Li Lei: The "Later Zhao Problem" in the Construction of the Former Yan Regime: An Analysis of the Restraint Mechanism in the Legitimacy Inheritance of the Sixteen Kingdoms

The Murong clan, which established Qianyan, went through a complex process from identifying with the Eastern Jin Dynasty to identifying with the Later Zhao Dynasty on the issue of Zhengshuo. During the confrontation with Shi Hu, Murong Hao once claimed to Later Zhao, and there were also forces within his regime that attached themselves to Later Zhao. After Murong Jun ascended the throne, he interpreted the alternation of Zhao and Yan's reigns in North China in terms of dynastic changes, but when he became emperor in the first year of Yuanxi (352), Murong Jun crossed the Later Zhao in the order of five virtues and inherited the Western Jin Dynasty. This is because it is a top priority to sweep away the remnants of Later Zhao in You, Hebei, Yan, Qing and other prefectures, and denying the legitimacy of Later Zhao is necessary for the current government. During the 5th to 7th years of Jianxi reign (364-366), Murong Wei turned to recognize the position of Later Zhao in the order of the Five Virtues, which was the reason why the Eastern Jin Dynasty became the main rival after the third year of Guangshou (359), and the Later Zhao banner became a political resource that denied the legitimacy of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The process of the former Yan's identification with Zhao Zhengshuo after Zhao Zhengshuo shows the restraint mechanism in the legitimacy succession of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and the political legacy of the former regime must be properly handled for the sake of ruling North China. In consideration of the legitimacy competition with the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was necessary to find other political resources to construct the legal lineage among the sixteen states.

Since Liu Yuan established the Han Dynasty, the question of legitimacy has been the core issue of the construction of the Northern Dynasties of the Sixteen Kingdoms. However, the situation of the Han, Former Zhao, and Later Zhao was still different from that of later generations, as they directly succeeded the orthodoxy of the Han and Jin dynasties, such as Liu Yuan traced its legitimacy to the Western Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the Shu Han Dynasty, while Liu Yao and Shi Le respectively claimed that the Former Zhao and Later Zhao inherited the Western Jin Dynasty and became Mude. Since the time of the former Yan and the former Qin, the regimes of the Sixteen Kingdoms began to face the problem of continuing the previous minority regimes in terms of legal system. This problem also plagued the Northern Wei Dynasty, and it was not until Emperor Xiaowen decided to skip the legal system of the Sixteen Kingdoms that this major political problem during the Northern Dynasties of the Sixteen Kingdoms was put to an end. It is worth noting that it is based on the recognition of the legitimacy of the Later Zhao by the former Yan and the former Qin that the legal lineage of the Sixteen Kingdoms was constructed and continued. Therefore, the study of the legitimacy of the Later Zhao Dynasty is not only helpful to understand the continuity of the history of the Sixteen Kingdoms, but also to deeply explore the binding role of the Chinese political tradition in the change of ethnic minority regimes. Since Murong Diao, Murong Hao, and Murong Jun all accepted the official titles of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, compared with the former Qin, the political identification of the former Yan with the Later Zhao was more difficult. Previous studies have paid sufficient attention to the relationship between the Murong clan and the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and on this basis, this paper intends to further discuss the "Later Zhao issue" in the establishment of Murong Hao and Murong Jun, sort out the tortuous process of the former Yan's recognition of Later Zhao Zhengshuo, and deepen the understanding of the construction of the legal system and its historical significance in the Sixteen Kingdoms period.

I. The "Later Zhao Problem" in the Construction of the Murong Regime

In September of the fourth year of Yonghe (348), Bingshen, the canonized king of Yan in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Murong Haoxu, was the heir of Murong Jun. In April of the following year (349), Emperor Shi Hu of Later Zhao collapsed, and Shi Shi ascended the throne. In just a few months, the two sides of the confrontation Yan and Zhao had a change of throne. Unlike the chaos that fell into chaos after Shi Hu's death, Qianyan entered its heyday during the Murong Jun era. In the sixth year of Yonghe (350), Murong Jun sent troops to Zhao's Youzhou and Jizhou regions. In the seventh year of Yonghe (351), the war between Shi Yuan, who occupied Xiangguo, and Ran Min, who occupied Yecheng, intensified, and Murong Jun sent troops to aid Shi Yuan. In April of the eighth year of Yonghe (352), the Yan army defeated the Wei army at Liantai and captured Ran Min, and in August occupied Yecheng, capturing Empress Ran Min, the crown prince and hundreds of officials, and eliminating the remnants of Ran Wei. After defeating and appeasing the main separatist forces north of the Yellow River, Murong Jun proclaimed himself emperor in November of the eighth year of Yonghe (352) and changed his name to Yuan Yuanxi.

When Murong Jun became emperor, he faced the problem of legal unity with the Later Zhao and Eastern Jin Dynasty. The former influenced the rule of Former Yan over Later Zhao's homeland, and the latter involved the historical legitimacy of the Murong regime. Compared with the two, the political legacy of Houzhao is more realistic and urgent. In May of the fifth year of Yonghe (349), there was an extensive discussion within the Murong clan around the timing and title of Zhao after sending troops, and the "Zizhi Tongjian" recorded in detail the remarks of the Pingdi general Murong Ba, the Beiping Taishou Sun Xing, the Wucai general Feng Yi, the Zhonglang Huang Hong, and the Zhichong general Mu Yugen. The remarks of Feng Yi, Huang Hong, and Mu Yugen were first recorded in the Book of Yan written by Fan Heng, a scholar of the Later Yan Dynasty. Most of these discussions emphasized the importance of timing, believing that the chaos in Later Zhao after Shi Hu's death was a fleeting historical opportunity, and therefore advocated positive progress. In addition, the speaker also argued from the perspective of morality and popular will, Murong Ba and Feng Yi respectively described Shi Hu's rule as "extremely violent" and "extremely brutal", and Murong Ba called the chaos in Later Zhao "abandoned by heaven". Although these arguments criticized Shi Hu's lack of ways, they also acknowledged the fact that Later Zhao ruled northern China, and regarded Murong's advance into the Central Plains as a dynastic change of dynasty. For example, Murong Ba said, "Today's China is upside down, and I hope for benevolence"; Feng Yi said, "The people of China are falling into misery, and they are waiting to be uplifted"; Mu Yugen said, "The people of China are trapped in the Shi Rebellion, and they are thinking of changing hands to save the soup and fire." The premise of the "change of ownership" was the rule of the Later Zhao over the "people of China".

Huang Hong once revealed the celestial phenomenon of "the world changing hands": "Today, Taibai Jingtian, the year is in the north, the world changes hands, and the Yin Kingdom is ordered. According to the Book of Jin, · Tianwenzhi, in April of the fifth year of Yonghe (349), Taibai committed Dongjing, and the Zhanwen recorded in the Book of Jin is "Qin Youbing", that is, the soldiers of Guanzhong. The celestial phenomena observed by Murong should be the same, but Huang Hong interpreted it as "the world changed hands, and the Yin Kingdom was ordained", and "Taibai Jingtian" was used as the astronomical basis for the change of dynasties. In the first year of the former Yan Yuanxi (352), Murong Jun was the emperor, and when discussing the order of the five virtues, Han Heng, the general who consulted the army and Yanglie, insisted that Zhao was orthodox in the future, and believed that the former Yan had to inherit the later Zhao Shuide and become Mude:

Zhao has the Central Plains, not only personnel, but also the destiny of heaven. Heaven is with it, and people take it, and it is impossible for ministers to steal. And the traces of the Great Yan King began from Yu Zhen, in "Yi", and the earthquake was a green dragon. At the beginning of the order, there was a dragon seen in Duyi City, and the dragon was Mude, and the charm of the secret contract was also.

Although Han Heng's opinion was not accepted by Murong Jun, it reflected that there was a voice within the Murong clan that agreed with Hou Zhao's orthodoxy. This voice is the political aftermath of the Murong Hao period.

In the era of Murong Diao and Murong Hao, the Murong clan often regarded themselves as loyal ministers of the two Jin Dynasty in their negotiations with the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the seventh year of Xiankang (341), Liu Xiang, the envoy of Murong Hao, went to Jiankang, and he made a statement to the Eastern Jin Dynasty: "The father and son of Murong Zhenjun tried their best, kept their own dynasty in mind, attacked the people with outnumbered, and repeatedly killed strong enemies. In the lobbying, Chang Yu Hong said: "Only Murong Zhen's military wings wear the Son of Heaven, and he is fine throughout the day." "In fact, Murong Diao was the first regional overlord to challenge the ruling order of the Western Jin Dynasty. Prior to Liu Xiang's trip, Murong Hao had already sent the Yanglie general Song Hui to claim the vassal of Later Zhao in November of the third year of Xiankang (337). As we all know, the Eastern Jin Dynasty did not communicate with Liu and Shi. In the ninth year of Xianhe (334), after accepting the Eastern Jin Dynasty officials and lords, Murong Hao called Zhao the queen of the domain, which was tantamount to riding on the wall. What's more, the removal of the Eastern Jin Dynasty played a key role in Murong Hao's position as the heir, giving him a moral advantage, thus defeating Murong Ren in the civil war. "Wing Dai Tianzi" is just a strategy of the Murong clan's long-distance and close attack, once the situation changes, it can be completely abandoned. The choice of orthodoxy during the Murong Hao period was entirely based on his own political interests.

In the third year of Xiankang (337), Murong Hao claimed that the queen of the vassal Zhao was to fight against Duan Liao for the sake of beggar masters. During the civil war between the eighth year of Xianhe and the second year of Xiankang (333-336), the Duan clan and the Xianbei tribes came to Murong Renyao's aid. After the collapse of Murong Ren's power, the Duan clan became Murong Hao's main rival. In October of the third year of Xiankang (337), Murong Hao proclaimed himself the king of Yan in the absence of a canonization, and then called the queen of the domain, Zhao. In the first month of the fourth year of Xiankang (338), Murong Hao sent the commander Zhao Pan to envoy Hou Zhao and agreed to send troops. With the change of the target of the battle from Murong Ren to the Duan clan, Murong Hao's political line also changed from relying on the Jin family to calling the vassal-queen Zhao.

