Early life

Wang Mi's family came from a line of officials in Donglai Commandery in the Jiaodong Peninsula. His grandfather, Wang Qi, was the Administrator of Xuantu during the Cao Wei period who greatly contributed in the Goguryeo–Wei War and participated in the conquest of Wei's rival state, Shu Han. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin, Wang Qi was appointed as Grand Administrator of Runan. In his youth, Wang Mi was noted to be brave and well-versed, surrounding himself with books and records. He also once worked as a knight-errant (Youxia; 遊俠), offering his service around Luoyang. A hermit by the name of Dong Zhongdao (董仲道) encountered Wang Mi on the road and said to him, 「My Lord speaks like a wolf and looks like a leopard. Excellent in confusion, happy with misfortune, assumes all under heaven is disturbed and agitated. Not the acts of a scholar and nobleman!」

Liu Bogens rebellion

During the War of the Eight Princes in April 306, the Prefect of Jian County (惤縣, near Longkou, Shandong), Liu Bogen (劉柏根) staged a revolt in Donglai. Hearing this, Wang Mi brought his followers along with him in order to join the rebellion and he was appointed as Bogen's Chief Clerk. The rebels invaded the capital of Qingzhou in Linzi and the commander of Qingzhou, Sima Lue (司馬略) sent Liu Tun (劉暾) to quell the rebellion. However, the rebels managed to defeat Tun and Sima Lue was forced out of Qingzhou.

Despite the rebellion's initial success, it soon fell apart the same year with the intervention of the Youzhou warlord Wang Jun. In the wake of Sima Lue's defeat, Wang Jun attacked Liu Bogen in order to aid Lue in recovering his territories. Bogen was killed in battle and Wang Mi decided to lead the remaining forces to the small islets in the east. However, on his way, he was intercepted and defeated by Gou Chun (苟纯). Wang Mi survived the attack and fled to Mount Zhangguang (長廣山; in present-day Pingdu, Shandong) instead to become a bandit.

As a bandit leader

Invasion of Qingzhou and Xuzhou

During his time as an outlaw, Wang Mi led many raids in Qingzhou against its people. His notoriety earned him the name "Flying Leopard (飛豹)" by the locals. In March or April 307, Wang Mi invaded Qingzhou and Xuzhou. He declared himself Grand General Who Conquers the East and executed any official he could find. The emperor's regent, Sima Yue, sent Ju Xian (鞠羨) to repel Wang Mi but Wang defeated and killed him. The Inspector of Yanzhou, Gou Xi, was then sent instead and Wang Mi's forces were routed.

Siege of Luoyang (308)

After his recent defeat, Wang Mi decided to submit to Liu Yuan of Han-Zhao. Liu Yuan accepted his submission and appointed him the Duke of Donglai, Inspector of Qingzhou and Great General who Garrisons the East. With a state now backing him up, he gathered his scattered forces and raised his troops' morale. In March 308, he sent out several of his generals to pillage Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou and Yuzhou where they killed many of the regions' administrators and prefects. Gou Xi fought Wang Mi's forces multiple time, but this time he could not overcome them. Soon, Wang Mi reached the city of Xuchang, where he emptied the city's arsenal of weapons and equipment in order to rearm his troops. With his momentum looking unstoppable, Wang Mi set his eyes on Luoyang.

As Wang Mi's army marched towards the capital, Sima Yue sent his Marshal, Wang Bin (王斌), in order to defend the capital. The governor of Liangzhou, Zhang Gui, also sent his general Beigong Chun to reinforce the city. When Wang Mi finally arrived at Luoyang on 23 June 308, the Minister Over the Masses, Wang Yan, was appointed to command the army against him. The defences of Luoyang succeeded in overwhelming and driving away Wang Mi. On 26 June 308, Wang Mi burned the city gates before retreating, but Wang Yan sent Wang Bing (王秉) to pursue him and he was defeated once more at Seven Li Gully (七里澗).

Service under Han-Zhao

During Liu Yuans reign

After failing to capture Luoyang, Wang Mi went to formally join Han. Liu Yuan and Wang Mi had once befriended each other in their youths during their time in Luoyang. Thus, when Liu Yuan heard that Wang Mi was coming to join him, he welcomed Wang with opened arms. Upon meeting Liu Yuan, Wang urged him to declare himself as emperor, which Liu would eventually do later that year. Liu Yuan offered Wang Mi a number of posts as part of his welcome, but Wang Mi declined them all; Liu Yuan also praised Wang Mi by comparing him to Dou Rong, Zhuge Liang and Deng Yu.

