Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Zhao Chongguo, the first general of Zhaoxuan Zhongxing

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che fought the Huns all his life, and his greatest wish in his life was to completely exterminate the Huns who had ravaged northern China for a hundred years. Although the Battle of Mobei severely damaged the great cause of the Huns, the threat of the Huns to the Han Empire was not completely eliminated.After 100 BC, as the older generation of famous generals who fought against the Huns passed away one after another, the ranks of generals in the Western Han Empire appeared to be in a state of incomplete succession. Li Guangli, who succeeded the general, was far from Wei Qinghuo Qubing in terms of talent, and went on three expeditions to the Huns In addition to the first tie, the second time he was defeated and lost, and the third time he won first and then lost. The 70,000 army was wiped out. After being captured by the Huns, he himself lost his integrity and his knees softened. Just be a traitor.Such a sad situation also made the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty disheartened in his later years.In 89 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued the famous "Luntai Edict" to repent of his mistake of being overjoyed, stop the war against the Huns, and shift the main energy to restore the national economy and recuperate.At this point, the large-scale war against the Xiongnu in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty finally stopped, and the exhausted Han Empire also resumed the process of recuperation.Although for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, this decision was 30 years late, but it was also crucial after all.

But the intrusion of the Huns did not stop, especially after the annihilation of Li Guangli's entire army, the Huns, who had been defeated by the Han Dynasty for many years, became arrogant again.At this time, Hugu Lu Danyu, who was in power of the Huns, was so complacent that he even wrote a letter to the Han Empire, claiming that the Huns were "the proud son of heaven", and asked the Han Dynasty to restore the "peace and marriage" policy started in the period of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. .Regarding this arrogant attitude, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty didn't care about it, but ordered the border gates to be strictly defended, and did not take the initiative to attack.For him who has been fighting the Huns all his life and has a tough personality, the resentment and helplessness in his heart can be imagined.In 87 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who had been on the throne for 54 years and was "promising" all his life, finally closed his tired eyes.In the same year of his death, the Xiongnu launched an invasion of Wuyuan, Zhangye, Jiuquan and other frontier fortresses of the Han Dynasty, killing and looting countless.But fortunately, at this time, the Xiongnu had long been unable to reach the traditional border areas of Shanxi and Hebei in the Han Dynasty, and the main target of intrusion became the newly developed Hexi area, so they did not cause much damage to the traditional northern economic zone of the Han Dynasty.

However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, whose merits and demerits were connected with the Xiongnu, may not have thought that at the last moment of his life, when he was still lamenting the helplessness of "the country has no generals" to his close minister Huo Guang when he was dying, a new star was coming. Rising slowly, his appearance will personally solve the Xiongnu problem that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has never forgotten, and deal the last fatal blow to the lingering Hun Khanate - Zhao Chongguo. Compared with many famous generals who fought against Hungary in the Western Han Dynasty, Zhao Chongguo was a late bloomer.

Zhao Chongguo is from Tianshui, Gansu. He has been a very special soldier since he joined the army when he was young.Most of the soldiers in the Han Dynasty had a low level of education. Those who were as proficient as Wei Qing were considered intellectuals, but Zhao Chongguo was regarded as a "high-level intellectual". He liked the art of war since he was a soldier. Where, almost can't put it down.He is also good at kung fu. He has been good at riding and shooting since he was a child. Because of his high combat quality, his military career has a high starting point. When he was 15 years old, he was transferred to a special army: the Tiger Army. His direct leadership is well-known Huo Qubing, the great Han army god, participated in the first major battle, which was the battle of Huo Qubing's two expeditions to Hexi in 121 BC.He traveled thousands of miles with Huo Qubing, severely injured the Huns and Hexi Kings, and knew Huo Qubing's wonderful military strategy from then on.After the establishment of the four counties in Hexi, Zhao Chongguo was ordered to settle in the area, and his family moved to Xining, Qinghai. Because of this, he missed the famous Battle of Mobei.After that, Zhao Chongguo took root in the frontier, worked with peace of mind, and guarded the frontier conscientiously. His fame began when he was 37 years old.

This year, Zhao Chongguo finally waited for the opportunity to go out again: the Han-Hungarian war resurged, and Li Guangli, another "brother-in-law" of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who served as the general after Wei Qing, was ordered to lead the army from Jiuquan to attack the Huns in the north.Zhao Chongguo, an officer of reclamation in the Hexi area, was also ordered to go out with the army. At this time, he was just an ordinary middle and lower-level officer. The commander of the army he followed was no longer the invincible Huo Qubing, but the famous military history of the Han Dynasty The idiot Li Guangli.Under such conditions, it is quite difficult to make contributions.

