When Heaven is about to entrust this person with a great responsibility, he must first strain his mind and will, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, deplete his body, and mess up his actions. Therefore, tempting his heart and forbearance will benefit him beyond what he can do. People always make mistakes, and then they can change; they are stuck in the heart, weighed by worries, and then act; they are marked by color, produced by sound, and then metaphor. If you enter, you will be unable to control the people at home, if you leave, you will be invincible to foreign patients, and the country will be permanently destroyed. Then I know that I was born in sorrow and died in happiness.
——Mencius
Liu Bang went through untold hardships and finally gained a foothold in the Central Plains. It was time for him to have a taste of the world. However, the law of heaven is unfair. Who would have thought that war broke out in the northwest again? General Han Xin was immediately in danger, and the border people were in danger of fire and water. And the man in danger was none other than Mao Dun, who had been a hostage and almost died several times.
Not long after the emperor ascended the throne, the imperial court was first established, and the civil servants in the court were busy setting rules and etiquette, and did not know what to do. Although the generals did not know the same, they were full of contempt in their airs. They thought, how could a mere Hunu still be strong? Can you surpass the likes of Meng Tian and Xiang Yu? We have been through the battlefield of life and death for a long time, and the ability to win the world immediately is not something we just blow off. The military generals were already dissatisfied when they saw that the birthday of the emperor and the Confucian scholars were getting closer. Now the opportunity came to kill the generals, slap the flags, and regain their majesty, so they poured out their dissatisfaction with the corrupt Confucians on the Xiongnu.
The Xiongnu were a nomadic people in northern China. It can also be said to be one of the most famous nomads in Chinese history.
The Huns are descendants of Chunwei, the first hereditary dynasty in my country, the monarch of the Xia Dynasty. Chunwei was the son of Xia Jie's concubine. After the fall of the Xia Dynasty in the 16th century BC, a descendant of Xia Hou Lugui fled to the north and became the Xiongnu tribe after annexing other tribes.
In ancient times, the north was a desolate and cold land. There were no cultivated fields, no city walls and houses to live in, no written language for covenants, and even the geographical affiliation of each other was unclear. The Xiongnu lived in the north for a long time, living in pursuit of water and grass, and making a living by herding sheep, horses, and hunting.
From an early age, Xiongnu children learned to ride horses, herd sheep, bend bows to shoot birds, and throw spears to kill animals. He hunts everywhere, eats meat when he is hungry, drinks blood when he is thirsty, and has a very good physique. And because the place where they lived was extremely cold, they ate animal meat and drank milk on a daily basis, which provided them with adequate nutritional supplements. Therefore, the Huns were all strong, rough and majestic, and could be said to be born strong soldiers. If the weather is good, the Xiongnu will stay in their own place, each family will let their own sheep and horses, and each will hunt his own game; but if there is a bad year, they will have murderous intentions and cause chaos everywhere, let alone rob the Han people. The people of this tribe are no exception. Small tribes within the Xiongnu often fought with each other, or large tribes annexed small tribes.
The Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties all suffered from intrusions from northern nomads, and the Han people could not bear the suffering. The song said: "The reason for the overspending of the house and home is the wolf." That is to say, the reason why our family was destroyed was all because of the wolf.
烃狁 (xiǎnyǔn): an ancient clan name, the old name of the Xiongnu clan. Also called Quan Rong, they were active in the present-day Shaanxi and Gansu areas, between Xian and Qi in ancient times. By the Western Zhou Dynasty, the long-term peaceful farming environment made the kings indulge in extravagance, play with things and play with the princes. The monarch's character softened and he had no intention of enriching the country and strengthening the army. Later, King You of Zhou conflicted with the Marquis of Shen because he appointed Bao Si as his queen. In the end, the Marquis of Shen took advantage of the beacon fire to play with the princes and teamed up with the Xiongnu to destroy King You of Zhou. As a result, King You of Zhou was attacked and killed by the barbaric Quanrong tribe, King You's favorite concubine Bao Si was taken prisoner, and the northwest of the capital city of Feng and Hao was occupied by the Quanrong. The Western Zhou Dynasty, which had been strong for about three hundred years, fell.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Xiongnu and the Han people fought and killed each other, with each winning and losing, so fortifications such as Yan Great Wall and Zhao Great Wall were built to defend against the Huns. After Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he ordered Meng Tian to lead the army to kill them and gallop 700 miles away. The Huns were frightened by the news and never dared to go south to herd their horses and bend their bows.
