Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was a generation of heroes, leading the Han Dynasty to resist the threat of the Xiongnu, and engaged in a difficult tug-of-war with Shan Yu. With the assistance of Wei Qinghuo and the brave generals, the Han army won a complete victory, and the Xiongnu once "had no royal court in Monan". But after these two famous generals passed away one after another, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was repeatedly defeated in his later years, and even defeated in four consecutive battles. What was the reason for this wise and heroic monarch's record plummeting after losing his advisers and fierce generals? In the prime of life, or in the prime of life, or is there nothing to do? Or was the new generation of generals of the Huns too heroic? All kinds of questions are left to be solved, why is the late festival of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty not as heroic as back then? Let's find out.
First, the first battle was successful, and the Xiongnu were defeated
The rolling yellow sand is blowing in the face, and the sky is covered with dust. The forward cavalry of the Han army charged into battle and fought their way out. Zhao Ponu's mount was tired, and the army was tired, and it was about to be surrounded by the 80,000 elite cavalry of the Huns. He knew that if he was surrounded outside the surrendered city, the Han army would be doomed. So, Zhao Ponu left the team alone to look for water, but fell into the trap of the Huns and was captured on the spot. The 20,000 Han troops were exhausted and finally surrendered en masse.
When the news came back to Chang'an, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very angry, but he didn't expect that the brave generals appointed by himself fell short and the whole army was wiped out. He decided to personally supervise the battle, and immediately ordered the mobilization of a large army to fight a decisive battle with the Xiongnu to the end.
Four years later, in the second year of the Tianhan Dynasty, Li Guangli, the main force of the Han army, attacked from Shuofang with 30,000 cavalry, and fought fiercely with the Xiongnu Youxian King for several days, and the two sides fell into a stalemate. At the same time, Li Ling, a henchman of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, also led 5,000 elite infantry to fight bravely in Junji Mountain. With the ingenious group of carts, Li Ling repelled the 80,000 elite cavalry of the Huns several times, making Shan Yu frightened.
However, just when victory was in sight, a soldier who had escaped from the battle actually told the Xiongnu, causing Li Ling's truth to be exposed. The Xiongnu army swarmed up, and Li Ling was finally unable to defeat the cavalry armed to the teeth, and had to surrender when he ran out of ammunition and food.
In this battle, the Han army suffered heavy losses, most of Li Guangli's 30,000 horses were damaged, and Li Ling's 5,000 men and horses were almost exterminated by the Xiongnu. Although the Han army killed more than 10,000 enemies and caused heavy losses, the main force no longer existed, and new injuries were added to the successive battles, and the Han-Hungarian war had fallen into a stalemate quagmire.
Second, the years have passed, and the war is inseparable
After the defeat and surrender of Li Guangli and Li Ling, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did not stop the army, but further allocated troops and horses to step up the encirclement and suppression of the Xiongnu. However, for more than ten years since then, the Han army has repeatedly returned without success, and the war has fallen into a stalemate.
In 97 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once again personally conquered the Xiongnu, but was harassed and colluded by the Xiongnu, and lost a large amount of grain and grass weapons. In 94 BC, the Han Dynasty sent troops to attack the Xiongnu again, but they also returned in vain because of the lack of grain and grass.
Even the battle of the main force of the Han army to conquer the Western Regions was making difficult progress. In 88 BC, Zhang Qian sent an envoy to the Western Regions, but was stopped by the Xiongnu and almost died. In 81 B.C., Li Guangli sent troops to Dawan, and the soldiers and horses were temporarily repatriated, leading to a scuffle of warlords in Xinjiang.
And during this time, the internal and external troubles of the Han Dynasty also followed. In 92 BC, the Empress Dowager Dawan died, and a large-scale struggle took place in the palace, resulting in Ping Ahou, the son of Wei Qing, who was originally the crown prince's concubine, being implicated and demoted to Fanahou.
From 91 BC to 87 BC, Henan was plagued by floods for many years, which seriously affected grain production. In 86 BC, large-scale riots broke out in the Hexi Corridor, and the Han army had to transfer troops and horses to suppress it, resulting in a weakening of the forces fighting against the Xiongnu.
