With the improvement of the national strength of the Western Han Dynasty, the Han Wudi Emperor Liu Cheli defied the public opinion and decided to change the defensive policy of "peace and affinity" as the main military supplement, and seek the opportunity to take the initiative to attack the Xiongnu, which was undoubtedly a huge challenge.
Because if he failed, his political prestige would be greatly damaged, which was absolutely unacceptable to the young emperor.
In the sixth year of Yuan Guang (129 BC), the Han Dynasty soldiers attacked Shanggu County (southwest of Yanqing County, Beijing) in four ways, of which the general Gongsun He, who led 10,000 cavalry from the clouds, searched for the Xiongnu troops in the endless grassland, but found nothing; the same general Gongsun Ao, who also went north, successfully encountered the Xiongnu troops, but had bad luck, and faced the main Xiongnu army in the face of the Main Xiongnu army, after fighting with all their strength, at the cost of more than 7,000 horses, they could escape the siege of the Xiongnu army Li Guang, a famous general who had been active on the northern border for many years, had a very rich combat experience, and it was reasonable to say that the odds of victory should be the greatest, but his luck was even worse than that of Gongsun Ao, and the Xiongnu defeated the army led by Li Guang and captured them alive.
These three troops either failed or lacked the results of the battle, in the case of the defeat of the three major armies, only one team not only defeated the enemy army, but also pursued all the way to the place where the Xiongnu sacrificed the ancestors of heaven and earth and killed more than 700 people to win the victory, what is even more surprising is that the general who achieved such results was the first expedition, so who is he?
His name was Wei Qing (衛青), courtesy name Zhongqing, a native of Pingyang (平陽, in present-day Linfen, Shanxi), and was the child of a minor official in the Cao Shou Mansion of the Marquis of Pingyang and a maid surnamed Wei, who had been unpopular because of his illegitimate status, and was even regarded as a "slave animal" by his half-brothers. Wei Qing, who did not want to live so despicablely, decided to change the environment and defected to the Marquis of Pingyang, where his mother was located, but when he got there, he could only serve as a servant slave to the Princess of Pingyang (the sister of Emperor Wu of Han), and was still a servant after all.
However, this fate ushered in a major turnaround in the second year of jianyuan (139 BC). In the spring of that year, when Emperor Liu Che was paying homage to his ancestors and praying for blessings to eliminate disasters, he stopped by to visit his eldest sister Princess Pingyang, and at a glance, he caught a glimpse of Wei Qing's half-sister Wei Zifu and chose her to enter the palace. Because Wei Zifu was favored and Empress Chen was once snubbed, the empress's mother sent someone to kidnap Wei Qing in anger to execute him to make him angry for his daughter, fortunately, he was able to escape from danger by having friends to save him, Emperor Wu of Han was furious and simply summoned Wei Qing after learning of this, Jian Bu was made a Jianzhang supervisor and a servant in the inner dynasty, and a few years later Wei Zifu was named a lady, and Wei Qing was also promoted to the rank of Dazhong Doctor.
If Wei Qing himself is a person who is willing to be mediocre, then this identity is already very good, if Wei Qing is in the Taiping Era, then perhaps he will stop there, but if these two premises are not established, Wei Qing himself is by no means mediocre, the Han Wudi Dynasty is not peaceful, the Northern Xiongnu have long relied on strong military strength to harass the frontier, and even invade the area near the capital Chang'an, constituting the most serious and difficult land security problem of the Han Empire. In view of this, in the second year of Yuan Guang (133 BC), Emperor Wu issued an edict asking his subjects to discuss a solution, and finally decided to set up an ambush at Mayi (in present-day northeast of Shuozhou, Shanxi), but the result was that the Xiongnu army was aware of the deception due to a hundred secrets, and eventually ended in failure, and the end of the he and pro-era began.
A few years later, the Xiongnu once again marched south, which led to the battle we described at the beginning, as the last hope of Emperor Wu of Han in the four-way army, Wei Qing led his iron horse to rush out of the border plug, no longer had a strong city wall to protect it, on the endless grassland, the Xiongnu army known for its strength and speed may be surrounded at any time, and the fledgling Wei Qing pointed his finger at the dragon city on the map in the face of the soldiers, and no one thought that the dragon city as the land of the Xiongnu Longxing was actually the battlefield where Wei Qing would make a great contribution. If this victory is luck, then the next year he defeated the Xiongnu at Yanmen and beheaded thousands of people, which is not something that can be explained by the word luck alone.
