After the Wang Dun Rebellion, the Wang family still had the strength to compete with the imperial power, which can be seen from Zhou Zha's dispute over the conclusion of the coffin.
On the surface, it is arguing about Zhou Za's conclusive theory, but in fact, it is another collision between "king and horse" in the field of thought.
From the perspective of imperial power, Zhou Zha secretly let Wang Dun process be an absolute heinous and unscrupulous thief. Sima Rui, the Emperor of Jinyuan, personally commanded an army to block Wang Dun, but Zhou Zha took the initiative to let Wang Dun enter the imperial capital. If Zhou Zha's behavior can be called a loyal subject, then what is Sima Rui? In other words: if you admit that Zhou Za is a loyal subject, it is equivalent to saying that Sima Rui is a emperor. This argument pitted Sima Rui and Zhou Za against each other, making it difficult for others to speak for Zhou Za.
The Battle of Zashi opened the door and Yan Kou made the thief chaotic, and Za's responsibility was also. The posthumous gift is not at ease. The Mao and Ying brothers should be restored to their positions. - Book of Jin, vol. 58, Liechuan XXVIII
But from Wang Dao's point of view, Zhou Zha must be a model of loyalty and patriotism, otherwise Wang Dao himself will not be able to get rid of the suspicion of being a traitor, because Wang Dao has always been on wang Dun's side. In the eyes of the nobles led by Wang Dao: Isn't Sima Rui, the Emperor of Jinyuan, the Emperor of Jinyuan, the Emperor of Jin Dynasty? If he hadn't appointed Liu Kui and Diao Xie,those two traitorous ministers, how could Wang Dun, the original loyal minister, have raised an army on the side of the Qing Emperor? If he could not afford to be a soldier on the side of the Qing Dynasty, how could he later take the wrong path, so that he could not die a good death? All especially blame Sima Rui, eat enough to have nothing to do but play centralized power!
In the stone, loyal to the community, righteousness in the dead. As for the events of previous years, the self-esteem and other people who have knowledge or above are different from Zha Qing. This statement is true of the Holy Book, and the commentators, seeing that the treachery and rebellion are manifested, want to conquer the past years. That is, to restore the messenger, to be unenlightened at that time. Realizing his treachery, Za and his subjects promised the kingdom with their bodies, and after their deaths, Za also sought revenge. The imperial court has given its orders and major events are established, and it is thinking that it is against the party. Evil and righteousness have lost their place, and there is no basis for retreat, and it is advisable to deeply regret the sincere state system. The subject is appropriate to be the same as Zhou Yan, Dai Ruosi, etc. - Book of Jin, vol. 58, Liechuan XXVIII
Although Wang Dun could not die well, Wang Dun's first rebellion was still widely recognized and affirmed by the nobles.
As a great hero of Wang Dun's first rebellion, Zhou Zha's coffin was still a great loyal minister. From this point of view: "The King and the Horse" collided again in the field of thought, ending with Wang's victory.
The reason why the Wang clan won was because in a society dominated by the nobility, Wang Dao's ideas were more easily supported, and military affairs should never be based on the emperor's will and interests.
After the Wang Dun Rebellion, the Wang family still had the strength to compete with the imperial power, which can also be seen from the etiquette of sima shao, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, when he met Wang Dao.
When Sima Shao saw Wang Dao, he always had to pay tribute first. If I were to write an edict to Wang Dao, I would surely say, "I say to you with trepidation." ”
In the beginning, Emperor Youchong, see the guide, every prayer. And tasted with the guide hand edict, then the cloud "trepidation", the Zhongshu as the edict, then known as "respectful questioning", so I thought it was customized. - Book of Jin, vol. 65, Liechuan 35
What is this monarchical etiquette? When Sima Rui, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, ascended the throne, he invited Wang Dao to sit on the imperial bed together, but the father and son practiced the same thing.
Some people even suggested that Wang Dao was His Majesty's teacher, so the ministers should also prostrate themselves when they saw Wang Dao. Although this statement was rejected, the fact that this rebellious view could be discussed in a dignified manner meant that the power of the Wang family was still enough to compete with the imperial power.
But in any case, by quelling Wang Dun's rebellion, the imperial power was still promoted to a certain extent.
After quelling Wang Dun's rebellion, Sima Zong the King of Nandun, Sima Xi the Prince of Xiyang, Yu Yin (Sima Shao's uncle), and Shu Liang (Sima Shao's brother-in-law) all began to emerge temporarily, and then entered the power center of the empire.
The imperial power was on the offensive, and the Wang clan naturally wanted to avoid confronting the imperial power at this time. Although Wang Dun died, Wang Dao was still the chief minister of the empire, With Wang Shu sitting in Jingzhou and Wang Bin in Jiangzhou. In order to avoid a head-on confrontation with the imperial power, the Wang clan decided to hand over control of Jingzhou and Jiangzhou.
Although the imperial power was on the offensive, Sima Shao, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, did not dare to go too far. Eventually he appointed Tao Kan to take over Jingzhou and Ying Zhan to take over Jiangzhou. The two belonged to the neutral faction and did not have too close a relationship with the imperial power and the Wang clan.
Based on this, many people believe that the imperial power has forced the Wang clan into a dead end, and with a little force, it can overthrow the Wang clan and re-establish centralized power.
But everyone ignores an important point: the so-called imperial power usually relies on the royal family or foreign relatives to achieve expansion, so the expansion of imperial power is usually unstable.
The royal family and foreign relatives are by no means monolithic, and they often fight for power. Once the two sides are in a balance of power, they will naturally find ways to find supporters from the court. And the nobles like this kind of political ecology the most, everyone is divided into two factions, no one can eat anyone, and when there is a foreign enemy, they will join hands to deal with it. In this way, the practice of strengthening the centralization of imperial power through the royal family and foreign relatives may break at any time.
In aristocratic politics, when the game between imperial power and courtiers is in a state of anxiety, no one will have an absolute advantage. Because they can all let their relatives and cronies occupy important positions, and they can also unite with other powerful factions to weaken the other side's power.
In this situation, it can only be said that Sima Shao, the Emperor of Jinming, had the upper hand in the first two rounds, but it did not mean that he could continue to gain the upper hand in the next few rounds.
If the Wang clan expanded too quickly, the nobles would unite with the imperial power to suppress the Wang clan; if the imperial power expanded too fast, the nobles would unite with the Wang clan to suppress the imperial power. In this sense, although the imperial power of the Eastern Jin Empire was expanded during the time of Sima Shao, the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty, this expansion has also reached a bottleneck period.
Because Sima Shao, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, died less than a year after quelling Wang Dun's rebellion, many people believed that as long as Sima Shao lived for a few more years, he would definitely raise the power of the Eastern Jin dynasty to a higher level.
For this unknown prediction, no one can guarantee that what they say will be correct. But it seems to me that in a society with great aristocratic power, the personal ability of the emperor can never change the status quo of the imperial power being constrained. If the emperor wanted to change this power structure, the fate of Sima Rui, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, was the best example.
Sima Rui, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, only appointed two officials from ordinary origins, hoping to centralize power, but triggered the hidden level of "Wang Dun's Rebellion", and the nobles looked at it coldly.
If Sima Shao, the Emperor of jinming, could live a few more years, with his aggressive and strong personality, I am afraid that he would only follow in his father's footsteps.