Chapter 4: The Rise of Tuoba

Section 1 A blow to the soft

In 398, the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital to Pingcheng (now Datong, Shanxi), and Tuoba Jue was called the emperor, that is, Emperor Daowu of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

After Tuoba Jue defeated Houyan and entered the Central Plains, according to the geographical characteristics of the Central Plains, agricultural production was encouraged, and the slave owners and aristocrats of Tuoba Xianbei were gradually Sinicized and transformed into feudal landlords. After all, the Han people have a large population, and the Han large landowners have strong economic strength, in order to consolidate the rule, Tuoba Jue recruited Han large landowners to participate in politics, and accelerated the Sinicization process of the Xianbei Tuoba Department.

After the death of Tuoba Jue, his son Tuoba Hei (Emperor Ming Yuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty) and Sun Taiwu Emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty Tuoba Tao successively inherited the great cause, and promoted hundreds of Han large landowners as senior officials, including Fan Yang Lu Xuan, Boling Cui Xuan, Bohai Gao Yun, etc., the Northern Wei Dynasty formed a joint feudal regime of Xianbei Tuoba nobles and Han nobles, and the national power increased greatly. Especially in 423, after the accession to the throne at the age of less than 16, the Northern Wei Empire has since entered the fast track of complete rise.

At that time, the form of northern China was: the Northern Wei Dynasty occupied most of the Central Plains, the three forces of Daxia established by Helian Bobo, Tuyuhun of Murong Xianbei, and Lushuihu of the Xiongnu branch occupied the northwest and western regions, Rouran and Eile occupied the northern desert, and Northern Yan and Goguryeo occupied the northeast.

And the biggest threat to the Northern Wei Dynasty was Rouran.

Rouran, like Xianbei, belongs to the Donghu clan. From the end of the 4th century to the middle of the 6th century AD, following the Xiongnu and Xianbei, it was active in the vast areas of the north, south and northwest of the Chinese desert.

The origin of the Uighurs, also known as Ding Ling, Gaoche, and Uighur, has been described above, and the famous "Song of the Ele" is actually a pastoral song in the Xianbei language of the Ele people.

Eilechuan, under the Yin Mountain,

The sky is like a dome, covering the four wildernesses.

The sky is blue, the wilderness is vast,

The wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep low.

This pastoral song was later translated into Chinese, and the translator was called Hu Lujin, a member of the Eile ethnic group. For most people who have a history of Zhiwenzhi, Hu Lujin's name may be relatively unfamiliar, but he may be more familiar with his eldest son, who is called Hu Luguang, the famous "Governor of Luodiao" in the Northern Qi Dynasty, which will be described later.

Let's go back to Rouran. Since ancient times, a very important means of livelihood for the nomads in the desert is robbery. The object of the robbery is the adjacent Central Plains, and Rouran is no exception. The victim this time is Tuoba Xianbei, who has a close relationship with him.

In order to defend against Rouran's attack and plunder, the Northern Wei Dynasty defended the city of Pingcheng in Kyoto (now Datong, Shanxi), and did what the Han people did six hundred years ago.

Build the Great Wall. The Northern Wei Dynasty built the Great Wall on the boundary of more than 2,000 miles from Chicheng (now Hebei) in the east to Wuyuan (now northwest of Baotou, Inner Mongolia) in the west, and set up military towns. Think about it carefully, what does it mean for Xianbei people to build the Great Wall?

It means that the ruler of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Xianbei, has already changed his nomadic way of life, and like the Han people, he has lived a farming life with a fixed residence and production place, which is a huge change for the Xianbei people.

In August 424, Rouran Mu Khan promoted Gai Khan, taking advantage of the death of Emperor Tuoba of the Ming Yuan Emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the political situation of the Northern Wei Dynasty was not yet stable, he led 60,000 cavalry to attack Yunzhong (northwest of present-day Helinger) of the Northern Wei Dynasty, looted property, plundered the population, captured the former capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Shengle, and besieged the city of Yunzhong.

The grim situation is testing the young leader Tuoba Tao.

Tuoba Tao did not panic at all, because although he was only 16 years old and had just reached the age of full civil capacity, he had already had 4 years of experience in resisting Rouran. When he was 12 years old, Tuoba Tao, who was still the crown prince, was ordered to go to the Hetao to defend the Great Wall, resist the invasion of Rouran, and put the border fortress defense in order, and he already knew Rouran's tactics.

In the face of Rouran's invasion, Tuoba Tao personally led 20,000 cavalry to the rescue in the clouds. Rouran and Northern Wei were both cavalry, 60,000 against 20,000, Rouran had an absolute advantage, not only surrounded Yunzhong City, but also surrounded Tuoba Tao who came to the rescue, inadvertently forming a situation of "encirclement and reinforcement".

20,000 against 60,000, it's impossible not to panic. The soldiers of the Northern Wei Dynasty faced the Rouran iron cavalry that was 3 times their size and the flying arrows that shot like locusts, and their positions began to loosen, and there were many people who were cowardly. Tuoba Tao roared, personally opened his bow and arrows, and shot down several Rouran soldiers one after another. The young boss had such a big heart, and the morale of the soldiers of the Northern Wei Dynasty suddenly increased. The two armies were like two mating pythons, strangled together, and the battle was extremely tragic.

