Jinting Han people

In February of the first year of the Tai'an era, after the New Year, the temperature rose significantly, the snow melted, the Yellow River thawed, and the mid-spring season, when flowers bloomed and fragrance filled the air, was just around the corner. Inside the Grand Marshal's residence in Luoyang, Sima Jiong, the Prince of Qi, who held absolute power in the court, irritably flipped through the replies from the three provinces before him. Before him, the Grand Marshal's advisors sat side by side.

At this time, it had been about eight months since the righteous army entered the capital to defend the emperor. It had also been about half a year since the three princes had assisted in governing the country, and the Prince of Qi had taken sole control of the government. However, during these six months, the administration of the Grand Marshal's office had not been smooth, or rather, it had encountered many setbacks.

Sima Jiong had many things he wanted to accomplish. Although he claimed he wanted to restore the prosperous era of the Taikang period, his ambitions were far greater. He was proud to be the legitimate son of Sima You, the Prince of Qi, and wanted to inherit his father's will, eliminate the various ills within the country, and completely reverse the course of the government. Therefore, at the grand court assembly in the first year of Yongning, he ordered his advisors to present their strategies in public, showcasing his grand vision.

However, in reality, many of his policies were attacked and thwarted before they could even be implemented.

In an effort to reform the finances, he attempted to dismiss a number of redundant officials within the court, ordering the Ministry of Personnel to draft a list. However, after review, the Ministry submitted a list primarily composed of princes and nobles, a list that caused Sima Jiong considerable hesitation. For some unknown reason, before a decision was made, the matter had already become widely known. Many members of the imperial family on the list came to him to plead for their release, making it difficult for him to handle, and ultimately the matter had to be dropped.

Sima Jiong also wanted to improve the efficiency of governance. He recently tried to promote performance evaluation and planned to abolish some old customs in the court and rectify the frivolous atmosphere. If an official held a high rank but did nothing and did nothing, Sima Jiong planned to lower his rank and promote those who came from lower backgrounds but were more pragmatic.

After the performance evaluation system was introduced, Sima Jiong indeed put in a lot of effort, ordering several of his subordinates to inspect various prefectures and rectify the atmosphere in the capital region, achieving considerable results. However, this measure failed to bring good reputation to the Grand Marshal's office; instead, it attracted much resentment. About a month after its implementation, Huan Bao, the Palace Censor, submitted a memorial, publicly impeaching the Grand Marshal's office for unfair handling of the matter without consulting the Emperor.

The problem itself wasn't particularly serious. It was simply that when Sima Jiong's subordinates were evaluating performance, they were lenient towards those high-ranking officials who actively sought favors and offered bribes, while being exceptionally harsh on those from humble backgrounds who had no connections. This was human nature. But that's how things are. As long as it wasn't exposed, everyone could pretend nothing had happened, but once someone submitted a memorial, the situation changed drastically. People began to speculate that the Grand Marshal was abusing his power for personal gain and eliminating dissidents.

This greatly damaged Sima Jiong's reputation and infuriated him. Upon learning the news, he immediately arrested Huan Bao on the pretext of his alleged involvement in the rebellion of the Prince of Donglai, imprisoned him, and subjected him to severe torture before releasing him. When everyone saw Huan Bao again, his limbs were broken, his skin was charred and his flesh was rotten; even if he managed to recover, he would be crippled.

However, this led to widespread criticism of the Grand Marshal's new policies, and the performance evaluation system naturally could not be implemented.

Of course, what troubled him the most was the first case of Sima Rui's rebellion.

"How did this get leaked? Wasn't it supposed to be a top-secret operation?" Sima Jiong irritably berated the crowd. He was referring to the secret execution of Sima Rui.

To maintain his image of benevolence, Sima Jiong initially issued an order not to execute Sima Rui, but merely to strip him of his title. However, given the extent of the brothers' estrangement, how could Sima Jiong not harbor resentment? Furthermore, with his supporters unclear, Sima Jiong quickly decided to eliminate him completely.

However, this matter couldn't be done openly, so Ge ​​Yu devised a plan. Ostensibly, Sima Rui could be transferred and enfeoffed as the Marquis of Weiyang, granting him a fief. On the surface, this would appear to demonstrate Sima Jiong's benevolence. But in reality, once Sima Rui arrived at his fief, Sima Jiong would directly order Chen Zhong, the Prefect of Shangyong, to secretly execute Sima Rui with gold-flecked wine. Six months after Sima Rui's death, it would be announced that he died of fear and anxiety, leaving no room for criticism of Sima Jiong.

Unexpectedly, less than half a month after Sima Rui died, and only three days after Sima Jiong learned of his death, rumors began to circulate in Luoyang that the Marquis of Weiyang had died, with detailed information about the time, place, and people involved.

