He Basheng

Heba Sheng (died 544), courtesy name Pohu, was a Tiele military general of the Northern Wei and Western Wei during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. Along with his family, he fought against the rebels of the Six Garrisons before joining the commander, Erzhu Rong, distinguishing himself through his military deeds. After the fall of the Erzhu clan, he was given command over Jing province by Emperor Xiaowu to act as a deterrent against the paramount general, Gao Huan, but when his brother, Heba Yue was suddenly assassinated by Gao in 534, he hesitated to support the emperor and was ultimately driven out to the Liang dynasty.

After a three-year stay in the Liang, Heba returned north to join Yuwen Tai and the Western Wei, fighting in several battles against Gao Huan and the Eastern Wei. In 543, at the Battle of Mount Mang, he came close to killing Gao in battle before his horse was shot down by an enemy general. In reprisal, Gao had Heba's sons under him killed, causing Heba to grow ill in anger and die soon after.

Background Heba Sheng was born into a Tiele family from Jianshan County (尖山縣), Shenwu Commandery (神武郡; in present-day Shenchi County, Shanxi) as the son of Heba Duba (賀拔度拔), the commander of the Wuchuan garrison under the Northern Wei. Together with his elder brother, Heba Yun and his younger brother, Heba Yue, they were renowned for their bravery along the northern border. Heba Sheng was also skilled in archery and horsemanship.

Rebellion of the Six Garrisons

Siege of Huaishuo In 523, rebellion broke out in the Six Garrisons led by Poliuhan Baling of Woye garrison (沃野鎮; northeast of present-day Linhe District, Inner Mongolia). Poliuhan sent his general, Wei Kegu (衛可孤) eastward to attack Huaishuo (懷朔鎮, near present-day Guyang County, Inner Mongolia), which was defended by the commander Yang Jun (楊鈞). Hearing of Heba Duba's reputation, Yang Jun summoned him to join forces against Wei Kegu's invasion. His sons, including Heba Sheng, were also appointed military officers.

Wei Kegu placed Huaishuo under siege for over a year. In March or April 524, the imperial court sent the Prince of Linhuai, Yuan Yu (元彧) to lift the siege, but Yuan Yu stopped at Shuo province and refused to advance any further. Seeing the delay in reinforcements, Heba Sheng asked Yang Jun for permission to leave the city and urge Yuan Yu to help. Heba recruited more than ten brave men and broke through the enemy lines at night, shouting "I am Heba Pohu!" along the way. The rebels did not dare attack him, and Heba managed to reach Shuo province. After delivering an earnest plea for help, Yuan Yu agreed to advance and sent Heba back to Huaishou to report the news. Heba returned swiftly and broke through the siege again, shooting and killing several of his pursuers. At the city gates, he declared, "Heba Pohu has come with a great army!" so the defenders opened the gates and let him in.

Rebellion of the Erzhu clan In 530, after two years of mounting tension, Erzhu Rong was assassinated by Emperor Xiaozhuang at Luoyang. Upon receiving the news, Heba Sheng immediately rushed to Erzhu Rong's residence. At the time, Luoyang was yet to be placed under martial law. One of Erzhu's accomplice, Tian Yi (田怡) proposed to storm the palace, but Heba, due to their lack of troops and believing that the emperor had laid out a trap, argued that they should leave the city and then plan out their next move. Erzhu Rong's family escaped from Luoyang that night through Erzhu Shilong's guidance. Heba accompanied them to Heqiao (河穚; southwest of present-day Mengzhou, Henan), but there, he had a change of heart and decided to return to Luoyang and support Emperor Xiaozhuang.

