Qifu Chipan - Early Reign

Early Reign

Early in his reign, Qifu Chipan continued his state's expansion at the expense of Tuyuhun, Southern Liang and Later Qin, and he further forced local tribes which were not under his father's rule into submission.

In 414, upon receiving news that Tufa Rutan was attacking rebellious Tuoqihan (唾契汗) and Yifu tribes, leaving Tufa Hutai in command of the Southern Liang capital Ledu (樂都, in modern Haidong Prefecture, Qinghai), Qiifu Chipan decided to make a surprise attack on Ledu. He quickly arrived at Ledu and put it under siege. Soon, Ledu fell, and he relocated Tufa Hutai and his subordinates to Fuhan, while sending his army further to face Tufa Rutan. Tufa Rutan's troops, hearing that Ledu had fallen, collapsed, and Tufa Rutan surrendered, ending Southern Liang and allowing Qifu Chipan to seize the remaining Southern Liang territory. Qifu Chipan welcomed him as an honored guest, creating him the Duke of Zuonan, and created Tufa Rutan's daughter his princess. However, in 415 he poisoned Tufa Rutan to death.

Having annexed Southern Liang into his state, in 414 Qifu Chipan claimed the greater title of Prince of Qin. He also resumed his attacks on Later Qin. However, now that there was no longer Southern Liang serving as a buffer between them, he soon got into constant warfare with Northern Liang's prince Juqu Mengxun, often at Western Qin's expense. In 416, he made peace with Juqu Mengxun. Meanwhile, in 416, with Later Qin under major attack from the Jin general Liu Yu, he sent messengers to Liu Yu offering to be a vassal, and Liu Yu gave him the title Duke of Henan. By 417, Liu Yu had destroyed Later Qin, but he did not further head west to attack Western Qin, which seized a number of Later Qin cities on the borders. By 418, however, Jin had against lost the Guanzhong region to Xia's emperor Helian Bobo, and Xia, strengthened by its victories over Jin, now posed a major threat against Western Qin.