Murong Nong

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Murong Nong was a son of Murong Chui, founder of Later Yan. Like Murong Long, he was born to one of Murong Chui's favored consorts. Murong Chui had two successive empresses from the Duan clan. The first Empress Duan bore Murong Ling and Murong Bao, while the later Empress Duan bore Murong Lang and Murong Jian. Other favored consorts bore Murong Lin, Murong Nong, Murong Long, Murong Rou, and Murong Xi. Murong Nong ranked third among the brothers. Because he was not born to an empress, his status was below that of the legitimate sons, but he was intelligent from childhood and was deeply favored by his father.

When Murong Nong was nine, he once asked the Grand Astrologer Huang Hong about a saying that linked the stars Shen and Chen with mutual hostility. Huang Hong explained it through the legend of Bo'e and Shichen, the two sons of Gaoxin. Murong Nong then questioned how the fixed positions of the stars could have acquired human associations of hatred before those two figures existed. Huang Hong was unable to answer, and Murong Chui was astonished by the child's reasoning. The episode was later cited as evidence that Murong Nong was thoughtful from an early age and did not simply accept authority.

Flight to Former Qin and Plans to Restore Yan

In 369, the tenth year of Jianxi, Huan Wen, Grand Marshal of Eastern Jin, invaded Former Yan. Murong Chui reversed the military situation and decisively defeated the Jin army at Fangtou, greatly enhancing his reputation. His relations with Empress Dowager Kezuhun, mother of Emperor Murong Wei, and with Grand Tutor Murong Ping were nevertheless hostile, and Murong Ping in particular resented him. Empress Dowager Kezuhun and Murong Ping plotted to kill Murong Chui. After learning of the danger, Murong Chui rejected proposals that he rebel. Instead he chose flight, secretly leaving Ye in the eleventh month under the pretext of hunting and intending to return to the old capital Longcheng. At Handan, his younger son Murong Lin, who had long been out of favor, informed Murong Ping, and many of Murong Chui's followers deserted. Murong Chui then fled to Former Qin together with Lady Duan, his sons Murong Ling, Murong Bao, Murong Nong, and Murong Long, his nephew Murong Kai, his maternal uncle Lan Jian, and the Chamberlain Gao Bi.

Fu Jian, Emperor Xuanzhao of Former Qin, had long heard of Murong Chui and treated him generously. Murong Chui thereafter lived in Former Qin. Over the following years, ministers including Wang Meng and Fu Rong repeatedly urged Fu Jian to eliminate Murong Chui and his family, but Fu Jian refused. Wang Meng warned that Murong Chui and his sons were like dragons and tigers that could not be domesticated and, if given favorable circumstances, would be impossible to control. Fu Jian replied that he intended to gather heroes in order to pacify the realm and would not kill a man whom he had already received in good faith. Murong Chui was therefore appointed General of the Champion and enfeoffed as Marquis of Bintu.

In 377, the second year of the Taiyuan era, Murong Nong privately told Murong Chui that Former Qin's institutions had declined since Wang Meng's death and that extravagance had further weakened the state. He urged his father to cultivate ties with outstanding men and seize the opportunity when it came. Murong Chui replied that such affairs were beyond him and did not accept the advice. The episode nevertheless shows that Murong Nong had already perceived growing weaknesses in Former Qin.

Raising Troops at Lieren and the Founding of Later Yan

In 383, the eighth year of Taiyuan, Fu Jian suffered a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Fei River. Most of his forces collapsed, while the thirty thousand troops under Murong Chui remained intact. Fu Jian withdrew with only a little more than a thousand cavalry and joined Murong Chui. Murong Chui's associates urged him to kill Fu Jian, but Murong Chui remembered Fu Jian's earlier kindness and refused, instead turning his troops over to him. Murong Nong then advised his father not to force a benefactor into danger, saying that allowing events to ripen naturally would preserve both righteousness and advantage. Murong Chui accepted the advice and left Fu Jian for Ye under the pretext of visiting ancestral tombs and pacifying the eastern regions, preparing to restore Yan.

Murong Chui left Murong Nong, Murong Kai, and Murong Shao in Ye while he led troops against the Dingling leader Zhai Bin. Before long Murong Chui arranged the killing of Fu Feilong, openly rebelled against Former Qin, and sent word to Murong Nong and the others to rise in support. It was already late in the day. Murong Nong and Murong Kai stayed overnight in Ye while Murong Shao left first for Puchi, stole several hundred of Fu Pi's fine horses, and waited. At the end of the month Murong Nong and Murong Kai slipped out of Ye in disguise with several dozen riders, joined Murong Shao, and fled to Lieren, east of present-day Handan in Hebei.

In the first month of 384, the ninth year of Taiyuan, Fu Pi held a large banquet and invited Murong Nong and the others. When they failed to appear he realized that something had happened. Only three days later did he learn that Murong Nong had already raised troops at Lieren. On reaching Lieren, Murong Nong first went to the home of the Wuhuan man Lu Li. Lu Li prepared food, but Murong Nong smiled and did not eat. Lu Li's wife correctly guessed that a man of Murong Nong's ambition had not arrived merely for food and urged her husband to investigate. Murong Nong then told Lu Li that he intended to gather troops at Lieren for the restoration of Yan and asked whether he would follow him. Lu Li pledged to follow him in life or death. Murong Nong next visited another Wuhuan man, Zhang Xiang, and told him that his father had begun a great undertaking and that distant and nearby groups were responding. Zhang Xiang likewise pledged his life to the restored ruler.

