The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 531 Liu Bei is furious

The Sima family not only broke the oath at the Luo River, but also murdered the emperor in the street. Their actions were bound to drag the moral standards of society to the lowest point in history.

Given that the Sima family's usurpation of the throne was illegitimate, it would be a miracle if the dynasty lasted long.

Guan Xing said, "It was indeed short-lived, like the Qin Dynasty, it only lasted for two generations. The reign of Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, was relatively stable, but his son, Sima Zhong, was an idiot. I'm not saying this to insult him, but Sima Zhong did have intellectual disabilities. His IQ was far below the normal level of ordinary people. Let alone governing the country, even taking care of himself was a problem."

Liu Bei exclaimed in astonishment, "What the hell? Sima Yan actually passed the throne to an idiot? Did he only have this one son?"

What was the point of choosing an idiot as emperor? He can't even take care of himself. How can you expect him to rule such a large country? Are you kidding me?

Guan Xing said, "This is a long story. The emperors of the Sima family were established by Sima Yi and his son Sima Shi. Sima Zhao was just a freeloader. Therefore, Sima Shi was posthumously honored as Emperor Jing of Jin, with the temple name Shizun."

"As mentioned earlier, Sima Shi had no male heirs. His only son, Sima You, was adopted from Sima Zhao. This means that Sima You, like Sima Yan, had the right to inherit the throne. Moreover, Sima You was intelligent, wise, charitable, and his abilities and prestige surpassed those of his elder brother Sima Yan and even his own father Sima Zhao. Therefore, he was killed by Sima Zhao and his son Sima Yan."

"By the time it came to Sima Yan, the Sima family had done too many unscrupulous things and could no longer withstand any more turmoil. Although Sima Zhong was foolish, he was still Sima Yan's eldest son. If the eldest son was deposed and a younger son was established in his place, wouldn't the Sima family really become a latrine?"

"Another reason is that although Sima Zhong was stupid, his son Sima Yu was smart. Sima Yu had a similar style to Sima Yi, so Sima Yan thought that his stupid son would be a stepping stone, and that his grandson Sima Yu would succeed him in the future. Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. Sima Yan married his stupid son to a good wife, Jia Nanfeng, who was known as the 'demon empress' and ultimately caused the Western Jin Dynasty to perish."

"Jia Nanfeng was Jia Kui's granddaughter. She was cruel and morally corrupt by nature. She often kidnapped handsome men in the city for her amusement, and then cruelly murdered them afterward. She openly cheated on her husband, Sima Zhong, and didn't treat him like a human being at all."

"It's not a big deal that Jia Nanfeng acted recklessly; at most, it's just that her private life was immoral. But this wicked empress was too stupid. She actually killed Sima Yan's handpicked successor, Crown Prince Sima Yu. This angered the princes of the Sima family, who rose up in rebellion, triggering the War of the Eight Princes, which destroyed the Western Jin Dynasty. Because Sima Zhong's reign title was Yongjia, it is also called the Yongjia Rebellion."

"The eight princes of the Sima family, each with military power, took turns in power, turning the Central Plains into a mess. More importantly, these Sima princes, like their ancestors, had no bottom line. When they couldn't beat their brothers, they would ask the Hu people, such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qiang, Jie, and Di, for help. When the Hu people invited into the Central Plains saw that the Han people were so weak, what else could they say but kill, burn, and plunder?"

"The Han people's cultural heritage was completely depleted during the War of the Eight Princes. The Hu people became rampant, burning, killing, and looting across the Central Plains, turning all the people of the Central Plains into two-legged sheep. Sheep are for eating, and so are two-legged sheep. You and your wife may sleep in the same bed at night, but in the morning you may be cooked in the same pot."

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang did not speak, but their faces were all ashen, and their eyes were filled with murderous intent as they glared at Guan Xing.

Introducing the Hu people into the Central Plains was something even Yuan Shao and his sons dared not do, yet the Sima princes did it.

That damned Sima family really keeps pushing the boundaries.

But what wrong have the poor people of the Central Plains done?

Guan Xing knew that the killing intent in the eyes of the four people was not directed at him, so he chose to ignore it and continued, "The War of the Eight Princes ushered in the three hundred years of chaos caused by the Five Barbarian Invasions. It was also the bloodiest, most brutal, and darkest period of chaos in Chinese history. Only a few million Han people were killed, and the country was almost wiped out and the race was completely erased from the map."

