In the ancient Chinese feudal dynasties, emperors have always demanded that their subjects be honest and just in order to reassure the people, and take this purpose as the foundation of the country and the state. The man I'm talking about today does the opposite. He was not an emperor, but an auxiliary minister above ten thousand people under one man, and his subordinates, in order to avenge their personal vengeance, forged holy decrees and killed other generals without authorization, and as a result, the murderer was not punished, but was promoted. Even though this auxiliary chancellor was so vaguely in power, he made an indelible contribution to the establishment and consolidation of the dynasty. This person is the founding hero of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Dao.
Wang Was born in the Lang Evil Wang clan of the northern magnates, and many people in his family entered the dynasty as officials. His brother was one of the most powerful courtiers in the Western Jin Dynasty. When Wang Dao was a teenager, he happened to catch up with the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, he was determined to do something, and realized that the situation in the north was chaotic and dangerous, and it was difficult to gain a foothold, so he loyally assisted Sima Rui, a member of the royal family, and instigated him to go to Jiankang in Jiangnan. In 316 AD, the former Zhao Xiongnu army attacked Chang'an, the last emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty, Sima Ye, was captured, and the Western Jin Dynasty was destroyed. Wang Dao and Sima Rui finally waited for the opportunity to show their grand plans.
In 317, Sima Yi was killed, and Sima Rui declared himself emperor at Jiankang, in honor of Emperor Yuan of Jin. Wang Dao was more than forty years old at this time, and he finally realized the ambition he had set in his teens. Throughout the establishment and consolidation of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Dao played a crucial role. At that time, there was a popular saying in the city: "The king and the horse, share the world!" It can be seen that the power of Wang Dao at that time was great.
Although Wang Dao's power was tilted toward the opposition, he was also loyal and assisted Sima Rui. However, since Sima Rui became emperor, he was no longer willing to obey Wang Dao's advice, so he gradually installed his own confidants in the court and deprived Wang Dao of his real power. Sima Rui's actions caused dissatisfaction among Wang Dun's brother Wang Dun, and eventually led to Wang Dun's military rebellion. Wang Dao's family almost died as a result, and Sima Rui himself died in fear. After Emperor Ming of Jin succeeded to the throne, Wang Dao loyally assisted and eventually suppressed Wang Dun's rebellion.
Emperor Ming of Jin died of illness after only three years on the throne, and before his death he appointed an auxiliary chancellor and handed over real power to his uncle Yu Liang, which made Wang Dao very uncomfortable. Before The Jin Cheng Emperor succeeded to the throne, when Wang Dao assisted the government, he implemented the ruling policy of "no small inspection, but promoting the program", and the family was tolerated and the law was forbidden and relaxed. However, after the death of Emperor Ming of Jin and the succession of Emperor Cheng of Jin, Yu Liang took power, changed the previous leniency, implemented the rule of law, cracked down on the powerful, weakened local forces, and strengthened the centralization of power, which caused serious dissatisfaction among the upper echelons of society, and the internal contradictions of the ruling group intensified again. Soon after, the Su Jun Rebellion occurred.
In October 327, Yu Liang, despite the persuasion of his courtiers, forcibly recruited Liyang Neishi Sujun to serve as the grand sinong in the central government, in order to deprive him of his military power and eliminate hidden dangers in the imperial court. Su Jun did not comply, so he joined forces with Shi Zuyue of Yuzhou to jointly raise an army against Yu Liang, and a new turmoil broke out. As a result, Yu Liang was defeated and fled, Su Jun led his troops into the capital, and Emperor Ming of Jin was spared under the protection of Wang Dao and others. Later, Wang Dao also fled for refuge. The Su Jun rebellion lasted for a year and four months before it was quelled by the efforts of Tao Kan and others. After the court was restored, Yu Liang was demoted due to his escape from the battlefield. Wang Dao did not make any merits, the official was reinstated, stayed in Beijing to assist the government, and regained power.
Wang Dao came to power for the second time and continued to promote leniency in government, "keeping the outline and not being informal." During the rebellion of Su Jun, Shi Bian Dun of Xiangzhou made a watch from the sidelines, neither sending troops to serve the king, nor providing military food, the imperial court was reversed, sitting and watching the success or failure, and should be dismissed from his post according to the law. On the grounds that "after the funeral, it is advisable to increase leniency", Wang Dao transferred Bian Dun to the rank of General of Annam and the Assassin of Guangzhou; Bian Dun pretended to be ill and refused to go, and was transferred to Guanglu Doctor and in charge of Shaofu.
Later, the later general Guo Mo falsely passed on the holy will and killed Liu Yin of Jiangzhou' assassin shi, but Wang Dao, fearing that Guo Mo would not be able to subdue him, instead announced a general amnesty for the world, ordered Liu Yin's head to be cut off and hung on the Suzaku Bridge to show the public, and appointed Guo Mo as the general of Xizhong Lang and the assassin of Jiangzhou. Tao Kan was furious and wrote to Wang Dao: "When Guo Mo kills Fang Zhou, he uses it as Fang Prefecture; if he harms the Prime Minister, he will be the Prime Minister. On the same day, he went to the imperial court and requested that an army be sent to fight. Wang Dao's reply said: "Silently living in the upstream, adding ships and ships to become capital, so the buds contain hidden forbearance, so that they have land." In January, when the army arrives, it is to go to the wind, and it is not the evil that obscures the time to determine the great things! After reading the letter, Tao Kan sneered and said, "This is a thief in obedience!" Later, Wang Dao also knew that the measures were inappropriate, so he had to ask Liu Yin to put away the first rank of Liu Yin, and ordered Yu Liang to assist Tao Kan in the discussion and behead Guo Mo in Xunyang.
Wang Dao's generals Zhao Yin, Jia Ning, and others were all flying high. All these things made Tao Kan and other ministers dissatisfied with Wang Dao. However, it is undeniable that during Wang Dao's reign, the Eastern Jin Dynasty was stable, the people's production and life were stable, and the economy developed rapidly, and once it broke away from Wang Dao's principles and policies, the Eastern Jin Dynasty fell into turmoil such as the Wang Dun Rebellion and the Su Jun Rebellion. This is all due to the special door valve political environment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Wang Dao's connivance with his subordinates is precisely the method of ruling by doing nothing and going with the flow.