Service As Northern Wei Official and General
Emperor Xuanwu favored Xiao Baoyin for his brotherly piety in mourning Xiao Baojuan, and in spring 503, after Xiao Baoyin had prostrated himself for several days before Emperor Xuanwu's palace to beg for an attack against Liang, Emperor Xuanwu started plans of attacking Liang. As part of the plan, Xiao Baoyin was given an army and given the dual titles of Duke of Danyang and Prince of Qi, with an eye toward having him conquer Liang and reestablish Southern Qi as Northern Wei's vassal. For this reason, Emperor Xuanwu permitted Xiao Baoyin to gather strategists and generals about himself, which was usually not permitted for imperial subjects. He also gave his sister the Princess Nanyang to Xiao Baoyin in marriage.
Xiao Baoyin appeared to be a capable general, and during the reigns of Emperor Xuanwu and Emperor Xuanwu's son Emperor Xiaoming, he rotated through a number of key governmental offices, and while he was temporarily stripped of his titles in 507 after he and another major general, Yuan Ying (元英) the Prince of Zhongshan, suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Liang general Wei Rui (韋叡), his titles were soon restored. As Northern Wei's attacks on Liang repeatedly fizzled, however, there appeared to be little chance for him to reestablish Southern Qi. In 511, when Northern Wei forces suffered another crushing defeat, he was described to be the only general who was able to keep his army undamaged. In 516, he participated in the prevention of a Liang attack on Shouyang. While on that campaign, Liang's Emperor Wu wrote him a personal letter, promising that if he defected from Northern Wei, he would be given the border provinces as well as his surviving relatives. Xiao Baoyin refused and turned the letter over to Emperor Xiaoming's administration.
In 522, when Xiao Yan's nephew Xiao Zhengde, who had previously been adopted by Xiao Yan before he had any sons, fled to Northern Wei, claiming to be Liang's deposed crown prince, Xiao Baoyin wrote a severe denunciation of Xiao Zhengde, pointing out that Xiao Zhengde was fleeing from his uncle the emperor and father Xiao Hong (蕭宏), the Prince of Linchuan and a high level official in the Liang administration, and asking that Xiao Zhengde be executed. As a result of Xiao Baoyin's denunciation, while Northern Wei did not execute Xiao Zhengde, it treated him with no preferential treatment, and Xiao Zhengde eventually fled back to Liang.
By 524, Northern Wei was stricken with agrarian rebellions throughout its borders. In fall 524, Xiao Baoyin was commissioned to attack one of the major rebels, Mozhe Niansheng (莫折念生), who had taken much of modern western Shaanxi and eastern Gansu and claimed the title of Emperor of Qin. In 525, Xiao Baoyin had a major victory over Mozhe Niansheng's brother Mozhe Tiansheng, substantially reducing Mozhe Niansheng's power, but he soon became stalemated against Mozhe Niansheng and was unable to have a conclusive victory. Several months later, Xiao Baoyin in turn suffered a major defeat at the hands of Moqi Chounu, and his lieutenant Cui Yanbo (崔延伯), who was instrumental in the victory over Mozhe Tiansheng, was killed. Xiao Baoyin was not sure whether to retreat or to continue fighting, but began to worry that Emperor Xiaoming's mother and regent Empress Dowager Hu would punish him. Empress Dowager Hu did indeed demote him, but kept him in command of the army. His titles were restored after his officer Yang Kan (羊侃) killed Mozhe Niansheng in battle in 527.
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