Murong Nong forcibly conscripted the inhabitants of Lieren into military service, cut mulberry and elm wood into weapons, tore clothing to make banners, and recruited several thousand followers including Bi Cong, Bu Sheng, Zhang Yan, Li Bai, Guo Chao, and Liu Da. He appointed Zhang Xiang General Who Assists the State, Liu Da General Who Pacifies the Distant, and Lu Li General Who Establishes Might. He captured Guantao, gaining large quantities of military supplies, and sent Lan Han, Duan Zan, Zhao Qiu, Murong Xi, and others to seize several thousand horses. His forces rapidly grew to tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry. Zhang Xiang and others jointly acclaimed him as Acting with Credential, Commander of All Military Affairs in Hebei, and Great General of Agile Cavalry, placing the other commanders under his authority. Murong Nong arranged assignments according to ability and imposed strict discipline. At first he hesitated to grant titles and rewards without Murong Chui's presence. Zhao Qiu argued that soldiers would not continue without rewards and urged him to make provisional appointments in order to broaden the foundations of the restoration. Murong Nong accepted the advice, after which men continued to arrive in a steady stream. Murong Chui later approved his actions. Murong Nong also solicited support from Kunu Guan Wei in Shangdang, the Qite people in Dong'e, and the brothers Ping Rui and Ping You in Yan, all of whom responded. Lan Han and others captured Dunqiu. Contemporary accounts state that Murong Nong's orders were strict, his troops did not privately plunder, and local men and women welcomed them.

When Fu Pi learned of the uprising, he sent Shi Yue with more than ten thousand infantry and cavalry to attack. Murong Nong reasoned that Shi Yue, despite his reputation for courage and intelligence, had come north against him rather than remaining to resist Murong Chui's main army, showing that he underestimated Murong Nong. His officers proposed repairing Lieren's fortifications. Murong Nong replied that a skilled commander bound soldiers through their hearts rather than through walls and that an army raised for restoration should take mountains and rivers as its defenses. When Shi Yue reached the west of Lieren, Murong Nong sent Zhao Qiu and Staff Officer Qimu Teng to defeat his vanguard. Zhao Qian argued that Shi Yue's equipment was good but his men's morale was shaken and that they should attack immediately. Murong Nong responded that the enemy's armor was external while his own men's armor was in their hearts; a daytime fight might intimidate his soldiers, so he would wait until dusk. He ordered the army to hold formation. Shi Yue instead built a fortified camp. Murong Nong remarked that a strong army that stopped to build defenses upon arrival had already lost the initiative. At night Murong Nong formed his troops west of the city. Gate Commander Liu Mu requested permission to attack. Murong Nong praised his courage and gave him the vanguard. Liu Mu led four hundred picked men through the enemy formation, while Murong Nong drove the main army in behind them. Former Qin's troops collapsed, Shi Yue was killed, and morale within Former Qin further deteriorated.

Murong Chui soon reached the vicinity of Ye and changed Former Qin's Jianyuan era designation to the first year of Yan Yuan. He appointed Murong Nong Great General of Agile Cavalry and confirmed the offices Murong Nong had granted during the Lieren uprising. Later Yan was thereby formally established.

Governing Longcheng and the Northeast

In 385 Murong Nong was ordered to lead troops north to Longcheng and suppress the rebel Yu Yan. In the eighth month he left through Yiweng Pass, passed Fancheng, and advanced toward Longcheng. In the eleventh month he reached the city and rested the men and horses for more than ten days. His officers asked why, after traveling so quickly, he remained there instead of advancing. Murong Nong explained that he had hurried north because he feared Yu Yan would cross the mountains and plunder civilians. Yu Yan, he argued, had no exceptional ability and had gathered a disorderly mob of hungry people. Murong Nong had already blocked his main route. If he waited, Yu Yan's followers would disperse. With the crops nearly ripe, marching before the harvest would only cause waste; after the grain was gathered, Yu Yan could be destroyed within ten days. He then advanced with thirty thousand infantry and cavalry to Lingzhi. Yu Yan's followers panicked and some crossed the walls to surrender. Yu Yan eventually surrendered, and Murong Nong took Lingzhi and executed Yu Yan and his brothers. He then attacked Goguryeo forces and recovered Liaodong and Xuantu commanderies. After returning to Longcheng, he petitioned for the repair of ancestral temples and tombs.

Murong Chui appointed Murong Nong Acting with Credential, Commander of the Military Affairs of Youzhou, Pingzhou, and the northern tribal regions, and governor of Youzhou, with his seat at Longcheng. Murong Nong established regulations, governed with leniency and simplicity, reviewed criminal cases, reduced taxes and corvée, and encouraged farming and sericulture. The local population prospered, while tens of thousands of displaced people came from other regions. Earlier, many refugees from Youzhou and Jizhou had entered Goguryeo territory. Murong Nong appointed his Cavalry Marshal Pang Yuan administrator of Liaodong to induce them to return. That same year Murong Chui enfeoffed him as Prince of Liaoxi. When the Qinghe administrator He Geng gathered followers at Dingling and rebelled in support of Zhai Liao, Murong Nong defeated and killed him and destroyed the fortifications of Dingling.

Return to Court and Participation in Wars of Conquest

In the first month of 389, the fourth year of Jianxing, Murong Nong judged that Youzhou and Pingzhou had been pacified and petitioned Murong Chui to allow him to return to the capital Zhongshan so that he could again fight in the field. He noted that his soldiers had lived in ease for years while Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Jingzhou, and Yongzhou had not yet been brought under control. Murong Chui summoned him to Zhongshan as Palace Attendant and Colonel-Director of Retainers and sent the Prince of Gaoyang, Murong Long, to replace him at Longcheng. Murong Long retained Murong Nong's policies and expanded them, bringing stability to the Liaodong and Jieshi regions. Murong Nong was then made commander of the military affairs of Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Jingzhou, Xuzhou, and Yongzhou and stationed at Ye.

