Editing Former Yan (section)

=== Reign of Murong Wei ===
Murong Jun's son, [[Murong Wei]] was still a child when he ascended the throne and was assigned with multiple regents. Before his death, Jun had offered to pass the throne to Murong Ke, but Ke refused and settled with becoming one of his nephew's regents. Still, Ke held considerable power under Murong Wei, and traditional historians regarded him as one of the greatest statesmen and commanders of his period. In 365, he captured the ancient capital, [[Luoyang]] from Jin and brought the empire to its peak.

However, although Ke's regency was marked with political stability and military might, corruption was also beginning to take its toll on the empire. One issue that plagued the empire was the decline of the state's fiscal revenue; after entering the Central Plains, the Yan nobility held large swathes of private land where they amassed commoners and concealed the household population from the state to avoid paying taxes. As a result, the imperial treasury was stretched thin, many officials had unpaid salaries and the public grain stores were exhausted. Ke's leadership initially mitigated the issue, but the situation quickly deteriorated after his untimely death in 367. Real power was then passed down to his notoriously corrupt uncle, [[Murong Ping]].

While Murong Ke was entrusted with real power, another brother of Murong Jun, [[Murong Chui]], was viewed with extreme suspicion by the emperor's inner circle throughout Jun and Murong Wei's reigns. In 369, the Eastern Jin commander, [[Huan Wen]], launched [[Huan Wen's Northern Expeditions|an expedition]] to conquer the Former Yan. As the Yan court was thrown into a panic, Chui volunteered to lead the defense and decisively defeated Huan Wen at the [[Battle of Fangtou]]. However, his newfound success made Murong Ping apprehensive of him. After Ping attempted to kill him, Chui defected to the Former Qin.

During the Jin invasion, Yan had agreed to cede the Luoyang region to Qin for reinforcements, but went back on their promise after repelling the attack. Chui’s defection only further prompted Qin to begin their own conquest of Yan. Despite their numerical advantage, the incompetently-led main Yan force was destroyed by [[Wang Meng (Former Qin)|Wang Meng's]] army at the [[Battle of Luchuan]]. Qin forces eventually reached [[Ye (Hebei)|Ye]] and Murong Wei was captured in 370. The destruction of the Former Yan established Former Qin as the main hegemon in the north, beginning their rapid unification of northern China.

Despite the Former Yan's demise, Murong Huang's descendants would go on to establish three more states during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. In the wake of the [[Battle of Fei River]] in 383, the Yan was restored as the [[Later Yan]] (384–407/409), founded by Murong Chui, and the [[Western Yan]] (384–394), founded by Murong Wei's brother, [[Murong Hong]]. The [[Southern Yan]] (398–410) was a Murong state founded by a son of Murong Huang, [[Murong De]].<gallery>
File:MurongPainting.jpg|right|Painting depicting a [[Murong|Xianbei Murong]] archer in a tomb of the Former Yan (337–370).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hong |first1=Wontack |title=Commencing the Dual System: the Yan Kingdom of Mu-rong Xianbei |journal=East Asian History: A Korean Perspective |date=2005 |url=http://www.upkorea.net/news/photo/5450-2-7540.pdf}}</ref>
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