Chapter 106, Chapter Seventeen: Chang'an Gone

Because Sima Rui held sway over Jiangdong, beyond the reach of the imperial court, the court would issue decrees to tacitly approve the appointments of governors to various prefectures by Sima Rui.

This time, however, things were different. Sima Rui appointed Sima Cheng as the governor of Xiangzhou. As was customary, he went through the motions of requesting an imperial decree, but the court, contrary to its usual practice, ignored him and instead issued an edict appointing Chen Ban as the governor of Xiangzhou.

When the imperial edict reached Jiankang, the entire court was shocked. Sima Rui was astonished, and Wang Dao, standing nearby, was even more speechless with frustration. Wang Dun was arrogant and ruthless, and while Zhou Fang and Tao Kan were still in power, they were able to keep him in check. Now, however, he held a powerful army, held the highest position in the court, and was no longer restrained. He had long been unable to suppress his rebellious intentions. It was unclear whether the court was holding a grudge against the Prince of Langya for his disrespect or was intentionally trying to sow discord, but this edict had given Wang Dun just the right excuse.

Sima Rui knew he couldn't take over the governorship of Xiangzhou, so he gritted his teeth and said, "I will obey the emperor's command."

Wang Dun, who was far away in Wuchang, was overjoyed and hurriedly sent Chen Ban to Xiangzhou.

Logically, Sima Rui should have suffered a silent loss at this point, and Wang Dun should have continued to control the military power in the south, with the two living in peace.

However, no one expected that Sima Cheng, who was not known to have succeeded any of the previous eight princes, was quite temperamental and led his troops to Xiangzhou on his own. By the time Chen Ban arrived, the city had already been occupied, so he had no choice but to return angrily to report to Wang Dun.

How could Wang Dun tolerate this any longer? If Sima Rui could be the Left Chancellor and Grand Commander, why couldn't he? So, while reorganizing his troops and marching towards Jiankang, he revealed a huge old story.

In the fourth year of Jianxing (222 AD), Shi Le, Liu Yao, and others besieged Chang'an. At that time, Sima Ye ordered all troops in the empire to come to the emperor's aid, but Sima Rui consistently refused to send troops. Later, news was mistakenly relayed back to Jiankang that the emperor had been captured. Only then did Sima Rui "organize his troops and set up camp," feigning an intention to rescue the emperor. To further shirk responsibility, he unjustly executed the supervising official Chunyu Bo on charges of "delayed grain transport," causing widespread outcry for Chunyu Bo's innocence. In the end, Wang Dao requested to be dismissed from his post, thus calming the situation.

What Wang Dun revealed to the world was the secret correspondence between Sima Rui and the Wang family. This correspondence included Sima Rui instructing Wang Dao and Wang Dun to refuse to help the emperor, allowing him to suffer misfortune, wrongfully killing loyal officials, and ordering Wang Dao to take the blame. Most shockingly, Sima Rui planned to declare himself King of Jin after the emperor's capture, and then ascend the throne immediately upon the emperor's death.

This move caused a huge uproar. Sima Ye, who was far away in Chang'an, was furious and immediately stripped Sima Rui of his official positions, including Left Chancellor, only temporarily leaving him the post of Military Governor of Yangzhou to observe his future performance.

It is unknown how the court negotiated with Wang Dun, but Wang Dun excitedly mustered his troops and marched towards Jiankang.

"What if he really wins?" Liu Qi, who was playing chess with Liu Jun, asked worriedly. "Would the court still have to recognize him?"

"Think about it again." Liu Jun had always liked his thoughtful and resourceful younger cousin, so he was happy to give him pointers.

Liu Qi picked up a chess piece and turned his head to look at the map hanging on the screen. "Brother, you never do anything without certainty. I'm thinking, you've traveled thousands of miles, abandoning Luoyang which you just conquered, to come to Liangzhou. What do you really want? Is it simply Jingzhou? Jingzhou is certainly important, but you wouldn't be so short-sighted. What you want is for the Langya King's political situation to be unstable and for him to lose the hearts of the people. You want Jiangdong to be in turmoil, with no more brave generals, and therefore no strength to fight again."