Qin lost its deer and the whole world chased it away. The Xiongnu also took this opportunity to develop their power and expand their territory. The Huns live a true life, do what they say, and never have any false pretenses or corrupt etiquette. On the battlefield, attack if you have an advantage and retreat if you lose. Do not be ashamed to retreat. Leaders, like generals, eat animal meat and wear animal skins. The younger and stronger the better, the better. The weak and weak can only eat the less valuable food. The Huns value the young and despise the elderly; they respect the strong and despise the weak. It was a society where men were superior to women. Women had no status and were only regarded as property. If the father dies, the son can marry his stepmother; if the elder brother dies, the younger brother can marry his sister-in-law. Maybe we today can't understand their customs at that time, or even hate them. But we have to remember that at that time, population reproduction was the most important thing for the nomads on the steppe. How many small tribes on the grassland were wiped out in the subsequent tribal battles and massacres due to the sparse tribal population.
Moton was the son of the leader. His father hoped that he would inherit the great cause, so when he was a child, he taught him how to manage the tribe and how to inspire the fighting spirit of the soldiers.
The leader of the Huns at this time was named Touman. Touman was Modu's father. Modu was the eldest son and had been established as the prince. In the north of the Xiongnu, there was a strong team that was a pain in Touman's heart. That team was the Yuezhi. Soon, Touman suddenly had another worry, because his later wife, Yan, gave birth to a young son for him. Logically speaking, Tou Man should be happy to have a son, but the Yan family has been trying hard to persuade Tou Man to make his son the prince. Although Touman was not smart, he was also a sensible person. He knew that if he died and one of the generals of the Yan family was committed to him, his two sons would fight for the position of Chanyu, which would immediately cause his Xiongnu tribe to split. . He has rich experience and knows that division leads to weakness, division leads to isolation, and will eventually lead to destruction. Touman frowned for several days. People who didn't know the inside story thought that he was afraid of the attack from the Yuezhi and the Han people in the Central Plains, so they all came forward with suggestions.
On this day, Touman called Mao Dun and said that he wanted Mao Dun to go to Yuezhi as a pledge. Modu felt that he could contribute to his father, and that this would not only benefit his tribe, but also train himself, so he was very happy.
Touman patted his son on the shoulder and said sincerely: "Take care!" Modu heard his father choked with sobs. When he looked up, he saw his father's face was solemn and his eyes were moist. He thought it was because his father was worried about his own safety. Mao Dun also said with a sour nose: "Ah Da! No matter what happens when I leave, I will be able to endure humiliation and live up to my trust. In order to prevent the army from being shaken, there is no need to see me off when I leave. Besides, Yuezhi is alone. rest assured."
Tou Manlao burst into tears and was speechless for a long time. He held Mo Dun's hand tightly with both hands.
As soon as Mao Dun arrived at Yuezhi, a traitor of the Yuezhi people hiding in the Xiongnu reported that Touman was reorganizing his army and was about to attack. The Yuezhi generals were furious, scolding Touman for being sinister and vicious, and they did not hesitate to use his son as bait, clamoring to behead Maodun. The one who comes here is not a good person, thinking that I left my family and abandoned my clan, all thanks to the Yuezhi. Now that I have entered in person, I can simply explore their true and false status, so that I can be prepared for the future confrontation between the two sides. He sneaked around a few places and heard from a groom that there was a tall horse in the stable that could travel thousands of miles a day. He laughed secretly in his heart, wondering if there was such a horse in the world. He turned around and left, and heard faintly in his ears: "...that horse The horse has white hair with no spots..."
Suddenly the torches were bright, and the surrounding area seemed to be on fire. Then there was a lot of noise, saying:
"Catch the spy!"
"Get that little bastard from the Huns!"
"That little bastard must not be the Hun Prince!"
"How could the Huns send the prince here casually!"
I saw that the torches first surrounded the place where Mao Dun lived, and then spread out everywhere.
Mao Dun was startled, but then calmed down, thinking that he would be exposed by spying, and it was important to escape. I didn't have time to think about it at the moment, so I ran straight to the stable, and saw a tall horse, all white, very majestic. Mao Dun untied the reins, jumped on the horse, clamped his legs, and the white horse galloped like flying. After a moment, when he looked back, he saw the dazzling torch at first, as subtle as the morning star.
After a night of galloping, Mao Dun returned home, already exhausted, but the horse seemed to be more energetic than last night. When Touman heard that Mao Dun had returned, he felt happy at first, then worried, and immediately went to see Mao Dun to ask why. Mao Dun thought that the Yuezhi army was pressing on the territory but no one in the clan knew about it. He didn't care about being tired, so he hurried to see Touman. The two met halfway, and when Mao Dun was about to talk about Yuezhi's situation, Tou Man asked him how he came back.
Modun had no choice but to say that he had escaped. When he wanted to say more, Touman shook his hand, looking worried again.
