Conquest of Ran Wei by Former Yan

In 350 CE, Ran Min restored native Han rule to North China and issued a cull order, starting the Wei-Jie war. As a result, thousands of Wu Hu (zh:胡人) were killed, and their uprisings suppressed with the exception of the Xianbei tribe in Northeast China. In 352 CE, the Murong Xianbei attacked Ran Wei with generals and soldiers from both Xianbei and Han backgrounds.[1]

Although initially successful, the Ran Wei army was ambushed by the Former Yan forces, who used Xianbei heavy cavalry to charge into Wei infantry lines. Ran Min himself was captured after single handedly killing more than a hundred enemy soldiers.

When asked why he had usurped Later Zhao, Ran Min replied: "If beastly barbarians like you can be emperor, why not me, a heroic descendant of the Huaxia!"

Murong Jun was furious that Ran insulted him as a barbarian and ordered Ran to be executed.

With the fall of Ran Wei, Xianbei forces controlled much of North China, until the rise of the Liu Song dynasty almost a century later.

• Li, Bo; Zheng Yin (2001) 5000 years of Chinese history, Inner Mongolian People's publishing corp, ISBN 7-204-04420-7 [in Chinese]