Sima Ying - After Removal As Crown Prince

After Removal As Crown Prince

After Sima Ying was removed as crown prince, the people of Yecheng nevertheless missed the days when he was considered a capable governor, under Lu's guidance. In 305, his former subordinates, the generals Gongshi Fan (公師藩) and Ji Sang (汲桑) therefore declared a rebellion, seeking to restore him. Sima Yong sent Sima Ying to try to pacify or suppress the rebellion, but while he was on the way to Yecheng, Sima Yue declared a rebellion with the ostensible goal of returning Emperor Hui to Luoyang, and Sima Ying was unable to progress to Yecheng; he instead returned to Chang'an. After Sima Yue defeated Sima Yong in 306 and welcomed Emperor Hui back to Luoyang, he put out an order for Sima Ying's arrest, and Sima Ying fled with his sons Sima Pu (司馬普) the Prince of Lujiang and Sima Kuo (司馬廓) the Prince of Zhongdu, attempting to flee to Gongshi, when he was intercepted by Feng Song (馮嵩) the governor of Dunqiu Commandery (頓丘, roughly modern Puyang, Henan) and taken to Yecheng. The defender of that city, Sima Xiao (司馬虓) the Prince of Fanyang, imprisoned Sima Ying but did not wish to kill him. However, when Sima Xiao died later that year, his secretary Liu Yu (劉輿), worried that there were still many Sima Ying supporters in the city, forged an edict ordering Sima Ying to commit suicide. His two sons were also killed with him. After Ji captured Yecheng in 307, he placed Sima Ying's casket on a wagon in his command train, and he would report all important decisions to Sima Ying's casket. After Ji was defeated in 308, Sima Ying's casket was thrown in a well, and his formal associates took it out of the well and buried it.