Cao Wei The fourth year of Qinglong, 236 AD.
This year, the man of the Three Kingdoms Sima Yi was very happy to hear that he had a grandson.
(Sima Yi)
This child's name is Sima Yan . After he was born in the world, he often followed his grandfather Sima Yi, his uncle Sima Shi, and his father Sima Zhao, because these relatives were all characters who had overseen the emperor above the power and opposition of the Cao Wei Dynasty, in other words That is to say, it is only over power, so it is inevitable that Sima Yan has also accumulated some political talents and experience.
Emperor (Sima Yi) has internal taboos but wide externalities, and his suspicions vary widely. Emperor Wucha of Wei had lofty aspirations, and he heard that there were wolves looking after him.
—— "Book of Jin, Emperor Ji No. 1"
In AD 255, Cao Wei's official Sima Shi died of illness, and his younger brother Sima Zhao inherited the seat of Sima Shi and continued to work as a dictatorship.
Sima Zhao has two sons, besides the eldest son Sima Yan mentioned above, there is one more Sima Zhao loves.
According to the eldest son succession system of ancient Chinese feudal dynasties, Sima Yan's coming to take over his father's seat was a sure thing, but Sima Zhao wanted to make Sima You the heir, that is, the person who inherited the title.
After hearing the news, the ministers quit. They gave Sima Zhao an education. Generally speaking, it is a violation of the ancestral system to abolish the elders and establish the young. Are there still few incidents caused by this in the past, if you dare to violate the ancestral system? The rules left by our ancestors, then we will definitely not do it.
Sima Zhao had no choice but to give up when the officials reacted so strongly.
August 265 AD,Sima Zhao went west because of a stroke , and his eldest son, Sima Yan, succeeded him. In December of that year, he forced Wei Yuandi Cao Huan to take the throne just like Cao Pi forced Han Xiandi .
Sima Yan established himself as emperor, also known as Jin Wudi in history . The name of the country is Jin, which is called Western Jin Dynasty in history, and the capital is Luoyang .
Sima Yan, opened his imperial era.
The order of the heavens can't be undisciplined, and humans and gods can't ignore the Lord. Yanqian honors the fortune of the emperor. Yin fears the power of heaven, respects Jian Yuanchen, ascends to the altar to receive Zen, sues like God, and always answers all expectations.
——"Book of Jin, Emperor Ji No. 3"
Sima Yan, who became emperor, was not deceived by the high power. Because it is clear that indulgence at this time is tantamount to self-destruction.
The Western Jin Dynasty, a nascent empire, has countless problems waiting to be solved. Internal and external troubles are everywhere.
From the inside, Sima Yan found the kingdom and became emperor, the emperor was very happy, Jin Dynasty The relatives and nobles were very happy, and the army of Jin Dynasty was also very happy, but some people were not happy. And this group of people is the important existence that can decide the life and death of the country - the people.
The founding emperor in history, no one's hands are clean.
Qin Shi Huang swept away Liuhe and swept the Eight Wastelands, Yuan Shizu The Mongolian cavalry under his command wielded swords, Ming Taizu Bloody battles of various princes...
Late Yuan Dynasty—Battle of Poyang Lake_ p3p
With their feet on countless corpses,His hands were stained with endless blood before he stepped onto the throne of the supreme emperor.
The same is true of Sima Yan. The Jin Dynasty he founded was based on the ruthless killing of the previous Cao Wei imperial family. To put it bluntly, the people think that Sima Yan is just a shameless person who got the throne by usurping the throne. He has also killed so many people. How many days will we ordinary people have a good life in the future?
Moreover, not only the interior of the Western Jin Dynasty, but also the land facing the outside world, but also the perished local officials of Shu and Han, and the Eastern Wu Dynasty, which is still separate from one side, still regards the Jin Dynasty as a confidant and a mortal enemy.
The situation when the Western Jin Dynasty was founded
Facing all kinds of difficulties, Sima Yan was not intimidated.
Adhering to the correct decision of "resisting foreign affairs must first be peaceful" --- he first treated the monarchs of Wei and Shu who had already destroyed the country, and Cao Huan, the emperor of Wei, was named King Chenliu, maintaining the etiquette of the emperor and not having to As a minister, the Emperor of Shu Liu Chan was named Duke Anle and lifted the imprisonment of the Shuhan royal family. When the people saw that the Jin Dynasty government was able to give the master of the year, the second emperor of Wei and Shu, such a prestigious position, their resistance to the Jin Dynasty gradually changed; in addition, Sima Yan advocated frugality, cutting redundant officials, reducing punishment, and developing the economy. The social conditions of the Western Jin Dynasty changed rapidly.
