Gao Zhao

Gao Zhao , courtesy name Shouwen , was a high level official of the /Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was a maternal uncle of , and he became increasingly powerful during Emperor Xuanwu's reign, drawing anger from other high level officials not only for his powerplay and corruption, but also because he was a mere commoner before Emperor Xuanwu's reign and not from the aristocracy and might have been in origin. After Emperor Xuanwu died in 515, the other officials set a trap for Gao Zhao and had him killed.

Background

Gao Zhao claimed that his ancestors were from Bohai Commandery , and that his fifth generation ancestor Gao Gu , in order to flee the wars during the times of Emperor Huai of Jin, fled to the Korean Peninsula. Gao Zhao's father Gao Yang defected to Northern Wei during the reign of and was given a minor general title and created the Viscount of Hejian. Emperor Xiaowen also took Gao Yang's daughter as an imperial consort, and she gave birth to his second son, in 483. Yuan Ke was initially not crown prince, but became crown prince in 497 after his only older brother Yuan Xun was deposed from that position in 496, and his mother Consort Gao, whom Emperor Xiaowen initially left in the old capital Pingcheng and did not bring to the new capital Luoyang when he moved the capital in 494, was welcomed to the new capital, but on the way, she died suddenly. Gao Zhao and his brothers never had any actual contact with Yuan Ke during his youth. Despite the fact that Gao Yang did have a minor noble title, it appeared that his family was essentially treated as commoners and regarded as uncultured.

Rise to power

In 499, Emperor Xiaowen died, and Yuan Ke succeeded him . Emperor Xuanwu posthumously honored his mother Consort Kao as Empress Wenzhao and his grandfather Gao Yang as Duke of Bohai. He summoned Gao Yang's oldest grandson Gao Meng and his uncles Gao Zhao and Gao Xian and, at their first meeting, immediately created them dukes -- in Gao Zhao's case, the Duke of Pingyuan. Emperor Xuanwu awarded the three of them large amounts of property.

Gao Zhao was not only given a noble title, but starting from 499 he became increasingly important on the political scene as well. He was initially looked down upon by the nobility because he came from the Korean Peninsula, and, despite his claims of Han ancestry, was considered to be a dishonorable barbarian, but as his power grew, he was praised for his diligence in handling the matters he was in charge of. His power began to grow greatly in 501, when Emperor Xuanwu, aged 15, relieved his princely uncles Yuan Xi the Prince of Xianyang and Yuan Xie the Prince of Pengcheng of their high level posts, and ostensibly took over power himself -- but being unable to actually handle all important matters of state due to his age, and thus entrusting much of those affairs to Gao and other close associates. Later that year, Yuan Xi was forced to commit suicide when his plot to secede with the southern half of the empire was discovered, and his property was seized and awarded to Gao and the trusted associate Zhao Xiu , and from this point on Emperor Xuanwu became increasingly suspicious of members of the imperial clan, making his reliance on Gao even greater.

In 502, both Gao and the official Zhang Yi wanted to marry Emperor Xuanwu's aunt, the Princess Chenliu. The princess decided to marry Zhang and not Gao, and this caused Gao to be angry. He falsely accused Zhang of crimes, and Zhang was relieved from his post.

in 503, Emperor Xuanwu took the of Gao Zhao's brother Gao Yan as a concubine and favored her greatly, further cementing Gao Zhao's power. By that point, Gao was in a power struggle with Zhao, who was believed to be corrupt and extravagant in his living. He induced Zhao's associates Zhen Chen , Li Ping , and Wang Xian to accuse Zhao of crimes and torture him, and Zhao died shortly thereafter. From this point on, Gao's hold on the emperor was unchallenged.

Increasing power

In 504, Emperor Xuanwu's uncle Yuan Xiang the Prince of Beihai, who was then prime minister, grew increasingly arrogant and corrupt. Yuan Xiang had an affair with a cousin of Gao Zhao, who was the wife of Yuan Xie the Prince of Anding, and through her Gao apparently became aware of Yuan Xiang's crimes, and so he used the evidence of those crimes to further accuse Yuan Xiang of plotting treason. Emperor Xuanwu stripped Yuan Xiang of his title and posts, and Yuan Xiang soon thereafter died, and his associates were executed. Gao further suggested Emperor Xuanwu to put the imperial princes under heavy guard, and, despite opposition from Yuan Xie the Prince of Pengcheng, Emperor Xuanwu agreed, effectively putting those princes under house arrest.

In 507, Gao's power was so well known that after the famed music director Gongsun Chong spent three years trying to get his revisions to imperial musical numbers adopted officially but was unable to, he had a solution -- asking Gao to be in charge of the project, despite Gao's lack of musical knowledge. Emperor Xuanwu approved of the appointment, allowing Gongsun's project to proceed.

Later that year, Emperor Xuanwu's wife died, and in early 508 her son Yuan Chang died as well. It was believed, although unproven, that both Empress Yu and Yuan Chang were murdered by Gao Zhao and Consort Gao.

In 508, Emperor Xuanwu created Consort Gao empress, despite opposition by Yuan Xie the Prince of Pengcheng. Gao Zhao thereafter became resentful of Yuan Xie. When Emperor Xuanwu's brother Yuan Yu the Prince of Jingzhao rebelled that year after believing that Gao was falsely accusing him, Gao in turn falsely accused Yuan Xie of working both in concert with Yuan Yu and rival Liang Dynasty. Emperor Xuanwu believed this, and secretly forced Yuan Xie to commit suicide during an imperial gathering. The populace quickly came to believe that Gao was involved in the death of the highly popular Yuan Xie, and from that point on Gao became even more despised by the people and nobles alike. Apparently apprehensive about this resentment, when Gao Zhao's son Gao Zhi made contributions in subsequently defeating Yuan Yu, Gao Zhi declined all awards offered him.

In 512, Gao Zhao was made prime minister, but was displeased because at the same time he was relieved of a lower post that allowed him to meet with the emperor daily. This display of displeasure became the topic of ridicule among officials. That year, because of a draught, Gao advocated the review of all criminal cases to see if unfair treatment had displeased the gods, and Emperor Xuanwu's brother Yuan Yi the Prince of Qinghe accused Gao of overstepping his authorities. Emperor Xuanwu, while not punishing Yuan Yi for the accusation, also took no actions against Gao.

Death

in winter 515, Emperor Xuanwu wanted to try to capture rival Liang's Yi province , and he commissioned Gao Zhao as the commander of the expedition force. Soon after Gao Zhao left the capital Luoyang, however, Emperor Xuanwu died of a sudden illness in spring 515. Emperor Xuanwu's crown prince Yuan Xu , then age five, succeeded him . In the confusion of the events, Empress Gao tried to have Emperor Xiaoming's mother killed, but could not. Meanwhile, the official Yu Zhong and the imperial princes Yuan Cheng the Prince of Rencheng and Yuan Yong the Prince of Gaoyang seized power, forcing Empress Gao, who was honored as empress dowager, to appoint Yuan Cheng and Yuan Yong as regents.

The princely regents then wrote Gao Zhao a humble letter, in Emperor Xiaoming's name, summoning Gao back to the capital. When Gao heard of Emperor Xuanwu's death and realized that the princes were in power, he became fearful and mournful, and his body became weak. When he arrived in Luoyang's vicinity, his family members arrived to greet him, but he refused to see them. When he then entered the palace to mourn Emperor Xuanwu, the princes and Yu seized him and had him strangled. Emperor Xiaoming then issued an edict in which it was claimed that Gao had committed suicide, and the edict stripped him of his posts and title, but was buried with honors due a scholar. Subsequently, Empress Dowager Gao was deposed and replaced with Consort Hu, and the Gao clan lost its power.

Gao Huan

Gao Huan , nickname Heliuhun , formally Prince Xianwu of Qi , later further formally honored by Northern Qi initially as Emperor Xianwu , then as Emperor Shenwu with the temple name Gaozu , was the paramount general of the /Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei and Northern Wei's branch successor state Eastern Wei.Though being ethnically , Gao was deeply affected by Xianbei culture and was often considered more Xianbei than Han by his contemporaries. During his career, he and his family became firmly in control of the government of Eastern Wei, and eventually, in 550, his son forced Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei to yield the throne to him, establishing the Gao clan as the imperial clan of a new Northern Qi state.

Background

Gao Huan was born in 496, at Northern Wei's northern garrison Huaishuo . He was ethnically , but his family, having resided at Huaishuo ever since his grandfather Gao Mi was exiled there for faults while serving as a Northern Wei official, had largely been acculturated in the Xianbei ways. His father was named Gao Shu , and his mother was Lady Han, probably Gao Shu's wife, who died soon after his birth, and he was raised at the house of his older sister and her husband, Wei Jing . In his young days, his family was poor, and he became a servant at the old Northern Wei capital Pingcheng . While serving at Pingcheng, , the daughter of a wealthy house, saw him and was impressed with his appearance and behavior, and she married him despite opposition. It was only after this marriage that Gao had sufficient money to buy a horse, and he became a courier for the Pingcheng defense headquarters, often delivering official mail to and from the capital Luoyang.

In 519, Gao happened to be at Luoyang when a mob of soldiers, angry over the minister Zhang Yi 's new policy of excluding soldiers from civil service, sieged Zhang's house and killed him. The regent did not dare to punish them, but largely pardoned them except for eight leaders. Gao was unimpressed by Empress Dowager Hu's actions, and believed that Northern Wei was on the verge of collapse. When he returned to Pingcheng, he sold his properties and used the funds to gather associates around him, stating that if disturbances occurred, the property might not be his any more anyway. His associates around this time included, in addition to his brother-in-law Wei Jing, Sima Ziru , Liu Gui , Jia Xianzhi , Sun Teng , Hou Jing, and Cai Jun . Together they were often in the countryside, and when they saw injustices, they would seek to correct them.

In 525, in the midst of agrarian rebellions against Northern Wei rule, Gao and his associates joined one of the major rebel leaders, Du Luozhou . However, Gao soon became unimpressed with Du's behavior, and he escaped from Du's army. He then joined another rebel leader, Ge Rong , but eventually went to the Northern Wei general and Xiongnu tribal leader Erzhu Rong. By this time, Liu Gui was already serving under Erzhu, and he often praised Gao's talent, but when Erzhu met Gao, he was not initially impressed. However, when Gao was able to tame a very wild horse, Erzhu became impressed, and they became closer and closer, with Gao pointing out that with the empire in disarray, it would be a good opportunity for Erzhu to seize power.

Under the Erzhus

Erzhu Rong was impressed with Gao Huan's talents, and he made Gao one of his military commanders. In 528, Emperor Xiaoming, displeased at the hold on power that Empress Dowager Hu's lover Zheng Yan and Zheng's associate Xu Ge had, entered into a conspiracy with Erzhu to have Erzhu advance on the capital to force Empress Dowager Hu to kill Zheng and Xu. Erzhu therefore began to march on the capital, and he made Gao his forward commander. On the way, however, Emperor Xiaoming ordered him to stop, but the news of the conspiracy still leaked, and Empress Dowager Hu poisoned Emperor Xiaoming to death and declared his distant toddler nephew Yuan Zhao emperor.

Erzhu refused to recognize Yuan Zhao as emperor, and he continued his march on Luoyang, declaring the Prince of Changle emperor . Luoyang's defenses collapsed, and Erzhu arrested and threw Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao into the Yellow River to drown. Believing that the imperial officials would never obey him, he massacred a large number of them , and Emperor Xiaozhuang, fearing what would come next, offered to yield the throne to Erzhu. Gao suggested that Erzhu accept the offer, but Erzhu hesitated and ultimatedly ruled against it. His general Heba Yue , who opposed Erzhu's taking of the throne, suggested Erzhu that Gao should be executed to show his good faith, but Erzhu ruled against it. In fact, for Gao's contributions to the campaign, Emperor Xiaozhuang created him the Count of Tongdi.