After all, the Rouran army had an overwhelming advantage, and the Northern Wei army gradually felt overwhelmed. However, people who remain confident in the face of adversity are often lucky. During the fighting, an accidental event occurred, which led to an instant reversal of the situation on the battlefield.

That is, Rouran commanded Yu Zhijin, Duan Mobo and Zeng Tianyang possessed the body, and they actually fell into battle in person, and were pierced through the throat by a pawn of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the corpse was on the spot. The Rouran army was leaderless and fled in defeat.

This kind of fortuitous event determines the trend of the battlefield is not the only case in history.

For example, in 1004, exactly 580 years later, a general who was also from the minority regime in Northeast China led an army to attack the Central Plains regime, and the army was crushed all the way, which was like a bamboo, and it was attacked all the way to Lanzhou (near Puyang, Henan Province) on the bank of the Yellow River, which was the last line of defense of the Central Plains Dynasty, and the government and the opposition were terrified. At the moment of life and death, an accidental event changed the entire battle situation.

On the tower of the city of Lanzhou, a military leader named Zhang Huan from Shouguang, Shandong Province was on duty, looking from a distance, he saw a group of cavalry of the enemy army patrolling around nearby to survey the terrain, and the person headed by him was majestic, and it seemed that he was a big official. Shandong Shouguang people not only grow vegetables, but also shoot arrows, Zhang Huan wanted to send a cold arrow to warn these people. However, these people are six or seven hundred meters away from the city gate, can they shoot?

Zhang Huan has a bottom in his heart, but he has no bottom. The bottom is that the distance is too far; What is true is that the horses of the Central Plains regime are not as good as those of the northern nomadic regime, but the other equipment is basically crushed, and now there is a strong crossbow on the city tower. This is no ordinary donkey.

Bed crossbow. One or several bows are mounted on a bed frame to twist the axle at the rear of the bow to load the arrows, ready for fire. The multi-bow bed crossbow can be used by multiple people to winch the shaft, and the combined force of several bows is far more powerful than that of a single person using a tension, tension or waist crossbow. According to the "General Essentials of the Martial Arts", the number of people who twisted the shaft when the crossbow was stretched in a multi-bow bed was 5 to 7 for small ones; Large ones such as eight-ox crossbows require more than 100 people. Aiming and firing with hammer teeth are handled by special personnel. The arrows used are made of wood and the iron is a feather, which is known as "one gun and three swords and arrows". This arrow is actually a spear with a feather, and its destructive power is terrifying. The bed crossbow also fires "walking arrows", nailing them to rammed earth walls in rows, allowing siegers to climb the city. The bed crossbow can also be loaded with pockets on the string, each pocket contains dozens of arrows, and shoots at the same time, called "jackdaw arrows", which is more like a machine gun than the Zhuge repeater invented by Zhuge Liang. The bed crossbow has a range of up to 300 steps (about 570 meters), which is the longest range of ancient Chinese crossbow weapons.

Now this group of enemy scouts is six or seven hundred meters away from the city gate, regardless of whether there are dates or not, let's shoot first. Zhang Huan and a few soldiers set up a giant arrow, pulled the bowstring with a twisted shaft, and then the giant arrow flew towards the enemy chief like a human cannon. Due to the condescending position, and possibly a tailwind, the giant arrow flew more than 600 meters and hit the forehead of the leader of the enemy scouts.

Soon, a shocking news came: the person who was shot was not just a reconnaissance platoon commander, but the commander of the enemy army, Xiao Tzulin, the king of Lanling County. After Xiao was hit by an arrow, he died of his wounds in the army that night. This arrow finally brought the enemy army back, and the two sides concluded an alliance of the abyss, which can be said to have shot out the peace of the border between the two sides for more than 100 years.

That's right, this is the process of the conclusion of Song Liao's Lanzhou War and the Lanyuan Alliance. Coincidentally, the Liao State was the regime of the Khitans, and the Khitans were descendants of the Rouran people (see Part 2 of this book for details). In 424, the commander of Rouran, Yu Zhijin, was accidentally shot and killed to achieve the Northern Wei Dynasty. Exactly 580 years later, in 1004, his descendant commander Xiao Tzulin was accidentally shot and killed to achieve the Northern Song Dynasty. It can be said that time is also, and life is also.

In October 425, the Northern Wei Dynasty, which had relieved itself, took the initiative to counterattack on all fronts, sent heavy troops to advance in five directions, and attacked Rouran in the desert, and Rouran fled north in horror. After temporarily containing the invasion of Rouran, Tuoba Tao immediately took aim at the northwest, another powerful regime.

Section 2 Surprise Attack on Ten Thousand Cities

This powerful regime is Xia, the Xia established by Helian Bobo (Liu Bobo).

As mentioned above, after Liu Weichen of the Xiongnu Tiefu Department was defeated by the Northern Wei Dynasty, his son Liu Bobo fled south to the Later Qin established by the Qiang people, and the Later Qin king Yao Xing appointed him as the general of Anbei and Zhenshuofang. Later Liu Bobo and Later Qin turned against each other, and in 407 he was called the king of Great Xia, and the country was called Great Xia. Soon went south to capture the cities north of the Qinling Mountains to which the Later Qin belonged, swallowed the south of Liang in the west, and then took advantage of the war between the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Later Qin to wave the army to the south to capture Chang'an, and in 418, he was proclaimed emperor in Chang'an.

