Four hundred years of agitation: Sima Yan died young and Sima Yue succeeded to the throne, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty gradually fell into the fire

This article is the 119th in a long series, Four Hundred Years of Turmoil

According to historical records, Sima Yan was different from ordinary people, but he was too young when he succeeded to the throne, and was assisted by Wang Dao and Yu Liang. After the deaths of Wang Dao and Yu Liang, he was able to pro-government councillors.

In the summer of the seventh year of Xiankang (341 AD), Sima Yan issued an edict to compile the clans who had migrated from jiangbei into the household register in the form of a soil break, which solved the problem of the overseas Chinese in the north not paying taxes, and the north and south were treated equally.

However, at this time, the biggest problem in the imperial court was the struggle for power among the clans, especially the Yu clan and the Wang clan, who held the power of the government and the opposition and fought with each other endlessly.

In the first month of the eighth year of Xiankang (342 AD), Yuzhou Thorn Shi Yu Yi sent wine to Reward Jiangzhou Thorn Shi Wang Yunzhi. Wang Yunzhi felt poisonous, fed the dog with wine, and the dog died immediately after drinking, and he secretly reported the matter to Sima Yan.

Sima Yan said angrily, "The uncle has thrown the world into chaos, and the brother-in-law is reinstating evil!" "Prepare to investigate this matter strictly. In February, Yu Yi committed suicide by drinking from sin, and the matter was closed.

When Yu Yi sat in Wuchang, there were often strange things happening, and he wanted to move to Lexiang. Shi Wangshu wrote to Yu Bing: "Lexiang and Wuchang are thousands of miles away, tens of thousands of people, once migrated, it is necessary to build the city, public and private are troubled. Wuchang is at the midpoint of the east and west of the river, and there is also the convenience of the Yangtze River. If you move to Lexiang, a remote place in the far west, once there is a trouble along the Yangtze River, it will be too late to save each other. How could an important general stationed in a local area, who was supposed to live in a key place, disregard the country's long-term plan in order to avoid the evil ways? ”

Both the government and the public believed that Wang's statement was reasonable, and Yu Yi dispelled the idea of migration.

In May, Sima Yan suddenly fell ill. On the fifth day of June, his condition worsened.

At this time, Sima Yan's two sons, Sima Pi and Sima Yi, were still young and were in their infancy.

Yu Bing, fearing that after the change of emperor, his relationship with the emperor would become more and more distant, and often persuaded Sima Yan that if there were strong enemies outside the country, he should appoint an older king, and asked Sima Yan's half-brother Sima Yue the Prince of Langya to be the heir to the imperial throne, and Sima Yan agreed.

Zhongshu Ling He Chong said: "The imperial throne is passed down from father to son, this is the old system of the first king, and it is rare to change the old system that does not lead to disaster." Therefore, King Wu of Zhou did not pass on the throne of the Son of Heaven to the sage's brother Zhou Gong, not because he did not love him. If the Lang Evil King is allowed to take the throne, what will happen to the two widows? ”

Yu Bing did not listen, and at his insistence, Sima Yan ordered Sima Yue to be the heir to the throne.

On the seventh day of the first month of June, Yu Bing, He Chong, Sima Xi the Prince of Wuling, Sima Yu the Prince of Huiji, and Shangshu Ling Zhuge Hui simultaneously accepted Gu's orders to assist the government. On the eighth day of June, Sima Yan died at the age of twenty-one.

On the ninth day of The first month of June, Sima Yue, who took the throne as Emperor Kang of Jin, was twenty years old.

Regarding Sima Yue, there are not many records of him in the history books, because he only worked for two years after he succeeded to the throne, only one year longer than Sima Yan, and he was really a pair of brothers who suffered a hard life.

On June 14, Sima Yan's eldest son Sima Pi was made the King of Langya, and his second son Sima Yi was made the King of Donghai. During the period of mourning, Sima Yue entrusted all the government to Yu Bing and He Chong.

On the first day of July, Sima Yan entered the Xingping Mausoleum, and Sima Yue sent the funeral on foot until he reached the Gate of Zhang, and then boarded subai's car to reach the site of the mausoleum.

