảo

1. ↑ 1,0 1,1 Hồi 175, Trang 6. Lã Bất Vi được giới thiệu từng là thương nhân buôn bán giữa hai quốc gia Yên và Triệu
2. ↑ 2,0 2,1 Hồi 175, Trang 11. Tác giả khẳng định Lã Bất Vi sinh ra ở Dương Địch, dựa trên Chiến Quốc sách. Tuy nhiên, Lã Bất Vi lại vốn được biết đến là sinh ra ở Bộc Dương, Vệ Quốc.
3. ↑ Hồi 437, Trang 8-10. Lã Bất Vi khẳng định Doanh Chính là con trai mình. Điều này không có tính xác thực và Lã Bất Vi cũng đính chính lại là ông đã nói đùa. Dẫu vậy, trong sử sách đã ghi nhận nhiều lời đồn đoán về phụ thân của Doanh Chính có thể là Lã Bất Vi.
4. ↑ Hồi 648, Trang 17-19. Lã Bất Vi đã được báo cáo là uống độc dược tự vẫn. Tuy nhiên, ở đoạn hội thoại cuối cùng, Lã Bất Vi có vẻ đã làm giả xác chết và bắt đầu hành trinh ngao du thiên hạ.