Wang Jun (Pengzu)

During Empress Jia's paramount rule over the dynasty, Wang Jun assisted her and the eunuch Sun Lü (孫慮) in poisoning the Crown Prince, Sima Yu in 300. Through this, he received the title General Who Pacifies the North and Imperial Inspector of Qingzhou. In addition to that, he was sent to Youzhou to direct military affairs when he became General Who Pacifies the Beginning.[4] Meanwhile, the recent death of the crown prince riled up the Sima princes, who had found out that about the empress's involvement. Wang Jun was keen in securing an alliance with the northern tribes to secure his influence and territories in You and Qing. He married his two daughters; one to the chieftain of the Duan tribe, Duan Wuwuchen and another to the chieftain of the Yuwen tribe, Sunuyan (素怒延).[5] He also petitioned for Duan Wuwuchen to be given Liaoxi commandery and appointed Duke of Liaoxi.[6] When Sima Lun usurped the throne from Emperor Hui of Jin 301, Wang Jun initially backed him and ignored the call to arms from the coalition against him. However, due to pressure from Sima Ying, he was forced to switch sides, although he made very minimal contribution. Nevertheless, he was still awarded the title of General Who Secures the North after Sima Lun was overthrown.[7]

After Sima Ai's demise in 304, Sima Ying sought to eliminate Wang Jun, not forgetting his reluctance in the coalition a few years back. He plotted with He Yan (和演) and the Wuhuan Chanyu Shen Deng (審登) but the plan failed as a heavy storm drenched the troop's equipments. Furthermore, Shen Deng, believing this to be a sign that heaven sided with Wang Jun, revealed the plot to Wang. Wang Jun allied himself with the Inspector of Bingzhou, Sima Teng (司馬騰), and with his tribal allies they attacked and killed He Yan before heading out against Sima Ying.[8]

Sima Ying tried to summon Wang Jun as he entered Jizhou but Wang ignored it and continued his march towards Ye. Thus, he sent his generals Shi Chao (石超) and Wang Bin (王斌) to intercept Wang Jun but Wang defeated both of them.[9] Panicked, Sima Ying abandoned Ye and fled to the capital Luoyang with Emperor Hui of Jin. Wang Jun captured and sacked the city in Sima Ying's absence. Upon returning to his base at Jicheng, he found that his Xianbei troops had pillaged the city. He executed around 8000 of those involved in the pillaging and filled their bodies into the Yi River.[10]

Wang Jun entered a coalition against Sima Yong where he and a few others acclaimed the Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue as their leader in 305. For the rest of the war he assisted his allies in reclaiming Chang'an and the emperor from Sima Yong.[11] When one of the coalition members, Sima Xiao (司馬虓), sent his marshal Liu Kun to request aid from Wang Jun, Wang granted Liu his Xianbei and Wuhuan cavalries and together they defeated Sima Yong's general Wang Chan (王闡). He also sent his general Qi Hong (祁弘) to bring his barbarian cavalries to serve as Sima Yue's vanguard[12] and in 306, he quelled a rebellion led by Liu Bogen (劉柏根) in Qingzhou.[13] After Sima Yue captured Chang'an the same year, Wang Jun was showered with promotions, being appointed as Grand General of Agile Cavalry, Commander over the eastern tribes and the military affairs of Hebei, and acting Inspector of Youzhou.[14]

Despite the end of the civil war, the Jin government must now face the issues of the two newly established barbarian states in China, the Xiongnu Han Zhao and the Ba-Di Cheng Han. Han Zhao, established and led by the Xiongnu noble Liu Yuan, threatened northern China. In 308, Wang Jun repelled Han's general Shi Le from Changshan and in 309 Wang sent his general Qi Hong and Xianbei ally Duan Wuwuchen to defeat Shi at Mount Feilong (飛龍山, in present-day Xinzhou, Shanxi).[15] After Shi Le invaded Xinyu and killed the Inspector of Jizhou, Wang Bin the next year, Wang Jun replaced him as acting command of the province. His colleague, Li Zhen (李臻) tried to stage a revolt to stop his growing influence but he was killed by the Administrator of Liaodong, Pang Ben (龐本) before it could take place.[16] In 310, Wang Jun's general Qi Hong scored another victory against Han by defeating their Inspector of Jizhou Liu Ling (劉靈) at Guanzong.[17]

However, Wang Jun soon found himself in a dispute with his colleague and former ally, the now Inspector of Bingzhou Liu Kun later that year. Liu Kun had allied himself with the chieftain of the Tuoba Xianbei, Tuoba Yilu to campaign against the Tiefu Xiongnu leader Liu Hu (劉虎) . After Tuoba Yilu assisted Liu Kun in his campaign against him, Liu Kun petitioned that Tuoba Yilu should receive Dai commandery, which was a part of Wang Jun's territory in Youzhou.[18] Wang Jun was not consulted in the matter, so he sent his troops to attack with Tuoba Yilu but they were driven back. Because of this, Wang Jun bore a grudge for Liu Kun and the two developed an exploitable rivalry for the Han forces.

