Emperor Taiwu honors his wet nurse, Laby …

Years: 432 - 432

Emperor Taiwu honors his wet nurse, Laby Dou, as “nurse empress dowager” in spring 432, starting what is to be a Northern Wei tradition,

According to this tradition, when a crown prince is named, his mother, if still alive, must be forced to commit suicide. (Some historians do not believe this to be a Tuoba traditional custom, but believe it to be a tradition instituted by the founding emperor Emperor Daowu based on Emperor Wu of Han's execution of his favorite concubine Consort Zhao, the mother of his youngest son Liu Fuling—the eventual Emperor Zhao—before naming Prince Fuling crown prince.)

As a result, because emperors would not have living mothers, they would often honor their wet nurses with the honorific title, "Nurse Empress Dowager."

Emperor Taiwu’s mother had died when he was twelve, two years before being named crown prince.

He also creates one of Helian Bobo's daughters as his empress, and his oldest son Tuoba Huang, by his deceased concubine Consort Helan, crown prince.

In summer 432, with Xia destroyed, Emperor Taiwu, begins to attack Northern Yan in earnest.

In fall 432, he makes the first major attack on Northern Yan in Feng Hong's reign, heading for the Northern Yan capital Helong (in modern Jinzhou, Liaoning).

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