Preface
In ancient China, the four characters of Feng Wolf Juxu represented the supreme honor of military leaders, and in the entire history of China, there were very few people who could truly achieve this goal, only five. The first person, and the founder of this supreme honor, was Huo Quai, a heroic general of the Han Dynasty.
Huo Quzhi's name has been spread through the ages and has become a model for ancient soldiers. At the age of 17, he showed extraordinary military talent, leading light cavalry expeditions to Mobei, showing outstanding command and leadership talents. At the age of 19, he led the army to open up the Hexi Corridor, laying a solid foundation for the Han Dynasty in the western frontier.
However, Huo Quzhi's real feat occurred when he was 21 years old, when he led his army to sweep the Xiongnu and successfully achieved the great cause of sealing the wolf Juxu. This honor not only represents the complete conquest of the Xiongnu, but also means Huo Quzhi's outstanding military achievements. His military acumen and bravery made people admire him.
Sadly, however, the military wizard who rose to fame at a young age died young. Huo Qubing died at the age of twenty-four, leaving behind an incredible legend.
So, how did Huo Quai, who was in the prime of life at the time, die?
The young Huo went to illness, brave but alone
130 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
At this time, the Han Dynasty was in its heyday, with strong national strength and a vast territory. However, the Xiongnu Shan Yu in the northern grasslands was still the biggest henchman in the eyes of the Han court. In order to fight the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty frequently sent troops to attack, and actively cultivated young generals to replace the position of veterans.
In the eyes of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a young man named Huo Qubing was the most favored. He is the nephew of Wei Qing, the confidant general of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who followed Wei Qing in and out of the military camp since he was a child, and at the age of 17, he took the lead in trying the knife as a light cavalry and captured the uncle of the Hun Shan Yu. This battle was very successful, and Huo Quzhi was named the champion Hou and began to emerge.
At the age of 21, Huo Qubing made a beautiful comeback - he led the Han army deep into Mobei and defeated the Huns. This battle was a blockbuster, Huo Quai's prestige was far and wide, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty named him Wolf Juxu and ordered him to guard the border fortress. It can be seen that Huo Quzhi is a military wizard who has achieved ambition at a young age.
However, if you look closely, you will find that this seemingly lucky teenager is extremely lonely inside.
Huo Qu is strong by nature, and he treats people without the slightest tact. He was deeply favored by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but he was unable to make friends. No one in the court treated him sincerely, and there was no confidant in the barracks. Coupled with the fact that he lost his parents when he urinated, it can be said that no one has loved him since he was a child.
Huo Quai's uncle Wei Qing was quite friendly to him, but under the pressure of the emperor, he only maintained a superficial harmony. Wei Qing's wife, Princess Pingyang, even publicly expressed her dissatisfaction with Huo Quzhi, who believed that Huo Qubing had robbed Wei Qing of his military power and was ungrateful.
If we stand from the perspective of Wei Qing's side, we may indeed have such thoughts. After all, Huo Qubing grew up with Wei Qing since he was a child, but later with the support of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he took half of Wei Qing's military exploits. This is undoubtedly worse for an old general who is over 50 years old.
However, if we take a look at the inner thoughts of the young Huo Quai, we may not be so harsh on him.
Huo Qubing is bent on breaking through on the battlefield, not dealing with the power groups in the court. He also tried to reconcile with Wei Qing, but Wei Qing knew the emperor's intentions and only maintained a superficial harmony. This made Huo Quzhi, who was alone, even more isolated and helpless.
Such a strong and mighty teenager, but also weak and sensitive in his heart, is destined to leave in a hurry in the cruel political struggle.
The Li clan was uprooted, and the situation was strong
In 119 B.C., Mobei regained its momentum. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent the general Wei Qing and the hussar general Huo Qubing to attack the Xiongnu. In this battle, Li Guangbu went astray and missed the meeting with the Xiongnu.
Li Guang was ashamed of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, so he hanged himself in the general's mansion.
Although Li Guang has passed away, his brother Li Cai was serving as the prime minister of the Han Dynasty at this time, and his power leaned towards the government and the opposition. The Li clan is in full swing, which makes Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty a little jealous.
However, the following year, an even bigger change happened - Prime Minister Li Cai also committed suicide at home.
The prime minister's unprovoked suicide is really incredible. Chu Shaosun said in the "Han Chronology" that Li Cai committed suicide to apologize for encroaching on the land in the mausoleum area. However, this argument does not hold water.
For a time, the government and the opposition were shaken. The decline of the Li family has undoubtedly brought subtle changes to the court situation.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty knew that Li Cai's death was by no means voluntary. This must have been done by a certain force in the DPRK and China, and the purpose was to cut off the Lee family, a big confidant.