Not long after, Erzhu Zhao and Erzhu Zhongyuan brought their armies to attack Luoyang in revenge for Erzhu Rong and propped up the Prince of Changguang, Yuan Ye in challenge of Emperor Xiaozhuang. Xiaozhuang appointed Heba Sheng and General of the Cavalry and Chief Controller of the Eastern Expedition, instructing him to join forces wth Zheng Xianhu (鄭先護) in resisting the Erzhu clan. However, Heba was not trusted by Zheng, who placed him outside of the main without the rest of his men and horses. Heba fought against Erzhu Zhongyuan, but without success, so he defected back to the Erzhu, who defeated and executed Emperor Xiaozhuang the following year.

Division of Northern Wei

Control over Jing province and invasion of Liang Behind the scenes, Emperor Xiaowu was at odds with Gao Huan, as he was apprehensive of the power he held over the imperial government. At the time, Heba Yue controlled the Guanzhong region in the west, so Xiaowu formed a secret alliance with him to overthrow Gao Huan. In 533, to add more leverage, the emperor appointed Heba Sheng as the Chief Controller of military affairs in the Three Provinces of Jing, General of the Cavalry, Inspector of Jing province and Grand Branch Censorate of the Left Supervisor of the Masters of Writing of the Southern Circuits.

Upon his instatement, Heba Sheng immediately invaded the Liang dynasty in the south to expand his sphere of influence. He captured Xialuo garrison (下溠戍; northwest of present-day Suizhou, Hubei) and enticed the local barbarian ruler, Wen Daoqi (文道期) into surrendering. He then repeatedly defeated the Liang Inspector of Yong province, Xiao Xu (蕭續) and extended his reach south of the Han river. Afterwards, he marched to Fandeng region (樊鄧; between Xiangyang, Hubei and Dengzhou, Henan) where he captured several counties in the vicinity of Xiangyang. The Liang suffered heavy losses, with records stating that land north of the Mianyang was almost destroyed to ruins while Xiao Xu was entrapped in Xiangyang. For his achievements, Heba was appointed Secretariat Director and elevated to Duke of Langya.

Hesitation in supporting Emperor Xiaowu However, while Heba Sheng was away on his campaign, Heba Yue was suddenly assassinated by Houmochen Yue in the Guanzhong through Gao Huan's instigation. Heba Yue's forces were left without a leader, with both Gao Huan and Emperor Xiaowu desperate to absorb them. One of Heba Yue's generals, Li Hu went south to inform Heba Sheng of the news and urged him to assume leadership. However, Heba Sheng was unwilling to leave Jing province, and only sent Dugu Xin to appease the troops in Guanzhong. By then, Heba Yue's subordinates had elected Yuwen Tai to succeed him, and they soon avenge Heba Yue by defeating Houmochen. Emperor Xiaowu recognized Yuwen Tai's leadership over the Guanzhong, thus legitimizing him as Heba Yue's successor.

Soon, war broke out between Emperor Xiaowu and Gao Huan, and the former summoned Heba Sheng to reinforce Luoyang. Heba marched out north, but when he arrived at Guang province (廣州; around Lushan County, Henan), he stopped at the Ru River (汝水) and refused to advance. His advisor, Lu Rou (盧柔), proposed to him three options; the best option was to swiftly march to the capital and fight to the death on behalf of the emperor. The middle option was to return to Jing province and reinforce the region, expanding his territory southwards and forming an alliance with Yuwen Tai while they observe the situation. The worst option was to surrender to the Liang, as while he will likely save his life, his reputation will be ruined as a result. Heba only smiled and did nothing in response.

Eventually, Gao Huan broke through the outer defenses of Luoyang. Emperor Xiaowu held a council with his ministers on where he should flee, and while some ministers proposed that he join Heba Sheng in Jing province, he ultimately decided to join Yuwen Tai at Chang'an in the Guanzhong. When he learnt that the emperor had left, Heba Sheng returned to Jing province. He then ordered Yang Xiuzhi (陽休之) to submit a memorial to Chang'an and left Yuan Ying (元颖) to guard Jing while he led his troops to support the emperor in Guanzhong.

