Although Tuoba Si, the Ming Emperor of Northern Wei, was not very famous among the many emperors of Northern Wei, he was both literate and martial, and he ruled the country well during his reign, which made Northern Wei transform into a feudal society faster. He inherited the martial arts of his father, the founding emperor Tuoba Jue, and unified the north under his son, Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao. It played a key role in the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Unfortunately, he died young at the age of 32, and Tuoba Si's seven sons all inherited the tradition of good warfare of the steppe nomadic tribes, most of whom had outstanding military achievements and made great contributions to the prosperity of the Northern Wei Dynasty. His seven sons did not have faint and incompetent people, but the emerging king Tuoba Jun liked wine, did not respect the law, and finally plotted to be killed.
Tuoba Tao (408-452), who was intelligent and generous from an early age, was given the title of King of Taiping by his father, appointed xiangguo, was awarded the title of general, and was ordered to supervise state affairs. The following year, his father Tuoba Si died, and Tuoba Tao, who was only 16 years old, ascended the throne as emperor. Tuoba Tao was a rather talented emperor, during his reign he successively destroyed Hu Xia, Northern Yan, and Northern Liang, surrendered the western states of Shanshan, Guizi, and Sogdia, and expelled Tuguhun, Northern Rouran, southern expedition to Liu Song, and finally unified the north, which was the beginning of China's history to end the chaos of the Sixteen Kingdoms and enter the stage of confrontation between the northern and southern dynasties. In terms of governing the country, Tuoba Tao also showed outstanding talent, and during his reign, he formulated the Xianbei script, improved the people's livelihood, reused Han Chen, accelerated the transformation of the Northern Wei Dynasty into a feudal society, and promoted the integration of the northern nomadic peoples and the Han people in the Central Plains. However, at the end of his reign, he was short-tempered and murderous, and at the instigation of the eunuch Zong Ai, he forced the death of the prince Tuoba Huang, and everyone in the government and the public endangered themselves, and the Northern Wei Dynasty collapsed several times. Zong Ai did many evil deeds and was a thief with a weak heart, and he was worried that he would be killed by Tuoba Tao, so in order to protect himself, he first killed Tuoba Tao for strong execution. Tuoba Tao was 45 years old, but he was the longest-lived emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Tuoba Pi (?) -444) was praised for his talent from an early age. Because of his old age, Tuoba Si also loved his talent and temperament very much, and attached great importance to him, and Tai Chang was made the King of Leping for seven years. Tuoba Pi attacked Northern Yan twice with his army, and both had military achievements. After the destruction of Northern Yan, Emperor Feng Hong defected to Goguryeo, and Tuoba Tao ordered Goguryeo to repatriate Feng Hong, but was refused, Tuoba Tao was very angry and ordered to prepare to attack Goguryeo. After Tuoba Pi believed that the war had just ended and had used cultivation to survive, the matter was put to rest under his advice. Later, Tuoba Pi participated in the Northern Expedition as a backup, and in the same year, Northern Liang was destroyed, and Tuoba Pi was ordered to guard Liangzhou with the general He Duoluo of Zhengxi. When Tuoba Tao went out to attack Northern Liang, Liu Jie, who was then a Shangshu Ling, said that his cronies claimed that if Tuoba Si could not return, he would support Tuoba Pi as emperor. He also sent someone to ask Tu Chen, asking Liu Shi if he should rule the world and whether Tu Yu had his name. After the matter was revealed, Liu Jie, together with his co-party Nan Kang Gong Di Lin and Shang Shu Right Cheng Zhang Song, were all yi three tribes, and Tuoba Pi was also convicted of this, and soon died of depression, and gained a vicious vendetta. Tuoba Pi was the second brother of Tuoba Tao, and when he was born in 408, he would not be more than 36 years old.
Takumi (?) –424) After his father Tuoba Si succeeded to the throne, he was made the Prince of Anding, the Great General of Jiawei. In the winter of the same year, the eldest brother Tuoba Tao personally unified the Sixth Army out of the town, and Tuoba Mi and the Beixin Public Security also went together. Unfortunately, only two years later, Takumi died of illness. Tuoba Mi was the third brother of Tuoba Tao, and when he was born after 408, he would not be more than 16 years old.
Tuoba Fan (?) –447) After his father succeeded to the throne, he was made the King of Le'an and a major general in the Canadian Army. After Tuoba Tao succeeded to the throne, he served as a servant, a general of wei, a yongzhou assassin, and a yitong three divisions, and was ordered to guard Chang'an. Because the Sanqin region was plagued by war and chaos, the people were exiled and lost their homes, and during the period of Tuoba Fan's town guard, he appeased and accepted the displaced people, which was praised by the people, and promoted the simple law of governance, resting with the people, so that the Guanzhong area tended to be stable. Later, he became an official in the dynasty, and during his tenure, he sat as a high official, and once accompanied the army to attack Rouran and defeated The Ruoran Khan Wu Ti. When Tuoba Tao went out to attack Northern Liang, Tuoba Fan was a high official in his position, and when Shangshu ordered Liu Jie to plot rebellion, he did not report it. After Tuoba Fan's death, his name was announced. Tuoba Fan is the fourth brother of Tuoba Tao, when born after 408, so he will not exceed 40 years old.