A year later, in the second year of Yuan Shuo (127 BC), the Xiongnu again marched south, plundered Shanggu and Yuyang (southwest of present-day Miyun District, Beijing), killed Liaoxi Taishou, and killed more than 2,000 officials, and Wei Qing again set out from Yunzhong Commandery (northeast of present-day Tokto County, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia) and led an army of 40,000 men to attack Gaoque (southeast of Wulat Houqi in present-day Bayannaoer, Inner Mongolia) and cut off the connection between the Xiongnu Baiyang King, The Lou Fu King, and Shan Yu Wangting stationed in Henan (in present-day Hetao, Inner Mongolia). Eventually, the Xiongnu king Hou, who had lost aid, fled under the siege of the Han army, leaving thousands of prisoners and hundreds of thousands of livestock, and the Han Dynasty recovered the key places that had changed hands for more than seventy years. Historian Professor Yan Wuqian pointed out in his book "Military History of The Qin and Han Dynasties in China" that the recovery of Henan not only relieved the Xiongnu of their long-standing threat to Chang'an, but also "enabled the Han army to have an important base for attacking the Xiongnu from east to west." "Because of the fertile water and grass of this generation and the dangerous situation, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty built Shuofang City in this area to set up Shuofang County and Wuyuan County, relocated 100,000 people from the interior to settle there, and even repaired the border plugs built by Mengtian in the Qin Dynasty and the fortifications along the river. It can be seen that this "Battle of Henan" was of great significance to the Western Han Dynasty, and Wei Qing was also awarded the title of Changping Hou (長平候) for this meritorious service, with 3,800 households.
However, the war did not start in a day, nor did it end overnight, and the Xiongnu side soon concentrated on launching successive attacks on Shanggu, Dai County, Dingxiang, Yanmen and Shuofang, in an attempt to cut off the connection between the region and the interior with a pincer offensive from both sides of the Hetao area, forcing the Han army to abandon this land. In the fifth year of Yuan Shuo (124 BC), Wei Qing went out again, he led 30,000 cavalry out of the blockade and then rushed to attack 600 or 700 miles, and raided the Xiongnu Right XianWang's army overnight, and the Right Xian King left his army and fled, and more than a dozen of his subordinate nobles, soldiers, and population of more than 15,000 people were captured. Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed when he received this success, and sent envoys to greet him, and in the army, he worshiped Wei Qing as a great general, and gave him the power to command various generals and troops, making him the supreme commander of the imperial army.
Wei Qing's appearance on the stage was not to set the score, but to prepare for the next larger-scale military operation. Emperor Wu of han hoped to continue to attack in order to annihilate the most powerful Shan Yu headquarters, this action, which was later called the "Battle of Mo Nan", actually suffered a lot of losses for the Han army, although the remnants of the Right Xian King were completely annihilated, but also the grass snake made the Xiongnu royal court begin to evacuate and move to the north of the desert, and from then on, the Han Dynasty wanted to pursue again, and it was bound to maintain a longer logistical supply channel and take greater risks. However, this did not stop Emperor Wu of Han and the imperial high-level from continuing to use troops.
In the second year of the Yuan Dynasty (121 BC), Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty ordered Wei Qing's nephew Huo Qiyi to launch the "Battle of Hexi" for the commander-in-chief, capturing the Hexi Corridor in one fell swoop, setting up the four counties of Weiwu, Dunhuang, Jiuquan, and Zhangye, and controlling the throat leading to the western region.
As the saying goes, nephew is like an uncle, this nineteen-year-old general and uncle Wei Qing's growth path is strikingly similar, he is Wei Qing's half-sister Wei Shao'er and another Huo surnamed Xiao official in the Marquis of Pingyang after the adultery of the illegitimate son, the biological father turned his face afterwards and did not recognize anyone, this child can then grow up with his mother. He was studious since childhood, attracting the attention of his uncle Wei Qing, who was promoted to jianbu, and at the age of eighteen he took up the position of a waiter, according to the characteristics of ancient Chinese politics, the closer to the highest power, the gradual increase in power of whoever was.
At the age of eighteen, Huo Wentai followed his uncle Wei Qing to participate in the "Battle of Southern Mo", in which Huo Quai did not wait for the main force in the rear, but led eight hundred elite cavalry to the depths of the desert Gobi, running hundreds of miles to launch a surprise attack on the Xiongnu, killing more than 2,000 enemies. Today, he is no longer as humble as he used to be, and he gallops on the battlefield to the deepest part of the desert, which is exactly contrary to the direction of the Xiongnu invasion of the Han Empire, thus making Huo Goyi make a great achievement.
On the other hand, the Xiongnu, who had lost their power in the general pattern, turned to the right Beiping (north of Pingquan City, Hebei Province) to migrate and harass the local area. In the spring of 119 BC, emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's horse whip at the military meeting of the imperial court to the map of the northern desert region, the general Wei Qing, the hussar general Huo Fuyi each led 50,000 cavalry "infantry turning heel hundreds of thousands of troops" began to expedition, sounding the "Battle of Mobei" horn, the result of which the Han army defeated the Xiongnu, Huo Went sick broke the Zuoxian King to take advantage of the victory and pursue to wolf Juxu Mountain (Mongolian Kent Mountain) and Guyan Mountain (north of Mongolian Kent Mountain). Shuai Cai, who was just in his early twenties, held a ceremony to sacrifice the heavens and the zen ceremony on behalf of the empire, and finally surrendered to the Xianwang shan Yu, announcing to the people of the world with an impressive record that the most dazzling generation of famous generals of the Han Dynasty had turned out. The Empire blossomed twice, and the Huns, who had once dominated the north to deter the Central Plains, had to migrate westward on a large scale, and it was difficult to pose a major threat for nearly a hundred years.
