Princes and Warlords Break Western Jin

Jia Nanfeng had removed imperial in-laws, royal princes, ministers, and finally the crown prince. She seemed to have power in her hands.

But the moment she killed Crown Prince Sima Yu, she also handed her enemies the weapon they needed.

Sima Lun Makes His Move

The prince who picked up that weapon was Sima Lun, Prince of Zhao.

Sima Lun was the youngest son of Sima Yi. By seniority, Emperor Hui of Jin belonged to a younger generation than him. He had first been Prince of Langya and later became Prince of Zhao, making him an old and senior figure among the imperial clan.

He was not a gifted ruler. While serving in Guanzhong, he mishandled affairs and triggered unrest among Di, Qiang, and other communities. The court found him even more troublesome outside the capital and recalled him to Luoyang, giving him the empty honor of grand tutor to the crown prince.

Back in Luoyang, Sima Lun outwardly flattered Jia Nanfeng while quietly waiting.

The chance came soon.

After Crown Prince Sima Yu was deposed, Sima Lun's adviser Sun Xiu urged him to use a double trick: push Jia Nanfeng into killing the crown prince, then claim revenge for the murdered heir. If the crown prince died, Jia Nanfeng would carry the crime, and Sima Lun could raise troops in righteous language.

Jia Nanfeng fell into the trap. After the crown prince was killed, Sima Lun forged an edict and launched a coup in the name of punishing the empress.

Jia Nanfeng Falls

Once Jia Nanfeng killed the crown prince, support around her quickly collapsed.

Sima Lun gained backing from princes and officials. One of the most active was Sima Jiong, Prince of Qi, who led troops into the palace and seized Jia Nanfeng.

As she was dragged out, Jia Nanfeng saw Emperor Hui and shouted for help. She warned that if she were killed, the emperor himself would not be far from deposition.

The warning did not save her.

She was deposed as a commoner and taken to Jinyong City. Soon afterward, Sima Lun ordered her to drink poisoned wine, and she died.

After Jia Nanfeng fell, Sima Lun controlled the court. He immediately handed out offices on a huge scale. Even servants and attendants around him received official posts. There were not enough sable tails for official caps, so dog tails were used instead. The phrase "using a dog tail to continue a sable" came from this kind of absurd promotion.

These people did not have the ability to govern. Sima Lun needed them in office so that, when he usurped the throne, someone would formally support him.

The Emperor of Four Months

Sima Lun also replaced the people around Emperor Hui.

After Jia Nanfeng was deposed, he chose a new empress for Emperor Hui, Yang Xianrong. She was connected by kinship to Sun Xiu. Now both inside and outside the palace leaned toward the Zhao prince's faction.

In 301, Sima Lun decided the time had come. He forced Emperor Hui to step down and took the throne himself, using the reign title Jianshi. Absurdly, the deposed Emperor Hui was honored as retired emperor.

Sima Lun's usurpation gave every royal prince a model.

If the Prince of Zhao could push the emperor aside and sit on the throne, why could no other prince do the same?

The first to reject him was Sima Jiong, Prince of Qi. He believed he had done the most in the campaign against Jia Nanfeng, only to see Sima Lun take the reward. He issued a call to arms against the Prince of Zhao.

Sima Ying, Prince of Chengdu, and Sima Yong, Prince of Hejian, responded. Armies of the imperial clan moved toward Luoyang.

Sima Lun's reign lasted only four months. He was quickly defeated and fled into Jinyong City, the same place where he had forced Jia Nanfeng to die the previous year.

The Qi side sent poisoned wine. Sima Lun knew he had no path left. Before dying, he kept saying that Sun Xiu had ruined him.

By this point, the main figures of the War of the Eight Princes were lined up. Sima Liang and Sima Wei had died earlier. Sima Lun had fallen. Still ahead were Sima Jiong, Sima Ai, Sima Ying, Sima Yong, and Sima Yue.

The "eight princes" were the most famous main participants. Far more Sima relatives were pulled into the turmoil.

Sima Jiong Holds Power

After Sima Lun died, Emperor Hui was restored to the throne and began the Yongning reign.

The court rewarded the victorious princes. Sima Jiong had the greatest merit and became grand marshal, taking charge of government. Sima Ying was named grand general and shared authority with him.

Someone near Sima Ying warned that if two powerful princes stayed together in Luoyang, conflict would eventually come. Better to return to his own base and preserve his strength. Sima Ying accepted the advice and left the capital, using his mother's illness as the excuse.

Once he left, Sima Jiong took power alone.

Sima Jiong soon changed. He expanded his mansion on such a scale that materials in Luoyang were not enough, so people's houses were torn down to build his residence. Resentment grew quickly.

Another round of royal conflict now had its excuse.

Sima Ai Enters the Struggle

In the winter of Yongning's second year, a man named Li Han rushed to Chang'an and persuaded Sima Yong, Prince of Hejian, to raise troops against Sima Jiong. Sima Yong already wanted a share of power, so he agreed.

He also drew in Sima Ying and planned to use Sima Ai, Prince of Changsha, as an inside ally in Luoyang.

Sima Ying and Sima Ai were half-brothers of Emperor Hui. This meant the struggle was no longer only among uncles and elder relatives. The emperor's own brothers were now drawn in.