The importance of Chang'an's strategic position in Chinese history is self-evident. However, after Helian Bobo captured Chang'an and became the emperor, he did not stay in this prosperous capital that can be called a strategic CBD, but only left the prince to guard it, while he went to another city to control the overall situation.

Because, this city is better than Chang'an City.

After Liu Bobo changed his surname to Helian in 413, he wanted to build a strong city as the capital of the Great Xia Kingdom.

For such a huge project, it is necessary to first set up a city construction headquarters and choose a commander-in-chief. Helian Bobo already had the first choice for the commander-in-chief in his heart, and this person was the most important old iron in his life.

This man's name is Ngan Ali.

Qigan Ali, a cadre from Xianbei in northern Shaanxi, was born in Fushi, which is today's Yan'an, Shaanxi. Helian is insidious and cunning, and his methods are vicious, this kind of person also has Lao Tie, life and death brothers?

Some.

In that year, after the Northern Wei Dynasty destroyed the Xiongnu Tiefu Department (Xiongnu and Xianbei mixed blood), they exterminated Liu Weichen, the Xiongnu Zuoxian King and the leader of the Tiefu Department, and only Liu Weichen's youngest son Liu Bobo escaped because he was hunting. The family and country were destroyed, Liu Bobo had no choice but to defect to the Xianbei cadres in northern Shaanxi.

The cadres were a small tribe, and the chieftain was afraid of the forces of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and was ready to tie up Liu Bobo and dedicate it to the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Qigan Ali is the nephew of Qigan he fights, stationed in Daluochuan at the time, after knowing this, he rushed back urgently to persuade his uncle: the birds will hide in the house to seek refuge when they hear the thunder, and now Liu Bobo has broken the country and his family, because he trusts us to take refuge, if he can't let him go, he can't tie him up and give him the enemy, this is not the husband's doing.

When people come to us, we just don't take them in, and let people fend for themselves, and sacrifice people to their enemies, which is too unkind. He was a good man.

After all, he was afraid of the Northern Wei Dynasty, did not listen to his nephew's command, and insisted on sacrificing Liu Bobo. The kind-hearted man Qigan Ali secretly released Liu Bobo at night, and the two fled together to the Later Qin State of the Qiang people, and became two ordinary soldiers in the border guards of the Later Qin.

Qigan Ali saved Liu Bobo, but it affected the entire Xianbei cadres, and the cadres were destroyed by the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the face of the common national hatred and family feud, Bo Bo and Qi Gan Ali made a heavy oath - to destroy the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Liu Bobo is tall (eight feet five inches high, with a belt of ten measurements), handsome appearance, excellent eloquence (good at arguing and intelligent), extraordinary demeanor and appearance, and is a combination of a handsome guy, a fierce man, and a wise man. Soon, he was appreciated by the generals of the Later Qin Border Army and Gao Pinggong and became his son-in-law.

How a person looks often also affects people's judgment of their abilities, which is called the halo effect in psychology. Liu Bobo's personal charm through his good looks and talents not only fascinate women, but also move men when they meet. Yao Xing, the lord of the Later Qin State, met Liu Bobo for the first time and was impressed by him. (Surprised).

Yao Xing immediately worshipped Liu Bobo as the general of Xiaocai and the lieutenant of Fengche, and often discussed military affairs with him secretly, and his favor for him exceeded that of most of his old subordinates who had followed him for many years. (Favor more than the old).

Yao Xing's younger brother, Yao Yong, the Duke of Jinan, couldn't stand it anymore, and reminded Yao Xing: Liu Bobo is unkind by nature and difficult to get close to, so he should not be too favored.

Yao Xing: Liu Bobo has the talent to help the world, I want to use him to calm the world, don't be jealous. I also put the 30,000 Zahu people of the Sancheng and Shuofang generations under his command, and assist his father-in-law in guarding the Gaopingchuan River (present-day Guyuan Qingshui River valley in southern Ningxia) as an outpost to defend the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Yao Yong was anxious: I have observed for a long time, Liu Bobo is very arrogant and humble to his father-in-law, such a person must be a cruel and unkind person, His Majesty will definitely become a big trouble if he is used!

You say yours, I'll do mine. Later Qin lord Yao Xing still appointed Liu Bobo as the general of Zhijie, Anbei, and Wuyuan, and handed over tens of thousands of Zahu to his command to guard Shuofang.

Seeing clearly, Yao Xing did not ask Liu Bobo to assist his father-in-law in guarding Gaopingchuan as originally expected, but directly asked him to guard Shuofang. This not only did not listen to Yao Yong's advice, but also promoted Liu Bobo in an all-round way, which also directly pushed Hou Qin to the point of no return.

Liu Bobo has made his fortune since then. After making his fortune, he transferred his brother in life and death, Qigan Ali, to his side as a confidant. Later, for security reasons, Later Qin made peace with the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Liu Bobo and Qi Ganali were extremely angry and waited for an opportunity to rebel against Qin and stand on their own.

Soon, the opportunity came.

The Rouran Ministry sent an envoy to send 8,000 war horses to Hou Qin, passing by Liu Bobo's fiefdom. Liu Bobo instructed Qigan Ali to confiscate all the war horses and take them for himself. With war horses, a powerful cavalry team was successfully formed.

Relying on these people alone, there is still a lack of heat in the world, Liu Bobo weighed it, and aimed at a team.