All this shows that the Han Dynasty, which was troubled internally and externally, was in a crisis, and the imperial power began to be turbulent. At this difficult time, more royal palace intrigues and civil strife are likely to surface, demagoguery and divide the hearts of the military.
In view of this, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made every effort to stabilize the centralization of power in order to avoid a loss of vitality. He established authority among the gatekeepers, severely punished the unscrupulous and lawless aristocratic families, and also mediated the loyalty of eunuchs to their superiors, seizing more real power and control.
Despite this, within the Han army, which had been mired in war for many years, there was already an undercurrent, and the government was becoming increasingly turbulent. The continuous shaking of imperial power will greatly affect the combat effectiveness of the Han army, making the decisive battle between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu more and more difficult.
Third, the decisive battle turned the tide, and there were repeated defeats
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty decided to launch a general attack on the Xiongnu in an attempt to reverse the passive situation in one fell swoop. In 73 BC, he sent the general Gan Ying, the left champion Zhao Chongguo and led hundreds of thousands of Han troops to Mobei. After the two armies met, they approached the Xiongnu court.
Unexpectedly, the main force of the Han army was surrounded by snipers by the Xiongnu in Mobei. Gan Ying was captured alive by the Xiongnu, and Zhao Chongguo suffered heavy losses, leaving only more than 10,000 men and horses to survive. The Han army lost more than three-quarters of its losses in this battle, which seriously dampened its confidence in the decisive battle.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had to regroup his troops and horses. In 72 BC, he reassigned the former generals Mao Dun Shan Yu and Zhang Qian to conquer Mobei. However, as soon as these two experienced veterans arrived outside the Saiwai, they were attacked by the Hun cavalry and were forced to abandon the offensive plan.
In 71 BC, the old general Lu Jia led his army to a decisive battle with the Xiongnu, but was tricked into a trap by the Huns and was finally captured alive. In the following year, Gongsun Ao, a general of the chariot cavalry, led the army out of the fortress again, but was attacked by the Xiongnu again and the whole army was annihilated.
The successive defeats caused the mood of the Han soldiers to change drastically, and resentment was rampant. Some of the generals had wavered, wondering whether Emperor Wu of Han's policies had been inappropriate, and the dynasty had fallen into chaos. Even though Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered capital punishment to severely punish those who escaped from the battle, the morale of the army gradually weakened.
The root of all this lies in the wisdom and courage of the new generation of commanders of the Xiongnu. As the heir of Shan Yu, Mao Dun Shan Yu not only has peerless martial arts, but is also good at strategy and tricks. He understood that although the Han army was outnumbered, its cavalry and archery ability was far inferior to that of the Xiongnu. Therefore, he adopted guerrilla tactics, avoiding the real and making the false, luring the enemy deep into the depths and waiting for him to break through when his sharpness was gradually lost. In the face of the strong infantry of the Han army, he even used elite cavalry formations such as arrogant surrounding, so that the enemy had no chance to take advantage of it.
After repeated tragic defeats, the morale of the Han army was like a candle in the wind and almost collapsed. They were angry at the poor command of the commanders, and they were also angry at the emperor's wrong decisions. At this time, the government and the opposition were already seeping through the wind and rain, intrigue and corruption were everywhere, and the struggle for power almost overturned the entire ruling class. It was these internal and external troubles that caused the Han army to retreat in this decisive battle.
Fourth, the power leans towards the government and the opposition, and the heroes are in the twilight
After years of defeat, Emperor Wu of Han's imperial power had been shaken, and the whole country was filled with dissatisfaction and suspicion of his rule. Under these circumstances, the eunuchs gradually became involved in the core of the imperial government and began to influence the emperor's decision-making.
The most powerful at that time was the eunuch Guo Youzhi, who was once appreciated by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. As the emperor's confidant, he was not only entrusted with important tasks, but also directly participated in the formulation of military decisions. However, power will eventually lead to unbridled behavior. Guo Youzhi used his power to increase the number of officials and promotions for his cronies, and even indiscriminately paid military salaries, which led to corruption in the inner court.
