Huo Qubing (140 BC - 117 BC), a native of Pingyang County, Hedong County (now Linfen, Shanxi), was the nephew of General Wei Qing. His mother Wei Shaoer was a slave in the family of Princess Pingyang, the sister of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After having an affair with Huo Zhongru, a Pingyang County government servant, she gave birth to Huo Qubing.

Huo Qubing has lived among slaves since he was a child, and his life is very difficult. But he was diligent and studious, and at a young age he was proficient in various martial arts such as horse riding, archery, and stabbing.

Later, Huo Qubing's aunt Wei Zifu was favored by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and was made queen. The Wei family has prospered since then. By the time he was sixteen or seventeen, Huo Qubing had grown into a young man with a majestic appearance, a resolute character, and extraordinary wisdom and courage. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appreciated him very much and sent him to serve as a sergeant to protect the emperor's safety.

At this time, the struggle between the Western Han Dynasty and the Huns had reached a fever pitch. The Xiongnu invaded repeatedly. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty changed his previous peace policy and began a counterattack against the Xiongnu. Huo Qubing's uncle Wei Qing led troops to attack the Xiongnu several times and made great achievements.

In the spring of 123 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once again organized a counterattack against the Xiongnu.

This year, Huo Qubing was just 18 years old. When he heard that his uncle was going to war again, he was eager to challenge Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Seeing his heroic youth, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty agreed to his request and appointed him as the captain of Piao Yao. Wei Qing selected 800 brave and agile cavalry for him to command.

Huo Qubing led 800 knights to rush northward. The vast grassland is completely deserted. They walked for hundreds of miles without realizing it. It was almost dusk when they suddenly noticed a black spot in the distance ahead. Huo Qubing judged that it was the Xiongnu camp, and immediately ordered his subordinates to march forward with their coins in hand, and killed them with lightning speed. The Xiongnu soldiers did not expect that the Han army would come from such a distance, and there was chaos. Huo Qubing took the lead and broke into the Huns camp first. The 800 knights were all extremely brave and killed the Huns soldiers and fled in all directions.

In this battle, Huo Qubing took the first place, and all other parties had victories and defeats. Wei Qing reported the battle to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty greatly praised Huo Qubing and said: "Huo Qubing, the captain of the Yao School, beheaded 2028 Xiongnu soldiers with 800 knights. He also killed the Xiongnu Chanyu's grandfather Jiruohou Chan and many generals such as Xiangguo and Danghu. Luo Gubi, Shanyu's uncle, won by surprise and won the title of 2,500 households. Hexi area is today's Hexi Corridor, west of the Yellow River, Qilian Mountain and Heli Mountain. In between, the terrain is low and flat, which was the golden passage to the west for the Han Dynasty. It was originally inhabited by the Yuezhi people, but was later occupied by the Xiongnu and became the territory of King Hunxie and King Xiutu of the Xiongnu. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wanted to get in touch with the Dayue clan and other countries in the Western Regions so that they could jointly deal with the Xiongnu, so he launched the Hexi Campaign. In the spring of 121 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appointed Huo Qubing as General of Hussars. He led 10,000 fine cavalrymen and set out from Longxi (now Lintiao County, Gansu Province) to attack the Xiongnu. Under the command of Huo Qubing, the Han army marched through five Xiongnu kingdoms and fought for six days. They crossed Yanzhi Mountain (today's Shandan County, Gansu Province) for more than a thousand miles and reached Gaolan Mountain (today's Yellow River in Lanzhou). West) had a fierce battle with the Xiongnu. Huo Qubing led his troops with extraordinary bravery and went on a rampage. They killed King Zhelan and King Luhou of the Xiongnu, captured alive the son of King Hunxie, the prime minister, and the captain, etc., annihilated more than 8,900 enemies, and captured the Xiongnu sacrifice to the king. Golden idol. The Han army won a complete victory. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very happy and ordered the enfeoffment of 2,000 households in Huo Qubing Shiyi.

In the summer of this year, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty decided to take advantage of the situation to wipe out all Xiongnu forces in the Hexi region and open up the road to the Western Regions, so he launched the Second Battle of Hexi.

In this battle, tens of thousands of cavalry led by Huo Qubing and Gongsun Ao were the main force. Starting from Beidi County (in today's Huanxian County, Gansu), Li Guang and Zhang Qian led more than 10,000 cavalry from the right. Set out from Peiping to attack King Zuoxian of the Xiongnu and coordinate the main force of the Western Expedition. After Huo Qubing and Gongsun Ao left the fortress, they divided their forces and advanced. Gongsun Ao lost his way and was unable to participate in the battle. Huo Qubing was unable to contact Gongsun Ao, so he had to go deep alone, crossing Juyanhai (today's north of Ejina Banner, Inner Mongolia), passing through the Xiaoyuezhi tribe, and arriving at the Qilian Mountains. The Xiongnu were confused by his unpredictable tactics, and were severely defeated in the battle at the foot of Qilian Mountain.