So, who planned such an earth-shattering conspiracy? At this time, the most likely ones in the court to do so were Wei Qing and Huo Quai, who also had heavy troops.
Huo Quzhi personally shot Li Guang's son, and the Li family perished
In 118 B.C., another shocking news came - the hussar general Huo Qubing shot Li Guang's son Li Kang in front of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Li Dang, as Lang Zhongling and the chief of the guard, had a noble status and should not have been executed at will.
So, why did Huo Quzhi kill Li Kang in public?
It turned out that more than a year ago, Li Dang had injured the general Wei Qing, and Wei Qing's subordinates secretly dealt with the matter. Huo Quzhi suddenly exposed this past incident at this time, probably to give Wei Qing a bad breath.
After all, the power of the Li clan is enough of a headache for Wei Qing.
However, more importantly, Huo Quzhi's impulsive action was obviously to show his attitude to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty - he was on Wei Qing's side, and he was inseparable from the Li family.
As a result, under Huo Quai's arrow, the Li family withdrew from the stage of history. They used to dominate the DPRK for a while, but now they don't even have a person who can hold up the scene.
The situation has changed from a three-legged situation to a life-and-death confrontation between the two groups. This was an extremely dangerous signal for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Huo Qubing forced Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to let the crown prince leave Beijing, and the dispute over the crown became the fuse
In 117 BC, Huo Qubing wrote to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty one after another, asking his three sons to leave Chang'an and be crowned as foreign vassal kings to go to their respective fiefdoms.
This was the last thing Emperor Wu of Han wanted to see. Among his sons, the most favored is the crown prince Liu Ju. Liu Ju was taught by important ministers of Wei Qing's faction in Chang'an, and these people were Wei Qing's spokesmen in the court.
Once the crown prince and others left Chang'an, Wei Qing lost the magic weapon to contain the emperor in the court. Because of this, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has always refused to crown several princes as kings.
However, Huo Qubing wrote books one after another, and it was rumored in the government and the opposition that he would follow the example of King Zhou You and Duke Qi Huan, and let the princes and kings kill each other. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was suddenly besieged by the ministers who wrote to him, and the pressure was very great.
A month later, Emperor Wu of Han had to give in. He agreed to let the three princes leave Beijing to be crowned kings, and sent someone to escort them out of Chang'an.
At this moment, the position of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty above the court is in jeopardy. His princes left him, and the princelings lost their backers. On the contrary, Wei Qing and Huo Quzhi have the heavy troops in their hands, and they can almost be said to have great power.
For a while, hidden worries began to shroud Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He must take action to counterbalance the growing power of Wei Huo and the others, so as not to be at their mercy.
Huo Quzhi was assigned to the frontier to hide mysteries, and was suspected of being assassinated by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
In the same year that Huo Qubing forced Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to let the crown prince leave Beijing, that is, in 117 BC, the hussar general Huo Qubing suddenly died violently.
Chu Shaosun quoted his brother Huo Guang in the "Han Chronology" as saying that Huo Qu's illness was due to a sudden illness and died. However, we can't help but ask, how could a fierce soldier who was killed and killed on the battlefield get some kind of sudden illness and die?
Perhaps, Huo Quzhi's death was not as simple as we see.
After Huo Qu died of illness, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wept for him and posthumously presented him with a high official position. However, I am afraid that this is just the emperor's performance, the purpose is to stabilize the morale of the army, so as not to mutiny the Huo clan.
The real inside story, I am afraid is just as some historians speculate - Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty secretly got rid of Huo Qubing in order to weaken Wei Huo's power.
Huo Quzhi had a very personal relationship with Wei Qing, but he could never become Wei Qing's right-hand man. So Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty simply strangled this hidden danger in his infancy, killing two birds with one stone.
As for why he didn't get rid of the leader Wei Qing, it was because Wei Qing won the hearts of the army, and the consequences of improper handling were serious. The safest way is to isolate Huo Quai, and then poison him.
In this way, the Huo Quzhi group lost its backbone and weakened its military strength; Wei Qing could no longer contain the emperor through Huo Quai, and was forced to be much more honest. The balance is back in place.
Of course, this is just a speculation by historians. I'm afraid I won't know the truth until I go underground. But whatever the truth is, we should not question the noble character of this 24-year-old young general who sacrificed his life for the country.
The god of war who left a name in history eventually became a sinner in the court. When Game of Thrones is in full swing, anyone can become a pawn that can be kicked at any time. This is the ultimate tragedy of Huo Qu's disease.
Looking back at that period of history, the halo has faded, leaving us with nothing but admiration, perhaps more regret.