Chapter 21 112 The Idiot Emperor

Emperor Wu of Jin, his grandfather, uncle, and father were all people who were good at playing tricks, but his son, Prince Sima Zhong, was an imbecile who didn't understand anything.Everyone inside and outside the court was worried that if Emperor Wu of Jin died and let this imbecile inherit the throne, what troubles would arise. Some ministers wanted to persuade Emperor Wu to appoint another prince, but they dared not say so.One day, when Emperor Wu of Jin was holding a banquet, the minister Wei Guan (sound guan) pretended to be drunk and fell in front of the throne of Emperor Wu of Jin. He stroked the seat with his hand and mumbled, "This seat is a pity." !"

Emperor Wu of Jin immediately understood what he meant, but pretended not to understand, and said, "What nonsense are you talking about, you must be drunk." Then he ordered his attendants to help Wei Guan up and send him away. After that, no one dared to mention this matter to Emperor Wu of Jin. After all, Emperor Wu of Jin was a little hesitant.He wanted to test how confused his son was.Once, he specially gave the prince a volume of documents, which proposed several official affairs for the prince to handle. The prince's wife, Concubine Jia, is a clever woman. When she saw this volume of documents, she quickly invited the teacher from the palace to answer for the prince.The teacher was very knowledgeable, wrote a paper, quoted scriptures, and answered clearly.

Concubine Jia was quite satisfied after reading it, but an eunuch who knew a little bit of writing next to her reminded her: "This paper is good, but the emperor knows that the crown prince is usually not very sensible, and writing such a paper now makes him suspicious. As soon as it was investigated, it messed things up." Concubine Jia said: "Yes, thank you for reminding me. Then you should write another copy. Well written, I'm afraid it won't benefit you in the future!" The eunuch drafted another superficial answer sheet, and asked the prince to copy it and send it to Emperor Wu of Jin.

Emperor Wu of Jin saw that although the paper was not well written, he finally answered every question, which shows that the prince's mind is still clear.As the saying goes: A son with dysentery is good for himself, and if he can make do with it, he will let it go. In 290 AD, Emperor Wu of Jin became seriously ill.Prince Sima Zhong is in his thirties.It stands to reason that people in their thirties can already handle political affairs.But Emperor Wu of Jin was not at ease in the end, and made a will, asking the queen's father Yang Jun and his uncle Runan Wang Sima Liang to assist the government together.When Emperor Wu of Jin was dying, only Yang Jun was by his side.In order to monopolize the power, Yang Jun colluded with Queen Yang, forged a will and appointed Yang Jun to assist the government alone.

When Emperor Wu of Jin died, Prince Sima Zhong came to the throne. This was Emperor Hui of Jin. After Jin Huidi came to the throne, he couldn't manage any of the country's political affairs, but he made some jokes. Once, he brought a group of eunuchs to play in the imperial garden.It was early summer, and among the grass by the pond, there was a clatter of toads. Emperor Hui of Jin asked the eunuch beside him in a daze: "These little things are called, are they for officials or private people?" The eunuchs looked at each other (sound qu), not knowing how to answer.A clever eunuch said solemnly: "The ones in the official land are the official family, and the ones in the private land are the private family."

Emperor Hui nodded with a half understanding. One year, there was a famine everywhere.Local officials reported the disaster to the imperial court, saying that many people in the disaster area starved to death.Emperor Hui of Jin knew about this, and he asked the minister, "How can such a good person starve to death?" The minister replied: "There is a famine in the area, and there is no food to eat." Huidi suddenly had an idea and said, "Why don't you ask them to eat more meat porridge?" The ministers were all dumbfounded when they heard this. When such an idiot emperor came out in the Western Jin Dynasty, a group of ambitious people around him were naturally ready to move.