With these measures, the Jin Dynasty quickly won the hearts and minds of the people, and its national strength became stronger.
At the same time, the Soochow Dynasty, the only confidant of the Western Jin Empire, was extremely unbearable.
Wu Guo Monarch Sun Hao is an uncompromising wolf. He is cruel, perverted, greedy for beauty, and exploits the people. Such crimes have never been seen in ages.
And the state of Wu under Sun Hao,It is even more difficult for the people to live. It can even be said that the grass and trees lost to Sanqiu, the common people died in an instant, and the dignified Jiangnan land had no peaceful atmosphere. In the north and south of Dongwu, there are endless wars and people's grievances.
The water will enter the palace again, and if the palace servants disagree, they will kill them. Either stripping people's faces, or gouging people's eyes. Cen took a risk and flattered your fortune, so he was in the ninth column, eager to perform military service, and everyone was in trouble. It is up and down centrifugation, Mo Weihao tried his best.
——"Three Kingdoms, Wu Zhi, Sun Hao"
Sun Hao, the last emperor of the Wu Kingdom
Faced with such a situation, the unification of the Western Jin Dynasty has become the general trend, but Sima Yan did not faint. mind.
He knows that although Soochow is corrupt, its power cannot be underestimated. He must take the most prudent method and not give Soochow the slightest chance to turn over, so that the world can be settled with one blow.
In response to Soochow's annihilation of the country, Sima Yan sent generals to station troops on the border of Wu and Jin to appease the people of Wu state. For the surrendered soldiers and civilians in Soochow, they let them choose their path, and never forced Wu people to do things.
This tactic of attacking hearts and minds made the Jin Dynasty gradually gain the approval of the people of Wu State.
In fact, Soochow also implemented this policy, but unfortunately the collapse of the building was not achieved in one day, the Soochow Dynasty had been corrupted to the core. In addition to abusing the people, Sun Hao, the master of Wu, would only entertain himself. More and more people of Soochow Wu took up the banner of resistance to the state of Wu, and the war was about to break out!
In the fifth year of Xianning in the Western Jin Dynasty, in the winter of AD 279, after decades of preparation, Sima Yan finally gave the order to destroy Wu. Wudu Zhongcheng Jianye.
Looking at the general trend of the world, long-term cooperation must divide, long-term separation must be together! Soochow, the once glorious Jiangnan Empire, has come to the end of its dynasty, and it is also the end of the 96-year-long turbulent strife since the Yellow Turban Uprising.Since then, the land of China has been unified once again, and a new page in Chinese history has been opened.
After the reunification of the country, all internal and external problems have been eliminated. Sima Yan began to develop the economy. Just three years after the extermination of Wu, the population of the Western Jin Dynasty increased by more than 1.3 million households. With the development of the land, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the treasury is full, it is called " Taikang's rule" in history.
The emperor is large and thick, and the inferiority must be forgiven by kindness; he accommodates the righteous, and he is not tarnished by others; he is wise and prudent, and can break the big incident, so he can calm the world and calm the four directions.
————— "Book of Jin, Emperor Ji Third"
After the short-lived prosperous period of the Western Jin Dynasty, it was followed by an extremely fast downhill road.
As the saying goes, good start and good end. But how many people can have a good start and a good end through the ages? More can only be a good start, but not a good end.
Dangdang to God, to the people. Jiwei God, his life is more open. Born of the people, its life is prosperous. There is no beginning, and there is no end.
————— "Book of Songs, Taiga, Dang"
(Sima Yan)
Sima Yan is no exception. After doing something, and relying on the peace of the world, he began to enjoy it.
In the name of expressing filial piety, he spent a lot of money to build ancestral temples; in addition, Sima Yan even forbids the people of the world to marry for his own beauty pageant. All women in the whole country must participate in the beauty pageant, and even accepted thousands of dollars from the Wu master Sun Hao. beauty.
"Those who are concealed are considered disrespectful;You can know the ups and downs; with people as a mirror, you can understand the gains and losses. "But Sima Yan didn't take the lesson of Soochow's greed, drunkenness and ruin to heart at all.
He recklessly collected beauties from all over the world, reaching as many as 10,000 people. This number has never been seen before, and it is hard to have an emperor. Can be as greedy for beauty as Sima Yan.