Without a doubt, this must have been a leak from someone in the Grand Marshal's household. Sima Jiong, of course, could not tolerate this, so he summoned his advisors to investigate the matter thoroughly.

But the Grand Marshal's office has hundreds of staff members, so where should we begin our investigation?

The advisors present quickly split into two factions. One faction advocated not to investigate the matter, while Lu Xiu advocated giving up. He said, "Grand Marshal, many people have been involved in this matter. If we want to investigate, it will only lead to unfounded and baseless rumors. Who can find out anything?"

“If we investigate this matter, it will only escalate and become widely known, which would be tantamount to admitting guilt. Grand Marshal, I suggest we ignore it. The rumors will eventually dissipate.”

"Dispersed?" Ge Yu sneered, questioning, "Now, my king is nominally the chief minister of the court, but who knows how many people secretly hate him to the bone. If we just let the rumors spread like this, where is my king's prestige? How can we govern in the future? Won't those people become even more rampant and secretly plot to disrupt the government?"

"Don't forget, it's only been six months, and they've already caused us so much trouble!"

"These rats in the field don't dare to confront us directly, so they use pawns to create scandals for us. This isn't the first time. How can this continue?"

For a moment, the advisors fell silent. They all knew that the scandal Ge Yu mentioned was not just about the execution of Sima Rui.

Recently, strange things have been happening frequently in front of the Grand Marshal's residence. The two most eye-catching incidents have been the subject of much discussion.

An incident occurred last winter. A pregnant woman, passing by the Grand Marshal's residence, suddenly experienced excruciating abdominal pain. She went to the gate and pleaded with the gatekeepers to allow her to give birth inside. The Grand Marshal's residence was a highly sensitive military location; how could they allow someone of unknown origin to enter? The gatekeepers questioned the pregnant woman, telling her to leave. The pregnant woman said, "I only need to give birth and cut the umbilical cord before leaving." The gatekeepers still refused, and in the end, they watched as the pregnant woman died in childbirth at the gate, both mother and child perishing.

Another incident occurred on the Jiazi day of the twelfth lunar month last year. Just as Sima Jiong returned from a meeting at court and entered his residence, an old man with white hair suddenly rushed to his door, shouting loudly, "Within the Jiazi ten-day period, a great army will rise up!" The Jiazi ten-day period, or six hundred days, was roughly the time when Sun Xiu had proclaimed the "Great Calamity of Jiazi." This was a blatant challenge to Sima Jiong's authority. Sima Jiong, unable to tolerate it any longer, immediately sent men to arrest the man. After interrogating him without obtaining any information, the man was executed.

These two incidents have already spread throughout Luoyang. People say that the Grand Marshal's mistreatment of pregnant women and the elderly is utterly lacking in benevolence, and this is a very ominous matter. Perhaps, His Highness Prince Qi is not the chosen one destined to revive the dynasty.

But in the eyes of the Grand Marshal's staff, why would someone deliberately come to the Grand Marshal's residence to provoke him for no reason? And again and again? This was clearly someone secretly inciting public opinion!

Faced with such a media onslaught, the Grand Marshal's mansion was powerless. The other side used bloody human lives, leaving no clues whatsoever; what could they do?

Sima Jiong could only keep his eyes fixed on Wang Yan. He asked Wei Yi, who was in charge of monitoring Wang Yan, "Has Wang Yifu shown any signs of weakness recently?"

Wei Yi cupped his hands and replied, "Your Highness, since being dismissed from office, Wang Yifu has been deserted, with hardly anyone visiting him." Sima Jiong sighed in disappointment and lowered his head into deep thought.

At this point, Ge Yu said to Sima Jiong, "Your Highness, we can no longer tolerate this. We must find a way. These are extraordinary times, and in chaotic times, severe measures must be taken! We must get to the bottom of this!"

Upon hearing this, Zu Ti sneered from the side, "The truth will come out? It's easier said than done. People have mouths, can't we just keep quiet? If we can't offer suggestions, who among us can't flatter?"

Ge Yu was furious and Li cursed, "I think you're the one from the inner chambers!"

The two factions of advisors immediately began to accuse each other and argue loudly. The dignified Grand Marshal's mansion was now like a bustling marketplace. If things went any further, the two sides would almost come to blows.

Upon seeing this, Sima Jiong flew into a rage, slamming his hand on the table like thunder and shouting, "Shut up! Shut up! All of you shut up!"

After the scene quieted down, Sima Jiong glared at everyone and said, "I have been completely honest with you all. Is there anything I haven't done well enough? At this point, you are all renowned scholars in the court and the countryside. Can you come up with a usable plan?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and no one spoke.

Finally, it was the chief clerk, Wang Bao, who said, "Your Highness, how about this? Since there are too many people and everyone is hesitant to act freely, why don't you let everyone submit their own memorials and offer their suggestions, allowing them to speak frankly? You can then choose the best ones to use."