Li Guangli, this idiot, is also well-known in history.Li Guangli, brother of Mrs. Li, the favorite concubine of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, is the uncle of King Ai (Liu Wei) of Changyi.Although they are both relatives, Li Guangli is far behind Wei Qinghuo Qubing.Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, two commanders of foreign relatives, swept across Mobei, beating the prairie wolves and the Huns to run away, probably inspired by the second general Wei Huo's sweep of thousands of miles. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty seemed to suffer from "dependence on foreign relatives" in his later years, thinking that Only foreign relatives are the best military commanders. Li Guangli, who is also the brother-in-law of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, made such a steady rise, and took over the post of general after Wei Qing passed away.But Li Guangli was facing a much better situation than Wei Qing: the mighty Xiongnu had long lost their prestige, and the small countries in the Western Regions were even more limited in strength. With the powerful military and national power of the Han Dynasty, wouldn't he be able to fight wherever he could?But the problem is that Li Guangli is really not this material.At this historical moment, Li Guangli, a mediocre man, came on the stage and almost lost the great situation of the Han-Hungarian War.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered the Huns three times in his later years, and he was determined to drive them out, but Li Guangli really disappointed him.The first time he conquered the Huns, Li Guang led an army of 30,000 to fight King Youxian in the Tianshan Mountains. He won first and then lost. He was besieged by the Huns and almost moved his head.Compared with Huo Qubing's feat of sweeping Hexi with 10,000 cavalry, Li Guangli should be ashamed.But this time, after all, facing the superior force of the Huns, it is justifiable.For the second campaign against the Huns, Emperor Wu of the Han spent his money and handed over an army of 210,000 to Li Guangli. He fought a bloody battle with the Xiongnu Shanyu's 100,000 army at the Tula River in Mongolia. Finally retreated unscathed, this time, after all, they brought back the troops intact, not too embarrassing.The third conquest of the Xiongnu really cost the Han Dynasty nothing. Li Guang’s interest rate was 70,000 elites. He fought a decisive battle with the Xiongnu in Hangaishan, Inner Mongolia. Wan Dajun was wiped out, and even Li Guangli himself surrendered to the Huns.This battle almost wiped out the elite of the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had to issue the "Luntai Edict", which temporarily stopped the war against the Huns.Fortunately, a lean camel is bigger than a horse after all. Although the Huns defeated Li Guangli three times, they never changed the general pattern of the Han-Hungarian War.

Gold shines everywhere, and Li Guangli's idiot has fulfilled Zhao Chongguo's gold.After the battle started, Li Guangli really lived up to the name of an idiot. As soon as the Huns threw the bait, Li Guangli took the bait and was lured into the encirclement circle by a small group of Huns cavalry. The 30,000 army was surrounded by the Huns Youxian King's troops. Seeing that the entire army was wiped out soon, Li Guangli, who had vowed to "sweep the Xiongnu" before, panicked. There is no hope of sweeping the Xiongnu. It is important to run away to save his life.But this time the Xiongnu were very well prepared. They mobilized nearly 100,000 elite cavalry and organized an iron wall to encircle them.Seeing that the entire army was about to be annihilated, Zhao Chongguo stepped forward at the critical moment.In the desperate situation where the Han army was cut off from water and food, Zhao Chongguo took the initiative to invite Ying. Under the desperate situation, someone proposed to disperse and break through. 30,000 soldiers and horses can escape one by one. Even the leader Li Guangli lost confidence, but Zhao Chongguo roared on the spot: "Rather than endure humiliation and reincarnate, it is better to be proud of fighting to the death." Inspired by him, Li Guangli finally decided to take a gamble and selected hundreds of strong men to open the way for him. After fierce beatings and killings, a hole was finally torn in the encirclement of the Huns, and the 30,000 Han troops finally retreated.After the war, among the hundreds of dead soldiers led by Zhao Chongguo, only more than 30 survived. Zhao Chongguo himself suffered 20 stab wounds, which can be described as tragic.Although Li Guangli was an idiot in the war, he was quite kind this time, and when he summarized and reported to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty afterwards, he praised Zhao Chongguo's contribution.After hearing the news, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty personally received him and praised him on the spot as "really strong and brave".As a result, Zhao Chongguo rose to prominence and was promoted to general of Zhonglang, and later promoted to chief of chariots and riders.

But Zhao Chongguo, who was so prosperous, remained silent for quite a long time. After that, Li Guangli went to the Xiongnu twice, but he didn't get the chance to participate in the war. Even Emperor Wu of Han, who once praised him as a "strong man", seemed to have forgotten him.It took him another 11 years to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Royal Forest Army, but for him, this may be a kind of luck, because following Li Guangli on the expedition is really a waste of time. captured.Li Guangli's defeat and capture finally gave Zhao Chongguo a chance.With all the casualties in the Western Han Dynasty, Zhao Chongguo was appointed to farm in the Gansu area as the captain of Tianshui.This was 89 BC, shortly after Emperor Wu of the Han issued the "Luntai Edict", the active attack war against the Xiongnu in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han had come to an end, while Zhao Chongguo's stage of war had just begun.