After defeating the Duan clan, Shi Hu tried to destroy the Murong clan in one fell swoop, "marching to attack it, as for Thorn City, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were attacked, attacking from all sides, and the county and county departments rebelled against Ji Long's thirty-six cities." Hold each other for more than ten years, and persuade the left and right to surrender". This is the biggest crisis since the establishment of the Murong clan, not only the 36 cities under its jurisdiction have been subjugated to Shihu, but also the decision-making level (around Murong Hao) has also appeared in the main surrender faction. "Zizhi Tongjian" recorded in detail the list of those who surrendered to Zhao: Cheng Zhou Shi Cui Tao, Ju Zhu Ling You Hong, Wu Yuan Ling Chang Ba, Dongyi Lieutenant Feng Xuan, Protector Song Huang, Yingqiu Nei Shi Xian Yuqu and Jiyang Liuyu people, Wang Qing surnamed Wang Qing in North Korea County, and hundreds of other people in Lelang County. Jiyang is the overseas Chinese county where Jizhou Liuyu is placed, Qinghe Cui and Bohai Feng are Jizhou surnames, Guangping You is Sizhou surnames, Xihe Song is Bingzhou surnames, Yuyang Xianyu and Lelang Wang are Youzhou surnames. Li Haiye believed that the surrender of Zhao in 36 cities was the result of the internal political struggle of the Murong clan, and that the Qinghe Cui clan and others were suppressed by the Murong clan because of their support for the Jin, and they took the opportunity of the war between Yan and Zhao to break away from the Murong clan. Yang Yi believes that this is the result of Hou Zhao's policy of using Hebei's regional identity as a link to unite people's hearts.

The Murong regime survived this crisis not politically but militarily. The Murong clan defeated the Zhao army in Thorn City. Later Zhao "all the armies were disturbed, abandoned the armor and fled", "Yan Wang Hao divided his troops to fight against the rebel cities, and they all went down." Expand the realm to Fancheng, Cui Tao, Changba Benye, Feng Xuan, Song Huang, You Hong Ben Goguryeo". When more than 30,000 people were captured in Later Zhao, Cui Tao, Chang Ba and others still fled to Yecheng, which shows the firmness of their position in supporting Zhao. Feng Xuan, Song Huang, and You Hong defected to Goguryeo, the old enemy of the Murong clan, and also showed decisive political implications. After the war, Murong Hao "ruled the rebels and exterminated many people", trying to eliminate the power of the subordinate Zhao by killing. "Zizhi Tongjian" said that "Gong Cao Liu Xiang justified it, and many of them lived". The so-called "Shenli" is to explain the reason for the "traitor" to surrender to Zhao, so as to express his loyalty to the Murong clan. In fact, this profoundly reflects the identity crisis of the Murong regime. 36 The escape of Zhao and Cui Tao showed that Murong Hao's self-proclaimed name of King Yan was limited and not enough to unite people's hearts, but then Zhao Qi had a lot of appeal within Murong's regime.

The great battle of the fourth year of Xiankang (338) failed to remove the military threat from Later Zhao. Shi Hu planned to attack the Murong clan from the sea, and sought military cooperation from Goguryeo, "sent Liao Cao Fu to cross the sea and destroy the city of Dun, and returned without water. He also transported 300,000 grains to Goguryeo with 300 ships, so that Diannong Zhonglang led Wang Dian to lead more than 10,000 tuntian fields on the seashore. and ordered Qingzhou to build 1,000 ships." On the land battlefield, Shi Hu sent the eastern general Ma Qiu to lead 30,000 people to welcome the surrender of Duan Liao. Because Duan Liaozhuan cooperated with Murong Hao to ambush the Zhao army, the Zhao army "died sixteen or seventeen, and returned in autumn". In the fifth year of Xiankang (339), Shi Hu sent Li Nong and Zhang Ju to lead 30,000 people to attack Fancheng under the rule of Murong clan. In the same year, Goguryeo and Yuwen both clashed with Murong. Under the leadership of Shi Hu, a tripartite military alliance of Later Zhao, Yuwen, and Goguryeo was formed. In the sixth year of Xiankang (340), "Ji Long will ask Murong Hao, and order Si, Ji, Qing, Xu, You, and Yongjian Fu to take three of the five dings, and two of the four dings, and the old army of Heye City is full of 500,000 and has 10,000 ships, and the river leads to the sea, and 11 million grain beans are transported to Anle City to prepare for the transfer of the conscription." Shi Hu carried out a general mobilization of the whole territory in order to conquer Murong Hao, and relocated the border people who were close to the Murong clan's ruling area to the interior, "migrating Liaoxi, Beiping, and Yuyang to the land of Yan, Henan, Yong, and Luozhou", and fully prepared for war.

Later Zhao's political influence and military threats became the background for Murong Hao to send envoys to the Eastern Jin Dynasty to seek the canonization of King Yan. The time when Murong Hao's envoy Liu Xiang arrived in Jiankang was in February of the seventh year of Xiankang (341). After a series of diplomatic activities such as participating in the Eastern Jin Dynasty discussions, arguing against Shangshu Zhuge Hui, and lobbying the Zhongchang servant Yuhong, Liu Xiang finally persuaded the Eastern Jin Dynasty to accept Murong Hao's request and appointed him as the king of Yan. In July of the same year (341), "the Jin envoy Honglu Guo held the festival to pay homage to the servants, the capital governor of Hebei, the generals, and the king of Yan, and Yu Ru as before." Although Murong Hao returned to the banner of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, this was done as a last resort to hedge against the political influence of Later Zhao. The issue of the Later Zhao Dynasty is the key issue that restricts the development of Murong Hao's regime.

2. The issue of legal unification and Murong Jun's strategy for the Central Plains

After the death of Shi Hu in the fifth year of Yonghe (349), the political situation was chaotic, and Murong Jun formulated a strategy to advance Later Zhao after careful decision-making, and the original plan was to occupy Youzhou and Xu Tu Jizhou, so after the war in the sixth year of Yonghe (350), Zhao Zhengdong's general Deng Heng and Youzhou Assassin Wang Wu were the targets of the battle. After capturing Youzhou and Southern Jizhou, Murong Jun returned to the capital Longcheng in October of the sixth year of Yonghe. The reason why he did not take advantage of the victory to go south was because at this time there was a fierce war going on between Yecheng Ran Min and Xiangguo Shiyi, and Murong Jun was waiting for the best time to enter the Central Plains.

