In 295, Tuoba Luguan the chieftain of the Tuoba (a branch of the Xianbei) divided the territory under Tuoba control into three areas: a vast tract of land extending west from White Mountain (northeast of Zhangjiakou), to Dai (Datong, Shanxi); an area from Shengle (south of Hohhot) and beyond; and a central area, which included north Shanxi and the region to its north. Tuoba Yilu would be named chieftain of the western area.
As chieftain of the western Tuoba territory, Tuoba Yilu defeated the Xiongnu and Wuhuan to the west, gaining in this way the support of various ethnically Han and Wuhuan people, in addition to his own Xianbei people. In 304, Tuoba Yilu, along with Tuoba Yituo, joined forces with the Jin armies and defeated Liu Yuan.