King Xiaowen of Qin

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King Xiaowen of Qin (reigned 250 BC) is not noted for doing anything spectacular during his reign. Indeed, he only became King of the Qin for less than 1 year, and 3 days after his coronation he died.

This gave rise to many theories as to his short reign. The most accepted one is that he was very old when he ascended to the throne (his predecessor, King Zhao of Qin, ruled for over 50 years).

However, there is a conspiracy theory: that Lü Buwei poisoned the king or at least hastened his death, to put the next king, King Zhuangxiang of Qin onto the throne. This is supported in a way by the fact that Zhuangxiang reigned for only 3 years.

So some people link Xiaowen and Zhuangxiang's deaths all the way to Lü Buwei, claiming that it was a plot by him to put his son, Qin Shi Huang, onto the throne.

King Xiaowen of Qin Qin Dynasty
Preceded by Zhāoxiāng	King of Qin 250 BC – 249 BC	Succeeded by Zhuangxiang