Sima Xun
Sima Xun (died 366), courtesy name Weichang, was a military general and warlord of the Jin dynasty (266–420). After the fall of Chang'an in 316, he became the adopted son of a Han Zhao general named Linghu Ni (令狐泥). Han Zhao was destroyed in 328, so Sima Xun fled south to the Eastern Jin regime. Due to his family lineage, he rose through the ranks to establish himself as a warlord in Jin's Liangzhou and was one of the many commanders to have led Jin's northern expeditions following the decline of Later Zhao in 349. In 364, he revolted against the dynasty but was swiftly defeated and killed in just a few of months.
Sima Xun | |
|---|---|
司馬勳 | |
| Inspector of Liangzhou (梁州刺史) | |
| In office 344 – 364 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Kang of Jin/Emperor Mu of Jin/Emperor Ai of Jin |
| King of Chengdu (self-appointed) (成都王) | |
| In office 364 – 366 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | 366 |
| Relations | Sima Xún (great-great grandfather) |
| Children | Sima Kang |
| Father | Sima Guan Linghu Ni (adoptive father) |
| Courtesy name | Weichang (偉長) |
Early life
Sima Xun was the great-great-grandson of Sima Xún (司馬恂), a brother of Sima Yi. He was living in Chang'an prior to 316, when the city fell to Han Zhao forces led by Liu Yao that year. Liu Yao's general, Linghu Ni discovered Sima Xun and decided to make him his son. By the time he became an adult, he excelled at horse riding and archery. Han Zhao fell in 329 and Liu Yao was killed by his rival Shi Le of Later Zhao. Sima Xun remained in the north for a while but in 331, he fled south to Jiankang, where his other family members had already established a new dynasty a few years back. He was welcomed and appointed as the Supervisor of the Internuncios.[1]
Service under the Jin dynasty
In 336, Sima Xun was sent to Hanzhong to populate the region with Jin subjects. However, the emperor of Cheng Han, Li Shou attacked and routed him.[2] By 344, he was serving as Yu Yi's Army Advisor when the Inspector of Liangzhou, Huan Xuan passed away, so Yu Yi appointed Sima Xun as the Inspector of Liangzhou.
Jin's northern rival, Later Zhao, entered a speedy decline in 349 after the death of its emperor, Shi Hu. His successor, Shi Shi, was removed through a coup by his brother Shi Zun. Shi Zun's coup sparked a number of rebellions from the other princes, so the Jin dynasty decided to take advantage of the state's vulnerability. One prince, Shi Bao (石苞), was noted for his incompetence and was planning to attack Shi Zun, so the people of Yongzhou asked for Sima Xun to accept their surrender.[3]
Sima Xun marched through the Luo Valley (駱谷; southwest of present-day Zhouzhi County, Shaanxi) and captured Changcheng before sending his general Liu Huan to capture the ancient capital of Chang'an, and while doing so, Liu Huan captured Hecheng (賀城, in present-day Zhouzhi County, Shaanxi). The people around the region killed the Zhao administrators and welcomed the Jin forces. Shi Bao called off his plans to overthrow Shi Zun and sent Ma Qiu and a few others to repel him. Shi Zun also sent Wang Lang to help Sima Xun, and Xun, feeling that the Zhao forces outnumbered him, decided to retreat instead. He did however captured the city of Wancheng from Zhao before returning to his base in Liangzhou.[4]
Zhao continued to deteriorate as Ran Min took over the government later in 349. In 351, Former Qin forces drove out Du Hong (杜洪) and Zhang Ju (張舉) from the Guanzhong region. The two men called Sima Xun for assistance, so he marched north again. Qin's ruler, Fu Jian met his forces at Wuzhang Plains, where Sima Xun was repeatedly defeated. Sima Xun eventually forfeited and retreated to Nanzheng.[5]
Meanwhile, Du Hong wanted to kill Zhang Ju for mistreating him, so he successfully persuaded Sima Xun to kill him. In 352, Sima Xun pretended to invite Zhang Ju to meet him before killing him. Zhang Ju's brother, whose name was not recorded, attacked Sima Xun, but the two agreed to a truce and Sima Xun returned south[6] (some sources differ by saying that Zhang Ju was actually killed by Fu Jian, not Sima Xun[7]). Later that year, Sima Xun helped in the suppression of Xiao Jingwen's (蕭敬文) rebellion in Fucheng.
