Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei dismounted and entered Deng Ai's official residence, where they found Deng Ai and his son already in bonds. Zhong Hui beat Deng Ai about the head with his whip and denounced him: "Calf-tending urchin! How dare you try what you tried!" Jiang Wei added his own curses: "A low-down adventurer finally has his due!" Deng Ai returned the curses. Zhong Hui had Deng Ai and Deng Zhong transported to Luoyang.
Zhong Hui entered Chengdu and took command of all Deng Ai's forces. His power was now felt everywhere. To Jiang Wei he said, "This day fulfills a lifelong ambition!" Jiang Wei replied, "When the Han dynasty began, Han Xin ignored Kuai Tong's counsel to establish an independent kingdom. The result was the disaster at the Weiyang Palace, where he was arrested and executed.1 Then there was the case of Wen Zhong, high official to the king of Yue, Gou Jian. He ignored the advice of his colleague Fan Li, who urged Zhong to leave Yue with him to live as hermits in the lake district. The result was that the king of Yue forced Wen Zhong to fall on his sword.2 Both Han Xin and Wen Zhong had the most glorious achievements to their credit. Yet they failed to see the latent danger ahead. Now, my lord, your own merits have reached the highest level, as your sovereign is all too keenly aware. Why not 'float downriver and efface your tracks, ' or 'climb the heights of Mount Emei' and travel on with the Taoist immortal Master Red Pine as your life's companion, as Zhang Liang did?"3
To this suggestion Zhong Hui laughed and said, "I believe you misjudge me. I am not yet forty; I am at an age for advancing and conquering, not for retiring into inactivity like those ancients." "In that case," Jiang Wei responded, "plan well for yourself—and early. Here are things you have the mind and the strength to achieve. There is no need for an old man's advice." "Well you know my mind," Zhong Hui said to Jiang Wei, smiling and rubbing his hands.
Thenceforth the two men conferred daily on their seizure of power in the Riverlands. Secretly Jiang Wei wrote to the Second Emperor: "Bear the unbearable a few days more, Your Majesty. I will bring our sacred shrines out of danger yet, and the sun and moon will once again shine forth. Never will I permit the house of Han to perish."
Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei were continuing to plot against Sima Zhao, when a letter from Zhao arrived. Zhong Hui received it and read the text: "Fearing you might have trouble arresting Deng Ai, Minister, I stationed my own troops in Chang'an. We will be meeting shortly; I write to inform you beforehand." Zhong Hui was shocked. "I had many times the troops Deng Ai had," he cried. "Sima Zhao knew perfectly well I could manage Deng Ai alone, if that was all he wanted of me. To have brought his troops here must mean he does not trust me." Zhong Hui went again to confer with Jiang Wei, who said, "If the liege mistrusts his man, the man must die. Isn't that what happened to Deng Ai?" "Then I am resolved," Zhong Hui declared. "If I succeed, the empire will be mine. If not, I will withdraw into the Riverlands and become at least another Liu Bei."
Jiang Wei said to Zhong Hui, "I have heard that Queen Mother Guo died recently. If you pretended that she had left an edict ordering you to punish Sima Zhao for his crime of regicide, Your Lordship could use your talent to bring the northern heartland under control with little trouble." Zhong Hui replied, "Jiang Wei, you take the vanguard. After our success you will share wealth and honors with me." "I will toil for you like a lowly beast—but I am unsure of the commanders' allegiance." "Tomorrow is the festival marking the middle of the first month," Zhong Hui said. "There will be a grand lantern display in the former palace. Call the commanders to a banquet there and execute whoever fails to follow us." Jiang Wei was secretly delighted with these developments.
The next day Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei feasted the commanders. After the wine had been passed around several times, Zhong Hui raised his cup and uttered a loud cry. The startled commanders asked the reason, and Zhong Hui said, "As the end neared, Queen Mother Guo left this edict charging Sima Zhao with the murder of his sovereign in the palace and the high crime of preparing to usurp the Wei dynasty. The late queen mother commanded me to bring Sima Zhao to justice; and I want all of you to pledge yourselves to this task." The astonished commanders eyed each other uneasily. Zhong Hui drew his sword from its scabbard and said, "Death to him who disobeys!" The terrorized assembly could only comply. When all the commanders had finished pledging, Zhong Hui had them held inside the palace under strict guard.
Jiang Wei said, "Obviously the commanders are not inclined to obey us. Let us bury them alive." Zhong Hui replied, "I have already had a deep trench dug in the palace and placed several thousand truncheons alongside it. Those who resist will be beaten to death and buried."
Beside Zhong Hui was Qiu Jian, one of the commanders he trusted most. But Qiu Jian was also a long-time lieutenant of General Hu Lie, one of the detained commanders, and he got word of Zhong Hui's plan to Hu Lie. The astonished Hu Lie appealed frantically to Qiu Jian: "My son Hu Yuan has an outside command. How could he know the depths of Zhong Hui's schemes? If our old friendship still means something to you, get word to my son, and then if I die, I will die bearing no grudge against you." Qiu Jian answered, "Let my generous benefactor rest assured. I shall think of a way to do it."
Emerging from where the commanders were being held, Qiu Jian told Zhong Hui, "To relieve the present discomfort of the confined commanders, Your Lordship should assign one man to provide food and drink for them." Zhong Hui, who always listened to Qiu Jian, assigned him to oversee the arrangements, warning him, "I have given you a grave responsibility. See that no information gets in or out." "Have no fear, Your Lordship," Qiu Jian answered. "I have my ways of maintaining strict security." But secretly he sent a trusted follower of Hu Lie's inside, and that man carried Lie's confidential letter out with lightning speed to Hu Yuan's camp.
The man explained the situation to Hu Yuan and presented the letter. Astonished, Hu Yuan showed it around the various camps. The commanders were indignant and gathered at Hu Yuan's camp to confer. "We may lose our lives," they said, "but how can we follow a vassal in rebellion?" Hu Yuan replied, "Today is the eighteenth of the first month. Let us charge into the palace and put an end to this." Army Superviser Wei Guan, well pleased with Hu Yuan's plan, put his forces in good order; then he sent Qiu Jian to inform Hu Lie, who in turn informed the various commanders.
Meanwhile, Zhong Hui had posed a question to Jiang Wei: "Last night I dreamed that several thousand serpents were biting me. What good or ill does the dream signify?" Jiang Wei replied, "All dreams of dragon-serpents augur the best of fortune." Zhong Hui was satisfied. He said to Jiang Wei, "The equipment is ready. Shall we bring the commanders forth for questioning?" Jiang Wei answered, "This group has no mind to obey. In time they will murder you. It would be better to eliminate them sooner than later." Zhong Hui agreed and ordered Jiang Wei to lead the guard in to kill the Wei commanders.
Jiang Wei had begun to carry out his assignment when he collapsed with sudden pains in his chest. His attendants helped him up, and after a time he regained his senses. Suddenly an uproar outside the palace was reported. Zhong Hui sent someone to investigate the tumult. The noise shook the ground. From all directions a large number of soldiers arrived. Jiang Wei said, "The commanders must have begun a revolt. Have them executed at once." A fresh report told of troops' having penetrated the palace grounds. Zhong Hui ordered the gates to the royal hall sealed and sent his guards to the rooftops to bombard the attackers with tiles. Several dozen were killed on either side.
Outside the palace flames shot up on all sides. Soldiers hacked through the gates and forced their way into the royal hall. Zhong Hui himself seized his sword and slew several men on the spot, but a stray arrow struck him down. The commanders severed his head and put it on display. Sword drawn, Jiang Wei entered the royal hall and put up a fierce fight, but the pain in his chest struck again. Jiang Wei raised his head and shouted to the heavens, "My plan has failed. Such is Heaven's decree." So saying, he cut his throat and perished. He had reached the age of fifty-nine.
Inside the palace several hundred lay
dead. Wei Guan said, "All troops return to their camps and await the king's command." The northern soldiers, vying to take revenge on Jiang Wei's corpse, cut open his stomach and exposed his gall, which was found to be larger than a chicken's egg. The soldiers also seized and executed all members of Jiang Wei's family.
When Deng Ai's lieutenants saw that Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei were both dead, they hastened to spirit Deng Ai away from his captors. This move was reported to Wei Guan, who said, "I am the one who arrested Deng Ai. If they spare him, I will die, and no man will bury me." Guardian General Tian Xu said, "When Deng Ai captured Jiangyou, he wanted to kill me; only the officers' pleas got me off. Today I would like my revenge on Deng Ai." Well pleased, Wei Guan dispatched Tian Xu with five hundred troops to Mianzhu. There they encountered Deng Ai and Deng Zhong, just released from their cage-carts and trying to get back to Chengdu. Deng Ai assumed the troops were his own and was off his guard when he started to question Tian Xu. Xu killed him with a swordstroke. Deng Zhong was killed at the same time. A poet of later times has left these lines in remembrance of Deng Ai:
From boyhood on he fashioned shrewd designs;
Inventive, he excelled in waging wars.