Surrendering to the Liang When Emperor Xiaowu heard that Heba Sheng had entered the Guanzhong, he appointed him Grand Protector and Manager of the Affairs of the Masters of Writing. However, when Heba Sheng arrived at Xiyang (淅陽; in present-day Xichuan County, Henan), he discovered that Gao Huan's forces had already passed Tongguam and was frightened into returning back to Jing. Despite the minister, Cui Qian (崔謙) urging him to support Xiaowu and Yuwen, Heba refused to listen. Finally, Gao Huan sent his general, Hou Jing to attack him, and Heba was defeated as soon as he arrived at his city.

After his defeat, Heba Sheng fled with several hundred cavalrymen to the Liang capital, Jiankang, where he surrendered. He stayed in the Liang for three years and received special treatment from Emperor Wu of Liang. He requested several times to lead troops to attack Gao Huan, which Emperor Wu repeatedly turned down, but out of respect for his integrity, the emperor promised to return Heba Sheng to the north when the time was right. While Heba Sheng was in the south, Yuwen Tai founded the Western Wei in 534, thus challenging Gao Huan and his Eastern Wei in the north.

Battles with Eastern Wei In 537, Heba Sheng followed Yuwen Tai and participated in the Battle of Xiaoguan, where the Western Wei forces killed the Eastern Wei general, Dou Tai. He was then promoted to Chief Controller of the Central Army. Later, he accompanied Yuwen Tai to conquer Hongnong, during which he led his troops across the river from Shanjin (陕津; in present-day Sanmenxia, Henan) to pursue and capture the general, Gao Gan (高干). Capitalizing on his victory, he entered the Hebei and further captured alive the administrators, Sun Yan (孫晏) and Cui Yi (崔乂).

In October or November that same year, Gao Huan's forces were defeated by Yuwen Tai at the Battle of Shayuan. Heba Sheng followed Yuwen to pursue the retreating army all the way to the Yellow River. Dividing his troops and advancing eastward, Yuwen sent Heba and Li Bi to cross the river and attack Puban (蒲阪, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). The city defenders opened the gates to surrender, while the commander, Xue Chongli (薛崇禮) abandoned them and fled but was eventually captured by Heba. The Hedong thus fell to the Western Wei, and Heba was awarded with 5,000 households for his fief.

In 538, the Western Wei faced the Eastern Wei again at the Battle of Heqiao, but this time suffered a defeat. Heba Sheng was tasked in recruiting back surrendered soldiers. In 542, Gao Huan laid siege to Yubi (玉壁, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) but retreated as he was unable to break through the city. Heba was appointed Chief Controller of the Front Army and followed Yuwen Tai to pursue Gao Huan all the way to Fenbei (汾北; north of Xiangning County, Shanxi).

Battle of Mount Mang and death In 543, Yuwen Tai and Gao Huan fought once more at the Battle of Mount Mang. During the battle, Yuwen spotted Gao Huan's flag and recognized him. He then recruited 3,000 elite soldiers with short weapons and placed them under Heba Sheng's command to attack Gao Huan. In the chaos, Heba happened to come face to face with Gao Huan and declared "Heliuhun! I, Heba Pohu, will slay you!" Brandishing a long spear, Heba chased after Gao Huan for several miles on horseback and almost stabbed him. However, Gao Huan's general, Duan Shao managed to shoot his horse dead and allowed him to escape. By the time Heba's deputies arrived, Gao Huan was long gone. Heba sighed and said, "Today was because I did not bring a bow and arrow. This is Heaven's will!"

After the incident, Gao Huan returned to Ye and ordered for Heba Sheng's sons who remained in the Eastern Wei to all be executed. When Heba learnt of their deaths, he became so resentful that he fell ill, eventually dying in 544. The Western Wei court posthumously awarded him the office of Inspector of Ding province, Grand Chancellor and Recorder of the Secretariat, as well as the posthumous name of "Zhenxian". Under the Northern Zhou dynasty in 558, he was enshrined in the ancestral temple of Yuwen Tai.

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