In the tenth month, Zhai Liao sent the Dingling man Gudi to feign surrender to Murong Wen, Prince of Lelang and governor of Jizhou. Gudi killed Murong Wen and his chief clerk Sima Qu and fled with two hundred households toward Western Yan. Murong Nong intercepted the group at Xiangguo and captured all of them, though Gudi escaped alone. Murong Nong subsequently took part repeatedly in his father's campaigns. In 391 he defeated an attack on Ye by Zhai Zhao, ruler of Zhai Wei. In the sixth month of 392, Murong Chui campaigned against Zhai Wei. The two armies faced each other across the Yellow River. Murong Chui secretly sent Murong Zhen, Prince of Guilin and General of the Central Rampart, to establish a camp south of the river. Zhai Zhao turned back to attack Murong Zhen's camp, became exhausted by repeated fighting, and could not take it. As he prepared to withdraw, Murong Zhen attacked. Murong Nong crossed the river at the western ford and joined the assault from another direction, inflicting a major defeat. Zhai Zhao fled to Huatai with his wife, children, and surviving troops, crossed north of the Yellow River, and occupied Bailu Mountain. The Yan army could not advance. Murong Nong judged that Zhai Zhao lacked food and could not remain in the mountains for long. He withdrew the main force but left cavalry to watch. Zhai Zhao did descend, whereupon Yan forces returned and attacked, capturing nearly all of his men. Zhai Zhao escaped alone to Western Yan, and Zhai Wei ceased to exist. In the twelfth month Murong Chui again appointed Murong Nong commander of the military affairs of the five provinces and stationed him at Ye.

Murong Nong played an important role in the campaign that destroyed Western Yan in 394. In the second month he advanced through Huguan, helping Later Yan establish control in Shanxi. In the fifth month the Yan army reached Taibi. Murong Yong's relative Murong Xiao, General Who Conquers the East, fought but was defeated by Murong Nong. Murong Nong killed Western Yan's General of the Right, Lema Ju, captured General Who Guards the East Wang Ciduo, and besieged Taibi. Murong Yong personally led fifty thousand elite troops to oppose the Yan army. Murong Chui arrayed his forces south of Taibi, with Murong Nong and Murong Kai forming the two wings while Murong Guo concealed one thousand troops in a deep ravine. During the battle Murong Chui feigned retreat. Murong Yong pursued for several li, whereupon Murong Guo's hidden force cut his rear and Murong Kai and Murong Nong attacked from both sides. Western Yan suffered a major defeat, with more than eight thousand men killed, and Murong Yong withdrew to Zhangzi. In the tenth month Murong Nong crossed the Yellow River with General Who Pacifies the South Yin Guo to seize territory in Qingzhou and Yanzhou. Murong Nong captured Linqiu while Yin Guo took Yangcheng. They fought Wei Jian, the Eastern Jin administrator of Dongping, at Pinglu; Wei Jian was killed. The commanderies of Gaoping, Taishan, and Langya abandoned their cities, and Murong Nong advanced to Linhai. In the eleventh month he attacked Qingzhou, then governed under Eastern Jin by Bilü Hun, a former subordinate of Later Yan, defeated him at Longshui, and entered Linzi. In the twelfth month, however, Murong Chui summoned him back to Zhongshan, ending the Qingzhou campaign.

Defeat at Canhe Slope and Final Years

In 396, the first year of Yongkang, Murong Chui died and Crown Prince Murong Bao succeeded him. The same year Murong Bao campaigned north against Northern Wei, accompanied by Murong Nong. At the Battle of Canhe Slope, Later Yan's army was surprised by forces under Tuoba Gui and suffered a catastrophic defeat, after which tens of thousands of Yan soldiers were put to death en masse. Murong Nong narrowly escaped. The battle badly weakened Later Yan, and Northern Wei pressed southward and besieged the Later Yan capital Zhongshan.

In 397, the second year of Yongkang, while Murong Bao was besieged by Northern Wei at Zhongshan, Murong Nong broke out and occupied Bingzhou. He was defeated and captured but later escaped. In 398, the third year of Yongkang, Murong Nong was killed at Zhongshan by Murong Xiang.

His Private Warning, His Plan after Feishui, and the Plot for Restoration

While the Former Qin was still strong Murong Nong said privately to Murong Chui that since Wang Meng's death the laws of Qin had decayed day by day, and that now extravagance was added to it, so that calamity would come and the prophecies would presently be verified, and that the prince should gather able men to receive Heaven's will, since the moment was not to be lost; and Murong Chui laughed and told him that the affairs of the realm were not for him. At the battle of Feishui the Former Qin was disastrously beaten, and while all the other armies broke, only the thirty thousand under Murong Chui remained whole, and Fu Jian came back with him at the head of more than a thousand horse; and when Murong Chui's confidants all urged him to take the chance to kill Fu Jian he would not, mindful of past kindness, and gave up all his troops to him. At this point Murong Nong offered a plan, saying that one who does not press a man in peril has a name for righteousness that can move heaven and earth, that he had heard the secret record say that the revival of Yan would come at Heyang, and that to take fruit unripe and to take it when it falls of itself differ only by a few days, yet the difficulty and the quality are far apart; and Murong Chui, approving his words in his heart, told Fu Jian on the way to Mianchi that the people of the northern frontier, hearing of the defeat of the royal army, were stirring lightly, and asked to bear an edict to pacify and settle them and so to visit the tombs, which Fu Jian allowed. In the matter of killing Fu Jian, the heir Murong Bao, the general of fierce might Murong De and the army adjutant Zhao Qiu all urged it, and Murong Chui refused them all and gave his troops wholly to Fu Jian, saying that he had once been unable to remain with the grand tutor, had fled for his life to Qin and been treated there as a gentleman of the state with every kindness, and that if the Di fortune were indeed at an end he would gather the east of the passes and restore his forebears' work. Afterwards Fu Pi lodged him west of Ye, gave him two thousand worn troops and old armour, and sent the general of wide martiality Fu Feilong with a thousand Di horse as his deputy, secretly charging Feilong that Murong Chui was the commander of the three armies and he the officer who should watch him; and Murong Chui contrived to kill Fu Feilong and rose against Qin, sending word of it to Murong Nong and the rest to raise troops in answer.