That's a good idea. Sima Jiong's expression finally softened a bit. He said, "If that's the case, then let's do it that way!"

So the meeting ended, and two days later, all the documents submitted by everyone, about twenty in total, were delivered to Sima Jiong's residence. Sima Jiong took them one by one and examined them carefully.

Most of the suggestions here are unusable. For example, Ge Yu suggested that they should find a crime to arrest Wang Yan, put him in jail, and torture him severely. He believed that Wang Yan would confess and reveal his accomplices.

Although Sima Jiong admired Ge Yu's attitude, it was clearly unfeasible. Without a charge, directly torturing or even killing Wang Yan, a leader of the aristocratic clans, would leave neutral officials with no chance of serving the Grand Marshal's office. How many aristocratic families would side with the Prince of Chengdu or the Prince of Hejian? While this might bring temporary satisfaction, it would have endless consequences.

Thinking of this, he discarded Ge Yu's memorial.

For example, Sun Hui, a clerk in the Ministry of Revenue, said that one should cultivate benevolent governance, be diligent and frugal in self-examination, and use benevolence to influence the world. Although one may be misunderstood for a time, as long as one persists, the world will eventually see Your Highness's true nature. Even the Duke of Zhou feared rumors, yet he brought great order to the world; who would not be grateful?

Sima Jiong scorned this notion. How could the world be won solely through benevolence? Wang Mang cultivated a saintly facade and indeed ascended the throne, but could benevolence alone solve problems and maintain control of the empire? The defeat of his 400,000-strong army at the Battle of Kunyang made him nothing more than a laughingstock. Emperor Xuan of Han made this very clear: the way of the hegemon and the king must be a combination of benevolence, military force, and political maneuvering—all are indispensable; only then can one truly master the art of rulership.

Therefore, he discarded Sun Hui's memorial.

Sima Jiong then read about ten more articles, the content of which was largely the same, which made him quite dissatisfied. However, when he saw Zu Ti's memorial, his eyes lit up.

Zu Ti's main suggestion was to launch a direct attack on the King of Hejian.

He believed that the reason the Grand Marshal was being repeatedly provoked was ultimately due to his insufficient military prowess during his service to the emperor, which resulted in a lack of prestige and led to him being looked down upon. To truly establish prestige in Luoyang, he had to build up his military achievements.

The King of Hejian was originally a member of the King of Zhao's faction; his so-called loyalty to the king was merely a last-minute change of heart. Now, he is suspected of instigating the King of Donglai to rebel, and it is only right to send troops to punish him. If the King of Qi can enter Guanzhong in one fell swoop, quell the rebellion of the King of Hejian, and reclaim the Western Expeditionary Army Command, the Grand Marshal's military achievements will be renowned throughout the land, and those petty villains will naturally dare not cause any more trouble.

To this end, he also proposed specific entry strategies:
The imperial army could be divided into three routes: one led by the Prince of Changsha, entering the pass from Hedong; another led by the Prince of Xinye, entering the pass from Wuguan; and the Prince of Qi would personally lead the main force, launching a major offensive into the pass from Hongnong. With these three princes leading their armies simultaneously, the Prince of Hejian would be unable to attend to both ends. At that point, Sima Jiong could then issue a proclamation to Guanzhong, calling upon loyal officials there to rise in rebellion. With such a pincer attack from within and without, how could Sima Yong possibly withstand it?

Upon reading the document, Sima Jiong was deeply moved, realizing that Zu Ti's words made sense. As a founding member of the initiative, he should have been the undisputed person with the greatest merit, yet the political situation had deteriorated to such a mediocre state. Ultimately, this was due to his own insufficient military prowess; he had failed to be the first to enter Luoyang when the emperor was being brought to his aid, and thus had to compromise on everything.

Originally, he planned to first implement new policies in the court and consolidate his power in the southern provinces of China. After everything was stable, he would then decide to reclaim military power in Guanzhong and Hebei. This step-by-step approach was the most appropriate.

However, given the current situation in Luoyang, where undercurrents are surging and I lack sufficient prestige to quell the unrest, it would be better to launch a direct military campaign against Guanzhong and reclaim the Western Expeditionary Army Command, thus eliminating any worries about the rear.

Thinking of this, Sima Jiong was excited. He immediately took out this document separately and wrote the character "奇" (qi, meaning extraordinary/unusual) at the beginning. Then he sent someone to invite Dong Ai, the Director of the Imperial Secretariat, to discuss the feasibility of this plan in detail.

While waiting, he flipped through the next document and thought that if there was no better strategy, he might as well follow Zu Shizhi's plan.

However, he soon came across the essays of Wang Bao, the registrar, and a thought struck him again. He picked up his pen and ink and marked the beginning of the scroll with the character "殊" (shu). (End of Chapter)