Erzhu subsequently carried out a number of campaigns against agrarian rebels to try to reunify the empire. Gao thereafter participated in the campaigns against Ge Rong and Xing Gao , as well as the rebel general Yang Kan , serving with distinction. On one occasion, when Erzhu Rong was asking his commanders for opinions on who could succeed him as the commanding general of the army if he were no longer there, most commanders opined that Erzhu Zhao could, but Erzhu Rong himself opined that Gao Huan was the only one capable of doing so, and he warned Erzhu Zhao, "You are no match for Gao Huan, and one day he will surely pierce through your nose." Erzhu Rong thereafter made Gao the governor of Jin Province , and while governor, Gao gathered much wealth, intending for use later.

In 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, believing that Erzhu would eventually seize the throne, ambushed and killed him in the palace. The Erzhus, led by Erzhu Zhao and Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong, fought against Emperor Xiaozhuang, and Erzhu Zhao was thereafter marching on Luoyang, declaring Erzhu Rong's wife the Princess Beixiang's nephew Yuan Ye emperor. Erzhu Zhao summoned Gao to aid him, but Gao declined, using the excuse that he needed to fight against local agrarian rebels. Erzhu Zhao was displeased, but for the time being did not act against Gao. Later in the year, Erzhu Zhao captured Luoyang and arrested Emperor Xiaozhuang, delivering Emperor Xiaozhuang to his headquarters at Jinyang . Gao wrote a letter to Erzhu Zhao urging him not to harm the emperor, but Erzhu Zhao refused to answer, and subsequently strangled Emperor Xiaozhuang to death.

Despite this, Gao remained nominally under the Erzhus' command structure, and when, around the new year, the general Gedouling Bufan , loyal to Emperor Xiaozhuang, attacked Erzhu Zhao and initially defeated him, approaching Jinyang, Gao came to Erzhu Zhao's aid, and together they defeated and killed Gedouling. After the battle, Erzhu Zhao and Gao swore themselves to be brothers. Erzhu Zhao, trusting Gao, commissioned him with Ge Rong's former troops and, accepting his suggestion, allowed him to take his new troops east of the Taihang Mountains to seek food.

In spring 531, Gao Huan was posturing to attack his distant relative Gao Gan , who had declared a rebellion at Xindu , against the Erzhus. However, Gao Gan and Li Yuanzhong were able to persuade him that the Erzhus, because of their corruption, were hated by the people, and he could overthrow them. Gao Huan thereafter stirred his troops by forging orders from Erzhu Zhao that indicated that Erzhu Zhao was about to turn them into servants for his own troops. Gao Huan's troops believed the forged orders, and when he declared a rebellion in summer 531, they supported him.

Rebellion against the Erzhus

Initially, Gao Huan's rebellion formally continued to recognize , whom Erzhu Shilong had made emperor in spring 531 to replace Yuan Ye . However, at Sun Teng's urging, in fall 531, Gao declared another distant member of the imperial Yuan clan, Yuan Lang, emperor.

Despite Gao's reputation for being a capable soldier, his army was still weak, and initially, most key members of the Erzhu clan did not take him seriously, except Erzhu Shilonog. Soon, Erzhu Shilong's brothers Erzhu Zhongyuan and Erzhu Dulü , as well as Erzhu Zhao, converged against Gao, but Gao successfully spread rumors to make the Erzhus suspicious of each other, due to existing conflicts that Erzhu Zhao and Erzhu Shilong already had, and Erzhu Zhongyuan and Erzhu Dulü subsequently withdrew. Gao then defeated Erzhu Zhao in battle in winter 531, forcing Erzhu Zhao to withdraw as well. In spring 532, Gao captured the important city , and used it as a base for subsequent operations.

The Erzhus soon reconciled, and soon, Erzhu Zhao, Erzhu Zhongyuan, Erzhu Dulü, and Erzhu Tianguang converged on Yecheng. However, despite the Erzhus' numerical superiority, Gao defeated them, forcing Erzhu Zhao to flee back to Jinyang and Erzhu Zhongyuan back to his base Dong Commandery . Erzhu Tianguang and Erzhu Dulü tried to retreat to Luoyang, but at this time, the general Husi Chun rebelled against the Erzhus in Luoyang itself, killing Erzhu Shilong and another brother of Erzhu Shilong, Erzhu Yanbo , and he also captured Erzhu Dulü and Erzhu Tianguang in battle, delivering them to Gao. Erzhu Zhongyuan soon abandoned Dong Commandery and fled to rival Liang Dynasty, leaving Erzhu Zhao as the only major surviving member of the Erzhu clan. Gao marched toward Luoyang, then controlled by Husi, with Yuan Lang.

However, Gao was beginning to believe that Yuan Lang, due to his lineage's being distant from recent emperors, to be an inappropriate choice to be emperor as well. He toyed with the idea of allowing Emperor Jiemin to remain emperor, but decided against it after his generals Wei Lan'gen and Cui Ling advised him that Emperor Jiemin would be difficult to control in the future. He also considered 's son Yuan Yue the Prince of Huai'nan, and he welcomed Yuan Yue back from Liang, but he subsequently heard that Yuan Yue was arbitrary in his actions, and so decided against it as well. Instead, he offered the throne to Emperor Xiaowen's grandson the Prince of Pingyang, and Yuan Xiu accepted, taking the throne as Emperor Xiaowu. Gao became the paramount general of the empire, although the imperial government became largely run by Husi Chun and Emperor Xiaowu's associate Wang Sizheng .

During Emperor Xiaowu's reign

Emperor Xiaowu initially deferred to Gao Huan, who continued to command the largest army of the state and took over Erzhu Rong's old headquarters at Jinyang as his own, on most decisions, and Emperor Xiaowu married as his empress in late 532. He also created Gao the Prince of Bohai, a title that Yuan Lang had initially created Gao in 531 but Gao continuously declined until winter 533. However, the relationship between Emperor Xiaowu and Gao soon deteriorated, over Emperor Xiaowu's suspicions that Gao had designs on the throne, and over Emperor Xiaowu's desires to reassert imperial authority. Emperor Xiaowu therefore tried to align himself with independent generals, the brothers Heba Yue , who controlled the western provinces, and Heba Sheng , who controlled the southern provinces. Gao tried to remain deferential to Emperor Xiaowu outwardly, but was becoming increasingly displeased with the emperor's independence.

Gao tried to undermine Emperor Xiaowu's allies. In winter 533, he sent his associate Zhai Song to persuade Heba Yue's lieutenant Houmochen Yue to betray Heba, while in spring 534 ambushing a major tribal leader, Gedouling Yili , whom Emperor Xiaowu had also made overtures to, taking over Gedouling's troops. Soon thereafter, Homouchen assassinated Heba Yue, but Homouchen missed an opportunity to take over Heba Yue's troops. Subsequently, those troops supported Heba Yue's assistant Yuwen Tai as their leader, and Yuwen soon defeated Houmochen, who committed suicide. Emperor Xiaowu subsequently entered into an alliance with Yuwen. When Gao tried to make overtures to Yuwen, Yuwen arrested his messengers and delivered them to Emperor Xiaowu.

Emperor Xiaowu soon prepared a campaign against Gao, and he, trying to catch Gao by surprise, issued a secret edict to Gao claiming to be actually planning to attack Yuwen and Heba Sheng. Gao, however, saw through Emperor Xiaowu's plot, and marched toward Luoyang. Wang Sizheng, believing that the imperial troops were not strong enough to resist Gao's, suggested Emperor Xiaowu to flee to Yuwen's territory, and Emperor Xiaowu decided to do so, rejecting Husi Chun's offer to take one final stand at Luoyang, particularly when Heba Sheng failed to come to the emperor's aid and when Yuwen's troops failed to arrive quickly. It took Gao only a month to reach Luoyang, and Emperor Xiaowu fled west, encountering Yuwen's troops on the way, and had them escort him back to Yuwen's headquarters at Chang'an, where he reestablished the imperial government and made Yuwen prime minister.

Meanwhile, Gao Huan took over the Luoyang region, and soon also defeated Heba Sheng, taking over his territory and forcing him to flee to Liang. Gao then wrote repeated petitions to Emperor Xiaowu, requesting that he return to Luoyang and indicating that he was willing to return to the status quo ante. Emperor Xiaowu did not respond to any of Gao's overtures. Gao therefore made , the son and heir apparent of Emperor Xiaowu's cousin Yuan Dan the Prince of Qinghe emperor and moving the capital from Luoyang to Yecheng, thus formally dividing the empire into two , albeit with each claiming to be the rightful one.

During Emperor Xiaojing's reign

Eastern Wei's territorial size and military strength was far stronger than Western Wei's, and Gao made a number of attempts to try to end the division by conquering Western Wei, but the battles largely proved to be inconclusive, allowing Western Wei to stand. Periodically, Western Wei generals who had prior relationships with Gao would defect to Eastern Wei, and Gao at times carried out campaigns deep within Western Wei territory. However, Western Wei was able to portray Gao as a renegade general who expelled the emperor, and often during campaigns, local populace would assist Western Wei troops because they believed Western Wei's characterization. During this period, Gao also tried to foster harmony between the ethnic Xianbei and Han, persuading the Xianbei that they needed the Han to practice agriculture to be fed, and persuading the Han that they needed the Xianbei's military aptitude to protect them. He saw Emperor Xiaowu's flight as a blot on his personal history, so he treated Emperor Xiaojing with great formal respect, deferring to Emperor Xiaojing in all public occasions.

in spring 535, Gao Huan learned that around the new year 535, Emperor Xiaowu, who had a falling out with Yuwen Tai over Yuwen's refusal to condone his incestuous relationships with his cousins, had been poisoned to death by Yuwen. Gao suggested that an official mourning period be held for Emperor Xiaowu, and while there were disagreements, eventually a mourning period was held.

Also in spring 535, a sex scandal affected Gao's household. Gao's heir apparent Gao Cheng, born of his wife Princess Lou, had an affair with Gao Huan's concubine Zheng Dache , and the affair was discovered. Gao Huan caned Gao Cheng and put him under house arrest, and refused to meet with Gao Cheng's mother Princess Lou. He also considered replacing Gao Cheng as heir apparent with Gao You , the son of his concubine , the daughter of Erzhu Rong who had previously been Emperor Xiaozhuang's empress. After intercession by Gao Huan's friend Sima Ziru, who reminded him how much Princess Lou had done for him before he had accomplished great things and who used violent methods to force the servant girls who were witnesses to the affair to recant, Gao Huan calmed down and did not replace Gao Cheng.

Around the new year 536, Gao Huan tried to make an alliance with Rouran against Western Wei, by marrying a princess to Rouran's Chiliantoubingdoufa Khan Yujiulü Anagui. However, Yujiulü Anagui soon took a Western Wei princess as consort as well, and the alliance did not materialize.

In spring 536, Gao made a deep incursion into Western Wei territory, capturing Xia Province , while also rescuing his ally Cao Ni the governor of Ling Province , who had been trapped behind Western Wei lines. The Western Wei general Moqi Pu , his son Moqi Shouluogan , and other generals Chigan Baole and Poliuhan Chang , who were stationed in the western Western Wei territory, also joined Gao and returned to Eastern Wei with him.

Also in spring 536, Gao Huan, at Gao Cheng's request, made Gao Cheng the Eastern Wei prime minister, despite the fact that Gao Cheng was only 14 at this point. Gao Cheng was sent to Yecheng, and he took over actual reign of the Eastern Wei imperial government.