The Rising at Lieren

It being then evening, Murong Nong and Murong Kai lodged in Ye, while Murong Shao went out first to the Pu pond and stole several hundred of Fu Pi's fine horses to await them; and at the end of the month the two rode out of Ye in disguise with several dozen horse, joined Murong Shao and went together to Lieren. At Lieren Murong Nong went first to the house of the Wuhuan Lu Li, who set food before him, and Murong Nong laughed and would not eat; and Lu Li said to his wife that she was a good-for-nothing slave, that the young lord was a man of rank and their house too poor to entertain him, and his wife answered that the young lord had great talents and a great purpose and had come without cause, so that he must have some design and had not come for food, and that her husband should go out at once and watch afar against the unforeseen; and Lu Li took her advice. Then Murong Nong asked him whether he would join in raising troops at Lieren to restore the state, and Lu Li answered that in life and death he would follow him. Murong Nong went on to the Wuhuan Zhang Xiang and told him that his prince had raised the great matter and that Zhai Bin and the rest were all supporting him and that far and near were answering, so that he came to tell him; and Zhang Xiang bowed twice and said that to find his old lord and serve him he would gladly die. Murong Nong therefore drove the inhabitants of Lieren into the ranks, cut mulberry and elm for weapons, tore garments for banners, and had Zhao Qiu persuade the Tuge Bi Cong, who came with the Tuge Bu Sheng, Zhang Yan, Li Bai, Guo Chao and the eastern Yi Yu He, the Chile and the Yiyang Wuhuan Liu Da, each with several thousand men. He gave Zhang Xiang the title of general supporting the state, Liu Da that of general of distant peace and Lu Li that of general of firm martiality; he took Guantao himself and broke it, seizing its stores and weapons, and sent Lan Han, Duan Zan, Zhao Qiu and Muyu Xi to take several thousand horses from the Kangtai pastures. Then horse and foot gathered like clouds to tens of thousands, and Zhang Xiang and the rest jointly made Murong Nong holder of the staff of authority, commander of military affairs north of the river and general of the flying cavalry, to oversee the generals and appoint them according to their ability, so that high and low were orderly. Murong Nong, the king of Yan not yet having arrived, dared not confer rewards, and Zhao Qiu told him that without rewards soldiers would not come and that those now coming all wished to establish a merit of the hour and secure a profit of ten thousand ages, so that he should confer offices by imperial authority to broaden the base of the revival; and Murong Nong followed him, so that men came without ceasing, and Murong Chui, hearing of it, approved. He then drew Ku'u Guan Wei of Shangdang from the west, Qi Te Gui of Dong'e from the east, and the general of bright valour Ping Rui with his elder brother, the governor of Ruyang Ping You, from the state of Yan, and they all answered him; and he sent Lan Han and the rest against Dunqiu and took it. It is recorded that his orders were strict and his army plundered nothing, so that the people rejoiced.

The Killing of Shi Yue and the Junction outside Ye

Fu Pi, duke of Changle, sent Shi Yue with more than ten thousand horse and foot against him; and Murong Nong said that Shi Yue had a name for wisdom and courage and that his not going south to hold off the main army but coming here meant that he feared the king and despised him, so that he would surely take no precautions and could be taken by stratagem. The company asked leave to fortify Lieren, and Murong Nong said that one skilled in war binds his men by the heart and not by outer works, that in raising righteous troops they sought only the enemy and should make hills and rivers their walls, so that Lieren was not worth fortifying. Shi Yue came west of Lieren, and Murong Nong sent Zhao Qiu and the army adjutant Qi Wu Teng against his vanguard and broke it; and the adjutant Zhao Qian told him that Shi Yue's armour was fine but his men's hearts were shaken, so that he could be broken and should be attacked at once, and Murong Nong answered that Shi Yue's armour was outside while his own was in the heart, and that by day his soldiers would see his outward show and fear it, whereas to wait and attack at dusk would surely succeed; and he ordered his men to stand ready and not to move. Shi Yue built a palisade and stood on the defensive, and Murong Nong laughed and told his generals that Shi Yue, with fine troops and many men, had not used the edge of his first arrival to attack but had begun building a palisade, and that he knew he could do nothing. Towards dusk Murong Nong beat the drums, came out and formed west of the city; and when the gate commandant Liu Mu asked to attack Shi Yue's palisade, Murong Nong laughed and said that when men see good food who does not want it, and asked how he could ask for it alone, but that his dash was to be commended and the vanguard should be his. Liu Mu therefore led four hundred brave men over the palisade and the Qin troops gave way, and Murong Nong pressed on with the host and heavily defeated the Qin army and killed Shi Yue, sending his head to Murong Chui. Afterwards Murong Chui came to Ye, changed the twentieth year of Jianyuan of Qin to the first year of Yan, with dress and court ceremonial as of old, and Murong Nong brought his troops to join him outside Ye, and Murong Chui confirmed him in the titles he had assumed.

