The last of the eight princes, Sima Yue was a ruthless politician and cunning leader who rose to power at the end of the War of the Eight Princes. He will also be one of the eight new playable faction leaders in Eight Princes; the first Chapter Pack DLC for Total War: Three Kingdoms.
Sima Yue in the Total War: Three Kingdoms Eight Princes DLC
“Sima Yue is an efficient bureaucrat and shrewd powermonger who mastered the political game better than the other Princes,” explains Creative Assembly; “He used the intricacies of the court, and his own machinations, to not only outmanoeuvre his rival princes, but also to contain the powers of the Emperors Hui and Huai. As a cousin of the Jin dynasty’s founder Emperor Wu, his tenure as Prince of Donghai began in 291, and during the war of the eight princes, he held numerous offices in the capital and within the Jin government.”
Among the eight princes whom players can use in the upcoming DLC, Sima Yue is the only one with the Sentinel class. His play-style, like those of many of the other princes, is quite different to any of those in the base game. He benefits from a unique resource called Influence, which will increase his faction’s research rate while simultaneously decreasing construction costs. Given that his focus is “politics and internal government,” this resource can make it easier to advance his faction. Sima Yue can generate Influence through commandery assignments. However, he loses Influence when he loses battles, and it also decays over time. As such, he needs a large court with characters who can reliably be out performing assignments.
His unique building chain is the Labour economic building, which reduces local construction costs while promoting population growth. To help administer his court and grant access to assignments, he also has two unique court positions; the Military Emissary and the Provincial Advisor. The former will reduce recruitment costs and grant use of his Military Interference assignment. The Advisor, on the other hand, grants access to the Provincial Inspection assignment and also lowers corruption.
Sima Yue’s Starting Position
Sima Yue starts in Donghai commandery, south of Sima Jiong and Sima Yong. His home territory puts him in a good position to start amassing food, as he starts with control over a fishing port. He will face opposition at the start, as he begins the game at war with the Prince of Yengcheng. However, his starting position difficulty is ‘Normal.’ His only noteworthy character in his court at the start of the game is He Lun, a loyal Commander-class character.
To help Sima Yue build up a court with which to fuel his Influence production, he actually benefits from a +25% chance of capturing enemy officers after a battle. With his focus on development, his play-style doesn’t need to prioritise territorial expansion or military dominance. He actually has a +10 diplomatic bonus with most factions, so he can secure allies more easily. However, he does still have access to two powerful unique units; the Xu Raiders and the Warriors of Xu. The former are a shock infantry unit with charge bonuses, while the latter are frontline axe infantry with great missile defence. Furthermore, Sima Yue actually grants all melee infantry in his faction a +15 melee evasion bonus.
Sima Yue in the War of the Eight Princes
Sima Yue is traditionally known as the eighth of the eight princes. Indeed, he was the last to become involved in the War of the Eight Princes. He was a cousin of Emperor Wu, and Prince of Donghai. However, for much of the early stages of the civil war, he held various governmental offices in the capital city and didn’t become involved. He finally influenced events directly in the year 304, when the then-regent Sima Ai was fighting against Sima Yong and Sima Ying.
Sima Ai had fought for almost a year, and had managed to hold out against the two princes’ superior forces. However, Sima Yue believed that Sima Ai had no hope of victory. As a result, he unexpectedly arrested the regent in Luoyang and surrendered the city. Sima Ai was handed over to Zhang Fang, one of Sima Yong’s generals. Zhang Fang put the regent to death by mercilessly burning him alive. Following the end of the revolt, Sima Ying became regent and crown prince, but did not move to the capital. Instead, he continued to conduct all affairs from his home in Yecheng. As a result, officials in Luoyang grew increasingly dissatisfied.
After just a few months of peace, Sima Yue rose in rebellion against Sima Ying, supported by many officials in Luoyang. He assembled an army and marched on Yecheng, taking Emperor Hui with him. However, the rebels were defeated and Sima Yue fled, leaving the emperor in the hands of Sima Ying. Shortly after, the regent was driven from Yecheng by Wang Jun; an old rival who took advantage of the situation. When he fled back to Luoyang, Sima Yong abandoned him and stripped him of his position. He then had Sima Ying, Emperor Hui, and the new crown prince moved to his stronghold in Chang’an.
The War Against Sima Yong
In 305, Sima Yue once again rose in rebellion, this time against Sima Yong. He used the excuse that the new regent was unlawfully detaining the emperor at Chang’an, prompting many other warlords to join either him or Sima Yong, though most sided with Sima Yue. (In part due to the widespread hatred of Zhang Fang, Sima Yong’s cruel subordinate.)
After Sima Yue’s forces managed to score several victories, Sima Yong had Zhang Fang executed in an attempt to make peace. Sima Yue refused, however, and was able to capture Chang’an a few months later. He returned Emperor Hui to Luoyang and, facing a stalemate against Sima Yong’s remaining forces, offered the prince peace in exchange for a high-ranking court position. Sima Yong accepted. However, on his way to Luoyang, the prince was intercepted by Sima Yue’s brother, Sima Mo, who murdered Sima Yong’s sons and strangled him to death. Just two years later, in early 307, Emperor Hui was fatally poisoned. The exact reason for the murder is unknown, but historians agree that Sima Yue was very likely to be behind it. With the death of Emperor Hui, the crown prince ascended to the throne as Emperor Huai.
The Rise of Han Zhao
Sima Yue held total control of the government after his victory over Sima Yong. In 307, he relocated to Xuchang, and also appointed Sima Rui to the governorship of Yang Province. (Although this was a seemingly minor decision at the time, Sima Rui would actually become emperor, years later.) Meanwhile, Emperor Huai began to quietly manoeuvre behind his back to acquire control for himself. This led to Sima Yue executing several of the emperor’s confidantes in 309. He also disbanded the imperial guards and put his own soldiers in charge of protecting the emperor.
However, while Sima Yue was waging a political struggle against the emperor, the Jin Empire was under attack. Xiongnu nomads under the command of Liu Yuan had, during the regency of Sima Ying, declared independence from the empire. Liu Yuan claimed to be a descendant of the Han Empire, and established the state of Han Zhao. Now, this new state was rapidly conquering Jin territory. After numerous inconclusive battles, Sima Yue took practically the entire imperial army out of Luoyang, leaving the city lawless and undefended. As a result, Emperor Huai convinced a commander named Xun Xi to stage a rebellion. Although Sima Yue learned of the plan, he fell ill, and passed away in 311. His generals made the decision to take his body back to Donghai for burial. However, the army was intercepted en route and wiped out by Han Zhao forces, who burned Sima Yue’s body.