Feng Hong - Reign

Reign

What appeared evidence late in Feng Ba's reign, but even more so in Feng Hong's reign, were incessant attacks by the neighboring rival Northern Wei. This appeared to be particularly true after Northern Wei annexed all of the territory of Xia in 431 and therefore no longer had a major western rival to deal with. Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei made periodic attacks to pillage Northern Yan territory and then withdraw, draining Northern Yan of food supplies and other resources and weakening it.

While Feng Hong was the Duke of Zhongshan, his wife was Lady Wang, who bore him at least three sons, Feng Chong (馮崇), Feng Lang (馮朗), and Feng Miao (馮邈), and Feng Chong was his oldest son. However, in 431, Feng Hong created Lady Murong princess instead, and in 432, he created Princess Murong's son Feng Wangren (馮王仁) crown prince.

In fall 432, Northern Wei's Emperor Taiwu made the first major attack of Feng Hong's reign, heading for Northern Yan's capital Helong (和龍, in modern Jinzhou, Liaoning). Feng Hong tried to appease the Northern Wei emperor by delivering gifts of beef and wine to his army, to no avail. 10 Northern Yan commanderies surrendered to Northern Wei, and Northern Wei forces captured a number of Northern Yan cities and put Helong under siege. However, two months later, Emperor Taiwu withdrew after capturing 30,000 households from Northern Yan and relocating them to his You Province (幽州, modern Beijing, Tianjin, and northern Hebei). Feng Hong's official Guo Yuan (郭淵) suggested to Feng Hong that he offer to be a Northern Wei vassal and send a daughter to be Emperor Taiwu's consort, but Feng Hong refused, stating that the enmity between the states were so deep that he would be killed anyway even if he surrendered. (While Northern Wei was sieging Helong, the Northern Wei general Zhu Xiuzhi (朱脩之), who had been captured from Liu Song, plotted to assassinate Emperor Taiwu and then join Feng Hong, but his plot was discovered, and he fled to Feng Hong, who in turn sent him back to Liu Song, seeking Liu Song aid. Henceforth, Liu Song and Northern Yan were informal allies, although Liu Song provided little actual help.)

Around the new year 433, Feng Lang and Feng Miao, believing that Northern Yan was on the verge of destruction and believing that Princess Murong was planning to have them killed, fled to Liaoxi (遼西, in modern Tangshan, Hebei), where Feng Hong had sent their older brother Feng Chong to be the commanding general of. They persuaded Feng Chong to surrender to Northern Wei, and Feng Chong sent Feng Miao to Northern Wei to offer his allegiance. Feng Hong, in response, sent his general Feng Yu (封羽) to put Liaoxi under siege. In spring 433, Emperor Taiwu sent his younger brother Tuoba Jian (拓拔健) the Prince of Yongchang to relieve Liaoxi, and further created Feng Chong the Prince of Liaoxi with a number of other honors, to try to encourage other defectors. Tuoba Jian's forces soon surrounded Feng Yu and forced his surrender, and then withdrew with 3,000 captive households. Feng Chong then requested permission to go to Helong to persuade Feng Hong to surrender, but Emperor Taiwu did not grant such permission.

In spring 434, Feng Hong sent messengers to Northern Wei to request peaceful relations. Emperor Taiwu refused. However, three months later, after Feng Hong submitted a petition (i.e., agreeing to be a vassal) denouncing himself and pleading for peace, and further offering a daughter to be Emperor Taiwu's concubine, Emperor Taiwu agreed—on condition that Feng Hong send Feng Wangren to visit him at the Northern Wei capital Pingcheng (平城, in modern Datong, Shanxi). Feng Hong also sent the Northern Wei messenger Huniuyu Shimen (忽忸于什門), whom Emperor Taiwu's father Emperor Mingyuan of Northern Wei had sent to Feng Ba in 414 but who then was detained by Feng Ba, back to Northern Wei.

However, later that year, Feng Hong refused to send Feng Wangren to Pingcheng to visit Emperor Taiwu. When his official Liu Zi (劉滋) warned him that Northern Yan was in an even more perilous position than Shu Han and Eastern Wu were facing against Jin, Feng Hong executed Liu in anger. Because Feng Hong refused to send Feng Wangren, Emperor Taiwu again sent Tuoba Jian against Northern Yan, and Tuoba Jian seized Northern Yan's crops and some of its people before withdrawing.

In spring 435, in order to try to get Liu Song aid, Feng Hong sent a messenger to the Liu Song capital Jiankang to submit as a vassal. Emperor Wen of Liu Song created Feng Hong the Prince of Yan, but was unable to provide substantial aid. in spring 435, Feng Hong sent his general Tang Zhu (湯燭) to offer tributes to Northern Wei, and claiming that the reason why Feng Wangren was not arriving was because he was ill. This reason appeared to have been rejected by Northern Wei, and Feng Hong again tried to seek Liu Song aid, but none was coming. In summer 435, Emperor Taiwu's brother Tuoba Pi (拓拔丕) the Prince of Leping again arrived at Helong, and Feng Hong tried to appease him by offering cattle, wine, and armor, but Tuoba Pi's assistant general Qutu Yuan (屈突垣) accused Feng Hong of not sending hostages, and they seized 6,000 Northern Yan men and women before withdrawing.

The entire Northern Yan state was by this point not significantly larger than the city of Helong itself, and it was weary of repeated Northern Wei attacks. Feng Hong's general Yang Min (楊岷) suggested Feng Hong to send Feng Wangren as a hostage, and Feng Hong refused, instead considering the plan of evacuating his people to the ally Goguryeo. Yang believed Goguryeo to be undependable, but Feng Hong was not deterred, and he sent messengers to Goguryeo seeking aid and agreement to evacuate.

In spring 436, Feng Hong sent messengers to Northern Wei to offer tributes, and declaring that Feng Wangren would arrive briefly. Emperor Taiwu, not believing in Feng Hong, refused the overture and prepared another attack. By summer 436, Northern Wei and Goguryeo forces both arrived at Helong. Because the people largely were weary about relocating to Goguryeo, the official Guo Sheng (郭生) opened the city gates and tried to surrender, but Northern Wei forces thought it was a trap and did not aid him, and Feng Hong killed Guo in battle. Meanwhile, the Goguryeo forces pillaged the city, and then escorted Feng Hong and his people to head east, after Feng Hong set fire to the palace. Northern Yan was now at its end, as Feng Hong no longer had any territory of his own.