The following year, Emperor Huai of Jin gave out numerous promotions to his officials and Wang Jun was further promoted as Grand Marshal, Palace Attendant, Grand Commander, and Commander of military affairs in Youzhou and Jizhou.[19] However, before the commendation order could arrive to any of his selected officials, the emperor and Luoyang were captured by Liu Yao during the Disaster of Yongjia.[20] After the emperor's capture, Wang Jun chose an unknown candidate as the new Crown Prince and claimed that he has an imperial edict to grant appointments. He appointed himself as Prefect of Master of Writings and gave a few other officials new offices, even appointing the future Emperor Yuan of Jin, Sima Rui as Grand General.[21]

The same year, Wang Jun fought with Liu Kun once more. As Bingzhou's population declined, Liu Kun sent his kinsman Liu Xi (劉希) to gather men from Wang Jun's territory in the commanderies of Dai, Shanggu and Guangning (廣寧郡, in present-day Hebei and Beijing). When Wang Jun discovered the intrusion, he was furious. He sent Hu Ju (胡矩) and Duan Jilujuan (Duan Wuwuchen's son who succeeded him as chieftain of the Duan tribe after his father's death some time between 310 and 311) to deal with Liu Xi and the two men killed him in battle.[22]

Although Wang Jun was initially successful against Shi Le, the tide shifted in favor of Shi Le in 312. After Han's city of Yuanxiang (苑鄕, in present-day Hebei and Beijing) surrendered to Wang Jun, Shi Le laid siege on the city. In response, Wang Jun sent Wang Chang (王昌) and Duan Jilujuan to attack Shi Le's base at Xiangguo. However, Duan Jilujuan's cousin, Duan Mopei was captured in battle. Shi Le used this as an opportunity to win over the Duan tribe to his side. He sent Jilujuan gifts and treated Mopei with courtesy. Jilujuan was charmed with Shi's actions and withdrew his troop.[23] Later, Shi Le led a few skirmishes against Wang Jun and killed Wang's Inspector of Jizhou and Inspector of Qingzhou on two separate occasions. When Wang Jun was planning to attack Shi Le again the same year, Duan Jilujuan refused to comply with Wang. Wang Jun was insulted by Jilujuan's reaction, and riled up their rival Xianbei tribes, the Tuoba and Murong to attack the Duan but they repelled the attackers.[24]

Losing the support of his powerful Xianbei allies, Wang Jun also began to lose the favour of his Wuhuan troops to Shi Le. Consecutive droughts, floods and locust infestations caused poor crop yields which weakened his armies and left his populace discontent. Furthermore, Wang Jun's poor administration in contrast with Murong Hui's benevolent rule in Liaodong convinced many to migrate over to the latter’s territory from the former.[25]

Despite the setbacks, Wang Jun only became more arrogant and prouder. Subscribing to a prophecy that the one to replace Han bears the name 'High Road',[lower-alpha 1] Wang Jun considered taking the imperial title for himself in 313. He had many of his officials executed for criticizing his imperial ambition. The gentry was disturbed by Wang Jun violent impulses and distanced themselves from him. Wang Jun also began to neglect political affairs, leaving them in the hands of his corrupted and heinous officials such as Zao Song (棗嵩), Zhu Shuo (朱碩) and Tan Heng (貪橫). The three men's policies were so troublesome that many of Wang Jun's people fled to the Xianbei.[26]

Hearing Wang Jun's situation, Shi Le wondered if he should strike at him. At the advice of Zhang Bin, Shi Le pretended to appear weak, sending gifts and offering his surrender to Wang Jun through letter in 313. As Wang Jun was in need of a talented figure after having lost most of his subordinates at the time, he was delighted by his surrender and accepted it without a doubt.[27] To show his loyalty, Shi Le declined an offer from Wang Jun's general You Tong (游統) to rebel against Wang.[28] The next year, when Wang Jun's envoy went to Shi Le's headquarters in Xiangguo, Shi Le hid his strongest troops to further give the implications that he was weaker than Wang. When presented with an elk tail by Wang Jun, Shi Le pretended to be afraid to grasp and instead hung it on a wall to show his respect to him. Finally, Shi Le sent a petition to visit Wang Jun intending to submit and hail him as emperor later that year.[29]

With the petition, Wang Jun was ready to accept Shi Le into his ranks. Before arriving at Jicheng, Wang Jun killed You Tong's brother You Lun (游綸) when passing at Bairen to prevent the plan from leaking. Shi Le also sent letter to Wang Jun's rival Liu Kun, asking permission to attack Wang to which Liu allowed.[30] As Shi Le drew closer, Wang Jun's generals and advisers insisted him to immediately attack Shi but Wang scolded them and threatened to execute anyone who disobeys him. Once he arrived, Wang Jun ordered the gatekeepers to let him in. Shi Le flooded the city with cattle and sheep seemingly as offerings to Wang Jun but his true intention was to block the exits so that Wang could not escape. Wang Jun began to panic when he realized this but it was too late. Shi Le entered the city, where he let loose his soldiers and sacked the place.[31]

Wang Jun retreated to his chambers but was eventually arrested along with his wife by Shi Le's men. When brought face to face with Shi Le, Wang scolded him and said, "How dare a barbarian like you make a fool of me? What wicked treason is this?" Shi Le replied:

You hold the loftiest of offices, and you have powerful soldiers at hand. Yet you sat and watched as the court you served was overthrown, and you did nothing to lend them aid. Now you even want to exalt yourself as the Son of Heaven. Is that not 'wicked treason'? And even though you held an important office, you gave in to perverse greed, inflicting your tyranny on the common people and taxing and harming the loyal and the good. Poison has spread through the whole Yan region, and whose fault is it but yours?

Wang Jun was sent to Xiangguo to be executed. On the way, Wang Jun attempted suicide by drowning in a river, but the guards managed to restrain him. Once at Xiangguo, Wang Jun was beheaded in the marketplace[32] and his head was presented to the Han emperor Liu Cong as a gift.[33] After his death, many of Wang Jun's underlings were also executed by Shi Le. One of Wang Jun’s subordinate, Shao Xu, continued to resist Shi Le until his capture in 320 and execution the following year.