In this battle, a total of 2,500 people including King Shanhuan, King Tu, Xiangguo and Duwei of the Xiongnu were surrendered, and the Queen Mother, Shan Yulan and the prince were captured. More than 120 people, including prime ministers, generals, officials, and captains, annihilated 30,200 Huns.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty granted Huo Qubing the title of 5,400 households. From then on, Huo Qubing's reputation and status became increasingly prominent, almost equal to that of his uncle Wei Qing.

After the two Hexi battles, the Han Dynasty completely controlled the Hexi area, which was a big blow to the Xiongnu. The Huns were very sorry. They sang sadly: "The loss of my Qilian Mountains has deprived my animals of their ability to feed; the loss of my Yanzhi Mountains has deprived my women of color." The evil king and the king of body slaughter were very angry because of their repeated defeats, so they sent envoys to recruit them and prepare to punish them. King Hunxie had lost his beloved son, and he was upset enough. He also heard that Chanyu was about to commit additional crimes, so he discussed with King Xiutu and decided to surrender to the Han Dynasty, and sent an envoy to negotiate with the Han Dynasty about the surrender. At that time, Li Xi, the chief minister in charge of the vassal affairs, was building a city on the bank of the Yellow River. When he saw the envoy sent by King Hunxie, he immediately sent someone to report to the central government.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very happy when he got the news. He believed that this could divide the Huns and weaken their power. However, he was worried that there was fraud in it, so he sent Huo Qubing to lead 10,000 cavalry. Go to Hexi and act according to the situation.

Before Huo Qubing arrived in Hexi, the situation changed. King Titu listened to his subordinates' slander and did not want to surrender. King Hunxie was unable to dismount from the tiger and hated King Xiutu's treachery, so he did not stop. He led his troops into King Xiutu's camp, killed King Xiutu, gathered King Xiutu's troops, and then lined up to greet the Han army. arrival.

Huo Qubing crossed the Yellow River and faced King Hunxie from a distance. King Hunxie has many subordinates. They were not strong-willed at first, but now they saw the Han army's strict formation, they were suspicious and fearful, and they fled one after another. When Huo Qubing saw the commotion in the crowd in King Hunxie's camp, he made a decisive decision and personally led several elite flying horses to the camp of King Hunxie. He negotiated with King Hunxie and ordered to kill all 8,000 Huns soldiers who had escaped privately. In this way, the Huns army was stabilized. Then, Huo Qubing sent light chariots and fast horses to take King Hunxie to Chang'an to meet Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Then, he organized more than 40,000 Xiongnu surrender troops into formation and brought them back to Chang'an.

During the Battle of Hexi, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty specially sent a jar of fine wine from the capital. Huo Qubing did not enjoy it alone, but poured the wine into the spring for all the soldiers to drink. Later, the spring was called Jiuquan is also named after the local spring.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty solemnly received King Hunxie and granted him the title of Marquis of Luo Yin, with a settlement of 10,000 households. Hudu Ni, the young king of the Huns, and four other people were also granted the title of marquis. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty placed these five princes and their tribes in Longxi, Beidi, Shangjun, Shuofang, Yun and other places respectively, maintaining their original life and customs, and they were known as the "Five Subject Countries". The two counties of Wuwei and Jiuquan were established in the old territory of King Hunxie, and together with the two counties of Zhangye and Dunhuang that were later established, they were called the "Four Hexi counties". Huo Qubing had meritorious service in being surrendered, and was granted a seal of 1,700 households.

From then on, the Huns' military power was greatly weakened and they had to retreat to the distant north of the desert. The threat to the western part of the Han Dynasty was completely lifted, and the road to the Western Regions was completely open.

Although the main force of the Xiongnu fled to Mobei, they still did not give up plundering the Han Dynasty border. In the autumn of 120 BC, more than 10,000 Xiongnu cavalry broke into Dingxiang and Youbeiping areas, killing and plundering more than 1,000 Han Dynasty border residents. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty decided to go on an expedition to Mobei to completely wipe out the Xiongnu army.

In 119 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty mobilized 100,000 cavalry, 140,000 horses, and hundreds of thousands of infantry troops. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing each led 50,000 cavalry, and marched toward Mobei in two directions: east and west. . Wei Qing left the fortress from Dingxiang and marched north for more than 1,000 miles. He met the main force led by the Xiongnu Yizhixie Chanyu. After a fierce battle, he defeated the Xiongnu Chanyu and captured more than 19,000 people. He pursued the army until they reached Zhao Xincheng in Zhenyan Mountain.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's original plan was for Huo Qubing to deal exclusively with the Xiongnu Chanyu, so he was equipped with all selected elite soldiers and generals. Huo Qubing led his army from Daijun, and boldly used the Xiongnu surrendered generals Zhao Ponu, Fu Luzhi, Yi Jixuan, etc. to gallop across the desert area, marching more than 2,000 miles, crossing Lihou Mountain and crossing the Gonglu River. , met with King Zuoxian of the Xiongnu. The Han army launched a fierce attack, and King Zuo Xian was defeated and fled.

