Yangginu and his brothers were made wards and vassals of the Hada Khan Wan, who had conquered a wide swath of territory and formed the Hulun confederation.
Inheriting the eastern half of the Hada territory, Yangginu secured a marriage with a Mongol noblewoman and eventually gained the clan's independence from Wan, who died soon afterwards.
Although he was relatively weak in terms of military power, Yangginu was impressed by Nurhaci's abilities and betrothed his youngest daughter Xiaoce (also known as Monggo-gege, an epithet meaning "Mongol lady") to him.
[5][7][8] In 1583, Yangginu and Cinggiyanu invaded the Hada alongside a large force of Mongol allies, and ransacked the territory of the chief Menggebulu.
[3][2] Yangginu's son Narimbulu succeeded him as beile of the Yehe and continued his fight against the Ming, although was eventually subdued after a long campaign.
She became his favored consort, was proclaimed the Empress Xiaocigao, and bore him a son named Hong Taiji, who would go on to become the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty.