Sima Yan and Sima You: Who is the culprit of the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings"?

In the third year of the Western Jin Dynasty (282 AD), Emperor Wu Sima Yan sincerely asked Shangshu Ling Zhang Hua for advice: "Who can entrust the latter to the future?" ”

Zhang Hua didn't even think about it, and blurted out: "Mingde's dearest, Mo Ruqi Wang You." ”

This made Sima Yan so sad. In this world, the person he was most jealous of and hated most in his heart was his brother Sima You, the King of Qi.

Sima You was Sima Zhao's second son, and Emperor Jing had no sons, so Emperor Wen passed Sima You over to his brother. After Sima Shi's death, Sima Zhao took over the power of his brother, and he often patted the seat under him and said: "The world is the world of Emperor Jing, I will regent on his behalf, and after a hundred years, this is the seat of Tao Fu." ”

Tao Fu (Peach Fu) is Sima You's nickname.

It is entirely conceivable how uneasy and indignant Sima Yan should have been when he heard his father say these words.

On the question of succession, Sima Zhao hesitated for a long time, and finally, half a year before his death, he determined Sima Yan's status as a son.

Four years later, Sima Yan's mother, Empress Wang, fell ill and died. When she was dying, she was worried about Sima You's fate and said to Sima Yan: "Tao Fu is anxious, as your brother, you must treat him well, don't forget my words." ”

Empress Wang did not look away. Fifteen years after her death, Sima You, thirty-six, died of sorrow.

Sima You's younger brother was twelve years old, and when Empress Wang died, Sima You was only twenty-two years old. After Sima Yan became emperor, Sima You matured day by day, was low-key and humble, loved to read, and was a sage in the Western Jin Dynasty.

Compared with him, Sima Yan's preferred heir to the throne and son Sima Zheng was a well-known idiot.

Theoretically, Sima You had no obstacle to succeeding to the throne—he was emperor Jing's heir, and Emperor Jing was the eldest son of Emperor Xuan's concubine Sima Yi, and according to the logic, the throne should be Sima You's; even if Emperor Jing was disregarded, it is historically unprecedented to say that Sima You inherited the throne as the emperor's brother. The crown prince was an idiot, and the country relied on the chief king, and it was only right to make Sima You emperor.

Ministers such as Jia Chong, Xun Xun, Xun Xun, Feng Jun, and Yang Jun insisted on taking the crown prince as their heir, and in the Book of Jin, these people were invariably regarded as traitors.

Antagonists against them were Zhang Hua, Yang Xuan, Ren Kai, and others, most of whom were regarded as loyal subjects in the Book of Jin.

The two sides formed their own friends, attacked each other, quarreled from the top of the court to the outside of the court, set traps, set traps, and made a lot of noise!

After the pacification of the State of Wu, Sima Yan appropriated more than 5,000 concubines and palace ladies in the palace of Sun Hao, the lord of Wu, causing the number of harems in Luoyang to soar to more than 10,000. Too many people are not good, Sima Yan is full of colorful eyes and does not know what to do, every day sitting in the sheep cart with the encounter, the sheep cart is parked in front of which beauty house, where to spend the night. The palace people knew that their fate was pinned on the sheep pulling the cart, and they learned the skills of the sheep herders, planting bamboo branches and sprinkling salt water in front of the house to attract the sheep.

In such an unrestrained night and night song, the spring supper was short, and the emperor's spirit and body became more and more entrusted day by day.

In the third year of Taikang, the emperor said to Zhang Hua, "Who can entrust the latter?" "It is not so much that I want to consult Zhang Hua's opinion, but rather that I want Zhang Hua to take a stand." As a result, Zhang Hua stood on the wrong side, and he ruthlessly relegated him to Youzhou.

Zhang Hua was demoted, so what about the other people in the court who were facing the King of Qi?

Xun Xun had a bad stomach, and he suggested that the emperor lead the snake out of the hole: "Your Majesty ordered the King of Qi to return to the feudal kingdom to observe the reaction of the courtiers. The history books say that "the emperor thinks so."

Therefore, in December of the third year of Taikang, the emperor issued an edict to let Sima You, the king of Qi, return to the fiefdom.

As soon as the edict came out, there was an uproar.

