Wang Jun

Wang Jun (252–314), courtesy name Pengzu, was a military general and warlord who lived during the Western Jin dynasty of China. By the time of Sima Lun's usurpation of the Jin throne he was established as a military commander in Youzhou. Although he became a target of Sima Ying as the War of the Eight Princes unfolded, he survived the chaos, ultimately supporting Sima Yue's faction. At the time of the Disaster of Yongjia which saw the collapse of Jin control in northern China, he was one of Jin's few remaining provincial powers in the north. However among claims of imperial ambitions and corruption, he clashed not only with northern tribal powers but also his Jin Dynasty colleague/rival Liu Kun (劉琨) the Inspector of Bingzhou, before his final defeat and death at the hands of Shi Le, who had previously won Wang Jun's trust.

Wang Jun was born to a concubine of Wang Chen of the prominent Wang clan of Jinyang (晉陽) county in Taiyuan (太原) commandery. As his mother came from a poor commoner family, his father resented and refused to acknowledge him. His uncle, Wang Hun once remarked about him to Wang Chen and the rest of his family, “You men should not lightly esteem Pengzu. This boy, in a time of peace will be no less than a regional dignitary of an expansive province; in an age of chaos he could become an inspector general or one of the Three Eminences.” It was until when Wang Chen died in 266 with no other issue that Wang Jun was formally recognized by his family to succeed him.

In 282, he was sent to the northern tribes as a mediator. This was Wang Jun's first contact with the barbarians. In 291, he became Commandant of the Surpassing Riders and General of the Right and some time later he also became the Imperial Corps Commander tasked in defending Xuchang.

During the reign of Empress Jia over the dynasty, Wang Jun assisted her and the eunuch Sun Lü in poisoning the Crown Prince, Sima Yu in 300. Somewhere around this time, he received the title General Who Pacifies the North and Imperial Inspector of Qingzhou. In addition to that, he was also sent to Youzhou to direct military affairs when he became General Who Pacifies the Beginning. When Sima Lun usurped the throne from Emperor Hui of Jin 301, Wang Jun initially backed him and ignored the call to arms against him. However, due to pressure from Sima Ying, he was forced to side with the coalition against Sima Lun, although he made very minimal contribution in fighting him. Nevertheless, he was still given the title of General Who Secures the North after Sima Lun was overthrown.

As war between the princes broke out once more in 303, Wang Jun was keen in securing an alliance with the northern tribes to protect his position. He married his two daughters; one to the chieftain of the Duan tribe and another to the chieftain of the Yuwen tribe. After Sima Ai's defeat in 304, Sima Ying sought to eliminate Wang Jun, not forgetting his reluctance in helping against Sima Lun a few years back. He plotted with He Yan and the Wuhuan Chanyu Shen Deng 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 with his Xianbei and Wuhuan allies along with Sima Teng (the younger brother of Sima Yue who had rebelled against Sima Ying and Sima Yong) attacked and killed He Yan before heading out against Sima Ying.

Sima Ying tried to summon Wang Jun as he entered Jizhou but he ignored it and continued his march towards Ye. Thus, he sent his generals Shi Chao and Wang Bin to intercept Wang Jun but he managed to defeat both of them. In panic, Sima Ying abandoned Ye and fled to the capital of Luoyang with the emperor. Wang Jun captured and sacked the city in Sima Ying's absence. Upon returning to his base at Ji, he found that his Xianbei troops had pillaged the city. Enraged, he executed around 8000 of those involved in the pillaging and filled their bodies into the Yi River. Wang Jun entered an alliance led by Sima Yue and for the rest of the war he assisted his allies in reclaiming Chang'an and the emperor from Sima Yong by providing them with his Xianbei and Wuhuan cavalries. After Sima Yue captured Chang'an in 306, 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.

Although Sima Yue had won the War of the Eight Princes, the Xiongnu noble Liu Yuan who had established the barbarian state of Han back in 304 amidst the chaos, continued to threaten the dynasty's authority over the north. Wang Jun had clashed with Han's general Shi Le on several occasions. In 308, Wang Jun repelled Shi Le from Changshan and in 309 Wang sent his general Qi Hong and Xianbei ally Duan Wuwuchen to attack Shi at Mount Feilong which they were successful. After Shi Le invaded Xinyu and killed the Inspector of Jizhou Wang Bin in 309, Wang Jun replaced him as acting command of the province.

In 310, Wang Jun found himself at loggerhead with his colleague, the Inspector of Bingzhou Liu Kun. Wang Jun and Liu Kun were once allies during the War of the Eight Princes. In 310, Liu Kun had allied himself with the chieftain of the Tuoba-Xianbei, Tuoba Yilu. After Tuoba Yilu assisted Liu Kun in his campaign against the Xiongnu Liu Hu, Liu Kun petitioned that Tuoba Yilu would receive Dai commandery, which was a part of Wang Jun's territory in Youzhou. Wang Jun did not approve of this and sent his troops to deal with Tuoba Yilu but they were driven back. Therefore, Wang Jun bore a grudge for Liu Kun and both men refused to join forces even against the growing threat of Han. Another confrontation between the two was in 311, when Liu Kun ordered his kinsman, Liu Xi to gather people from Wang Jun's territory. Wang Jun dealt with the intrusion by sending his army against Liu Xi and Liu Xi was killed in battle.

In 310, Wang Jun was appointed as Minister of Works and in 311 he was further promoted to Grand Marshal, Palace Attendant, Grand Commander, and Commander of military affairs in Youzhou and Jizhou. The same year however saw the Disaster of Yongjia as Han captured the Chinese capital of Luoyang along with Emperor Huai of Jin. Wang Jun and the other provincial administrators had failed to provide any aid to the emperor in preventing the crisis from occurring.

Although Wang Jun was initially successful against Shi Le, fortune began to side with Shi Le as of 312. After the city of Yuanxiang surrendered to Wang Jun, Shi Le laid siege on the city. In response, Wang Jun sent Wang Chang and the Duan chieftain 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 Duan Jilujuan gifts and treated Duan Mopei with courtesy. Duan Jilujuan was delighted by this treatment and withdrew his troops from attacking Shi Le. Later, Shi Le led a few skirmishes against Wang Jun and killed the Inspector of Youzhou 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 the Duans’ insolence, and riled up their rival Xianbei tribes, the Tuoba and Murong to attack them but Duan Jilujuan repelled the assault.

Losing the support of his powerful Xianbei allies, Wang Jun also lost the favour of the Wuhuan to Shi Le. Consecutive droughts 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.

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' , Wang Jun considered taking the imperial title for himself. His officials criticized him in which Wang Jun responded cruelly by executing them. The gentry was disturbed by this and distanced themselves from Wang Jun. Wang Jun also began to neglect political affairs, leaving them in the hands of his corrupted and heinous officials such as Zao Song, Zhu Shuo and Tan Heng.

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 and offered his surrender to Wang Jun in letter. Wang Jun was delighted by this and did not doubt him. In 314, Wang Jun was ready to accept Shi Le into his ranks despite his advisers’ and generals’ attempts at persuading him to attack Shi. When Shi Le arrived at Ji, 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. Once Shi Le entered, Shi let loose of his men and sacked the city.

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 and his head was presented to the Han emperor Liu Cong as a gift. 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.