Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Sima Yao (362-396), courtesy name Changming, the ninth emperor of the Eastern Jin reigned from 372 to 396.
Sima Yao was named King of Kuaiji when he was four years old, and was established as the prince in 372. In the same year, Emperor Jianwen of Jin Dynasty passed away, and Sima Yao succeeded to the throne at the age of 11. At first, the Queen Mother was the regent. When he was 14 years old, he began to take charge of the government and changed his reign name to Taiyuan . At that time, he reformed taxation and abandoned the method of collecting taxes based on the amount of land. Instead, each person below the prince collected three dou of rice, and those who served in the military did not pay taxes.
In addition, Sima Yao tried to strengthen the emperor's power and status. In 383, the former Qin Dynasty wanted to destroy the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the Battle of Feishui , the Jin army won a great victory, creating the "Battle of Feishui" that can be called a miracle in military history.
During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Dynasty, it was called the revival of the late Eastern Jin Dynasty due to the tax reform and Xie An becoming the country; however, after Xie An died, Sima Daozi became the country, and Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Dynasty was addicted to alcohol and was indecisive. , causing the political situation of the Eastern Jin Dynasty to fall into chaos again.
The emperor Sima Yao was a hedonist. He had two major hobbies in his life, one was drinking and the other was joking. He was a heavy drinker and would make jokes when he drank too much. He used to say "You have no joke" which he didn't take seriously at all.
One day, Sima Yao felt energetic and indescribably excited since he woke up in the morning. Just arrange the royal dining room , and have a meal and drink with the ministers at noon. Sima Yao, who was half drunk, stood up and said, "Brothers, tell me how well our brothers are governing the country." Emperor Xiaowu was so happy that he started joking with his ministers.
Some clever guys among the ministers saw the opportunity to flatter them, so they rushed to answer: "My ability to govern the country is higher than Mount Tai, and more powerful than the Five Mountains."
Sima Yao was very impressed by what he heard, but he didn't seem to be satisfied. Then he smiled and inspired: "Which emperor in ancient times can I compare with?"
Because the wine was high, there were many outstanding emperors in ancient times, and I didn't know who to compare with was more suitable to the emperor's taste, so he unexpectedly No one answered immediately, and the lively banquet was a bit quiet.
Fortunately, the governor of Qingzhou was clever and aimed at the right time. He stood up from his seat like a spring and started firing. He loudly replied: "Your Majesty's civil and military strategies are unparalleled in the world. There is no one before and no one to come after. Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu is only worthy of being the leader. Your apprentice, Han Gaozu Liu Bang, could only look at the back of your head and sigh. "
Sima Yao beamed when he heard this, and immediately announced: Give Qingzhou governor a thousand acres of fertile land, brocade and silk thousand horses. When the officials heard this, they were shocked. Who would have thought that a flattering word could get so many rewards? The officials all beat their chests and regretted that they were too slow to speak and did not catch up with the words in time, which wasted a lot of income.
The governor of Qingzhou was stunned when he heard what the emperor said. He never dreamed that the emperor would be so generous. He quickly knelt on his knees and kowtowed like garlic: "Thank you, Lord, for your kindness! Thank you, Lord for your kindness!"
Unexpectedly, Sima Yao saw this. , laughed loudly: "No need to thank you, my dear, I just made a joke. Although I drank too much, my heart is as clear as a mirror. Today, all the ministers gathered to have a happy time, and my beloved used lies to flatter me, so I also used lies. "Rewarding your beloved is called reciprocity. Let me have fun with my brothers." After Sima Yao said this, there was a sudden burst of laughter in the hall, which made the Qingzhou governor stand and sit down and couldn't laugh or cry. Sima Yao was often proud of his creativity in making jokes on different occasions.
On Gengshen Day in September 396 AD, Sima Yao drank with his beloved Zhang Guiren in the Qingshu Palace in the palace, and asked Zhang Guiren to accompany him to drink with him. Zhang Guiren was too drunk and tried his best to politely refuse.
Sima Yao turned cold and said jokingly: "If you dare to disobey the emperor and refuse to drink with me today, I will convict you!"
Zhang Guiren got angry for a moment, stood up and said in disbelief: "I just won't drink. , Let’s see what your Majesty has condemned me for!”
Sima Yao, drunkenly, stood up and sneered: “You were named a nobleman because of your beauty back then, but now that you are nearly 30, your beauty is not as good as before, and you are occupying a nobleman for nothing. Tomorrow, I will destroy you and choose someone new." After saying this, he vomited loudly and sprayed all over Zhang Guiren's head and body. Zhang Guiren was so frightened that he quickly helped Sima Yao into the bedroom and let him go to bed to sleep.
What Sima Yao originally said was just a joke over a drink, but he went crazy with Zhang Guiren. Thinking that his appearance was about to decline, Sima Yao already hated me. He was so angry and hateful that he actually had murderous intentions. After she washed her face and changed her clothes, she summoned her confidants to sneak into the bedroom. When she saw Sima Yao sleeping, she covered his face with a quilt and put heavy objects on him. Sima Yao struggled for a while and was finally suffocated to death.
You were the supreme leader of the country, and he was also considered young and promising. However, he was killed because he often joked. He was only 35 years old when he died.
Later generations of emperors also learned from Emperor Xiaowu's experience and lessons, and invented the saying "The emperor has no joke, the emperor is a man of gold, and he must do what he says", which completely put an end to the emperor's random jokes.
We ordinary people are the same, or if we talk out of mouth, if we often carelessly talk about it, we will definitely cause trouble.
