Editing Northern Wei (section)

=== Unification of Northern China ===
[[File:Sixteen Kingdoms 423 AD (2).jpg|left|thumb|China at the time of [[Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei|Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei's]] ascension in 423.]]
In 423, [[Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei]] ascended the throne with ambitions to reunify northern China. In 426, he began a war with the [[Xiongnu]]-led [[Hu Xia dynasty]], which controlled the [[Ordos Plateau|Ordos]] and [[Guanzhong]] regions in the west. By the following year, the Wei had taken the Xia capital, [[Tongwancheng]] and a substantial portion of their territory. The Xia could no longer pose a threat to Wei, though they still managed to annex Wei's ally, the [[Western Qin|Western Qin dynasty]] in the [[Longxi Commandery|Longxi]]. In 431, the last Xia emperor, [[Helian Ding]] was captured and handed over to Wei by the [[Tuyuhun]].

The [[Northern Liang|Northern Liang dynasty]] in the [[Hexi Corridor]], led by the Juqu clan of [[Lushuihu]] ethnicity, submitted to Wei as a vassal after the Xia's demise. With the west pacified, Emperor Taiwu shifted his focus to the east by launching incessant attacks on the Chinese [[Northern Yan|Northern Yan dynasty]] in [[Liaoning]]. After a large-scale invasion in 436, the Yan ruler, [[Feng Hong]] abandoned his territory to Wei as he fled to the neighbouring [[Goguryeo]]. Finally, in 439, Emperor Taiwu launched a campaign and conquered the Northern Liang, hence unifying the north and bringing an end to the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] period.