And because there are too many palace maids, some of the selected women did not see the emperor until they died. So, Sima Yan rode around in the palace every day in a cart pulled by sheep. Wandering around, he favored the concubines wherever the sheep cart was parked. This is the famous "goat cart patrol" in history.
Not only that, but Sima Yan changed his thrifty style and went into extravagance.
The emperor took the lead, but the ministers were less cautious when they learned. In a short period of time, the entire capital of Luoyang was dominated by exaggeration, burning candles as firewood, using sugar water to wash pots... Such behavior, Countless, The social ethos of the Western Jin Dynasty is rapidly deteriorating! And Sima Yan, because of excessive sexual desire, his body is not as good as the day.
At this time, Sima Yan began to realize that he should choose an heir to the throne. And this is also Sima Yan's great failure.
He chose his stupid son Sima Zhong to be the emperor. The reason is that Sima Zhong has a smart son. Sima Yan saw the hope for the future of the dynasty from his grandson. Decided to let the grandson inherit the throne through Sima Zhong.
However, Sima Yan ignored the important factor of Sima Zhong. He is slow and incompetent, and can't do anything except eat, drink, play, and even leave behind " Why not eat Minced meat " ridiculous remarks, and the Western Jin Dynasty accelerated the pace of its demise in his hands.
Sima Zhong, the second emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty
In addition to this, Sima Yan has another move that directly affects the future of China Hundreds of years of dark wars and disputes have buried hidden dangers.
As we all know, the Western Jin Dynasty was destroyed by the Huns Liu Yuan due to the rebellion of the Hu people and the inward migration of ethnic minorities.But one of the most important factors that led to the decline of the Western Jin Dynasty was the Eight Kings Rebellion within the Western Jin court .
The Rebellion of the Eight Kings is, to put it bluntly, a bloody struggle for the throne by a group of "Sima" people. unprecedented pressure.
The Rebellion of the Eight Kings
The ultimate source of everything is that Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of Jin, arbitrarily divided the princes and kings of the same surname, and gave them enough armed force. With the passage of time, the danger of the chaos Also getting bigger.
And because of the rebellion of the Eight Kings and the irreversible disaster caused by it, the Hu people who could not bear the oppression of the Han people in the first place could not bear it. More than 130 years of dark era of great division gradually kicked off.
In those turbulent times, the Chinese people suffered unprecedented hardships, one tyrant after another, one tyranny after another, swords and swords, wars indefinitely, the common people were like fire and water, and the officials were heartbroken.
It's not all Sima Yan's responsibility for all of this to happen. We are not qualified to put all the merits and demerits on one person. It would be unfair to do so.
But it is absolutely inseparable from him. China's centuries of division and turmoil, as well as the endless hardships the people have suffered, Sima Yan must bear part of the responsibility.
A father who knows his son is a worthy father, and a minister who knows his subject is a wise man; if the son is unworthy, the family will perish; if the minister is unfaithful, the country will be in chaos;
————— "Book of Jin: The Third Book of Emperors"
Finally, Sima Yan, the first emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty,reached the end of life.
In the first year of Taixi, in 290 AD, Sima Yan died of illness. He was buried in Junyang Mausoleum, temple name Shizu, at the age of 55.
Once, due to my academic needs, I recited "Born in distress, died in peace" in " Mencius ", there is a famous saying in it that says: " If you enter, you will not be able to help you, and if you go out, you will be invincible to foreign patients." , the country perishes. Then you know that you are born in trouble and die in comfort ."
This principle has never been left behind throughout the ages.
The Western Jin Dynasty was like this, and so was Sima Yan.
When Sima Yan succeeded to the throne, there were people who were restless inside, and there were Eastern Wu southern territories outside. Internal and external troubles attacked the emerging Jin Dynasty. At that time, Sima Yan was thrifty, diligent, courageous, and caring for the people.
But later, Sima Yan was blindfolded by the prosperous veil of the "rule of Taikang", and he began to indulge in this way.
Jinwu Emperor Sima Yan
Why did Sima Yan's life have such a big turning point?
I think, this is also the principle of "born in trouble, die in peace". Sima Yan led the Western Jin Dynasty to a peaceful and prosperous age amid internal and external troubles, and because the prosperity of the prosperous world gradually released himself, Sima Yan's life was rushed. The Western Jin Dynasty also fell in peace and harmony, and was finally defeated by the Hu people in one fell swoop, destroying the country more than 50 years ago.
.As for Jin Wu's behavior, he can be described as a virtuous ruler of the world.
————— "Zizhitongjian"
