In 316, the western Jin capital Chang'an was attacked by Former Zhao Liu Cong, and Sima Yi, the last emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty, was captured and later killed after being insulted by Liu Cong. In the following year, Sima Rui, the imperial family of the Western Jin Dynasty, established a state in the homeland of Eastern Wu and was called emperor, and the history was called the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In fact, before Chang'an was attacked by Liu Cong, Sima Ye repeatedly asked his uncle Sima Rui for help. However, Sima Rui was busy developing his power in Jiangdong, and he already had the intention of dividing up the claim to be king, and he had no intention of rescuing his own nephew. What I want to talk about today is how this Sima Rui, who disregarded the safety of the emperor and nephew and was bent on seeking independence, developed his origins.
Sima Rui (司馬瑞), courtesy name Jingwen , was a son of Sima Yi ( 司馬懿 ) , and was created marquis of Nan'an Ting during the reign of Emperor Cao Fang of Wei. Later, when Sima Yi launched the Gaopingling Rebellion to seize power, Sima Lingzhen guarded the city of Yicheng, where the princes of Cao Wei gathered, and thus made great contributions and was appointed to many important positions. When Sima Rui was fifteen years old, his father Sima Xiao and Sima Yan, the emperor of Jinwu, died one after another. The newly succeeded Sima Zheng was powerless to control the government, and a chaos was about to break out. At that time, the only good friend who made good friends with Sima Rui in the capital was Wang Dao. Wang Dao was a member of the Lang Evil Wang Clan, a first-class warrior clan in the north, and his family was well-connected, and he later played a great role in Sima Rui's development. Wang Dao was also keenly aware that there was going to be a great disturbance in the capital and persuaded Sima Rui to return to the feudal state. But Sima Rui could not find an excuse to leave the capital for a while.
In 304, sima rui was twenty-nine years old, and in this year, the rebellion of the eight kings had reached its climax, and Sima Ying killed the ruling Sima Of Changsha. Sima Rui responded to Sima Yue's call to conquer Sima Ying, but was defeated. Sima Yue fled back to the feudal state, and Sima Rui was captured and taken to Yecheng. Soon after, Sima Rui's uncle Sima Rui the Prince of Dong'an was killed for offending Sima Ying. Sima Rui, fearing that the disaster would affect him, absconded from Yi, first to Luoyang, and then to Langxian (Jiaonan County, Shandong) with his family.
In 305, Sima Yue again prepared to recruit Sima Ying, who had fled to Chang'an. Sima Rui was appointed as the general of Pingdong and defended the rear of Xia Pi. It's a thrilling idle job. Sima Rui asked Wang Dao to be Sima and listened to Wang Dao for important decisions. By 307, Sima Rui had been promoted to important military positions such as General Andong, and was responsible for guarding the more important jianye (Nanjing). In fact, Sima Rui's departure from the town of Jianye was the result of his careful planning. Because after Sima Yue took control of the government, he actually poisoned Emperor Hui and made Sima Zhao emperor. Wang Dao, anticipating that there would be great chaos in the Central Plains, vigorously instigated Sima Rui to go to Jianye, and encouraged the support of Princess Pei of the East China Sea, and finally promoted this trip.
From the time Sima Rui listened to Wang Dao's advice and decided to go to Jiangnan to avoid disasters, Sima Rui and Wang Dao had actually moved their minds to divide their territory in Jiangnan, but there were still many difficulties in this, and the first problem to be faced was how to win the support of the Jiangnan Shi clan. Although the Western Jin Dynasty destroyed the Wu regime, the war of unification was a war of quick victory, and the social structure and political structure of Eastern Wu were basically not destroyed, and the power of the great clan was basically not lost. This has caused Jiangnan to have a self-contained social system, whether there is central control or not, and even many rebellions in Jiangnan are resolved by the family soldiers of the Jiangnan clan, and there is no need for the central government to send troops. What's more, Sima Rui was still a relatively distant branch of the imperial family from the emperor, and he himself had no ability or made any merits, so Sima Rui basically had no appeal in Jiangnan. Sima Rui had been in Jianye for half a year, and no local clan had taken the initiative to draw closer to him. Wang Dao realized the seriousness of the problem and was very worried, because this situation continued, let alone dividing Jiangnan, that is, it was difficult to survive and save his life.
On March 3, 308, Wang Dao and Wang Dun instructed Sima Rui to perform a major drama. At that time, Jianye Shishu held an annual ceremony by the water's edge as usual. On this day, under the arrangement of Wang Dao, Sima Rui rode on a gorgeous shoulder and was surrounded by majestic honor guards, and went out to see The Zen. Wang Dao, Wang Dun, and the famous people of the great clan from the north all rode behind the honor guards as subordinates. This position greatly surprised Nanshi, who was greatly shaken, realizing that Sima Rui was the leader of the northern shi clan in Nandu that they would support in the future, and could not be taken lightly. The Nanshi leaders Ji Zhan, Gu Rong, and others who were at the scene hurried to visit the shrine on Daozuo to show their respect for Sima Rui. After observing The Zen, Wang Dao, on behalf of Sima Rui, personally visited Gu Rong and others. After this exchange, Gu Rong and others believed that Sima Rui was an acceptable spokesman for imperial power, so they all responded to the order. Sima Rui entrusted a large number of Nanshi with heavy responsibilities, and let Gu Rong and others participate in confidential activities related to military and government affairs. By the time , " Wu will be popular, and the people will return to their hearts." Since then, they have gradually become worshipped, and the etiquette of kings and subjects has been determined" (Jin Shu Wang Dao Biography). A Jiangdong regime with the Southern and Northern Shi clans as the core was initially formed. And Sima Rui, who has no ability and no capital, and only relies on his royal status and acting skills, has become the spokesman of this regime.