In the seventh year of Yonghe (351), Shi You, the heir of Later Zhao, sent the imperial commander Zhang Ju to ask for help from Murong, and Ran Min also sent Chang Wei to stop the alliance between the two. The Book of Jin · Shi Jilong Ji Ji ·Ji Shi Jun's side exchanged the national seal for reinforcements, and Ran Min's side clarified that the national seal was in Yecheng instead of Xiangguo, and finally Murong Jun believed Shi Yi's side. Regarding Murong Jun's psychology, the speculation of the "Book of Jin" is: "Jun is not only convinced of his words, but also pleased with the failure of Min Zhu's form." "Murong Jun chose to aid Shi You, the key point is that Ran Min has become the main opponent in the battle for the Central Plains.

The situation in the seventh year of Yonghe (351) is that Ran Min has been the emperor for one year, and in the past year, he has defeated the Zhao army twice in Handan and Cangting, and the country has reached its peak, "more than 300,000 soldiers, and the banners and bells and drums stretch for more than 100 miles, although the prosperity of the Shi clan cannot be surpassed." From November of the sixth year of Yonghe (350) to February of the following year (351), Ran Min besieged the capital of Shizhi for more than 100 days, and the fall of the Later Zhao regime was imminent, which was the background of Shiyi's request for help. For Murong Jun, sitting back and watching Shi You's demise is tantamount to contributing to Ran Min's hegemony, and there will be a situation where Murong Ba said that "there are heroes who become wealthy according to them", which will lead to the result of "losing this great profit" and "more troubles".

When Ran Min was proclaimed emperor, Later Zhao generals such as Li Li, Zhang Ping, and Gao Chang claimed to be vassals of Murong Jun, which qualified them to intervene in the legal unification issues between Later Zhao and Ran Wei. "Jin Shu · Murong Juan's Record": "At the beginning, Ran Min's arrogance was also, Shi Jilong led Li Li, Zhang Ping, Gao Chang, etc., and led his subordinates to call the clan Yujun, and sent his son into the service. He invested money to build Ye, knotted Fu Jian, and received the title, and was bound to consolidate himself, although the tribute was endless, and the sincerity was not finished. Although the Later Zhao generals claimed to be vassals, "sincerity was not exhausted", which prompted Murong Jun to use the issue of legal unification to unite people's hearts and clearly deny the legitimacy of Ran Wei politically. Murong Jun once asked Feng Yu in the record office to ask Ran Wei's envoy Chang Wei: "Ran Min raises Chang Cai, and he usurps rebellion, why should he be called a big trumpet?" Murong Jun denied Ran Min's title to emperor in two aspects: first, he defined Ran Min Jianwei as "negative usurpation and rebellion", and did not recognize the continuity of the legal system between Ran Wei and Later Zhao; The second is to deny Ran Min's destiny, believing that Ran Min's failure to cast a golden statue is a manifestation of a lack of "auspiciousness". After capturing Ran Min in the eighth year of Yonghe (352), Murong Jun accused him in person: "You slaves are talented, how dare you call yourself the Son of Heaven." "This is the Son of Heaven who denies Ran Min from the two levels of birth (slave) and ordained (Xia Cai). Based on the denial of Ran Min Tianzi, Murong Jun did not give courtesy, and after three days of whipping, he was sent to Longcheng to sue Murong Diao Temple, and then executed.

The determination of Zhao's policy after Murong Jun's assistance was also due to Shi You's "going to the title of emperor and being called King of Zhao". This move means that the world name of "Zhao" has been reduced to a national name, and the position of emperor is suspended. In the decisive battle between Later Zhao and Ran Wei, Murong Jun sent troops to help and annihilated Ran Wei's main force in one fell swoop. "Sikong Shipu, Shangshu Ling Xu Ji, Cheqi Hu Mu, Shizhong Li Qi, Zhongshu Jian Lu Chen, Shaofu Wang Yu, Shangshu Liu Qin, Liu Xiu, etc., and more than 100,000 soldiers died, so the characters were annihilated." After the battle of Xiangguo, "thieves and thieves swarmed, Siji starved, and people cannibalized", "Qing, Yong, You, Jingzhou migrants and Zhuqi, Qiang, Hu, and barbarians were more than 100,000 people, each returning to their homeland, the roads were staggered, killing and plundering each other, and the hunger and epidemic died, and those who could reach it were two or three out of ten." The summers are chaotic, and there is no one to return to farming". The local rule of the Ran Wei regime completely collapsed. It can be said that the determination and implementation of the strategy of uniting Shi Yi and attacking Ran Min created a good opportunity for Murong Jun to enter the Central Plains.