In spring 537, Gao Huan launched a major attack three-pronged on Western Wei, commanded by himself and his key generals Dou Tai and Gao Aocao , intending to draw Yuwen's troops to himself while having Dou advance deep into Western Wei territory. Yuwen, pretending to be ready to abandon Chang'an to withdraw to modern eastern Gansu, instead launched a surprise attack on Dou's troops, slaughtering most of them. Dou committed suicide. Gao Huan and Gao Aocao were forced to withdraw. In counterattacks, Western Wei took modern western Henan and southwestern Shanxi.

In winter 537, after news that the Guanzhong region was suffering from a major famine, Gao Huan launched another major attack on Western Wei. He encountered Yuwen at Shawan , and, believing that he had overwhelming numerical advantage, rejected the strategy of Hulü Qiangju to bypass Yuwen and make a direct attack on Chang'an, and his own initial inclination to set fire to the grass fields at Shawan to have it burn Yuwen's troops, instead directly engaging Yuwen in battle. Yuwen's troops, however, fought hard, and they defeated Gao's troops, forcing Gao to withdraw. In light of his defeat, the southern provinces and Luoyang area largely rebelled and declared allegiance to Western Wei, but in spring 538 Gao sent Hou Jing against the southern provinces, recapturing them.

In 538, after Emperor Wen of Western Wei married Yujiulü Anagui's daughter as his empress, Yujiulü Anagui cut off relations between Rouran and Eastern Wei.

In fall 538, Gao Huan, assisted by Hou Jing and Gao Aocao, put Luoyang under siege. Yuwen and Emperor Wen led the Western Wei troops to aid Luoyang's defender, the general Dugu Xin , and a largely inconclusive battle with heavy losses on both sides occurred -- with Western Wei being able to kill Gao Aocao, and Yuwen nearly killed in the battle as well. However, eventually Western Wei troops were forced to abandon Luoyang and withdraw, and at the same time, the Eastern Wei general Zhao Qingque , who had been captured by Western Wei in the Battle of Shawan, rebelled against Western Wei at Chang'an, forcing the Western Wei officials who remained in Chang'an to escort the crown prince out of Chang'an. However, Gao Huan was unable to take advantage of the disturbance that Zhao caused, and Yuwen was able to return to Chang'an to suppress Zhao's rebellion. Meanwhile, Western Wei also recaptured some of the southern provinces. For the next few years, while there continued to be border battles, no major campaigns was initiated by either Eastern Wei or Western Wei.

In summer 539, Gao Huan gave his to Emperor Xiaojing in marriage as Emperor Xiaojing's wife and empress.

In winter 541, Gao Huan had Emperor Xiaojing issue an edict standardizing measurement units for cloth, to avoid the populace's being unfairly taxed.

In winter 542, Gao Huan launched a major attack on the Western Wei border city of Yubi , but the Western Wei defenses, with Wang Sizheng commanding, held, and Gao was forced to withdraw.

In spring 543, another sexual wrongdoing by Gao Cheng would lead to a new campaign between Eastern Wei and Western Wei. The official Gao Zhongmi , already fearful over his situation because one of Gao Cheng's major assistants, Cui Xian , had tried to pick his faults after he divorced Cui Xian's sister, was further aggravated when Gao Cheng tried to rape his second wife, Li Changyi . He therefore surrendered the important garrison of Hulao to Western Wei. Yuwen led his troops to try to come to Gao Zhongmi's aid and further again seize the entire Luoyang region, but was repelled in a major battle near Luoyang, during which both Yuwen and Gao Huan were nearly killed in battle, with Heba Sheng, then a Western Wei general, nearly killing Gao with a spear. By summer 543, the Western Wei forces had withdrawn, and the entire Luoyang region was again under Eastern Wei control.

in 544, with Gao Huan believing that four key officials who were close to him -- Sun Teng, Sima Ziru, his cousin Gao Yue , and his sworn "brother" Gao Longzhi -- were wielding too much power, he gave the 22-year-old Gao Cheng additional authorities, and Gao Cheng increasingly asserted authorities over these officials and others. For example, once when Sun visited Gao Cheng but was acting insufficiently deferentially, Gao Cheng had his attendants throw Sun on the ground and pound him with the sword hilts. Gao Cheng also made one of his close assistants, Cui Jishu an assistant to Emperor Xiaojing, in order to keep a closer eye on Emperor Xiaojing. Gao Cheng soon greatly enhanced the authorities of both Cui Xian and Song Youdao and charged them with the responsibilities of stamping out corruption among officials -- which Gao Huan himself had been reluctant to do so. Based on Cui Xian's and Song's recommendations, Sima was arrested and reduced to commoner rank, while Yuan Tan the Prince of Xianyang was relieved of all governmental posts.

In spring 545, Erzhu Ying'e's brother Erzhu Wenchang and Zheng Dache's brother Zheng Zhongli , along with Ren Zhou , conspired to assassinate Gao Huan and support Erzhu Wenchang as leader, but the conspiracy was discovered, and the conspirators were put to death, along with their families. However, because of Gao Huan's favors for Erzhu Ying'e and Zheng Dache, he spared their brothers.

In fall 545, due to an alliance between Western Wei and Rouran to attack Eastern Wei, Gao Huan sued for peace with Rouran by requesting a marriage between a daughter of Yujiulü Anagui and Gao Cheng. Yujiulü Anagui refused, stating that it would only be sufficient if ''Gao Huan'' himself married her. Gao Huan himself initially refused, but Princess Lou, Gao Cheng, and Wei Jing all persuaded him otherwise, and he married Yujiulü Anagui's daughter, referring to her as the Princess Ruru . To facilitate this marriage, Princess Lou moved out of the mansion, but Gao Huan and Princess Lou were not formally divorced.

In fall 546, Gao Huan launched another major attack on Western Wei, apparently to make one final attempt to destroy it. He put Yubi under siege, intending to attract Western Wei forces to Yubi in order to destroy it, but Western Wei did not respond. The general in charge of defending Yubi, Wei Xiaokuan, however, defended against all kinds of siege tactics that Gao Huan tried, for 50 days, and Eastern Wei forces suffered 70,000 deaths from the battle and the illnesses. Gao Huan himself was physically and emotionally drained, and he became ill, and he was forced to withdraw. Western Wei subsequently declared that Wei had killed Gao Huan with a powerful crossbow, and Gao Huan, in order to dispel the rumor, appeared before his army to sing songs with Hulü Jin. As he did, he wept bitterly.

Gao's illness continued to progress once he returned to Jinyang, and he recalled Gao Cheng to Jinyang to give him final instructions. Gao Cheng became increasingly concerned that Hou Jing, who was then defending Luoyang and in charge of the provinces south of the Yellow River, would rebel, particularly after Hou refused a recall order. Gao Huan left Gao Cheng instructions not to announce his death, gave a list of officials that he could depend on, and orders to put Murong Shaozong -- a capable general that Gao Huan had intentionally not promoted in order to allow Gao Cheng to do so -- in charge of an army against Hou. He died in spring 547, and while a false casket was buried publicly, he was buried at a secret location in Cheng'an .

Personal information

* Father
** Gao Shu
* Mother
** Lady Han, likely Gao Shu's wife
* Wives
** , mother of Gao Cheng, Gao Yang, Gao Yǎn, Gao Yu, Gao Dan, and Gao Ji, and two daughters who became Northern Wei/Eastern Wei empresses
** Princess Ruru , daughter of Rouran's Chiliantoubingdoufa Khan Yujiulü Anagui
* Major Concubines
** , daughter of Erzhu Rong, formerly the empress of Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei, mother of Gao You and Gao Ning
** , daughter of Erzhu Zhao, formerly the empress of Yuan Ye, mother of Gao Jie
** Lady Han, mother of Gao Huan
** Lady Zheng Dache , mother of Gao Run
** Lady You, mother of Gao Shi
** Lady Li
** Lady Wang, mother of Gao Jun
** Lady Mu, mother of Gao Yān
** Lady Feng, mother of Gao Qia and Princess Fuyang
* Children
** Gao Cheng , the Heir Apparent, later the Prince of Bohai, posthumously honored as Emperor Wenxiang
** Gao Yang , initially the Duke of Taiyuan, later the Prince of Qi, later Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi
** Gao Jun , initially the Duke of Yong'an, later Prince Jianping of Yong'an
** Gao Yān , initially the Duke of Pingyang, later Prince Jingyi of Pingyang
** Gao You , initially the Duke of Changle, later Prince Jingsi of Pengcheng
** Gao Yǎn , initially the Duke of Changshan, later the Prince of Changshan , later Emperor Xiaozhao of Northern Qi
** Gao Huan , initially the Duke of Pingyuan, later Prince Gangsu of Shangdang
** Gao Yu , initially the Duke of Zhangwu, later Prince Jing of Xiangcheng
** Gao Dan , initially the Duke of Changguang, later the Prince of Changguang , later Emperor Wucheng of Northern Qi
** Gao Jie , the Prince of Rencheng
** Gao Shi , Prince Kangmu of Gaoyang
** Gao Ji , Prince Wenjian of Boling
** Gao Ning , initially the Prince of Xinping , later the Prince of Anding , later the Prince of Huashan
** Gao Run , the Prince of Fengyi
** Gao Qia , Prince Jinghuai of Hanyang
** of Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei
** Princess Taiyuan, of Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei
** Princess Yingchuan
** Princess Yining
** Princess of unknown title
** Princess Yangzhai
** Princess Fuyang
** Princess Dongping

Erzhu Zhao

Erzhu Zhao , courtesy name Wanren , was a general of the /Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was ethnically Xiongnu and a nephew of the paramount general Erzhu Rong. After Erzhu Rong was killed by , Erzhu Zhao came to prominence by defeating, capturing, and killing Emperor Xiaozhuang. Subsequently, however, his general Gao Huan rebelled against him, defeating him and overthrowing the Erzhu regime in 532, capturing and killing most members of the Erzhu clan. Erzhu Zhao himself tried to hold out, but was again defeated by Gao in 533 and committed suicide.

Under Erzhu Rong's command

Erzhu Zhao was Erzhu Rong's nephew, and when he was young, he was known for his strength and expertise in riding and archery. One of Erzhu Rong's favorite activities as the chief of the Xiongnu Qihu tribe was hunting, and of all his attendants, only Erzhu Zhao was able to keep up with him on hunts. Erzhu Rong therefore favored him greatly. However, once, when Erzhu Rong was asking his commanders for opinions on who could succeed him as the commanding general of the army if he were no longer there, most commanders opined that Erzhu Zhao could, but Erzhu Rong himself opined that Gao Huan was the only one capable of doing so, and he warned Erzhu Zhao, "You are no match for Gao Huan, and one day he will surely pierce through your nose." He also commented that Erzhu Zhao would be undefeatable as long as he commanded a force under 3,000 men -- and that if he commanded more, his army would be in a state of confusion.

Later, after Erzhu Rong overthrew 's mother , after she poisoned Emperor Xiaoming and made emperor, Erzhu Rong became the paramound general of the empire, and Erzhu Zhao became a major general under him. Emperor Xiaozhuang created him the Duke of Yingchuan. He participated in the campaign by Erzhu Rong's associate Yuan Tianmu against the rebel Xing Gao in 529, and subsequently, when Emperor Xiaozhuang was expelled from the capital Luoyang later that year by the competing claimant for the throne, Yuan Hao , Erzhu Zhao helped break the stalemate between Yuan Hao's troops and Erzhu Rong's troops by making a surprise attack against Yuan Hao's son Yuan Guanshou , causing Yuan Hao's forces to collapse and Yuan Hao to flee, allowing Emperor Xiaozhuang to be restored. By 530, Erzhu Zhao was serving as the governor of Fen Province , near Erzhu Rong's headquarters at Jinyang .