The Death of Zhai Bin, the Defeat in the Pursuit of Zhai Zhen, and the Taking of Chengying

Zhai Bin, relying on his merit, was insolent and insatiable, and having failed to take Ye he turned doubtful at heart; and when the heir Murong Bao asked leave to remove him Murong Chui refused, saying that the covenant of Henan could not be broken, that if Zhai Bin made trouble the fault would be his, and that to kill him before anything appeared would make men say he feared his merit, whereas he was gathering heroes for the great work and must not show himself small and lose the hope of the realm. Murong De, prince of Fanyang, Murong Shao, prince of Chenliu, and Murong Nong all said that Zhai Bin and his brothers, relying on their merit, would be a calamity to the state; and Murong Chui answered that insolence soon ruins a man and that he could do no harm, and that having great merit he should be left to destroy himself — and treated him with still greater courtesy. When Zhai Bin wanted the office of president of the secretariat, Murong Chui put him off, saying that his merit deserved the highest office but that the secretariat not being yet established the post could not suddenly be created; and Zhai Bin in a rage rebelled, secretly making terms with Fu Pi and having the Dingling break the dykes, and the plot being discovered Murong Chui killed Zhai Bin and his brothers Tan and Min and pardoned the rest. Zhai Bin's brother's son Zhai Zhen fled north by night with his camp to Handan and brought his troops back towards Ye to answer Fu Pi from within; and the heir Murong Bao with the general-in-chief of champions Murong Long broke him. In the eighth month Zhai Zhen fled from Handan, and Murong Chui sent Murong Nong and Murong Kai, prince of Taiyuan, with cavalry in pursuit; and coming to Xiayi, Murong Kai, seeing the enemy ranks disordered, wished to attack, while Murong Nong held that the soldiers were hungry and weary and that no able-bodied men were to be seen in the enemy camp, so that there was probably an ambush; and Murong Kai would not take his advice but attacked, and the Yan army was heavily beaten. Afterwards, judging Fu Pi a cornered bandit who would never surrender and the Dingling the real trouble at his heart, Murong Chui raised the siege of Ye and fell back on Xinxing, and sent Murong Nong to collect taxes in the region of Qinghe and Pingyuan; and there Murong Nong "set out his rules plainly, equalized what there was and was not, and kept his orders strict without any violence," so that grain and silk came along the roads and the army was well supplied. Later, when the governor of Yangping, Shao Xing, gathered several thousand horse to call in the old commanderies of Jizhou and arranged to meet Guang Zuo at Xiangguo, Murong Chui sent Murong Long and Zhang Chong to intercept him and ordered Murong Nong to bring his troops from Qinghe to join; and Murong Long broke Shao Xing heavily at Xiangguo, and Shao Xing fled to Guang'a and meeting Murong Nong was taken, whereupon Guang Zuo hurried back to Ye and the commanderies of Jizhou returned to Yan. Murong Nong then joined Murong Lin at Zhongshan against Zhai Zhen: the two rode with several thousand horse to Chengying to view the ground and were seen by Zhai Zhen, who formed up and came out, and when the generals would have withdrawn Murong Nong said that the Dingling were not wanting in courage but that Zhai Zhen himself was weak, so that if picked men were chosen and driven at Zhai Zhen himself and he fled his following would scatter, and they might then block the gate and crush them and kill them all. He sent the general of nimble cavalry Murong Guo with more than a hundred horse to charge, and Zhai Zhen fled and his men crowded at the gate and trampled one another, more than half dying; and the outer wall of Chengying was taken.

The Forged Appointments of Sui Sui, the March North to Longcheng, and the Killing of Yu Yan

At Gaoyi Murong Nong sent the adjutant of the central secretariat Sui Sui out on a mission, and when he failed to return by the appointed time the long secretary Zhang Pan asked leave to turn the army back and try him; and Murong Nong made no answer, but ordered blank commissions prepared, made Sui Sui governor of Gaoyang and sent home all the staff officers whose families were north of Zhao, appointing in all three governors and more than twenty long secretaries, and then told Zhang Pan that his view was quite wrong, since the time was not one for devouring one another, and that when he himself returned north Sui Sui and the rest would come out to meet him by the roadside and Zhang Pan had only to watch. Afterwards, when Liu Laozhi attacked the Yan governor of Liyang, Liu Fu, at Sunjiu stockade, Murong Chui left Murong Nong to hold the siege of Ye and went himself to the rescue, and Fu Pi, hearing of it, sent troops by night to raid the Yan camp and was beaten by Murong Nong. In the fourth month, the two armies having faced one another for a year and famine having come to You and Ji, so that many of the Yan troops starved, Murong Chui forbade the peasants to keep silkworms in order to use the mulberries for military food; and preparing to go north to Zhongshan he sent Murong Nong ahead, and the men whom he had appointed by forged commission, Sui Sui among them, came out to welcome him, so that high and low were reconciled and all admired Murong Nong's judgement. In the eleventh month Murong Nong reached Longcheng and rested his men and horses there more than ten days; and when the generals asked why, having come so fast, he now delayed, he answered that he had come fast for fear that Yu Yan should cross the mountains to rob and disturb the good people, that Yu Yan's ability was no more than other men's and that he was deceiving starving boys into a swarm without order, and that having gripped him by the throat he would scatter of himself in time; and that the crops here were ripe and to march before harvest would waste them, whereas if he waited until the harvest was in and then went against him and took his head, it would be done within ten days. Presently he led thirty thousand horse and foot to Lingzhi, and Yu Yan's men were greatly alarmed and many came over the wall to him, so that Yu Yan in despair surrendered and Murong Nong beheaded him.

His Government of Liaodong

Longcheng being the old land of Yan, Murong Nong memorialized asking leave to repair the tombs and temple, which Murong Chui allowed, making him holder of the staff of authority, commander of military affairs in the two provinces of You and Ping and among the northern Di, and governor of Youzhou, to hold Longcheng; and he moved the governor of Pingzhou, Murong Zuo, prince of Daifang, to hold Pingguo. In Liaodong Murong Nong "created laws and institutions, took things in a lenient and simple way, cleared the prisons, reduced taxes and labour service, encouraged farming and mulberry, so that the inhabitants were well off and displaced people came to him from all quarters to the number of tens of thousands of households"; he also attacked Goguryeo and recovered the two commanderies of Liaodong and Xuantu. Formerly most of the refugees of You and Ji had gone to Goguryeo, and Murong Nong made the cavalry secretary Pang Yuan governor of Liaodong to call them back. In the first month of 389 Murong Nong had held Liaodong for nearly five years and governed it in excellent order; but not content with this and wishing to win merit in arms, he memorialized that having been stationed there by reason of a campaign his officers and men had rested for years while the remnants of rebellion in Qing, Xu, Jing and Yong were still many, and that he wished to be recalled in his turn to exhaust what little he could do, so that living he might have no strength left and dying no regret, which was his purpose. Murong Chui therefore recalled him as palace attendant and colonel of the capital province, and made Murong Long, prince of Gaoyang, commander of military affairs in You and Ping, general of the northern expedition, governor of Youzhou, and established a branch secretariat at Longcheng.

