HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Wei Xiaokuan (韋孝寬) (509 – 17 December 580''dingwei'' day of the 11th month of the 2nd year of the ''Daxiang'' era, per Emperor Jing's biography in ''Book of Zhou''. Wei Xiaokuan's biography in ''Book of Zhou'' indicated that he was 72 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 509.), formal personal name Wei Shuyu (韋叔裕) (but went by the
courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobal ...
of Xiaokuan), known by the
Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...
name Yuwen Xiaokuan (宇文孝寬) during late
Western Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the wester ...
and
Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty an ...
, formally Duke Xiang of Xun (勛襄公), was a general of the Xianbei-led Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties of China. He first became a prominent general during Western Wei as he defended the fortress of Yubi (玉壁, in modern
Yuncheng, Shanxi Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaa ...
) against a vastly larger army commanded by rival
Eastern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty. One of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period, the Eastern We ...
's paramount general
Gao Huan Gao Huan () (496 – 13 February 547), Xianbei name Heliuhun (賀六渾), formally Prince Xianwu of Qi (齊獻武王), later further formally honored by Northern Qi initially as Emperor Xianwu (獻武皇帝), then as Emperor Shenwu (神武皇帝 ...
, and he eventually contributed greatly to the destruction of Eastern Wei's successor state
Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...
by Northern Zhou. His final campaign, in 580, saw him siding with the
regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
Yang Jian against the general
Yuchi Jiong Yuchi Jiong (尉遲迥) (died 11 September 580''gengwu'' day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the ''Daxiang'' era, per Emperor Jing's biography in ''Book of Zhou''), courtesy name Bojuluo (薄居羅), was a general of the Xianbei-led Western We ...
in Northern Zhou's civil war, allowing Yang to defeat Yuchi and (after Wei's death) take over the throne as
Sui Dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and la ...
's Emperor Wen. More so than other prominent generals at the time, Wei was known for using atypical strategies in both offense and defense, including extensive use of espionage and forgeries to undermine the morale of opposing forces.


During Northern Wei

Wei Xiaokuan was born in 509, during Western Wei's predecessor
Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during ...
(which Western Wei and its rival
Eastern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty. One of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period, the Eastern We ...
were divided from) -- specifically, during the reign of
Emperor Xuanwu Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei (May or June 483 – February 12, 515) was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Wei dynasty (499-515). He was born Tuoba Ke, but later changed his surname so that he became Yuan Ke. During Xuanwu's reign, N ...
. His clan was a prominent one in the Sanfu (三輔, greater
Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...
) region, and both his grandfather Wei Zhenxi (韋真憙) and father Wei Xu (韋旭) were commandery governors during Northern Wei. In Wei Xiaokuan's youth, he was described to be studious and calm. When the general
Xiao Baoyin Xiao Baoyin () (487–530), courtesy name Zhiliang (智亮), was an imperial prince of the Chinese Southern Qi dynasty. In 502, as Southern Qi was on the edge of being taken over by the general Xiao Yan, who was preparing by killing the imperial p ...
rebelled in 527 and seized the Chang'an region, he was at the capital
Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Na ...
, and he volunteered to serve in the army against Xiao. He served as an officer under Zhangxun Chengye (長孫承業) the Duke of Fengyi and contributed to the army's success, and he was given a post as a teacher at the national university in Luoyang, and then an acting commandery governor. He later served under the prominent official Yang Kan (楊侃), guarding the Tong Pass, when Yang, impressed by him, gave a daughter to him in marriage. Wei became a general during the reign of Emperor Xiaozhuang (528-530) and was created the Baron of Shanbei. During the subsequent reign of Emperor Jiemin (531-532), he served under the official Yuan Zigong (源子恭), the governor of
Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Emper ...
(荊州, modern southern Henan) as a commandery governor. It was at this time he became friends with fellow general
Dugu Xin Dugu Xin ( Chinese: 獨孤信; 503 – 24 April 557), Xianbei name Qimitou (期彌頭), known as Dugu Ruyuan (獨孤如願) before 540, was a prominent general and official during the chaotic Northern and Southern dynasties period of imperial Ch ...
, who was also a commandery governor in Jing Province. In the subsequent reign of Emperor Xiaowu (532-535), Wei was given the task of defending Jing Province, although he was not then governor. Subsequently, when Emperor Xiaowu, seeking to evade the influence of the paramount general
Gao Huan Gao Huan () (496 – 13 February 547), Xianbei name Heliuhun (賀六渾), formally Prince Xianwu of Qi (齊獻武王), later further formally honored by Northern Qi initially as Emperor Xianwu (獻武皇帝), then as Emperor Shenwu (神武皇帝 ...
, fled west to Chang'an, then controlled by
Yuwen Tai Yuwen Tai () (505 – 21 November 556According to Yuwen Tai's biography in ''Book of Zhou'', he died aged 52 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''yihai'' day of the 10th month of the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Gong of Western Wei. This corr ...
, in 534, the empire became divided into Western Wei (with Emperor Xiaowu as emperor) and Eastern Wei (with
Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei ((東)魏孝靜帝) (524 – 21 January 552), personal name Yuan Shanjian (元善見), was the only emperor of the Eastern Wei – a branch successor state to Northern Wei. In 534 Emperor Xiaowu had fled the capital ...
, whom Gao declared emperor, as emperor). It is unclear when or how, but Wei eventually joined the Western Wei regime in Chang'an, but it is not clear whether that happened before or after Emperor Xiaowu's death (probably by Yuwen's orders) in 535 and replacement by his cousin Emperor Wen of Western Wei.