Campaign against Emperor Xiaozhuang

In 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, apprehensive that Erzhu Rong would one day seize the throne, ambushed him in the palace at Luoyang and killed him and Yuan Tianmu. Erzhu Rong's wife Princess Beixiang and cousin Erzhu Shilong fought their way out of Luoyang and initially battled with Emperor Xiaozhuang's troops outside of Luoyang, but eventually withdrew north across the Yellow River. Erzhu Zhao met them at Zhangzi , and they jointly declared Princess Beixiang's nephew Yuan Ye the Prince of Changguang, a distant member of the imperial Yuan clan, emperor, to compete with Emperor Xiaozhuang.

Despite the opposition of Gao Huan , Erzhu Rong advanced south to the Yellow River. Then, surprising Emperor Xiaozhuang, he quickly crossed the Yellow River, entering Luoyang and capturing Emperor Xiaozhuang. He allowed his soldiers to pillage the capital and kill many imperial officials, and he also killed the son of Emperor Xiaozhuang and Erzhu Rong's daughter, Empress Erzhu Ying'e. He then had Emperor Xiaozhuang delivered to Jinyang and, despite Gao's warning not to do so, strangled Emperor Xiaozhuang to death.

Subsequent control of power

In light of the Erzhus' victory, they controlled the government, and Erzhu Zhao was recognized as the supreme military authority, and Yuan Ye created him the Prince of Yinchuan. However, he did not have as much control over the clan as Erzhu Rong did, and the imperial government largely was controlled by Erzhu Shilong. Erzhu Zhao himself controlled the provinces north of the Yellow River, while his cousin Erzhu Tianguang controlled the Guanzhong region, and Erzhu Shilong's brother Erzhu Zhongyuan controlled the southeastern provinces. Erzhu Zhao set up his headquarters at Jinyang, where Erzhu Rong's headquarters had been.

Around the new year 531, the general Gedouling Bufan , who had been loyal to Emperor Xiaozhuang, attacked Erzhu Zhao from the north, and after scoring victories over him, approached Jinyang. Erzhu Zhao was fearful, and sought aid from Gao Huan. Gao agreed to help him, and together they defeated and killed Gedouling. In light of this joint victory, Erzhu Zhao and Gao swore to be brothers, and he, trusting Gao's faithfulness, gave the remnants of the rebel Ge Rong , largely ethnic Xianbei, to Gao -- a decision that he would regret later.

In spring 531, after Yuan Ye arrived in Luoyang, Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Tianguang, believing that Yuan Ye was too distantly related to the line of recent emperors and lacking in good reputation, forced Yuan Ye to yield the throne to the Prince of Guangling . Because Erzhu Shilong did not first consult with Erzhu Zhao, Erzhu Zhao became angry and considered attacking Erzhu Shilong. Erzhu Zhao only calmed down and accepted the situation after Erzhu Shilong sent his brother Erzhu Yanbo to Jinyang to explain the decision to him.

Defeat by Gao Huan and death

In summer 531, Gao Huan, believing that the Erzhus had become overly corrupt and therefore vulnerable, decided to rebel. He declared another distant member of the Yuan clan, Yuan Lang, emperor, to compete with Emperor Jiemin. When the Erzhu forces converged at Guang'a to face Gao, Gao used false rumors to make them suspicious of each other -- by making Erzhu Zhao believe that Erzhu Shilong and his brothers were conspiring against him, and by making Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Zhongyuan believing that Erzhu Zhao was conspiring with Gao. As a result, after a major quarrel between Erzhu Zhao and Erzhu Zhongyuan, Erzhu Zhongyuan and Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Dulü withdrew, leaving Erzhu Zhao, albeit with still a much larger army than Gao's, alone against Gao. Gao subsequently defeated him, and, brushing his army aside, continued to advance south, entering the important city in spring 532.

The Erzhu forces recoalesced, and to cement the unity, under Erzhu Shilong's suggestion, Emperor Jiemin married as his empress. Erzhu Zhao thereafter made a counterattack, trying to capture Yecheng, but was defeated by Gao. After the defeat, instead of turning his army back to Luoyang to join with Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Tianguang , Erzhu Zhao returned to Jinyang. Meanwhile, the general Husi Chun rose against the Erzhus at Luoyang, killing Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Yanbo and capturing Erzhu Tianguang and Erzhu Dulü, delivering them to Gao, who subsequently killed them after entering Luoyang. Erzhu Zhongyuan fled to Liang, leaving Erzhu Zhao as the only member of the Erzhu clan still remaining with a significant force. He withdrew from Jinyang and set up his new headquarters at Xiurong , the old territory of the Qihu.

In spring 532, Gao, after making Erzhu Zhao relax by making multiple announcements of attacks but then not attacking, launched a surprise attack on Xiurong and defeated Erzhu Zhao's forces. Erzhu Zhao fled into the mountains, but, finding his escape route cut off, initially ordered his attendants Zhang Liang and Chen Shanti to kill him. When Zhang and Chen could not bear doing so, he hung himself on a tree. Gao buried him with honors.

Erzhu Tianguang

Erzhu Tianguang was a general of the /Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He became a major general during the reign of , when his father's cousin Erzhu Rong was the paramount general of the state. He was renowned for pacifying the Guanzhong region, which had been seized by agrarian rebel generals Moqi Chounu and Wang Qingyun in 530. He thereafter tried to maintain a relatively distant profile from the other Erzhu clan members, particularly after Emperor Xiaozhuang killed Erzhu Rong later in 530 and then was overthrown and killed by Erzhu Rong's nephew Erzhu Zhao and cousin Erzhu Shilong. In 532, after the other Erzhus had suffered defeats at the hand of the rebelling general Gao Huan, Erzhu Tianguang tried to come to their aid, but was also defeated by another general who rebelled, Husi Chun, and Gao executed him.

Under Erzhu Rong's command

Erzhu Tianguang's father was a cousin of Erzhu Rong, who was a Northern Wei general and the chief of the ethnic Xiongnu Qihu tribe. In Erzhu Tianguang's youth, he was described to be resolute and capable in archery and horseriding. Erzhu Rong considered him a close confidant, and often discussed military matters with him. In 528, after was poisoned by his mother , it was after consulting with Erzhu Tianguang that Erzhu Rong set out to attack the capital Luoyang to overthrow Empress Dowager Hu. As he did, he entrusted one of his home provinces, Si Province to Erzhu Tianguang, and after Erzhu Rong killed Empress Dowager Hu and made emperor, Erzhu Tianguang was created the Duke of Chang'an. In 528, when Erzhu Rong set out to destroy the rebel Emperor of Qi, Ge Rong , he entrusted his entire home base, including Bing Province to Erzhu Tianguang as well, remarking, "Only you can make me feel secure about places where I am not at."

In 529, Erzhu Tianguang was one of the generals under the command of Erzhu Rong's close associate Yuan Tianmu when Yuan Tianmu attacked and defeated the rebel general Xing Gao . At the same time, however, Yuan Hao the Prince of Beihai, who also claimed the throne, was attacking Luoyang with the support of rival Liang Dynasty, and Yuan Tianmu was unable to stop Yuan Hao. Emperor Xiaozhuang fled Luoyang, and Yuan Tianmu and Erzhu Tianguang also fled north with their troops, joining with Erzhu Rong. Erzhu Rong sent Erzhu Tianguang back to Bing and Si Provinces to secure them, before he himself advanced south and defeated Yuan Hao. After Yuan Hao's defeat, Emperor Xiaozhuang created Erzhu Tianguang the greater title of Duke of Guangzong.

In 530, with Moqi Chounu, who had claimed imperial title by that point, attacking and seizing parts of the Guanzhong region, Erzhu Rong was initially going to send the general Heba Yue to command an army against Moqi. However, Heba Yue declined to be in command, believing that he would draw suspicions even if were victorious, and instead offering to serve under a member of the Erzhu clan. Erzhu Rong therefore put Erzhu Tianguang in command of the army, with Heba and Houmochen Yue as Erzhu Tianguang's lieutenants. Erzhu Tianguang was given a relatively small army, and initially the campaign against Moqi appeared hopeless, but with Erzhu Tianguang himself and heba both being capable generals, they scored initial victories and then misled Moqi into believing that they would rest several months before taking further action. Instead, they made a surprise attack against Moqi, capturing him in battle, and then captured Moqi's capital Gaoping and Moqi's prime minister Xiao Baoyin. Erzhu Tianguang's followup campaign against Moqi Chounu's general Moqi Daoluo , however, was initially unsuccessful, and Erzhu Rong, in anger, had Emperor Xiaozhuang demote his rank and title to marquess. Erzhu Tianguang, however, was eventually able to force Moqi Daoluo to flee to another rebel general, Wang Qingyun, and then defeated and captured both Moqi Daoluo and Wang.

Involvement in the campaign against Emperor Xiaozhuang

With the Guanzhong region and the surrounding provinces pacified, Erzhu Tianguang was put in charge of those provinces, with his headquarters at Chang'an. His title was restored to duke.

Late in 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, apprehensive that Erzhu Rong would eventually seized the throne, ambushed him in the palace and killed him. Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong and nephew Erzhu Zhao rebelled, declaring Erzhu Rong's wife Princess Beixiang's nephew Yuan Ye the Prince of Changguang emperor. However, Erzhu Tianguang initially took no corresponding action; rather, when Emperor Xiaozhuang sent his official Zhu Rui to try to persuade Erzhu Tianguang to join his side, Erzhu Tianguang deliberately made ambiguous gestures, trying to instead encourage Emperor Xiaozhuang to abandon Luoyang and flee, rather than to directly confront the emperor. Both Emperor Xiaozhuang and Yuan Ye conferred princely titles on Erzhu Tianguang, and Erzhu Tianguang eventually accepted Yuan Ye's bestowment of the Prince of Longxi title, but did not make further threatening gestures against Emperor Xiaozhuang. Around the new year 531, Erzhu Zhao made a surprise attack on Luoyang and captured it and Emperor Xiaozhuang, and only then did Erzhu Tianguang go to Luoyang to meet with Erzhu Zhao and Erzhu Shilong, but soon returned to his post at Chang'an.

While Erzhu Tianguang was still at Luoyang, however, he suggested to Erzhu Shilong, who had become concerned that Yuan Ye's lineage was too far from the recent emperors' to be a proper candidate for the throne, to make 's grandson the Prince of Guangling emperor. In spring 531, Erzhu Shilong took such action, forcing Yuan Ye to yield the throne to Yuan Gong, who took the throne as Emperor Jiemin.

Defeat and death

Erzhu Tianguang continued to control the western provinces, and in summer 531 he attacked the rebel general Suqin Mingda and captured him, taking Xia Province , which Suqin controlled, under his own control, while delivering Suqin to Luoyang to be executed. However, when the general Gao Huan rebelled at Xindu later in the summer, Erzhu Tianguang abandoned his planned campaigns against the rebel generals Gedouling Yili and Moqi Shouluogan , who controlled the modern central and western Gansu, and prepared for possible action in the east, although he did not immediately intervene in the campaign between Gao and his fellow Erzhu clan members, even after Gao defeated Erzhu Zhao in battle late in 531.

In 532, hoping to force Erzhu Tianguang to come to his clan members' aid so that they could be destroyed together, the generals Husi Chun and Heba Sheng persuaded Erzhu Shilong to put pressure on Erzhu Tianguang to act against Gao Huan. Soon, Erzhu Tianguang took his army to converge with Erzhu Zhao, and Erzhu Shilong's brothers Erzhu Dulü and Erzhu Zhongyuan at the important city Yecheng , which Gao had taken earlier in 532. Despite numerical advantage, however, Gao defeated them, and Erzhu Zhao fled back to Jinyang , while Erzhu Zhongyuan fled back to Huatai . Erzhu Tianguang and Erzhu Dulü retreated toward Luoyang, but Husi rebelled at this time, seizing the fortress of Beizhong , and when Erzhu Dulü and Erzhu Tianguang failed to recapture Beizhong, they were forced to flee, and they were captured and delivered to Husi, who in turn delivered them, as well as the heads of Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Shilong's brother Erzhu Yanbo to Gao. Gao had Erzhu Tianguang and Erzhu Dulü executed.

