After Liu Yu accepted Sima's abdication, he did not treat Sima favorably like Cao Huan, but killed Sima.
This may seem cruel, but in fact the purpose is the same, for the stability of his throne. Liu Yu (363-422), whose courtesy name was Deyu and whose nickname was Jinu. A native of Suiyuli, Pengcheng County, Pengcheng County, he was born in Jingkouli, Dantu County, Jinling County. He was an outstanding politician, reformer, and military strategist from the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the founding emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties (reigned from 420 to 422). After Liu Jiao, King of Chu Yuan in the Western Han Dynasty.
Liu Yu's ancestor is the 22nd grandson of Liu Jiao, brother of Liu Bang and King of Chu Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty. His family has been living in Dantu County, Jinling County since they followed the Jin Dynasty clan to the south in their early years. In Jingkou.
When Liu Yu arrived, his family was in decline and he had been poor since childhood. In order to make a living, he joined the Beifu Army and became a general.
After decades of life and death struggle, Liu Yu gained an extremely prominent position in the court by virtue of his huge military exploits.
In the fourteenth year of Yixi (418), Liu Yu served as Prime Minister, Chief Baikui, and Yangzhou Mu. He established the Song Dynasty with ten counties, was granted the title of Duke of Song, and was given the special gift of Jiuxi.
In December of the same year, Liu Yu assigned Wang Shaozhi to hang Emperor An of Jin, and established his younger brother Sima Dewen as emperor, who was Emperor Gong of Jin.
In the first year of Yuanxi (419), Liu Yu was promoted to the king of Song Dynasty, and ten more counties were added, and twenty counties were conquered. At the end of the year, the emperor's twelve crowns and the emperor's banner were added.
In the second year of Yuanxi (420), he accepted the abdication of Emperor Gong of the Jin Dynasty and proclaimed himself emperor on behalf of the Jin Dynasty. The Eastern Jin Dynasty was destroyed and the country was renamed the Song Dynasty.
At that time, Liu Yu saw that the time was ripe, so he ordered his disciple Fu Liang to draft the edict for the Zen throne, and entered the palace to force Sima Dewen to copy it.
Sima Dewen happily accepted it, immediately wrote and copied it, and said to his left and right: "When Huan Xuan usurped the throne, the Jin Dynasty had already lost the world. Because of Liu Gong (Liu Yu), it was extended for nearly twenty years. Nian Guozuo. I am willing to do this today. "
Sima Dewen's words are probably sincere. It is rare to be wise to be in this state.
But even so, Sima Dewen could not escape bad luck.
After the Zen throne, Sima Dewen abdicated the throne of Langya Palace.
After Liu Yu ascended the throne, he demoted Sima Dewen as King Lingling and moved him to Moling. Zhengshuo, chariots, and clothing were all in accordance with the regulations of the Jin Dynasty, and were overseen by champion general Liu Zunkao and his troops.
In the second year of Yongchu (421), Liu Yu ordered Zhang Wei, the Langya servant, to bring poisoned wine and go to Moling to kill Sima Dewen.
Zhang Wei couldn't bear to kill his old master, so he drank poisonous wine and committed suicide on the way.
Liu Yu was furious when he learned that he sent Sima Dewen and Queen Chu's brother Chu Danzhi there. In the name of visiting, he sent his own soldiers to follow and poisoned Sima Dewen again.
Sima Dewen is a devout believer in Buddhism. When faced with the soldiers who came to force him to commit suicide, he shook his head and refused, saying: "Buddhist teachings say that if a person commits suicide, he cannot be reincarnated into a human body again."
The soldiers took him to the bed, covered his face with a quilt, and strangled him to death.
After Sima Dewen was killed, Liu Yu also pretended to lead hundreds of officials to his funeral in person.
Actually, there is no need to say more about this matter. After the later dynasty accepted the abdication, the previous dynasty deposed the emperor, which was basically the result.
