During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the nomadic peoples of the north often infested the Central Plains, causing great distress to the local residents.
In order to protect the safety of the people and the territory, the soldiers of the Han Dynasty fought bravely and repelled the invasion of the Xiongnu in succession, the most heroic of which was the champion Hou Huoquai.
Especially in the Hexi War, Huo Qubing captured four cities in a row, and gave these four cities four imposing names, which have a history of more than 2,000 years, and these names have never changed. What is Huo Quzhi's life like?
01
Huo Quai's father was originally a small county official, and he had an affair with Wei Shao'er, a female slave girl in Pingyang Prefecture, and gave birth to him.
However, he was an irresponsible person, and after the birth of the child, he left the mother and son and returned to his hometown in Shanxi. Wei Shao'er could only raise Huo Qu's illness alone.
Fortunately, Wei Shao'er's sister Wei Zifu was favored by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and was taken back to the palace. As a result, the family became relatives of the imperial family. Wei Shao'er also remarried a high-ranking official and took Huo Qu's illness to live a rich life.
When Huo Quzhi was 13 years old, it was a turning point in his fate. That year, his uncle Wei Qing was appointed as a general, and he often went in and out of the palace, and took his nephew Huo Quai's illness into the palace to see the world.
When Emperor Wu of Han saw this witty and clever nephew who looked like his own nephew when he was young, he took a special liking for him and let him learn the art of war in the palace.
Because Huo Quzhi was physically strong since he was a child, and received personal guidance from the emperor, he soon performed well in cavalry and archery, formation, and use of troops.
When he was 18 years old, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought that Huo Qubing should go to the military camp to temper, so he asked him to follow his uncle Wei Qing to the border to fight the Xiongnu.
At first, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty just wanted to give him a chance to accumulate experience, but he didn't expect that Huo Quzhi, who had made great contributions as soon as he got on the field, directly turned on the "map cannon" mode.
He took the initiative to lead 800 cavalry and suddenly attacked the hinterland of the Xiongnu when their defenses were lax. Before the Xiongnu could react, they were wiped out by Huo Quai, who was only 18 years old, and more than 2,000 people were wiped out in one fell swoop, including Shan Yu's uncle.
When the news was transmitted back to Chang'an, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was extremely excited.
He quickly gave his 18-year-old nephew the title of "Champion Hou", and specially built a mansion for Huo Qubing in Chang'an for him to live and work.
But what Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty didn't expect was that Huo Qubing resolutely refused the emperor's gift of the mansion, and said a domineering word: "The Huns have not been destroyed, why should they be at home?"
02
Huo Qubing became famous in the first war, and in the following years, he established many outstanding military exploits. He led his army to the Xiongnu many times, and the results were remarkable, helping the Han Dynasty to recover large areas of lost territory.
In the second year of Yuanzhan (121 BC), Huo Qubing once again led an army of 10,000 people deep into Hexi, and fought a decisive battle with the Hun evil king and the Hutu king of the Xiongnu, and this battle was called the "Battle of Hexi".
The battle lasted a whole year, and Huo Qubing led his army across the Yanzhi Mountains and into the hinterland of the Xiongnu for more than 1,000 miles. At the foot of Gaolan Mountain, the Han army successfully annihilated the army of King Hun and King Hutu, and killed more than 30,000 Xiongnu.
In this campaign, Huo Qubing once again showed his tactical talent. At the beginning of the march, he laid out elaborate tactics, set up ambushes everywhere, and lured the Hun army to go deeper.
When the Xiongnu army entered the encirclement, the Han army launched an attack from all directions, so that the Xiongnu army had no way to retreat even if it wanted to escape, and was finally annihilated.
The Evil King was captured in this battle and forced to surrender to Huo Quai. Huo Qubing decided to recruit these 40,000 soldiers and treat them well.
This practice not only showed the magnanimity of the Han Dynasty, but also added 40,000 combat strength to the Han Dynasty, killing two birds with one stone. Huo Quzhi's political wisdom was also demonstrated in this campaign.
Therefore, the Western Han Dynasty successfully cut off the right arm of the Xiongnu, and the Hexi Corridor was completely incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty, and the names of the four counties were born.
03
After winning the Battle of Hexi, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established four counties in the Hexi region: Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang. These four cities were recaptured from the Xiongnu by Huo Qubing and his army.
Wuwei County is located at the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor, and its name means "martial arts and military might", in order to express the military power of the Han Dynasty.
Zhangye County is located in the middle of Hexi and is a key location to the Western Regions. Its name, "Zhang Guo Arm", means that the Han Dynasty stretched out its arms, as a way to emphasize the connection between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions.
The name of Jiuquan County is directly related to Huo Qu's disease.
At that time, Huo Qubing was rewarded by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and in order to let the whole army share this fine wine, he poured it all into a spring next to the camp.
Since then, this place has been passed down under the name of "Jiuquan".
04
Although Huo Qubing had many great victories over the Xiongnu, his ambitions far outweighed these victories. He harbored an insatiable desire to defeat the Xiongnu once and for all and extend the Han Dynasty's sphere of influence to the endless.
In the fourth year of Yuanzhan (119 BC), Huo Qubing was once again sent north to conquer the Xiongnu. This time, he led 50,000 light cavalry straight into the heart of the Xiongnu.
This is the largest army that Huo Quzhi has commanded so far. But he did not feel the slightest panic and still decided to use the tactics he did best: a rapid march and a surprise attack on the Huns.
This time, Huo Qubing was determined to deal a fatal blow to the Huns. Therefore, he made great efforts to recuperate on the march. He allowed the soldiers to take in a large amount of nutrients in a short period of time and quickly recover their strength.
At the same time, he also arranged for the soldiers to take turns to rest to ensure that they had enough energy.
Under Huo Quzhi's careful planning, the speed of the Han army's march caught the Xiongnu off guard.
This Han army was like a sharp arrow, penetrating more than 2,000 miles into the desert, pursuing the main force of the Xiongnu all the way, so that the Xiongnu could not be defeated. The Xiongnu fled north in disarray, almost losing the ability to resist.
In the end, Huo Qubing conquered Dingxiang and Daijun in succession, until he chased to the foot of Wolf Juxu Mountain.
After this war, the Xiongnu were greatly damaged and could only flee to the north. In the following years, the Xiongnu no longer had the strength to invade south.
Huo Quzhi also became the first famous general of the Han Dynasty to be named "Wolf Juxu".
However, the good times did not last long, and the following year, this heroic and mighty young general died of illness, which deeply regretted Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the people of the whole country.
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