Under Han, Wang Mi was first tasked in accompanying Liu Yao in invading Henei before joining with Shi Le to attack Linzhang in 308. After that, in October, he and Shi Le besieged Ye, causing the local commander He Yu (和郁) to abandon the city. Emperor Huai sent Pei Xian (裴憲) to camp at Baima (白馬; near present-day Hua County, Henan) to defend against Wang Mi.

In 309, Wang Mi was appointed to a number of important posts; Palace Attendant, Chief Controller of Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Jizhou, and Yangzhou and Governor of Qingzhou. After that, he was sent to campaign against the Inspector of Bingzhou, Liu Kun, to capture Huguan county from his territory together with Liu Cong and Shi Le. In order to support Liu Kun, Sima Yue sent Wang Kuang (王曠) and others to attack Wang Mi but Wang greatly routed them. Meanwhile, Liu Cong and Shi Le defeated Liu Kun's forces and captured Huguan.

Afterwards, Wang Mi participated in Liu Yuan's campaign in Luoyang as a subordinate of Liu Cong. Although Luoyang was poorly defended, the campaign went badly for the Han forces as several of their generals were killed during the assault. Wang Mi advised Liu Cong to retreat as their supplies were beginning to run low, but Liu did not dare to do so without his father's permission. It was not until Liu Yuan recalled his forces that they could retreat, ending the siege in failure.

On 6 January 310, Wang Mi marched his troops south through Huanyuan Pass (轘轅, located approximately 3 kilometers northwest of the Shaolin Monastery in Henan) to invade Xiangcheng commandery but he was defeated by Bao Sheng (薄盛) at Xinji (新汲, in modern Fugou County, Henan). However, at the same time, many refugees in Yingchuan, Xiangcheng, Runan, Nanyang, and Henan commanderies were rebelling in order to join Wang Mi. These refugees, who initially fled to escape the fighting, were discriminated against by the local populace. In order to show their loyalty to Wang Mi, they set fire to the towns and cities and killed the chief clerks and local officials.

Wang Mi sent a petition to Liu Yuan requesting that his Chief Clerk of the Left, Cao Ni, be appointed General Who Maintains The East in Qingzhou, where he would provide security to Wang's family's members. Wang Mi followed Shi Le in invading Xuzhou, Yuzhou and Yanzhou, routing many of the local generals.

Disaster of Yongjia

Later in August 310, Liu Yuan died and although his son Liu He succeeded him, He was quickly assassinated by his brother, Liu Cong, making Cong the new emperor only seven days into He's reign. Liu Cong was determined to capture Luoyang, so he sent Liu Can, Liu Yao, Wang Mi and Shi Le to march towards the capital. Wang Mi joined Liu Yao in order to attack Xiangcheng before marching towards Luoyang. Luoyang had barely survived the year before, but conditions in the city had worsened through famines, bandits, and mistrust among the inhabitants of the city. After the death of Sima Yue, Emperor Huai of Jin's new paramount general, Gou Xi, waited for his arrival at Cangyuan (倉垣, in modern Kaifeng, Henan), leaving Luoyang vulnerable to the Han forces. In 311, Liu Cong sent Huyan Yan to besiege the capital and ordered Wang Mi, Liu Yao and Shi Le to join him. Wang Mi arrived at Luoyang and met up with Huyan Yan. They entered the palace, sacking it and capturing many of the palace's servants. Emperor Huai of Jin, who was still in the capital, was caught on 13 July and sent to Han's capital in Pingyang.

Although Han had won a very important victory over Jin, Wang Mi would get into a dispute with Liu Yao. Liu Yao resented Wang for entering the capital before he had and sacking the capital despite having given orders not to do so. As punishment, Liu Yao beheaded his General of the Serrated Gate, Wang Yan (王延). The two men traded blows with each other because of this, leaving thousands of their men dead before Wang Mi's Chief Clerk Zhang Song (張嵩) advised him to reconcile with Liu Yao, to which Wang Mi agreed and Liu Yao accepted his apology. However, they quarreled again after Wang Mi advised Yao to persuade Liu Cong to move Han's capital from Pingyang to Luoyang. Yao refused to listen, and instead burned the city down. Angered, Wang Mi scolded him, "You Chuge brat, is this how a king or an emperor acts?" Not wanting to escalate it further, Wang Mi returned to Qingzhou.

