Sima Zhao's regicide of Cao Mao

Sima Zhao's regicide of Cao Mao
Part of the wars of the Three Kingdoms
Date2 June 260
Location
Result Cao Mao murdered and Wang Jing's clan exterminated
Belligerents
Cao Mao and conspirators Sima Zhao and various defenders
Commanders and leaders
Cao Mao 
Wang Chen (Defected)
Wang Jing
Wang Ye (Defected)
Sima Zhao
Sima Zhou
Jia Chong
Cheng Ji
Wang Chen
Wang Ye
Strength
several hundred servants
Sima Zhao's regicide
Traditional Chinese司馬昭弒君
Simplified Chinese司马昭弑君
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSīmǎ Zhāo shì jūn

Sima Zhao's regicide of Cao Mao, also known as the Ganlu Incident (Chinese: 甘露之變), occurred on 2 June 260 in Luoyang, the capital of the state of Cao Wei, during the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Mao, the nominal emperor of Wei, attempted to oust the regent Sima Zhao, who effectively controlled the Wei government. However, the plot concluded with Cao Mao's death and Sima Zhao retaining his status. Contrary to its intention, the coup actually increased the Sima clan's power and influence in Wei, albeit at the cost of Sima Zhao's personal standing, thus providing a foundation for the eventual usurpation of the Wei throne in February 266 by Sima Zhao's son Sima Yan, who founded the Western Jin dynasty.

The incident is also mentioned in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, which dramatises the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The events of the incident described in the novel are largely similar to that described in historical sources.