Chapter 45 Chapter 44: Emperor Huai Sima Chi

Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty, had 25 sons in total, and Sima Chi was the youngest.One year before his death, Emperor Wu named him King Yuzhang.During the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, he kept himself clean, ignored world affairs, studied behind closed doors, and concentrated on historical records, so he was quite famous.In December of the first year of Yongxing (AD 304), when King Sima Yong of Hejian abolished his younger brother Sima Ying of Chengdu, only 4 of the 25 sons of Emperor Wu remained. Sima Yan and Sima Chi chose one, and Sima Yan was mediocre, so he appointed Sima Chi as the emperor's younger brother, as the legal successor.

In November of the first year of Guangxi (306 A.D.), Emperor Hui died of cake poisoning, and Sima Chi succeeded to the throne. At the beginning of Emperor Huai's ascension to the throne, he followed the old system and listened to the government in the East Hall of the Taiji Hall. Every court meeting, he had to discuss various state affairs with his ministers and research classics and historical books, so he was well received.Many ministers said: "Today we will see Emperor Wu's life again!" However, to govern the troubled times, one needs to have great talents to bring order out of chaos. It is possible to turn the tide and reverse the already chaotic political situation.

At this time, unrest was continuing to develop across the country.When Emperor Huai came to the throne, Langya King Sima Rui, as General Anton and the governor of the Jiangnan military forces in Yangzhou, moved from Xiapi to Jianye (now Nanjing, Jiangsu), and began to develop and consolidate his power in Jiangnan.The Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di, Qiang and other ethnic minorities who had entered the Central Plains in large numbers were unwilling to endure the oppression of the nobles and bureaucrats of the Jin Dynasty, and they also rose up to resist.Ji Sang and Shi Le of the Jie tribe raised troops to attack the city of Ye. Gou Xi, the governor of Yanzhou in Jin Dynasty, fought more than 30 wars and killed more than 10,000 people before defeating them.In the middle of the court, Sima Yue, the king of the East China Sea, was in charge, and Emperor Huai did not have much actual power.

In October of the second year of Emperor Huai's accession to the throne (AD 308), Liu Yuan of the Xiongnu proclaimed himself emperor in Pingyang (now Linfen, Shanxi) again, openly singing a rivalry with the emperor of the Jin Dynasty.After Shi Le and Wang Mi failed to raise troops, they defected to Liu Yuan one after another, and quickly regained their vitality.Shi Le's army had grown to more than 100,000 in the third year of Yongjia (309 A.D.), and it came to Luoyang several times and almost broke the city. In October of the fourth year of Yongjia (310 A.D.), Luoyang was once again attacked by the troops of Liu Yao, Wang Mi, and Shi Le. The situation deteriorated due to the lack of troops and food.Sima Yue had no choice but to mobilize soldiers from all over the world to help the capital, and Emperor Huai personally told the envoys who sent out: "Tell them, if you send troops immediately, they will be rescued. If it is too late, it will be too late." The authoritarian behavior has already disappointed the government and the public; the second is that all localities are too busy to take care of themselves, so no one sent troops to Luoyang.

In February of the fifth year of Yongjia (311 A.D.), Gou Xi, who had been excluded by Sima Yue, issued an appeal, enumerating Sima Yue's crimes and denouncing Sima Yue.Emperor Huai had long hated Sima Yue's monopoly, especially Sima Yue's cronies He Lun and others who stayed behind in Luoyang, who specialized in plundering princes and nobles and humiliating princesses. Everyone hated him.Since Gou Xi dared to stand out, Emperor Huai couldn't ask for it, so he secretly gave a hand edict ordering him to attack Sima Yue.The two sides exchanged documents many times, and Sima Yue inevitably got rumors, so he sent cavalry to patrol around Chenggao, and sure enough, they intercepted the envoys sent by Gou Xi and the edict of Emperor Huai.So the two sides fought openly.Sima Yue became ill from worry and anger, and died in Xiangcheng (now Shenqiu, Henan) in March.General Wang Yan and others led his troops back to the East China Sea to bury Sima Yue's body.In April, the team traveled to Ningping City (northeast of Dancheng County, Henan Province) in Kuxian County (now Luyi, Henan Province), and was overtaken by Shi Le's light cavalry. Shi Le surrounded and shot them with cavalry. None of the more than 100,000 scholars were spared.Shi Le dissected Sima Yue's coffin and burned his body, and said triumphantly, "This man is messing up the world, and I will avenge the people of the world!" Sima Yue was the last one among the eight kings to come out to take power. He probably didn't expect that he would be humiliated after death. Compared with the kings who died first, the fate is even more tragic.

He Lun and others who stayed in Luoyang learned that Sima Yue had died, so they hurriedly led Sima Pi and the 48th king of the clan to retreat to the East China Sea, and were also wiped out by Shi Le on the way. Due to the looting of Luoyang City by military disasters several times, the food and grass in the city had already been looted. At this time, it has reached the level of cannibalism, and nine out of ten officials have also escaped.Emperor Huai also wanted to escape, but he had neither guards nor boats, so he had to walk out of Xiye Gate on foot under the guidance of his left and right attendants.

In mid-June, the coalition forces of Liu Yao, Wang Mi, and Shi Le captured Luoyang again, captured Emperor Huai and plundered them, killing 30,000 people, digging up the tombs of Jin emperors, and burning down palaces and government offices. This huge city, which was built with nearly a hundred years of hard work, was once again reduced to ashes. Emperor Huai Sima Chi was sent to Pingyang (now Linfen, Shanxi), and Liu Cong, the lord of the Han Dynasty, named him Dr. Zuo Guanglu and Grandpa Ping.In February of the second year (312 A.D.), he was renamed the Duke of Kuaiji County, and the third division of Jiayitong.Liu Congzhi proudly said to Sima Chi: "When you were the king of Yuzhang, Wang Ji and I went to visit you, and Wang Ji once praised me in your presence. You said you had heard of my name a long time ago, so you gave me a gift. Do you remember the bow made of Zhe wood and the inkstone made of silver?" Sima Chi said in a servile manner: "How dare I forget it! It's a pity that I didn't know Longyan early at that time!" Liu Cong asked again: " Why do your brothers and sisters kill each other so much?" Sima said in a charming manner: "The big man will be ordered by the heavens, so His Majesty will automatically wipe him out. Get along with each other and keep the foundation created by Emperor Wu, how can Your Majesty get it!" Liu Cong was naturally happy to hear this flattery, so he gave Sima Chi one of his favorite daughters, noble Liu, as his wife.

On the first day of the first lunar month in the seventh year of Yongjia (313 A.D.), Liu Cong, the lord of the Han Dynasty, held a banquet in the Guangji Hall, and asked Sima Chi to pour wine for everyone in Tsing Yi.Seeing Emperor Huai being insulted like this, Yu Min, an old minister of the Jin Dynasty, burst into tears, and Liu Cong was very annoyed.On the first day of February, more than 10 people including Geng Min, the former minister of Jin Dynasty, were all killed. Emperor Huai Sima Chi was also poisoned to death at the age of 30.