Death

Wang Mi had long been friends with his colleague, Shi Le, but deep down they were both very suspicious of one another. Shi Le had covertly caught and killed Wang Mi's subordinate Liu Tun who was on his way to inform Cao Ni that he should rally his troops against Shi. Furthermore, Wang Mi's generals Xu Miao (徐邈) and Gao Liang (高梁) had abandoned him with their troops for Cao Ni. When Wang Mi heard that Shi Le had caught his adversary Gou Xi, he wrote a letter to Shi Le seemingly praising him but subtly patronising him. Wang Mi also sent to Shi Le women and treasures that he had captured and looted at Luoyang as gifts in order to win him over. Shi Le was not amused but his advisor Zhang Bin told him that he should wait until Wang Mi's forces had truly dwindled.

Soon enough, Wang Mi was caught in a stalemate with an enemy general named Liu Rui (劉瑞). Shi Le was fighting Chen Wu (陳午) at the time but Zhang Bin told him to leave Chen and aid Wang Mi in order to win his trust. Shi Le agreed and helped Wang Mi overcome Liu Rui. Wang Mi was grateful for his assistance and no longer suspected him. After their victory, Shi Le invited Wang Mi over to a feast in Jiwu County (己吾縣, present-day Ningling County, Henan). Wang Mi complied despite Zhang Song's advising him not to. When Wang Mi became drunk at the feast, Shi Le personally beheaded him and absorbed his army.

After the death of Wang Mi, Shi Le sent Liu Cong a petition to justify his actions, calling Wang Mi a rebel. Although Liu Cong was very infuriated by Shi Le's actions, he still wanted to ensure his loyalty to Han, so he gave no punishment to Shi Le and instead rewarded him with positions. Wang Mi's subordinate, Cao Ni, continued to maintain control over Qingzhou, where he would remain until his defeat by Shi Le's nephew, Shi Hu in 323.

Family

It is not known what happened to Wang Mi's family after Cao Ni's defeat. However, a nephew of Wang Mi named Wang Li (王立), was found alive in 356. He, along with Cao Ni's grandson, Cao Yan (曹巖), were discovered living among the hills by Former Yan's minister, Ju Yin (鞠殷). Yin's father was Ju Peng (鞠彭), a general who had fought against Cao Ni in Donglai before fleeing to the Liaodong Peninsula to serve Murong Hui. In turn, Peng's father was Ju Xian, the Jin general whom Wang Mi had killed in 307. When Ju Yin was commissioned to govern Donglai, Peng urged his son to find Wang Mi and Cao Ni's descendants and befriend them so that they could properly resolve their conflict. Yin did so and the three men became very close friends, so much so that their bond was famous among the people of Donglai at the time.

生平

作亂本郡

王彌有才幹，閱讀過不少不同類型的書籍。年輕時遊俠於洛陽。永興三年（306年），東萊郡惤縣縣令劉柏根叛亂，自稱惤公。王彌則帶著家僮去追隨他，並被任命為長史。及後劉柏根進攻臨淄，擊敗抵抗的劉暾並逼走青州都督司馬略。但不久就被安北將軍王浚所派的軍隊擊敗，劉柏根亦戰死。王彌於是聚眾於海島之上，但被兗州刺史苟晞弟苟純擊敗，唯有逃到長廣山作盜賊。

歸附漢國

永嘉元年（307年）二月，王彌與部眾在青州和徐州擄掠，自稱征東大將軍，並殺害兩個太守。太傅司馬越派鞠羨任東萊太守以討伐王彌，但反被王彌所殺。苟晞及後率兵進攻並大敗王彌。王彌於是自以當年游俠洛陽時認識劉淵，而當時劉淵已建立漢國，於是與剛敗於晉將王讚的同黨劉靈一同投奔劉淵。劉淵知道後十分高興，拜為鎮東大將軍、青徐二州州牧、都督緣海諸軍事，封為東萊公。

次年，王彌收集殘餘部眾，再度起兵，分別攻掠青、徐、兗、豫州四州，並聚有數萬之眾，苟晞再攻王彌亦不能取勝。王彌於是再攻入許昌，並取去武庫內的武器，並進逼洛陽。王彌進逼洛陽的消息令洛陽人心震動，城門緊閉。王彌到後，司徒王衍領兵抵抗，終在七里澗大敗王彌軍。及後王彌北上并州的劉淵根據地，劉淵派人在黎亭城郊迎接，任命王彌為司隸校尉，加侍中、特進。但王彌辭讓。王彌及後便參與漢國的軍事行動，隨劉曜進攻河內，又與石勒進攻鄴城。

