Sima Yi's elder son. Quietly gathered three thousand sworn retainers who answered when the gates closed; after his father's death he ruled Wei in all but name.
He had secretly gathered three thousand bold retainers willing to die for him, and on the morning of the coup he led them to join his father.Jin shu, Annals of Emperor Jing; Zizhi Tongjian, scroll 75
Appears in
Relations
- Sima Yi son & heir in the work — Quietly gathered three thousand sworn retainers who made the coup possible.
- Cao Fang the power & the throne it deposed — Ruled Wei in all but name and deposed Cao Fang in 254.
Myth vs record
The story you may know
The coup at the Gaoping Tombs was one old man's solo stroke.
What the sources say
It was a family conspiracy: the Jin shu annals record Sima Shi's three thousand secretly gathered retainers, whose existence the court had never suspected, answering on the morning the gates closed.