The official history of Northern Wei, the ''Book of Wei'', written during the succeeding Northern Qi , was largely highly critical of the Erzhus, but remarked that Erzhu Tianguang was, unlike the other Erzhu clan members, neither corrupt nor violent, and praised him for his recapturing the western provinces for Northern Wei.

Erzhu Rong

Erzhu Rong , courtesy name Tianbao , formally Prince Wu of Jin , was a general of the /Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was of Xiongnu ancestry, and after was killed by his mother in 528, Erzhu overthrew her and put on the throne, but at the same time slaughtered many imperial officials and took over most of actual power either directly or through associates. He then contributed much to the rebuilding of the Northern Wei state, which had been rendered fractured by agrarian rebellions during Emperor Xiaoming's reign. However, in 530, Emperor Xiaozhuang, believing that Erzhu would eventually usurp the throne, tricked Erzhu into the palace and ambushed him. Subsequently, however, Erzhu's clan members, led by his cousin Erzhu Shilong and nephew Erzhu Zhao, defeated and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang. He was often compared by historians to the Han Dynasty general Dong Zhuo, for his ferocity in battle and for his violence and lack of tact.

During Emperor Xiaoming's reign

Erzhu Rong's ancestors were hereditary chiefs of the Qihu tribe of Xiongnu extraction, and they used Erzhu as their family name after settling on Erzhu River. Erzhu Rong's great-great-grandfather Erzhu Yujian had assisted Northern Wei's founding emperor in his campaigns, and therefore was granted the Xiurong region as the Erzhus' hereditary domain. There, the Erzhus practiced husbandry and became extremely wealthy from the accumulation of livestock.

Erzhu Rong himself was born in 493, during the reign of . When Erzhu Rong's father Erzhu Xinxing grew old, Erzhu Xinxing asked that the chief post be passed to Erzhu Rong, and the imperial government agreed. Erzhu Rong was described to be handsome, resolute, ambitious and capable in military matters, and was particularly strict in military discipline. As he saw the empire begin to degrade during 's reign, he began to consider whether the empire would collapse, and he sold part of his livestock to gather brave warriors around him. He married a distant member of the imperial Yuan clan, the daughter of Yuan Zhen the Prince of Nan'an, a brother of .

In 524, as Northern Wei was in the middle of facing a large number of agrarian rebellions, a man from Xiurong, Qifu Moyu , started a rebellion as well in Xiurong, and he was soon joined by a shepherd, Wanyu Qizhen , killing the general Lu Yan , whom the imperial government had sent against them. Erzhu used his own private forces to defeat Qifu and Wanyu. As a result of this victory, he received a general commission, and he started to further accumulate soldiers, soon engaging in campaigns to defeat more rebels around the region. He thus received increasing authorities and honors, and was by 526 the Duke of Liang Commandery. That year, when he approached the government-held Si Province , the governor of Si Province, Wei Qingbin became apprehensive of his intentions and refused to let him enter. This drew Erzhu's ire, and he attacked Wei, seizing him and commissioning his uncle Erzhu Yusheng as governor without imperial permission. From this point on, it became increasingly difficult for the imperial government to control Erzhu Rong.

Sometime during Emperor Xiaoming's reign, Emperor Xiaoming took Erzhu Rong's daughter as a concubine.

Campaign against Empress Dowager Hu and the Heyin Massacre

By 528, the ambitious Erzhu Rong had seen that Empress Dowager Hu, who was serving as Emperor Xiaoming's regent, had grown increasingly unpopular with the people due to her toleration of corruption by her lover Zheng Yan and Zheng's associate Xu Ge . under advice from his generals Gao Huan and Heba Yue and close friend Yuan Tianmu , Erzhu considered waging a campaign to end Empress Dowager Hu's regency, and therefore prepared his army for campaign, while claiming that he was seeking to attack the rebel Ge Rong , who had claimed the title Emperor of Qi. Empress Dowager Hu, under advice from Xu, tried to alienate Erzhu's generals from him by awarding them "iron certificates" , and when Erzhu realized this, he became increasingly resentful of Empress Dowager Hu.

Meanwhile, Emperor Xiaoming, who was 18 in age by this point, was not any happier about Empress Dowager Hu's toleration of corruption and hold on power than Erzhu. He sent secret messengers to Erzhu, ordering him to advance on Luoyang to force Empress Dowager Hu to give up power and to kill Zheng and Xu. Erzhu therefore started heading toward Luoyang. However, for reasons unknown, Emperor Xiaoming then sent another messenger to him to order him to stop, but the news still leaked. Zheng and Xu advised Empress Dowager Hu to poison Emperor Xiaoming, and she did so. She, after initially declaring a child of Emperor Xiaoming emperor, soon admitted that the child was a daughter, not a son, and therefore ineligible for the throne. She then declared Yuan Zhao, a two-year-old child and son of Yuan Baohui the Prince of Lintao , emperor.

Erzhu refused to recognize Yuan Zhao as emperor. With support from Yuan Tianmu, he issued a harshly worded statement accusing Zheng and Xu of poisoning Emperor Xiaoming. Empress Dowager Hu sent Erzhu Rong's cousin Erzhu Shilong to try to persuade him to change his mind, but Erzhu Shilong instead encouraged him to continue his resistance. He therefore prepared to advance south, and meanwhile sent messengers to persuade Emperor Xuanwu's well-regarded cousin the Prince of Changle to accept the throne as a competing claimant to the throne. Yuan Ziyou agreed, and as Erzhu Rong approached Luoyang, Yuan Ziyou and his brothers Yuan Shao the Prince of Pengcheng and Yuan Zizheng the Duke of Bacheng secretly left Luoyang to join Erzhu's army. Erzhu declared him emperor . In turn, Emperor Xiaozhuang created Erzhu the Prince of Taiyuan. As soon as news of Emperor Xiaozhuang's ascension reached Luoyang, Luoyang's defenses collapsed, and Zheng and Xu, abandoning Empress Dowager Hu, fled, while the generals Zheng Xianhu and Fei Mu surrendered to Erzhu Rong.

Upon hearing the bad news, Empress Dowager Hu ordered all of Emperor Xiaoming's consorts to become nuns. She herself took tonsure as well, but did not declare herself a nun. Erzhu ordered the imperial officials to welcome Emperor Xiaozhuang into the capital, and the officials complied. Erzhu then sent cavalry soldiers to arrest Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao and deliver them to his camp at Heyin . Once Empress Dowager Hu met Erzhu, she tried to repeatedly explain and defend her actions. Erzhu became impatient of her explanations, and he left abruptly and ordered that Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao be thrown into the Yellow River to drown.

Empress Dowager Hu and Yuan Zhao would not be Erzhu's only victims, however. Fei suggested to Erzhu that since his army was actually small, as soon as the imperial officials realized the situation, they would resist him. He suggested that Erzhu carry out a massacre of the imperial officials, and Erzhu, despite the opposition of his strategist Murong Shaozong , proceeded. Erzhu ordered the imperial officials to his camp at Heyin under the pretense that Emperor Xiaozhuang was going to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth there, and then surrounded the imperial officials and slaughtered them, killing more than 2,000 of them, including Emperor Xiaozhuang's uncle, the prime minister Yuan Yong the Prince of Gaoyang. Erzhu also sent soldiers to assassinate Yuan Shao and Yuan Zizheng, while putting Emperor Xiaozhuang under effective arrest in the army camp.

Emperor Xiaozhuang, in fear and anger, sent a messenger to Erzhu, suggesting that he would be willing to yield the throne, either to Erzhu or to yet another person that Erzhu designated. Erzhu, under suggestion of Gao Huan, toyed with the ideas of taking the throne himself or offering it to Yuan Tianmu, himself a member of the imperial clan, albeit distant from the recent emperors' lineage. Subsequently, however, his sorcerer Liu Lingzhu predicted that neither Erzhu himself nor Yuan Tianmu was favored to be an emperor by the gods, and that only Emperor Xiaozhuang was favored. Erzhu therefore stopped those plans, and offered a deep apology to Emperor Xiaozhuang, claiming that the massacre was a result of the soldiers going out of control. However, the people of Luoyang and the surviving imperial officials, fearful of further massacre, fled Luoyang, which was then left nearly empty, particularly because Erzhu publicly pondered the idea of moving the capital to Jinyang . It was not until Erzhu offered offices to the heirs of the officials who died and publicly renounced the idea of moving the capital that the people began to return to Luoyang.

During Emperor Xiaozhuang's reign

Nevertheless, Erzhu Rong, while publicly returning authority to Emperor Xiaozhuang, retained command of the armed forces, while putting several officials closely aligned with him, including Yuan Tianmu and his cousin Erzhu Shilong, into high positions, and kept a close watch on Emperor Xiaozhuang even though he was largely away from the capital. He also wanted Emperor Xiaozhuang to marry his daughter Erzhu Ying'e as his empress. Because this constituted incest under Confucian traditions, Emperor Xiaozhuang hesitated, but under the suggestion of the official Zu Ying , who advised that this marriage would be advantageous, Emperor Xiaozhuang agreed.

Emperor Xiaozhuang was said to be diligent in governmental matters, and even though Erzhu was not particularly pleased with the development, Emperor Xiaozhuang proceeded to take much interest in criminal matters, as well as refusing to comply with all of Erzhu's recommendations for officials. He did not dare to directly cross Erzhu, however, and Erzhu continued to install officials close to him in the imperial administration.

Meanwhile, Erzhu proceeded to try to reunify the empire, which had been largely divided by agrarian rebellions that rose during the reign of Emperor Xiaoming. At that time, the more major rebels included:

* Ge Rong , with an army largely of Xianbei soldiers from the six garrisons on the northern borders, with the title of Emperor of Qi and controlling most of the provinces in modern Hebei
* Xing Gao , with an army largely consisting of refugees from Ge Rong's and other associated rebellions, with the title of Prince of Han and controlling most of the provinces in modern Shandong
* Moqi Chounu , with the title of emperor and controlling most of the provinces in Shaanxi and eastern Gansu

Erzhu's first target was Ge, who had put the important city under siege and was getting close to the Yellow River. With just 7,000 cavalry soldiers, Erzhu caught the much larger Ge army by surprise and crushed it, capturing Ge and delivering him to Luoyang, where Ge was executed in winter 528. Ge's general Han Lou took part of his army and took over modern Beijing and Tianjin.

Around the same time, rival Liang Dynasty's created Emperor Xiaozhuang's cousin Yuan Hao the Prince of Beihai, who had fled to Liang following the Heyin Massacre, the Prince of Wei and sent an army commanded by the general Chen Qingzhi to escort him, with an intent to install Yuan Hao as Northern Wei's emperor as a vassal state to Liang. Emperor Xiaozhuang's administration did not consider Yuan Hao a serious threat at the moment, and instead sent a large army, commanded by Yuan Tianmu and Erzhu Rong's nephew Erzhu Zhao, to attack Xing first. Xing was captured and executed in summer 529, but Chen and Yuan Hao, who declared himself the emperor of Northern Wei upon entering Northern Wei territory, took the opportunity to capture Yingyang , defeating Yuan Tianmu as he returned from the campaign against Xing, and approached Luoyang. Emperor Xiaozhuang decided to flee Luoyang, and he crossed the Yellow River to rendezvous with Erzhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu at Zhangzi . Meanwhile, Yuan Hao entered Luoyang unopposed, and the provinces south of the Yellow River largely declared allegiance to Yuan Hao.

