Preface
Why was the carrion rewarded by Emperor Wu returned untouched?
The witty and wise life of the young hero Huo Quai's illness explains this seemingly suspicious move. The story begins with his birth, and the delicate relationship between him and Emperor Wu is unveiled step by step.
Wei Qing adopted his nephew to cultivate young talents
Fortunately, Huo Quai's mother was the sister of Empress Wei Zifu. His uncle Wei Qing appreciated the talent of this nephew, and took him as a child with him to cultivate carefully, so there was one more young hero in the Western Han Dynasty. Wei Qing taught Huo Qu to Xi martial arts and archery, and was very pleased to see that he was skilled in martial arts and brave and resolute.
Wei Qing often taught Huo Qubing how to use various weapons, and let him participate in archery, equestrian and other training. Although Huo Quzhi was young, he was diligent and self-motivated, and soon laid a solid foundation in these projects. His archery accuracy is amazing, and he can hit every shot; Riding is even more superb, and the horse is successful.
Wei Qing was the most relied on by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and his status was second only to the prime minister, and he was known as the "Father of the Dingguo". He knew the horror of power, and would never establish personal relations with his ministers, let alone form a party for personal gain, for fear of arousing the suspicion of Emperor Wu. This has become a life model for Huo Quai's disease in the future.
Huo Qubing is not only skilled in Xi martial arts, but also has a lot of experience in the art of war, and is good at scheduling and deploying according to changes in the situation at that time. He often simulates various battlefield situations in his mind and thinks about how to deal with them. This made Wei Qing see his nephew's foresight and admired it from the bottom of his heart.
Huo Quzhi was talented and talented, and soon grew into an outstanding young general under Wei Qingmen. He was good at using soldiers and horses, decisive and flexible in battle, and attacked behind enemy lines hundreds of miles with light horses, and the Huns were terrified and terrified of him.
Awarded the title of Great Sima, he was born and died
At the age of seventeen, Huo Qubing led 800 troops to the expedition, captured the Huns and his grandparents, and killed more than 2,000 enemy soldiers. This battle was a great achievement, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed and named him the champion marquis. Emperor Wu relied on the Wei clan and set up the post of "Great Sima", which was held by Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to participate in the military plan.
At the age of nineteen, Huo Quzhi was already a general of the dart banner. He continued to fight on the border, and made great achievements for the birth and death of the Han Dynasty. Once, he led his army to annihilate more than 40,000 enemies and captured more than 100 members of the Xiongnu royal family. The Xiongnu tribes were torn apart by him, and they fled in embarrassment.
In order to eradicate the troubles, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was determined to annihilate the remnants of the Xiongnu in one fell swoop. He appointed Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to lead an army of 50,000 each to go deep into the vast northern grasslands to defeat the Xiongnu. This is the meeting of the two armies, and the 100,000 troops are dispatched at the same time, and the momentum is magnificent.
Wei Qing and Huo Qubing agreed to outflank the Hun army separately and encircle and annihilate them in one fell swoop. Huo Qubing led the army behind enemy lines, and Wei Qing faced it head-on. The two armies coordinated unexpectedly, and they were soon besieged in a narrow valley. Huo Qubing ordered the crossbowmen to shoot at the cliff, and the Huns fell stones and killed countless people, and laid a long nail at the bottom of the cliff to shoot the enemy horse to death. The Huns, who had no way out, struggled to support it, but they were all wiped out under the onslaught of the Han army.
This victory cleared the Han Dynasty of decades of great trouble in the north. Huo Qubing drove the enemy to the area of the Great Wall and killed more than 70,000 people. After this battle, the Western Han Dynasty finally resolved the situation of confrontation with the Xiongnu for many years.
Emperor Wu's design tested Huo Qu's illness and dealt with it wittily
Huo Quai, who had brilliant military achievements, was deeply favored by Emperor Wu, and it was rumored inside and outside the Han court that he, like Wei Qing, never formed a party in the army for personal gain, and shared weal and woe with the soldiers. This made Emperor Wu tempted.
