Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei - Early Reign

Early Reign

Almost immediately after Emperor Taiwu took the throne, Rouran attacked after its Mouhanheshenggai Khan, Yujiulü Datan heard about Emperor Mingyuan's death. Emperor Taiwu engaged Rouran troops, and on the very first engagement became surrounded by Rouran troops, but he fought his way out of danger, and subsequently, he made nearly yearly attacks against Rouran, and each year, Rouran forces would elude him by retreating north, only to return south after he withdrew. Meanwhile, in 425, he reestablished peaceful relations with Liu Song. He, also in an action that later became a Northern Wei tradition, honored his wet nurse Lady Dou as "nurse empress dowager".

Also soon after he took the throne, Emperor Taiwu became a devout Taoist. It was around this time that the Taoist Kou Qianzhi became famed, and Cui Hao became Kou's follower and often praised Kou before Emperor Taiwu. Emperor Taiwu was pleased by prophecies that Kou was making, which implied that he was divine in origin, and he officially endorsed Kou's proselytization of his state.

In 426, Emperor Taiwu began to look for a target to make a concentrated attack—asking his officials for their opinions on whom to attack between Xia and Rouran, and his officials were divided in their opinions, and some proposed yet another third target, Northern Yan, although after the death of the Xia emperor Helian Bobo later that year, he settled on making Xia his target. When Baba Song opposed this, Emperor Taiwu showed his fierce temper by having his guards pound Baba's head on the floor, but he also showed how quickly that temper went away by not demoting Baba. He then sent Daxi Jin to attack Puban (蒲阪, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) and Pu Ji (普幾) to attack Shancheng (陝城, in modern Sanmenxia, Henan), while himself making a fast, cavalry-based attack on the Xia's heavily fortified capital Tongwan (統萬, in modern Yulin, Shaanxi). Catching the Xia emperor Helian Chang by surprise, the Northern Wei troops intruded into Tongwan before withdrawing with much loot, while in the south, Helian Chang's generals Helian Yidou (赫連乙斗) and Helian Zhuxing (赫連助興) abandoned not only Puban, but also Chang'an, allowing Daxi to occupy the Guanzhong region. In spring 427, Helian Chang sent his brother Helian Ding south to try to recapture Chang'an, but Helian Ding's forces became stalemated with Daxi's. In response, Emperor Taiwu made another attack on Tongwan. Helian Chang initially took Helian Ding's suggestion to try to defend Tongwan until he could defeat Daxi, but misinformation that Helian Chang received then induced him to come out of Tongwan to engage Northern Wei forces. Emperor Taiwu defeated him in battle, causing him to be unable to return to Tongwan and forcing him to flee to Shanggui (上邽, in modern Tianshui, Gansu), allowing Emperor Taiwu to capture Tongwan. In the start of what would be a string of marriages that could be characterized as either politically- or trophy-taking-related, he took three of Helian Bobo's daughters as his concubines. Upon hearing of Tongwan's fall, Helian Ding disengaged from Daxi and joined Helian Chang at Shanggui as well.

In 428, Daxi and Qiudun Dui, trying to capture Helian Chang, instead became trapped by Helian Chang in the city of Anding (安定, in modern Pingliang, Gansu). However, Daxi's subordinates Weichi Juan (尉遲眷) and Anchi Jia (安遲頡) made a surprise attack and captured Helian Chang. Helian Ding took over as the emperor of Xia. Meanwhile, Emperor Taiwu treated Helian Chang as an honored guest, supplying Helian Chang with the same supplies that he himself used, and he married his sister Princess Shiping to Helian Chang and created him the Duke of Kuaiji; he also rewarded Weichi and Anchi greatly and created them dukes. Subsequently, Daxi, humiliated that his subordinates captured Helian Chang and he himself appeared helpless, aggressively pursued Helian Ding, but instead was defeated and captured by Helian Ding. In fear, Qiudun and Tuoba Li (拓拔禮) the Prince of Gaoliang abandoned Chang'an as well and fled to Puban, allowing Xia to recapture Chang'an. In anger, although Qiudun had been a high level official for him since the days that he was crown prince, he had Anchi execute Qiudun and take over his position. For the time being, Emperor Taiwu left Helian Ding alone, while preparing an assault on Rouran instead, since Rouran had been harassing the northern border region.

In light of the Xia campaign, the historian Sima Guang wrote this commentary about Emperor Taiwu, in his Zizhi Tongjian:

The emperor of Wei was strong and brave, and calm and settled. Regardless of whether it came to defending a city or fighting on the battlefield, he was always at the frontline. His guards might suffer casualties, but his expressions would be the same, and therefore his generals and soldiers were all fearful of and impressed by him, and willing to fight hard to their death. He was also frugal, and he was satisfied with his clothing and food as long as they were sufficient. When his officials requested to strengthen the defenses of the capital and remodel the palace, arguing that I Ching said, "Princes and dukes establish defenses to secure their home and states," and that Xiao He said, "An emperor may be at home throughout his empire, but if his home were not sufficiently grand and luxurious, he could not show his strength," he responded, "The ancient also said, 'What counts is grace, not secure defenses.' Helian Bobo used boiled earth to build his city, and I destroyed his state; it was not because it was not secure enough. Right now, the land is not in peace, and we need human power, and I loathe construction projects. What Xiao He said was incorrect." He also felt that money was the capital for affairs of the military and the state, and should not be easily wasted. He issued monetary awards only to the families of those who had died for the state or who had contributed greatly, never to his own relatives. When he sent generals out, he always personally advised them, and those who disobeyed his advice usually ended in failure. He was also a good judge of character, and was able to select generals from among soldiers, and he only commissioned officials who were capable, not those who were well-connected. He was sharp in his observations and could see hidden things, and his subjects could not deceive him. He awarded those of humble ranks if they deserved them, and he punished those of high ranks if they deserved them. He also did not protect those whom he usually favored, and often said, "I, along with the people, obey the laws, and how do I dare to view them lightly?" However, he was cruel and often punished by execution, and he often regretted executions deeply.

