Chapter 22 1. The illustrious "Wu" Emperor
In the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were three emperors with the word "Wen" in their posthumous titles, and four emperors with the word "Wu" in their posthumous titles.If we take a closer look at the era of these emperors, we will find an interesting phenomenon. The three "wen" emperors happened to be in the prosperous period of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The six emperors Xianwen Emperor Tuobahong, and the seventh emperor Xiaowen Emperor Yuanhong; and the four "Wu" emperors are at the two ends of the dynasty: the period of development and growth and the period of decline and extinction. Taiwu Emperor Tuoba Tao, later Xuanwu Emperor Yuanke and Xiaowu Emperor Yuanxiu.From this arrangement, we can also find some regularities: when a country is stable and prosperous, cultural governance is far more important than martial arts; when it is just emerging, it needs to continue to develop and expand its territory. When the national power declines and is close to extinction, the control of the central government is greatly weakened, and wars are frequent from inside to outside. At this time, the country also needs to rely on force to change the embarrassing state.The so-called monarch is the embodiment of the will of the country.
Among all these "Wu" emperors, the most eye-catching and controversial one is undoubtedly the "Taiwu Emperor". The word "tai" is also connected with "big".In other words, only from the words used in posthumous titles, we can know that among the monarchs of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the most prosperous martial arts was the nickname "Buddha Beaver" who reigned for thirty years. Tuoba Tao.
Among the emperors of all dynasties in China, the phenomenon of "intergenerational relatives" often appeared. Chengzu and Xuanzong in the Ming Dynasty, Kangxi and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, there are many examples.There seems to be such a close relationship between Tuoba Gui and Tuoba Tao, the grandparents of the "Wu" emperor.Tuoba Tao had a very strange appearance when he was born, which greatly admired his grandfather. After being relieved, he said "the one who becomes my career must be this son" (when Tuoba Gui himself was attached to Liu Kuren with his mother, Liu Kuren Ren Zeng said something similar to Tuobagui: "Those who honor the ancestors must be the master." It can be seen that the heavens are very fond of the leaders of the Tuoba clan, and they are not stingy with giving them again and again. competence).
The grandfather's love for his grandson also affected Tuoba Tao's early training.When Tuoba Tao became an adult, he knew things well and lived a very frugal life without paying attention to luxury, which was very rare among the Hu rulers at that time.The reason is that the internal organization of Tuoba Xianbei is relatively simple, the living space is the main goal pursued by the monarchs and ministers from the desert, and the quality of life is second; The lessons learned from the failures of the country's rulers gradually realized that a reasonable system is an important guarantee for not repeating the same mistakes.After Xia Xia was destroyed, many ministers proposed to Tuoba Tao to strengthen the city defense of the capital and strengthen urban construction.Tuoba Tao disapproved, saying: "The ancients said it well: 'There is no danger in virtue.' Helian Bobo built such a solid and incomparably strong Tongwan City, but in the end it was still defeated by me, the country was destroyed and the family was destroyed. Today the world has not Pingding, I need more manpower to go to the battlefield to fight, rather than mobilizing the common people to build houses and walls." As for the military expenditure of the country, Tuoba Tao did not hesitate.
On the other hand, Tuoba Tao himself is also outstanding in martial arts, and he is not an easy person to get off immediately.He likes to personally lead the light cavalry to charge and kill the enemy. Although he is the emperor, he has nothing special on the battlefield.Even though there were heavy casualties on the left and right, he did not change his face and heartbeat, calmly commanding the rest of the army to continue fighting.This is much better than those emperors in the Southern Dynasties who were short-sighted and in deep palaces (except for the founding monarch like Liu Yu).The soldiers, led by such a monarch, fought desperately and were invincible. Coupled with the powerful impact and maneuverability of the cavalry of the Northern Wei Dynasty, they could almost gallop thousands of miles in the north without being invincible.For his subordinates, Tuoba Tao clearly rewards and punishes them. One of the words he often talks about is: "The law is shared with the world, so how dare you take it lightly." There is no room for sand in his eyes. Ministers who break the law are guilty of the same crime as the common people. (However, in the process of law enforcement, he also had the problem of improper punishment and excessive punishment, which eventually caused the tragedy of Cui Hao's murder, and he himself was sent to the road of no return by his own cruelty. We will discuss these in detail later Say.)