Yuan Hao, however, believed that he had already succeeded and began to plot against Chen and his Liang forces, wanting to throw off Liang's control. He therefore sent messengers to persuade Liang's Emperor Wu not to send any additional reinforcements. Erzhu's forces, meanwhile, were stymied against Chen, but eventually Erzhu made an attack at night and crossed the Yellow River, causing Yuan Hao's forces to collapse, and while Chen tried to withdraw, his army was defeated as well. Yuan Hao was killed in flight, and Emperor Xiaozhuang again entered Luoyang to assume the throne.

In spring 530, Erzhu Rong sent his nephew Erzhu Tianguang, assisted by the generals Heba Yue and Houmochen Yue , to attack Moqi Chounu. Erzhu Tianguang, after tricking Moqi into believing that an attack would not come quickly, made a surprise attack, defeating Moqi and capturing him. He then captured Moqi's capital Gaoping , capturing Moqi's general Xiao Baoyin -- a former major Northern Wei general and Southern Qi prince who had, during Emperor Xiaoming's reign unsuccessfully tried to reestablish Southern Qi. Moqi was executed, and while many officials friendly with Xiao tried to plead for Xiao's life, Emperor Xiaozhuang ordered Xiao to commit suicide. Erzhu Tianguang subsequently defeated another major rebel, Wang Qingyun , and Moqi Chounu's general Moqi Daoluo , largely pacifying the western empire. Soon thereafter, Erzhu Rong's generals Hou Yuan and Liu Lingzhu defeated and killed Han Lou, and the empire became basically reunified.

Death

However, Emperor Xiaozhuang was secretly unhappy about these victories by the Erzhu forces, believing that this made an usurpation by Erzhu Rong closer to reality. Inside his own palace, he felt under pressure by the jealous Empress Erzhu. Erzhu Rong gave hints that he wanted to be awarded the nine bestowments -- symbols of great honor that usually preceded usurpations, and Emperor Xiaozhuang pretended not to understand, and did not bestow the nine bestowments on Erzhu. Yuan Hui the Prince of Chengyang, the husband of Emperor Xiaozhuang's cousin, and Li Yu , Emperor Xiaozhuang's brother-in-law, both wanted more power, and saw the Erzhus as in their way, and therefore persuaded Emperor Xiaozhuang that one day Erzhu Rong would indeed usurp the throne. Emperor Xiaozhuang also feared a repeat of the Heyin Massacre, and therefore engaged his officials Yang Kan and Yuan Luo in the conspiracy as well.

in fall 530, with Empress Erzhu pregnant, Erzhu Rong requested to come to the capital to attend to his daughter for childbirth. Emperor Xiaozhuang's associates were divided in their opinions -- some wanted to assassinate Erzhu when he came to the palace, and some wanted to slaughter Erzhu's associates in the capital and militarily resist. Emperor Xiaozhuang hesitated and did not take any actions initially. Meanwhile, Erzhu Shilong heard rumors of Emperor Xiaozhuang's conspiracy and reported them to Erzhu Rong, but Erzhu Rong did not believe that Emperor Xiaozhuang would dare to turn against him and therefore arrived at Luoyang anyway. The populace of Luoyang expected either Erzhu Rong to carry out a coup or Emperor Xiaozhuang to act against him, and many fled. When Erzhu arrived at the capital, however, he entered the palace with minimal guards and without weapons, and so Emperor Xiaozhuang considered not acting against him. Yuan Hui, however, persuaded Emperor Xiaozhuang that even if Erzhu Rong was not planning a coup, that he still should not be allowed to be left alive.

Emperor Xiaozhuang feared, however, that Yuan Tianmu, who was then at Jinyang, would be a latent threat, and therefore summoned Yuan Tianmu to the capital as well. Meanwhile, with rumors that Erzhu was planning to arrest Emperor Xiaozhuang and move the capital to Jinyang, Emperor Xiaozhuang became even more apprehensive and anxious to carry out the plot. He studied the historical accounts of the Han Dynasty general Dong Zhuo, and concluded that Wang Yun's failure, after he killed Dong, was in not pardoning Dong's associates and forcing them into rebellion. He therefore prepared to first kill Erzhu Rong and then declaring a general pardon. Under pretense that Empress Erzhu had given birth, he summoned Erzhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu into the palace and surprised and killed them. Also killed were Erzhu Rong's son Erzhu Puti and Erzhu's attendants. The populace rejoiced news of Erzhu Rong's death, but Erzhu Rong's wife the Princess Beixiang . Eventually, the Erzhu clan members, led by Erzhu Shilong and Erzhu Zhao, gathered with their armies, and defeated and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang. When they subsequently made the Prince of Guangling emperor , Erzhu Rong was posthumously honored the Prince of Jin, with the posthumous name ''Wu'' , and enshrined in the shrine of Emperor Xiaowen. Erzhu Shilong also converted the temple of the Duke of Zhou to be a temple of Erzhu Rong. After the Erzhus were defeated and overthrown by Gao Huan in 532, much of the honor given to Erzhu Rong was removed, but Erzhu Rong was never personally denounced, as Gao had been a subordinate of his and subsequently took Erzhu Ying'e as a concubine.

Wei Shou, the author of Northern Wei's official history, the ''Wei Shu'', had these comments about Erzhu Rong:

:''Erzhu Rong was a general of the empire who depended on the loyalty his subordinates had for him. He met the opportunity of Suzong's death by poisoning and the resentment of the people and the gods alike, to manifest his great ambition of saving the weak, and his campaign to reestablish the old dynasty and banish the evil had its door opened by Heaven. At that time, the hearts of the people were lost, and both the officials and the generals have collapsed, and people hoped that someone would express the voice of the righteous, to start a just uprising, like Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin. Indeed, Erzhu Rong easily succeeded, with his warhorses not even sweating, and both the governmentand the people followed him. He placed a prince on the throne to allow the government to have a sovereign, and he allowed the imperial ancestors to be worshipped along with Heaven. The traditions of the empire were not destroyed. Thereafter, he captured Ge Rong, killed Yuan Hao, executed Xing Gao, cut short Han Lou's life, and both Moqi Chounu and Xiao Baoyin were taken to the execution field to be beheaded. These rebel leaders seized regions and were not minor thieves who captured just singular cities or villages. Without Erzhu Rong's full efforts to eliminate these disasters, many people would have claim kingships and many peoples would have claim imperial thrones. Were not Erzhu Rong's achievements great? But from the very beginning, he had improper thoughts and wanted to seize the throne, and he threw Empress Hu and the Young Lord into the Yellow River, not to return. At the battle of Heyin, all of the honored officials were all massacred. These were the reasons why he was condemned by men and gods, and was finally killed. if Erzhu Rong did not commit errors of treachery and cruelty, but instead encouraged himself with virtues and righteousness, then how could even Yi Yin or Huo Guang compare to him? But even at the end, even though he did not carry out acts of treason, but he was suspected and died violently and suddenly. This is why Kuai Che persuaded Han Xin to rebel.''

Yuwen Tai

Yuwen Tai , nickname Heita , formally Duke Wen of Anding , later further posthumously honored by Northern Zhou initially as Prince Wen then as Emperor Wen with the temple name Taizu , was the paramount general of the /Xianbei state Western Wei, a branch successor state of Northern Wei. In 534, Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei, seeking to assert power independent of the paramount general Gao Huan, fled to Yuwen's domain, and when Gao subsequently proclaimed Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei emperor, a split of Northern Wei was effected, and when Yuwen subsequently poisoned Emperor Xiaowu to death around the new year 535 and declared his cousin emperor , the split was formalized, with the part under Gao's and Emperor Xiaojing's control known as Eastern Wei and the part under Yuwen's and Emperor Wen's control known as Western Wei. For the rest of his life, Yuwen endeavored to make Western Wei, then much weaker than its eastern counterpart, a strong state, and after his death, his son seized the throne from Emperor Gong of Western Wei, establishing Northern Zhou.

Early career

Yuwen Tai was born in 507, and was a descendant of the last chieftain of the Xianbei Yuwen Yidougui, whose tribe was destroyed by Murong Huang, the founding ruler of Former Yan. Yuwen Yidougui's descendants served as generals during Former Yan and its successor state Later Yan. Later, when Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei defeated the Later Yan emperor Murong Bao , Yuwen Tai's great-great-grandfather Yuwen Ling surrendered to Northern Wei, and was relocated to Wuchuan . Yuwen Tai's father Yuwen Gong was known for his ability in battle. In 524, with Northern Wei's northern provinces overrun by agrarian rebels, Wuchuan was being held by one of the major rebels, Poliuhan Baling . Yuwen Gong and another local leader, Heba Duba , ambushed Poliuhan's general Wei Kegu and killed Wei, temporary restoring order. It was probably at this time that Yuwen Tai met and befriended Heba Duba's son Heba Yue . Sometime after this incident, Yuwen Gong and his sons fled to Zhongshan , and were forced to join the army of another rebel general, Xianyu Xiuli . Yuwen Gong died in a battle between Xianyu's troops and Northern Wei troops, but Yuwen Tai continued to serve in Xianyu's troops. After Xianyu was killed by his general Yuan Hongye in 526, another Xianyu general, Ge Rong , in turn killed Yuan and took over Xianyu's troops, and Yuwen continued to serve Ge. However, he saw that Ge was not a competent leader and considered fleeing with his brothers, but before he could carry out his plans, Ge was defeated by the Northern Wei general Erzhu Rong in 528, and Erzhu forcibly moved Ge's troops to his powerbase at Jinyang . Suspicious of the Yuwen brothers, Erzhu killed Yuwen Tai's older brother Yuwen Luosheng , but Yuwen Tai pled his case with Erzhu and was spared.

In 529, the Northern Wei prince Yuan Hao, under support from Liang Dynasty, attacked and seized the capital Luoyang, declaring himself emperor. Emperor Xiaozhuang fled north of the Yellow River, and Erzhu advanced south to aid him, sending Heba Yue, who was then serving under Erzhu, to lead his forward troops. Heba made Yuwen Tai his assistant, and later on, after Erzhu defeated Yuan Hao, allowing Emperor Xiaozhuang to return to Luoyang, Yuwen was created the Viscount of Ningdu.

In 530, Erzhu Rong sent his nephew Erzhu Tianguang, with Heba and Houmochen Yue as assistants, to attack the rebel general Moqi Chounu , who then occupied the western provinces. Yuwen continued to serve under Heba. After Erzhu Tianguang defeated Moqi, Yuwen, who contributed in the campaign, was made the governor of Yuan Province , and he was said to have ruled the province with such kindness and faith that the people of the province proclaimed, "Had we had Governor Yuwen as our governor earlier, how would we have joined the rebellion?"

Late in 530, apprehensive that Erzhu Rong would eventually seize the throne, Emperor Xiaozhuang ambushed him and killed him in the palace. Subsequently, Erzhu Rong's clan members, led by his nephew Erzhu Zhao and cousin Erzhu Shilong, defeated and killed Emperor Xiaozhuang, first making Yuan Ye the Prince of Changguang emperor, and then further replaced Yuan Ye with . In 531, the general Gao Huan rebelled against the Erzhus. Erzhu Tianguang was initially not particularly interested in aiding his Erzhu clan members, but felt compelled to, and he departed Chang'an to head east. While Erzhu Tianguang was away, Yuwen advised Heba to rise against the Erzhus, and Heba did, defeating Erzhu Tianguang's brother Erzhu Xianshou , whom Yuwen subsequently captured, dividing control of the territory with Houmochen. By 532, Gao had defeated the Erzhus and seized much of power, deposing Emperor Jiemin and making emperor instead. When Gao subsequently tried to intimidate Heba into giving up his territory and reporting to Luoyang, but under the advice of Xue Xiaotong , Heba refused. He made Yuwen his lieutenant, and consulted him on most important matters. In 533, Yuwen volunteered to serve as messenger to Gao in order to observe Gao's abilities, and Heba agreed. When Gao met Yuwen, Gao was impressed by the answers Yuwen had to his questions and wanted to detain Yuwen, but Yuwen left Gao's domain before Gao could seize him. Subsequently, Heba sent Yuwen to confer with Emperor Xiaowu, who was not happy about Gao's hold on power, and Emperor Xiaowu and Heba were able to enter into a secret alliance against Gao. Heba made Yuwen the governor of the key Xia Province .

