Yuwen Hu - During Western Wei

During Western Wei

In 534, displeased at the control that the paramount general Gao Huan had on the military, Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei entered into an alliance with Yuwen Tai and Heba Sheng (賀拔勝, Heba Yue's brother), who controlled the southern provinces. When Gao realized this, he marched on the capital Luoyang, and Emperor Xiaowu decided to flee to Yuwen Tai's territory, sending messengers informing Yuwen Tai of his decision. Yuwen Hu was part of the army that Yuwen Tai sent to escort Emperor Xiaowu to Yuwen Tai's headquarters at Chang'an, commanded by the general Li Xian (李賢). For his participation in protecting the emperor, Yuwen Hu was created the Count of Shuichi. Later in 534, when Emperor Xiaowu refused to return to Luoyang despite requests by Gao, Gao declared Yuan Shanjian, the son of Emperor Xiaowu's cousin Yuan Dan (元亶), emperor (as Emperor Xiaojing), and moved the capital to Yecheng (鄴城, in modern Handan, Hebei), thus dividing Northern Wei into two—Western Wei, with Emperor Xiaowu as emperor and its capital at Chang'an, and Eastern Wei, with Emperor Xiaojing as emperor.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu's cousin and successor Emperor Wen of Western Wei, Yuwen Hu received a number of promotions, and he also had a number of accomplishments in the battlefield. He was created a duke. In 543, though, he was nearly killed in a battle at Luoyang and was only saved from capture or death by his subordinates Hou Fu (侯伏) and Hou Long'en (侯龍恩). Yuwen Tai removed him from his posts, but soon returned him to those posts. In 546, he was created the greater title of Duke of Zhongshan. In 549, when Yuwen Tai sent the general Yu Jin (于謹) to launch a major attack on Liang Dynasty's capital Jiangling, Yuwen Hu served as Yu's lieutenant. The Western Wei army was able to capture Jiangling and put Emperor Yuan of Liang to death, declaring his nephew Emperor Xuan of Western Liang as Liang's emperor instead (albeit controlling only the Jiangling region). For this accomplishment, Yuwen Hu's son Yuwen Hui (宇文會) was created the Duke of Jiangling.

in fall 556, while Yuwen Tai was on a tour of the norther provinces, he became ill at Qiantun Mountain (牽屯山, in modern Guyuan, Ningxia). He summoned Yuwen Hu to Qiantun and entrusted the affairs of the state as well as his sons to Yuwen Hu. He soon died, and his heir apparent Yuwen Jue took over his titles, while Yuwen Hu took the reins of the state. (The senior generals and officials, who obeyed Yuwen Tai as effectively the first among equals, were initially reluctant to follow the leadership of the younger Yuwen Hu, only doing so after Yu Jin, previously Yuwen Hu's commanding general, declared his support on the basis that Yuwen Hu was the senior member of the Yuwen clan.) Around the new year 557, believing that Yuwen Jue, who was 14 at this time, needed to have his authority affirmed through an imperial title, Yuwen Hu had Emperor Gong of Western Wei (Emperor Wen's son) yield the throne to Yuwen Jue, ending Western Wei and establishing Northern Zhou.