In 429, with only Cui Hao in support and most other officials opposing, Emperor Taiwu launched a major attack on Rouran. (The officials who opposed largely worried that Emperor Wen of Liu Song, who had for years wanted to regain the provinces south of the Yellow River that Emperor Mingyuan captured in 422 and 423, would attack.) Emperor Taiwu pointed out that even if Liu Song could attack, it became even more crucial to defeat Rouran first, lest that Rouran attacked at the same time that Liu Song did. He surprised Yujiulü Datan, whose people scattered, forcing him to flee. However, as he chased Yujiulü Datan, he himself became hesitant to advance further, and he withdrew. Only later did he hear that he was in fact very close to Yujiulü Datan's position and could have captured the Rouran khan had he chased further, and he regretted his withdrawal. On the way back, he also attack Gaoche tribes, and along with the Rouran tribes that he captured, he resettled them south of the Gobi Desert and had them exercise agriculture. From this point on, Northern Wei's northern provinces became rich and no longer lacked livestock and leather. He greatly rewarded Cui, and from this point Cui's advice became what he accepted at all times.

In spring 430, Liu Song launched a major attack, and Emperor Taiwu, judging his own defenses south of the Yellow River to be unable to withstand a Liu Song attack, withdrew them north, judging correctly that Liu Song forces would stop at the Yellow River, planning to counterattack in the winter after the river froze. Meanwhile, hearing that Liu Song and Xia had subsequently entered into a treaty to attack him and divide Northern Wei lands, he judged correctly that despite the treaty Liu Song had no intention to cross the Yellow River north, and he decided to destroy Xia once and for all. In fall 430, he made a surprise attack on the new Xia capital Pingliang (平涼, also in modern Pingliang), while Helian Ding was engaging Western Qin's prince Qifu Mumo, putting Pingliang under siege, but although he then sent Helian Chang to Pingliang to try to persuade its defender, Helian Shegan (赫連社干, younger brother to both Helian Chang and Helian Ding), to surrender, Pingliang would not fall quickly. However, the Northern Wei general Tuxi Bi (吐奚弼) engaged Helian Ding as Helian Ding was trying to relieve Pingliang, defeating him and surrounding him at the Chungu Plains (鶉觚原, in modern Pingliang). Northern Wei forces surrounded him, and his army became hungry and thirsty. After several days, he forcibly fought his way out of the siege, but his forces mostly collapsed, and he himself was badly injured. He gathered the remaining forces and fled to Shanggui. Around the new year 431, Helian Shegan surrendered. Nearly all former Xia territory was now in Northern Wei hands. (Upon recovering Daxi Jin from Xia captivity, Emperor Taiwu punished him for his failures by temporarily making him the imperial porter in charge of serving meals, but soon pardoned him and restored him to his princely title.) (By 432, Helian Ding was no longer able to hold Shanggui, and he, after destroying Qifu Mumo's Western Qin, tried to head west to attack Northern Liang, but was intercepted by the khan of Tuyuhun, Murong Mugui (慕容慕璝), defeated, and captured. In 433, Murong Mugui, with promises of rewards, turned Helian Ding over to Emperor Taiwu, and he had Helian Ding executed.)

While Emperor Taiwu was on his Xia campaign, his generals, as he instructed, crossed the Yellow River when it froze in winter 430, and quickly recaptured Luoyang and Hulao. They soon forced the retreat of the main Liu Song force, under the command of the Liu Song general Dao Yanzhi (到彥之), and trapped the remaining Liu Song troops at Huatai (滑台, in modern Anyang, Henan). A relief mission by the Liu Song general Tan Daoji could not reach Huatai, and by spring 431, Huatai fell. All of the lands lost to Liu Song a year earlier had been regained. (Emperor Taiwu, in another action typical of him, rewarded the Liu Song general Zhu Xiuzhi (朱脩之), who had held Huatai for months faithfully, by giving him a daughter of an imperial clan member in marriage.)

In summer 431, Emperor Taiwu made his first proposal of a marriage between the two imperial families to Liu Song. (Based on subsequent events, it appeared to be a proposal of marriage between a son of his and a daughter of Emperor Wen's, but by this point it was not completely clear.) Emperor Wen responded to it ambiguously. From this point on, Emperor Taiwu would repropose the marriage on a nearly yearly basis, with the same kind of response from Emperor Wen. At the same time, however, he did enter into peaceful relations with Rouran, by returning a number of captured Rouran generals.