Taking control over western provinces

By this point, Heba Yue, in alliance with Houmochen Yue, controlled almost all of the western provinces. However, one provincial governor, Cao Ni , the governor of Ling Province , was aligned with Gao Huan and refused to follow Heba's orders. Heba Yue sent his assistant Zhao Gui to Xia Province to request Yuwen's opinions, and Yuwen, believing that Houmochen was unreliable, advised against an attack on Cao and suggested instead that Houmochen be attacked. Heba refused -- not realizing that by this point, Gao's messengers had persuaded Houmochen to act against him. Heba and Houmochen rendezvoused at Gaoping , and then headed north against Cao -- but as they advanced, Houmochen tricked Heba into coming to his camp for discussions, and then had his son-in-law Yuan Hongjing assassinate Heba. Initially, Heba's army was surprised and intimidated, but Houmochen, instead of taking over Heba's army, panicked and fled to Shuiluo , while Heba's army, without a central commander, withdrew to Pingliang . After some internal discussions, the army commanders decided to offer the command to Yuwen Tai, and they sent Du Shuozhou to Xia Province to summon Yuwen Tai. Yuwen agreed, and Du and he quickly headed back toward Heba's army.

Emperor Xiaowu, hearing of Heba's death, sent Yuan Pi to summon both Yuwen and Houmochen to the Luoyang. Houmochen outright refused, and Yuwen persuaded Emperor Xiaowu to allow him to remain in command. Emperor Xiaowu agreed. Yuwen next sent a letter to Houmochen to rebuke him, and when Houmochen did not answer, prepared to launch an attack on Houmochen. He advanced quickly on Shuiluo, and Houmochen withdrew to Lüeyang , and then to Shanggui . He then further withdrew from Shanggui, and Shanggui surrendered to Yuwen. He decided to try to flee to Cao's territory, but on the way, believing that Yuwen's forces were close, committed suicide.

Alliance with Emperor Xiaowu

Gao Huan made an overture of alliance to Yuwen Tai, but Yuwen refused, instead arresting Gao's messengers and delivering them to Emperor Xiaowu. Emperor Xiaowu authorized him to take over Heba's authorities in the west and created him the Duke of Lüeyang.

Meanwhile, Emperor Xiaowu prepared for an attack on Gao, but meanwhile claimed to Gao that he was preparing to attack Yuwen and Heba Yue's brother Heba Sheng , who controlled the southern provinces. Gao saw through Emperor Xiaowu's trick, and in summer 534, he instead advanced south toward Luoyang. Emperor Xiaowu's associate Wang Sizheng , believing that imperial forces would not be able to withstand an attack from Gao, suggested fleeing to Yuwen's domain -- despite his own reservations about Yuwen's intentions. Emperor Xiaowu agreed, but at the same time summoned Heba Sheng. However, Heba Sheng did not arrive at Luoyang, while Yuwen sent forces east, commanded by Li Xian , to welcome Emperor Xiaowu. In fall 534, before Gao's forces arrived, Emperor Xiaowu fled west, meeting Li on the way. Li escorted Emperor Xiaowu back to Yuwen's headquarters at Chang'an, and Emperor Xiaowu reestablished the imperial government there. He made Yuwen his commander in chief, and married his sister Princess Fengyi to Yuwen.

After Gao entered Luoyang, he sent messengers to request Emperor Xiaowu to return to Luoyang. When Emperor Xiaowu ignored his request, Gao made his distant nephew, , emperor , dividing Northern Wei into two, with Eastern Wei recognizing Emperor Xiaojing, and Western Wei recognizing Emperor Xiaowu.

Yuwen's relationship with Emperor Xiaowu, however, soon deteriorated. Emperor Xiaowu had engaged in incestuous relationships with three of his cousins, at least one of whom, Yuan Mingyue the Princess Pingyuan, followed him to Chang'an. Yuwen disapproved of the relationship, and he persuaded the imperial princes to arrest Yuan Mingyue and put her to death. Emperor Xiaowu became angry, and he often showed his displeasure by tightening his bow or by pounding his table in the palace. Around the new year 535, Yuwen poisoned him to death and made his cousin the Prince of Nanyang emperor .

During Emperor Wen's reign

Western Wei was, initially, the smaller and the weaker of the two successor states of Northern Wei, and early in its existence, there were questions on whether it would survive at all. Yuwen Tai spent much of his effort on preserving existence of Western Wei against repeated attacks led by Gao Huan. He also gradually began to show a trend of following both ancient Chinese customs, as largely encapsulated by the governmental structures of Zhou Dynasty, and restoring Xianbei customs that had largely been abolished by Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei. In this, he was assisted by the official Su Chuo . He also worked on earning the respect of other officials and generals, including Emperor Xiaowu's confidant Wang Sizheng and Pei Xia , both of whom had initially been suspicious of Yuwen and yet later became important and faithful generals serving under him.

In spring 537, Gao Huan and his generals Dou Tai and Gao Aocao launched a major attack on Western Wei. Yuwen, correctly judging that Gao Huan was trying to draw Yuwen toward him while allowing Dou to penetrate Western Wei defenses, announced that he was going to lead a withdraw to modern eastern Gansu but instead made a surprise attack on Dou's army at Xiaoguan , crushing Dou's forces. Dou committed suicide in shame. Gao Huan and Gao Aocao were forced to withdraw. In fall 537, Yuwen led an attack on Eastern Wei and captured Hengnong . With Western Wei's capital region Guanzhong suffering from a famine, Yuwen remained in Hengnong to collect food from the area, but then heard that Gao Huan was again launching another attack from the northeast, forcing him to return to the Guanzhong region. The forces engaged at Shawan , after Gao rejected advice from his general Hulü Qiangju to directly attack the Western Wei capital Chang'an. Despite Eastern Wei's numerical superiority, Yuwen's forces crushed Gao's forces, and Gao was forced to withdraw. In winter 537, the Western Wei general Dugu Xin captured the former Northern Wei capital Luoyang, and several other nearby provinces also surrendered to Western Wei.

In spring 538, in order to create an alliance with Rouran, Yuwen first had Emperor Wen bestow the title of Princess Huazheng to Yuan Yi , the daughter of a member of the imperial clan, to marry her to Yujiulü Tahan , the brother of Rouran's Chiliantoubingdoufa Khan Yujiulü Anagui. But Yuwen, believing that to be insufficient, requested Emperor Wen divorce his wife Empress Yifu and marry . Emperor Wen was forced to agree, and he deposed Empress Yifu, ordering her to become a Buddhist nun, and married Yujiulü Anagui's daughter as empress.

By summer 538, however, Eastern Wei generals Hou Jing and Gao Aocao had surrounded Luoyang. Yuwen and Emperor Wen proceeded to Luoyang to try to lift the siege. When Yuwen arrived, Hou and Gao initially lifted the siege on Luoyang, but when Yuwen chased after them, his horse was shot by an arrow, and he fell off his horse and was nearly captured, but both he and his general Li Mu pretended to be common soldiers and were able to escape. Once Yuwen returned to Western Wei camp, Western Wei forces again attacked and killed Gao. Later that day, however, an Eastern Wei counterattack inflicted major losses on Western Wei forces, forcing Yuwen to withdraw and rendezvous with Emperor Wen at Hengnong. Meanwhile, however, Eastern Wei captives in Chang'an heard of the Western Wei defeat and rebelled within the city, led by the general Zhao Qingque , forcing the official Zhou Huida , who had been left in charge of Chang'an, to flee the city with the crown prince . Under the advice of Lu Tong , Yuwen quickly returned west and defeated Zhao, suppressing his rebellion. Around this time, Yuwen also started setting up his headquarters at Hua Province , not far from Chang'an but maintaining some distance from the capital, incorporate many talented officials and generals into his staff. He further established a night school for the junior officers and officials in his administration at Hua Province.

In 541, under Su's suggestion, Yuwen had Emperor Wen issue an edict outlining six principles of government, intending to reduce corruption and wastefulness and strengthen the economy:

#''Qingxinsi'' -- ordering the officials to clean their hearts and not desire many things.
#''Dunjiaohua'' -- instituting a regime of moral education.
#''Jindili'' -- the concept of encouraging agriculture and maximizing the utility of the land.
#''Zhuoxianliang'' -- finding capable individuals to promote, regardless of their family backgrounds.
#''Xuyusong'' -- forbidding torture and instituting the concept that it would be preferable to let the guilty go than to punish an innocent.
#''Junfuyi'' -- the concept that tax and labor burdens must be fair, and that powerful families may not avoid them.

Yuwen ordered that all of the officials of the state must study the six principles and further be able to balance budgets, at the pain of being relieved from their offices.

In spring 543, the Eastern Wei official Gao Zhongmi , the governor of North Yu Province , angry that Gao Huan's son Gao Cheng had tried to rape his second wife, and in a dispute with Gao Cheng's assistant Cui Xian over his having divorced Cui's sister, rebelled and surrendered his headquarters of Hulao to Western Wei. Yuwen personally led troops to try to save Gao Zhongmi. At Luoyang, however, he was defeated by the Eastern Wei general Peng Le and was nearly captured, only managing to elude capture by throwing gold at Peng to bribe him and persuade him that if he captured Yuwen, he would be no longer any use to Gao Huan. The next day, a Western Wei counterattack in turn almost killed Gao Huan, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Yuwen was forced to withdraw, but against advice from Feng Zihui and Chen Yuankang , Gao Huan failed to chase Yuwen and allowed him to escape. The defeat was considered so major that Yuwen offered to have his rank reduced, but Emperor Wen did not accept the request.

In 545, Yuwen, seeing that one of Rouran's vassals, Tujue, was growing in strength, sent a messenger, Annuo Pantuo to Tujue to greet its chief Ashina Tumen, to try to establish friendly relations.

In 546, Gao Huan launched another major attack on Western Wei, putting Yubi under siege, intending to draw Western Wei forces to try to save Yubi, but Yuwen took no reaction to it, instead leaving Yubi's defense to the general Wei Xiaokuan. Wei ably defended Yubi, draining the strength of the Eastern Wei forces, and as Gao grew ill, Eastern Wei forces were forced to withdraw with major losses.

Later in 546, Su died. Yuwen mourned him greatly, and personally attended Su's burial, crying bitterly.

In spring 547, the Eastern Wei general Hou Jing, who was in charge of Eastern Wei provinces south of the Yellow River, believing that Gao Huan had died and not willing to submit to Gao Cheng, surrendered the provinces initially to Western Wei and then to Liang. Yuwen conferred honorary titles on Hou, but was initially unwilling to send relief troops. With Wang Sizheng advocating taking four provinces that Hou offered in exchange for aid, however, Yuwen sent Li Bi and Zhao Gui to assist Wang, initially forcing Eastern Wei forces attacking Hou to withdraw. Soon, however, Western Wei generals and Hou began to suspect each other, and after Yuwen ordered Hou to proceed to Chang'an to greet Emperor Wen and Hou refused, the sides officially broke, and the Western Wei generals held onto the four provinces without rendering further aid to Hou, who from that point on depending solely on Liang aid.

