Sima Zhao

Sima Zhao (seated). Illustration of a Qing edition of the story of the Three Kingdoms .

Sima Zhao ( Chinese  司 馬昭 , Pinyin Sīmǎ Zhāo ; * 211 ; † 265 ), majority name Zishang ( 子 上 ), was the son of Sima Yi , the commander in chief and later regent of the Wei Dynasty at the time of the Three Kingdoms in ancient China.

Like his father and older brother Sima Shi , he controlled the Emperor of Wei. He took the last step before the emperor was deposed: he made himself Prince of Jin . He exploited the weakness of the rival state Shu Han , attacked him in 263 and forced his incompetent Emperor Liu Shan to abdicate. This military success enabled him to prepare for the dissolution of the Wei dynasty, which his son Sima Yan carried out after his death. He founded the Jin Dynasty and posthumously appointed his father Emperor Wen of Jin ( 晉文帝 ) with the temple name Taizu ( 太祖 ).

A Chinese proverb says: "Even the meanest citizen knows Sima Zhao's heart." ( 司馬昭之心 路人皆知 , Sīmǎ Zhāo zhī xīn lùrén jiē zhī ). It can be rendered roughly with the metaphor of the open secret and comes from the Emperor Cao Mao .

Career up to 255

Sima Zhao was born in 211 as the second son of Sima Yi and his wife Zhang Chunhua ( 張春華 ). Since his father was one of the most important court officials, Sima Zhao also achieved a quick rise. After his father defeated the rebellious governor Gongsun Yuan 238, Sima Zhao was rewarded and made a marquis.

Sima Zhao's wife was Wang Yuanji , who gave birth to his sons Sima Yan, Sima You , Sima Zhao ( 司馬 兆 ), Sima Dingguo ( 司 馬定國 ) and Sima Guangde ( 司 馬廣德 ) as well as their daughter Sima Jingzhao. Sima You was later adopted by his uncle Sima Shi, and his younger brothers died in childhood. They received posthumous prince titles after the establishment of the Jin dynasty. Sima Zhao had four other sons: Sima Jian ( 司馬 鑒 ; † 297) and Sima Ji ( 司馬 機 ), Sima Yongzuo ( 司 馬永祚 ) and Sima Yanzuo ( 司 馬延祚 ), who were made princes in 265 - except for second youngest to die in childhood.

Sima Zhao's involvement in his father's plot against regent Cao Shuang in 249 is unclear. According to the Jin Shu , only his brother Sima Shi was privy to the plans. The historian Sima Guang finds it strange that Sima Yi excluded his second son, and in his work Zizhi Tongjian expresses the opinion that Sima Yi initiated both of them. In any case, the plan succeeded and the Sima family took power in the government. When Sima Yi stifled the uprising of General Wang Ling ( 王淩 ) 251, who wanted to make Cao Biao emperor, Sima Zhao served as the deputy commander. In the years that followed, Sima Zhao had to repel a series of attacks by Shu Commander-in-Chief Jiang Wei .

When Sima Zhao was in the capital Luoyang in 254 , some advisers advised Emperor Cao Fang to kill Sima Zhao and overthrow Sima Shi with his troops. The emperor rejected this plan, but Sima Shi found out about it and deposed him. On the advice of the Empress Mother Guo , he declared Cao Mao his successor and made him emperor. Generals Wuqiu Jian and Wen Qin ( 文欽 ) were outraged and started an uprising in 255, which Sima Shi stifled. However, he fell victim to an eye disease during the campaign and died soon afterwards. At that time, Sima Zhao was in Xuchang ( 許昌 , in what is now Xuchang , Henan ). Emperor Cao Mao made preparations to usurp power. In an edict he ordered Sima Zhao to destroy the last insurgency cells in the country and to send Sima Shi's assistant Fu Gu ( 傅 嘏 ) back to Luoyang with the main force. However, on the advice of Zhong Hui and Fu Gu, Sima Zhao returned to Luoyang against the edict and from then on kept an eye on the emperor and the empress mother Guo.

As regent

Fortification of power

In the first years of his reign, Sima Zhao was anxious to secure his power, which is why he restricted the power of the emperor and the empress mother more and more. He was also preparing to take power. So he forced the emperor 256 to grant him the privilege of wearing the imperial garb, the imperial crown, and the imperial boots. He also sent out confidants to examine the sentiments of the generals in the empire. In 257 he sent Jia Chong to see Zhuge Dan , who declared himself loyal to the imperial family. Sima Zhao called him to the capital, allegedly to promote him. Zhuge Dan sensed a trap and started a riot. He asked the neighboring kingdom of Wu for assistance. Sima Zhao hurriedly marched on Zhuge Dan's Shouchun ( 壽春 , now Lu'an , Anhui ) fortress and surrounded the city. The next year he captured her and executed Zhuge Dan and his family. As a result, no general in the empire dared to stand against Sima Zhao. In the same year the emperor forced him to offer him the Nine Badges of Honor , a sign of the impending usurpation . He then publicly rejected them out of power calculations.

