them on Chinese cultural traditions, a proposal to which Sima Shi agreed to. At around the start of 252, Sima Shi was further promoted to the position of General-in-Chief (大將軍), while also being bestowed upon a post as Palace Attendant (侍中), effectively giving him all control of the armies stationed both in and outside the palace. He was also given authority over the Imperial Secretariat (錄尚書事). It was once proposed to him to alter the existing constitutions, to which he responded: "A poet used to praise those who ‘abide by the principles of the Heavenly Lord and appear as if they know nothing themselves’. The institutions and rules devised by ancestors of the Three Dynasties should be complied with. If there is no war, there should be no reforms in haste." Battle of Hefei Sima Shi was a capable politician and administrator, but he also quickly wanted to prove his military reputation. Towards the end of 252, he launched a major attack against Eastern Wu, whose founding emperor, Sun Quan, had recently died and whose current emperor, Sun Liang, was under the regency of Zhuge Ke. Zhuge Ke was able to deal Sima Shi's forces, headed by Sima Zhao, a major blow at the Battle of Dongxing, but Sima Shi maintained himself well by making humble admissions of faults to the public and promoting the generals who tried to stop his campaign. In 253, after Sima Shi defeated Zhuge Ke in a major battle, his reputation was established, while Zhuge Ke's own was undermined (due to Zhuge Ke's failure to admit fault), and Zhuge Ke soon fell while Sima Shi's power was affirmed. Deposing Cao Fang In 254, Sima Shi made a violent move to consolidate his power, at Cao Fang's expense. Cao Fang had aligned himself with the minister Li Feng (李豐), and Sima Shi had growing suspicions that they were plotting against him. He summoned and interrogated Li Feng, and when Li refused to disclose his conversations with the emperor, Sima Shi beat him to death with a sword handle and then accused Li Feng and his friends Xiahou Xuan (夏侯玄) and Zhang Ji (張緝) of treason, and had them and their families summarily executed. Cao Fang was further forced to depose his wife Empress Zhang, who was Zhang Ji's daughter. These moves further terrorised the officials into submission. Cao Fang was very angry about the deaths of