One day, Liu Bobo sent someone to tell his father-in-law that he had nothing to do and invited him to go hunting in Gaopingchuan (now Yinchuan, Ningxia). The son-in-law invited, but he rushed with his subordinates. Weng and his son-in-law rode horses and galloped in the wilderness, pouring wine and chasing fierce beasts, so they were not harmonious and happy. However, riding and riding, I didn't feel that something was wrong, my entourage was getting fewer and fewer, and there were more and more sons-in-law. When the son-in-law reined in the horse and turned around to look at him coldly, Wu Yigan felt a cold and piercing chill......

Wu Yigan was killed, and his subordinates were annexed by his personally chosen son-in-law, Liu Bobo. The love of Weng son-in-law? Liu Bobo, his father is King Zuoxian of the Xiongnu, his mother is the princess of the former Qin clan, and his parents are political marriages. After the whole family was wiped out by the Northern Wei Dynasty, they fled for their lives to survive in the world, suffered from white eyes and betrayal, and suffered the severe beatings of life early. People forged in such a situation only believe in strength and interests, and no longer believe in warmth.

Liu Bobo, who plotted against his father-in-law, had more than 80,000 troops at this time, and completely broke with Hou Qin. With soldiers and horses, and territory, Liu Bobo felt that there were still some shortcomings, and changed his surname to Helian with the meaning of "the emperor is the son of the sky, and it is for Hui Heshi and Tianlian".

Since the Xiongnu people considered themselves to be the descendants of the legendary Xia people, Liu Bobo set the name of the country as Xia. The "summer" in today's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region comes from this.

Although Liu Bobo is handsome, he is treacherous and unscrupulous, and even kills his father-in-law for the sake of power, while he is loyal and righteous, and the two have become brothers in life and death. Everything stems from the grace of saving lives, and the story of Mr. Dongguo and the wolf is still a minority after all. Liu Bobo became the king of the Great Summer, and named Gan Ali as the imperial historian and the Duke of Liang, and was his confidant and important minister.

Therefore, the position of the commander-in-chief of the Xindu Construction Headquarters this time was given to Qigan Ali, who is equivalent to the general representative, chief engineer and project manager of Party B.

The location of the project was selected in the area of Baichengzi in the northeast of Jingbian, Shaanxi Province, and 100,000 laborers were mobilized, and it took 6 or 7 years to complete.

A new process was adopted in the construction of the city - the steaming earth construction method. The process flow is: mix the white lime and white clay according to a certain ratio, then add glutinous rice juice and stir, then heat and steam to form a concrete similar to today, and then use it to pour the wall, therefore, the city is actually a concrete cast-in-situ structure.

The cast-in-place structure is different from the masonry structure, and the integrity is particularly strong, and the city wall is exceptionally strong. The general representative of the building, the chief supervisor and the project manager of Party B, the construction quality requirements are extremely strict, the construction section of the acceptance, ordered people to test the hardness of the city wall with an iron cone, where the cone into an inch, immediately the construction section of the craftsman beheaded, is also a cold-blooded and cruel man. He and Helian Bobo can be described as a pair of embarrassed friends.

After the completion of the city, the city wall is about 8 zhang high, and the foundation is 20 steps thick. It is 10 steps wide on the top, long from east to west, wide from north to south, and has a circumference of about 18 miles. There is the imperial city embedded in the city, the palace wall is about 4 zhang high, there are pavilions and pavilions in it, carved beams and painted buildings, magnificent.

Helian Bobo was extremely satisfied with the city, and he was full of pride: I unified the world, ruled over all nations, and could unify all the people. As a result, the city became known as Tongwan City.

Helian's ambition is also reflected in the naming of the four gates of the city, the name of the east gate - Zhao Wei, the name of the west gate - Fuliang, the name of the south gate - the Song Dynasty (at that time the Song Dynasty of South China had replaced the Eastern Jin Dynasty), and the name of the north gate - Pingshuo (Rouran).

Helian Bobo had already annexed the Southern Liang at that time, and the Northern Liang Kingdom was weak and not worried, and the West Gate was the right name. And the subjects of Great Xia soon discovered that the names of the east gate and the south gate were more accurate. In 425, Helian Bo died, and both "recruited" "Wei" and "Chao" came to "Song".

In September 426, Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Tao, heard that Helian Bobo had died, and his sons killed each other, causing political turmoil, and sent Sikong Xijin to lead 40,000 horses to attack the Xia Puban.

Pubanguan, which has been introduced above, is located in the southwest of Yongji, Shanxi, and is in the center of the Yellow River Golden Triangle region of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan. Pubanguan is located at the bend of the Yellow River, opposite to Tongguan across the river, and is the key point leading to Guanzhong in the east of the river.

After Puban Pass, it is the gateway of Chang'an - Tongguan. Tuoba Tao sent Xi Jin to attack Puban Pass, and the target was naturally Chang'an.

The Song Dynasty, which replaced the Eastern Jin Dynasty in southern China, also sent the general Zhou to attack the Xia city of Shaancheng (present-day Shaanxian County, Henan) with 10,000 horses.

In October 426, Tuoba Tao personally led a large army from Pingcheng (Datong, Shanxi) and marched to the Yellow River in the northeast section of the Zhunger Banner in Inner Mongolia in November of that year. In November, the weather was cold, the Yellow River froze, Tuoba Tao took the opportunity to lead 20,000 light cavalry to cross the Yellow River, and smashed the ten thousand cities.

