Battle of Pingguo

Battle of Pingguo
Part of Sixteen Kingdoms
Date February 336 Location Pingguo (in modern day Yingkou, Liaoning) Result Murong Huang victory
Belligerents
Murong Huang	Murong Ren
Commanders and leaders
Murong Huang	Murong Ren
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

Battle of Pingguo
Traditional Chinese	平郭之戰
Simplified Chinese	平郭之战
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Píngguō zhī zhàn

The Battle of Pingguo was fought between the brothers, Murong Huang and Murong Ren, in February 336 during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. The battle concluded in victory for Murong Huang and the capture of Murong Ren, ending the three-year long Murong civil war.

Background

Murong Huang came to power as the Duke of Liaodong in 333 following the death of his father, Murong Hui. As the eldest son, he had been designated as the heir apparent as far back as 321, but as part of a Xianbei tribe that only recently adopted the Chinese primogeniture rule, there were suspicions that his succession could be challenged by his brothers, who were all distinguished generals of their family. His eldest half-brother, Murong Han fled to the rival Duan tribe out of fear that he would be killed. His younger biological brothers, Murong Ren and Murong Zhao (慕容昭), also shared this sentiment and plotted to divide their territory into three.

When the plot was revealed, Murong Zhao was killed, but Murong Ren occupied Liaodong. Murong Huang lost the support of the Xianbei and other tribes, while the Duan and Yuwen allied themselves with Murong Ren. Despite this early scare, Huang defeated the Duan and Yuwen on several occasions and was able to recapture the major city of Xiangping and its surrounding counties in 334. Ren retaliated by attacking Xinchang (新昌) later that year, but was defeated, and he did not launch any further campaign as he held fast to his base at Pingguo (平郭; in modern day Yingkou, Liaoning). Huang was also recognized as his father's legitimate successor by the Eastern Jin dynasty in 335, further affirming his position among the Chinese and other Jin vassals.

The battle

All the while, the Bohai Sea was said to have frozen over at least three times, including in early 336. That same month, Murong Huang was planning to campaign against Murong Ren, and his advisor, Gao Xu proposed that they cross the frozen Bohai Sea to surprise attack the enemy. Despite many of his ministers dissuading him, Murong Huang was convinced by Gao Kai's plan and threatened anyone who objects with execution.

On 17 February, Murong Huang, his half-brother, Murong Ping and others set out from Changli to cross the Bohai Sea, marching more than 300 li. They reached Lilinkou (歷林口, west of the lower reaches of the Liaohe River), where they abandoned their baggages to quickly advance towards Pingguo. Murong Ren's scouts only spotted them when they were 7 li away from Pingguo, and after alerting him, he rushed out to give battle. Ren thought that the enemy was only a small raiding party, but was determined to crush them, not wanting a repeat of the previous year when his brother's raiders killed and captured envoys from the Duan and Yuwen near his base. He was unaware that Murong Huang had come with his main army.

Bringing out his whole army, Ren marched northwest of his city to mount his defence. Among the generals leading his armies was Murong Jūn, his brother who initially sided with Murong Huang but was captured when he seized Liaodong in 333. As Huang's army approached, Jūn defected to his side with his soldiers, causing the rest of Ren's army to lose morale and stop marching. Huang then advanced to attack them and won a great victory. Ren tried to flee, but was betrayed and handed over by his personal guards.

Aftermath

Murong Huang forced Murong Ren to commit suicide, while the guards that turned him over were also executed for betraying their masters. With his death, the Murong civil war came to an end as Huang reunified his domain. The following year in 337, he would elevate his title from the Duke of Liaodong to the Prince of Yan (though remained a vassal to the Eastern Jin) and began a series of military campaigns against his neighbouring tribes and states to compete with the Later Zhao dynasty in northern China.

After Murong Ren's defeat, a number of his generals fled to the neighbouring state of Goguryeo. One of these generals was Dong Shou (冬壽), whose tomb can be found in Anak, South Hwanghae, North Korea.

Sources

• Schreiber, Gerhard (1949), "THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER YEN DYNASTY 前 燕 (285-370)", Monumenta Serica, vol. 14, JSTOR, pp. 374–480
• Book of Jin
• Zizhi Tongjian