The emperor's uncle Sima Jun, the Prince of Fufeng, ran to the palace on crutches and demanded that the emperor take back his life. Subsequently, the general Wang Hun (王浑), the Zhonghun army Yang Xuan (羊琇), and Wang Ji (王吉) and Zhen De (甄德) wrote letters to put pressure on the emperor.

Sima Yan should not only feel angry at this time, but also fearful. Sima Jun, the Prince of Fufeng, was the son of Emperor Xuan and had a high prestige in Guanzhong; Wang Hun was a hero who defeated the State of Wu and held a heavy army; Yang Xuan, a foreign relative, commanded the forbidden army in the capital Luoyang; Wang Ji and Zhen De were horses. If these people want to have a coup, it's too easy.

At this time, Wang Ji and Zhen De made another trick and let their wives Princess Changshan and Princess Changguang go to the palace to cry and advise.

Tears this weapon can only impress the hearts of women, the two princesses went to the emperor to cry, Princess Changshan is still a blind man, crying is certainly not good-looking, the emperor is annoyed by their crying, more and more determined, to let the King of Qi return to the feudal country for the elderly.

When the courtiers and the emperor's court were in contention, how did the King of Qi, who was in the eyes of the storm, react?

According to the history books, after the edict of Jiashen was issued, the king of Qi was "displeased."

After a thousand years, we can't guess what kind of thoughts are hidden behind King Qi's slightly raised eyebrows.

Perhaps, he really just felt sad; perhaps, he did have hidden ambitions, waiting in silence for the will of the people to force the emperor to obey.

In the midst of all the disturbances, Taikang's three years are nearing the end.

The snow has just fallen, the heavens and the earth are still, this is a good time to fold the plum to see the snow, and then argue about some mundane things to avoid burning the piano and boiling the crane, clean up the New Year.

The imperial meeting on the first day of the fourth year of Taikang (283 AD) was held as usual. On the obscure day of the first month, the emperor led the ministers to Luoshui to raft, the green waves were slow, the spring branches were hanging, the new birds were singing, and the heart was relaxed, but the ministers did not see Qi Wangyou, and heard that he was ill.

In February, the emperor added Jinan County to the fiefdom of the King of Qi, and set up xuan hanging music for the king of Qi, the dance of the six beggars, and the yellow chariot to ride the public opinion.

This can be seen as the emperor's last bit of patience. The Joy of Xuan Hanging, the Dance of the Six Nobles, and the Huang QiChaoche were all enjoyed by the princes who were ordered to go out on the expedition, and the Emperor Enwei and Shi Shi seemed to have an iron heart.

King Qi wrote to himself that he was ill and requested to be relieved of his official duties and go to Chongyang Mausoleum to guard the tomb for his parents.

The Emperor did not allow it.

King Qi personally entered the palace to intercede with his brother. The more the emperor looked, the more he felt that his brother did not look like a sick person, and he was at this time hard-hearted, thinking that he was just "You will disappear from my eyes soon."

As a result, the King of Qi disappeared as he wished. Just a few days after entering the palace, King Qi's illness worsened, he vomited several liters of blood, and died.

When the fierce letter reached the palace, the emperor suddenly woke up, and it turned out that his brother was not playing tricks and clever tricks, he was really ill!

Sima Yan burst into tears, and at that moment the emperor thought of all the goodness of his brother, the well-behaved and cuteness of his younger brother when he was young, the courtesy and humility of his brother when he became an adult, and the instructions of his parents before he died.

The emperor wept so sincerely, until the attendant Feng Zhen coldly threw a sentence: "The world belongs to the King of Qi, his death is a blessing for the society, why should Your Majesty mourn!" ”

The emperor suddenly stopped crying, and a cold smile appeared on his face--I was immersed in my own false grief, playing the role of a sad brother who had lost my beloved brother, you can't let me pretend for a while?

With the death of King Qi, the dust of the imperial heir problem that had been noisy for more than ten years was settled, and the position of crown prince sat in the position of the idiot prince Sima Zheng.

Three hundred years later, the Tang Dynasty historian who wrote the Book of Jin hypothesized with regret that if king Qi had not died, the rebellion of the eight kings would not have occurred, and then the three-hundred-year-long division between the five hu and the north and south would not have come.

But some people also say that if King Qi does not die, civil unrest will break out ten years in advance, and the death of King Qi will eliminate a split, which is actually the best ending.

It is impossible to know which is right and which is wrong.

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