His steady gaze could read the lay of land
Or tell the secrets hidden in the stars.
The hills would part to let his riders pass,
And paths would form to let his marchers by.
But, merit won, he fell to treachery;
His soul now sails the rivers in the sky.
Another verse, in remembrance of Zhong Hui, goes,
In tender years a genius he was hailed;
As counselor he came to serve the throne.
His stratagems defeated the Simas:
Another Zhang Zifang they called him then.
Zhong Hui won his laurels at Shouchun;
At Saber Gate his feats of arms won fame.
He would not hide for safety like Fan Li,
But now, a roaming soul, he pines for home.
Another verse remembers Jiang Wei:
Proud be the district where he was born, Tianshui,
The province of Liangzhou, for such a man!
Who stood in the line of Jiang Ziya
And owed his skill in war to Zhuge Liang.
So great in courage, what had he to fear?
His hero's heart was pledged to hold the field.4
In Chengdu on the day he lost his life
The generals of Han sat sorrow-filled.
Apart from Jiang Wei, Zhong Hui, and Deng Ai, Zhang Yi had also died in the fighting. In addition, the Wei soldiers had killed the heir apparent, Liu Rui, as well as Guan Yi, lord of Hanshou precinct.5 The Shu-Han forces were in utter disarray and countless soldiers had died in the panic and confusion. Ten days later Jia Chong arrived from Wei and circulated announcements to reassure the population. Calm was finally restored. Wei Guan was left to defend Chengdu, and the Second Emperor was moved to Luoyang. A small retinue followed the Emperor, including Secretary Fan Jian, Privy Counselor Zhang Shao, Director of Palace Bureaucracy Qiao Zhou, and Imperial Archivist Xi Zheng. Liao Hua and Dong Jue remained behind on the pretext of ill health; shortly after, both died, heartbroken.
It was the fifth year of Jing Yuan by the calendar of Wei—later changed to Xian Xi, "Universal Glory," year 1 (a. d. 264). In spring, the third month of the year, the Southland general Ding Feng took his army home when he learned that the kingdom of Shu had fallen. At the time, the deputy imperial executive,6 Hua Jiao, petitioned the ruler of Wu, Sun Xiu: "Wu and Shu depend on one another as lips and teeth. 'Without the lips, the teeth grow cold. ' My guess is that Sima Zhao will attack momentarily. I pray Your Majesty to prepare the most thorough defense." Sun Xiu followed this advice. He appointed Lu Xun's son, Kang, Supreme Commander Who Controls the East and protector of Jingzhou, and ordered him to defend the Great River's main crossings. Sun Xiu also ordered General of the Left Sun Yi to defend the various strongpoints around Nanxu. Lastly, up and down the Great River the Southland ruler set up hundreds of military camps under the command of the veteran general Ding Feng to check any northern invaders.
Huo Yi, governor of Jianning district, on learning of the fall of Chengdu, dressed himself in mourning, and for three days he faced west and cried aloud. His commanders said, "Since the ruler of Shu-Han has lost his throne, why not submit to Wei at once?" Huo Yi replied tearfully, "All communication is cut off. I have no idea whether our sovereign, Liu Shan, is safe or not. If the Wei ruler treats him with due courtesy, I will deliver this city in good time. But if by any chance they have done my ruler wrong, I will die with him and submission will be out of the question!" Huo Yi's followers approved and sent a man to Luoyang for news of the Second Emperor.7
When the Second Emperor reached Luoyang, Sima Zhao had already returned from Chang'an. Sima Zhao condemned the Second Emperor to his face: "For your ungoverned self-indulgence and rampant immorality, as well as for your maltreatment of worthy men and misgovernment of the kingdom, you deserve public execution." The Second Emperor turned ashy pale and lost his composure. The civil and military officials petitioned Zhao: "Since losing control of his kingdom, the ruler of Shu has fortunately tendered us his allegiance in timely fashion. It behooves us to spare him." Accordingly, Sima Zhao enfeoffed Liu Shan as lord of Anle and granted him a suitable dwelling, a monthly allowance, ten thousand bolts of silk, and one hundred servants, male and female. Liu Shan's son Yao, as well as his liege men, Fan Jian, Qiao Zhou, Xi Zheng, and others, were awarded lordships and titles. The Second Emperor expressed his gratitude for this generosity and left the audience. Sima Zhao then condemned the eunuch Huang Hao to a lingering death on public ground because he had poisoned the kingdom and done grievous harm to the people. At this time Huo Yi found out that the Second Emperor had accepted a fief, and so he led his subordinates and armed guards in surrender.
