Later Zhao Struggles to Expand

Shi Le had destroyed Former Zhao, unified much of the north, and taken the imperial title.

But in the third year after he became emperor, the shape of Later Zhao changed.

Shi Hu Controls Later Zhao

After Shi Le fell seriously ill and died, the throne passed to Crown Prince Shi Hong.

Shi Hong was Shi Le's second son. He was gentle, bookish, and fond of writing. He did not like military affairs. The person least willing to accept such an heir was Shi Le's nephew, Shi Hu.

Shi Hu believed he had conquered much of Later Zhao's territory himself. Seeing Shi Hong become emperor naturally angered him.

The day after Shi Le died, Shi Hu launched a military coup and took control of Shi Hong. The frightened emperor begged to give up the throne. Shi Hu did not accept immediately. He only said it was too early to discuss that.

Shi Hong was pushed onto the throne, while Shi Hu became chancellor, King of Wei, great chanyu, and holder of the nine bestowments. Thirteen commanderies, including Wei commandery, were assigned to his fief. He controlled government.

The emperor was hollowed out. Real power in Later Zhao had passed to Shi Hu.

The Blood Edict Fails

Empress Dowager Liu, Shi Hong's mother, refused to accept this. She secretly summoned her adopted son Shi Kan into the palace.

They decided that she would write an edict in blood and have Shi Kan carry it out of the city, calling on the provinces to rise against Shi Hu.

But the plan leaked quickly. Not long after Shi Kan left Xiangguo, Shi Hu sent men after him. The blood edict was found and destroyed. Shi Kan was tied to a pillar and burned to death.

His death shocked the realm. The commanders at Chang'an and Luoyang rose together against Shi Hu.

Shi Hu chose to strike first. He left his eldest son Shi Sui to guard Xiangguo and led 70,000 troops against Jinyong City at Luoyang. After capturing the defender, Shi Hu had his feet cut off and tortured him to death.

After pacifying Luoyang, Shi Hu attacked Chang'an.

The Chang'an defender Shi Sheng knew he could not defeat Shi Hu alone, so he asked the Xianbei for help and brought in 20,000 troops as the vanguard. The two sides fought at Tong Pass. The Xianbei fought hard and forced Shi Hu to retreat more than 300 li.

Shi Hu then bribed the Xianbei chieftain heavily. The Xianbei turned against Shi Sheng. Shi Sheng fled back to Chang'an. The city soon fell, and his head was brought to Shi Hu.

Shi Hu also slaughtered along the Liangzhou frontier and moved more than 100,000 people to fill the Central Plain. He summoned the Di leader Pu Hong, later known as Fu Hong, and the Qiang leader Yao Yizhong, assigning them to defend Guanzhong, Liangzhou, and the Cheng-Han direction.

Only then did Shi Hu firmly hold Later Zhao.

Shi Hong saw that the situation was lost and brought the imperial seal to ask Shi Hu to become emperor. Shi Hu deposed him but did not take the imperial title at once. He first called himself Heavenly King of Zhao. Soon he killed Shi Hong and two of his brothers, changed the reign title to Jianwu, and moved the capital to Ye.

The title Heavenly King was not light. Shi Le had used a similar title before formally becoming emperor. Shi Hu had not yet sat on the imperial throne, but he already held the court, clan, and army under him.

Shi Hu's Luxury and the Liaodong Target

Shi Hu ruled very differently from Shi Le.

He immediately selected more than 10,000 women for the palace and launched huge construction in Luoyang and Ye. Later Zhao was suffering drought, hunger, and high grain prices, but state strength was being spent on palace luxury.

Still, Shi Hu wanted to expand.

If he wanted to destroy Eastern Jin in the south, his northern rear had to be secure. So he turned toward Liaodong.

Liaodong had long been an active zone for Xianbei powers, especially the Yuwen, Murong, Duan, and Tuoba groups. Among the Murong, Murong Hui had built his people into a strong force in the northeast.

