Xiongnu vs Central Plains, nomadic and agricultural warfare

When it comes to the war between the Central Plains and the nomads, the first thing we come into contact with in the history books, in addition to the Great War of the Yellow Emperor of the Central Plains in the mythological era, Dongyi Xuanyu, I am afraid that it is the Xirong mentioned in the Beacon Theatre Princes. In order to win the smile of the beautiful people, King Zhou You, when he had nothing to do, lit a beacon and played a game of wolf coming, and was eventually killed by Xi Rong. For Xi Rong, different stages have different names, the earliest time is called "smoked mane", the Shang Dynasty is called "ghost fang", the Western Zhou is called "fox", the Eastern Zhou is called "Rong Di", in short, it is not a good word, similar to mud worms, wild ghosts and the like. By the time of the Warring States period, Xi rong was officially known as the Xiongnu. At the same time, the Xiongnu were also the first ethnic group to be called "Hu" by the Central Plains. Hu means arbitrary, unruly, and foolish in Chinese. This is because the culture of the Central Plains is relatively advanced, there are early writings, and books will be compiled, so when naming nomads, most of them are named with dog characters, and the discrimination is full of flavor.

In fact, along the daxinganling, yinshan and Helan mountains on the mainland, God gave us a 400 mm annual precipitation line. To the south of this line, there is abundant precipitation, which is suitable for farming; to the north, there is less rainfall and is only suitable for grazing. So the way of life of the nomads is simple: whipping up grazing, chasing grass, drinking wine in large bowls, eating large pieces of meat. When there is a famine and materials are scarce, it is very simple, and you can only go south to rob the farming people. In the logic of the nomadic thinking, I don't have, you have, you should let me grab some, it is natural!

The agrarian people naturally did not want to sit still, but also had to constantly defend and even retaliate, which led to the Great Wall and the continuous war against the north. Careful study will find that in fact, the direction of the Great Wall is basically the same as the precipitation line of 400 mm. For more than two thousand years, the two sides have been going back and forth like this, pulling and pulling, loving and killing each other, and blending with each other.

However, as for the origin of the Xiongnu, the "Chronicle of History" also believes that they originated from the Xia people. After the fall of the Xia Dynasty in the 16th century BC, one of its descendants fled to the north and became Huns after annexing other tribes. As the first Hu, the Xiongnu mainly lived in the Hetao area at the junction of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, that is, the "several" character area of the Yellow River.

During the Warring States period, the Yan, Zhao, and Qin states in the Central Plains were at the forefront of the direct confrontation with the Xiongnu. Because the mobility and surprise of the immediate nation are very good, they cannot catch up and cannot be defended, and the farming people have to build a huge city wall to defend, which is the origin of the Great Wall. Initially, the construction of the Great Wall was started in various parts by various countries, and it was not connected until Qin Shi Huang unified the whole country. In fact, the role of using the Great Wall to prevent enemy cavalry is actually not great, after all, you can build me and I can demolish. The main role of the Great Wall is still early warning and troop transport. After the enemy appeared, the beacon was a little fire, and the army ran back and forth along the Great Wall, which was much more efficient than climbing and marching in the barren mountains. During this period, Li Mu of the Zhao State and Meng Tian of the Qin State were all famous generals who emerged in the war against the Xiongnu, and at one time the Xiongnu were far away from home and did not dare to go south.

By the time the Qin and Han intersected, the situation changed. We all know that the first emperor of the mainland was Qin Shi Huang; at the same time, the Xiongnu also produced the first Shan Yu (equivalent to the Tianzi of the Central Plains), that is, The Head Man Shan Yu. He developed the Hun tribal system and developed the military power of the Huns. Later, due to the abandonment of Chang Li's youth, Touman Shan yu was shot by his eldest son Mao Dun while hunting.

Soon after Mo Dun became a single, Dong Hu in the east thought that there was an opportunity to take advantage of it, so he wrote to Mo Dun and asked him to give a thousand-mile horse to Dong Hu. Mouton's men were furious, but Mouton said that we could not ruin relations with our neighbors because of a horse, so he sent someone to send the horse over. When Lord Donghu saw it, he immediately had to move forward, and wrote a letter for the second time to risk a beloved beauty. Of course, Mo Dun's men were very angry and wanted to go to war with Dong Hu, and Mo Dun said that he could not ruin the relationship with his neighbors because of a woman, so he sent someone to send the beautiful woman. The third time, Lord Donghu wrote again asking for a piece of unclaimed wasteland between the two countries, and this time Mao Dun's men learned to be obedient and advocated giving the wasteland to Donghu as a personal favor. But Mao Dun was furious and said: Unlike Maxima and beautiful women, land is the foundation of the country, and no land can be given. Therefore, he killed his men who advocated abandoning the land, and personally led troops to raid Donghu. As a result, Dong Hu was beaten into two parts, Wu Huan and XianBei, and not only were the Maxima and the beautiful women who had been sent earlier snatched back, but even the head of Lord Dong Hu was processed into a night pot of Mao Dun.