After Helian Bobo's death, the new Great Xia lord in Tongwan City was his son Helian Chang. Seeing that Tuoba Tao's army was coming, Helian Chang led his troops out of the city to meet the battle, but was defeated by the Northern Wei army and retreated to the city. The Northern Wei army wantonly burned and looted in the north of Tongwan City, captured and killed tens of thousands of people, and obtained more than 100,000 cattle and horses.

It was possible to fight the autumn wind on the periphery, but the Tongwan City, which took 100,000 migrant workers to complete in six or seven years, was really strong, and the Northern Wei army could not attack it for a while, so it had to withdraw its troops.

The thief didn't go empty, and Tuoba Tao had to bring something with him before leaving, so he brought more than 10,000 households near Tongwan City to the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The battle on the inside line did not go well, but the outside line went smoothly. The Northern Wei general Xi Jin conquered Puban and led his troops into Chang'an in December, and the leaders of Qin and Yong (Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia) surrendered to the Northern Wei. The lord of Beiliang, Meng Xun, and the king of Di, Yang Xuan, sent envoys to Tuoba Tao to claim vassals.

The Southern Song Dynasty, which took advantage of the fire to rob, also gained a lot, and the Song Dynasty drove Zhou Jichang straight into Sanfu (now Guanzhong area, Shaanxi).

The Northern Wei army occupied Chang'an, and Helianchang, who unified Wancheng, was naturally unwilling to accept the loss of this strategic place, and ordered the general Helianding to lead 20,000 troops to recapture Chang'an. Tuoba Tao ordered the general Tuoba Li to lead the army to reinforce.

In April 427, the Northern Wei army and the Xia army were at a standoff in Chang'an. Tuoba Tao knew that the opportunity to break through the Tongwan City had come.

The Xia army divided its troops to attack Chang'an, and the defense of Tongwancheng was naturally much empty, so Tuoba Tao decided to take the opportunity to raid. He left the Longxiang general Lu Qian to guard Pingcheng, and restrained the remaining armies to the north of Yurouran, and he himself drove the expedition himself.

Tuoba Tao led a large army to cross the Yellow River from Junzijin to Balin Mountain, which is now in the territory of the Jungger Banner in Inner Mongolia, and ordered all the infantry to build the city, and the baggage was also left, and he personally led the cavalry to attack Tongwancheng.

Cavalry is good for wilderness operations and long-distance raids, and infantry must be used for siege of cities, which is military common sense. All the ministers were taken aback and dissuaded.

Why did Tuoba Tao have this idea? Quite simply, he didn't want to attack the city at all.

Tuoba Tao's explanation: Use the art of soldiers, and attack the city at the bottom. It must be a last resort, and then use it. If we bring infantry, baggage, and siege equipment to Tongwan City, the opposing defenders will definitely hold on to it when they see that we are here to attack the city. I believe everyone knows the solidity of Tongwan City. If it cannot be attacked for a long time, not only will there be heavy casualties, but there will be a shortage of people and horses, and then the logistical supplies such as grain and grass will no longer be able to keep up, then it will be troublesome. It is better to run to dominate the city with light cavalry, the defenders of the other side see that our infantry has not arrived, and the posture does not look like a siege, and they will definitely relax their vigilance.

This plan is a long-distance cross-river expedition, and there is a certain riskiness. But as the saying goes, it's worth the risk.

Will the battle situation be as Tuoba Tao predicted?

In June 427, Tuoba Tao led 30,000 light cavalry to Tongwan City, divided his troops to ambush in the deep valley outside the city, and lured the battle under Tongwan City with a small number of cavalry.

The Xia army could not hold out at first, Tuoba Tao retreated to show weakness, and sent another 5,000 cavalry to plunder the Xia population outside the city.

After holding on to the city of Tongwan for a period of time, the Xia lord Helianchang calculated that the grain and grass of the Northern Wei Dynasty would be exhausted, and he did not see the infantry of the Northern Wei Dynasty, so he personally led a total of 30,000 infantry and cavalry out of the city to attack.

You're finally out!

Tuoba Tao was waiting for this moment, he pretended to retreat, and the Xia army pursued in two directions. When Tuoba Tao and the Xia army were completely lured away from Tongwan City, they prepared to return to the army to attack.

Unfortunately, it happened to encounter a windy day, and there was a lot of wind and sand in the northwest, and the Northern Wei army fought against the wind, which was very unfavorable.

Headwinds? I can be a tailwind. Tuoba Tao immediately divided into two teams of elite cavalry, divided into left and right roads, and went around behind the main force of the Xia army. At this time, the Northern Wei army became a tailwind.

The cavalry of the Northern Wei Dynasty was superior in numbers and mobile, and the battle in the wilderness was more conducive to the charging of the cavalry, and the Xia army was defeated.

Helian Chang did not have time to escape into Tongwan City, and hurriedly fled to Shangqi (now Tianshui, Gansu). Helianding, who confronted the Northern Wei army in Chang'an, learned the news that Tongwan City had been destroyed, and felt that there was no point in continuing the confrontation, so he hurriedly fled to Shangqi.

Ten thousand cities can't be saved, let alone Shangbang, which has no danger to defend. In 428, the Northern Wei Dynasty attacked Shangqi, and Helianchang was captured.

