Sima Lue

Sima Lüe was eventually transferred to the office of General Who Pacifies the North and Chief Controller of Qing province. During this period, Sima Lüe drove out the Inspector of Qing province, Cheng Mu (程牧), and claimed the title for himself. When his eldest brother Sima Yue became active in the War of the Eight Princes, Sima Lüe and his brothers took their brother's side. On 4 February 305, as part of the Prince of Hejian, Sima Yong's plan to reconcile with Sima Yue and end the civil war, he appointed Sima Lüe as General Who Guards the South and assigned him to guard Luoyang, although records indicate that Lüe never left his post for the capital.^[9]

In 306, the Prefect of Jian County, Liu Bogen (劉伯根), became a bandit and rose an army in rebellion. He was able to entice the people into joining him and his numbers grew more than ten thousand. As Bogen led his followers towards his base in Linzi, Sima Lüe sent his general, Liu Tun (son of Jin official Liu Yi^[10])^[11] to intercept them. However, Liu Tun was defeated and fled to Luoyang. Lüe was unable to hold Linzi, so he retreated to defend Liaocheng. The rebellion was soon quelled by the Chief Controller of You province, Wang Jun.

On 18 May 307, during the reign of Emperor Huai of Jin, to better secure his grip over the empire, Sima Yue appointed Sima Lüe as the General who Attacks the South, Chief Controller of Jing Province and was garrisoned at Xiangyang, taking over the guarding of the province from the Inspector of Jing province, Liu Hong, who died the previous year.^[12]

In 308, a refugee from Jingzhao Commandery, Wang You (王逌) colluded with Hao Luo (郝洛) of the Sou people (叟人) to gather thousands of people to rebel at Guanjun County (冠軍; northwest of present-day Dengzhou, Henan). Sima Lüe sent his general, Cui Kuang (崔曠) to lead Pi Chu (皮初) and Zhang Luo (張洛) to campaign against them, but they were tricked by Wang You and defeated. Sima Lüe then ordered Cao Shu (great-grandson of Cao Xiu and grandson of Cao Zhao^[13]) to lead Cui Kuang against Wang You. During the battle, Cui Kuang, who commanded the rear, secretly retreated and left Cao Shu to fend for himself. Without reserves, Cao Shu was defeated and killed in battle, but Lüe decided to pardon Cui Kuang for his crime. Lüe then sent Han Song to lead Cui Kuang in attacking the rebels, and this time, Wang You surrendered.

Soon after, Sima Lüe was granted privilege to appoint his own advisors and appointed Regular Mounted Attendant. Under his administration, bandits were rampant in Jing province, so much so that the imperial court had to appoint Liu Fan (劉璠), the son of Liu Hong, as the Interior Minister of Shunyang (順陽; south of present-day Xichuan County, Henan), since his father was well-beloved in the region. Many people living between the Han and Yangzi river went to live under Liu Fan.

Sima Lüe died in April 309; his son Sima Ju (司馬據) inherited the title of Prince of Gaomi. He was posthumously appointed as Palace Attendant and Grand Commandant. He was also given the posthumous name of "Xiao" (孝).^[14]

• Fang, Xuanling: Book of Jin (Jin Shu).
• Sima, Guang: Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance (Zizhi Tongjian)