Fall of Cao Mao

In 260, Sima Zhao again forced the emperor to offer him the Nine Badges of Honor and again publicly refused. The emperor was enraged and conspired with his confidants Wang Chen ( Chinese  王 沈 ), Wang Jing ( 王 經 ) and Wang Ye ( 王 業 ). He told them that he intended to act against Sima Zhao given the low chance of success. With the palace guards and his servants, whom he had armed - he himself also carried a sword - he moved to Sima Zhao's property. Sima Zhao's brother Sima Zhou opposed them with some men, but fled in the face of the desperately determined emperor. Jia Chong finally intervened and fought Cao Mao's troop. But because the emperor fought himself, no one dared to take on him. Finally, the officer Cheng Ji ( 成 濟 ) asked Jia Chong what to do. In response, he was given to defend the power of the Sima family. So he took a spear and killed the emperor.

After Cao Mao's death, the people demanded that Jia Chong be executed, but Sima Zhao forced Empress Mother Guo to posthumously demote Cao Mao to a common citizen; accordingly he should also be buried. At Sima Fu's request, however, Sima Zhao made him prince and buried him with the honors of a prince. Then he called Cao Huang (who was later called Cao Huan ), Cao Cao's grandson , to the court and proclaimed him emperor. The power of the Empress Mother Guo was broken. Nineteen days later, Sima Zhao charged officer Cheng Ji and his brothers with treason and executed them and their families, sparing Jia Chong. From then on, no one dared to stand against Sima Zhao, and the regent practically held absolute power in his hands.

Conquest of Shu Han

After Shu Commander in Chief Jiang Wei's fifth expedition in 262, Sima Zhao became annoyed by the constant threat from the south. He considered having Jiang Wei murdered, but Generals Zhong Hui and Xun Xu ( 荀 勗 ) advised him to destroy Shu Han once and for all instead. They argued that Jiang Wei's army was drained and an easy target after the unsuccessful campaigns. Sima Zhao liked the idea, and made Zhong Hui and Deng Ai the commanding officers of the campaign, although Deng Ai initially had concerns. In the spring of 263 they moved out.

The Wei Army encountered little resistance because the Shu Army's strategy was to lure them into the country and then attack them. This plan backfired, however, because the Wei troops, much faster than expected, advanced past the border towns to the strategically important Yang'an Pass ( 陽 安 關 , in today's Hanzhong , Shaanxi ) and occupied it. Jiang Wei was able to gather his troops and prevent the Wei army from advancing further, but Deng Ai led his troops over treacherous mountain paths to Jiangyou ( 江油 , in today's Mianyang , Sichuan ), defeating Shu general Zhuge Zhan and went to the capital Chengdu . Liu Shan feared that Jiang Wei would not arrive in time to defend the city, and surrendered to Deng Ai. In the Wei capital, Luoyang, Sima Zhao had the emperor confer the title of Prince of Jin and accepted the nine decorations.

After Shu Han's destruction, there was one last unrest in 264. Deng Ai had become arrogant about his successes, which was also reflected in his correspondence with Sima Zhao. Zhong Hui raised Sima Zhao's suspicions by sending him forged letters. Sima Zhao finally ordered Deng Ai to be arrested, and Zhong Hui killed the general and took over his troops. However, after declaring the uprising, he was betrayed and killed by his troops.

death

After Zhong Hui's death, Sima Zhao was promoted to Prince of Jin and designed the laws and civil administration according to his ideas in order to prepare for the usurpation. In order not to endanger the planned takeover, he made peace with the Wu Empire.

In 264, Sima Zhao also decided the question of his successor. He thought his talented son Sima You would be suitable. He had also been adopted by his uncle Sima Shi, and with his election Sima Zhao would have honored his brother's achievements and legacy. However, the majority of his advisors recommended that he choose his firstborn Sima Yan. So Sima Zhao designated him as his heir.

In the fall of 265 Sima Zhao died without first having usurped the imperial title. He was nevertheless buried with imperial honors. Four months later, Sima Yan forced Wei Emperor Cao Huan to abdicate in his favor. He founded the Jin Dynasty and became its first ruler as Emperor Wu . He posthumously bestowed the title of Emperor Wen of Jin on his father .