In April of the seventh year of Yonghe (351), Shi Yi was killed, and Zhao Guozuo was cut off. In the eighth year of Yonghe (352), Ran Min was captured in April, Yecheng fell in August, and Ran Wei perished. After that, Murong Jun's opponents were political and military groups in various parts of Later Zhao. In addition to the Youzhou Assassin Wang Wu who claimed to be the King of An, and Zhongshan Surin who claimed to be the Son of Heaven, "Therefore, Zhao will support the troops and send envoys to Yan." The Zizhi Tongjian records the list of these generals who surrendered to Yan and the placement of them by Murong Jun: Wang Zheng as the Assassin of Yizhou, Kui Yi as the Assassin of Qinzhou, Zhang Ping as the Assassin of Bingzhou, Li Li as the Assassin of Yanzhou, Gao Chang as the General of Anxi, and Liu Ning as the General of Checai. Wang Zhen and Liu Ning were the main generals sent by Shi Hu to the Liangzhou front to fight against Zhang Chonghua. In July of the eighth year of Yonghe (352) before the Yan was surrendered, Wang Zheng sent an envoy to the Eastern Jin Dynasty to ask for surrender, and was worshiped as the general of the expedition to the west and the assassin of Qinzhou. Liu Ning returned to Yecheng in the chaos of the late Zhao Dynasty and became a supporter of Ran Wei. In the eighth year of Yonghe (352), when Murong Ping besieged Yecheng, he and his younger brother Liu Chong rode 3,000 horses to Jinyang. Zhang Ping is the largest force in Bingzhou, "spanning the lands of Xinxing, Yanmen, Xihe, Taiyuan, Shangdang, and Shangjun, with more than 300 walls and more than 100,000 households in Hu and Jin." At the same time as the Zhang Ping group descended to Yan, it also built its own political power, worshipping generals such as Zheng and Zhen. Li Li and Gao Chang were based in the two counties of Weiguo and Yewang of the Sili School Captain Department respectively. Before descending to Yan, they had descended to the Eastern Jin Dynasty in December of the seventh year of Yonghe (351). Murong Jun's long-term policy was to eliminate these separatist forces that rode the wall, but in the case of the early peace of Ran Wei, he had to adopt a more prudent policy.

Unlike Murong Jun, who regarded Ran Min as a "servant and a talent" who "vainly claimed to be the Son of Heaven", there were actually forces in the local society of Later Zhao that supported Ran Wei. In April of the seventh year of Yonghe (351), "the Bohai people were about to be in Zhao Chao, and they had thousands of families, attached to Wei, and Wei was about to defend Bohai." Therefore, Liu Zhun is too guarded, and Kui's brother is also; The local tyrant is sealed, and Yizhi is also from his younger brother; Don't gather to defend yourself. Min Yizhun is the history of Youzhou Thorn, and the Bohai Sea is divided with the covenant". In the chaos of Later Zhao, Liu Zhun and Feng Fang "don't gather to defend themselves", and each gathered local forces. Since Liu Yuan raised his troops, the heroes of North China have used clans and township songs as a link to unite local forces, formed dock walls to protect themselves, and used this as a political basis to participate in the political organizations of the Han, Former Zhao, and Later Zhao to obtain official positions. Once the regime collapsed, they reappeared as local forces. Ran Min made an appointment with Liu Zhun to appoint the Taishou of Bohai and the Assassin of Youzhou, but made an arrangement that violated the official system by letting the Assassin Shi and Taishou "divide the Bohai Sea in the middle", which was precisely out of recognition of the local power structure. The situation in Bohai represents the general situation of local society when Murong Jun entered North China.

For the local forces in the Bohai Sea, Murong Jun sent Feng Yi to conquer the treaty, and sent Changli Taishou Gao Kai to conquer Liu Zhun and seal it. After he was captured, Murong Jun was appointed to join the military and changed his name to Xiao Yu. In the winter of the same year, "the fishing died and returned to the Bohai Sea, and the old people were recruited to rebel against the Yan". The rebellion against Yan had the background of the rivalry between the Xiao clan, the Feng clan, and the Liu clan in the local politics of the Bohai Sea, but in the face of the military superiority of the Murong clan occupying Youzhou and Jingluo Jizhou, Xiao Yu, who had been entrusted with an official position, still chose to support Ran Wei, which shows that Ran Wei's political centripetal force.

In the third year of Yan Yuanxi (354), someone accused Song Bin and others of conspiring to serve Ran Zhi, the prince of Ran Wei, and Song Bin and others were killed. Song Bin is the son of Song Candle, the Taishou of Jiyang. In the battle of Shi Hu attacking Murong Hao in the fourth year of Xiankang (338), Song Candle was killed by the people of Jiyang Liuyu. Song Candle from his younger brother Dongyi guarded the army Song Huang first descended to Zhao, and then to Goguryeo. In the fifth year of Yonghe (349), Song Huang was sent back by Goguryeo, and Murong Jun changed his name to Song Huo and worshiped him as a lieutenant. In the eighth year of Yonghe (352), Murong Jun was proclaimed emperor, and Song Huo was the middle book supervisor. The killing of Song Bin in the third year of the Yuan Xi reign (354) may have been an action by Murong Jun to eliminate political opponents such as the Xihe Song clan, but the crime of supporting Ran Zhi shows that the Ran Wei banner still had a certain influence in the Former Yan period.

For Murong Jun, who was the first emperor, acknowledging the legitimacy of Ran Wei was a matter of stability in his rule. Therefore, after destroying Ran Wei and removing his substantial threat, Murong Jun no longer defined Ran Min by "nurturing Changcai", "usurping rebellion" and "arrogance", and sent envoys to sacrifice and give the title of King Wumourning. "Spring and Autumn of the Sixteen Kingdoms · Later Zhao Lu" contains: "At the beginning, Murong Cong beheaded Min in the containment of the mountain, and the grass and trees on the left and right of the mountain withered, and the locusts rose greatly, and there was no rain since May, as for December. The envoy was sent to worship him, and he said that Wu mourned the king, and it rained heavily and snowed. It is the year too (Yong) and the eighth year also. This account tortuously acknowledges Ran Min's destiny. The appearance of disasters such as the withering of plants and trees, the rise of locusts, and the lack of rain were all due to the killing of Ran Min, and when his position as the king was recognized, the disasters ended, and "the heavy rain and snow on his day". Murong Jun gave Ran Min Wu the title of Heavenly King, which was actually an official recognition of his position as Heavenly King.

