In Chinese history, the Western Jin Dynasty was a short-lived unified dynasty. In the short-lived state of this dynasty, many complex and intriguing political events took place. What I want to talk about today is the incident in which Jia Chong, the founding hero of the Western Jin Dynasty, accidentally became the relative of Sima Yan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, and his power was tilted for a while, and he laid hidden dangers for the coup d'état that followed in the near future.
This matter also had to start with Sima Zhao's army to destroy the Shu state. In 263, Deng Ai, Zhong Hui, and others led a large army in the name of Sima Zhao to the south to attack the Shu state. In the Wei crusade, there was an army of 5,000 people composed of Xianbei Tuoba people. This part of the Xianbei people migrated from the Northern Cypriot Grassland to Hexi during the Han and Wei dynasties. Sima Yan also set up a special Qin Prefecture to facilitate the management of this part of the internally displaced ethnic minorities. In the War of Cutting Shu, the Xianbei people fought bravely and made great contributions. However, after the war, when discussing the reward for meritorious deeds, the imperial court discriminated against the Xianbei people and did not give them the same rewards as the Han people, which caused dissatisfaction among the Xianbei people. In June of the sixth year of the Tai Dynasty (270), the Xianbei people of Hexi rebelled against the Jin Dynasty under the leadership of the tribal chief Bald Tree. Shi Hulie of Qin prefecture immediately sent troops to suppress it, but the soldiers were defeated and killed.
Sima Yan was shocked and frightened when he learned of the Xianbei rebellion, and he dismissed Sima Liang from his post as military governor of Qin and Liangzhou, and instead sent another emperor, Sima Jun, to succeed him in guarding Guanzhong. Sima Yan also appointed Shangshu Shijian to oversee the military forces of Qin Prefecture and to be responsible for quelling the Xianbei unrest in Hexi. Shi Jian arrived in Qin Prefecture and forced the new Qin Prefecture Assassin Shi Du who had a mustard with him to send troops, but the other side refused. Du Qian proposed a relatively sound attack plan to Shi Jian, but Shi Jian did not accept it. While arresting Du Xuan, he personally led his troops to engage the Bald Tree, but the result was still a big defeat. The Xianbei people were originally brave and good at war, and their strength was getting stronger and stronger, and the surrounding ethnic minorities also followed suit. In April of the seventh year of the Tai Dynasty (271), the rebel Hu people in the northern part of Liangzhou conspired with the bald tree function to attack Jincheng (金城, in present-day western Lanzhou, Gansu), luring Liangzhou's assassin Shi Zhihong to Qingshan to kill.
The news of Guanzhong's repeated defeats made Sima Yi nervous and worried all day. At this time, the attendant Ji Kai gave Sima Yan an idea: Only by arranging for someone with prestige and wisdom like Jia Chong to personally take command can the war be calmed. Sima Yan felt that it was very reasonable, and immediately appointed Jia Chong to supervise the military forces of Qin and Liang Erzhou to go to the western battlefield.
Jia Chong was the son of Shi Jiakui of Yuzhou during the Cao Wei dynasty. When Sima Shi replaced Cao Shi, Jia Chong was very meritorious, and he had participated in the killing of The Wei Emperor Cao Xian, which was considered to have submitted a letter of surrender to the Sima family. Later, Huainan rebelled against Sima Shi twice, and Jia Chong also participated in the suppression. Therefore, Jia Chong was very trusted by the Sima family. However, one of Jia Chong's daughters, Jia Zhao, was Sima You's concubine. Sima You was also a contender for Sima Yan's throne. Therefore, Sima Yan was somewhat suspicious of Jia Chong, so he sent Jia Chong to the west.
When the bald tree function rebelled, Jia Chong served as a general in the service, Shang Shuling, and Che Qi, and was the most powerful subordinate in the dynasty, known as the prime minister. Jia Chong was in cahoots with Xun Xun (荀勖), the governor of Zhongshu (中書監), and Feng Zhen (冯紞), the general of the Yue Dynasty, and others to manipulate the government. Ren Kai was theirs
The opposition recommended Jia Chong to travel west, with the aim of keeping him away from the imperial court. Jia Chong also knew that the Xianbei people were brave and good at war, and now there were other ethnic minorities who responded to the rebellion of the Xianbei people, and the soldiers were just sharp and unstoppable, so Jia Chong did not want to go on this trip, so he asked Xun Xun for advice.
Xun Xun gave Jia Chong the idea to marry the crown prince. Jia Chong and others then bought off Empress Yang and created public opinion in front of the emperor, and finally Sima Yan agreed to take Jia Chong's daughter Jia Nanfeng as the crown princess and marry Sima Yan's son Sima Zheng. As a result, Jia Chong became Sima Yan's relatives. For Jia Chong, a disaster turned into a happy event, and Jia Chong may also have to thank the bald tree in his heart. Later, Sima Yan hindered the face of his family and no longer mentioned the matter of being a commander, and Jia Chong was spared the pain of the Western Expedition. Jia Chong also became more powerful, disrupting the imperial program and laying hidden dangers for the political turmoil of the Jin Dynasty soon after.