This video was suggested and sponsored by our patreon supporter Qihan Long. You can
join the ever-growing army of Kings and Generals via patreon or youtube membership.
The Xiongnu-Han war is part of the many thousands of years of confrontation between China and
the surrounding peoples. The origins of this conflict are rooted in antiquity and it was
probably one of the earliest and longest continuous conflicts in human history. It was not only
influential in terms of Chinese history, but would also change the fates of Europe and
Western Asia.
It is said that the first Chinese imperial dynasty – the Xia - was fighting the nomadic
Xirongs since its establishment. According to legendary accounts, which are somewhat
confirmed by the modern paleoanthropologists, when the Xia was overthrown by the Shang in
1600 BC, some of its members found refuge among the nomads and it seems that this union
created the Xiongnu people. These nomads lived on the northern edge of
the Gobi Desert and archeological finds prove that they raided the Shang in this period.
By the 13th century BC they started forming into tribes and some of them even gained the
upper-hand in the struggle against the proto-Mongol Donghu people.
In 823 BC they attacked the Zhou dynasty and even took a few towns. The horsemen had an
upper hand initially, but the Chinese’s chariots eventually allowed them to drive
the Xiongnu out. However, as the Zhou weakened and China entered an era called the Warring
States period in the 5th century BC, the Xiongnu raids and invasions became more effective.
That would change once again in the late 3rd century BC – China would be united by Qin
Shi Huang by 221 BC. The new emperor not only pushed the Xiongnu out of China, but had ordered
the building of a chain of fortifications, which would be later known as the Great Wall
of China. The Xiongnu were also losing their positions
elsewhere; they were defeated by the Yuezhi in the West and lost the control over Donghu
in the east. However, Shi Huang died in 210 BC, and just a year later Modu became the
chanyu, the title for the highest leader of Xiongnu, after killing his own father. He
soon defeated Yuezhi, Donghu and other neighbouring tribes.
By 203 BC he had established a vast empire, stretching from the Pamir mountains in the
west to the Liaodong peninsula in the east, from the Lake Baikal in the north to modern-day
Gansu province in the south. At the time of Modu, the Xiongnu empire had a large standing
army of 300,000. As the Qin were losing power and China was in a state of civil war, Modu
restarted the raids into the empire, creating a foothold in the northern provinces.
In 202 BC the Han dynasty was established and its first emperor – Gaozu decided to
stop the Xiongnu raids. In 200 BC he led an expedition against them with 320,000 soldiers.
However, his troops were trapped and besieged by Modu chanyu near the Baideng plateau. The
Han emperor was forced to ask for peace and adopt the policy of Heqin, marrying a princess
to the chanyu. However, it seems that groups of Xiongnu continued raiding the territory
of the empire. These raids continued for decades. In 141 BC, the 16 years old Liu Che became
the new emperor of the Han dynasty, known as emperor Wu of Han. Emperor Wu decided to
end the humiliating Heqin policy and stop the constant Xiongnu raids. After years of
accumulating of wealth, the empire was rich enough to support a military campaign against
them. Between 127 and 121 BC Wu’s generals Wei
Qing and Huo Qubing not only managed to defend against the constant raiding, but led a number
of counter-raids deep into Xiongnu territory. These counter-raids peaked in 121 BC, when
the Emperor deployed Huo Qubing against the Xiongnu in the Hexi Corridor. The general
led 10,000 cavalry, fighting through five Western Regions, advancing over 500 km over
Mount Yanzhi, and killing and capturing many soldiers and nobles. The Hexi corridor was
annexed by the Han. After the series of defeats by Wei Qing and
Huo Qubing, the ruler of the Xiongnu - Yizhixie decided to retreat with his tribes to the
north of the Gobi Desert, hoping that the barren land would serve as a natural barrier
against the Han offensives. Emperor Wu summoned his generals and announced his plan for a
massive expeditionary campaign. In 119 BC Han forces were deployed in two separate columns,
each consisting of 50,000 cavalry and over 100,000 infantry, with Wei Qing and Huo Qubing
serving as the supreme commander for each. Huo Qubing's forces set off from Dai Prefecture,
marched over 1,000 miles and directly engaged the forces of the Xiongnu's Worthy Prince
of the East. The battle was swift and decisive, as Qubing's army quickly encircled and overran
their enemy, killing and capturing many thousands. Huo Qubing's forces also suffered heavy losses
but were able to quickly recruit locals to add to their numbers. The general then continued
his pursuit as far as Lake Baikal, effectively annihilating one of the Xiongnu clans.
