Chapter 54 Chapter 53: Emperor Jianwen Sima Yu

Emperor Jianwen Sima Yu (320-372 A.D.), with the word Daowan.The youngest son of Sima Rui, the founding emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. At the age of 51, Huan Wen, a powerful minister, helped him to the throne for ulterior political purposes. Sima Yu was smart and intelligent when he was young.His father Yuandi Sima Rui loved it very much.In the first year of Yongchang (322 A.D.), when Sima Yu was 3 years old, he was named King of Langya. When Sima Yu was young, he behaved elegantly and gracefully, magnanimously, and did not care about details.The room is full of dust, I don't care.Pure hearted, simple and elegant.But he likes historical books and classics, especially talking about mysteries.For a while, it won the attention of many people.Even Guo Pu, who claimed to have learned from others, said to others: "This man will surely revive the Jin Dynasty."

Sima Yu and Huan Wen had a close relationship.Huan Wen was a very politically ambitious person, and later became a powerful minister who controlled the Eastern Jin Dynasty for a long time.He paid close attention to observing the clan figures of the Eastern Jin Dynasty very early on.Pay special attention to the well-known Sima Yu.One day, Huan Wen, Sima Yu and his half-brother Sima Xi, the king of Wuling, went to the countryside in the same car.Huan Wen had already prepared to test the two of them, and suddenly ordered someone to beat the big drum and blow the horn vigorously.The sound was sudden and earth-shattering, and the driving horse was frightened and galloped wildly.Huan Wen wanted to see how the two clan princes behaved when they were in danger.Sima Xi, the king of Wuling, was famous for his martial arts although he lacked in studies. He often gathered warriors, accepted heroes, and gave lectures on martial arts.At this time, his face turned pale with fright, and he repeatedly begged Zhima to get off the carriage.Huan Wen thought to himself that the King of Wuling was just a silver-like wax spear head, and he despised him very much from then on.Looking at Sima Yu again, he was sitting firmly in the car, taking it calmly, without any look of fear on his face.Huan Wen admired him very much, but he was also a little afraid.

Sima Yu was not only admired by Huan Wen, but also respected by Shi Wang.In August of the second year of Jianyuan (AD 344), Kangdi was critically ill.Power ministers, foreign relatives Yu Bing and Yu Yi planned to make Kuaiji King Sima Yu as his heir to succeed the throne.However, because He Chong, the supervisor of Zhongshu, objected, Sima Dan, Emperor Mu, was established. Although Sima Yu has been assisting the government for a long time with the qualifications of the veteran of the three dynasties and the prince of the clan, he has no strategy to save the country and the world, and the power of the government is in the hands of the powerful minister Huan Wen.Huan Wen had long had the ambition to become emperor on behalf of the Jin Dynasty. He hoped that through the Northern Expedition, he would make contributions and gain time and hope.But things backfired.He made three northern expeditions in the tenth year of Yonghe (AD 354), the twelfth year of Yonghe (AD 356), and the fourth year of Taihe (AD 369), all of which were unsuccessful.So he conspired with Xi Chao to depose Emperor Sima Yi in the name of the Queen Mother in November of the first year of Xian'an (371 A.D.).He chose Sima Yu, who was over fifty years old and had a false name, to wear the laurel crown of the puppet emperor.Sima Yu then became the emperor and changed his Yuan to Xian'an.

Although Huan Wen put Sima Yu on the emperor's throne, he treated him as a puppet.He has always been disgusted with Sima Xi, the Taizai who is fond of martial arts, and the king of Wuling, and he is very suspicious.Sima Yu burst into tears facing these people, but did not dare to have any objections.According to Huan Wen's will, Yushi Zhongcheng asked King Wuling to be executed.Sima Yu issued an edict and said: "This matter is extremely sad, and I can't bear to hear it. How can I say it. Please discuss it." Huan Wen asked for Sima Xi's death again. His words were strong and forced Sima Yu Approved immediately.Sima Yu couldn't bear it anymore, so he wrote an imperial edict to Huan Wen himself, saying: "If the Jin Dynasty can continue, please Da Sima follow the previous edict. If the destiny has been changed, and the Jin Dynasty's great luck is over, I ask you to abdicate to avoid the path of virtue. " Seeing this, Huan Wen had no choice but to stop killing Sima Xi, but he still deposed Sima Xi as a commoner, and his family moved to Xin'an County.At this time, the power of the imperial court was completely controlled by Huan Wen, and Sima Yu was worried day and night, fearing that he would be deposed by Huan Wen.He often watches the stars at night to judge whether there are signs of being dethroned.He quietly asked Huan Wen's confidant, Xi Chao, the servant of Zhongshu: "I don't care about safety and misfortune. But I want to know whether the abolition of the establishment not long ago will happen again?" Xi Chao said: " Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Grand Sima is busy with domestic affairs and foreign affairs. I guarantee with my life and property that I will never abolish the establishment again." Sima Yucai felt relieved.When Xi Chao asked for leave to save his father, Sima Yu said with emotion: "As soon as the affairs of the country come to this, it is out of control. It is all because I have no power to recover, and I am deeply ashamed." He choked up and chanted Yu Chan's poem: "The nobles are in pain, and the loyal ministers mourn the humiliation of the master." As he said, tears poured down like rain, wetting his clothes.

