The Last Pillar of Northern Qi

In the year 572 CE, during the Wuping era of Northern Qi, a conspiracy unfolded against the dynasty’s most capable general and left chancellor, Prince Xianyang Hulü Guang. A military genius and the son of the renowned general Hulü Jin, Hulü Guang was the backbone of Northern Qi’s defenses. His daughter was the empress, and despite his immense influence, he remained fiercely loyal to the throne.

Yet, ominous folk songs began circulating among the people: “A hundred sheng will fly to the heavens, the bright moon will shine upon Chang’an.” In ancient measurements, a hundred sheng equaled one hu (斛), and “bright moon” (明月) was Hulü Guang’s courtesy name. Another verse warned, “The high mountain will crumble without being pushed, the oak tree will stand without being propped.” The “high mountain” alluded to the ruling Gao family, while the “oak tree” (槲, hu) again pointed to Hulü Guang.

These songs, likely orchestrated by Northern Zhou’s strategist Wei Xiaokuan, sowed suspicion in the mind of Northern Qi’s paranoid emperor, Gao Wei. Two corrupt officials, Zu Ting and Mu Tipa, seized the opportunity to accuse Hulü Guang of treason.

A Loyal General’s Tragic End

Under the pretense of rewarding him with a horse, Emperor Gao Wei summoned Hulü Guang to the palace. Unaware of the trap, the general arrived without hesitation. As he knelt to express gratitude, the emperor’s guard, Liu Taozhi, struck him down from behind. Hulü Guang, refusing to resist, died proclaiming his innocence.

His death echoed that of another betrayed general—Tan Daoji of the Liu Song dynasty, who famously declared before his execution, “You are destroying your own Great Wall!” Just as Tan’s death left the south defenseless against Northern Wei, Hulü Guang’s murder was a self-inflicted disaster for Northern Qi. Northern Zhou’s Emperor Wu was so elated that he declared a nationwide amnesty in celebration.

The Strategic Chessboard of the Northern Dynasties

Hulü Guang’s demise was not just a court intrigue but part of a larger geopolitical struggle. Northern Qi, once dominant, had grown weak due to internal decay, while Northern Zhou, under Emperor Wu, was ascendant.

In 563 CE, Northern Zhou had launched a failed three-pronged invasion, with Turkic allies attacking from the north and Zhou forces striking from the west. Hulü Guang’s brilliant defense at Pingyang and Luoyang saved Northern Qi. But by 572, with Hulü Guang gone, Northern Zhou prepared for a decisive campaign.

The Road to Unification

Northern Zhou’s Emperor Wu faced a critical choice: attack via the central plains (targeting Luoyang) or the northern route (through Taiyuan). Initially drawn to Luoyang’s symbolic weight, he opted for the central path but failed to break Northern Qi’s defenses.

A year later, he switched strategies, taking the northern route through Taiyuan. This time, the gamble succeeded. Taiyuan’s fall gave Northern Zhou control of the high ground, and in 577, Northern Qi collapsed.

With the north unified, the southern Chen dynasty’s fate was sealed. In 581, Yang Jian (Emperor Wen of Sui) usurped Northern Zhou, founding the Sui dynasty. By 589, Sui forces replicated the Jin dynasty’s conquest of Wu, overwhelming Chen in a coordinated assault during the Lunar New Year. China, fractured since the fall of Han, was whole again.

Why the South Could Never Conquer the North

The centuries of division revealed a harsh truth: Southern campaigns against the north rarely succeeded. Even if southern forces took Luoyang or Chang’an, the north’s geographic depth—protected by the Taihang Mountains and the Yellow River—allowed defenders to regroup. Conversely, northern conquest of the south hinged on capturing Jiankang (Nanjing), after which resistance crumbled.

The Southern dynasties, however, developed vital economic and strategic corridors, particularly the “Jingzhou-Jiankang axis” along the Yangtze. The rule “To defend the Yangtze, one must hold the Huai” became doctrine, ignored at peril—as Chiang Kai-shek learned in 1949.

The Sui Dynasty’s Costly Mistakes

Sui’s reunification was short-lived. Emperor Yang’s disastrous campaigns against Goguryeo (612–614) exposed the folly of oversized armies. With 1.1 million men (claimed as 2 million), supply lines collapsed, and coordination failed. The expeditions bankrupted the empire, sparking rebellions.

Emperor Yang’s obsession with grandeur—lavish canal projects, extravagant festivals, and ill-advised wars—mirrored Northern Qi’s self-destructive tendencies. His flight to Jiangdu (Yangzhou) during rebellions abandoned the north, hastening Sui’s fall.

The Tang Emerges from the Ashes

The Tang dynasty (618–907) learned from these mistakes. Li Yuan, founder of Tang, secured the Guanzhong plain and Sichuan before expanding eastward, replicating the Qin-Han strategy. But by Tang’s era, China’s economic center had shifted south, leaving Chang’an a symbolic but unsustainable capital.

Legacy of Division and Unity

The Northern and Southern Dynasties period, though turbulent, refined China’s military and administrative playbook. The Sui-Tang reunification set the stage for a golden age, but its lessons—on the limits of centralized power, the dangers of overreach, and the importance of logistics—resonate through history.

Hulü Guang’s betrayal, like Tan Daoji’s, stands as a timeless warning: A nation that destroys its defenders invites its own ruin.