When Sima Jiong heard the news, he moved first and sent Dong Ai to arrest Sima Ai. But Sima Ai was ready. He led troops into the palace. Dong Ai pursued him to the palace gate. Both sides accused the other of rebellion, and fighting broke out.

At first, the troops in Luoyang watched and waited. They did not know which side to support. Emperor Hui, used to such struggles by now, climbed the eastern gate tower at night to look.

When Dong Ai saw the emperor above the gate, he actually ordered archers to shoot. Emperor Hui escaped and shouted that Sima Jiong was trying to kill him.

That gave the battle its verdict. The watching troops turned toward Sima Ai. Sima Jiong was defeated and captured. Emperor Hui wanted to spare him, but Sima Ai ordered his execution and killed his followers.

Among the eight princes, Sima Liang, Sima Wei, Sima Lun, and Sima Jiong were now all dead.

Luoyang Is Besieged Again

After Sima Ai took power, Sima Yong and Sima Ying were not satisfied.

In August 303, Sima Yong's general Zhang Fang attacked Hangu Pass, while Sima Ying sent a large army toward the northeast of Luoyang. Pressed from two directions, Sima Ai had to fight.

He first tried to hold Hangu Pass but could not stop Zhang Fang, so he fell back to Luoyang. Then he turned against Sima Ying's army and won a sharp victory. Sima Ying had more troops, but Lu Ji and other literary men commanded parts of the force. Before their formation settled, Sima Ai's cavalry broke through.

Sima Ai then turned back toward Zhang Fang and even had Emperor Hui supervise battle in person. Zhang Fang's army was disciplined. At night he arranged his camp and placed crossbows. When Sima Ai's cavalry charged, the bolts shattered the vanguard.

Sima Ai retreated into Luoyang. Zhang Fang surrounded the city and kept the siege going until the first month of 304.

Food inside the city grew scarce. At that moment, Sima Yue, Prince of Donghai, saw his chance.

He feared that Sima Ai could not hold out, so he conspired with palace guards, secretly seized Sima Ai, opened the gates, and handed him to Zhang Fang.

Zhang Fang chained Sima Ai to a pillar and burned charcoal around him until he died.

Sima Ying Becomes Imperial Younger Brother

With Sima Ai dead, only a few major forces remained: Sima Yong of Hejian, Sima Ying of Chengdu, and Sima Yue of Donghai.

Sima Ying had the strongest claim to the throne. He was a son of Sima Yan, closer by blood to imperial succession, and he also had military strength.

Sima Yong proposed that Sima Ying be made huangtaidi, the emperor's designated younger brother and heir. The previous crown prince, Sima Tan, was removed.

When Zhang Fang returned to Chang'an, his troops plundered Luoyang and took palace women and property. On the way back, food ran short, and the army even killed elderly women it had seized for food. The capital of a unified dynasty had been humiliated by royal armies again and again.

Luoyang, once the center of empire, had become a battlefield that princes entered, seized, and abandoned. The emperor was moved around. Edicts were used again and again. The court still existed in name, but order had been emptied out.

Sima Ying did not dare stay in Luoyang. He had seen the fate of Sima Lun, Sima Jiong, and Sima Ai. Whoever sat in the capital could become the next target. So he returned to Ye and left his trusted man Shi Chao to represent him in Luoyang.

That departure gave Sima Yue his opportunity.

Sima Yue Survives to the End

In the seventh month of 304, Sima Yue sent out a call to arms and gathered more than 100,000 soldiers to attack Sima Ying.

He first restored Sima Tan as crown prince and left him in Luoyang. Then he took Emperor Hui north toward Ye. Sima Ying, frightened, sent Shi Chao to fight him. Shi Chao defeated Sima Yue and captured Emperor Hui, sending the emperor to Ye.

Sima Yue fled back to his fief. On the surface, he had no path back.

But the situation changed again. Sima Yue's brother Sima Teng joined with Wuhuan and Jie forces and defeated Sima Ying. Sima Ying fled with Emperor Hui toward Luoyang.

Luoyang was then controlled by Sima Yong's side. Zhang Fang seized Emperor Hui, removed Sima Ying from the heir position, and sent Sima Ying back to his fief. Sima Yong tried to summon Sima Yue back to court to share government, but Sima Yue suspected a trap and refused.

Sima Yong then dismissed him. Sima Yue raised troops again, this time accusing Zhang Fang of abducting the imperial carriage and angering the realm.

For more than a year, the princes kept fighting. Sima Ying was deposed and later killed. Sima Yue finally took control of the court.

In the eleventh lunar month of the same year, the puppet emperor Sima Zhong died. Rumor said Sima Yue had poisoned him. Sima Yue then enthroned Sima Chi, Sima Yan's twenty-fifth son, who became Emperor Huai of Jin.

Sima Yue did not leave the final danger alive. He used an imperial edict to summon Sima Yong to court. When Sima Yong accepted and set out, he was killed on the road.

The War of the Eight Princes finally ended.

But the royal civil war had shattered Western Jin's foundations. The princes had finished fighting. Larger forces in the north were already rising.

The next crisis would no longer be only a Sima family affair.