3. The "Later Zhao Issue" and the Establishment and Reform of the Five Virtues of the Former Yan

In November of the first year of Yuanxi (352), when Murong Jun was proclaimed emperor, an important issue was how to establish the position of Qianyan in the order of the five virtues. The ministers suggested: "Dayan was ordered, the king of the black essence of the Chengguang Ji, the descendant of the fortune calendar, after the Jin Xing, it is advisable to go to the summer time, serve the crown of Zhou, the banner is still black, and the livestock is still Xuan." Murong Jun accepted this proposition and directly inherited the Jin Dynasty's Jin Xing and skipped the legal system of Tu Ge Han, Former Zhao, Later Zhao, and Ran Wei.

As mentioned earlier, as early as the Murong Hao era, the Later Zhao banner constrained the construction of Murong Jun's political power, and after Murong Jun ascended the throne, the ministers also interpreted the change of Zhao and Yan's rule in the Central Plains as a dynastic change. Murong Jun reprimanded Ran Min for "nurturing Changcai" and "usurping rebellion", which was also an argument from the position of Hou Zhao. Former Yan's choice of "after Dai Jin Xing" means that Murong Jun, who was on the throne at the beginning of the emperor, was unwilling to be constrained by the Later Zhao legal system, and tried to establish a new ruling order with "Great Yan being ordained".

Later, the cancellation of Zhao Tianxia was due to Shi You's voluntary abdication, and his Guozuo ended with the traitor Liu Xian. The Murong clan was not directly responsible for the overthrow of Later Zhao, nor did he directly seize power from Later Zhao. The rupture of the legal system between Former Yan and Later Zhao is the factual basis for Murong Jun to cross Hou Zhao when he established the Five Virtues. What needs to be explained is the matter of the Shihu jade version recorded in the Book of Jin:

At the beginning, Shi Jilong made people explore in Huashan, get the jade version, and the text said: "The year is in Shenyou, and it is as endless as a line." The age is in Renzi, and the real person is seen. And this, Yan Renxian thought that it should be good.

The year of Renzi is the year when Murong Jun became emperor. Murong Jun took the text of the jade plate obtained by Shi Hu as a prophecy, not to refer to the relationship between the two to teach each other, but to refer to the will of heaven after Zhao Jiangshan was obtained by Qianyan, which could not be changed by Shi Hu's personal will. An important evidence of Murong Jun's appointment is to obtain the national seal, so he takes "Yuan Xi" as the year name. According to the "Spring and Autumn · of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Qianyan Lu", "Jiang Ganxian has sent the seal of the country to Jin, and he wants to be in his career, and he has said that his fortune is in his own hands, but he has obtained it by deception, and he has given his wife the title of Fengxijun." In Murong Jun's "God's Cause", the seal representing the fortune of the country is taken from Ran Wei rather than from Later Zhao.

However, the legitimacy of Qianyan does not seem to have been recognized, at least not in a significant political role. During the reign of Yuan Xi (352-357), the rule of Qianyan in Youyou and Hebei was not stable. As far as the situation in Jizhou is concerned, in March of the second year of Murong Jun's reign as emperor (the second year of Yuan Xi, 353), Li Li, a native of Changshan, the Later Zhao Weiwei, gathered thousands of people, which turned against the general barrier. In the same year, the three counties of Leling, Pingyuan and Qinghe in Zhao Jizhou and Yangping County in the Sili School Captain Department entered the territory of Qianyan. "Leling Zhu Bald, Pingyuan Du Neng, Qinghe Ding Rao, and Yangping Sun Yuan each supported troops to divide the city, and they all surrendered to Yan; Yan Zhujun is the history of Qingzhou Thorn, can be the plain Taishou, Rao is the general of Lijie, Yuan is the history of Yanzhou Thorn, and each stays to care for its camp". However, the annexation of the four counties was subservience in the case of the fall of Later Zhao and Ran Wei, and once the situation changed, chaos arose.

In February of the third year of Yuan Xi (354), Qianyan captured Lukou, and the original Later Zhao Youzhou Thorn History Department fled to Yewang under the leadership of Lü Hu, and Qianyan occupied Changle, Julu, Wuyi, Guangchuan four counties and a part of Boling County, and most of Jizhou was already under the rule of Qianyan. However, after the former Yan established its rule over Jizhou, the newly attached Qingzhou Thorn Shi Zhu Bald rebelled in July of the same year, and ran to the south of the Duan Shrine. According to the "Zizhi Tongjian", the reason for Zhu Bald's rebellion was that he was insulted by the clan Murong Hook. After Zhu Bald was attached, Murong Hook was appointed as the Taishou of Leling and worked with Zhu Bald to cure his disgust. From the Zhu Bald incident, we can roughly get a glimpse of Qianyan's arrangements for his subordinates, on the one hand, he was promoted to assassin and general; On the other hand, he ordered the clan to rule with him with ether guards or other powerful official positions to form a clamp. Li Haiye believed that the ruling model of the former Yan in the Central Plains was that the Xianbei nobles served as assassins and generals, ruling the Xianbei soldiers and Han soldiers, and the Han bureaucrats had no right to govern the prefectures and counties alone. Zhu Vulture's rebellion was the result of the contradictory movement under the former Yan partition system.

