Three Kingdoms: Sima Rui Usurps Cao Wei's Realm from the Start

The chaos of the Three Kingdoms era eventually came to an end under the Jin dynasty. In the first year of Taikang, Sima Yan raised an army to attack Eastern Wu. The ruler of Wu, Sun Hao, surrendered, bringing the turmoil of Wei, Shu, and Wu to an end. The great affairs of the realm were once more united under one rule.

After unifying the realm, Sima Yan pressured and bribed Wei's ruler, Cao Huan, into abdicating. With the auspicious day at hand, the Emperor Wu of Great Jin was respectfully invited to ascend the abdication platform and receive Heaven and Earth's mandate, seizing the Cao Wei realm in one stroke.

Sima Rui was originally a vassal prince of Western Jin and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Langya. Forced to take part in the Rebellion of the Eight Princes, he saw the emperor fall under the control of powerful ministers, indirectly plunging the realm into chaos.

Sima Rui crossed south to Jiankang and allied with the Wang clan of Langya, extensively currying favor with the powerful families of Jiangnan. After the emperor met an untimely end, he rallied the Jin banner and inherited the throne.

In his bid to reclaim the old territory, Sima Rui proclaimed, "The realm belongs to the Wang and Sima clans together." As power slipped from his hands, he could not accept it. The struggle for power at court sparked Wang Dun's uprising to purge the emperor's court. With his forces too weak, Sima Rui could only beg and yield.

After this battle, Sima Rui's prestige plummeted. From then on, he was unable to hold back Jiangnan's four great aristocratic clans. He could no longer rule the court alone, and in the end, he died full of resentment...

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.