Sima Zheng, the Emperor of Jinhui, was the protagonist of the story "Why Not Eat Meat". This story is very short, but it has representative significance: at that time, there was a famine in the world, and the people starved to death, and the minister played this matter, and Sima Zheng sat on the high throne and asked the minister: "The people have no rice to eat, why don't they drink porridge?" ”
The original meaning of "why not eat meat" refers to making up one's mind without understanding the true state of things, which can be said to be another more elegant statement of ignorance and fearlessness.
Later, the actions of certain public figures gave this sentence a new meaning: the rich did not understand the suffering of the poor, but they pointed fingers at the lives of the poor, and even blamed them. "Why don't you eat meat paste" has slowly become another elegant saying of "standing and talking without waist pain".
From referring to ignorance to referring to immorality, this idiom is becoming more and more popular among netizens and increasingly resisted by opinion leaders. unbelief? You can try to issue a sentence of "why not eat meat paste" in the dynamics of the big V, it can definitely disgust people, and it is not pleasant to try.
As we continue to tell this story, Sima Zheng certainly would not have thought that a blurted out sentence would become his black material, and people would still use this story to blackmail him more than a thousand years later. People think that he does not understand the sufferings of the people, does not care about the lives of the people, and even thinks that he is cold and thin, treacherous and cunning.
In fact, Sima Zheng was a poor man, he was born with an intellectual disability. More than a thousand years have passed, and we certainly cannot verify Sima Zheng's level of intellectual development. However, there are historical sources that can be slightly speculated.
Zhang Hong: "If the prince does not learn, His Majesty knows it, it is advisable to judge the matter now, and not to quote the book." ”
Translation: "The prince has no knowledge, His Majesty knows, and today he can be asked to answer questions, but he cannot be asked to quote the scriptures."
The ancients spoke very euphemistically, and Zhang Hong said that Sima Zheng had no knowledge, and he certainly did not understand anything. If you change it to a modern person, you will definitely directly say that Sima Zheng is a dementia. Zhang Hong also said that Sima Zheng could answer questions and could not quote scriptures, indicating that Sima Zheng could only ask and answer one question after another, and could only answer simple questions. Then, Sima Zheng's intelligence level should not exceed 8 years old.
Many people questioned that Emperor Wu of Jin was not a fool, so why would he pass the throne to a stupid son? The reasons for this are complex. To put it simply, there are three points: First, "standing up long is not standing young, standing up is not standing up." Sima Zheng was the eldest son of a concubine, and appointing him as a prince could serve the people and ensure the stability of the overall situation.
Second, Emperor Wu of Jin also tested Sima Zheng several times, but he was confused by Jia Nanfeng and his gang. This made Emperor Wu of Jin have the illusion that his son might just be unresponsive, have a bad memory, and should have no major problems with intelligence.
Third, Emperor Wu of Jin himself felt that the road had been paved for Sima Zheng. There were eight kings on the outside, which were used to defend the central government; inside, Sima Zheng's mother party was arranged to assist the government. In Emperor Wu's imagination, even if his son was somewhat unresponsive, chengping would not cause great chaos.
The situation later was completely different from what Emperor Wu of Jin thought. Since Sima Zheng married Jia Nanfeng at the age of 13, bad luck began. Jia Nanfeng has always regarded Sima Zheng as a puppet, remotely controlling the overall situation.
When Sima Zheng became crown prince, it was Jia Nanfeng who deceived Emperor Wu of Jin and allowed Sima Zheng to inherit the throne. After Sima Zheng ascended the throne, Jia Nanfeng completely controlled the government and purged Sima Zheng's mother party forces. The government was decided by Jia Nanfeng alone, and even forged Sima Zheng's edict. Jia Nanfeng's misdeeds eventually caused the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings".
Back to the story at the beginning. Sima Zheng himself was stupid, and the government was still controlled by Jia Nanfeng. The famine in the world and the starvation of the people in the wilderness are such a major state event that Sima Zheng cannot take the turn to make decisions, and Sima Zheng has no intention or ability to make decisions.
The kind Sima Zheng only cared about the life and death of the people, and like a child, he asked stupidly, "Why don't you eat meat?" This was originally a manifestation of goodness, and should not be condemned in the slightest, and it should be Jia Nanfeng and his gang who were condemned.
Why condemn Jia Nanfeng and his gang? Because there are many records of the major events of Sima Zheng's period in the Book of Jin and emperor Huidi, there is very little to say about Sima Zheng's own words, deeds, and decisions. Sima Zheng has said many, many childish things in his life, and has done many, many stupid things, but only one or two sentences such as "Why don't you eat meat" have been recorded. This shows that people with ulterior motives deliberately let this sentence circulate. What intentions? Dare to speculate: It is to attribute the cause of the chaos in the world and the floating corpses to Sima Zheng's stupidity. Who would do this, only Jia Nanfeng and his gang had this motive.
Sima Zheng married Jia Nanfeng, who was two or three years older than himself, and instead of holding the golden brick, he carried a large black cauldron on his back. Since ancient times, the ruthless imperial family is really sad and lamentable.