During the second and third years of Yuan Xi (353-354), the situation in Youzhou was also unstable. In October of the third year of Yuan Xi (354), Murong Jun returned to Helong from Jicheng, "the people of Youji thought that they had moved eastward, disturbed each other, and were in Tunjie". He asked for it, and Murong Jun thought, "The group of small people is patrolling eastward, so they are confused." Now that I have arrived, I should determine myself. However, it is necessary to be prepared for it", so he ordered martial law inside and outside. Murong Jun's eastward tour of Dragon City was interpreted by the people of Youji as moving eastward, which caused disturbances and knots in various parts of Youji. The situation in Jizhou has been seen above, Youzhou is the place where the Murong clan has been in for a long time, but Qianyan's rule in the local area is not stable.

In the fourth year of the Yuan Xi Dynasty (355), Qianyan expanded to Yanzhou and Qingzhou south of the Yellow River. The Book of Jin · Murong Jun Jiji records: "Jin Lanling Taishou Sun Hei, Jibei Taishou Gaozhu, and Jianxing Taishou Gaojun each rebelled to Yu Yu. "But what Qianyan really controls is only Yanzhou Jibei County. As mentioned earlier, Jizhou Pingyuan County and Yangping County, which are close to Jibei County, were annexed to Qianyan in the second year of Yuanxi (353). Murong Jun appointed Yangping Sun Yuan as the assassin of Yanzhou, aiming to guide his influence to Yanzhou. In the same way, Murong Jun's appointment of Leling Zhu Bald as the assassin of Qingzhou was also aimed at using the power of Jizhou to pass through Qingzhou. At this time, occupying Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Dongguan, and Langxie two counties was the Duan Shrine from the Xianbei Duan clan. In a letter to Murong Jun in October of the fourth year of Yuan Xi (355), Duan Gong "resisted the ritual of the middle table, and was not in the right position". "Non-Jun Zheng", that is, unwilling to recognize Murong Jun's title as emperor.

In fact, the vast majority of Murong Jun's newly expanded territories as emperor and queen were settled by conquest, rather than relying on the Qianyan banner to be resolved through political means. In the fifth year of Yuan Xi (356), Qianyan defeated Duan Gong and occupied Qingzhou and Dongguan County, Xuzhou; In the second year of Guangshou (358), Zhang Ping was conquered to take and annex the state; In the same year, he seized Weiguo and Puyang, which were occupied by Li Li; In the third year of Guangshou (359), he seized Liyang and Dongyan controlled by Gaochang. Murong Jun moved the capital to Yecheng in the first year of Guangshou (357) in order to pass through the Si, Yan, and Qing prefectures south of the Yellow River and the states west of the Taihang Mountains. In the third year of Guangshou (359), after Qianyan completed the general control of Zhuzhou, Murong Jun imposed an additional punishment on Shi Hu's corpse. "Spring and Autumn · Former Yan Records of the Sixteen Kingdoms" contains:

The dream stone tiger bit his buttocks, and he was evil, and his life was sent to his tomb, the coffin was dissected, and he scolded: "Dead end, dare to dream of giving birth to the Son of Heaven!" "Send Lieutenant Yang to count his cruel crimes, whip and throw himself into the water.

Murong Jun's disposition of Shi Hu's corpse was highly politically symbolic. Murong Jun contrasted the "dead end" with the "birth of the Son of Heaven", aiming to show the "death" of Later Zhao and the "life" of Former Yan, so as to highlight the fact that Murong Jun ruled North China. Sending Lieutenant Yushi to count the cruel crimes of Shihu and whipping them into Zhangshui is to assert morality and exercise the right of judgment and disposal. Qianyan brought Shi Hu into the judicial process for trial, which was a complete denial of the legitimacy of Later Zhao. At this time, it has been eight years since the fall of Later Zhao, indicating that the problem of Later Zhao has been plaguing Qianyan. Murong Jun's dream of a stone tiger biting his buttocks at night is a visual expression of this trouble. Murong Jun had to oppose Later Zhao and Former Yan on the issue of Zhengshuo, and dissipate the legitimacy of Later Zhao by judging Shi Hu.

After Murong Wei ascended the throne, Qianyan's attitude towards Later Zhao Fatong underwent major changes. "Book of Jin · Murong Wei Records": "Wei Zhong Lulang Guo Qin proposed to take Wei Chengshi Ji Longshui as a wood virtue, and Wei obeyed it. Luo Xin believes that the time when Qianyan changed Shuide to Mude was in the fifth to seventh years of Jianxi (364-366). This revision meant the recognition of the legitimacy of the Later Zhao Dynasty and the establishment of the legal system of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Later Zhao Dynasty, and the Former Yan. This is because at this time, the Eastern Jin Dynasty became the main opponent of the former Yan, and denying the legitimacy of the Eastern Jin Dynasty became a top priority.