Four years later, in 431, Helian Ding was captured by the Tuyuhun tribe. The Great Xia Kingdom founded by Helian Bobo has only survived for 24 years. A country that started with violence and was not nurtured by culture will not survive for long.

The army of the Northern Wei Dynasty entered the city of Tongwan, the palace was magnificent, beyond imagination, Tuoba Tao sighed: the country of the erection son, dare to abuse the people's power so much, how can it not perish!

History is written by the victors, what did you Tuoba family do when you destroyed Liu Weichen? If Liu Bobo doesn't build a unified Wancheng, you won't come to attack Great Xia? Destroy the country and destroy the country, after all, the king will be defeated and the weak will eat the strong, but if you destroy the country of others, and then stand on the highest point of morality and spray nonsense, it will not be so kind.

Tuoba Tao set up Tongwan Town in Tongwan City, left the southern general Tuoba Su to defend it, and led the army to the east.

Section 3 Horses step on the north of the desert

After capturing the Xia capital and Tongwancheng, the Northern Wei Dynasty was unstoppable and accelerated the pace of unifying the north. The biggest northern plague was Rouran, and the Northern Wei Dynasty sent troops to it 13 times, of which the results in 429 were the most brilliant.

In April 429, Emperor Taiwu of Wei Tuoba Tao left the Taiwei Changsun Song and the Weiwei Lou Fulian to defend Kyoto, and then divided the troops into two ways to attack Rouran.

The Western Route Army was led by Situ Chang Sun Han and marched in the direction of Da'e Mountain.

The Eastern Route Army was led by Tuoba Tao himself and marched in the direction of Montenegro (now Beihan Mountain, Bahrain Right Banner, Inner Mongolia). The two armies crossed the desert and attacked the court of the Rouran Khan (northwest of present-day Har and Lin, Mongolia).

Light cavalry raids have always been Tuobatao's forte. In May 429, when the Western Route Army advanced to Monan (the area south of the Great Desert of the present-day Mongolian Plateau), Tuoba Tao ordered to abandon his baggage, and each light cavalry was equipped with two horses, and attacked directly to Lishui (present-day Wengjin River).

The army of the Northern Wei Dynasty suddenly appeared in front of Rouran, and the soldiers and civilians of Rouran had no time to resist and fled one after another, and the cattle, sheep and livestock were also frightened and scattered.

In June 429, Tuoba Tao led his army along the Lishui River to the west to the Tuyuanshui (now Tuyin River), and so far, in the territory of present-day Mongolia, it has left Pingcheng, the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, more than 3,700 li.

Tuoba Tao divided the Northern Wei army into several roads, in the east to Hanhai, west to Zhangye Shui, north to Yanran Mountain, 5,000 miles wide from east to west, 3,000 miles deep from north to south to pursue Rouran, captured Rouran army very many, captured a lot of war horses.

After that, Tuoba Tao traveled westward along the weak water and marched to Zhuoyi Mountain (about the southeast of the present-day Altai Mountains).

The wall fell down and everyone pushed it, and the Gaoche tribe and other tribes that were originally affiliated with Rouran turned against each other, surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty, counterattacked Rouran, and surrendered more than 30 thousand people to the Northern Wei Dynasty before and after.

In July 429, Tuoba Tao led his army back to the east, went to Montenegro, recuperated, and distributed the captured cattle, sheep, camels and other livestock and other property to the officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force.

Rouran Datan Khan suffered a crushing defeat and died of depression, and his son succeeded to the throne as the Khan.

In August 429, Tuoba Tao sent more than 10,000 cavalry to attack Zunippi (southeast of present-day Lake Baikal), and the eastern Gaocha troops also surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty.

In October 429, Tuoba Tao's division returned to the capital Pingcheng, moved the surrenderers of the Rouran, Gaoche and other tribes to Monan, and demarcated the area of Weiyuan (northwest of present-day Fengning, Hebei) in the east and Yinshan (present-day Yinshan Mountain Range in Inner Mongolia) in the west, so that these surrendered people engaged in agricultural and animal husbandry production, paid taxes to the Northern Wei government on time, and the Northern Wei set up government agencies to send officials to lead the army to pacify.

At this point, Emperor Taiwu of Wei Tuoba Tao set foot in the north of the desert and defeated Rouran, laying an important foundation for the future unification of the north.

"I saw the military post last night, the Khan ordered the army, the military book is twelve volumes, and the scrolls have the name of the master", the story of Hua Mulan joining the army for her father described in the popular "Mulan Ci", the background is the battle of the Northern Wei Dynasty to destroy Rouran.

After defeating Rou, Tuoba Tao's pace to unify the north was unstoppable.

In 431, Tuoba Tao destroyed Xia (mentioned above), pacified Shanhu, chased Tuyuhun who was also Murong Xianbei to the west, and destroyed Northern Yan in 436 (mentioned above).

In 439, Tuoba Tao destroyed the Northern Liang again, the last country of the Sixteen Kingdoms perished, and the Northern Wei Dynasty completed the great cause of unifying the north.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were five regimes of Qianliang, Northern Liang, Southern Liang, Houliang, and Western Liang, all of which were named after Liangzhou, but what is the relationship between them? Now let's take a look.

