Chapter 57 Chapter 56: Emperor Gong Sima Dewen

In December of the 14th year of Yixi (AD 418), Liu Yu, who was in full swing for a change of dynasty, sent people to hang Sima Dezong to death in response to the prophecy that "there will be two emperors after Changming", and lied that he died of illness.At the same time, he supported Sima Dezong's younger brother, the 33-year-old Langya King Sima Dewen, as the last emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Sima Dewen never forgets his ancestors and his ancestors, and wants to make a difference.During Liu Yu's Northern Expedition, he took the initiative to go to Luoyang with the army to restore the tomb of the emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty.He was devoted to brotherhood and often accompanied Sima Dezong to take care of this brother who could not speak or move, and was highly praised both inside and outside the court.Huanxuan usurped the throne, he was demoted to Shiyang County Duke, and was placed in Xunyang (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi) together with Sima Dezong who was deposed as King of Gu'an; later Liu Yu attacked Huanxuan, and the two brothers followed the Huan army's advance and retreat But the migration was uncertain, and was finally hijacked to Jiangling (now Jiangling, Hubei).Huan Xuan was defeated and died, and the Huan clan was almost wiped out. Huan Zhen, who slipped through the net, plotted revenge.One day, holding a gun and jumping on a horse, he suddenly broke into Sima Dezong's residence, widened his eyes, and said angrily: "Is there anything wrong with our Huan family that caused the country to be exterminated?" Sima Dewen He was serving his brother, and replied: "It is not our brother's idea to kill your whole family." In a word, Huan Zhen got off his horse and bowed down, and Sima Dewen solved his brother's problem in this way. .After Liu Yu gained power, he looked for an opportunity to assassinate Sima Dezong.Sima Dewen saw through this scheming, and waited by his brother's side inseparably, making Liu Yu unable to do so.Liu Yu finally killed Sima Dezong because he took advantage of Sima Dewen's absence from his brother.

In people's minds at that time, Sima Dewen was a virtuous king.He often worried about Guo Zuo in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.When he was in the palace, he once let his followers play a game of shooting horses.Someone persuaded him: "The horse is the surname of the royal family. It is unlucky for you to let your followers shoot the horse." He was reminded and stopped playing this game. However, seeing that the edifice of the Eastern Jin Empire was about to collapse, he felt powerless to support himself, so he sought some spiritual comfort in Buddhism.He minted tens of millions of coins and used them for charity.He also built a golden Buddha statue with a height of one foot and six feet, and walked dozens of miles to Waguan Temple to welcome this Buddhist holy relic into the capital.From this point of view, he is another prince who is spiritually empty.

Liu Yu pushed Sima Dewen to the position of emperor in order to respond to the prophecy of two emperors after Sima Yao.One and a half years later, in June of the second year of Yuanxi (AD 420), Fu Liang followed Liu Yu's secret decree and hinted at Sima Dewen's Zen position.When Fu Liang sent the draft of the Zen Edict to him, he readily accepted it and said: "The Jin Dynasty has long lost the world, and things should be done like this today!" So he copied it himself.After Liu Yu came to the throne, he was deposed as Lingling King and placed in Moling (near Baoen Temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province today).

From then on, Sima Dewen thought deeply about the disaster.The deposed queen, Chu Lingai, was by his side inseparably. In order to prevent poisoning, all the soup and water that Sima Dewen imported were personally inspected by her.After a year like this, in September of the second year of Yongchu (AD 421), Liu Yu sent Chu Lingmei's elder brother Chu Shudu to lure her out. Then, the soldiers who had already ambushed came over the wall and assassinated Sima Dewen in the bedroom.He was 36 years old, posthumously titled "Emperor Gong of Jin", and was buried in Chongping Mausoleum.

The Jin Dynasty existed for 155 years from the first year of Qin Shiyuan (265 A.D.) when Sima Yan took the place of Wei, to the second year of Yuanxi (420 A.D.) when Sima Dewen was replaced by Liu Yu.