In the eighth year of Yonghe (352), the Eastern Jin Dynasty sent troops to aid Ran Wei, and the two sides began to fight each other. After the demise of Ran Wei, the separatist forces in the territory of the former Later Zhao were at both ends of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the former Yanjian Shou Mouse, intensifying the competition between the two. In the fifth year of Yuan Xi (356), Murong Jun sent troops to conquer Duan Gong, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty sent Xuzhou Thorn Shi Xunxian to rescue. From the third year of Guangshou (359), the Eastern Jin Dynasty became the main target of the former Yan. Taishan Taishou Zhuge of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was defeated by Murong Ke in the former Yandong County in that year. In the same year, Xie Wan was defeated by Liang Pu, "the cities of Xuchang and Yingchuan fell one after another, and the Western Domain was in turmoil". Murong Ke "marched into Kou Henan, and Ru, Ying, Qian, and Pei all fell, and returned to the slaughter." Murong Wei ascended the throne at the beginning of his reign (the first year of Jianxi, 360), and the Eastern Jin Dynasty believed that the former Yan monarchs were alternate, "the Central Plains can be mapped", and prepared for the Northern Expedition. Qianyan immediately dispatched Murong Chui and others to "ride 20,000 handsome horses, watch the troops in Henan, and return to Huai; The territory is safe".

The Jianxi period was an intensified period of the war between the former Yan and the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The battle for Luoyang in the third to sixth years of Jianxi (362-365) had a particularly great impact. In the sixth year of Jianxi (365), Qianyan won the occupation of Luoyang, and the influence even affected the former Qin. Qianyan changed Shuide to Mude in order to establish a political advantage in the fierce competition with the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Both the Later Zhao and the Eastern Jin Dynasty claimed to inherit the Western Jin Dynasty, and there was an orthodox narrative competition between the two sides. By recognizing Later Zhao and denying the legitimacy of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, this was in line with the political interests of Former Yan during the Jianxi period. Former Yan denied the legitimacy of Later Zhao from the Yuanxi and Guangshou periods to recognize it during the Jianxi period, because the opponent had changed from the remnants of the Later Zhao Dynasty to the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Although the former Yan operated the "Later Zhao" issue according to the needs of realpolitik, the long-term existence of the "Later Zhao" issue in the politics of the former Yan shows that the legitimacy of the Later Zhao has an inherent constraint on the political construction of the former Yan. It was under this constraint that the legal relations between the sixteen countries were established.

epilogue

During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, there was often a correlation between the various regimes that claimed to be emperors. For example, Shi Le, the founding monarch of the Later Zhao Dynasty, was a general of the Han Dynasty; The Fangtou Group that built the Former Qin, its leader Fu Hong was once enshrined in Later Zhao; Yao Chang, who founded Later Qin, worked in Former Qin; Helian Bobo, who established the Xia regime, was appointed by the Later Qin. As for the five Yans, there is even more law within the Murong clan. Only the relationship between Former Yan and Later Zhao not only lacked personnel and organizational ties, but also had long-term political and military hostility. Before entering the Central Plains, the Murong clan had long followed the Eastern Jin Dynasty Zhengshuo, and Murong Jun also crossed the Later Zhao legal system when he became emperor, but the former Yan still recognized the Later Zhao Zhengshuo in the end, which shows that there was a constraint mechanism in the legitimate succession of the Sixteen Kingdoms.

Specifically, since Later Zhao unified most of northern China, its existence was an unavoidable fact in the construction of the Murong regime. During the period of confrontation between the two sides, the situation of Zhao strong and weak Yan affected the stability of the Murong clan's regime, and forces that identified with Later Zhao appeared within it, and even Murong Hao, who claimed to be the king of Yan, was once called the Later Zhao. Even if Later Zhao fell into chaos after Shi Hu's death, Murong Jun would still have to manipulate the issue of legal rule in order to defeat Ran Wei and take over Later Zhao's political legacy. After the fall of Later Zhao and the proclamation of Former Yan as emperor, the "Later Zhao issue" changed from a practical problem to a historical problem. Murong Jun crossed over the Later Zhao Dynasty and inherited the Western Jin Dynasty in order to create favorable political public opinion and sweep away the remnants of the Later Zhao Zaiyou, Ji, Yan, and Qing. After the current Yan rule stabilized and the opponent turned to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Later Zhao banner became a political resource to deny the legitimacy of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Murong Wei's rerecognition of Later Zhao's Zhengshuo status was precisely to create public opinion conditions for Qianyan to occupy Luoyang and other places.

The "Later Zhao issue" is an unavoidable issue for the Murong clan to construct a regime. During the reign of Murong Hao, Murong Jun, and Murong Wei, whether it was seeking political stability, navigating the Central Plains, or competing with the Eastern Jin Dynasty for legitimacy, they all encountered the "Later Zhao problem". In the final analysis, this is because the Later Zhao had completed the unification of northern China, which forced the successor regime to confront the enormous influence of the Later Zhao and either exercise restraint or use it at different historical stages. In the same way, the former Yan, the former Qin, the Later Yan, and the Later Qin also had a significant impact on the successor regime and participated in the process of their regime construction in the form of "problems". It was in this kind of problem-solving, "problem-solving" type of negative succession, that the legal lineage of the Sixteen Kingdoms was established. The long-term confrontation between the Sixteen States regime and the Eastern Jin Dynasty was also an important external factor that contributed to the subsequent regime's identification with the previous regime. It can be said that the legitimacy of the Sixteen Kingdoms has a check-and-hold mechanism: the successor regime must properly handle the political legacy of the previous regime for the sake of ruling North China; In consideration of the legitimacy competition with the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was necessary to find other political resources to construct the legal lineage among the sixteen kingdoms. The legal system of the Sixteen Nations was constructed under these two constraints.

This article was originally published in the second issue of China Frontier History and Geography Research in 2024.