During Western Wei

In 538, during a major campaign between Western Wei and Eastern Wei, Wei Xiaokuan accompanied Emperor Wen, and he was made the governor of Hongnong Commandery (弘農, roughly modern
Sanmenxia Sanmenxia (; postal: Sanmenhsia) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Henan Province, China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Henan, Sanmenxia borders Luoyang to the east, Nanyang to the southeast, Shaanxi Province to the west and ...
, Henan). He subsequently entered Luoyang (which Western Wei temporarily captured) with Dugu Xin, and for some time tried to defend the city, but eventually they were forced to withdrew from the vicinity of Luoyang. As Wei was then stationed on the borders with Eastern Wei, he became concerned that the Eastern Wei general Niu Daoheng (牛道恆) was capable at drawing the common people of the border region to join Eastern Wei's cause. Wei employed a tactic that he would reuse later—first sending spies to steal samples of Niu's handwriting, and then employing forgers to forge letters purportedly from Niu to Wei offering to defect to Western Wei. He then intentionally allowed spies sent by Niu's superior Duan Chen (段琛) to steal the forgeries, causing Duan to suspect Niu's loyalty and begin to refuse to follow Niu's suggestions. Once Wei was sure of the dissension within the Eastern Wei forces, he made a surprise attack and captured both Duan and Niu, taking the locale for Western Wei. In 539, Emperor Wen promoted Wei's title from baron to marquess. In 542, Wei was made the governor of Jin Province (晉州, roughly modern
Linfen Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976,4 ...
,
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level ...
), and by the recommendation of the prominent general Wang Sizheng (王思政), was given by Yuwen Tai the responsibility of defending the important fort of Yubi (玉壁, in modern
Yuncheng, Shanxi Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaa ...
), which Wang himself had defended earlier. He managed to pacify the province against raids by the ethnic
Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 ...
tribesmen in the area. In 546, Gao Huan launched a major attack on Western Wei, and as Yubi was an important fort on his path, he put it under siege. He built earthworks to surround the city, hoping to be able to breach Yubi's defenses on top of the walls, but Wei managed to build on top of the towers on top of the walls, always maintaining a higher vantage point than the earthworks and therefore stopping the Eastern Wei attack. Gao then tried digging tunnels below the walls, but Wei was able to anticipate this and dig tunnels himself to connect with Eastern Wei's tunnels, and then setting fires within the tunnels, burning the Eastern Wei soldiers to death. He further set fires to the Eastern Wei army's battering rams, and for every offensive strategy Gao was able to think of, Wei was able to counter it. Gao had his secretary Zu Ting write a letter to Wei, urging him to surrender, but Wei refused. Gao was unable to capture the fort after 60 days of siege, and he grew angry and ill and was forced to withdraw. For Wei's contributions, he was created the Duke of Jianzhong. In 553, during the reign of Emperor Wen's son Emperor Fei, Wei was made the governor of the capital region, Yong Province (雍州, roughly modern Xi'an,
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningx ...
). In 554, Wei participated in the campaign commanded by Yu Jin (于謹) against
Liang Dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...
, which eventually captured its capital Jiangling and its emperor Emperor Yuan. (Western Wei eventually put the Liang emperor to death around the new year 555.) After this campaign, Wei's title was changed to Duke of Rang, and as at the time, Yuwen Tai was choosing prominent
Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
generals to have their names changed to
Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...
names, Wei's name was changed to Yuwen, probably as a sign of respect and endearment on Yuwen Tai's part. In 556, when Yuwen Tai was carrying out a tour of the northern provinces, he returned Wei to the responsibility of defending Yubi.