"Good!" Liu Jun nodded, unable to help but cheer for him. "Right now, I want Jingzhou. In the future, I want the whole of Jiangnan!"

"But I can't figure out why my brother is so certain right now."

Liu Jun said softly, "The official gazette says that he was afraid of the Zhou family of Yixing, so he falsely accused the Zhou family of colluding with sorcerers to plot rebellion. So he first killed Zhou Yan, who was serving as a military advisor in his own staff, and then sent Shen Chong to Yixing to slaughter the Zhou family members. He then marched into Kuaiji and killed the Inner Minister Zhou Zha."

"How dare he be so arrogant!" Liu Qi exclaimed in shock.

"Not only that, but now he's even holding the positions of Governor-General of Ning and Yi provinces. He doesn't even respect me anymore," Liu Jun chuckled softly. "First he was reprimanded by the court, then Wang Dun humiliated him greatly. I heard that Sima Rui is filled with grief and indignation and is on the verge of death. Furthermore, I've heard that Sima Shao, the heir apparent of the Prince of Langya, is also quite at odds with Wang Dun..."

“Sima Shao is no ordinary man, brother, you must not underestimate him,” Liu Qi stood up and handed several copies of the official gazette to Liu Jun.

Liu Jun flipped through them one by one, then held one up, raised an eyebrow, and smiled, "Something's interesting."

About seven or eight years ago, an envoy from Sima Ye came from Chang'an. Sima Rui asked Sima Shao, "Which is farther, the sun or Chang'an?" The young Sima Shao replied, "Chang'an is closer. We have never heard of anyone coming from the side of the sun, so it is obvious." However, the next day, when the ministers asked him again at a banquet, he changed his answer, saying, "I can see the sun when I look up, but I cannot see Chang'an."

Liu Qi nodded, "Brother, you also think it's extraordinary?"

Liu Jun smiled. "That's only one reason. The second is that he hides his talents in front of the envoy, pretending to be a precocious child, while showing his true colors in front of the court officials, gazing longingly at Chang'an. To judge a book by its cover, what cunning and scheming! As for the third reason, whether it's his literary and military prowess, or his intelligence and decisiveness, using these words to describe a prince's heir makes Sima Rui's disloyal intentions all too clear."

Liu Qi suddenly realized, "However, this Sima Shao must have some extraordinary abilities. After all, Wang Dun called him the Yellow-Bearded Xianbei Slave, and his mother, Lady Xun, was just a Xianbei palace maid..."

Liu Jun chuckled, "That's fine. My noble lineage also has Xianbei blood. Does that make me inferior?"

Then he suddenly curled his lips into a smile. "Precocious? He's a year older than our Emperor, and he dares to call himself a child prodigy? At his age, His Majesty had already fled Luoyang alone, recruiting talented people to continue the dynasty in Guanzhong. While he was lamenting the passing of spring and autumn in that beautiful land of Jiangnan, longing for Chang'an, His Majesty was suffering from hunger and cold, guarding Chang'an with great difficulty. Why didn't anyone praise His Majesty's literary and military talents?"

Liu Qi echoed, "My elder brother joined our father in pacifying Jinyang at the age of six and assisted our grandfather. By the time he was just over ten, he was already fighting on the battlefield and rescuing the emperor. Everyone in the world knows who this phoenix chick and unicorn son is..."

“Stop. I’ve heard enough of this kind of flattery. There’s no need for such words between brothers,” Liu Jun said, his gaze fixed steadily on the chessboard. “Sima Shao is just a crown prince. How can you compare him to His Majesty? Besides, if the court doesn’t allow it, he will only inherit the title of Prince of Langya. As for those positions like prime minister and grand general…”

Liu Jun doesn't need an official seal; he'll be an unofficial figurehead for his entire life.

“However,” Liu Jun placed his last piece, looking at Liu Qi’s frustrated expression, and said calmly, “Your Majesty is eager for talent, and the imperial clan is now quite depleted. If Sima Shao is truly a capable man and is loyal to the royal family, he can be given important responsibilities.”

Liu Qi thought to himself, if that really happened, his elder brother probably wouldn't be able to tolerate him either.