? What is the real reason for being detained for 19 years? The story of "Su Wu shepherding sheep" in the "Book of Han Su Wu" has moved Chinese people of all ages, but how many people know the real reason why Su Wu was imprisoned for 19 years?
The real reason why Su Wu was imprisoned for 19 years
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The story of "Su Wu shepherding sheep" in "Hanshu Biography of Su Wu" has fascinated Chinese people in ancient and modern times. People are moved. Su Wu's unyielding heroic image also serves as a model for many later feudal dynasties in their treatment of the "Beidi" barbarians - they "treat them with ritual instructions" and "reprimand them with restraint" to the Shanyu and chiefs. Such Han envoys Although they may not be able to complete their diplomatic mission, they will always gain extra points in terms of "reputation", and at least they can achieve the effect of "making a statement".
In "The Biography of Su Wu", the Han envoys Su Wu, Zhang Sheng, and Chang Hui are all good people, while the Xiongnu side are all villains and traitors. This is the emotional effect that is easily achieved by reading the text "Su Wu Biography". Ban Gu, the compiler of the "Book of Han", processed the historical materials about Su Wu and the Xiongnu with this purpose.
When modern people look at history, the most important thing they should avoid is pride and prejudice, because the purpose of reading history is to deepen their understanding of the world and reality, and to increase their intelligence. In short, our reading of history can finally no longer "serve the interests of the ruling class" like the ancients did - please let us turn to the records of this period of history in Chinese and foreign history books and compare them to see the true history of "Su Wu Sheep" background.
When Su Wu went on a mission to the Xiongnu, the most intense first phase of the Han-Hungarian war had just ended. The newly ascended Xiongnu Chanyu wanted to use a delaying strategy to improve relations with the Han Dynasty and buy time to consolidate internal affairs. Therefore, he proposed that both sides release the diplomatic envoys (spies) detained in their respective places. At that time, I readily agreed. Why? There is a mystery here. Moreover, the timing of sending Su Wu as an envoy was very sinister judging from the subsequent results. It was also the most fundamental reason why Su Wu was detained by the Xiongnu for 19 years.
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Because Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was planning an attack on the Xiongnu at that time, and it was an attack of unprecedented scale. The purpose was to completely eliminate the Xiongnu.
The background of this attack was the largest and longest war in the world at that time - the Hundred Years' War between Han and Hungary.
The Xiongnu are a very ancient ethnic group in Mobei. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period in the Central Plains, the Xiongnu had not yet become a major force and had no record of major battles with the Central Plains countries. At that time, the main opponents of Jin (later Zhao), Yan and other countries in the north were Shanrong; Qin in the west also faced Xirong in a state of disunity.
After the Qin Dynasty unified the world, it focused on expansion and attacked from all sides. Among them, the most ruthless use of troops was in the north. He sent Mengtian to lead 300,000 elite troops and the most advanced composite weapon at the time - the crossbow machine. He drove the Xiongnu tribes out of the Hetao-Ordos area where they had lived for generations, and set up counties and towns to guard them. .
Having lost their homeland with fertile water and grass, the Huns had no choice but to wander and wander in the prairie for several years. However, later, the Xiongnu adopted the light cavalry army tactic. The essence of this tactic was the integration of humans (wisdom), horses (speed), and bows and arrows (long-range killing), showing strong mobility and lethality. Originally, there were no stirrups at that time, so it was difficult for riders to control their horses for a long time. However, the war horses used by the Huns were very special. These horses were short in stature, had strong endurance, and ran very smoothly. Most of the war bows used by the Huns cavalry were made of bone arrowheads and did not rely much on smelting technology. As for the tactics of the Huns, they are even more vicious: they use flags and decoys to draw out your main force. When you are almost tired from the pursuit and are distracted by their rangers, they use The weather, terrain and arrow power suddenly squeeze you into a pre-set "nest" (slaughterhouse), and then the main force of the Huns attacks and slaughters you. Note that the essence of this tactic is not just cavalry shooting, but the combined use of thousands of cavalry shooting regiments and close coordination with the terrain and weather.