Next, the Xiongnu, led by Mo Dun, entered a high-light moment: to the north they defeated Ding Zero of Lake Baikal; to the west they drove the Yue clan of the Hexi Corridor and subdued Loulan in the western region; to the south began to frequently provoke the newly established Han Dynasty.

Due to the strategy of enticing the enemy to go deeper, Mao Dundan finally surrounded Liu Bang and his army near Datong for 7 days and 7 nights, known in history as the "Siege of Baideng". Thanks to Liu Bang's adviser Chen Ping,who used jewelry to bribe The Fu clan (lady) of Mao DunDanyu, saying that your husband attacked the Han Dynasty in order to get the beauty of the Han family, and once you succeed, your status and consequences are unimaginable! In the end, under the soft and hard administration of the Fu clan, and considering that the reinforcements of the Han Dynasty would soon arrive, Mao Dun decided to open a corner of the net and let Liu Bang go.

After this battle, both Liu Bang and Mo Dun realized that neither side could eat anyone, and peace began to become the first option, which was also the beginning of the "peace and affinity" policy between the Central Plains Dynasty and ethnic minorities. In the view of the Central Plains Dynasty, if we marry the princess, the emperor will become Shan Yu's father-in-law, and how can the son-in-law be so kind to go to war with the old man and the brothers-in-law; when the princess has a child, the next Shan Yu will have to call the emperor on this side grandpa or uncle, which is even better. In the eyes of the Xiongnu, not only can they marry the beautiful and gentle southern princess, but also get a large dowry, and when the New Year's Festival, the mother's family always sends envoys to visit the princess, and every time she comes empty-handed, she does not have to risk her life with great fanfare. In this way, the Han and xiongnu naturally became relatives, and the envoys returned to each other, traded with each other, and exchanged with each other, and everyone was very happy.

The fly in the ointment is that Mao Dun shan Yu was a little fluttery, and actually after Liu Bang's death, he directly wrote a letter to tease Lu Hou: "I heard that your husband just died, and I just lost my daughter-in-law." I don't think we should live together. After Lü Hou received the letter, she was naturally angry to death, but she had no choice but to reply to the letter: "Thank you for looking up to me, but I am an old lady, or send you another young princess to go." ”

A gentleman takes revenge, ten years is not too late. Fully 60 years later, Liu Bang's great-grandson, the Han Wudi Emperor Liu Che, began a war of revenge. After the rule of Wenjing, the han dynasty's family foundation was much thicker, and Emperor Wu of Han's men also had a large number of fierce generals such as Wei Qing, Huo Quyi, and Li Guang. After repeated active attacks, the Han Dynasty beat the Xiongnu to escape, running and singing: "Kill me in qilian mountain, so that my six animals will not flourish." The loss of my mountain has left my married wife colorless. Rob me of the golden gods and men, and make me unable to sacrifice to heaven. And on this side, Huo Fu's illness was still not spared: "The Xiongnu have not perished, why should they be at home!" ”

Although Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty won a victory in the war with the Xiongnu, it could only be regarded as a fiasco. The perennial war has made the original rich family run out and can no longer be moved. The two sides invariably reduced the level of confrontation and began to send emissaries to maintain communication and temptation. It was in this context that Su Wu was appointed by Emperor Wu of Han to go on an envoy to the Xiongnu as a general of Zhonglang.

Although the mission itself was not complicated, it coincided with a rebellion within the Xiongnu, and Su Wu's deputy Zhang Sheng was also involved. After the matter was revealed, Su Wu and another deputy envoy, Chang Hui, were implicated. In order to force Su Wu to surrender, the Xiongnu threw him in the cellar of the earth, cutting off water and food. It was just in time for the heavy snow to fall, and Su Wu miraculously survived by eating sheepskin and drinking melted snow water. The Xiongnu believed that this was providence and did not dare to harm Su Wu from then on, so they exiled him to the northernmost North Sea (near Lake Baikal). The Huns gave him a few rams, told him to graze, and told him to release him whenever they gave birth to lambs. Since then, Su Wu has lived like a primitive person. But no matter how hard it was, Su Wu did not forget his original intention, remembered his mission, and while shepherding sheep, he always held the jingjie that symbolized the envoy. This grip is 19 years.