永嘉三年（309年），王彌獲劉淵任命為侍中、都督青、徐、兗、豫、荊、揚六州諸軍事、征東大將軍、青州牧，與劉聰和石勒一同進攻壺關。漢軍當時先後擊敗劉琨和司馬越所派的援兵，終令上黨太守龐淳以壺關投降。攻破壺關後，王彌與劉聰等人受命進而攻擊洛陽，但最終在洛陽被司馬越派軍乘虛擊敗，被逼撤軍。王彌隨後則派騎兵攻掠襄城郡各縣，因逃避戰亂而流散在穎川、襄城、汝南和南陽的數萬個流民因不滿當地居民的不禮貌對待，因而焚燒城邑和殺害官吏以響應王彌。但此時司馬越派薄盛、李惲等人追擊王彌，在新汲擊敗王彌。王彌後派左長史曹嶷領五千兵到青州，以財寶招納亡命徒以及迎接王彌在青州的家眷。

永嘉之亂

永嘉五年（311年），王彌與劉曜共攻襄城，後又奉命領兵與劉聰所派的呼延晏在洛陽會合，並與呼延晏及劉曜和石勒等一同進攻洛陽。當時洛陽有大饑荒，王彌等於是成功攻入洛陽，並擄走晉懷帝和大殺官員。當時王彌縱兵搶掠宮中寶物的婢女，被劉曜阻止，更殺其牙門王延，王彌於是與劉曜互相攻伐。王彌在長史張嵩勸諫下與劉曜修好，但及後王彌向劉曜提出漢國遷都洛陽的建議但不被其接納，劉曜更焚毀洛陽宮殿。王彌於是十分不滿，領兵東走項關。

前司隸校尉劉暾當時勸說王彌既然與劉曜結怨，不如先佔據守青州作根據地自保，至少也能割據青州以成鼎立之勢。王彌聽從。但當時王彌部將徐邈、高粱等都出走到青州投曹嶷，令王彌的軍力有所削弱。數月後，漢國升王彌為大將軍，封齊公。

石勒所忌

當時，王彌和石勒表面上互相親善，實質上石勒忌憚王彌的驍勇，都暗中防備他。而王彌亦刻意討好石勒，如在攻陷洛陽時送了不少搶掠而得的美女和寶物給石勒。劉暾於是建議王彌聯合派往青州的曹嶷，以其兵消滅石勒。王彌聽從並派劉暾帶同書信到青州以聯合曹嶷，又邀請石勒和自己一同到青州，圖謀殺死對方。但劉暾在東阿被石勒手下遊騎捕獲，石勒知悉劉暾所帶書信內容後大怒，殺死劉暾並決意要消滅王彌，但王彌卻不知劉暾已死。後石勒攻滅晉大將軍苟晞，並讓苟晞為其左長史。王彌特意卑下的祝賀：「你擒獲苟晞並任用他，多麼神妙呀！若苟晞為你的左長史，我當你的右長史，天下不難得到呀！」石勒謀士張賓認為王彌必有所圖，並勸石勒趁王彌實力有所減弱時就除去他。石勒又趁王彌與乞活軍劉瑞相持，向石勒求援的機會取得王彌信任，派兵救援王彌。王彌亦因而信任石勒，不再懷疑對方。

宴會遇刺

十月，石勒在己吾宴請王彌，王彌因信任石勒，不聽張嵩的勸諫而赴約。石勒於是趁王彌喝酒喝得盡興時殺死王彌並吞併其部眾，又上報劉聰稱王彌謀反。劉聰雖然讉責石勒「專害公輔，有無君之心」，但又怕石勒有異心，於是給石勒加官，沒有懲罰石勒。

性格特徵

王彌在長廣山為盜賊時，每次擄略行動都有計劃，衡量過成敗才行動，且都沒失算過，而且臂力過人，騎射都了得，被青州人稱為「飛豹」。

評論

• 董仲道：君豺聲豹視，好亂樂禍，若天下騷擾，不作士大夫矣。

• 張賓：王公人傑，當早除之。

• 《晉書》評：王彌好亂樂禍，挾詐懷姦，命儔嘯侶，伺間候隙，助悖逆平陽，肆殘忍於都邑，遂使生靈塗炭，神器流離，邦國軫《麥秀》之哀，宮廟興《黍離》之痛，豈天意乎？何醜虜之猖狂而亂之斯瘼者也！

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