The Campaign against Zhai Zhao, the Taking of Qing and Yan, and the Destruction of Western Yan

In the third month of 392 Murong Chui led his troops against Zhai Zhao, and in the sixth month came to Liyang, where the two armies faced one another. Zhai Zhao formed his camps on the south bank of the Yellow River, and the generals, fearing his fine troops, thought they should not cross; and Murong Chui laughed and said the boy could do nothing and that he would kill him for them. Observing that the Zhai guards were strict, he moved his camp forty li west of Liyang, made more than a hundred boats of ox hide and feigned a crossing; and Zhai Zhao, hearing of it, hurried his troops to meet it, whereupon Murong Chui secretly sent Murong Zhen, prince of Guilin, across by night at the Liyang ford and established a camp on the south bank. Zhai Zhao, learning of it, turned back to attack the Yan camp, and Murong Chui ordered his generals to hold fast and not fight; and Zhai Zhao's men, worn out with going and coming and unable to take the camp, were about to withdraw when Murong Zhen led out his troops, and Murong Nong, who had been camped west of Liyang, crossed the river and joined in attacking Zhai Zhao from both sides and broke him utterly. Zhai Zhao fled back to Huatai, took his wife and children and his remaining men north across the river, climbed the White Deer mountain and held it by its natural strength, so that the Yan troops could not come at him; and Murong Nong, seeing this, said that Zhai Zhao had no grain and could not stay long on the mountain, and led his troops back leaving some cavalry to watch; and presently Zhai Zhao came down for grain, the ambush rose on every side and took all his men, and Zhai Zhao fled alone to Zhangzi. In the destruction of Western Yan, Murong Chui left Murong Hui at Ye, called out the troops of Si, Ji, Qing and Yan, and sent Murong Kai, prince of Taiyuan, out by the Fu pass, Murong Nong, prince of Liaoxi, by the Hu pass, and himself by Shating. The Yan army came to Taibi, where Murong Nong broke Xiao Yidougui, killed Lema Ju and took Wang Ciduo prisoner, and besieged Taibi; and Murong Yong recalled his Taihang troops and came himself with fifty thousand picked men against them, whereupon Murong Chui formed his line south of Taibi and sent the general of nimble cavalry Murong Guo with a thousand horse to lie in a ravine; and in the fighting Murong Chui feigned a retreat and Murong Yong's men pursued several li, when Murong Guo's cavalry came out of the ravine and cut their rear and the several armies pressed on from all sides, breaking them utterly with more than eight thousand heads, and Murong Yong fled back to Zhangzi while the commander at Jinyang, hearing of it, abandoned the city. Afterwards Dayi Dougui's officer Fa Qin and others opened the gates to the Yan troops, who took Murong Yong and killed him, with his ministers and generals to the number of more than thirty, and gained the eight commanderies and more than seventy thousand households he had held, with many imperial carriages, robes, musicians and treasures of Qin. In the tenth month, having destroyed Western Yan, Murong Chui ordered Murong Nong with the general of the southern pacification Yin Guo against the Qing and Yan regions of the Eastern Jin: Murong Nong took Linqiu and Yin Guo took Yangcheng, the Jin governor of Dongping, Wei Jian, dying in battle, and the governors of Gaoping, Taishan and Langya all abandoned their cities; and Murong Nong advanced to Linhai and set up governors and magistrates everywhere. In the eleventh month Murong Nong defeated Pi Lü Hun at Longshui and entered Linzi, and in the twelfth month Murong Chui recalled him and the rest. By this campaign Murong Nong extended the territory very far, so that Later Yan came to hold almost all the lands east of the passes that the Former Yan had held, from Langya in the south to the sea in the east, the rivers and Fen in the west and Yan and Dai in the north.

Canhe Slope, the Victory at Pingcheng, and the Changes at Zhongshan and Longcheng