1. Qianliang (320-376): In 301, Zhang Liang, a native of Liangzhou and a Han nationality, was named the Liangzhou Thorn History by the Western Jin Dynasty, and in 313, he was named the Duke of Xiping. In 314, Zhang Liang died of illness, and his son Zhang Yu (shi) succeeded him.

After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Zhang family still refused to defend Liangzhou and used the Jianxing era name of Sima Ye, the emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty. Zhang Yu was later killed by his subordinates Yan Sha, Zhao Mao and others, and his son Zhang Jun was young, and everyone elected Zhang Yu's younger brother Zhang Mao as the master. In 320, Zhang Mao changed his name to Yongyuan and became an independent regime. Zhang Mao once proclaimed himself a minister to Zhao Liu Yao.

In 345, Zhang Jun, the son of Zhang Yu, was called the king of Liang, with Guzang as the capital, that is, Liangzhou District, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, with the location of Liangzhou as the national name Liang, known as Qianliang in history.

The territory of the former Liang Dynasty covered parts of present-day Gansu, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Qinghai. In 376, the former Qin Emperor Fu Jian attacked Qianliang, and Qianliang advocated the surrender of Tianxi, and Qianliang perished.

Fu Jian extinguished the front coolness, but created the rear coolness.

2. Later Liang (386-403): The founding lord of Later Liang was Lü Guang. Lu Guang's own deeds have been covered in the previous article, and now I will talk about it in detail. His ancestors were the clansmen of Liu Bang, the queen of the Han Dynasty. After Zhou Bo of the Western Han Dynasty punished Zhu Lu, his ancestor Lu Wenhe escaped and fled to Lüyang, which is now southwest of Zhuanglang, Gansu, where he lived with the Di people and reproduced offspring. Therefore, Lü Guang should be a mixed-race descendant of the Han and Di people.

Lü Guang's father, Lü Polou, was a former Qin minister, a member of the Di tribe, and an iron buddy of Fu Jian, the former king of Qin. He assisted Fu Jian to kill Fu Sheng and seize the throne, and Wang Meng became Fu Jian's virtuous minister through his recommendation. Wang Meng found that Lu Polou's son Lu Guang was old and successful, and he reciprocated the favor, and recommended Lu Guang to Fu Jian.

After Wang Meng and Lü Guang jointly assisted Fu Jian in unifying the north, Fu Jian began the plan to unify the whole country. He sent Lü Guang to the west to conquer the Western Regions, while he himself drove south to conquer the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

As a result, Lü Guang successfully pacified the Western Regions countries such as Yanqi (present-day Yanqi, Xinjiang) and Qiuci (present-day Kuqa, Xinjiang). When he used 20,000 camels, carried more than 1,000 kinds of rare Western Regions booty, and brought more than 10,000 Western Regions horses to return to the court, he found that there was no point in going back.

Fu Jian was defeated by the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the Battle of Weishui, and the rebellion and separation of the people returned to northern China.

If you can't go back, you won't go back. Lü Guang then seized Liangzhou and established Houliang.

Later Liang ruled over western Gansu and parts of Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang. In 403, the lord of Later Liang, Lü Long (Lü Guang's nephew), could not stand the attacks of Later Qin, Southern Liang, and Northern Liang, and surrendered to Later Qin of the Yao clan of the Qiang tribe, and Later Liang died.

3. Nanliang (397-414): built by the Xianbei Bald Fa clan in Hexi, the capital city of Ledu, now part of Qinghai, and its territory included part of present-day western Gansu and Ningxia in its heyday.

Xianbei baldness, as described above, is a branch of Tuoba Xianbei, and baldness is a different translation of "Tuoba". During the Han and Wei dynasties, a branch of the Tuoba clan moved from Saibei to Hexi, and was called Hexi Xianbei. The bald-haired and humble Southern Liang was initially attached to Later Liang Lüguang, and later perished in the begging Xianbei Western Qin, while the Western Qin perished in the Great Xia Kingdom of Helianding.

4. Northern Liang (397-439): The establishment of Northern Liang has a certain connection with Lü Guang. When Lü Guangxi conquered the Western Regions, there was a strategist named Duan Ye, who was named Jiankang Taishou for his military exploits. In May 397, Fuqu Mengxun and his cousin Fuqu Nan of the Lushuihu tribe of the Suwei and Xiongnu tribes became brothers, and supported Duan Ye as the governor of Liangzhou and the pastor of Liangzhou, and became independent from Houliang. Duan Ye is called Jiankang Gong, the capital is Zhangye, and the history is called Beiliang.

In 401 AD, Fuqu Mengxun falsely accused Fuqu Nancheng of rebellion, and Duan Ye beheaded Fuqu Nancheng. In June of that year, Fuqu Mengxun defeated Duan Ye, called King Liang, and changed to Yong'an.

In 412 A.D., the king of Liang, Fuqu Mengxun, moved the capital to Guzang, that is, Liangzhou District, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, called the king of Hexi.

When Northern Liang was at its strongest, it controlled part of present-day western Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Qinghai, and was the most powerful force in Hexi.

In April 433, Fuqu Mengxun fell ill and died, and his third son, Fuqu Muqian, succeeded him as the lord of Northern Liang.

5. Xiliang: The founder of Xiliang is the famous Longxi Chengji Li family. Longxi Chengji Li is a descendant of the Han Fei general Li Guang, and the founder of Xiliang is called Li Wei, who is the sixteenth grandson of Li Guang. The ancestors of the Li family moved to Didao (Lintao, Gansu) from the Han Dynasty and became the surname of Xizhou.