In this battle, three people including the Xiongnu Tuntou King and the King of Han were captured alive, as well as 83 Xiongnu generals, Xiangguo, Danghu, and captains, etc., and 70,000 enemies were wiped out. Almost all the troops of King Zuoxian of the Xiongnu were destroyed. Huo Qubing led his army to pursue them to Langjuxu Mountain (now Deer Mountain in Mongolia). In order to celebrate the victory of this battle, Huo Qubing built up a mountain with soil and held a ceremony to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth. He also held a Zen ceremony to offer sacrifices to earth in Guyan Mountain (near Langjubei Mountain), and climbed to the Hanhai (today's Lake Baikal). Carve stones to record merit, and then return to court in triumph.

Huo Qubing was granted the title of 5,800 households in the city due to his meritorious service, and was worshiped as Da Sima together with General Wei Qing.

From then on, the Xiongnu moved north and west to more remote places. There was peace inside and outside the Great Wall, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

Huo Qubing led troops to attack the Xiongnu four times in his life, annihilating more than 110,000 enemies. He is a man of few words at ordinary times, but is extremely brave on the battlefield. He was a military genius. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty often advised him to learn Sun Wu's art of war, but he said: "Since generals have to make plans at any time, why stick to ancient methods?" He commanded the battle based on his intuition on the battlefield, adapting to changes and lightning. This type of action made him victorious in every battle and became a famous general who will be famous for future generations.

Huo Qubing repeatedly made military exploits and received high official salaries, but he put aside his personal enjoyment and focused on the interests of the country. After the victory in the Battle of Hexi, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered someone to build a luxurious residence for him in Chang'an in order to reward him for his outstanding military exploits, and asked him to go and see if he was satisfied with it. Huo Qubing declined the kindness of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and said majestically: "The Xiongnu are not destroyed, why should we take care of our family!" This famous saying that has been passed down through the ages is a reflection of Huo Qubing's glorious life.

However, Huo Qubing was a young man and had risen through the ranks. He had no experience in commanding lower-level soldiers, so he lacked care for his soldiers. When he led his army on an expedition, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent him dozens of carts of wine and meat by the eunuch in charge of court meals. When he returned to the army, the carts were still filled with leftover wine and food, but many of the soldiers were hungry. Outside the Great Wall, soldiers were often demoralized due to lack of food, but he built a ballroom to play football.

During the expedition in 119 BC, the flying general Li Guang followed Wei Qing. Because Gongsun Ao had just lost his title, Wei Qing wanted him to fight Shan Yu head-on with him and make meritorious deeds, so he adjusted the battle order. . Li Guang and Zhao Shiqi, who were transferred to the East Road, lost their way in the desert and did not participate in the battle. Wei Qing sent someone to ask them why they were lost and asked them to go to the general to listen to the summons. Li Guang said: "My The subordinates are not guilty, and the responsibility for getting lost is mine." He then said to his subordinates: "I fought with the Xiongnu more than seventy times, and finally had the opportunity to follow the general to fight directly with the Shanyu, but the general transferred me to the east road. , the journey was long, and I lost my way, God’s will. Besides, I am over sixty years old, and I really can’t face those little officials with swords and pens.” After that, he committed suicide. Zhao Shiqi's result was the same as Su Jian's. After paying the ransom, he was demoted to a civilian. Li Guang's son Li Gan was in Huo Qubing's army at the time. He resented Wei Qing for his father's death and injured Wei Qing. Wei Qing did not pursue the matter and hid it. But Huo Qubing was young and vigorous, and he was very worried about this matter. Two years later, while hunting with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in Ganquan Palace, he shot Li Gan to death with an arrow. Afterwards, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty concealed the truth and said that Li Gan was killed by a deer.

In 117 BC, Huo Qubing died of illness at the age of 24. People feel extremely sad and sorry for the premature passing of this young star. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty specially ordered people to build a tomb for Huo Qubing next to his Maoling Mausoleum in the shape of Qilian Mountain. He also mobilized the Xiongnu people from Longxi, Beidi and other five counties, wearing black armor, to escort Huo Qubing's coffin from Chang'an to the cemetery for burial. .

Huo Qubing's tomb still stands next to Maoling. The stone statue of "Horse Trampling the Huns" in front of the tomb symbolizes his immortal contributions to the country.