Once, Huo Qubing was going to the front line. Emperor Wu specially rewarded him with ten carts of meat, which on the surface seemed to be to comfort the soldiers for their hard work, but in fact, he had ulterior motives. He wanted to see if Huo Qubing would really be divided equally with the soldiers.
If Hona's meat is distributed among others, it proves that he did indeed form a private party in the army; If you enjoy it yourself, then the reputation of "sharing weal and woe with the soldiers" has become a joke. This trap is cleverly set to test Huo Quzhi's wit.
Surprisingly, when Huo Qubing returned triumphantly, the ten carts of meat were actually intact, but they only emitted the stench of rotten meat. It turned out that he realized that this was Emperor Wu's temptation, and in order to save his reputation, he brought the meat back intact.
This move proved his innocence and loyalty to Emperor Wu, and also spared the Huo family when the Wei clan suffered disasters in the future. It shows that Huo Quzhi's wisdom and detachment are far more comparable. He understood the righteousness of the people, saw through the power schemes, respected the king, and was prudent and self-controlled, striking a delicate balance between maintaining his reputation and being loyal to the court.
died young, benefiting children and grandchildren
Unfortunately, however, the teenage genius eventually died young. During the long Northern Expedition, due to drinking contaminated water, Huo Qu fell ill and died at the age of 23.
Seeing that the Han army was thirsty, the remnants of the Xiongnu actually poisoned the water source, causing many soldiers to fall ill. At first, Huo Quzhi was still boosting morale, but later he also contracted a terminal illness. The medical officer called in a famous doctor, and it was to no avail that he tried his best. Huo Quzhi, who was lying on the couch, was still thinking about the situation on the battlefield and analyzing the tricks of the Huns, and he didn't seem to be shaken by the illness at all.
Huo Qubing felt that his life was dying, so he invited the generals under his tent to leave a legacy for the defense of the frontier and the training of soldiers. He clearly saw the grief in the eyes of his subordinates, and said: "Everything is decided, I have done my best, and I will leave the rest to you." In his short life, he has no regrets.
Emperor Wu was so distressed when he heard the news that he personally presided over the funeral and ordered a tomb to be built next to his mausoleum for Huo Quai. This tomb deliberately simulates the appearance of Qilian Mountain to commemorate the hero of the Northern Expedition. Emperor Wu recalled the situation when he first met Huo Quai, and couldn't help but feel sad, he was such a loyal and brave minister, it was difficult to find it in the Western Han Dynasty.
Although Huo Qu died young, his brave performance and extraordinary temperament throughout his life won the trust and respect of Emperor Wu. In the future, Emperor Wu did not treat the Huo family badly, and Huo Quai's younger brother Huo Guang was a very popular minister in the court, inheriting the mantle of his brother.
Being able to make great contributions in a short life, and showing detachment and wisdom in various trials, Huo Quzhi's life is indeed convincing. His legendary experience has also become a good story of that era, and it is still fascinating to this day.
epilogue
He was born extraordinary but lost his father's love, but fortunately his uncle Wei Qing carefully cultivated his talents. He was young from Rong, made meritorious contributions, broke the Xiongnu several times, and made outstanding contributions to the pacification of the north by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In the temptation of Emperor Wu, Huo Quzhi took the overall situation into account and self-denial, proving the loyalty of the master.
When Wei Qing was destroyed and Wei Zifu committed suicide, it was Huo Quai's detached life and wise judgment that shone on the Huo family. He has made great contributions without being self-conscious, sympathetic to the soldiers and selfless, which makes people sigh that the true character of the hero shows the supreme character!
However, God is jealous of talents, and talents die early. Although Huo Qubing unfortunately died on the battlefield, his life was enough to last for a hundred years and became a good story recited through the ages in the Han Wu era. Emperor Wu spared no expense to build his mausoleum to mourn, which shows Cheng Zhaoqi's outstanding courage and detachment.
The legendary experience of Huo Quzhi educates and inspires future generations, making people can't help but admire the greatness and preciousness of life. In just twenty-three years, he has left a dazzling light. This is Huo Qu's disease, this is the hero!