In the fifth month of 395 Murong Nong with the heir Murong Bao and Murong Lin, prince of Zhao, led a great army against the Northern Wei; and coming to Canhe Slope there was a great wind and a black vapour like a dyke came up behind the army, and the monk Zhi Tanmeng said this was the sign of the Wei coming and that troops should be sent against them, but Murong Bao, thinking the Wei far off, laughed and would not, and Murong Lin angrily told Tanmeng that to speak wildly and alarm the host deserved beheading; and though Murong De urged Bao to take his advice, Bao only sent Murong Lin with thirty thousand horse behind the army for the unforeseen, and Murong Lin, taking Tanmeng for a fool, let his horse hunt and would set no guard. The Wei army marched day and night to the west of Canhe Slope, where the Yan army lay east of the slope and north of the water south of Mount Panyang; and the Wei king Tuoba Gui divided his generals by night to overwhelm the Yan army, his men gagged and their horses' mouths bound, creeping on. At sunrise the Wei climbed the mountain and looked down on the Yan camp; and the Yan, about to move east, saw them and their men were thrown into confusion. Gui let his troops attack, and the Yan fled into the water, men and horses trampling one another, "those pressed and drowned being counted by the ten thousand," and forty or fifty thousand Yan soldiers in a moment laid down their arms and were taken, no more than a few thousand escaping, and the heir Murong Bao and the rest barely saving themselves alone. In the third month of the following year Murong Chui went in person, crossing the Green Ridge, passing the Gate of Heaven and cutting a road through the hills to come on the Wei unawares and drive straight at Yunzhong, with Murong Nong, prince of Liaoxi, and Murong Long, prince of Gaoyang, as the vanguard against Pingcheng; and Tuoba Qian, duke of Chenliu, taking no precautions, discovered them only when they reached the city, came out with his men and was beaten and killed, and the Yan took his whole tribe, so that the Wei king was in terror and would have fled and the tribes, hearing of Qian's death, turned doubtful. But Murong Chui, passing Canhe Slope and seeing the bones piled like a hill, made sacrifice for them, and the soldiers all wept aloud so that the valley shook; and Murong Chui, in shame and anger, vomited blood, fell ill, stayed ten days at Pingcheng and, his illness growing grave, withdrew and presently died at Juyang in Shanggu. Tuoba Gui at once marched on a great scale against Yan with more than four hundred thousand horse and foot, coming south from Mayi over the Juzhu pass; and reaching Yangqu and overlooking Jinyang from the western hills, he had the Yan prince of Liaoxi, Murong Nong, come out to fight, be heavily beaten and flee back to Jinyang, where his adjutant Muyu Song shut the gates against him; and Murong Nong with his wife and children fled east with several thousand horse, pursued by the Wei general Zhangsun Fei, who came up with him at the Lu river and took his wife and children, the Yan army being wholly lost, and Murong Nong, wounded, escaped to Zhongshan with three horsemen only. Afterwards Murong Bao, hearing of trouble within Wei, came out with all his force and camped at Bose in Quyang, "high and low in terror and the three armies' spirit gone," and Murong Nong and Murong Lin advised his return to Zhongshan, and they withdrew; and the Wei followed and beat them again and again, so that Murong Bao in fear abandoned the host and fled back with twenty thousand horse, in great wind and snow with the frozen lying in heaps, ordering his men to throw away robes, weapons and armour so that not an inch of blade returned. Murong Nong's officer Gu Hui returned and urged him to stay and hold the city to answer men's hopes, and Murong Nong would have killed him but pitied his ability, telling him that to hope for life in such a way was worse than to die. Afterwards, when Murong Bao moved north to Longcheng, Murong Nong and Murong Long both remonstrated, holding that the troops were weary and weak and the Wei newly victorious, so that they could not be matched and should rather nurse their strength and watch for an opening; and Murong Bao would not hear it, and Duan Sugo and the rest, because men's hearts feared the campaign, raised a rebellion, and Murong Nong's own camp troops, weary of service, threw down their arms and scattered. In the third month Duan Sugo attacked Longcheng, and Murong Nong, fearing he could not hold it and tempted by Lan Han, slipped out by night to Duan Sugo's camp hoping to save himself; and the next morning, when Duan Sugo attacked the city, the defenders fought hard, so that Duan Sugo had Murong Nong marched round the wall — and Murong Nong, who had a name for loyalty and valour, being the reliance of the men within, they were so astonished and disheartened at the sight of him below that they all broke and fled, and Duan Sugo entered the city and let his troops kill and plunder, the dead lying in confusion. Duan Sugo's chief plotter Ajiaoluo, thinking Murong Chong, prince of Gaoyang, too young and weak, wished to set up Murong Nong instead; and Chang Chong's confidants Zang Rang and Chuli Jian, hearing of it, on the day dingyou killed Ajiaoluo and Murong Nong.

Major Activities

Raising Troops at Lieren

In 384 Murong Nong raised troops at Lieren County in support of his father Murong Chui's rebellion against Former Qin. He pressed local residents into military service, cut mulberry and elm wood into weapons, tore clothing into banners, and rapidly gathered tens of thousands of troops. He assigned duties according to ability and imposed strict discipline. His defeat and killing of the Former Qin general Shi Yue constituted a major contribution to the establishment of Later Yan.

Governing Longcheng

In 385 Murong Nong led troops north to Longcheng, suppressed Yu Yan's rebellion, repelled Goguryeo forces, and recovered Liaodong and Xuantu commanderies. While stationed at Longcheng, he established regulations, simplified government, reviewed criminal cases, reduced taxes and labor obligations, and promoted farming and sericulture. The population prospered and tens of thousands of displaced people came to settle under his administration.

Campaigns against Zhai Wei and Western Yan

In 392 Murong Nong participated in the destruction of Zhai Wei, joining Murong Zhen in a converging attack that decisively defeated Zhai Zhao and forced him to flee alone to Western Yan. In 394 he played a major role in the campaign against Western Yan, advancing through Huguan and helping defeat the Western Yan army at Taibi.

Campaigns in Qingzhou and Yanzhou

In the tenth month of 394 Murong Nong crossed the Yellow River with Yin Guo and campaigned through Qingzhou and Yanzhou. He captured Linqiu and Yangcheng, defeated the Eastern Jin administrator Wei Jian, and advanced to Linhai after several commanderies were abandoned. The following month he defeated Bilü Hun at Longshui and entered Linzi, demonstrating strong field-command abilities.

Defeat at Canhe Slope

In 396 Murong Nong accompanied Crown Prince Murong Bao in the northern campaign against Northern Wei and suffered defeat at the Battle of Canhe Slope. The destruction of Later Yan's elite forces in that battle marked a major turning point in the polity's decline. Murong Nong escaped, but the defeat had long-lasting consequences for both his own position and the fortunes of Later Yan.