This set of tactics and equipment was used from the Huns to the Mongols. It was very effective. It often confused the mixed cavalry and cavalry troops of the Han army and allowed the European heavy armored knights to use their strength. Not out. The Han people simply built the Great Wall and encroached on the land step by step, in response to this tactic.
Later, I discovered the source of inspiration for this method of warfare in a collection of best-selling stories written by contemporary people: It turned out that the warriors in the north came from a cunning, powerful and somewhat philosophical style. The book that was inspired by the carnivore is called "Wolf Totem".
Relying on this most powerful tactic in the world at the time, the great hero of the Xiongnu, Maodun Chanyu, unified all the riding and arching peoples in the north and formed a main regiment of up to 300,000 people on horseback and archery.
At this point, the Xiongnu quickly reoccupied their homeland of Hetao and extended their "right arm" to conquer the countries in the Western Regions, driving the Yuezhi people who occupied the Hexi Corridor at that time to Central Asia to raise camels; The "Left Arm" destroyed Donghu and fought all the way to the south of Xing'an Mountains.
Then, the Xiongnu folded their arms and prepared to embrace the Central Plains, but found that the emerging Han Dynasty was very difficult to deal with.
In the early Han Dynasty, due to the war between Chu and Han, the people were depleted and their wealth was exhausted. Therefore, the four dynasties of Gao, Lu, Wen and Jing all adopted a "peace and marriage" policy towards the Xiongnu, using beauty and luxury goods to satisfy the upper class of the Xiongnu and delay the war. , at the same time, we continue to actively prepare for war at home. The Xiongnu invaded and robbed many times, but the Han army only guarded the fortresses and cleared the country.
After decades of management, by the time of Emperor Wu, the Han Dynasty was ready for a war, and the two countries quickly entered a state of war. Originally, because of many years of peace, the Xiongnu had gradually become accustomed to a peaceful situation (of course, this peace came at the expense of the Han Dynasty's aggrievedness). At that time, many famous generals, such as Han Anguo and Li Guang, did not advocate the complete annihilation of the Xiongnu as the strategic goal, but advocated occupying the Hetao area as their springboard to move south to the Central Plains and threaten Chang'an. However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was a man with a very extreme personality. He defied all opinions and simply appointed his uncles and domestic slaves, like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, as commanders, and gave them the most elite troops and unlimited supplies - just like that. Just like rich people playing online games, spending a lot of money to buy the best equipment, and entering the game interface in "invincible mode" - Wei Qing and Huo Qubing continuously launched attacks on the Xiongnu regardless of cost and casualties. Wei Qing captured Hetao-Ordos, and Huo Qubing occupied the Hexi Corridor, opening the door to the Western Regions. Moreover, starting from Huo Qubing, the Han army began to adopt a "ploughing courtyard and sweeping holes" style attack on the population in the Xiongnu territory, that is, it began to exterminate non-combatants. The Xiongnu had no way to gain a foothold in Monan, so they all fled to Mobei, waiting for the opportunity to counterattack.
Because the Xiongnu no longer had the strength to threaten the Han Dynasty: the fighting population dropped sharply, the Hetao and Hexi Corridors were lost, and all countries in the Western Regions fell to the Han Dynasty. The Huns had lost their war potential both militarily and economically. If the Han army wanted to fight the Xiongnu, it would have to send hundreds of thousands of troops and civilians to the north of the desert, which would cost a lot of money. Moreover, even if the Han army won, it would not be able to gain a foothold in the north of the desert and would have to retreat.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to Mobei several times, but did not even see the Xiongnu. Therefore, he began to use diplomatic means, by sending envoys to negotiate, to detect the actual situation of the Xiongnu, and to collect information about the climate and geography of the north. intelligence.
On the eve of Su Wu's mission, Emperor Wu had already grasped the reality and position of the Xiongnu, and was ready to take action.
There is also a micro background. At that time, the Han Dynasty was not only attacking the Huns, but also prompting the Huns to come and surrender in large numbers, such as King Kunxie, King Xiutu, and later Emperor Wu’s trusted minister Jin Rixi. In fact, , there are also a large number of Huns mixed among the Xiongnu. In the early Han Dynasty, several princes in the north rebelled and fled to the Xiongnu after their defeat. When Han envoys came to the Huns, many of them surrendered and became "traitors" after being detained: Zhao Xin, a general from the Hu people, was very favored and trusted after surrendering to the Huns; Wei Lu became Shan Yu's confidant after surrendering and was named "King Ding Ling" "; The eunuch Zhongxing said that he was forced to be a dowry slave of Emperor Wen's dynasty and his princess. When he arrived at the Xiongnu, he was immediately "reused" and became a senior combat strategist of Shan Yu.
In this context, Su Wu went on an envoy to the Huns, and his deputy envoy Zhang Sheng and others also planned to kidnap Shan Yu's mother, which led to a sharp deterioration in the diplomatic situation between the two countries. In front of the butcher's knife, Zhang Sheng surrendered and Su Wu was imprisoned. The two countries launched fierce negotiations over the incident.
At this moment, Emperor Wu, who did not follow the rules, suddenly launched a new round of offensive against the Xiongnu. At that time, Huo Qubing had already died, so Emperor Wu appointed a new commander-in-chief, Li Guangli. This man was the brother of Emperor Wu's new favorite, Mrs. Li, and his newly powerful uncle.
Wei Qing was still alive at the time, but because he had fallen out of favor, the general Wei Qing could only be responsible for the east, west, and south fronts and no longer participated in the battle against the Xiongnu. Li Guangli's military level was not inferior to Wei Qing's, but why was his record inferior to the latter's? Because at that time, Han's military potential and logistical supply capabilities were far inferior to those of Wei Huo.
The new round of offensive troops was divided into two groups: the main force was led by Li Guangli to advance westward, exit the Hexi Corridor, and attack directly at the joint area between the Xiongnu and the Western Regions, with the intention of clearing out the territory that the Xiongnu planned to occupy against the Han Dynasty. Threats from the Western Regions: Li Ling, grandson of Li Guang, led an infantry force (all good horses had been assigned to Li Guangli for use) and went north into the Xiongnu territory to contain the main force of Shanyu.
The Han Dynasty failed in this battle. Li Guangli was defeated first, and Li Ling was basically wiped out. After Li Ling himself surrendered, he became a general of the Xiongnu.
Therefore, it is even more impossible for Su Wu to return to the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty failed to attack in successive years, and the Xiongnu lost most of the Western Region and felt tired. Therefore, the core link of the competition between the two countries began to change from direct military confrontation to diplomatic confrontation mainly among various countries in the Western Region. In the later years of Emperor Wu, the people in the country were destitute and their wealth was exhausted. The upper class was in trouble and the internal strife was constant. The country fell into a deep crisis. The family of coach Li Guangli was destroyed due to the "scourge of witchcraft" in the country. Guangli himself surrendered to the Huns and was sacrificed to heaven by the Chanyu. Natural and man-made disasters also continued within the Xiongnu, and they did not improve because of Li Guangli's "sacrifice". On the contrary, the natural disasters became more severe.
The ancients said that after a war, there will be bad years. The Han and Hungarian sides, who were aggressively fighting each other, could not escape this law.
It was not until Emperor Wu died and Emperor Zhao came to the throne that the Han Dynasty improved its relations with the Xiongnu, and the two countries began diplomatic negotiations. However, the Xiongnu always refused to admit that Su Wu was still alive. At that time, the Huns' chanyus had changed several times, and the two countries had reached a peace agreement. Why were they still unwilling to release Su Wu?
Because Su Wu was herding sheep in the Beihai (Lake Baikal region), where the Huns and the The boundary of Dingling (later Tiele). Our usual understanding is that the place where Su Wu herded sheep was very desolate, with no human traces and even rabbits did not poop. Not really. There are many nomadic peoples there, including Ding Ling. The water and grass are lush, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant. The grasslands are full of singing and bustling. Later, the starting point of several Mongolian expeditions to the west was not far from there.
Su Wu had lived in Beihai for many years, so he knew the Xiongnu's ecology, climate and reality very well. The Xiongnu married Su Wu a daughter-in-law (a Huns, of course), and Su Wu had children there, one of whom was named Su Tongguo. He later returned to China with the Han envoys, continuing Su Wu's legacy. In the eyes of the Xiongnu, men are warriors, and having children is of course part of national defense construction. From this perspective, Su Wu can be regarded as a "contribution" to the Xiongnu in disguise.
The last thing the Xiongnu wanted to see at this time was that the Han envoys, who had mastered the Xiongnu's reality and laws, returned to the Han Dynasty and led the Han army to attack them. Especially for an outstanding figure like Su Wu, when he returned to the Han Dynasty, he would be another Bowang Hou Zhang Qian.
However, Su Wu’s subordinate, young Chang Hui, secretly informed the Han envoys about Su Wu’s situation (this meeting actually happened, which shows that the Han had placed an effective "inner ghost" in the Xiongnu) , so Shanyu had to release Su Wu.
After Su Wu and Chang Hui returned to China, they naturally became senior advisers to the Han in formulating its strategy against Hungary. Chang Hui later set up a "Hongnu encirclement network", including Wusun in the west, Xianbei in the east, Dingling in the north, and the Han Dynasty in the south. They all took advantage of the internal decline of the Xiongnu to launch joint military operations against the Huns. Among them, Chang Hui himself, as the chief of staff of the Wusun Army, commanded the Wusun Army to severely inflict heavy losses on the Xiongnu. This battle directly led to civil strife and division of the Xiongnu, and Huhanxie Chanyu went south to surrender (this is the person he married). Chang Hui was promoted to General Right due to his merit. It must be awesome.
This is the main reason why Su Wu and his party continued to be detained in the later period of the Huns. The former enmity between the two countries became secondary.
At almost the same time, on the other side of the Eurasian continent, the Roman Empire used whatever means necessary to finally destroy Carthage and massacre the city. In comparison, the fate of the Huns was slightly better.
There is another question: Is it really impossible for Han and Hungarians to reconcile? No.
After the peace agreement between the Western Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu was reached, the two countries achieved peace for many years.
What was once a killing ground turned into a paradise for joint development until Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty. Wang Mang mechanically followed the "Difference between Hua and Yi" in Confucian classics and mistakenly suppressed the Xiongnu diplomatically (changing the country's name to "Jiannu"). Moreover, because the Xiongnu were pro-Han, the Xiongnu and Mang's new regime The relationship between the two was also completely broken, and it was not until the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty that it began to be repaired.
By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu declined and split into two. The northern Xiongnu moved westward, and the southern Xiongnu entered the fortress and surrendered to the Han. Huo Qubing once claimed that "the Huns are not destroyed, so why should we take care of our family?" According to Huo Sheng's philosophy, this should be regarded as the "annihilation" of the Xiongnu. But what was the result? The Xiongnu and other tribes who moved inland were placed in the interior to live among the locals, and the Communist Party always classified them as "inferior people". Oppression, slavery, discrimination, and trafficking, all these sufferings have fallen on the immigrants. However, the descendants of Huo Qubing's class lived a luxurious and luxurious life. The Sima clan that was in power at that time was experiencing constant civil wars, and the Western Jin Dynasty collapsed from within. Various previously oppressed foreign ethnic groups revolted one after another, resulting in the chaos of the "Five Husbands" in the Central Plains, and most of the people from the north crossing to the south.
So, what about the north? After the Xiongnu there is the Xianbei, after the Xianbei there is the Rouran, after the Rouran there are the Turks, after the Turks there are the Uighurs, after the Uighurs there are the Khitans, there are the Jurchens, there are the Mongols... As long as the Central Plains dynasty adheres to the cultural stereotype of "the difference between Chinese and foreigners", cannot treat them as equals, cannot coexist with them, and always opposes the north with hostility and contempt, then the so-called "border trouble" problem in the north will not be solved. real solution. It was not until the establishment of the Qing Dynasty that the rulers used the idea of ??multi-ethnic survival to bridge the "Great Wall Crack", which truly formed the basis for today's great ethnic integration and the consolidation of multi-ethnic countries.
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