In 356, the prominent Jin general, Huan Wen was about to launch his first northern expedition in collaboration with Sima Xun and Former Liang. Sima Xun marched through Ziwu Valley (子午谷; east of present-day Yang County, Shaanxi) and captured Chencang together with Liang's general Wang Zhuo. Huan Wen defeated the Qin forces at the Battle of Bailu Plains, so the Qin commander Fu Xiong shifted his focus in retaking their western regions. Fu Xiong routed Sima Xun, causing him to retreat to Fort Nüwa (女媧堡). Fu Xiong then returned to Bailu Plains, where this time he defeated Huan Wen and forced him to turn back. Sima Xun faced Fu Xiong again at Chencang and was defeated once more, leading to his retreat and ending the expedition in failure.[8]
Rebellion and death
Sima Xun remained in Liangzhou for another decade, ensuring his control over the region. Sima Xun was reputed for his harsh and cruel administration. He was prone in killing his critics, and had intentions to break away from the dynasty in Liangzhou. However, his main concern was the Inspector of Yizhou, Zhou Fu, but with his death in late 365, Sima Xun began making preparations. His officers, Yong Duan (雍端) and Kui Cui (隗粹) were against this but Sima Xun had them both killed. He declared himself Governor of Liangzhou and Yizhou and the King of Chengdu before attacking Fucheng. The city was abandoned by Guanqiu Wei (毌丘暐), so Sima Xun captured it easily before marching on to Chengdu and besieging Zhou Chu (周楚).[9]
Huan Wen responded by sending his general, Zhu Xu to lift the siege. Although Sima Xun's position had always worried Huan Wen, the rebellion only lasted for a few months. In early 366, Zhu Xu and Zhou Chu had already defeated Sima Xun. They sent him to Huan Wen, who in turn sent him to Jiankang, where he was beheaded along with his officers.[10]
References
- (後遂之曾孫勳字偉長，年十餘歲，湣帝末，長安陷，劉曜將令狐泥養為子。及壯，便弓馬，能左右射，咸和六年，自關右還，自列云「是大長秋恂之玄孫，冠軍將軍濟南惠王遂之曾孫，略陽太守瓘之子」，遂拜謁者僕射，以勇聞。) Book of Jin, Volume 37
- (先是，晉建威將軍司馬勳屯漢中，期遣李壽攻而陷之，遂置守宰，戍南鄭。) Book of Jin, Volume 121
- (時石季龍死，中國亂，雍州諸豪帥馳告勳。) Book of Jin, Volume 37
- (司馬勛出駱谷，破趙長城戍，壁于懸鈎，去長安二百里，使治中劉煥攻長安，斬京兆太守劉秀離，又拔賀城；三輔豪杰多殺守令以應勛，凡三十餘壁，衆五萬人。趙樂平王苞乃輟攻鄴之謀，使其將麻秋、姚國等將兵拒勛。趙主遵遣車騎將軍王朗帥精騎二萬以討勛爲名，因劫苞送鄴。勛兵少，畏朗，不敢進。冬，十月，釋懸鈎，拔宛城，殺趙南陽太守袁景，複還梁州。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 98
- (初，杜洪之奔也，招晉梁州刺史司馬勳。至是，勳率步騎三萬入秦川，健敗之于五丈原。) Book of Jin, Volume 112
- (勳乃偽請琚，於坐殺之。琚弟走池陽，合眾攻勳，頻戰不利，請和，歸梁州。) Book of Jin, Volume 37
- (五月，秦主健攻張琚於宜秋，斬之。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 99
- (二月，乙丑，桓溫統步騎四萬發江陵。水軍自襄陽入均口，至南鄉，步兵自淅川趣武關，命司馬勳出子午道以伐秦。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 100
- (冬十月，梁州刺史司馬勳反，自稱成都王。十一月，帥衆入劍閣，攻涪，西夷校尉毌丘暐棄城而遁。乙卯，圍益州刺史周楚于成都，桓溫遣江夏相朱序救之。) Book of Jin, Volume 8
- (//朱序攻司馬勳于成都，衆潰，執勳，斬之。) Book of Jin, Volume 8
- Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). Book of Jin (Jin Shu).
- Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian.