Early years

Guo Mo was from Huai County in Henei Commandery. His family was described as humble and made a living of selling meat and wine for generations. Guo was said to have martial talents, being able to jump over a roughly 3 metres wide moat while wearing full armour. It was because of this that he earned a position under the Prefect of Henei, Pei Zheng (裴整), as a general. In 310, Pei Zheng was besieged and captured by Han-Zhao forces. Guo gathered Pei Zheng's remaining soldiers and established himself as a wuzhu. The Inspector of Bingzhou, Liu Kun, commissioned him to take up Pei Zheng's position.

For the next few years, Guo amassed a fortune from robbing travellers fleeing east by boat who passed by his territory. This had little to no repercussions for Guo, however, as many refugees would rather join him than stay in Han-Zhao, even more after hearing about his wealth. Guo also treated his soldiers kindly, so they remained loyal to him. On one occasion, Guo Mo's wife's brother, Lu Jia (陸嘉), was stealing rice from the granaries and giving it to his sister. When Guo found out, he tried to execute Lu Jia, but Lu ran away to Han-Zhao. To show that he had no part in the act, Guo personally killed his own wife with a bow.^[2]

Conflict with Liu Yao

In 314, Han forces were trying to capture Chang'an. Their general, Liu Yao, was repelled, so Liu turnt to Guo Mo in Huai. Liu surrounded the city and fought till Guo had very little food left. As a compromise, Guo traded his wife and children as hostages in exchange for grain. Liu Yao saw this as a sign of submission, but after the exchange, Guo resumed his defence. Liu Yao was angered by this and had Guo's wife and children drowned in the Huai River.^[3] Guo considered abandoning the city as Liu Yao intensified his offence. He sent a letter to his neighbouring wuzhu Li Ju, asking if he could come over to his base in Xinzheng. Li Ju permitted and sent his nephew Guo Song (no family ties to Guo Mo) to escort him. However, Song was wary to approach as he did not have enough troops to face Liu Yao. Coincidentally, an army led by Liu Kun's general Zhang Zhao (張肇) happened to be returning from Chang'an. Li Ju asked Zhang for help, so Zhang sent his Xianbei cavalry to attack Liu Yao. The Han soldiers were startled by the reinforcements and retreated without a fight. Guo arrived at Xinzheng while Liu Yao fell back to Baoban.^[4]

Dispute with Liu Yin

Guo Mo did not appear to have faced punishment for his actions and resumed his role as a border commander. At the end of 329, Guo was summoned to the capital to become General of the Army of the Right. Guo had no interest in serving in the palace and was annoyed by this, so he vented his frustrations to the Inspector of Jiangzhou, Liu Yin. However, Liu told him he wanted nothing to do with the matter. When Guo was about to take up his new position, he asked Liu for assistance, but Liu once again snubbed him. Liu's advisors were also ill-judged towards Guo, so Guo's resentment for Liu grew. During a Laba Festival, Liu sent Guo a pig's head and a cup of wine, an insulting reference to his family background. Guo, angered, threw Liu's envoy into a nearby river.

Some time that month, a man named Gai Zhun (蓋肫) kidnapped someone's daughter and made her his concubine. Liu's Chief Clerk, Zhang Man (張滿), demanded him to return the daughter to her family, but Gai refused. Earlier, Liu Yin's misconducts warranted him a letter of removal from the court, which he purposefully ignored. Gai went to Guo Mo and told him about the letter. He convinced Guo Mo that Liu Yin was planning something big, and the only person he feared and want to get rid of was Guo Mo. Guo Mo led his men to the government center where Liu Yin was at. Officials who tried to stop Guo were threatened with clan extermination which Guo claimed was sanctioned by the court. Liu Yin was dragged out of the building and beheaded alongside his officials. Guo Mo sent Liu Yin's head to the court and publicized a forged imperial decree to justify his actions. Guo Mo then took Liu Yin's daughter and concubines for himself while confiscating Liu Yin's property. Guo also tried to get the general Huan Xuan to join him, but Huan turned him down.^[8]

Death

In 330, Liu Yin's head arrived in Jiankang. The Prime Minister Wang Dao felt that Guo was too strong to deal with, so he hung the head on a ship and gave Guo Mo Liu's positions. Tao Kan, however, believed Guo must be punished and started raising his troops. Guo tried to appease Tao Kan by sending him gifts as well as the forged edict, but Tao Kan persisted. Soon, Wang decided to back Tao Kan, and Yu Liang would also lead his army against Guo.^[9] Guo marched to Yuzhang (豫章; around present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi) to occupy the commandery where he met with Tao Kan's army. Tao was victorious, so Guo withdrew into his part of the city. Yu Liang's army arrived at Penkou (湓口, in present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi) and joined up with Tao Kan.

Tao still valued Guo's talents and wanted to capture him alive, so he sent Guo Song to get him to surrender. Guo Mo initially accepted it but began having second thoughts once he realized that Tao may kill his followers. After he took too long to come out, Tao Kan resumed his offense, this time even more fiercely. Guo was eventually betrayed by his subordinates and brought tied alongside his sons before Tao Kan. Guo was beheaded, and his head was sent to Jiankang. Those who were executed alongside him were forty of his partisans.^[10]