In 419, Liu Yu sent his confidant Wang Shaozhi to kill Sima Dezong, the Emperor of Jin' An. Subsequently, Sima Dezong's younger brother Sima Dewen was put on the throne, paving the way for himself to become emperor.
As early as 418 AD, Liu Yu was given the title of Duke of Song and Jin Jiuxi. Jiu Xi was the highest courtesy that the ancient emperor rewarded to his ministers, and Cao Cao also had such a treatment. From this time on, Jin Jiuxi was the prelude to the emperor's ascension to the throne.
In June 420, Liu Yu came to Jiankang. Fu Liang was ordered to come to Sima Dewen and let him re-copy the draft of the Zen edict that had been written in advance. Then, after a very complicated set of procedures, Liu Yucai officially accepted Sima Dewen's Zen concession, that is, the emperor's throne.
Sima Dewen returned to his own Palace of Langya, history seems to be a reincarnation, and Sima Rui, who established the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was also once the King of Langya.
Sima Dewen knew that Liu Yu would definitely kill himself, so his food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were all handled by the empress Dowager Chu Lingyuan, and did not dare to fake other people's hands. Finally, while the empress was away, the soldiers covered Sima Dewen with a quilt and killed him.
Earlier, in 412, Sima Wensi hated Liu Yu for his self-esteem and prepared to kill him. As a result, the news was revealed, and Liu Yu handed Sima Wensi over to Sima Xiuzhi, hoping to kill people with a knife.
Because he did not get the results he wanted, liu Yu marched three years later to attack Sima Xiuzhi, killing his son Sima Wenbao and nephew Sima Wenzu. Sima Xiuzhi was defeated and forced to flee to Later Qin.
Because Liu Yu was from a humble origin, whether it was the children of the royal family or the nobles of Jiangnan, they all looked down on him, and many noble children were unwilling to work with him, preferring to resign at home.
Under such circumstances, Liu Yu could only promote some people from the same humble origins, such as Liu Muzhi. At that time, above the court, a confrontation was formed between officials from the cold door and from the noble family.
Liu Yu, as the emperor who fought from the battlefield, launched a massacre against the Sima family, basically killing none of them, just to cut the grass and remove the roots, leaving no trouble.
Liu Yu apparently did this for his own reasons:
Liu Yu was born in a cold door, whether it was for the children of the royal family or the nobles of Jiangnan, there was no deterrent. He carried out a massacre of the Sima family in order to warn the nobles in Jiangnan that it was best to cooperate with him, otherwise they would all end up the same.
Liu Yu claimed to be a descendant of Liu Bang's younger brother Liu Jiao the Prince of Chuyuan, which provided him with some excuses for killing the Sima family. Sima Yi was an important helper of Cao Pi's usurpers, and he killed Sima Yi's descendants, which can be said to avenge his ancestors.
The Eastern Jin Dynasty experienced more than a hundred years from its establishment to its demise, and there were many people loyal to sima shi. If Liu Yu does not remove the roots of the grass, it is inevitable that some people will support the revolt of Sima Shi's descendants.
IV. Historical sources believe that Liu Yu was a narrow-minded and cold-blooded and ruthless person, so he would kill his enemies. In the process of Liu Yu's elimination of Southern Yan and Later Qin, he also killed the imperial family.
So the question arises, why can't he be like Sima Yan to Cao Yan and Cao Pi to Emperor Xian of Han?
After Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty, he gave Emperor Xian of Han the title of Duke of Shanyang, and enjoyed the treatment of an emperor in his fiefdom. After Sima Yan usurped Wei, he was made the Prince of Chen Liu, and he could also enjoy the treatment of emperor in his fiefdom. Both deposed emperors died a good death, not as tragic as Sima Dewen and Sima Dezong.
Therefore, in history, many people think that Liu Yu has made a bad start, and from this time on, many people who usurped the throne have carried out massacres against the royal family of the previous dynasty, and Liu Yu's descendants later enjoyed this treatment and were killed clean, perhaps this is retribution.
If we carefully study the ancient history of China, we will basically find a law, as long as they are born in the cold door, they will basically massacre the former dynasty, and those born of nobility will basically give preferential treatment to the royal family and officials of the previous dynasty.
Liu Bang, who was born a civilian, was very fond of slaughtering heroes, and Zhu Yuanzhang was also the same. Liu Xiu and Tang Taizong Li Shimin, who came from the imperial family, including the founding emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, basically did not kill the heroes.
This is because the pillars of history have been basically aristocratic and intellectual elites, and emperors themselves born into the nobility were born to win their support, so there was no need to carry out massacres of the previous dynasty.
Emperors of commoner origin were often looked down upon by the nobility, especially by the sons of the royal family. Their own personality is also relatively inferior, very worried that the children of the royal family will rebel again, in order to consolidate their political position, they often take the first step.
Liu Yu is also such a person, as we said earlier, the nobles in Jiangnan are not willing to work with him, and the children of the royal family will make him feel fearful, so they will choose to start first and cut the grass and remove the roots.