After Murong Hui died, his legitimate son Murong Huang succeeded him. Murong Huang's eldest brother, Murong Han, feared that Murong Huang would harm him and fled with his family to the Duan clan in Liaoxi. Two of Murong Huang's younger brothers, Murong Ren and Murong Zhao, also rebelled against him.

Murong Ren and Murong Zhao asked Duan Liao for help. Duan Liao sent his younger brother Duan Lan and Murong Han with troops. Liaodong became tangled in conflict.

Murong Huang's troubles did not come only from brothers. To the north was the Yuwen group. To the west was the Duan clan. Inside, Murong Ren held part of Liaodong. Before the northeast had fully become Yan territory, it had already become a battlefield among Xianbei powers.

Murong Huang Crosses the Ice

In the first month of 336, the Liaodong Gulf froze.

Murong Huang decided to take a risk and move across the ice to attack Murong Ren from behind. He sent old and weak troops by land as a diversion and led elite soldiers across the frozen sea.

His subordinates feared the ice was dangerous, but Murong Huang believed the chance was too rare to miss.

Murong Ren thought the land route held the main army and positioned his forces there. Then Murong Huang suddenly appeared from the rear. Murong Ren's army collapsed. Murong Ren and Murong Zhao were captured and ordered to die.

After suppressing the internal rebellion, Murong Huang declared himself King of Yan.

Next, he wanted to destroy Duan Liao. Shi Hu also saw an opportunity and agreed to cooperate with Murong Huang in a pincer attack against the Duan clan.

Murong Huang attacked from the south. Shi Hu campaigned from the north. Duan Liao sent Duan Lan to face Murong Huang, but Duan Lan was ambushed and badly defeated. Shi Hu captured more than forty cities from the south. Duan Liao finally submitted to Yan, and the Yuwen group submitted to Later Zhao.

Once the Duan clan fell, Murong Huang and Shi Hu turned from partners into rivals.

Later Zhao's First Attack on Yan Fails

Shi Hu ordered Duan Lan to guard Lingzhi with 5,000 Xianbei troops, then led a huge army against Yan.

Murong Huang knew Later Zhao was powerful and briefly considered abandoning the city. His officers advised him that Zhao troops had come from far away and would have problems if forced to linger. Better to defend the capital and wait with rested troops.

Murong Huang accepted the advice. He pulled people and supplies from outside into the city and prepared to defend.

Later Zhao's huge army soon surrounded Ji City and attacked day and night. Murong Huang refused surrender and even had his family members help defend the walls. Shi Hu had not expected Yan to hold so stubbornly. After more than half a month, he had gained nothing.

An army of that size consumed enormous grain every day. Later Zhao's supplies began to fail. Shi Hu had no choice but to withdraw at night.

For Shi Hu, this retreat was humiliating. Later Zhao had far more troops than Yan but had been held before one city. It could not take the city, and its supplies could not keep up. It had to leave in darkness.

Murong Huang wanted to pursue, but his officers feared night fighting. At that moment, fifteen-year-old Murong Ke volunteered. Murong Huang gave him 2,000 elite troops.

Murong Ke moved into the retreating Zhao column at night and attacked suddenly. Zhao soldiers did not know where the enemy had come from and scattered. Murong Ke drove straight toward Shi Hu's central force and nearly captured him.

At the critical moment, Shi Hu's adopted grandson Shi Min arrived with troops and rescued him. Shi Min's original surname was Ran. He was Han Chinese by origin, and after his father submitted to Later Zhao, Shi Hu adopted him into the family line.

After this battle, Later Zhao was damaged, and Shi Hu no longer dared look down on Yan.

Ma Qiu Loses Again

After resting for a while, Shi Hu received information from Duan Liao's insiders.

Duan Liao had submitted to Murong Huang but remained dissatisfied. He wanted to use Later Zhao to rise again. Shi Hu decided to try once more and sent Ma Qiu with 30,000 soldiers against Yan.