The next day, Touman summoned Maodun and gave him 10,000 fine cavalry and asked him to lead troops abroad. Mao Dun was full of doubts. Why was his father suddenly happy and sad when he saw him? Why was there no news from Yuezhi just after he came back? Just when she was about to ask her father, Mrs. Yan pulled her little brother in. She saw Mrs. Yan's pretty face and soft words, which were so delicate that it was hard to describe. She also saw that her little brother was dressed elegantly and behaved in a dignified manner. She couldn't help but think of He has the blessing of a patriarch.
On this day, Mao Dun was training his soldiers. When he was going to the toilet, he overheard the two men talking about how Tou Man arranged for him to be a hostage and how he pretended to attack the Yuezhi so that he could be eliminated with the help of the Yuezhi. . Mao Dun was angry from the bottom of his heart. He grabbed the two men and beat them violently. One of them couldn't bear it and actually said that he was a close associate of the Yan family. He knew that the Yan family had instigated Touman to establish another prince and used his hands to cheat others. Maodun thought back to himself in a daze, and suddenly saw his brother's elegant clothes. He blinked and shed two tears.
The world is so cruel.
From then on, Mao Dun never left the military camp and trained his troops all day long. He asked the Yan family's cronies to report to the Yan family that Mao Dun was very stupid and did not know how to be flexible in military training. Mao Dun established a military regulation in the camp, saying: Wherever Mao Dun's arrow points, the generals must follow him, otherwise he will be beheaded immediately; if Mao Dun shoots animals with his arrows, any general who disobeys them will be beheaded immediately.
Soon, Mao Dun shot his favorite horse again, and all the soldiers who did not follow him were killed. Some time later, Mao Dun shot his wife in public, and those soldiers who didn't shoot were all beheaded. Once, Maodun shot an arrow at Touman's mount, and all the soldiers followed him and shot him. Seeing Touman's mount covered with arrows, Mao Dun felt happy in his heart, but his expression remained as usual. A few days later, Mao Dun asked Tou Man to go hunting. Tou Man was galloping ahead and was about to shoot an arrow at a running little white rabbit. Mo Dun also controlled the bow with his left hand and nocked the arrow with his right hand: suddenly, two arrows were fired in unison. , but Touman shot the white rabbit, but Maodun shot Touman. In an instant, Touman was covered with arrows, like a hedgehog.
After Touman's death, Maodun proclaimed himself Chanyu and carried out mass killings. No one who disobeyed orders was spared.
Donghu deceived Maodun Xinli and sent an envoy to say: "Our leader wants the thousand-mile horse that Touman rides!" Maodun asked the officials. The officials refused, but Maodun said with a smile: "A horse. Is it worth offending the country for it?"
When the officials saw that Mao Dun had given away the horse that had saved him so easily, they were filled with anger, but their faces were filled with anger. Soon, Dong Hu came again to ask for the Yan family. Mao Dun still asked the officials. The officials were furious and rolled up their sleeves and fists, preparing to fight. However, Mao Dun personally sent the Yan family out.
King Donghu was overjoyed after receiving Yan's family. He thought that Maodun was a idiot, so he gave the woman he had taken over to him. Then he invaded Maodun from the west and sent envoys to lobby Maodun for the land between the Xiongnu and Donghu. Mao Dun still asked the officials for their opinions. They all said that the land was barren and it was okay not to take it. But Mo Dun jumped up and said sternly: "Land is the foundation of a nation's survival. Why don't you want it? Why give it away for free?"
Immediately, he ordered the envoys to be killed and the flags to be sacrificed, and Maodun led his troops to conquer the area in person. The Donghu people were proud and underestimated the enemy, and were destroyed in one fell swoop. Maodun won the first battle and gained a lot of loot. He took this opportunity to drive the Yueshi to the west and Loulan and other tribes to the south, and regained the land that Meng Tian had occupied from the Huns the previous year.
When Maodun developed its power, it coincided with the conflict between Chu and Han, so there was little resistance to going south. However, in just a moment in history, Maodun was already dominant and became the leader of the grassland commanding more than 300,000 elite soldiers and generals. Taking advantage of this general trend, in the autumn of the sixth year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (201 BC), Mao Dun died and besieged the general Han Wangxin in Mayi. In September of the same year, King Xin of Han surrendered, and Maodun crossed the mountains and captured Taiyuan, and marched to Jinyang City.
When Maodun came to Jinyang, the Confucian scholars in the Han Dynasty were troubled by the generals' lack of etiquette and lack of etiquette. The military generals were also upset by the corrupt etiquette and etiquette of the civil servants. The crisis was unknown.
