Why Didn't Sima Zhao Kill the Court Historians?
[The Sima Yi Lineage was wiped out by Liu Yu.]
[They broke the Oath of the Luo River and slaughtered the entire Cao Clan Lineage, violating what people of the time accepted. Their treachery was despised and condemned by all under heaven. Go too far, and you cut yourself off from the world! When Liu Cong and Liu Yu later slaughtered the Sima Household's descendants, did anyone feel sorry for them?]
[Cao Shuang and Sima Yi fought for power, but Cao Shuang only wanted Sima Yi to go home and enjoy a wealthy, comfortable retirement. In the end, the old hand proved craftier, and Cao Shuang was no match for Sima Yi. Palace Attendant Xu Yun, Minister Chen Tai (Chen Qun's son), and Grand Commandant Jiang Ji helped Sima Yi convey his promise that Cao Shuang's life would be spared if he surrendered.
With those three important men vouching for him, Cao Shuang believed Sima Yi would merely strip him of office and send him home to live as a wealthy gentleman. He trusted the words of Xu Yun, Chen Tai, and Jiang Ji and did not fight Sima Yi to the death. As a result, Sima Yi exterminated his three clans.
Jiang Ji was the reigning dynasty's Grand Commandant. Xu Yun and Chen Tai were not only important court officials but also came from great Aristocratic Clans. By breaking his promise, Sima Yi implicated all three of them and ruined their good names.
Jiang Ji died of illness just three months after the Incident at the Gaoping Tombs.
Before his death, Sima Yi offered him a marquisate in the emperor's name, but he refused it. His refusal of the reward and his swift death from illness were considered signs that he felt guilty over breaking his word to Cao Shuang and died in misery as a result.
Jiang Ji did not come from a great Aristocratic Clan. It was Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui, three generations of grandfather, son, and grandson, who had given him the chance to rise to prominence, and he was relatively loyal to the Cao Clan.
Jiang Ji had helped Sima Yi move against Cao Shuang only because he felt the policies Cao Shuang adopted after taking power were bad. He bore no deep hatred for Cao Shuang.
In that era, people placed great importance on trust and honor. Shameless men like Sima Yi were always in the minority.
After the incident, Xu Yun was deeply dissatisfied with the way the Sima clan had stripped the Cao emperors of their power. After Sima Yi's death, he plotted action against the Sima clan, but failed because Emperor Cao Fang did not dare make a move. He later died on his way into exile.
Chen Tai was the son of Chen Qun, a veteran statesman of Cao Wei. His family was on good terms with the Sima clan, and Chen Tai himself was friendly with both Sima Shi and Sima Zhao. After the Incident at the Gaoping Tombs, the Sima clan placed great trust in Chen Tai and even gave him command of troops.]
[People of old valued oaths and regarded keeping one's word as a virtue. After the Oath of the Luo River, oaths became increasingly useless, no better than farts.]
"One rat dropping from the Sima Household spoiled the whole pot of soup!"
"If the Sima Household hadn't broken its word and murdered an emperor in the street, there would be half as many rebels plotting rebellion now, and ruling the realm wouldn't be so difficult!"
[Why didn't Sima Zhao kill the court historians? #ThreeKingdoms #SimaZhao]
"Kill the court historians?"
Could court historians be killed so easily?
["The Sima Household even dared kill an emperor, so why didn't they get rid of the court historians?"]
["The official history records that Cheng Ji killed the emperor in the street, and that Sima Zhao rushed over when he heard the news, then collapsed over the body and wept bitterly."]
["If he killed the court historians and there were no official records, unofficial histories would spread everywhere. Who could control what the common people liked to hear?"]
["By then, it might not just be that Sima Zhao murdered the emperor in the street. It could be that Sima Zhao was the Great Devil King reincarnated, and licked the blood from his blade after the killing."]
["Official history isn't necessarily accurate, but unofficial history is guaranteed to put on a show."]
["If you were Sima Zhao, what would you choose?"]
--
[Sima Zhao had a taste for men. The emperor refused him, so he killed the emperor.]
[Sima Zhao had a taste for men. The emperor refused him, so he forced himself on the emperor, who was torn apart and died.]
[Sima Zhao wanted to have sex with the emperor in the street. The emperor refused, so he forced himself on the emperor, who was torn apart and died.]
[This unofficial history is really wild!]
Seeing one fabricated unofficial account after another, Sima Zhao was so angry he wanted to spit blood.
Did people in later generations have nothing better to do? Why wouldn't they leave me alone?
