Sima Zhao's Ambition Becomes Impossible to Hide

Cao Mao could no longer pretend.

He was emperor of Wei, but Sima Zhao held the state.

The court knew it.

The officials knew it.

Cao Mao knew it too.

Everyone Knows

Sima Zhao's power had grown beyond ordinary regency.

He controlled the army, the officials, and the direction of policy. He had defeated rebellions and removed enemies. The Cao throne remained, but it had become a shell.

Cao Mao gathered a few attendants and declared that Sima Zhao's intention was known to everyone on the road.

The saying endured because it was so direct.

Sima Zhao's ambition was no longer a secret hidden inside court ritual. It was visible in the street.

Cao Mao decided to act.

The Emperor Charges Out

The plan was desperate.

Cao Mao did not have a real army. He had palace attendants, a title, and anger.

He took a sword and led a small group out from the palace to attack Sima Zhao.

The move shocked the capital.

For a moment, Sima Zhao's men had to face an unbearable situation: the emperor himself was coming at them.

If they let him pass, Sima Zhao might be killed.

If they killed him, the Sima clan would bear the stain of regicide.

Jia Chong, one of Sima Zhao's close men, ordered action.

Cheng Ji struck down Cao Mao.

The emperor died in the street.

The Price of Killing an Emperor

Sima Zhao could not ignore the scandal.

An emperor of Wei had been killed by men serving the Sima power structure. Even if Cao Mao had attacked first, the political meaning was explosive.

Sima Zhao punished Cheng Ji and his brother.

But he did not punish Jia Chong in the same way.

That told everyone where real protection lay.

The court then placed Cao Huan on the throne.

Another Cao emperor.

Another ruler without real power.

By now, the question was not whether the Sima clan controlled Wei.

The question was when they would replace it openly.

Sima Zhao's Last Step

Sima Zhao accepted higher honors and moved closer to kingship, but he did not take the imperial title himself.

He died before the final transfer.

The last step passed to his son Sima Yan.

Sima Yan inherited the Sima position, the army, and the court machinery. Cao Huan had little ability to resist.

In 265, Sima Yan forced Cao Huan to abdicate.

Wei ended.

Jin began.

The Cao family had once replaced the Han through a formal abdication. Now the Sima family replaced the Cao family by the same kind of ritual.

History had turned back on Wei.

From Wei to Jin

Sima Yan became Emperor Wu of Jin.

The north was unified under a new dynasty. Shu was already gone. Only Eastern Wu still remained beyond the Yangzi.

The Three Kingdoms were almost over.

But before Jin could claim all under heaven, it had to face the last southern state.

And Wu, under Sun Hao, was moving toward its own collapse.

Next, Eastern Wu falls under a ruler remembered for cruelty, suspicion, and delusion.