For the Western Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu were a serious border problem it had faced for a long time. Due to the economic decline in the early Han Dynasty, from Gaozu Liu Bang to the Jing Emperor Liu Qi, the four emperors of the Han Dynasty adopted a compromised and pro-Xiongnu policy. In 141 BC, after the succession of the talented Han Wudi Emperor Liu Che, with the national strength accumulated by successive emperors, he began to gradually change his policy towards Hungary.
In the course of Emperor Wudi's policy change towards the Huns, the Mayi Ambush (also known as the Mayi Conspiracy) was undoubtedly of landmark significance. The Mayi Ambush took place in the second year of Emperor Wu of Han 's reign (133 BC) and was proposed by Wang Hui, who was then in charge of the Great Order, and received the firm support of Emperor Wu of Han. According to the Book of Han and the Biography of the Xiongnu:
The Han made the Mayi people Nie Weng trade with the Xiongnu, and Yang sold the city of Mayi to lure Shan Yu. Shan Yu believed in it, and greedy for horses and treasures, he rode into Wuzhou With 100,000 horses. Han Fu soldiers more than 300,000 Ma Yi, the imperial master Han Anguo as the general of the protector, the general of the protectorate of the country to FuDan Yu.
It can be seen that in order to win the Mayi ambush battle, Emperor Wu of Han did not hesitate to send 300,000 troops, which can be said to have taken out his family foundation and vowed to compete with the Xiongnu.
At that time, there were five main generals of the Han army: han anguo, a general of the escort army, Li Guang, a general of xiaoqi, Gongsun He, a general of light vehicles, Wang Hui, a general of tun, and Li Xi, a general of material officials. Among these five men, the general Han Anguo was the commander and commanded the 300,000 cavalry infantry of the Han army. On the Xiongnu side, it was commanded by the military minister Shan Yu, and the strength of the troops was about 100,000 cavalry.
Therefore, in terms of troop strength, the Han and Hungarian sides are 3:1, which is obviously the han army is more dominant. However, embarrassingly, due to the leak of information, the military minister Shan Yu learned from a lieutenant in Yanmen County that the Han army had set up an ambush in Mayi. For the sake of prudence, the Xiongnu's military subject Shan Yu quickly led the army north and did not enter the ambush circle arranged in advance by the Han army. At this point, the Mayi ambush organized by Emperor Wu of han was ultimately futile, and history said that "the Han soldiers were only allowed to enter Mayi and indulged, but they did not arrive, so they did not gain anything." ”
It is worth mentioning that Wang Hui, the earliest proposer of the Mayi ambush, did not dare to lead his army to rob the Xiongnu when they retreated. This greatly annoyed Emperor Wu of Han, and eventually Wang Hui was forced to commit suicide and apologize.
It can be said that if the news is not leaked, the Xiongnu military subjects will inevitably suffer heavy losses in the ambush battle of Mayi. It should be pointed out that although the Mayi ambush was ultimately fruitless, this announced a major change in the policy of the Western Han Dynasty towards Hungary. After that, the military contest between Han and Hungary officially began and lasted for decades.