Not only the Qin Dynasty, but also the Zhao State during the Warring States Period could brutally brutalize the Xiongnu. Could it be that the Han Dynasty, as a unified dynasty, could not even compare to the separatist Zhao State? Of course not. Historical research must focus on dialectics and look at issues from a changing perspective. The strength of the Huns during the Qin Dynasty and the Huns during the Han Dynasty changed; the national power in the early years of the Han Dynasty and the national power during the Qin Empire also changed.
Qin Shihuang, the remaining warriors of the sixth generation, acted as the supreme ruler and controlled Liuhe, destroying the six countries with the force of autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, and unifying China. At this time, the Xiongnu under the rule of Touman Chanyu faced a severe external environment. In the north alone, the Xiongnu were surrounded by powerful neighbors. "Historical Records" records:
At that time, Donghu was strong and the Yuezhi was prosperous.
The Yuezhi were active in the northwest Qilian Mountains and the Hexi Corridor; the Donghu were active in the eastern part of the Mongolian Plateau and the outer Xing'an Mountains. The Xiongnu were loaded into two extremely prosperous nomadic regimes, and their living space was severely squeezed; making matters worse. Unexpectedly, the First Emperor was interested in the Yinshan Hetao area. In order to seize this geomantic treasure land, the Emperor sent General Meng Tian to attack the Huns from the north:
The First Emperor ordered Meng Tian to attack the Huns north with 100,000 men and collect all of them in Henan. . Because the river was a fortress, forty-four county towns were built near the river and moved to fill it with suitable garrison facilities.
With the majesty of sweeping across the six kingdoms, coupled with a complete military system and high-quality weapons, and with the support of strong national power, the Qin army defeated the Xiongnu:
Touman was invincible against Qin, and the North Migrate.
Researching historical materials, it is not difficult to find that the Huns of the Qin Dynasty were far from being the overlords of the grasslands in later generations, and they did not have a powerful army with a command of 300,000 people. Facing the Qin army that advocated military merit and strict military discipline, they also The only reason is to run away.
But as the saying goes, things have turned, and the Qin Empire's advantage over the Huns suddenly disappeared with the death of the First Emperor. After Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, succeeded to the throne, uprisings broke out across the Qin Empire against the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty. The nobles of the six countries took advantage of the situation to make a comeback, and the entire territory of the Chinese emperor was divided. At that time, the countries in the Central Plains were busy with the unification war and had no time to pay attention to the north, so the Xiongnu came back and once again occupied the Hetao Plain captured by Meng Tian. At the same time, the political situation within the Xiongnu also underwent tremendous changes.
Touman Chanyu was killed by his son Mao Dun, who therefore became the leader of the Huns. Unlike Touman, this man was a master of great talent and strategy. He was determined to make the Xiongnu the overlord of the grassland. Therefore, soon after, Modu launched a "unification war on the grassland" and sent troops to destroy the Donghu and Dayue clan. , annexed their land, cattle and sheep, and even part of the tribal population, thus greatly increasing their strength. After unification, the Huns once again set their sights on the fertile south.
Shortly after Maodun completed the unification, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty defeated Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, in Gaixia and completed the unification. But at this time, the Han Empire was extremely weak due to the great turmoil in the late Qin Dynasty. Especially the war horses needed to fight the northern ethnic minorities, the Han Dynasty was in short supply. Even Liu Bang's own chariot could not even get four horses of the same color to pull. The disadvantage of raising an army will inevitably lead to the failure of the battle against the Xiongnu. During the siege of Baishan Mountain, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was almost captured alive by the Xiongnu. Fortunately, Zhang Liang used a trick to bribe the Yan family of the Xiongnu Chanyu, and the Han army was able to escape.
After that, a situation emerged where the Han Dynasty was weak and the Huns were strong, and the Han Dynasty had to maintain peace on the border with peace. What's even more outrageous is that after Liu Bang's death, Maodun Shanyu of the Huns actually wrote to the Queen Mother Lu asking her to come to the grassland to marry him. Maodun Chanyu may not really want to marry the old and sensual Empress Lu. This letter is just a demonstration to the Han Dynasty. After receiving the letter, Empress Lu was furious and immediately ordered troops to attack the Xiongnu. However, she was dissuaded by the officials to give up:
Maodun is a high-ranking empress who has written a book, and speaks nonsense. When Emperor Gao wanted to attack him, the generals said: "I know Emperor Gao is a wise man, but he is still trapped in Pingcheng." ?So Empress Gao stopped and made peace with the Xiongnu again.
Queen Lu had no choice but to write a very humble reply. The content was probably: Maodun Shanyu is in the prime of his life, but my old woman is already old and beautiful, and she is really not worthy of Shanyu. you. It is conceivable how humiliating the Han Dynasty suffered at that time, and it is not difficult to infer how afraid the Han Dynasty was of the Xiongnu.
This situation lasted for more than fifty years. It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty succeeded to the throne that the situation of "offensive and defensive changes" appeared between Han and Huns.