After the funeral, Sima Yue drove to the front of the palace, and Yu Bing and He Chong sat next to him. At this time, Sima Yue said the first important words after succeeding to the throne: "Inheriting the great cause of the country depends on the strength of the two of you." ”

He Chong said, "Your Majesty's ability to fly the throne is the power of Yu Bing." If, as I have said, then His Majesty will not be able to witness this ascension to peace. Sima Yue's face was ashamed.

On the fourth day of the first month of July, Sima Yue made He Chong the general of the Hussars, the governor of Xuzhou, the military of The Jinling of Yangzhou, the assassin of Xuzhou, and the town of Jingkou to avoid the Yu family.

From Sima Yue's words and deeds, it can be seen that he is a loyal and honest man, very aware of his situation, and does not have any ambitions, and his only hobby may be calligraphy.

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, calligraphy became the standard for scholars, especially the Wang family, almost all of whom were calligraphers. Influenced by this, Sima Yan and Sima Yue were also masters of calligraphy.

I think that back then, Sima Yi was the leading conspirator, but in Sima Yan's generation, he could only entertain himself in pen and ink, creating and manipulating people, and this was even worse.

On December 29, Sima Yue made his concubine Chu Shi empress, and recruited his father-in-law Yu Zhang taishou Chu Chu (褚裒) as a servant and a servant of Shangshu to counter Yu's power.

Unexpectedly, Chu Qiao did not want to serve in the inner court, and begged to go out, so he was appointed as the general of Jianwei and the assassin of Jiangzhou, and the town guarded Banzhou.

Chu Pei's humble retreat allowed yu to continue to control the government, Yu Bing was inside, Yu Yi was outside, and Wang Dao and Wang Dun were the same, the only difference was that Yu Yi did not yet have the intention of usurping the throne.

Yu Yi was generous and fond of meritorious names, and befriended Shi Huanwen of Langya. Huan Wen, the son of Huan Yi, married Sima Shao's eldest daughter, Princess Nankang, and was proud and graceful.

Counting up, Huan Wen was Sima Yue's brother-in-law, and he also had to call Yu Yi a little brother-in-law.

Yu Yi admired Huan Wen very much, and the two of them agreed to calm down and save the world together, and also recommended Huan Wen to Sima Yan, saying: "Huan Wen has the talent of a hero, and I hope that His Majesty will not treat him with the etiquette of ordinary people, and raise him according to the ordinary son-in-law." He should be entrusted with the same heavy responsibilities as Uncle Fang and Shao Hu, the King of Zhou Xuan, and he will certainly be able to establish the merits of Kuang's salvation of the world. ”

At that time, Du Qi and Yin Hao both praised the contemporary era with their talent and reputation, but Yu Yi despised them and dismissed them: "Such people should be put on the shelf and wait for the world to be peaceful and then slowly discuss their positions." ”

Briefly introduce Du Qi.

Du Qi, a native of Jingzhao Duling, the grandson of Du Xian, and sima Yan's father-in-law, was both a foreign relative and a family member, as well as the premier handsome man in Jiangdong, coupled with a gentle and pure temperament, and loved by everyone.

After Wang Xizhi saw Du Qi, he commented: "The skin is like gelatin, the eyes are like dots of paint, and this immortal is also." Huan Yi ranked him alongside Wei Jiu and evaluated him as "Wei Jiu Shenqing, Du Qi Qing." ”

After Yu Liang's death, Yin Hao repeatedly refused the conquest of the official government, rejected the world's affairs, and lived in seclusion in the cemetery, so that for nearly ten years, people compared him with Guan Zhong and Zhuge Liang.

Jiang Xia Xiang Xie Shang (Xie Kun's son) and Changshan Ling Wang Meng once went to visit Yin Hao together, and when they returned, they looked at each other and said bitterly: "Yin Hao is not out as an official, what should the people do?" ”

Yu Yi asked Yin Hao to be Sima And Sima Yue ordered him to be the commander of the Shizhong and Anxi Military Divisions, and Yin Hao "disregarded the lives of the people" and did not obey his orders and continued to live in seclusion.

Although Yu Yi himself was as ambitious and talented as his brother Yu Liang, I agreed with his evaluation of Du Qi and Yin Hao, a celebrity like them, but a vase in his heyday.

Whether it is the emperor or the chancellor, the values of the Eastern Jin Dynasty have been seriously deviated, and it is not an exaggeration to call it a fire and magic.