What was the Rebellion of the Eight Kings in history? How did they end?

Before the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings", we must first understand the identity of the "Eight Kings" and their influence in the imperial court, the participants in this melee. We cannot simply blame the "Eight Kings" for this upheaval, because in fact it is far more than these eight people who are involved in this upheaval.

The "eight kings" are:Sima Liang, King of Runan, Sima Wei of Chu, Sima Lun, King of Zhao, Sima Liang, King of Qi, Sima Hao, King of Hejian, Sima Ying, King of Chengdu, Sima Wei, King of Changsha, and Sima Yue, King of the East China Sea。Each of them held important positions in the imperial court, and some of them were even close associates of the emperor.

Each of these "Eight Kings" held a pivotal position in the imperial court, and their influence and strength made the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" even more complicated and dangerous. In this turmoil, they each had different fates and endings, but their existence undoubtedly had a profound impact on the political situation at the time.

In the 59th volume of the Book of Jin, we can see that the biographies of the "Eight Kings" are narrated together. This is because Fang Xuanling and others believe that although the chaotic crisis of Western Jin Dynasty politics was caused by the emperor at that time, the behavior of the "Eight Kings" accelerated the arrival of the disaster. They fanned the flames and fueled the flames, which eventually led to the demise of the Western Jin Dynasty. Putting the "Eight Kings" together can better show their historical status and influence.

Learn about the blood relationship of the "Eight Kings".

Sima Liang, King of Runan

Sima Yi's fourth son, also the fourth brother of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, and the fourth uncle of Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty.

Sima Wei, King of Chu

The fifth son of Emperor Sima Yan of the Jin Dynasty, and the half-brother of Emperor Sima Zhen of the Jin Hui Emperor.

Sima Lun, King of Zhao

Sima Yi's ninth son, also the ninth brother of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, and the ninth uncle of Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty.

Sima Zhen, King of Qi

The son of Sima You, Sima You was the second son of Sima Zhao, and was passed on to Sima Shi, the nephew of Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty.

Sima Jian, the king of Changsha

The sixth son of Emperor Sima Yan of the Jin Dynasty.

Chengdu Wang Sima Ying

The sixteenth son of Emperor Sima Yan of the Jin Dynasty.

Sima Hao, the king of the river

The grandson of Sima Fu, the king of Anping, is also the son of Sima Pi, the king of Taiyuan, and the cousin of Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty.

Sima Yue, King of the East China Sea

He was the grandson of Sima Kui and the second son of Sima Tai, the king of Gaomi.

There is a relatively unanimous view that the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" was caused by Jia Nanfeng, the empress of Emperor Hui of Jin. In other words, Empress Jia's intervention in politics was the fuse that detonated the "Eight Kings Rebellion". But going deeper, we can't simply put the blame on Jia Nanfeng.

Jia Nanfeng (257-300, nicknamed Yu, Pingyang Xiangling, now Xiangfen, Shanxi), among the many concubines and queens in Chinese history, can definitely be called an alternative. Her ** is dark, ugly, and has a poor personality. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for such a woman to become the emperor's wife, because the first condition for the emperor to accept the queen and the prince to accept the concubine is to be beautiful, and the second is to have a gentle and virtuous personality. Why was Jia Nanfeng chosen as Sima Zhen's crown princess?

Behind Jia Nanfeng is a powerful family of relatives - the Jia family. The Jia family played a pivotal role in the political and social networks of the time. Jia Nanfeng's father, Jia Chong, was the founding father of the Western Jin Dynasty, who had participated in the struggle for power of Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty and was an important minister in the imperial court. The relationship between the Jia family and Emperor Wu of Jin is also very close, and Jia Chong's daughter was also the crown princess of Emperor Wu of Jin.

According to the historical records of the Jia family, Jia Chong was not born in a wealthy noble, but from a poor family.

With his ability to "have a knife and a pen and be able to observe the will of the gods", he gradually emerged in politics. He is good at figuring out his master's mind, good at opportunism, and is a witty and flexible person.

During the reign of Sima Shi, Jia Chong performed well in the campaign to pacify Zhuge Dan and made military achievements. This experience not only enhanced his political status, but also allowed him to establish a solid position within the Sima family.

What Jia Chong did during Sima Zhao's reign was undoubtedly the biggest highlight of his life. Under the personal command of Jia Chong, Cao Wei's emperor, the noble townsman Cao Chao, was killed. This event was of great significance to the Sima family, as Cao Chao was the legitimate emperor of Cao Wei, and his death undoubtedly facilitated the usurpation of the throne by the Sima family.

Jia Chong played an important role in Sima's usurpation of the throne. His political skill and resourcefulness provided key support for the Sima family's successful usurpation of the throne. Although Jia Chong came from a humble background, he gradually rose politically with his talent and astuteness, and became an important supporter of the Sima family.

Emperor Wu of Jin chose a concubine for his son Sima Zhen: the contest between Wei Yu's daughter and Jia Nanfeng

Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, Sima Yan, originally planned to let his son Sima Zhen marry the daughter of Wei Yu (a native of Anyi, Hedong, now Xia County, Shanxi, a general of Cao Wei, an important minister and calligrapher of the Western Jin Dynasty) as a concubine. He praised the daughter of the Wei family for having the advantages of "five mays": "virtuous and many, beautiful and white", on the contrary, Jia Chong's daughter was pointed out to have "** may" - jealousy and few children, ugly and short and black". To put it simply, the daughter of the Wei family has good genes, can give birth to multiple children, is beautiful, tall, and fair-skinned; The daughter of the Jia family has poor genes, weak fertility, ugly appearance, short stature, and dark complexion.