After the northern troubles were lifted, Wei Qing and Huo Went ill were both responsible for the meritorious official Sima "to replace the post of lieutenant", responsible for managing daily military and political affairs, but the good times were not long, and after two years, Huo Qi, who was only 23 years old, died of illness at the young age, and Emperor Wu Liu Che was very sad, not only gave the title of Jing Huanhou, but also named his half-brother The position of Fengche Du Wei and Guanglu Dafu, and this younger brother who had stained his brother Guang was called Huo Guang. Nine years later, in the fifth year of the Yuan Dynasty (106 BC), Wei Qing also died of illness, and Emperor Wu of Han built a tomb in the northeast of his mausoleum, MaoLing, to commemorate himself, and wrote a tomb in the history of "Qizuka Elephant Lu Shanyun".
The promotion of Wei Qing and Huo Fuyi from the most unpopular bastards all the way to the grand sima in just a few years naturally attracted countless praises and criticisms, with supporting voices often focusing on their outstanding military achievements, and critical views mainly focusing on their way to ascend to the throne as foreign relatives.
It is undeniable that Wei Qing's entry into the career is indeed related to his sister Wei Zifu, but Wei Qing himself is not comparable to many arrogant and inefficient foreign relatives of the two Han Dynasties, for example, The Han Wu Emperor Liu Che once intended to make Wei Qing's three young sons marquis but was resolutely resigned, Wei Qing said that these three children were still in their infancy "not industrious" If they were knighted because of His Majesty's favor, then how should the generals face the soldiers who were desperately fighting on the battlefield?
Another example is the battle in the sixth year of Yuan Shuo (123 BC), there was a whole army destroyed, only the general Su Jian fled back, will be spared the orders of the foreign king, as the highest general and army commander of the battlefield at that time, Wei Qing could have had the right to dispose of it, but Wei Qing said that "I dare not arbitrarily criticize the outside world, it belongs to the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven cut it himself." Therefore, he had Su Jian escorted back to Chang'an and handed over to Emperor Wu of Han for disposal, and after the war he was rewarded with thousands of gold, and Wei Qing also gave five hundred gold of it to the parents of Emperor Wu of Han's new favorite, Lady Wang, as a birthday gift. Someone said to Wei Qing, as a great general and a great sima and a powerful person, you should raise a group of strategists and disciples, but Wei Qing said, "People obey the law and obey their duties. "As a foreign relative, he is not proud of nepotism but always keeps a clear head, which is the first characteristic of him that surpasses other foreign relatives.
Second, what can make him and Huo Goyi rise step by step in the official arena is the merit on the battlefield rather than nepotism, in the process of the Han Empire from a defensive strategy to a military offensive strategy, Wei Qing and Huo Quyi opened a new mode of operation for the Han Empire at that time, relying on military intelligence and the high mobility of large-scale cavalry corps on the vast plains and deserts, running long distances and large depths to attack the nomadic tribal settlements, effectively weakening the xiongnu's living force through annihilatory strikes. Coupled with the subsequent advance of infantry and the gradual construction of fortifications, the living space of the Xiongnu was continuously compressed and the security of the northern territory of the Han Empire was guaranteed.
These seem to be very simple to say, but it is very difficult to operate, Li Guang, known as the "Flying General", carried out defensive operations against the Northern Xiongnu in the early years of Emperor Jingdi and Emperor Wu of Han, and his military ability was obvious to all, but at the node of changing the strategic direction, this famous general was always stretched, so that posterity lamented that "Feng Tang is old, Li Guang is difficult to seal", so the miscalculation of any link in the strategy and tactics of Wei Qing and Huo Zhiyi may directly lead to the total collapse of the entire strategy.
It can be said that Wei Qing, on the basis of his own style, integrated the style of the Xiongnu, based on the traditional combat methods of the Han army, and adopted the combat methods of the Huns, forming a strategic idea of abandoning the enemy's frontal army and rushing to attack the enemy's core, while Huo's disease completely surpassed the Han army's combat mode, with the Xiongnu's way of fighting, with small troops bypassing the enemy's frontal defense line, directly attacking the target and running after the battle, the victory of Wei Huo and Huo was essentially a victory of learning, and at the same time opened a new chapter in the ancient Chinese military history.
If the Zhou Dynasty is full of brilliant ideas, the Jin Dynasty is full of wild and uninhibited, and the Tang Dynasty is full of poetry, then the Han Dynasty is full of courage and heroism, and Wei Qing and Huo Fuyi are happy, because they are so compatible with this era.