Those who understood read them with relish.
Those who didn't understand asked those who did what they meant, and enjoyed them just as much.
As the emperors of successive dynasties watched the spectacle, they declared that unofficial histories must be firmly stamped out. They certainly did not want unofficial histories about themselves circulating in later generations, especially ones like these!
[Why did Zhong Hui rebel?]
"Who was Zhong Hui? Why did he rebel?"
"Was he like Sima Zhao?"
["Zhong Hui rebelled because he really had a chance of succeeding!"]
["At the time, Zhong Hui had over a hundred thousand Kingdom of Wei field troops and tens of thousands of State of Shu field troops under his command. On paper, his forces were the strongest of the late Three Kingdoms period."]
["If he could really absorb those forces, sweeping through twice over wouldn't be a problem. That's why he had the confidence to say, 'If I succeed, I shall gain the realm; if I fail, I shall still be another Liu Bei!'"]
["Besides, a different number of troops meant a different mindset."]
["When he had only twenty thousand men, Sima Zhao was his good leader, his good big brother. When he had two hundred thousand men and held the Two Chuan: 'What does this rebel mean by writing to me?'"]
--
[Because his achievements eclipsed his lord. After all, he had destroyed a state, and nothing good would have awaited him if he returned. Besides, he really did hold great power at the time, and Jiang Wei was egging him on. He just failed to fully understand people's hearts.]
[He would have been fine if he had kept a low profile. Wang Jun and Du Yu destroyed Wu, and didn't they live out their natural lives?]
[Keep a low profile? If the Sima clan could do it, why couldn't I? The Sima Household usurped power in the first place, and now they weren't allowed to influence anyone else?]
[If he'd succeeded, he'd have been Zhao Kuangyin!]
[Zhong Hui was still young. Would Sima Zhao have let what his father did happen again?]
[Zhong Hui didn't have Sima Yi's strength. Sima Yi was Cao Wei's foremost military figure at the time. In Zhong Hui's time, there were far too many military men who could match him.]
[He was one of the Three Excellencies at such a young age, with no room left for promotion.]
[Having no room for promotion wouldn't have stopped him from living out his natural life. If Zhong Hui had kept a low profile, his status as a member of an aristocratic family would surely have let him come to a good end.]
[Don't make me laugh. He was one of the Three Excellencies at forty, Sima Zhao was close to death, and now he'd achieved the destruction of a state. Could Sima Zhao have felt at ease handing the country over to Sima Yan? Give me a break. In ancient times, you wouldn't even know how you died.]
[His achievements eclipsed his lord. He'd die if he went back! Even without Jiang Wei egging him on, Zhong Hui had no way out.]
[So he could only rebel. He was from the Yingchuan Zhong Clan, a top Aristocratic Clan, and was closer to Cao Wei's Guandong gentry than the Sima Household of Hedong was. He commanded a massive army and was already one of the Three Excellencies. Sima Zhao hadn't usurped the throne yet, and Zhong Hui could no longer be promoted. Originally, he was just supposed to take Hanzhong as a token effort and hand the fruits of victory to Sima Zhao, who would return with the credit for destroying Shu and usurp the throne. But then Deng Ai pulled off an extraordinary series of moves and destroyed Shu Han, delivering the prize into Zhong Hui's hands. Zhong Hui couldn't even give it away.
Prestige, family background, and strength—he suddenly had them all. Zhong Hui had no way out. Sima Zhao was the sort to usurp a throne himself; would he have tolerated Zhong Hui? If Zhong Hui didn't rebel, he was bound to die. If he did, he still had a chance. It would have been the same for anyone in his position.]
[Even if Zhong Hui had won, he'd have been better than the Sima Household. Sima Yan passed the throne to his idiot son, and with a wicked empress in the harem and treacherous officials at court, the War of the Eight Princes followed.]
[Right! Anyone who won would have been better than the Sima Household.]
[The families, wives, and children of the soldiers under his command were all in the Kingdom of Wei. How could they possibly have joined his rebellion?]
"The people of the Sima Household really can't be trusted!"
"With Sima Yi setting such a shining example, who would dare trust the Sima Household?"
"Sima Zhao even dared kill an emperor. However impressive Zhong Hui's family background was, could it have been more impressive than the imperial family's?"
Zhao Kuangyin: What does Zhong Hui's rebellion have to do with me? What do you mean, if he'd succeeded, he'd have been Zhao Kuangyin? Leave me out of this sort of thing!