Tuoba Jian (?) ―441) tall, proficient in the art of war, with many military achievements, whose talent was comparable to that of Tuoba Qian, the king of Chen Liuhuan, but far outsmarted him. During Tuoba Tao's reign, Tuoba Jian successively led an army to defeat the Huxia Emperor Helianchang, conquered Northern Yan Jiande and Helong, quelled the rebellion of the Hu people in Xihe, participated in the Northern Expedition of Rouran, drove the enemy away from Wanli, and from then on threatened the desert north. In the process of Northern Wei's elimination of Northern Liang, it also played a decisive role, and its meritorious service ranked first among the generals. After Tuoba Jian's death, he was given the title zhuang. Tuoba Jian was the fifth brother of Tuoba Tao, and when he was born after 408, he would not be more than 33 years old.
Tuoba Chong(?) –453), a seven-year-old Taichang, was made the King of Jianning by his father, a general of the Jiafu State. When Tuoba Tao personally conquered Northern Yan, Tuoba Chong and others were ordered to garrison the south of the desert to prevent Rouran from moving south. When Tuoba Tao personally conquered Northern Liang, Tuoba Chong was again ordered to garrison Rouran south of the desert. Sure enough, The Rouran Khan Wu Ti took advantage of the emptiness of Northern Wei and led his army south, and Tuoba Chong and the generals confronted him in Liuzhen and captured him. Later, Tuoba Chong, together with Shang Shu, ordered Liu Jie to quell Lu Shuihu's rebellion. During Tuoba Tao's Northern Expedition to Rouran, Tuoba Chong, the king of Le'an, each commanded fifteen generals from the host province. Due to Tuoba Chong's outstanding military achievements, during the reign of the Wencheng Emperor Tuoba Li [jùn], he made his son Tuoba Li the King of Jinan. Later, Tuoba Li rebelled with Du Yuanbao (empress dowager of Empress Mingyuanmi) the King of Jingzhao, and Tuoba Chong's father and son were both given death. Tuoba Chong, the sixth brother of Tuoba Tao, was born after 408, so he will not be more than 45 years old.
Coincidentally, one of the sons of Tuoba Qian (tuoba qian, the son of tuoba wang) was also named Tuoba Chong, and was the cousin of Tuoba Chong, the king of Jianning. Tuoba Qian was brave in battle, and repeatedly made battle achievements, and was deeply valued by his cousin and Daowu Emperor Tuoba Jue, but unfortunately he was killed by Murong Chui of Later Yan. After Tuoba Qian's death, he was posthumously honored as the Prince of Chen Liu by Tuoba Jue, and Tuoba Chong's knighthood was attacked. Because of his father's outstanding military achievements, Tuoba Chong's preferential treatment was given by Tuoba Jue, and Tuoba Jue was very suspicious in his later years, and he wantonly slaughtered the secretary of state, and everyone in the government and the public was in danger. Fearing that he would be killed, Tuoba Yi, the King of Wei, escaped on a single horse, and was captured and given to death. Therefore, tuoba clan relatives were even more uneasy, tuoba jue in order to ease the relationship with the clan, ordered the clan princes to feast, everyone was worried about being implicated by king Wei and killed, they fled, only Tuoba Chong went alone. Tuoba Jue was very happy and more fond of him. Because Tuoba Chong's composure and loyalty, Tuoba Tao succeeded to the throne and was also very fond of his cousin. During his tenure as the Governor of The State, Tuoba Chong's political achievements were quite successful. Later, he followed the army to enlist Rouran, made military merits, and after his death, he was given the title of Jing.
This Tuoba Jun (?) –441) was not Tuoba Jun in the TV series Splendid Wei Yang, tai chang seven years, was given the title of King of Xinxing, and was the general of Jiazhendong. Since childhood, he has been good at riding and shooting, and is versatile. Later knighted for his sins, Tuoba Jun, unlike other brothers, liked wine and often violated the law. And his mother, who was given death for her sins and herself demoted, has always harbored resentment, and then has the intention of plotting to usurp the throne. In the second year of the Taiping Zhenjun, Tuoba Jun plotted against the incident and was killed by his brother Tuoba Tao. Tuoba Jun is the seventh brother of Tuoba Tao, when born after 408, so he will not exceed 33 years old.
epilogue
Looking at the life of Tuoba Si's 7 sons, it can be seen that they were the best in the royal families of various countries in the same period, but they also had a relatively short life span, and none of them exceeded 45 years old. There was no major battle between them, but on the contrary, they were able to fight a good war and contribute to the strength and prosperity of the Northern Wei. This is also a major reason why the Northern Wei Dynasty can continue the State Zuo for 148 years, and they can be called the example of the royal family after the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Resources
Book of Wei
Zizhi Tongjian
Spring and Autumn of the Sixteen Kingdoms