First, the reason why the Han people entered the Xiongnu during the Western Han Dynasty
There was a Han dynasty, and the number of Han dynasty people migrating to the Xiongnu was very large. According to Mr. Ge Jianxiong's statistics, during the Western Han Dynasty alone, the population of the Han Dynasty plundered by the Xiongnu and the Han people who surrendered due to defeat and surrender were at least 200,000. Both Emperor Wen and Emperor Wu recognized that Han people fled to the Xiongnu, which shows their large number.
(i) Reasons on the part of the Huns
1. The strength of the Xiongnu and the long-term confrontation with the Han Dynasty
"There is a big Han in the south, and a strong hu in the north", these are the words written by Fox Lu Gu Shan Yu in his letter. At this time, it was the last year of Emperor Wu, and after a series of wars with the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu had "become pregnant and lazy, and suffered extremely hard", and still had the strength to compete with the Han Dynasty.
Before Emperor Wu succeeded to the throne, the Xiongnu were even stronger, as can be seen from the fact that the rebellious princes in the country often used the Xiongnu as foreign aid and backers.
The powerful Xiongnu had been hostile to the Han Dynasty for a long time, often plundering before the siege of Mayi, and even fought with the Han Dynasty for many years after the siege of Mayi, so before Hu Han annexed the Han Dynasty, defecting to the Xiongnu was an excellent choice for the dead of the Han Dynasty.
2. Military strikes and plunder by the Huns
Some Han people were forced to enter the Xiongnu, such as the population plundered by the Xiongnu during the southern invasion, or defeated in the Xiongnu territory and submerged into the Xiongnu army, which entered the Xiongnu because of the Xiongnu's military attacks and plunder.
As mentioned above, Ge Jianxiong believed that during the Western Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu brought at least 200,000 Han people into Xiongnu territory through military attacks and plunder.
The military attack and plunder of the Xiongnu was not only an important means for the Xiongnu to promote the Han people to enter the Xiongnu, but also an important way for the Han to enter the Xiongnu, and a large number of Han people entered the Xiongnu precisely because of the Xiongnu's initiative to invade the south or to attack the Xiongnu with the army to the north and be captured.
3. The Xiongnu accepted and reused the Han Dynasty surrenderers, supported and financed them
Out of the need to confront the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu accepted the surrender of the Han people, recruited and persuaded the Han Dynasty's officials and generals, and gave generous treatment to such talented people as Zhongxingshuo, Wei Lu, and Zhao Xin, and adopted their suggestions.
Wei Lu was able to "possess tens of thousands, horses and animals"; Li Ling was favored by Shan Yu, was made the Prince of Right School, and married Shan Yu's daughter; Even the ordinary people of the border counties "heard the joy of the Xiongnu", so "there were many people who wanted to die."
In addition, the Xiongnu also actively supported the princes and kings who opposed the Han Dynasty, such as after Han Wang Xin surrendered the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu also sent troops to fight with the Han Dynasty, and after Lu Wei surrendered the Xiongnu, he "traveled to the east of the valley and ended the ancestors".
This act should also be supported by the Huns. Attracted by the Xiongnu, a large number of Han people surrendered to the Xiongnu. Why did the Xiongnu actively receive or plunder the dead of the Han Dynasty?
In addition to the purpose of confrontation with the Han Dynasty, Ge Jianxiong believed that there were also reasons to supplement the population to take advantage of Han production technology.
Ge Jianxiong pointed out that the harsh environment of the Xiongnu region, the low natural population growth rate, and frequent wars with neighboring countries such as the Han Dynasty made it necessary to receive or plunder the Han people to increase the population.
Judging from the records of the Xiongnu's invasions, people were one of the important targets of their plunder, which shows that the Xiongnu had a strong demand for population.
In addition, the Xiongnu people, especially the Xiongnu nobility, were very fond of Han objects. Plundering the population of the Han Dynasty allowed the Xiongnu to produce the agricultural and handicraft products they needed, reducing dependence on the Han Dynasty or making up for the lack of trade in the Guanshi Dynasty.
(ii) Reasons for the Han Dynasty
1. Political struggle
After Liu Bang unified the whole country, he actively looked for reasons to cut off the princes with different surnames. More than a year after the Zang rebellion was put down, Han Xin, the king of Chu, was again demoted to the title of Marquis of Huaiyin.
At this time, it was the sixth year of Emperor Gao, and the rebellion of Zang Xin and Liji had been quelled, and Han Wangxin would naturally be aware of Liu Bang's intentions. In October, Liu Bang demoted Han Xin the Prince of Chu to the Marquis of Huaiyin.
A year later, when he besieged Mayi, Han Wangxin sent an emissary to ask for peace, but Liu Bang suspected that he had two minds and sent someone to reprimand him, but he was terrified and surrendered to the Xiongnu.
After Chen Yan rebelled, the Yan king Lu Wei once sent troops to fight Chen Yan, but later realized that he would be the next target under Zhang Sheng's persuasion, so he colluded with Chen Yan and died in the Xiongnu after Liu Bang's death.
It can be seen that Liu Bangchui's move to destroy the princes with different surnames was an important reason for them to flee to the Xiongnu.
2. Han law is harsh
The Xiongnu law was very simple compared to the Han law, and there were very few people in prison. Di believed that Sima Qian's account of the Xiongnu legal system expressed his criticism of the harsh punishment laws of the Han Dynasty.
Although we do not know the purpose of Sima Qian's writing, the Xiongnu's laws and institutions were indeed simpler than those of the Han Dynasty, which can also be seen from what Zhong Xing said.
Due to the harshness of Han Law, although the generals who fought against the Xiongnu had the opportunity to obtain such rich rewards and lofty status as Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, many people would also suffer extremely severe punishments.