During Emperors Xiaomin and Ming's reigns

Yuwen Tai died later in 556, leaving his son and heir Yuwen Jue under the guardianship of his nephew
Yuwen Hu Yuwen Hu (宇文護) (513 – 14 April 572), courtesy name Sabao (薩保, also a title, which can be traced back to ''sartpāw “caravan leader”'', but was used as given name, in many cases by Buddhists - referring to the metaphorical meaning of ...
. Around the new year 557, Yuwen Hu forced Emperor Gong of Western Wei to yield the throne to Yuwen Jue, ending Western Wei and founding
Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty an ...
, with Yuwen Jue taking the throne as Emperor Xiaomin, but with the alternative title of "Heavenly Prince" (''
Tian Wang Heavenly King or Tian Wang () is a Chinese title for various religious deities and divine leaders throughout history, as well as an alternate form of the term ''Son of Heaven'', referring to the emperor. The Chinese term for Heavenly King consist ...
''). Wei was made the deputy minister of the interior. After Yuwen Hu removed and killed Emperor Xiaomin later in 557 and replaced him with another son of Yuwen Tai, Yuwen Yu the Duke of Ningdu (as Emperor Ming), Wei took on the additional responsibility as an imperial researcher. (It might have been the case that this was Yuwen Hu's way of removing Wei from a military command without dishonoring him, for Wei's great friend Dugu Xin opposed Yuwen Hu and, in 557, was forced to commit suicide on account of that opposition.) In 560, Yuwen Hu poisoned Emperor Ming to death, and Emperor Ming's brother Yuwen Yong the Duke of Lu became emperor (as Emperor Wu).


