In the fourth year of Emperor Xuan's reign (58 BC), the Chanyu's control over the East gradually weakened to a certain level, so the Eastern generals appointed a prince to the throne, known as Han Xie Chanyu. The Chanyu was naturally unwilling to have another Chanyu appear on the grassland and share the grassland with him equally. As the saying goes, "There are no two days in the sky and no two kings in the country." Once Huhanxie Chanyu is established, it means that the Xiongnu will definitely have a war in the future, and the winner must be decided.
The Chanyu sent troops to attack, but his army was killed and no trace of armor was left. Even the Chanyu himself was defeated and killed. This is because the hearts of others are lost, and Huhanxie Chanyu has the support of many generals, making him stronger. Like the Central Plains regime, the Xiongnu also believed in justice. Huhanxie Chanyu regretted killing the old Chanyu. In fact, he could have held the Chanyu in his hands to prevent the loss of Zhengtong and the grassland continent would fall into the chaos of heroes competing for the throne.
Seeing that the Chanyu was killed, in order to seize the dominance of the grassland, the Western generals also supported another prince to the throne, known as the Chanyu Tuqi. Two Chanyus attack each other. The next year, three more Chanyus emerged on the grassland, so five Chanyus stood side by side, causing chaos throughout the country. Hu Hanxie's move did not take into account that his reputation would not be able to unify the grassland. Not only did he fall into the resentment of the heroes who aspired to be king, but it also caused the Huns to fall into long-term weakness.
After a series of fratricidal fights to avenge the enemy, Hu Hanxie became the final winner among the five Shanyu due to his superior skills. However, he was not the final overlord of the entire grassland empire, so when he successively defeated the other four great chanyus, one of his elder brothers had already established himself in the east, known as Zhizhi chanyu.
In the fourth year of Emperor Xuan's reign of Emperor Wufeng (54 BC), Zhizhi Chanyu attacked Huhanxie Chanyu westward under the banner of eradicating national traitors. Soon the army entered the royal court (at that time, the royal court of the Xiongnu was located in Harhorin, Mongolia today). ), Hu Hanxie was defeated by Shanyu, and the army retreated southward steadily.
From this year onwards, the Xiongnu split into two parts: the southern and northern Xiongnu. The split of the Xiongnu was undoubtedly the icing on the cake for the Han Dynasty, which was at its peak at that time. The humiliation of the "White Horse Siege" by Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, to the comfort of reaping the benefits now, is truly an earth-shaking change.
At this time, all the countries in the Western Regions were following the lead of the Western Han Dynasty. The key to the victory of the Northern and Southern Xiongnu was to obtain the support of the Han Dynasty. In order to win foreign aid, the Northern and Southern Xiongnu were vying to flatter and beg for mercy from the Han Dynasty and to send their princes to China to serve as hostages. The Han Dynasty also They adopted a strategy of never refusing to come and not helping each other.
According to Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, the most beneficial thing for the Han Dynasty would be for the Xiongnu to remain divided. Therefore, it could only help the weak to fight against the strong. Soon, the Huns from the north and south came to a conclusion. Huhanxie Chanyu could not resist Zhizhi Chanyu's offensive and prayed for help from the Han Dynasty in the south. However, at this moment, the Han Dynasty could not make up its mind to help him because of that. As a result, not only will it completely offend the Northern Huns, but it may also "raise tigers to cause trouble" and make Huhanxie Chanyu stronger.
People under the eaves have to bow their heads. In order to show his sincerity and determination to be loyal to the Han Dynasty, Huhanxie Chanyu sent envoys to the Han Dynasty to beg for surrender in the third year of Emperor Xuan's Ganlu (51 BC), hoping that he could lead his people to move south to the Han Dynasty area. Emperor Xuan and others heard the news , was overjoyed immediately, even if he offended the Northern Huns, he would not hesitate, because this would not only demonstrate the achievements of the dynasty, but also put the Huns under his control, why not do it? Therefore, Emperor Xuan agreed to Huhanxie Chanyu's request. In the same year, Huhanxie Chanyu led all the people and livestock of the Southern Xiongnu Khanate to surrender to the Han Dynasty. In order to show the enthusiasm of the Central Plains Dynasty, when Hu Hanxie Chanyu went to Chang'an for pilgrimage, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty held a banquet in the palace to welcome him.
After the banquet, Emperor Xuan and Huhanxie Chanyu discussed the territory of the southern Xiongnu. Huhanxie Chanyu was worthy of being a tycoon in the area. He recognized Emperor Xuan's determination to help him, so he "opened his mouth like a lion" and asked to move to Hetao. In the past, Hetao was the most prosperous area of the Xiongnu. Emperor Xuan saw that Huhanxie Chanyu's power was very weak, so he agreed to his request and sent General Han Chang to lead 16,000 cavalry to garrison along the Yellow River for protection. . In this way, Emperor Xuan undoubtedly let the tiger go back to the mountain. Of course, with the strength of the Han Dynasty at that time, Emperor Xuan really could not find any reason to be afraid of any force in the world.
The deterrent effect of this pilgrimage is obvious, especially for the countries in the Western Regions. It is undoubtedly a shock like a thunderbolt from the blue. The huge Xiongnu, which they believed to be irresistible, was actually conquered by the Han Dynasty and sought its protection. I would like to ask all the countries in the world, who can compete with the Han Dynasty? As a result, the countries in the Western Regions respected the Han Dynasty even more. In order to express his gratitude for the help of the Han Dynasty, Hu Hanxie Chanyu continued to make pilgrimages to the Emperor of the Western Han Dynasty.
According to historical records, Huhanxie Chanyu's last pilgrimage was in the first year of Emperor Jingning of the Yuan Dynasty (33 BC). At that time, the country of Han Dynasty had changed hands, Liu Xun had passed away, and his son, Emperor Liu Shi, who was born to Xu Pingjun, took over the power. Since Liu Xun's time, Hu Hanxie Chanyu, with the full assistance of the Han Dynasty, has grown stronger and continued to counterattack. In order to continue to win the support of the Han Dynasty, he asked the emperor to marry the emperor's princess. Liu Shi couldn't find a suitable candidate for a while, so he made Zhaojun, a palace queen, a princess and rewarded him.
Liu Shi didn't know Wang Zhaojun at that time. When he was leaving, he discovered that she was a stunning beauty, eclipsing the tens of thousands of ladies in his harem. He jumped up and ordered the palace painter Mao Yanshou to be killed. Lost because Mao Yanshou did not draw her beauty. This is the allusion of "Zhaojun goes out of the fortress" that later became a household name.
Huhanxie Chanyu relied on the support of the Han Dynasty and continued to attack Zhizhi Chanyu, which eventually led to the collapse of his country. In desperation, Zhizhi Chanyu led his troops to move westward, and soon invaded the northern border of the Western Region and destroyed the Jiankun Kingdom (the upper reaches of the Yenisei River in Siberia) and the Dingling tribe (on the shores of Lake Baikal).
After Zhizhi Chanyu gained a foothold, he asked the Han Dynasty to return the prince who was serving as a hostage. The Han Dynasty had long been wary of Huhanxie Chanyu's strength, and was wary of the Northern Xiongnu's request. Naturally, he generously agreed and sent envoy Gu Ji to escort the prince to his temporary capital, Jiankun King City. However, the rulers of the Han Dynasty never expected that Zhizhi Chanyu not only showed no gratitude, but instead remembered the resentment of the Han Dynasty's opponent Huhanxie Chanyu for aiding him, and actually killed the Han Dynasty's envoy Gu Ji. This was undoubtedly a challenge to the authority of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty then decided to send troops from the Western Regions to assist Hu Hanxie Chanyu in attacking the Northern Huns. After Shanyu Zhizhi killed Gu Ji, he regretted it. Seeing the Han soldiers approaching the border, he knew that it was difficult to match them with his own strength, so he gave up Jiankun and continued to move west.
There is no road ahead. Just when the Northern Huns were chased to the end by the Southern Huns and the Han Dynasty army, Zhizhi Shanyu saw hope. Because just after they arrived at the Kingdom of Kangju, its king sent a letter of invitation. It turned out that the Kangju Kingdom had been repeatedly defeated by the Wusun Kingdom in the competition for power in some parts of the Western Regions. It happened to hear that the Northern Huns came to their city like a bereaved dog. It was expected that as long as they accepted him this time, they would be able to rely on their powerful Using troops to resist Wusun can also make them feel grateful and avoid fighting with them. Of course, they also considered the Han Dynasty and the Southern Xiongnu, and finally believed that it was impossible for the Han Dynasty to be willing to offend a country because of such a small force.
Sure enough, the Han army did not pursue it to the end, and even the Southern Xiongnu stopped attacking, because at this time, the Southern Xiongnu had become the only political power on the grassland. Soon Huhanxie Chanyu asked the Han Dynasty to leave Hetao and return to his homeland in the north. He became the only strong man on the grassland and the biggest hidden danger to the Han Dynasty in the future. Even Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty did not expect this. Unfortunately, At this time, the Han Dynasty was already declining and had no time to take care of itself.
After receiving the invitation from the Kangju Kingdom, the Northern Huns stationed themselves in the capital of Kangju and formed an alliance with it. In order to consolidate this alliance, King Kangju also married his daughter to Chanyu Zhizhi, and Chanyu Zhizhi also married his daughter to King Kangju. The two parties were each other's father-in-law.
Chanyu Zhizhi and Kang Jubing attacked Wusun. Facing the powerful Huns cavalry, the Wusun Kingdom was naturally unable to resist. Suddenly, the western border was almost completely destroyed. However, the good times did not last long. Just when King Kangju thought that the time to unify the borders of the Western Regions and become the first powerful country in the Western Regions was just around the corner, Zhizhi Chanyu began to become restless and soon threatened the safety of the Kangju Kingdom.
The most obvious one is that Zhizhi Chanyu actually regarded himself as the protector of the Kangju Kingdom. He had a rough temper and killed King Kangju's daughter because the Kangju Kingdom refused to surrender, and sent troops to control the Kangju Kingdom. capital, and then drove and persecuted the nobles in the Kangju Kingdom as slaves. Since then, Zhizhi Chanyu began to gradually reveal his ambitions. He built ramparts in Kangju's country and sent notices to all countries in the Western Regions, asking them to pay tribute. Although King Kangju felt extremely remorseful for having led the wolf into his house, it was of no avail at all. In desperation, he could only quietly pray for help from the envoys of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions. In the third year of Emperor Jianzhao of the Yuan Dynasty (36 BC), it had been eight years since Zhizhi Chanyu killed Gu Ji, the envoy of the Han Dynasty. Chen Tang, the deputy captain of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty, based on the holy will and the people's will, mobilized the armies of various countries in the Western Regions. Together with the reclamation corps, a total of more than 40,000 people divided into two groups to attack Zhizhi Shanyu. The north road passes through the Wusun Kingdom, and the south road crosses Congling (Pamir Plateau), passes through the Dawan Kingdom, and finally encircles Zhizhi City (Kazakhstan Zhambul). Zhizhi Chanyu's troops were outnumbered, and the city of Zhizhi fell quickly. The coalition forces cut off Zhizhi Chanyu's head and sent his head to the emperor's court in Chang'an under starry night.
At the same time, he also attached a letter, which said: "Anyone who offends a strong man will be punished no matter how far away he is!"
After the efforts of the Han dynasties, especially the formulation of Han Wu's imperial policy and military strategy and Liu Xun's continuation and thorough implementation, the Xiongnu suffered a devastating blow. In the end, it was logical that Zhizhi Shan died, and the Northern Xiongnu also completely perish.