During this period, the Han Dynasty went to Su Wu several times, and the Xiongnu all pushed that Su Wu had long been dead. In the end, through Chang Hui, he bought through various relationships and secretly transmitted su Wu's true information back to the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the Han Dynasty sent envoys to tell the Xiongnu that one day the emperor had laid down a big goose while hunting, and the goose had a letter tied to his leg, saying that Su Wu was still alive and was herding sheep in the North Sea, and asked the Xiongnu to release Su Wu immediately. The Xiongnu could no longer hide it, so they thought that The Lord of Heaven was helping Su Wu, so they had to put him back into the Han Dynasty. This is also the origin of the idiom allusion of the Hongyan Chuanshu.

After Su Wu was detained, the war between The Han and the Hungarians resumed. The two sides began a new round of fighting. The most famous story is that Li Guang's grandson Li Ling was outnumbered in battle and forced to surrender to the Xiongnu, while the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu only Had Sima Qian speak out for Li Ling, thus angering Emperor Wu of Han and being imprisoned and sentenced to palace punishment. However, Sima Qian did not become depressed, but instead wrote the "History of History", which is known as the song of eternity. Sima Qian once said in a letter to a friend: "Man is inherently dead, either heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than Hong Mao." Sima Qian's life undoubtedly made an excellent annotation for this sentence.

At the time of Emperor Xuan of Han, the Xiongnu had a crisis of five single-yu competing for the khan's throne, and after a lot of fighting, only two single-Yu remained, and the Xiongnu also split into two parts: the Southern Xiongnu and the Northern Xiongnu. Shan Yu of the Southern Xiongnu was called Hu Han Evil and was the younger brother. Shan Yu of the Northern Xiongnu was called Zhi Zhi (郅支), and was an older brother. Hu Han judged the situation and took the initiative to lead the people south to claim subjection to the Han Dynasty, and he was also the first northern nomadic regime to accept the leadership of the Central Plains Dynasty.

Under the combined attack of the Han Dynasty and the Southern Xiongnu, the Northern Xiongnu were forced to flee west to Kangju, probably in the area of present-day Kazakhstan. There, Zhi Zhidan continued to act as a mighty blessing, constantly oppressing small countries in the western region, and also closed the Silk Road that the Han Dynasty had opened up so hard. All this undoubtedly seriously challenged the authority of the Han Dynasty. In the end, the Han Dynasty's Western Regions Capital Protector Gan Yanshou and The Vice Capital Guard Chen Tang, united with various small states in the Western Regions, collectively sent troops to eliminate the Northern Xiongnu, and sent the head of Zhi ZhiDan Yu back to Chang'an to report victory, and Zhi Zhi Shan Yu also became the first Xiongnu Shan Yu to be killed by the Han Dynasty. In his report to the Central Committee, Chen Tang left the famous sentence "Those who commit crimes against strong men will be punished from afar!" ”

After the Northern Xiongnu were wiped out, Hu Han returned to the grassland and became the master of the entire grassland. Peace between Han and Hungary was established, and peace was once again put on the agenda. This time, it was not the princess of the imperial family who married Hu Hanxian, but the palace maid selected in the harem of the Han Yuan Emperor---- Wang Zhaojun.

Although Wang Zhaojun was born beautiful, because he refused to bribe the court painter Mao Yanshou, he was deliberately scandalized, so he had no chance of being selected by the emperor at all, and he was still a low-level palace girl for a long time. This time, he caught up with the selection of the Fu clan for the Hu Han evil, so he took the initiative to sign up, not only broke free of the cage, but also left a good story through the ages. However, Wang Zhaojun, who married Hu Han evil, did not have fairytale happiness. She married at the age of 21, worked hard to come to the yellow sand outside the plug, and soon after giving birth to a son with her husband, she became a widow at the age of 23. What was even more tragic was that the newly widowed Wang Zhaojun's application to return to the Central Plains was not allowed, and she was also required to marry the eldest son born to Hu Hanxi and his ex-wife in accordance with the nomadic habit of "accepting the marriage", and also gave birth to two daughters. When Wang Zhaojun was 33 years old, he died of incense and was buried in the grassland forever.