In summer 548, Yuwen and Yuan Qin the Crown Prince carried out a tour of Western Wei's border provinces, but upon hearing that Emperor Wen was ill, cut their tour short and returned to Chang'an. However, when they did, Emperor Wen had already been healed, and Yuwen thereafter returned to his headquarters at Hua Province.

Around the same time, the Eastern Wei general Gao Yue launched an attack on Yingchuan , one of the major cities that Western Wei took from Hou. Wang, defending Yingchuan, initially repelled Eastern Wei's attacks, but with Eastern Wei dirverting Wei River to flood Yingchuan, it was in the danger of falling. Yuwen sent Zhao to try to lift the siege, but Zhao was impeded by the water and was unable to proceed to Yingchuan. A counterattack by Wang, however, killed Murong Shaozong and Liu Fengsheng , temporarily relieving the pressure on Yingchuan. Gao Cheng himself reinforced Gao Yue's army, and by summer 549 captured Yingchuan, taking Wang captive. With Yingchuan having fallen, Yuwen ordered a general withdrawal from the area, and the provinces taken from Hou were retaken by Eastern Wei.

Meanwhile, with Hou having rebelled against Liang's Emperor Wu in 548 and captured the Liang capital Jiankang in 549, Liang was in disarray, with Hou and the various imperial princes and governors fighting for control. By winter 549, one of the Liang princes, the Prince of Yueyang , fearing an attack from his uncle the Prince of Xiangdong , surrendered his domain around the city Xiangyang to Western Wei, requesting protection. Yuwen sent the general Yang Zhong to aid Xiao Cha, and after Yang defeated and captured Xiao Yi's general Liu Zhongli in spring 550, Western Wei made peace with Xiao Yi, setting the borders in such a way to put Xiao Cha under Western Wei's protection. Yuwen created Xiao Cha the title "Prince of Liang," preparing to have him claim the Liang throne as Western Wei's vassal.

In summer 550, Gao Cheng's brother , who had controlled the Eastern Wei government after Gao Cheng's death in 549, forced Eastern Wei's Emperor Xiaojing to yield the throne to him, ending Eastern Wei and starting Northern Qi . In response, Yuwen launched a major attack on the newly established Northern Qi, reaching Jian Province . However, Gao Yang himself led a strong army to defend against Yuwen's attack, and Yuwen, upon hearing that Gao Yang's army was well-run, made the comment, "Alas, Gao Huan is not dead." Meanwhile, due to rains, the livestock that Western Wei forces relied on were dying in large numbers, and so Yuwen was forced to retreat. While there appeared to be few casualties, Northern Qi was in turn able to make minor border gains in light of Yuwen's withdrawal.

Around the new year 550, another son of Liang's Emperor Wu, Xiao Guan the Prince of Shaoling, attempted to recapture Anlu , which Yang had earlier captured from Xiao Yi. Yuwen sent Yang to relieve Anlu, and Yang not only did so, but proceeded to siege Xiao Guan's headquarters at Ru'nan , capturing it and then executing Xiao Guan.

In spring 551, Emperor Wen died, and Yuan Qin succeeded him .

During Emperors Fei's reign

Yuwen Tai appeared to hold an even firmer grip on power after Emperor Wen's death. Emperor Fei's wife Empress Yuwen was Yuwen Tai's daughter, and while it was recorded that he did not have any concubines because he loved her greatly, it could have also been that he feared Yuwen's power and therefore did not have any concubines.

In summer 551, the Tiele were launching an attack on Rouran, when Tujue's chieftain Ashina Tumen intercepted the Tiele and captured a large number of the Tiele people. Ashina Tumen, after his victory, sought a marriage with a daughter of Yujiulü Anagui. Yujiulü Anagui felt insulted and refused, viewing the Tujue as inferior; in response, Ashina Tumen cut off relations with Rouran. Yuwen took this opportunity to create an alliance with Tujue, sending the Princess Changle to Tujue to marry Ashina Tumen.

In summer 552, with Xiao Yi and Hou Jing battling each other, Xiao Yi sought help from Western Wei and agreed to cede Nanzheng to Western Wei, but the order was declined by Xiao Yi's cousin, Xiao Xun . Yuwen and his general Daxi Wu thus attacked Hanzhong. Xiao Xun instead turned to another brother of Xiao Yi, Xiao Ji the Prince of Wuling for aid, and Xiao Ji sent reinforcements commanded by the general Yang Qianyun . Yuwen and Daxi put Nanzheng under siege, and due to the length of the siege, Yuwen and Daxi became angry and ordered that the city be slaughtered when it falls, but at the intercession of Xiao Xun's chief of staff Liu Fan , whom Western Wei forces captured during the siege and whose talent Yuwen respected, Yuwen rescinded the order. Soon thereafter, Xiao Xun surrendered, and Nanzheng was in Western Wei hands. Yuwen initially agreed to allow Xiao Xun to return to Liang, but instead detained him, releasing him only after Liu again persuaded him to do so, reminding him of his promise.

In spring 553, with Xiao Ji and Xiao Yi, both of whom having claimed Liang's imperial title after Hou's fall, battling each other, Xiao Yi sought aid from Western Wei, requesting Western Wei to attack Xiao Ji's home base of Chengdu from the rear. Yuwen sent his nephew Weichi Jiong to attack Xiao Ji's domain . Most of Xiao Ji's domain fell into Western Wei hands, and subsequently, Xiao Ji was defeated and captured by Xiao Yi.

In winter 553, the imperial official Yuan Lie formed a conspiracy to kill Yuwen, but the news leaked. Yuwen killed him. Following Yuan Lie's death, Emperor Fei himself was angry and wanted to kill Yuwen, despite advise from his cousins Yuan Yu the Prince of Linhuai and Yuan Zan the Prince of Guangping. However, Emperor Fei's apparent attempt to court the imperial guards became known by the commanders, several of whom were Yuwen's sons-in-law, and Yuwen put Emperor Fei under house arrest and then deposed him, replacing him with his younger brother the Prince of Qi . Yuwen took this opportunity to change the that Emperor Xiaowen had instituted back to the original Xianbei names, including changing the imperial surname Yuan back to Tuoba. Further, because Xianbei legends indicated that originally, the Tuoba tribe had 36 subtribes and 99 subclans, Yuwen chose 36 key Han generals and 99 commanders and changed their names to Xianbei names, to fill out the original names. Yuwen subsequently put the former emperor to death. It was recorded that Empress Yuwen, Yuwen Tai's daughter, also "suffered death because of her loyalty to Wei," but it is not known exactly whether Yuwen killed her.

During Emperor Gong's reign

In spring 554, while on a diplomatic mission to Liang , the Western Wei official Yuwen Renshu was slighted by Emperor Yuan, who treated Northern Qi's ambassador with far greater respect. Emperor Yuan then further aggravated the situation by sending an impolite letter to Yuwen Tai demanding that the borders be redrawn in accordance with old borders. Yuwen made the comment, "Xiao Yi is the type of person that, as said in proverbs, 'One who has been abandoned by heaven cannot be revived by anyone else.'" Yuwen Tai therefore began to prepare attacking Emperor Yuan at his headquarters of Jiangling , as Emperor Yuan had made Jiangling his capital and declined to move back to the old capital Jiankang. The Western Wei general Ma Bofu , formerly a Liang general, secretly revealed the attack plans to Emperor Yuan, but Emperor Yuan did not believe Ma and took minimal precautions.

In winter 554, under Yuwen Tai's orders, Western Wei forces, commanded by Yu Jin , who was assisted by Yuwen Tai's nephew Yuwen Hu and Yang Zhong, launched a major attack on Liang. Emperor Yuan initially did not take reports of the Western Wei attack seriously, and while he summoned his major generals Wang Sengbian and Wang Lin from afar, he himself took little defensive or evasive actions. Yu quickly descended on Jiangling and put it under siege. Soon, Emperor Yuan surrendered, and Western Wei forces gave him to Xiao Cha to be executed. Western Wei created Xiao Cha the Emperor of Liang and gave him the Jiangling area in exchange for his old domain of Xiangyang area, which Western Wei took control directly. Most residents of Jiangling were seized as slaves, although eventually most of them were released by Yuwen after he was persuaded to do so by one of the capitives, the Liang official Yu Jicai .

Around the near year 556, after Tujue's Mugan Khan Ashina Qijin thoroughly crushed Rouran's last khan Yujiulü Dengshuzi, Yujiulü Dengshuzi fled to Western Wei. Ashina Qijin demanded the execution of Yujiulü Dengshuzi, and Yuwen Tai, fearing a Tujue attack, turned Yujiulü Dengshuzi and 3000 of his followers to the Tujue ambassadors, who slaughtered them.

Also around the new year 556, Yuwen Tai promulgated a new government structure, dividing the government into six ministries, based on the Zhou Dynasty model. He also had Tuoba Yu the Prince of Huai'an submit a request, and then have Emperor Gong formally approve the request, to have all imperial princes reduced in rank to dukes, in accordance with the Zhou tradition.

In spring 556, Yuwen was pondering the issue of succession. His wife Princess Fengyi had one son, , but his oldest son, , was born of his concubine Lady Yao, and was married to the daughter of one of his chief generals, Dugu Xin. On the advice of Li Yuan , who argued that the son of a wife always had precedence over the son of a concubine, Yuwen Tai made Yuwen Jue his heir apparent.

in fall 556, while Yuwen Tai was on a tour of the norther provinces, he became ill at Qiantun Mountain . He summoned his nephew Yuwen Hu to Qiantun and entrusted the affairs of the state as well as his sons to Yuwen Hu. He soon died, and Yuwen Jue took over his titles, while Yuwen Hu took the reigns of the state, and under Yuwen Hu's tutelage, Yuwen Jue soon took the throne from Emperor Gong, ending Western Wei and establishing Northern Zhou.

Personal information

* Father
** Yuwen Gong , posthumously honored as Emperor De
* Wives
** Lady Wang, sister of Wang Chaoshi
** The Princess Fengyi , sister of Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei, posthumously honored as Empress Yuan, mother of Yuwen Jue
* Major Concubines
** Lady Yao, mother of Yuwen Yu
** , mother of Yuwen Yong and Yuwen Zhi
** Lady Dabugan, mother of Yuwen Xian
** Lady Wang, mother of Yuwen Zhao
* Children
** Yuwen Yu , initially the Duke of Ningdu , later Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou
** Yuwen Zhen , initially the Duke of Wuyi , later Duke Xian of Song
** Yuwen Jue , initially the Duke of Lüeyang , later the Duke of Zhou , later Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou
** Yuwen Yong , initially the Duke of Fǔcheng , later the Duke of Lu , later Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou
** Yuwen Xian , initially the Duke of Fúcheng , later the Duke of Ancheng , later Duke of Qi, later Prince Yang of Qi
** Yuwen Zhi , initially the Duke of Qin Commandery , later the Duke of Wei, later Prince La of Wei
** Yuwen Zhao , initially the Duke of Zhengping , later the Duke of Zhao, later Prince Jian of Zhao
** Yuwen Jian , initially the Duke of Qiao, later Prince Xiao of Qiao
** Yuwen Chun , initially the Duke of Chen, later Prince Huo of Chen
** Yuwen Sheng , initially the Duke of Yue, later Prince Ye of Yue
** Yuwen Da , initially the Duke of Dai, later Prince Bei of Dai
** Yuwen Tong , initially the Duke of Ji, later Prince Kang of Ji
** Yuwen You , initially the Duke of Teng, later Prince Wen of Teng
** Empress Yuwen of Emperor Fei of Western Wei
** Princess Xiangyang
** Princess Pingyuan
** Princess Yongfu
** Princess, wife of Heba Wei
** Princess, wife of Ruogan Feng
** Princess Xihe
** Princess Yigui
** Princess Xiangle