During Emperor Wu's reign

In 561, in recognition of Wei's great victory at Yubi previously, Yubi and the surrounding area was made into Xun Province (勳州 -- "Xun" meaning "achievement"), and Wei was made its governor. During this tenure, Wei was said to be gracious to the people of the province while continuing to effectively employ a network of spies. For example, when his officer Xu Pen (許盆) defected to Northern Qi, Wei sent spies after him, and was quickly able to have him killed. Around this time, Xun Province continued to be plagued by raids by the ethnic Xiongnu who, while not submitting to either Northern Zhou or Northern Qi, were based within Northern Qi territory and cut off river traffic on the Fen River (汾水, flowing through modern Linfen). In order to cut off the route of their raids, Wei sent his officer Yao Yue (姚岳) to build a fort near the Fen River. Yao initially was fearful that as his troops were building the fort that Northern Qi would launch an attack against him, but Wei warded off Northern Qi attacks by setting up bonfires in the surrounding hills, making Northern Qi forces believe that Yao was being reinforced by a large army, and therefore did not attack Yao, allowing Yao to complete the fort. In 564, Wei helped negotiate an agreement where Northern Qi returned Yuwen Tai's sister and sister-in-law (Yuwen Hu's mother) to Northern Zhou in exchange for peace. When, late in 564, Yuwen Hu nevertheless was preparing to launch an attack on Northern Qi (in order to placate the northern ally Tujue, Wei sent his secretary Xin Daoxian (辛道憲) to try to dissuade Yuwen Hu, but Yuwen Hu nevertheless launched the attack, which was unsuccessful. In 570, the two states were stalemated while fighting for the control of the city of Yiyang (宜陽, in modern Luoyang). Wei, believing that Yiyang was not worth the effort and instead was apprehensive that Northern Qi would encroach on territory north of the Fen River, sent a proposal to Yuwen Hu to build forts north of the Fen River to guard the territory. Yuwen Hu, however, responded, "While Duke Wei has many descendants, they do not yet number a hundred. Who will be able to guard those forts?" Thereafter, the forts were not built. Later in 570, Wei's title was promoted to Duke of Xun. That winter, as forewarned by Wei, the Northern Qi general Hulü Guang encroached on Northern Zhou territory north of the Fen River and built forts there, seizing substantial territory. Wei personally met Hulü on the border to try to dissuade him from the campaign, but Hulü did not relent. The armies stalemated after Yuwen Hu sent reinforcements commanded by Emperor Wu's brother Yuwen Xian the Duke of Qi, but territory was already lost. By 572, however, Hulü was in conflict with the powerful officials Zu Ting and Mu Tipo, both of whom were trusted by the Northern Qi emperor Gao Wei. Wei, hearing this, wanted to create further suspicions in Gao Wei's mind against Hulü, and he decided to try to create a sense that Hulü would rebel. He wrote two songs in couplets, one of which read: :''A hundred ''sheng'' 升, a measurement unit -- and 100 ''sheng'' made up one ''hu'' (斛))will fly up to the heavens,'' :''A bright moon [(明月, ''mingyue'', Hulü's
courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobal ...
)] will shine over Chang'an.'' The other read: :''The high [(高, ''gao'')] mountain will collapse on its own,'' :''The daimyo oak [(槲, ''hu'')] will stand straight on its own.'' He sent spies to spread the songs near Northern Qi's capital Yecheng, and the songs soon became popular. Zu, exploiting the situation himself, added two more lines: :''The blind man will bear a great axe,'' :''The talkative woman will be unable to speak.'' Both Zu, who was blind, and Mu's mother Lu Lingxuan (Gao Wei's
wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...
and presumably the "talkative woman") both discussed the songs with Gao Wei, and Gao Wei, his suspicions having been aroused, eventually agreed to have Hulü put to death, greatly weakening the Northern Qi military efforts. After Hulü's death, Emperor Wu (who had ambushed and killed Yuwen Hu earlier that year and assumed power himself) became particularly ambitious at conquering Northern Qi, and seeing this, Wei submitted three strategies for conquering Northern Qi to Emperor Wu. Also around this time, on account of his old age, Wei repeatedly made offers to resign and retire, but Emperor Wu repeatedly responded with edicts of kind words requesting him to stay. In 576, when Emperor Wu launched a major attack on Northern Qi, he visited Yubi and praised Wei for his defense of the fort. Wei offered to be the forward commander for the attack, but Emperor Wu declined on reason that he needed Wei to defend Yubi still. However, he sent Wei to assist his brother Yuwen Zhao (宇文招) the Prince of Zhao in a secondary campaign near Yubi. After Emperor Wu conquered Northern Qi in 577, he returned to Yubi and took Wei back to the capital Chang'an with him, promoting Wei to the post of minister of agriculture. Subsequently, however, Emperor Wu made Wei the governor of Yan Province (延州, roughly modern
Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Ba ...
,
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningx ...
), in charge of the surrounding provinces.