Students who have watched "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" know that in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Liangzhou warlord Dong Zhuo had a general named Li Dao, who was known as the chief confidant of the Liangzhou Department under Dong Zhuo, and led Dong Zhuo's elite troops in Xiliang "Flying Bear Army", after Dong Zhuo was killed, he once led the army into Chang'an, and even defeated Lu Bu, the first fierce general of the Three Kingdoms.

This Li Dao is also an outstanding representative of the Li family in Chengji, Longxi.

Li's Xiliang successively built its capital in Dunhuang and Jiuquan, and later died in 421 in Beiliang, which was frustrated with Mengxun.

Li Xin, the second son of Li Wei and the queen of Xiliang, had eight sons, of which the third son, Li Chonger, defected to the Liu Song regime in the south after the destruction of the country in Xiliang, and later returned to the Northern Wei Dynasty, and successively served as Hongnong Taishou, General Annan, and Yuzhou Assassin History.

Li Chonger's son Li Xi gave birth to three more sons, the second of which was named Li Hu, who was later the Duke of Tang in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Li Hu's son was named Li Xin, and he was a hussar general of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Li Xin's son is called Li Yuan, yes, it is Tang Gaozu, Li Shimin and his father.

In 618 AD, when Li Yuan called the emperor to build the Tang Dynasty, he called Li Wei and his family his ancestors, and posthumously honored Li Wei as the "Xingsheng Emperor".

Northern Liang destroyed Western Liang, and he died in Tuoba Tao of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Speaking of which, Beiliang is still the in-laws of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Due to political considerations, there were frequent affinities between Northern Liang and Northern Wei. First of all, Beiliang Fuqu Mengxun married his daughter Princess Xingping to Tuoba Tao, which means that Fuqu Muqian is Tuoba Tao's brother-in-law. Later, Tuoba Tao married his sister Princess Wuwei to Fuqu Muqian, and Tuoba Tao became Fuqu Muqian's brother-in-law.

Fuqu Muqian and Tuoba Tao are each other's brothers-in-law, and they should be happy, but the two brothers-in-law are each othe

But in the end, they turned against each other, and even used knives and guns.

The fuse? It's the mess in the man's crotch again.

Fuqu Muqian originally had a queen, and the original queen was called Li Jingai, who was the daughter of Li Wei, the lord of Xiliang. In 421, after Jiuquan, the capital of Western Liang, was captured by Beiliang, Princess Li and her mother became captives of Beiliang. Frustrated by Li Jingai's beauty, Muqian took the initiative to accept her as a concubine. In 433, she was made empress.

After the arrival of Princess Wuwei, Li Jingai was very depressed, but the emperor's body was born not to belong to more than one woman, so what could he do? For the sake of the overall situation, Empress Li returned to Jiuquan by herself, and later became depressed and became ill and died.

In 437, Princess Wuwei successfully succeeded as empress. When she first arrived in Beiliang, she was very respectful and considerate of her out of awe of the Northern Wei Dynasty. But perhaps because Princess Wuwei looked too ordinary, she soon couldn't hold back and lost her enthusiasm for her, and even had an extramarital affair with her sister-in-law Li.

Men are afraid of green hats, and women don't like green skirts. After Princess Wuwei noticed it, she scolded Fuqu Muqian for a bloody squirt.

Li was a ruthless character, and when he saw that the matter was revealed, he kept doing it, and in March 439, he put poison into Princess Wuwei's meal. But it may be that she didn't read the instructions, the dosage was not enough, and after Princess Wuwei ate it, although she kept vomiting, she didn't die.

Is this bullying no one in the mother's house? When the news of Princess Wuwei's poisoning reached Pingcheng (now Datong, Shanxi), the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Tao immediately sent an imperial doctor to Guzang with the medicine to treat his sister carefully. At the same time, he ordered Fuqu Muqian to immediately hand over the Li clan and send it to Pingcheng to await disposal.

Fuqu Muqian was reluctant to give up the Li family and sent her to Jiuquan to take refuge.

Tuoba Tao thundered and was furious, listed the twelve crimes of Fuqu Muqian, and sent troops to Beiliang. In August 439, Fuqu Muqian's nephew, Fuqu Wannian, went out of the city to surrender to the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Guzang was immediately defeated, and Fuqu Muqian was escorted to Pingcheng.

At first, Tuoba Tao thought that he and Fuqu Muqian were each other's brother-in-law, and they were very polite to him. However, the king of the dead country is always the object of suspicion.

In January 447, Muqian committed suicide by Tuoba Tao. Fortunately, Tuoba Tao still remembered his identity after all, and buried him in the suburbs of Pingcheng with royal rites.

No matter how close the relatives are, in the face of the pursuit of power, they are all floating clouds.

While the north was conquering the west and the north, Tuoba Tao did not forget to reach out to the south. At this time, the Sima clan regime in the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the south had been replaced by the Song established by Liu Yu, a general of the Beifu army, and Tuoba Tao sent troops to capture Liu Song's Tiger Prison (now Xingyang Bishui Town, Henan) and Huatai (now east of Huaxian County, Henan) and other strategic places.

At this point, Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty Tuoba Tao unified the north, ended the 150-year-long chaos in northern China, and confronted the Liu Song regime of the Han people in the south.

Stay tuned.