At the same time, in order to satisfy his selfish desires, Guo Youzhi also continued to make suggestions to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, asking him to reuse more eunuchs to control military power. These eunuchs were intrigued with each other, and the struggle for power was already commendable, and the government was becoming increasingly turbulent.
In this case, even the cronies of Emperor Wu of Han began to waver. For example, the great general Chen Yu, who was loyal to the Han Dynasty in his early years and made a lot of contributions. However, the successive defeats of the Han army in the past few years, coupled with the situation of eunuchs in power, made him lose his expectations for the Han Dynasty.
In order to resist this situation, Chen Yu colluded with some warlords, secretly spies with the Xiongnu, and prepared to rebel with the outside world. Soon, he mobilized his private soldiers to kill several important ministers, and the shaky situation almost got out of control.
Other generals in the army were also assimilated by this corrupt current. They took risks one after another, grabbed personal gains, and regarded the imperial court's orders as if they were fictitious. The people's hearts are gradually leaving, military discipline is scattered, and even some brave generals who have been on the battlefield for a long time have been contaminated with the vice of lust for power.
The Great Han, who was greatly injured in vitality and suffering from internal and external troubles, has gradually lost the strength to defeat the Xiongnu. Even if Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wanted to conquer in person, he could only say half a sentence and could not give orders. The country is like a ship that has lost its direction, floating in the long river of history, drifting away.
The root of all this is that after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty became old, he could not control the government and the opposition well, but was eroded by moths. His heroic and fearless life, surrounded by eunuchs and conspiracies, went to a bleak old age.
Fifth, the aftermath has not subsided, and the imperial power has ended
Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty bravely swept away the ground in his later years, the loss of power was unstoppable. Under the erosion of eunuchs and intrigue, his imperial power gradually existed in name only. This situation directly led to the division and war of the Han Dynasty later.
In 60 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty finally died, and the crown prince Liu Bojian succeeded him as Emperor Xiaowen of the Han Dynasty. However, at the beginning of the new emperor's accession to the throne, the dilemma of internal and external troubles was still with us. The power vacuum made eunuchs and relatives even more unscrupulous.
At that time, the most powerful were the eunuch Guo Shengzhi and his relative Wang Mang. They not only controlled the government, but also tried to steal the country. For a time, the desire for power was consumed, and the conspiracy was born, and the suffering of years of conquest exacerbated the occurrence of disasters.
In 54 BC, the Han Dynasty once again sent troops to attack the Xiongnu. Two years later, however, the army was routed in the same place where it had been defeated, and there were only a few thousand men left. A series of defeats made Wang Mang gradually have the intention of betrayal. He constantly bribed his cronies and plotted to seize the heir.
In 51 BC, the Han Dynasty again sent troops inland to attack the northern Xiongnu. Unexpectedly, there were hidden spies in the army and they were defeated on the spot. Later, Wang Mang even connived at the traitors to sit big, and seized the right to send troops, completely denying the imperial power.
In 48 BC, Emperor Xiaowen of Han died and was succeeded by the new emperor Liu He. At that time, the government and the opposition were in turmoil, and Wang Mang was even more monopolistic and arrogant. Two years later, Wang Mang plotted against the usurpation of the throne and established himself as a "new" dynasty, ending the Western Han Dynasty.
In the decades that followed, Wang Mang and his Han clan waged a protracted civil war across the country. Fueled by the peasant uprising, Wang Mang was finally driven out of Chang'an in 23 AD, and the new dynasty nearly collapsed.
Subsequently, Liu Xiu, as the commander-in-chief of the peasant army, finally ruled the world in 25 AD and established the Eastern Han Dynasty. The loss of power in the later years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty finally planted the bane of the fall of the Han dynasty.
This war, which lasted for more than 70 years, was undoubtedly the result of the late Han Dynasty's unstable season. If he hadn't guarded the imperial power at the beginning of the immortal's death, he would have been able to avoid the disintegration of the country by surveying the qualified pro-trust Fu Chaogang. It's a pity that the heroes are in the twilight, the power is tilted towards the government and the opposition, and the ending of a generation of heroes ended so without a problem.