Muyu Gen (died 360) was a military general and regent of Former Yan during the Sixteen Kingdoms period.
[1] However, Hu Sanxing's annotation in the Zizhi Tongjian states that the Muyu was a separate branch of the Xianbei and were distinguished from the Murongs.
[2] Muyu Gen was a City Chief of Kehu (榼盧城; east of present-day Funing District, Hebei).
[3] In 338, following a victorious joint campaign against the Duan clan, the ruler of Later Zhao, Shi Hu, turned against Murong Huang and invaded his territory.
It was not until Liu Pei's (劉佩) successful charges and Feng Yi's encouragement that Huang regained his confidence.
The Zhao army encircled the entire city, but Muyu Gen and the others fought back fiercely day and night.
Since the time of Prince Wuxuan (Murong Hui), we have been nurturing the people, cultivating the farms, and training the troops, all to prepare ourselves for this very day.
In May, Murong Jun led his army to attack Lukou (魯口; in present-day Raoyang County, Hebei), which was defended by Zhao's general Deng Heng (鄧恆).
Deng's general, Lu Bozao (鹿勃早), carried out a night raid on Jun's camps which caught the Yan troops by surprise, but they were able to regroup and form a defence.
With several hundred strong soldiers, Muyu Gen led them from Jun's camp to the frontlines, spearheading the attack.
Near the end of 352, a man from Zhongshan named Su Lin (蘇林) rebelled in Wuji and declared himself the Son of Heaven.
Murong Ke, who was campaigning against the warlord Wang Wu (王午) in Lukou at the time, marched to Wuji to quell the rebellion.
Murong Ping was dispatched to defeat him, but he was unable to get the upper hand, so the court also sent Muyu Gen to serve as reinforcements.
Gen's prediction turned out to be true, as Feng Yang's men had grown suspicious with each other and refused to work together.
Feng fled to Lü Hu in Yewang, while his remaining forces surrendered back to Yan.
He was also begrudging of Murong Ke, who, despite serving a shorter time compared to Gen, was entrusted with more power over the government.
Both men told urged him to get rid of Muyu Gen, but Ke felt it would be improper for a regent to act against his co-regent.
[10] Having failed to convince Murong Ke, Muyu Gen turned to the Emperor and Empress Dowager.
Kezehun believed him, but Murong Wei cast his doubts, saying, "The two lords are relatives to the throne and were worthy enough to be chosen by my late father on his deathbed to protect me.
There was a lot of commotion among the people when they heard of the executions, but Murong Ke was able to calm them and restore order.