During the Western Jin Dynasty, the founding emperor Sima Yan of the Jin Dynasty destroyed Eastern Wu in 280 AD, ending more than half a century of warlord scuffle in the land of China, which was an important historical achievement of Sima Yan. Sima Yan said that in the early days of the emperor, he also exerted great efforts to govern and implemented many changes, and the "Tai Shi Law" he presided over and compiled was a very important law in ancient China, which had a great impact on future generations. However, Sima Yan's early diligence could not obscure his nature of being accustomed to happiness and coveting luxury. In the middle and late period of his reign, Sima Yan "neglected political skills and delayed in feasting", causing a miasma in the court. Sima Yan, such a person who was good at pretending, naturally did not sit on the throne in a dignified manner. The character to be talked about today is the real heir to the throne who was squeezed out by Sima Yan with conspiracy in the early years, Sima You.
Sima You was twelve years old, and both were sima zhao's sons. When the two were young, Sima You was more intelligent and clever, and sima Zhao was more favored. When Sima Zhao considered li shizi, he favored Sima You as the son of the world. However, in terms of feudal etiquette, the heir to the family should be selected from Sima Zhao's brother, Sima Shi's sons, but Sima Shi had no children. Therefore, in order to show the world that the world was fought by Sima Shi, Sima Zhao passed Sima You over to Sima Shi and prepared for the establishment of the heir in advance. Although Sima Yan's knowledge and talent were not as good as those of his younger brother Sima You, Sima Yan's cunning was superior to that of his younger brother, and he tried his best to win over and curry favor with Sima Zhao's key courtiers, and through them to say good things for himself and use them as means. In the end, Sima Zhao did not officially confirm Sima Yan as his son until three months before his death. In 265, after Sima Zhao's death, Sima Yan succeeded Xiangguo and the Jin Dynasty. At the end of The Second Year of Xianxi, Cao Huan succumbed to pressure from the Manchu Ministers of Culture and Military Affairs and agreed to allow Chan to give up emperorship at the jin throne. Sima You, who was supposed to be called emperor, was made the King of Qi by Sima Yan.
Sima You almost succeeded to the throne for the second time in the later years of Emperor Wu of Jin. It turned out that Sima Yan's eldest son, Sima Zheng, was a low-energy child who was close to an idiot. He didn't know anything but pleasure, and he made a lot of jokes. Once, when Sima Zhen was visiting Hualin Garden, he heard the clams calling, and asked the waiters on the left and right, "Is this called something public or private?" Later, when he heard that there was a famine in the world and that many people were starving to death, he actually said, "Why don't they eat porridge?" "Some courtiers were worried about the prince's mediocrity. Shang Shu ordered Wei Wan, pretending to be drunk, to remind Sima Yan that the crown prince was not worthy of being an heir. Shangshu Zhang Hua was knowledgeable and knowledgeable, and his reputation was important for a while, and he was revered by people as having three talents, and Sima Yan was also very important to him. Sima Yan once happened to ask him about his views on the issue of heirs, and Zhang Hua replied truthfully: "In terms of talent, virtue, and kinship, there is no more suitable person than king Qi." These opinions of the courtiers disgusted Sima Yan. He deliberately took an official document to the Eastern Palace and handed it over to Sima Zheng for handling. Crown Princess Jia Nanfeng is an ambitious woman, of course, not willing to change hands of power. She was busy entrusting someone to write the answer on her behalf, and the prince transcribed it clearly by himself, and then handed it over to the emperor. Sima Yan used this as evidence to block Wei Wan's mouth. He also transferred Zhang Hua away from the imperial court and sent him to Youzhou.
On the other hand, Sima You also took pains to obtain the qualification to inherit the throne. According to the regulations, the clothing and food of the officials of the kingdom were provided by the state, but Sima You said that the clothes and grain were sufficient and did not have to be supplied by the imperial government. He also distributed the tax income to his subordinates, and in the event of floods and droughts, he used grain to help the hungry, and when it was returned in a good year, he received only eight-tenths of the original amount. For the grand plan of the military state, whether it was on the table or in person, Sima You did a very decent job, so he won the support of many courtiers. They hoped that Sima Yan would succeed Sima You, not the idiot prince.
Sima Yan was jealous of Sima You's talent and prestige. Xun Xun and Feng Zhen, who had a clear understanding of Sima Yan's intention to convey the meaning of the son, took the opportunity to provoke: "All the subjects belong to the King of Qi, and after Long live Your Majesty, it will be difficult for the crown prince to take the throne." If His Majesty does not believe, he can let the King of Qi go out, and he will certainly raise a court to oppose it. Sure enough, Sima Yan sent Sima You to Qingzhou to issue an edict, and many ministers expressed their disapproval. Sima Yan was angry and annoyed, and belittled some people, including his two sons-in-law: Wang Ji and Zhen De. In the first month of the following year, he also paid several of the doctors on the table for the crime of Tingwei Ke, and thanks to the rebuttal of Shangshu Xiahou Jun and others, they were spared their death.
In March of the fourth year of Taikang (283), Sima Yan urged Sima You to leave for his post. Sima You became angry and begged for a grace date. Sima Yan sent an imperial doctor to examine the condition. The imperial doctor lied that King Qi was not ill, so Sima Yan issued another edict. Sima You had no choice but to resign with illness and vomit blood halfway through.
At this point, despite the support of most of the ministers of culture and military affairs, Sima You once again lost the opportunity to become emperor. After Sima Yan knew that king Qi was not pretending to be ill, he punished several imperial doctors to cover up the guilt. Although he personally forced his brother to die, Sima Yan's heart may not feel guilty, because he cleared the obstacle to Sima Zheng's succession. And Sima Yan's rejection of xianliang and his practice of going against the will of the people also laid the foundation for the chaos in the world.