A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Chao Kao
165 Chao Kao 趙高. Died B.C. 207. A famous eunuch in the service of the First Emperor, on whose death in B.C. 210 he conspired with Li Ssŭ and produced a spurious Decree, giving the throne to the late monarch's second son, Hu Hai, instead of to the eldest, Fu Su, who was then undergoing a sentence of banishment. Having succeeded in his plot, he gradually began to usurp all power, and even entered into treacherous communications with Liu Pang regarding the ultimate partition of the empire. The march of the latter upon the capital somewhat precipitated matters. Chao Kao feared lest his treachery should be discovered, and at length put his puppet sovereign to death, declaring that he was unfit to reign. He then set up Tzŭ Ying, son of Fu Su, as King (no longer Emperor) of Ch'in, meaning that he too should be removed when necessary for his own plans. Tzŭ Ying, however, got wind of his designs, and caused him to be assassinated as he was entering the palace. Tradition says that on one occasion, in order to discover which of the officials at the Court of Hu Hai, the Second Emperor, would be likely to defy him, he presented the Emperor with a stag, saying that it was a horse. His Majesty, bewildered by the absurdity of the statement, appealed to his surrounding courtiers. Those who were bold enough to say that it was a stag were marked down by Chao Kao for destruction.