After the death of Hu Hanxian, the Xiongnu rapidly declined. Although there was still occasional friction with the Central Plains Dynasty, the Xiongnu never really rose again due to famine and civil strife. In Wang Mang's period, the Xiongnu were further divided into 15 single Yu and divided and ruled. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao divided the Southern Xiongnu into five parts, moved inland to Shanxi, and mixed with the Han people. This series of measures also made the Xiongnu more and more Sinicized, and almost disappeared.

The last highlight of the Xiongnu was after the Rebellion of the Eight Kings of the Western Jin Dynasty, and the so-called "Five Hu Chaohua" situation appeared in the north. Various minority regimes have taken turns to appear, and the Xiongnu, who have been Sinicized, are naturally not far behind. He successively established Han Zhao (founded 25 years ago, replaced by later Zhao of the Qi clan), Northern Liang (founded in 63 years, destroyed by the humble Northern Wei, and the remnants were destroyed by Rouran), and Bactria (25 years after the founding of the state, also destroyed by Northern Wei). After this, the Southern Xiongnu were completely integrated into other ethnic groups such as the Han and Xianbei.

Regarding the outcome of the Huns, in addition to the merged Southern Huns, there was actually a group of Huns who were outlawed in Europe. Due to geographical limitations and influences of the Central Plains culture, the steppe nomads have always been divided into north and south, just like Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia today. As far as the Xiongnu were concerned, during the Western Han Dynasty, there were the Northern Xiongnu of the Zhi Branch and the Southern Xiongnu of the Huhan Evil, although the Unification was completed by the Huhan Evil with the support of the Han Dynasty, but in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu split again. The Southern Xiongnu surrendered again, while the Northern Xiongnu's Punu Shan Yu refused to comply, and finally was hunted down and killed by the Han general Geng Kui in the Altai Mountains, that is, "the black geese of the moon flew high and fled at night." To drive the light horse away, the snow is full of bow knives" described scene.

After the defeat, the Northern Xiongnu, except for more than 100,000 people who were fused by Xianbei, continued to flee west in a hurry, and there were no Xiongnu in the steppe since then. However, the remnants of the Huns who fled to Central Asia continued to be bullied by Rouran and could only continue to flee west. This escape took 400 years. The fleeing people found that the more west they went, the more fertile the water and grass became, and the ranks grew stronger and stronger, and the refugees finally grew into conquerors again.

In the 4th century AD, when the remnants of the Southern Xiongnu in the Central Plains participated in the Wuhu Rebellion, the remnants of the Northern Xiongnu who fled to Europe were also developing their own careers, successively conquering the Chincha steppe and northern Ukraine, continuing westward into the Danube and Don river valleys, occupying the east bank of the Transnistrian River, that is, the western part of present-day Ukraine and the east of Moldova and Romania.

At that time, this area was the territory of the Ostrogoths, but they did not know where this group of black-haired, yellow-skinned barbarians came out, did not understand the rules at all, and before they could set up their formations, they had already rushed to kill them like a whirlwind. The blinded Ostrogoths had to retreat to Hexi and ask the Visigoths for help. Who knew that the unruly barbarians were actually thieves who blocked the killing of thieves, buddhas blocked the killing of Buddhas, and beat the Visigoths to apply for refuge in the Roman Empire further west. At this time, the Huns, led by Attila, who was on a par with Moton, established the Hun Empire centered on Hungary.

Attila's Hun Empire first besieged Constantinople in the Eastern Roman Empire to the south, forcing it to cede the Balkans and pay annual tribute. Then it continued to attack the current France, Italy and other places to the west, directly to Rome, the capital of the Western Roman Empire. This series of onslaughts made Europeans highly suspicious of life, believing that god must have committed a mortal sin before God would send Attila to punish him. Attila is also known as the Whip of God.

However, at the age of 50, Attila married a 19-year-old French girl as a bride. On the wedding night, he suddenly and strangely died violently. After Attila's death, the Ostrogoths took the opportunity to rebel and defeat the Hun cavalry. The Hun Empire quickly collapsed and split, with some forced to surrender to Western Rome, and the other part being defeated by Eastern Rome when it went south, and merging into Europe, especially Hungary.

More importantly, as a result of the Huns' occupation of the Danube Valley, the Visigoths were forced to enter Rome and overthrow the Western Roman Empire; later crossed Gaul into Spain and re-established the Visigothic Kingdom; the Vandals, who had originally lived in Spain, were forced to go south to the Mediterranean sea and establish the Vandal state in North Africa; at the same time, the Franks in the lower Rhine entered the Gaul Belt south and established the Frankish kingdom; the Ostrogoths fled to Italy and Sicily to establish the Ostrogothic kingdom. All of this became a far-reaching migration in human history.