Chapter 26 117 King and horse share the world

After Liu Cong captured Chang'an, the south was still in the hands of officials of the Jin Dynasty.Before being captured, Emperor Jin Min left an edict ordering Sima Rui (sound rui), the king of Langya (sound langya), guarding Jiankang (formerly known as Jianye, now Nanjing, Jiangsu), to inherit the throne. Sima Rui's status and reputation were not high among the royal family of the Western Jin Dynasty.During the reign of Emperor Huai of Jin Dynasty, he was sent to guard Jiangnan.He brought a group of northern gentry officials, the most famous of which was Wang Dao.Sima Rui obeyed Wang Daoyan and regarded him as a bosom friend.

When Sima Rui first arrived in Jiankang, some big noble landlords in the south of the Yangtze River thought his status was low, they didn't think highly of him, and they didn't come to see him.For this, Sima Rui felt uneasy and asked Director Wang to think of a way. Wang Dao had a cousin, Wang Dun, who was the governor of Yangzhou at that time, and he was very influential.Director Wang invited Wang Dun to Jiankang, and the two discussed together and came up with an idea.On the third day of March this year, according to local customs, it is the Xi (sound xi) festival, and the people and officials have to go to the riverside to "pray for blessings and eliminate disasters".On this day, Director Wang asked Sima Rui to go to the riverside in a gorgeous sedan chair. A guard of honor sounded gongs to clear the way, and Director Wang, Wang Dun, and other high-ranking officials and celebrities from the north followed behind on tall horses. A very mighty team.

On this day, there were many people watching the excitement by the Jiankang River.Everyone was shocked when they saw this kind of grand ostentation that they had never seen before. Gu Rong, a well-known gentry landlord in the south of the Yangtze River, heard the news and peeked through the crack of the door.They were shocked when they saw that famous people like Wang Dao and Wang Dun respected Sima Rui, fearing that they would neglect Sima Rui, they came out one by one and lined up by the side of the road to meet Sima Rui. This increased Sima Rui's prestige among the gentry landlords in the south of the Yangtze River.Director Wang then persuaded Sima Rui, "Gu Rong and He Xun are celebrities in this area. As long as we bring these two people over, we won't be afraid that others will not follow us."

Sima Rui sent Director Wang to invite Gu Rong and He Xun to come out to be officials, and both of them came to see Sima Rui happily.Sima Rui received them graciously and made them officials. After that, the big clans in the south of the Yangtze River supported Sima Rui one after another, and Sima Rui gained a firm foothold in Jiankang. After the turmoil in the north, the gentry and landlords in the north fled to the south of the Yangtze River for refuge.Wang Dao persuaded Sima Rui to absorb all the famous people among them to the palace.Sima Rui followed Director Wang's advice and recruited one hundred and six people to serve as officials in the palace.

Sima Rui obeyed Wang Dao's arrangement, attracted the gentry from the south of the Yangtze River, and absorbed the talents from the north to consolidate his position. He was very grateful to Wang Dao.He said to Director Wang: "You are really my Xiao He!" In 317 AD, Sima Rui ascended the throne in Jiankang and rebuilt the Jin Dynasty.This is Emperor Jin Yuan.After that, the capital of the Jin Dynasty was in Jiankang.In order to distinguish it from the Jin Dynasty (Western Jin Dynasty) established by Sima Yan, this dynasty was called the Eastern Jin Dynasty in history. On the day when Emperor Jin and Yuan came to the throne, Wang Dao and civil and military officials all came to the palace to have an audience.

When Emperor Jin Yuan saw Dao Wang, he stood up from the throne, held Dao Wang back, and asked him to sit on the throne together to accept the worship of all officials. Director Wang was greatly surprised by this unexpected move.Because in the feudal era, such a thing was absolutely not allowed.Director Wang hastily declined. He said, "How can this work? If the sun is with ordinary creatures, how can creatures be illuminated by the sun?" Director Wang's flattery made Emperor Jin and Yuan very happy.Emperor Jin and Yuan were no longer reluctant.But he always thinks that he can get the throne thanks to the strength of Wang Dao and Wang Dun brothers, so he has special respect for them.He appointed Wang Dao as Shangshu, who was in charge of the power in the court; he also made Wang Dun in charge of military affairs.Among the descendants of the Wang family, many of them were granted important official positions.

At that time, there was a saying among the people that "the king and the horse share the world".It means that the Wang family and the royal Sima family jointly controlled the power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Wang Dun held the military power and thought he was great, so he ignored Emperor Jin and Yuan.Emperor Jin and Yuan also saw Wang Dun's arrogance, and reused Daju Liu Kui and Diao Xie, and gradually alienated the Wang brothers.In this way, cracks appeared within the newly established Eastern Jin Dynasty.