If Wang Hui did not attack the Xiongnu during the siege of Mayi, he was handed over to the court lieutenant, who believed that Wang Hui should be beheaded, and even if Wang Hui bribed the prime minister, it would be useless, and finally Wang Hui committed suicide.
Zhao Shiqi followed Wei Qing out of Dingxiang, and was beheaded for losing his way; Zhang Qian, the Marquis of Bowang, and Li Guang jointly attacked the Xiongnu, and Zhang Qian was beheaded for missing the deadline, and later ransomed as a commoner.
Zhao Xin, Li Ling, and Li Guangli all surrendered in the event of a great defeat, and they would not be unaware of their fate after returning to the Han Dynasty, so the harshness of Han Law was an important reason for their surrender.
In addition to these generals, there were also middle- and lower-ranking officers who surrendered to the Xiongnu in fear of Han Law's punishment, such as Zhao Ponu, the Marquis of Xunye, who was captured, and his "military officials were afraid of the death of the generals and condemned them, but they did not persuade each other to return, and the army disappeared to the Xiongnu."
In addition, there were some people who violated the law and fled to the Xiongnu in order to avoid punishment from the government. This is described below.
3. Poverty and natural disasters for the population
At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the economy was in decline, and it recovered after the reign of Wenjing, but during the Wudi period, large-scale use of troops was used and the surrounding ethnic groups were in a state of war for many years.
In addition, natural disasters are frequent, floods, droughts, earthquakes, insect infestations, and snow disasters occur from time to time, resulting in financial difficulties. Faced with this situation, Emperor Wu still implemented his policy of using troops against the Four Yis.
The amount of rewards given to the leaders of ethnic minorities and generals who made meritorious achievements in combat was very staggering, such as "tens of thousands of people who surrendered were generously rewarded" and "the Son of Heaven rewarded hundreds of thousands of people (the Hun evil king and the meritorious people of the Han army)".
It is conceivable that the financial pressure of the Han Dynasty will further increase. In order to raise funds for his use, Emperor Wudi of Han opened up his financial resources, practiced calculations and warnings, switched to currency, bought sheep and became langs, bought officials and sold knights, resulting in chaos in the rule of officials, and the living conditions of the people deteriorated even more:
In the third year of Yuanding, more than ten counties in the Guandong region "cannibalized", and in the second year of Tianhan, "Taishan and Lang evil bandits blocked the mountains and attacked the city, and the roads were impassable."
At the beginning of Emperor Xuan's succession, Xiahou Sheng pointed out that Emperor Wu "exhausted the people's financial resources, extravagantly died, the world was wasted, the people were displaced, and half of the material deceased." In this case, because of the "music of the Xiongnu", it is reasonable for the poor people of the Han Dynasty to want to die in the Xiongnu.
4. There are loopholes in the management of side plugs
The beacon system of the Han Dynasty was very developed, with multiple lines of defense such as scout knights (scouting knights), Saiwai flints (Saiwai pavilion fire), and Tiantian (artificial sand belts laid along the Great Wall), in addition to the system of patrolling Tiantian, the sun trace in the simple mou is a reflection of the system of patrolling Tiantian:
The leap month has exhausted the twenty-ninth day of the sun trace, from the northern boundary of the ninth tunnel to the fourth = the southern boundary of the tunnel does not cross Selan into the Tiantian ruin. In addition to patrolling Amada, penalties were also instituted for those who invaded:
Yue Sei Pass, if there is none, please enter and exit the Sei no Tsu Pass, and the city is the city; Cross the plug, cut the left stop (toe) for the city dan.
Although the Han Dynasty's border plug management had been relatively tight, and some measures were taken to prevent people from dying into the Xiongnu, there were still Han people who crossed the border and successfully entered the territory of the Xiongnu in violation of the law.
During the siege of Mayi, Nie Weng Yi pretended to be a smuggling merchant, claiming to be able to kill the officials of Mayi Lingcheng and surrender the Xiongnu with Mayi City, thus gaining Shan Yu's trust, which shows that smuggling merchants already existed at that time.
In addition, during the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, King Zhao secretly sent emissaries to contact the Xiongnu in an attempt to raise troops together. There are also cases of the deceased successfully escaping the blockade in the simple stalk.
For example, in twenty-three, three coins died in two or two nights. This shows that there are still loopholes in the border plug management in the Han Dynasty, giving the dead an opportunity.
(3) Fluctuations in the relationship between the Han and the Xiongnu
The fluctuation of relations between the Han and the Xiongnu affected the policies of both sides towards the Han people who entered the Xiongnu. Before Hu Han annexed the Han, the Xiongnu accepted the dead of the Han Dynasty, and even actively lured the Han to surrender to the Xiongnu.
And Huhan evil single in the later Han and Xiongnu married, Hu Han evil single in the period Xiongnu and Han dynasty tied the constraint: "From the south of the Great Wall, the Son of Heaven has it, and the north of the Great Wall is alone."
There are offenders, and there are cases of complaints; Those who descend shall not receive. Until Wang Mang's succession, the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu complied with these two rules, and during this period, the Xiongnu, as foreign ministers of the Han Dynasty, should repatriate the Han who died in the Xiongnu to the Han Dynasty.
The Han Dynasty, on the other hand, maintained a certain restraint against the Han people who died in the Xiongnu before the siege of Mayi. For example, Emperor Wen of Han once wrote to the Xiongnu Shan Yu that he "released the fugitive people."
The Hexi Jianmu are all relics after Emperor Wu, including not only the "law of catching" that severely punished the Han people who died in the Xiongnu, but also the "red watch of the dead" who inspected the Tiantian and beacon systems.
From this, we can see the change in the attitude of the Han Dynasty. Under this precaution, the number of Han Dynasty people voluntarily dying into the Xiongnu may not be too large.