Battle of Baisi

After the disastrous Battle of Canhe Slope in 395, the Emperor of Later Yan, Murong Chui, launched another punitive expedition against the Northern Wei in April 396. Despite early success, he died of natural causes during the campaign in June, prompting the Yan army to withdraw.^[1] That same month at the Yan capital, Zhongshan (中山, in modern Baoding, Hebei), his crown prince, Murong Bao was ascended the throne, but his rule quickly proved unpopular among his subjects; he began a succession crisis by giving the role of crown prince to his younger son rather than his eldest son, Murong Hui, and his attempt at rectifying the household registry was negatively received by the nobility and common people.^[2]

In the following months, Murong Bao's brother, Murong Nong was transferred to guard Bing province. The region was suffering from a famine, as the grain stores were short on supply and there was a severe winter drought. Nong also had the various tribes in Bing placed under the command of his own generals, further deepening the resentment of the local populace towards the Yan administration. Thus, they secretly invited the Northern Wei to claim their territory.^[3]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

On 16 October, the Emperor of Wei, Tuoba Gui set out from Mayi (馬邑; in present-day Shuozhou, Shanxi) and crossed Gouzhu (句注, northwest of present-day Dai County, Shanxi) with 400,000 soldiers to conquer Bing. He also sent a force through Jundu (軍都; southwest of modern day Changping, Beijing) to carry out a surprise attack on You province. On 4 November, Tuoba Gui arrived at Yangqu and proceeded to the provincial capital, Jinyang. The Wei army surrounded the city, and when Murong Nong sallied out to fight them, he was greatly routed. Nong was then locked out of his city by his general and forced to flee to Zhongshan. Within the span of two days, Tuoba Gui had conquered the whole province.^[4]

When Murong Bao heard that Tuoba Gui was approaching, he held a council in his court to discuss strategy. After listening to their suggestions, he decided to gather all his grain and hole up his forces in Zhongshan, hoping that the Wei army would eventually withdraw as they overstretch their supply lines.^[5] Murong Nong was sent out to camp at Anxi (安喜; east of present-day Dingzhou, Hebei), while another brother, Murong Lin was placed in charge of all military affairs.

On 1 December, Tuoba Gui marched from Jingxing towards Zhongshan, with 50,000 cavalry leading the vanguard. He conquered Changshan along the way, and from there, he marched eastwards and received the submissions of other Yan commanderies and counties. On the Central Plain, only the cities of Zhongshan, Ye and Xindu remained under Yan control. Tuoba Gui led his forces to Zhongshan while sending his cousin, Tuoba Yi with 50,000 cavalry to attack Ye and his generals, Wang Jian and Li Li to attack Xindu.^[1]

On 3 January 397, Tuoba Gui's army arrived at Zhongshan, and the next day, they attacked the city. However, they suffered heavy losses while fighting the Yan general Murong Long and stopped their assault. Reconsidering his strategy, Tuoba Gui decided to march south to Lukou and concentrate his effort on Ye and Xindu.^[6] In the north, a Wei detachment attempted to capture Ji from Yan but was defeated and withdrew to Yuyang.^[7]

At Ye, the defenders led by Murong De defeated the Wei army sent to attack them and forced them back to Xincheng (新城; in present-day Handan, Hebei). Tuoba Yi received reinforcements from Tuoba Gui's uncle, He Lailu, who brought with him 20,000 cavalry while Murong De fortified his city and requested the Later Qin for aid, though none would come. There was animosity between He Lailu and Tuoba Yi, as the former felt that he should not be receiving orders from the Tuoba. Meanwhile, Yi's marshal, Ding Jian (丁建), was secretly in contact with Murong De and fired an arrow with a letter into Ye revealing the situation in the Wei camps. On a hazy day on 18 February, a fire broke out in Lailu's camp, and Ding Jian convinced Yi that a mutiny had broken out. Yi withdrew, and Lailu followed suit. Ding Jian then surrendered to Murong De and informed him about their withdrawal. De sent out his generals with 7,000 to pursue them, and the Wei army was greatly routed.^[8]

Wang Jian also struggled at Xindu; after 60 days of siege, he was unable to capture the city, with many of his soldiers and officers dying in battle. On 6 March, Tuoba Gui personally went over with his army and captured it on 9 March. When Murong Bao heard that Tuoba Gui had gone to Xindu, he decided to march out with his army, camping at Shenze County and recruiting the local bandit groups for battle.^[9]

Back in Wei territory, a rebellion broke out led by Chouti (醜提), whose uncle, Meigen (沒根) had earlier defected to Yan. On 15 March, Tuoba Gui went to Yangcheng (楊城; in present-day Yi County, Hebei), where he sent an envoy to Murong Bao negotiating peace so that he could return and deal with the rebellion. Murong Bao rejected his offer; instead, he brought 120,000 infantry and 37,000 cavalry at Baisi (柏肆) in Quyang county, setting camp north of the Hutuo river to intercept Tuoba Gui. On 23 March, the Wei army arrived and encamped south of the river.^[5]

That night, Murong Bao secretly crossed the river with his soldiers and recruited 10,000 volunteers. These volunteers, led by Murong Long carried out a surprise attack on the Wei encampment while Bao waited in the north to support them. The attackers took advantage of the wind and set fire to the camps, sending the Wei army into panic and Tuoba Gui fleeing barefooted out of his camp. When the Yan soldiers searched his tent, they only found his clothes and boots.^[10][11]

However, for unknown reasons, the volunteers suddenly began attacking each other amidst the chaos. When Tuoba Gui saw what was unfolding, he beat the drums and regrouped his forces by handing out torches to his soldiers. In an unorthodox formation, his cavalry charged into the camps and greatly routed the attackers. The survivors fled to Murong Bao, who then crossed north of the Hutuo.^[12]

On 24 March, Tuoba Gui reorganized his entire army and maintained a stalemate with the Yan army. With morale sapping, Murong Bao decided to withdraw back to Zhongshan, but as he did, the Wei army chased after them and defeated them several times. He abandoned his main army and fled to Zhongshan with only 20,000 cavalry. The weather at the time was abnormally cold, and many of the Yan soldiers froze to death in their retreat. Fearing that the Wei army would catch up with them, they also abandoned a large amount of the military supplies and weapons. Many Yan ministers and generals were either captured or surrendered to Tuoba Gui.^[5]