Relying on personal charm and the efforts of his officials, the army of the Northern Wei Dynasty led by Tuoba Tao won one victory after another.In the fourth year of Shenju (AD 431), he won both the Xia and Song fronts at the same time, which gave Tuoba Tao enough reason to firmly believe that the day of unifying the north is not far away.After his class teacher returned to the court, he granted all the officials, and Sun Song, the Taiwei who made great contributions on the battlefield, was named "General Zhu Guo" (this is an original title created by the Northern Wei Dynasty, which was basically equivalent to "Commander-in-Chief" at first. ", is the highest rank among generals. The name "Zhu Guo" was later used to the Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties, and became an important military general who commanded the army), Cui Hao, who played a decisive role in strategic planning, was named Situ, Another general, Changsun Daosheng, nephew of Changsun Song, was named Sikong.Then, he issued an imperial edict, arguing that the enemy had been eliminated, and the country should shift its focus to cultural construction, and conferred the titles of Dr. Zhongshu to Lu Xuan, Cui Chuo, Gao Yun and others who were famous northerners at that time.
After the Xia Kingdom was destroyed, the west of the Northern Wei Dynasty had extended to the south of Liangzhou, bordering on the northern Liang of Juqu Mengxun on the west of the Yellow River. The neighbors turned against each other, and the two sides sent envoys to each other. Northern Liang declared itself a vassal to the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the Northern Wei Dynasty made Juqu Mengxun the king of Liang.
Tuyuhun in the southwest has been aloof from the chaos in the north for more than a hundred years, and spent most of the time as a bystander.In fact, this force has a deep connection with the Tuoba clan. They are offshoots of Murong Xianbei.As a concubine, Tuyuhun was discriminated against and suppressed everywhere, and finally had a conflict over the issue of the ranch horses, and had a dispute with his descendant, Yu Murongxin.In a fit of anger, Tuyuhun led his troops to move westward, trekking long distances, over the Yin Mountains, and arrived on the plateaus of today's Longxi and Qinghai.Later, Murongxin felt a little regretful, and sent someone to chase after his elder brother, but he finally failed to recover. There was once a song "Agan Song" ("Agan" in Xianbei means elder brother) in Gansu, which was said to be sung by Murongxin in memory of Tuyuhun. :
The Tuyuhun tribe grew out of water and grass, and continued to expand the scope of activities. After several generations of inheritance, it became stronger in the early fifth century AD, and conflicted with the Western Qin Dynasty in the east.After the fall of the Western Qin Dynasty, they confronted Xia Guo, who was on his last breath, and defeated the last cavalry of the Tiefu people in one fell swoop.Mu Gui, the leader of Tuyuhun, handed over the captive Helian Ding to the Northern Wei Dynasty. At the same time, he asked Tuoba Tao for land and property. The core point was to occupy the old place of the Western Qin State.Naturally, the Northern Wei Dynasty would not agree easily, but in name only named Mu Gui the King of Western Qin, ignoring his further needs.From then on, Tuyuhun was not very keen on making good friends with the Northern Wei Dynasty, but switched between Wei and Song, seeking benefits from both sides and surviving in the cracks.
Also living in the cracks is the Qiuchi Kingdom established by the Yang family of the Di tribe.There were two Qiuchi countries in history. The former Qiuchi was eliminated during the unification of the north by Fu Jian in the former Qin Dynasty. The later Qiuchi, like the Northern Wei Dynasty, was revived by the Yang family after the Feishui War. .Houqiuchi only kept Wudu and a corner of Yinping, and claimed a vassal to the Song State in the Southern Dynasty. Later, it captured Hanzhong County and became a small country in the southwest of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Looking to the north, the old Khan of Rouran just died, and his power loss is too great. He will not be able to invade the south within a few years. The Great Wall of the Northern Wei Dynasty has also been repaired, and the soldiers of the six towns have begun to form. In the Song Kingdom in the south, although Yuan Jia ruled the world to talk about it, the scale is not insignificant. After the first Northern Expedition failed completely, Liu Yilong was busy with internal affairs, and the northern border was fully defended, so this enemy did not need to worry.
Therefore, Tuoba Tao aimed his spearhead at the "Haiyi" Beiyan in the east. This area is a small "historical problem" left over from his grandfather Tuobagui's crusade against Houyan more than 30 years ago. .
Beiyan has been a cramped and small country since its establishment. When Feng Ba was in power, he set out to ease the contradictions between Xianbei people and Han people, and established alliances with countries such as Southern Dynasty and Rouran, so it was not wiped out all at once.His younger brother Feng Hong came to power by mutiny, and his foundation was unstable at the beginning. The Northern Wei Dynasty attacked it in the first year of Yanhe (AD 432), and six counties in Liaodong surrendered to the Northern Wei Dynasty at the same time.The Northern Wei Dynasty attacked Beiyan for several consecutive years. Feng Hong's strategy was "the turtle does not show its head" - stick to the city.