Empress Yang Yan (Hongnong Huayin, now Huayin, Shaanxi), who is also the mother of Sima Zhen, praised Jia Nanfeng for accepting the benefits of Jia Chong's wife Guo, saying that she has the quality of "virtuous and virtuous". In order to enhance the persuasiveness, Yang Yan privately contacted the crown prince and Taifu Xun Jing (Yingchuan Yingyin is now a native of Weidu District, Xuchang, Henan, the sixth son of Cao Wei Taiwei Xun Yu, the founding father of the Western Jin Dynasty, the official to the Taiwei, and the servant of the Zhongzhong), Zhongshu Jian Xun Xun (Yingchuan Yingyin is now a native of Weidu District, Xuchang, Henan, a musician, a writer, the great-grandson of Sikong Xun Shuang of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the founding father of the Western Jin Dynasty, and the official to Shoushang Shuling) and others. The two were both confidants of Emperor Sima Yan of the Jin Dynasty, and Xun Jing was the teacher of the crown prince Sima Zhen. Together, they praised Jia Nanfeng. Xun Miao praised Jia Nanfeng for his "peerless talent......has the virtue of the concubine of "Guan Ju", indicating that her beauty and morality are rare in the world.

Although Emperor Wu of Jin originally planned to let Sima Zhen marry Wei Yu's daughter, he finally listened to the advice of Empress Yang Yan and other important ministers and decided to make Jia Nanfeng the crown princess.

Jia Nanfeng and Sima Shu's power struggle: the fuse of the Eight Kings Rebellion

Although Jia Nanfeng gave birth to four daughters for Emperor Jin Hui, he never gave birth to a son. This is undoubtedly a big regret in her heart. In the court at that time, the existence of the crown prince Sima Shu was undoubtedly a huge threat. Sima Shu's biological mother, Xie Jiu, was a concubine, who was once a favorite concubine by Emperor Hui of Jin, but was later deposed by Jia Nanfeng's design. According to records, it was not until Sima Shu was three or four years old that Emperor Jin Hui knew that he had a son.

After Sima Shu was established as the crown prince, Jia Nanfeng forbade the prince to meet his biological mother in order to consolidate his position and power. Although this practice was not uncommon under the imperial system in ancient China, in this case, it raised a series of problems. As the crown prince Sima Shu grew up, the contradictions between him and Jia Mi and others gradually surfaced. Empress Jia's pro-party was worried that after the crown prince took power, he would deal with them like Empress Jia did with Yang Jun and Empress Yang, so they began to make suggestions to Jia Nanfeng, persuading her to set up a "benevolent person" to protect herself. This just fits Jia Nanfeng's heart.

In December of the ninth year of Yuankang (299), Jia Nanfeng had a poisonous plan, and she instructed Dong Meng and others to frame the crown prince Sima Shu, claiming that he was plotting misdeeds and intended to harm Emperor Hui of Jin and herself. This crime made up out of nothing led to the prince being deposed as a concubine. After this news came out, there was a strong dissatisfaction among the courtiers, and the history books recorded that "the crown prince was not guilty of abolition, and the people were resentful." This dissatisfaction was not publicly expressed at the time.

If Jia Nanfeng chooses to stop at this time, perhaps this dissatisfaction with "public resentment" will gradually subside with the passage of time. What is puzzling is that in March 300, Jia Nanfeng once again falsely preached the holy decree and killed Sima Shu, the deposed prince who had been imprisoned in Xuchang. This cold-blooded behavior made the courtiers, who were originally dissatisfied with the deposed crown prince, even more angry with Jia Nanfeng and his henchmen.

In April of the same year, Sima Lun, the king of Zhao, and his advisor Sun Xiu were keenly aware of this anger, and they decided to take advantage of it. They sent Sima Wei, the king of Liang, to "protect" Emperor Hui of Jin, but they were actually holding him hostage; They ordered Sima Yu, the king of Qi, to lead his troops into the palace and arrest the queen Jia Nanfeng. At that time, Jia Nanfeng was discussing important matters with Jia Mi and others, and Jia Mi was the first to notice that the situation was not good, and tried to go out to check, but was stopped by Sima Yu and cut in two. Seeing Sima Zhen's murderous appearance, Jia Nanfeng tried to keep his composure and asked, "What do you want to do?" Sima Lu replied coldly: "I came to arrest you by the emperor's order." ”

Jia Nanfeng questioned loudly: "The emperor's edicts are all issued from me, how can you have them?" However, unaffected by her words, Sima resolutely ** her with a rope, sealed her mouth, and sent her to Kim Yong Cheng, the place where she used to hold others.

This did not quell the anger of the people, and Sima Lun, the king of Zhao, realized that Jia Nanfeng's existence was always a potential threat, and at the behest of Sima Lun, the king of Zhao, he forced Empress Yang to kill herself by drinking gold dust poisoned wine in the room where Jia Nanfeng had forced her to starve to death. Her relatives were also punished by extermination. Even Zhang Hua, the chief executive at the time, was executed on charges of colluding with Jia Nanfeng. The group of Jia relatives around the emperor was completely wiped out.