Because of the earlier failure, Shi Hu repeatedly warned Ma Qiu not to underestimate the enemy. Ma Qiu did not take the warning seriously and fell into Murong Ke's ambush. Of his 30,000 men, only about 2,000 escaped.

Shi Hu was furious. If he could not even take Yan, how could he speak of taking the realm?

Advisers urged him to change direction. First join with Cheng-Han to destroy Eastern Jin. Then destroy Cheng-Han. Finally, combine the strength of three states to defeat Yan.

Shi Hu thought this made sense and sent envoys to Cheng-Han.

Cheng-Han Does Not Take the Bait

Cheng-Han was also passing through internal turmoil.

Before Li Xiong died, he chose his adopted son Li Ban as heir. Li Ban was famous for filial conduct and had served Li Xiong day and night during illness. But ministers worried that he had virtue without enough authority and could not control the royal clan.

After Li Xiong died, Li Xiong's son Li Yue and Li Qi launched a coup and killed Li Ban. Li Qi took the throne, then feared that others would imitate his own usurpation and began purging relatives.

When Li Shou became a target, he struck first. He led troops into Chengdu, killed Li Yue, and deposed Li Qi. Li Qi could not bear falling from emperor to minor county ruler and soon killed himself. After Li Shou took power, he changed the state name from Cheng to Han, fixing the name Cheng-Han.

These struggles weakened the regime. Under Li Xiong, Shu had been relatively stable for years. Under Li Ban, Li Qi, and Li Shou, the throne was decided again and again by blades, and neither relatives nor ministers could feel secure.

Cheng-Han's strength had declined. When Later Zhao envoys arrived and proposed joining to destroy Jin and divide territory, Li Shou was tempted.

But an adviser reminded him of the balance. If Eastern Jin disappeared, Later Zhao would be strong and Cheng-Han weak. Cheng-Han would be next. The situation resembled the Three Kingdoms, when Shu and Wu had to resist Wei. How could Shu join Wei to destroy Wu?

Li Shou understood and stopped preparations.

When Shi Hu heard that Cheng-Han had broken the agreement, he was angry and wanted to attack Shu. Advisers again warned him: Ba and Shu were protected by difficult mountains. A small state could be very hard to defeat there. If the campaign dragged on, Later Zhao morale would suffer.

Shi Hu could not destroy Jin in the south, and attacking Shu was not worth the cost. He turned his eyes back toward Yan.

Later Zhao seemed to have many choices: Eastern Jin in the south, Cheng-Han in the southwest, and Yan in the northeast. Yet every direction was hard to swallow. Eastern Jin had the Yangzi. Cheng-Han had the mountains of Ba and Shu. Yan had already proved it could stand in Liaodong.

Murong Huang Burns Later Zhao's Supplies

Shi Hu prepared to attack Yan again.

Murong Huang knew that if Yan only defended, it might not survive the full strength of Later Zhao. But striking the main army directly was also dangerous.

So he chose a detour.

Murong Huang personally led 10,000 men through the Juyong Pass region into Later Zhao territory, reaching Ji City near modern Beijing. The defender there had tens of thousands of troops but was intimidated by Yan and shut the gates without fighting.

Yan troops used the chance to move south and burn the grain, carts, and supplies Later Zhao had prepared for the attack on Yan.

When Shi Hu heard that the supplies were gone, he knew that even more troops could not sustain a campaign. He called off the attack.

By this point, Shi Hu understood that as long as Murong Huang lived, Yan would not be easily eaten.

Later Zhao looked powerful, but it could not swallow Eastern Jin in the south, Cheng-Han in the west, or Yan in the northeast. Each campaign looked tempting from far away. Up close, mountains, rivers, supplies, and stubborn opponents turned it into something much harder.

After these frustrations, Shi Hu became even more violent. Inside Later Zhao, a larger disaster was beginning to form.