Wei Qing's force, setting off from Dingxiang, was comparatively weaker than its eastern
counterpart, as it consisted mainly of leftovers from Huo Qubing's preferential picks.
The Han army mobilized as planned. After a journey of over 500 miles, they encountered
the Chanyu's main force of 80,000 cavalry. This was unexpected, as the original plan
was to let Huo Qubing's elite troops deal with Chanyu's elite cavalry. The Xiongnu forces
had been waiting in anticipation to ambush their adversaries, while the Han forces were
tired and outnumbered, especially since their easternmost division had not yet arrived to
the battlefield. Without hesitation, the Xiongnu charged the Han forces with a 10,000-strong
vanguard of cavalry. Wei Qing recognized the odds against him and
quickly took defensive countermeasures. He ordered his troops to arrange heavy-armoured
chariots in a ring formation, creating mobile fortresses that provided archers, crossbowmen
and infantry protection from the Xiongnu's powerful cavalry charges, and allowed Han
troops to utilize their ranged weapons' advantages. Wei Qing then put all of his cavalry into
the formation of chariots, except for a 5,000-strong force which was deployed as a separate group,
tasked with attacking any Xiongnu forces that managed to infiltrate the ringed chariot formation.
This tactic proved effective in countering the momentum of the nomadic cavalry, as the
Xiongnu forces were unable to breach the Han lines. With the Xiongnu's initial push neutralized,
the battle solidified into a stalemate with neither side gaining the upper hand.
This stalemate lasted until dusk, when a sandstorm obscured the battlefield. Knowing that this
was his chance, Wei Qing sent in both his main force and reserve force. The Han cavalry
used the low visibility as cover and encircled the Chanyu's army from both flanks. The Xiongnu's
lines were overwhelmed, and their morale broken by the sight of Han soldiers attacking them
in the darkness. Seeing that his forces were completely overrun, the Chanyu escaped under
the escort of only a few hundred men. The Han forces killed over 19,000 enemies and
pursued the remainder another 100 miles to the Khangai Mountains, where they besieged
then captured the Fortress of Zhao Xin located in the Orkhon Valley. After a day spent regrouping
and receiving fresh supplies, the Han forces burned the stronghold to the ground, before
returning in triumph. According to the Book of Han, the official
historic document of the Han dynasty, “one could no longer see the court of the king
in the south of Gobi desert”. The Xiongnu never returned to the strength of their glory
days and thus, the power balance of Han and Xiongnu started to shift to favor the Han.
One century later, Xiongnu divided into south Xiongnu and north Xiongnu. The southern branch
of Xiongnu became subordinate to the Han empire, while the northern branch of Xiongnu, under
the attack from south Xiongnu, the Han empire and other nomadic tribes, started to migrate
westward. According to a number of scholars, the Xiongnu were the ancestor of the Huns,
who indirectly caused the destruction of the Western Roman empire.
The Han empire, on the other hand, divided into three kingdoms in 220 AD, after ruling
China for 400 years. China entered the Three Kingdoms era, but that is a tale for another
documentary, which we might tell down the line, so make sure you are subscribed to our
channel and have pressed the bell button. We would like to express our gratitude to
our Patreon supporters and channel members, who make the creation of our videos possible.
Now, you can also support us by buying our merchandise via the link in the description.
This is the Kings and Generals channel, and we will catch you on the next one.