Sima Shi
By 254, state power was in the control of the Sima clan, whose patriarch Sima Yi had seized power from the regent Cao Shuang in 249. After Sima Yi's death in 251, the Sima clan was led by his eldest son, Sima Shi. In 254, after falsely accusing Cao Fang's father-in-law Zhang Ji (張緝) and Zhang's associates Li Feng and Xiahou Xuan of treason, Sima Shi had them and their clans executed. When Cao Fang himself considered a coup against the Simas later that year, Sima Shi had him deposed.