"After the War of the Eight Princes, Sima Rui, the great-grandson of Sima Yi, fled to Jianye with the help of the Langya Wang clan and established the Eastern Jin Dynasty, leaving the area south of the Yangtze River to the Hu people."

"The Sima family's usurpation of the throne was illegitimate. Sima Rui was not the legitimate heir, and he rose to power with the help of the gentry. Moreover, he was a guest in Jianye. These multiple factors meant that Sima Rui, the founding emperor, had no power that an emperor should have and was no different from a puppet."

"With the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Northern and Southern Dynasties officially began. The north became a battlefield for the Hu people, with various ethnic groups taking turns to fight and causing bloodshed."

"The imperial power of the Sima family in the south fell into the hands of others, which ushered in an unprecedented era in history: aristocratic families and the emperor jointly ruled the country. The Wang and Ma families shared the world. There were no poor scholars among the upper class and no aristocratic families among the lower class. The path for the poor to advance was completely blocked. Even if you were a genius like Zhang Liang or Xiao He, you could never get ahead if you were born into a bad family. In short, the north was in chaos and the south was fighting among themselves. Neither side was idle."

"There's another thing. During the War of the Eight Princes, Bashu was occupied by Li Te of the Di people. Later, his son Li Xiong established Cheng Han in Bashu. The emperors of Cheng Han acted recklessly and wantonly harmed the people of Bashu. It wasn't until more than a hundred years later, when Huan Wen conquered Shu, that things finally calmed down. It seems that Jiang Wei's last letter was discovered and made public by Huan Wen during his conquest of Shu."

Liu Bei's face grew increasingly grim, and his eyes, fixed on Guan Xing, turned bloodshot as if about to spit blood. He gritted his teeth and questioned, "Has the Sima family not suffered any retribution for wreaking havoc on the world?"

Liu Bei could accept internal strife among the Han people, but he absolutely could not accept being ravaged by the Hu people. How could a group of stray dogs, who were being chased and beaten by the Han army, be so rampant? It was too hateful.

The culprit behind all this is the Sima family; it is against all reason that the Sima family should not be exterminated.

Guan Xing asked, "Is being wiped out a form of retribution?"

Liu Bei said fiercely, "If the Sima family really did what you say, even annihilation wouldn't be enough to satisfy my hatred. Who would have done it?"

Guan Xing said, "Emperor Wu of Song, Liu Yu, was the 22nd generation descendant of Liu Jiao, the younger brother of Emperor Gaozu and King of Chu. He shared the same ancestor as Your Majesty and was the first enlightened ruler of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. He was the man with the greatest hope of successfully launching a northern expedition, driving out the barbarians, and recovering the lost territories."

Liu Bei said disappointedly, "So there's no hope at all? Liu Yu has failed?"

Guan Xing nodded and said, "Just like you, Your Majesty, Liu Yu came from a very humble background and rose to prominence too late. Liu Yu was poor from a young age and had a bad gambling habit. In his early years, he gambled all day long and even lost his wife and children. In the end, he lost too much and was unable to repay his debts. He ran away to join the army to avoid his creditors."

"After joining the army, Liu Yu finally found the right path. On the battlefield, he displayed martial prowess comparable to Lü Bu and the leadership skills of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing. He chased after thousands of people and killed them all, leaving his superiors who came to his rescue stunned. Can you believe it?"

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei all rolled their eyes; this martial arts skill was just average for the three of them.

Guan Xing continued, "When Liu Yu joined the army, he happened to encounter a major rebellion that swept across Jiangnan and even threatened to destroy the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Liu Yu quelled the rebellion single-handedly, seized power, and entered the central government of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He then launched a northern expedition. During the expedition, he formed a crescent moon formation with three thousand infantrymen and fought a battle with their backs to the river, which crushed the 30,000 iron cavalry of the Northern Wei Dynasty established by the Xianbei Tuoba clan. The Northern Wei cavalry avoided him and never dared to oppose Liu Yu for the rest of their lives."

Guan Yu exclaimed in surprise, "Three thousand infantrymen defeated thirty thousand iron cavalry? Are you sure?"

Infantry are already at a disadvantage against cavalry; they're lucky if they can even defend themselves against equal numbers. Now you're telling me that three thousand infantrymen crushed thirty thousand iron cavalry? Are you kidding me?

Guan Xing spread his hands and said, "I don't know about that. Anyway, that's what the history books say. After defeating the Northern Wei, Liu Yu led his troops north and easily captured Luoyang and Chang'an, recovering the two capitals. He was only half a step away from unifying the world."