The next day the Second Emperor presented himself at the official residence of Sima Zhao, where he paid his respects and again expressed his gratitude. Sima Zhao held a feast that began with a performance by Wei musicians and dancers. The Riverlands officials were deeply affronted; the Second Emperor alone wore a look of pleasure. Sima Zhao also had men of Shu dress as Shu musicians. While they performed, the Riverlands officials wept but the Second Emperor laughed with amusement quite unembarrassed. As the wine went around and warmed the company, Sima Zhao said to Jia Chong, "How heartless he is! Not even Kongming—had he lived—could have kept the ruler safe for long. Not to speak of Jiang Wei!" Turning to the Second Emperor, Sima Zhao said, "Do you think of Shu at all?" The Emperor replied, "With such entertainment before me, not at all." Shortly afterward, the Emperor excused himself and withdrew, accompanied by Xi Zheng, who asked him, "Why did Your Majesty say you do not think of Shu? If he asks again, it would be preferable to answer tearfully, 'My father's grave is far off in Shu, and my heart yearns for the west; I think of the Riverlands every day. ' The lord patriarch of Jin, Sima Zhao, will be sure to let you return if you do so." The Second Emperor committed this speech firmly to memory and rejoined the banquet.
The Second Emperor was slightly drunk when Sima Zhao asked him again, "Do you think of Shu at all?" The Second Emperor answered according to Xi Zheng's instruction. He tried to cry, but no tears came, so he shut his eyes tight. Sima Zhao said, "So you are only mouthing Xi Zheng's words!" The Second Emperor opened his eyes and stared in astonishment. "Truly such is the case," he admitted. Sima Zhao and his attendants laughed at him. Because of this, Zhao appreciated the Emperor's simplicity and never mistrusted him. A poet of later times wrote this verse to express his pity for the Second Emperor:
A pleasure-seeker, his face alight with smiles,
No hint of sorrow for the world now gone,
Makes merry in a foreign land, the old one out of mind—
How little character Liu Shan has shown.
At the Wei court the great vassals petitioned the ruler Cao Huan to honor Sima Zhao as king in recogniti
on of his achievement in conquering the Riverlands. Huan, Son of Heaven in name alone, had no influence at all and dared not oppose Sima Zhao, who held all power of decision. Huan therefore enfeoffed Sima Zhao, lord patriarch of Jin, as king of Jin8 and posthumously honored Zhao's father, Sima Yi, as King Xuan. Zhao's elder brother Sima Shi was honored as King Jing.
Sima Zhao's wife was the daughter of Wang Su; she had borne Zhao two sons. The elder, Sima Yan, was a man of imposing stature, with hair so long that it touched the ground and arms so long that they hung below his knees. He was a man of quick mind and a brilliant warrior of surpassing courage. The second son, Sima You, mild and genial of temper, was respectful, reserved, filial, and brotherly. Sima Zhao was especially fond of him and had provided him to Sima Shi as an heir-son. Sima Zhao had often said, "The empire is for my elder brother." And so when Sima Zhao was honored as king of Jin, he was disposed to make Sima You his heir. Shan Tao objected; he said, "To replace an elder with a junior is an ominous violation of traditional practice." Jia Chong, He Zeng, and Pei Xiu all seconded this opinion, saying, "The elder son is keen of mind and skilled in arms. His talents are extraordinary. He has the confidence of men and the marks of Heaven's favor and, judging by his appearance, is more fit to rule than to serve." Sima Zhao remained undecided. Grand Commandant Wang Xiang and Minister of Works Xun Kai said, "The previous dynasty was undermined by the instatement of the cadet son.9 We pray Your Lordship, consider carefully." In the end, Sima Zhao established his elder son, Sima Yan, as heir apparent.
An important vassal declared in a petition: "Some time ago in Xiangwu county a man descended from the heavens. He was more than twenty spans tall and his feet measured three spans, two inches. He had white hair and a greyish beard and wore a simple yellow robe. He had a yellow scarf around his head and walked with a cane of goosefoot wood. 'I am a people's king, ' he proclaimed, 'come to announce that the ruler of the realm is soon to be changed and the millennium established for all. ' He made the rounds of the market for three days this way before disappearing. The man is an auspicious sign for Your Lordship. Your Lordship should put on the royal headdress with twelve beaded strings, and raise high the banner of the Son of Heaven. And have all traffic cleared from your path when you go forth from the palace or return, seated on the golden royal chariot drawn by six horses. Your Lordship should also advance your consort to the rank of empress, establishing your heir-son as crown prince."
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