At the critical moment of life and death, Feng Hong's mind is still on his own housework.He doted on his concubine, the Murong family, and abolished the first wife, the Wang family, and even the eldest son Feng Chong, and replaced Murong's son Feng Wangren as the eldest son. Beiyan's internal affairs were messed up by him.Feng Chong followed the advice of his younger brothers Feng Lang and Feng Miao, and defected to the Northern Wei Dynasty together.
Feng Hong couldn't bear the strength of the Northern Wei Dynasty, so he had to take the initiative to send his youngest daughter to Tuoba Tao's harem, and pleaded guilty to the Northern Wei Dynasty to proclaim himself a vassal.Tuobatao said: "It's fine to call yourself a vassal, but you have to send me the son (that is, the son who is equivalent to the status of a hostage)." Feng Hong insisted on refusing.Minister Liu Xun persuaded him: "Although we intermarried with the Northern Wei Dynasty, we can't show our sincerity if we don't send servants. If the Northern Wei Dynasty aggressively attacks, how can we defeat the enemy? Can the state of Jin be stronger than the state of Wei today? Can our state of Yan be stronger than Wu and Shu in the past? The current plan is to send servants honestly, and then rest internal affairs, help the poor, and persuade If we teach farming and mulberry, the country may still be preserved." Although Liu Xun's views were pedantic, they were also a helpless choice under the circumstances at that time.Feng Hong regarded his beloved son as more important than the political power and state, and was furious on the spot, killing Liu Xun, never mentioning the matter of sending his servant.
Feng Hong couldn't sleep day and night, and it seemed impossible to become a local emperor. The Song State was called a vassal, but it was far enough away. It was better to go to his traditional vassal state, Goryeo, and wait for changes later.Thinking of this, he sent Shangshu Yangyi to Korea to ask for help.
In the second year of Taiyan in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 436), Feng Hong's envoy suddenly paid tribute to the Northern Wei Dynasty and asked to send his servant.Tuoba Tao said in his heart, you are playing tricks on me, I have repeatedly asked you to give it away, but if you don't give it up, now you have changed your mind for no reason, there must be fraud in it.On the one hand, he sent people to Goryeo to prevent the king of Goryeo from taking Feng Hong in. On the other hand, he sent generals Eqing and Gu Bi to lead 10,000 elite cavalry to join forces with the Liaoxi Army of Pingzhou governor Tuobaying to attack Beiyan.
The Wei army triumphed all the way to the city of Helong (now Chaoyang, Liaoning), the capital of Northern Yan.Yang Yi led tens of thousands of reinforcements from Goryeo, and they just arrived at the east of Helong City.In desperation, Feng Hong was overjoyed to see the rescuers, and ordered the entire city's soldiers and civilians to follow Yang Yi and others to Korea.There are many Xianbei nobles in Helong City, who have lived here for a long time since Murong Yan was founded, and are unwilling to move.There was internal strife in the city, and Shangshu ordered Guo Sheng to take advantage of public grievances to decide to lead his troops to join the enemy and open the city gate to welcome the Wei army.
Guo Sheng is a fool. Since he sincerely surrendered, he didn't send anyone to contact the Wei army's camp. He opened the city gate for no reason.E Qing, Gu Bi and others didn't believe it, and no one from the Wei army entered the city.Guo Sheng was in a hurry, so he had to turn his head to attack Feng Hong. Feng Hong ordered the Koryo soldiers to enter the city and shot Guo Sheng to death with random arrows.Helongcheng was plundered by Goryeo soldiers, and it was a mess and a mess.Feng Hong set fire to the palace and moved the city eastward.Northern Yan perished, and Youzhou and Pingzhou entered the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Tuoba Tao originally intended to conquer the "disobedient" Goryeo, but suffered from high mountains and dangerous roads, and was located in a remote place, making it difficult to send troops for a while.The following year, King Gaoli couldn't bear the arrogant and domineering Feng Hong, so he killed him. No further incidents occurred, and the plan of the Northern Wei Dynasty to continue the Eastern Expedition was temporarily abandoned.The Feng family's Northern Yan ended here, and the Feng family would still play a pivotal role in the political arena of the Northern Wei Dynasty decades later.