At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the nomadic forces in the north could be divided into three major forces: the Xiongnu, Wuhuan and Xianbei. Let's learn about the history and strength of Xianbei together.
Tanshi Huai, a brave and resourceful Xianbei leader, grew up in his maternal grandfather's house since he was a child. At the age of fourteen, he rode alone to pursue the tribe that had stolen his grandfather's cattle and sheep, and was invincible, chasing them all back, and since then he has won the awe and trust of the tribe.
Tanshi Huai is not only brave, but also good at handling tribal affairs, fair and upright, convincing people with the law, and his prestige continues to increase, and he was finally elected as the leader of the tribe. He led the Xianbei tribes, attacked from all sides, resisted Ding Ling, repelled Fuyu, attacked Wusun, successfully occupied the territory of the Xiongnu, and became the king of the Mongolian Plateau.
After Tanshihuai unified the Mongolian Plateau, his soldiers were strong and strong, and he set his sights on the Eastern Han Dynasty in the south. In the autumn of 156 AD, Tanshi Huai led thousands of iron horsemen to invade Yunzhong, opening the prelude to the war with the Eastern Han Dynasty.
In the face of Xianbei's attack, the imperial court sent Zhang Huan, one of the three Mings of Liangzhou, to serve as the general of Duliao, stationed in Manbai, to deal with the affairs of Xianbei and Wuhuan. It only took Zhang Huan a few years, and there was no more war between the two states.
Zhang Huan's abilities and exploits have been much underestimated in history. It can be said that he single-handedly shocked the Xianbei people who were on the rise. In the spring of 166 A.D., the imperial court saw that northern Xinjiang was stable, so it transferred Zhang Huan to be one of the nine secretaries of the Great Si Nong, in charge of the country's economy.
However, when Xianbei heard the news of Zhang Huan's transfer, he immediately colluded with the Southern Xiongnu and Wuhuan to invade the Eastern Han Dynasty, and attacked Youzhou and the two states. At the same time, Xianbei also united with Dongqiang, Shenyi, Xianling and other groups to attack Zhangye and Jiuquan, and the northern border areas suffered greatly.
Zhang Huan: Xianbei's fear Zhang Huan's position as the general of the Huns is actually the military power of the entire northern Xinjiang. However, Zhang Huan did not become complacent because of this, but succeeded in getting 200,000 Xiongnu and Wuhuan people to surrender with a policy of appeasement.
However, Zhang Huan's outstanding performance has not been recognized as it should be. On the contrary, he was deceived by the eunuch clique and was involved in a palace coup, which led to the overall collapse of the scholar clique.
Zhang Huan was deeply distressed by this, hated to be deceived by the eunuchs, and went to justice for Dou Wu and others, and was framed for forming a party for personal gain. Although Zhang Huan was forced to return to his hometown without official duties, he was not depressed because of this.
On the contrary, he continued to teach and write, and did not publish again. His departure caused the Xianbei people to lose the people they feared the most, and they took the opportunity to strengthen their power. At this time, Tanshi Huai took a major move that affected history, dividing the jurisdiction into three parts: Eastern Xianbei, Central Xianbei and Western Xianbei.
This move had a profound impact on the future development of Xianbei and on the frontier of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The Xianbei tribe in the east was divided into three parts under the jurisdiction of Tanshi Huai, namely the Duan clan, the Murong clan, and the Yuwen clan. The central Xianbei is composed of two parts, Tuoba and Bald, while the western Xianbei includes the undulating Xianbei.
In addition, the Tuyuhun Xianbei tribe was also affected by the Tuboization. Although the Central Theater is small, its strategic location is very important, and it is close to one of the two major powers, Wuhuan and Xiongnu.
After Emperor Ling succeeded to the throne, the Xianbei people, who had completed the internal integration, began to frequently invade Youzhou, Bingzhou and Liangzhou. The imperial court was worried about Xianbei's long-term encroachment, and decided to crown Tanshihuai as king and make peace with him in order to curb his ambitions.
However, Tanshihuai refused to accept the proposal of the king and his relatives, and further intensified the invasion and plundering of the fortresses on the edge of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The enraged Emperor Ling launched the Northern Expedition in August 177, sending Xia Yu, the captain of Karasuma, Tian Yan, the general of Yunzhong, and Zang Min, the general of the Xiongnu Zhonglang of Yanmen, to lead the cavalry out of the fortress respectively, planning to advance more than 2,000 li.
Tan Shihuai ordered the leaders of the three parts to lead their troops to meet the battle. Xia Yu and the others were defeated, and even the runes and baggage were lost, so they could only lead dozens of cavalry to flee for their lives. From then on, all the counties north of Yanmen were occupied by Xianbei, and Tuoba Xianbei established the Northern Wei Dynasty with Pingcheng as the center.
Fortunately for the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Qiang Rebellion, which lasted for a hundred years, had been completely quelled, and although Tanshihuai was powerful, he did not create a ruling system suitable for Xianbei, such as the Khitan north-south system, the Mongol Qianhu system, and the Jurchen Eight Banners system.
After the death of Tanshi Huai, the Xianbei alliance quickly collapsed, and it became many branches that did not belong to each other, but became his Donghu brother Wuhuan who threatened the Han land.