During Sima Yu's lifetime, he was in the troubled times of the Eastern Jin regime, and he had no talent to restore the declining situation.Facing powerful officials, he was in constant fear.Politically unsatisfactory, personal and married life is not happy.He first married Hussar General Wang Shu's younger sister as his concubine, and gave birth to five sons, three of whom died young, leaving the elder Sima Daosheng and the second Sima Yuliang.Daosheng was established as the eldest son, but he had no virtue and talent, and was unbearable to be cultivated. Finally, he and his mother Wang were deposed and died.The second child was clever and filial, seeing his elder brother's rude behavior, he would often persuade him, so he was deeply valued by Sima Yu. However, when he was 17 years old, he fell ill and died.Zhu Ji was barren for more than 10 years.Sima Yu was very troubled because he had no heirs, so he invited someone who was good at reading to see his concubines one by one, hoping to find someone who could have children.Unexpectedly, after looking at all the faces, the face-to-face person said: "None of them are people who can bear children." So I had to call the servants and concubines who were rough envoys at home to come to the face-to-face. When it was the turn of a weaver maid named Li Lingrong, The face-to-face suddenly exclaimed: "This is the one who can bear children!" I saw that the woman was thick and strong, with dark skin.Sima Yu was eager for his son, and he didn't care about beauty or ugliness, so he let her live with him.Unexpectedly, this ugly woman really gave birth to two sons for him.The eldest is called Changming, and the second is called Daosheng.With an heir, Sima Yu's mood naturally improved, but he still couldn't cheer up when he saw the lady who looked like a black tower.

Ever since becoming emperor, Sima Yu has lived in fear almost all the time when he saw that the country was in danger and the situation was in decline, facing Huan Wen's aggressive appearance.Although he was just in his early 50s and had only been on the throne for more than half a year, his white hair, which was originally dotted with dots, had grown rapidly, and his head was graying, and his body was getting weaker and weaker.In July of the second year of Cheng'an (372 A.D.), Sima Yu finally fell ill.Before he died, he was still afraid of Grand Sima Huan Wen, and issued four edicts day and night, asking Huan Wen to arrange the funeral.Huan Wen, who was arrogant and rude, kept refusing to do so.Sima Yu felt that he was about to perish and couldn't delay any longer, so he appointed his 11-year-old son Sima Changming as the crown prince, but he was afraid of Huan Wen's lustful power, so he left an edict: "Please follow the example of Duke Zhou to take charge of the government." And imitating the practice of Liu Bei's Baidicheng entrusting Gu Yu to Zhuge Liang, he wrote the following words in the edict tremblingly: "If my son can help him, I ask you to help him. If he is not successful, please take the world by yourself." Sima Yu His will was immediately opposed by the minister.The servant Wang Tanzhi angrily tore the edict to pieces in front of Sima Yu.Sima Yu said weakly: "If God's will doesn't bless my great Jin, what can I do? I have no choice. Why don't you think about it." Wang Tanzhi said sadly: "The world is the world where Emperor Xuan created the foundation and Emperor Yuan revived. Your Majesty did not The power is ruined for nothing." Sima Yu was very pleased to see that Da Jin had such a loyal minister, he was deeply encouraged, and he became more courageous.So he asked Wang Tanzhi to rewrite the edict, saying: "We must respect the opinions of Da Sima in state affairs and family affairs, just like Zhuge Liang and Wang Dao." On the day he finished writing the edict, Sima Yu died at the age of 52 and was buried in Gaoping Mausoleum.The temple name is "Taizong" and the posthumous title is "Emperor Jianwen".