His Discipline, His Use of Men, and the Character of His Administration

Several fairly consistent traits may be drawn from Murong Nong's conduct. First, his orders were strict and his army plundered nothing: from the first raising at Lieren "his orders were strict, his army plundered nothing, and the people rejoiced," and when he collected taxes in Qinghe and Pingyuan he "set out his rules plainly, equalized what there was and was not, and kept his orders strict without any violence, so that grain and silk came along the roads and the army was well supplied." Second, he read the enemy well and would not advance rashly: he judged of Shi Yue that he "would surely take no precautions and could be taken by stratagem," of the fight at Xiayi that "the soldiers are hungry and weary, and no able-bodied men are to be seen in the enemy camp, so that there is probably an ambush," and of Zhai Zhao that "he has no grain and cannot stay long on the mountain," and each judgement was borne out. Third, he knew how to govern with leniency and simplicity: in Liaodong he "created laws and institutions, took things in a lenient and simple way, cleared the prisons, reduced taxes and labour service and encouraged farming and mulberry, so that the inhabitants were well off and displaced people came to him from all quarters to the number of tens of thousands of households," and he appointed Pang Yuan to bring back the refugees of You and Ji who had gone to Goguryeo. Fourth, he kept to the constitutional forms and did not grasp at authority: at the outset of the rising he "dared not confer rewards because the king of Yan had not yet come," and acted only when Zhao Qiu argued that offices should be conferred by imperial authority to broaden the base of the revival; and at Gaoyi he did not pursue the delinquent Sui Sui but gave him a forged commission, and events proved him right, so that all admired his judgement. Fifth, his later years had their failures: the defeat at Xiayi came of Murong Kai's refusal of his advice; the disaster at Zhongshan was bound up with his own retreat and with the abandoning of the host; and when Longcheng was besieged, fearing he could not hold it and tempted by Lan Han, he slipped out to Duan Sugo's camp, and was at last killed by Murong Chong's confidants — an end that stands in sharp contrast with the name he had won in a lifetime. It should be added that the name "Enu" and the Xianbei name "Murong Enu" are both recorded, and that his deeds appear chiefly in the Comprehensive Mirror and in the narratives of the Jin Shu, whose accounts vary in fullness, so that they should be read against one another.

Personal Relations

• Father: Murong Chui, Emperor Chengwu of Later Yan
• Mother: a favored consort of Murong Chui
• Grandfather: Murong Huang, Emperor Wenming of Former Yan
• Elder brothers: Murong Ling; Murong Bao, Emperor Huimin of Later Yan
• Younger brothers: Murong Lin; Murong Long; Murong Rou; Murong Xi, Emperor Zhaowen of Later Yan
• Cousins: Murong Kai; Murong Shao
• Huang Hong: Grand Astrologer; Murong Nong questioned him about astronomy in childhood
• Zhao Qiu: staff officer who advised Murong Nong to grant titles and rewards during the Lieren uprising
• Zhang Xiang: Wuhuan supporter during the Lieren uprising
• Lu Li: Wuhuan supporter during the Lieren uprising
• Fu Jian: Emperor Xuanzhao of Former Qin, the ruler to whom Murong Chui and his sons fled
• Fu Pi: Prince of Changle of Former Qin, stationed at Ye and opposed to Murong Nong
• Murong Bao: Emperor Huimin of Later Yan and Murong Nong's elder brother
• Shi Yue: Former Qin general killed by Murong Nong
• Zhai Zhao: ruler of Zhai Wei defeated by Murong Nong
• Murong Yong: emperor of Western Yan defeated by forces including Murong Nong
• Murong Xiang: Later Yan prince who killed Murong Nong

Historical Assessment

Contemporary Assessments

• Murong Chui strongly appreciated Murong Nong's abilities and, after learning of his conduct during the Lieren uprising, approved of what he had done. (Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 105)
• Zhang Xiang and other Wuhuan leaders regarded Murong Nong as a man of outstanding talent and high ambition and pledged to follow him in life or death. (Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 105)
• Lu Li's wife described Murong Nong as a man of great talent and ambition and correctly inferred that his unexpected arrival must have had an extraordinary purpose. (Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 105)
• Zhao Qiu praised Murong Nong's handling of the army and urged him to grant provisional appointments in order to broaden the foundations of restoration. (Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 105)

Northern Wei to Sui-Tang Period

• Cui Hong's Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms treated Murong Nong as a leading general of the Later Yan imperial clan and described him as brave and skilled in warfare, with qualities resembling those of his father.
• The Book of Jin, compiled under Fang Xuanling and others, records Murong Nong's uprising at Lieren and administration at Longcheng in detail and gives substantial attention to his military and administrative ability.
• Liu Zhiji of the Tang dynasty referred to the Lieren uprising in Shitong, regarding Murong Nong's success against stronger forces as an example of effective generalship.

Song-Yuan Period

• Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian gives detailed accounts of Murong Nong's campaigns and tactical decisions, including his reasoning that the enemy's armor was only external while the true confidence of his own troops lay within.
• Hu Sansheng, in his commentary on the Zizhi Tongjian, repeatedly commented on Murong Nong's military decisions and characterized him as skilled at judging enemy conditions and capable of deciding major matters.
• Yuan historian Hu Yigui, in Shiqi shi zuan gujin tongyao, described Murong Nong as a brave and capable general of Later Yan's restoration.

Modern Assessments

• Lü Simian, in History of the Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, regarded Murong Nong as one of the most capable generals of the Later Yan imperial house and his uprising at Lieren as a key step in the establishment of Later Yan.
• Tian Yuqing, in Aristocratic Politics of the Eastern Jin, referred to Murong Nong as among the sons of Murong Chui with the greatest military talent.
• Wang Zhongluo, in History of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, characterized Murong Nong as possessing both civil and military ability and emphasized the value of his administration at Longcheng in securing Later Yan's rear area.
• Modern scholarship generally regards the defeat at Canhe Slope as the turning point from strength to decline for Later Yan. Although Murong Nong was not the overall commander, he was one of the principal generals and bore a measure of responsibility.