After the Sima clan became emperor on behalf of the Wei Dynasty, although they achieved unification, the unified Western Jin Dynasty soon collapsed due to internal strife, especially Empress Jia's interference in politics and the Rebellion of the Eight Kings.
The Eastern Jin Dynasty crossed south and found a corner of peace, but the power of the Sima family was still very strong, not to mention that the genes of fighting for power and seeking rebellion and usurping the throne had not changed.
After Liu Yu accepted the abdication, the local princes were still very powerful. The existence of the Sima royal family was a great threat to Liu Yu's regime. Although we cannot eradicate the root of the problem, eradicating one will reduce the threat.
In this case, no matter how low-key and cooperative Sima Dewen is, Liu Yu will not be merciful.
In other words, keeping Sima Dewen will only cause trouble, without any use value.
This is different from the situation when Sima Yan accepted Cao Huan's concession.
In the second year of Xianxi (265), after Sima Zhao died, his son Sima Yan succeeded to the throne of Jin. He accepted the abdication of Wei Emperor Cao Huan, proclaimed himself emperor on behalf of Wei, and named Cao Huan King Chenliu. Tens of thousands of households in the city used Yecheng as their palace, continued to use the emperor's banner, prepared five o'clock auxiliary chariots, traveled to the Wei Kingdom for the first time, and offered sacrifices to heaven and earth in the suburbs, just like the system in the early Wei Dynasty. Enjoy the treatment of not being a minister when submitting a letter, and not worshiping when receiving an edict. Just like the story of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty.
In the first year of Tai'an (302), Cao Huan died of illness at the age of fifty-eight, which can be regarded as the end of his life.
It should be said that Cao Huan's status, treatment, and ending after abdication were the best among the subjugated kings in the past.
This may be due to two considerations:
First, the Sima family has been an important minister of Cao Wei since Sima Yi, and has been favored by Cao Wei for generations. In order to appease the hearts of the Cao Wei royal family and the ruling and opposition parties, Sima Yan should be more generous.
Secondly, when the Shu Han Dynasty fell, Liu Chan was named An Le Gong. The purpose was to disintegrate the fighting spirit of Soochow and prepare for the surrender of Soochow. Since Liu Chan can be named An Le Gong, as the Sima family accepted Cao Wei's abdication to show his orthodox status, it is reasonable to treat Cao Huan above Liu Chan.
In other words, Cao Huan still has some value. Whether it is to appease internal people or recruit Sun Wu to surrender from outside, Cao Huan has value to use.
But Liu Yu's situation is very different.
In the first year of Tycoon (403), Huan Xuan forced Emperor Jin'an to abdicate and proclaimed himself emperor. He was demoted to Emperor An of the Jin Dynasty as King Pinggu, and the ancestral temple of the Jin Dynasty was moved to the Langya Kingdom.
After Huanxuan was beheaded by Liu Yu and others, Emperor An restored his throne, and was subsequently captured by Huanxuan's general Huan Zhen. He did not escape from the rebels until 405. At this time, the Jin Dynasty no longer existed.
Because Liu Yu gradually eliminated all the major separatist forces in the south and unified the south, the Sima family took the opportunity to restore power, but the entire Eastern Jin Dynasty was ruled by Liu Yu's forces. But it is not monolithic. Because the time was too short, Liu Yu did not completely conquer the hearts of the people and gain a firm foothold.
Under this situation, if the Sima family's privileges are retained, it will easily be used by people with ulterior motives, causing chaos again.
Without any use value and possibly causing hidden dangers, there is only a dead end.
Therefore, in Leopard Eye's view, whether Sima Yan treated Cao Huan favorably or Liu Yu killed Sima Dewen, they all had the same purpose, which was to stabilize his own regime.
On this issue, it is impossible to say whether one is merciful or ruthless. It can only depend on the fate of each person. As the king of a subjugated country, he cannot choose.