During Emperors Xuan and Jing's reigns

Emperor Wu died in 578, and his son Yuwen Yun the
Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
succeeded him (as Emperor Xuan). In 579, Emperor Xuan passed the throne to his young son Yuwen Chan the Crown Prince (as Emperor Jing), although he held onto power as retired emperor (with the atypical title of "Emperor Tianyuan" (天元皇帝, ''Tianyuan Huangdi''). Later that year, Emperor Xuan made Wei Xiaokuan in charge of Xu Province (徐州, roughly modern
Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
,
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ...
) and the surrounding provinces, and Wei subsequently participated in the campaign against rival Chen Dynasty that allowed Northern Zhou to seize the region between the
Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...
and
Huai River The Huai River (), formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to east. ...
from Chen. Wei's contribution was in capturing the important city of
Shouyang Shouyang County () is a county in the east-central part of Shanxi province, China. It is under the administration of Jinzhong Jinzhong, formerly Yuci, is a prefecture-level city in east central Shanxi province of the People's Republic of ...
, and when Emperor Xuan's cousin Yuwen Liang (宇文亮) the Duke of Qi, angry and fearful that Emperor Xuan had recently raped his daughter-in-law Yuchi Chifan, tried to ambush Wei to seize his troops to further act against Emperor Xuan, Wei defeated Yuwen Liang. For these achievements, one of Wei's sons was created the Duke of Hua. In 580, Emperor Xuan died, and Emperor Xuan's father-in-law Yang Jian the Duke of Sui—the son-in-law of Wei's great friend Dugu Xin—became
regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
. Yang, suspicious that the general
Yuchi Jiong Yuchi Jiong (尉遲迥) (died 11 September 580''gengwu'' day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the ''Daxiang'' era, per Emperor Jing's biography in ''Book of Zhou''), courtesy name Bojuluo (薄居羅), was a general of the Xianbei-led Western We ...
(Yuchi Chifan's grandfather), in charge of Xiang Province (相州, roughly modern
Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...
,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
) and the surrounding regions, tried to replace Yuchi with Wei. Yuchi, however, was suspicious that Yang was intending to usurp the throne, decided to rise against Yang. When Wei approached Xiang Province, he realized this, and he pretended to be ill, and instead tried to flee to Luoyang—on the way, leaving instruction to each post to give feasts to Yuchi's soldiers if they gave chase. Yuchi indeed sent soldiers after Wei, but the soldiers were slowed by the feasts given to them, and were not able to track Wei down. Once Wei reached Luoyang, he carefully guarded the city, and although the ethnically Xianbei soldiers in the city considered rising in support of Yuchi, they ultimately did not do so. Yang then put Wei in charge of the army against Yuchi. He first defeated Yuchi's general Xue Gongli (薛公禮), who was attacking Huai Province (懷州, roughly modern
Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the Nation ...
, Henan), and then crossed the
Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
north. He defeated Yuchi's son Yuchi Dun (尉遲惇) near Yuchi's headquarters at Yecheng and then put Yecheng under siege. The city soon fell, and Yuchi Jiong committed suicide. Wei slaughtered the core troops that remained loyal to Yuchi to the end. Wei returned to Chang'an victoriously, and died in December that year.


References

* ''
Book of Zhou The ''Book of Zhou'' (''Zhōu Shū'') records the official history of the Xianbei-led Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties of China, and ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. Compiled by the Tang dynasty historian ...
'', vol. 3

* ''
History of Northern Dynasties The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618, the histories of Northern Wei, Western We ...
'', vol. 6

* ''
Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dyna ...
'', vols. 157, 158, 159, 168,
169 Year 169 ( CLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Apollinaris (or, less frequently, year 922 ''Ab urbe co ...
, 170, 171, 172,
173 Year 173 ( CLXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Pompeianus (or, less frequently, year 926 ''Ab urbe c ...
, 174. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, Xiaokuan Northern Wei generals Northern Zhou generals 509 births 580 deaths Wei clan of Jingzhao