From Zhao Chongguo's reclamation in Hexi in 89 BC to the death of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty two years later, it was a very delicate two years in the history of the relationship between Han and Hungary.Although Emperor Wu of the Han took the initiative to send out a peace signal and stopped the attack on the Huns, the Huns themselves did not stop. After Hu Gulu Danyu severely injured Li Guangli, he was also in a trance for a while. He felt that he was wise and mighty, and wished he could go back to Hetao tomorrow , The Han Empire was defeated and lost.And Hexi, which is located on the front line, became the key area for the Huns to invade.After the "Luntai Edict", the large-scale invasion of the Han Empire by the Xiongnu revived and sent troops to invade the Hexi Corridor almost every year. Unfortunately, it was Zhao Chongguo who was guarding the Hexi Corridor at this time.

When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty met Zhao Chongguo, he praised him as a "brave general". In fact, Zhao Chongguo's real value is a "wise general". Compared with many famous generals, Zhao Chongguo is a builder of border defense.After arriving in Hexi, he started his own idea of ​​Anbian. First, he added beacon towers at the border and established a complete early warning system. In addition, he made friends with surrounding tribes, bought good horses, and rebuilt an elite cavalry unit. , as a mobile force against the invasion of the Huns.Compared with the situation where the army of the Han Dynasty was passively defending and being beaten everywhere, Zhao Chongguo put a lot of emphasis on reconnaissance before the war. His famous saying is "seeing once is worth hearing a hundred times". Clearly, even clearly, so most of the invasions of the Huns got into his pocket.From 89 BC to 87 BC, in just two years, the Huns invaded the Tianshui area of ​​​​Gansu up to 8 times. Each time, Zhao Chongguo was able to obtain information in advance and make full arrangements. , All fell into his ambush circle.This was a crucial two years in the history of Han-Hungarian relations. The complacent Huns, after being severely hit by the Hexi defenders, had to return from their dreams to reality: there was no way out for confronting the Han Dynasty. Because of Zhao Chongguo's military exploits in guarding the Hexi Corridor, in 86 BC after the death of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Zhao Chongguo was transferred back to the capital, and was later promoted to General Zhonglang (commander of the Imperial Forest Army).After Han Zhaodi ascended the throne, Zhao Chongguo was ordered to suppress the rebellion of the Qiang people in the Hexi area. He promoted the policy of national reconciliation, treated the local Qiang people equally, and kept his heart open to not engage in ethnic discrimination. the local situation.In 81 BC, Zhao Chongguo once again led the army, smashing the 20,000 Huns cavalry who had invaded the Hexi Corridor, beheading 10,000 people, and capturing their leader, King Xiqi, alive. , the Xiongnu obediently agreed to make good relations with the Han Dynasty, and released a large number of detained Han Dynasty envoys. Su Wu, who was famous for "staying on the Hu festival without humiliation", was able to return to the Han Dynasty.Because of his military exploits, Zhao Chongguo was promoted to Hushui Duwei, just like the number one general in the Han Zhaodi era. Zhao Chongguo, who is the number one general in the "Era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty", has a quality that far exceeds that of many generals in the same period: realm. This realm is actually a very simple question: what is the purpose of fighting? In the feudal era, most of the soldiers were rough people. Most people fought for meritorious service. Those with higher ideals, in order to be promoted, and those with higher ideals, that is, they were appointed as marquises and worshiped ministers.But Zhao Chongguo is one of the few outliers, and his purpose of fighting is not to fight. For example, in the later period of high power, whenever there was friction on the border of the Han Dynasty, Zhao Chongguo's reaction was always the same: Will this war expand, and whether it is worth fighting for the country. Therefore, in his military career, there were very few large-scale killings. Basically, as long as the opponent voluntarily surrendered, he would give preferential treatment to the prisoners.But once the shot is decided to attack, it will severely damage the opponent's vitality.When he was running the frontier, his strategy was the same. He did not pursue the number of captives, but took it as his duty to stabilize the border and promote national integration. He treated the returning Huns and the local Qiang tribes fairly. Rationally handle various ethnic disputes and resolve ethnic conflicts as much as possible.Therefore, during the years when he was in charge of the military affairs of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty did not fight many wars, but the results were very fruitful. Whenever there were wars, the problems were solved at one time, so that the enemy did not dare to fight again for a long time.The peaceful situation of Zhaoxuan Zhongxing was established by this. And Zhao Chongguo himself became an important figure during the reigns of Emperor Han Zhaodi and Han Xuandi, and compared to many generals, he not only knows how to fight, but also mixes with officialdom, no matter what kind of politician is in power, and his Relationships are often hardcore.For example, Huo Guang, the great general who was once in power, relied heavily on him.Especially after the death of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, when the situation in the court was confusing, he "was on the right team", resolutely supported Huo Guang, and supported Liu Xun as emperor. This choice continued to bring him good luck.Liu Xun ascended the throne, that is, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty in history, and Zhao Chongguo was named Yingpinghou. Even after Huo Guang fell from power, Zhao Chongguo's status remained stable.At this time, his name also terrified the Huns.In 72 BC, the Xiongnu launched a heavy attack on Wusun State, an important vassal state in the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty heard the news, Zhao Chongguo led 40,000 troops to the expedition. As a result, when the Huns heard that it was Zhao Chongguo who had come, they immediately smeared their feet with oil , Pull out the horse and slip away.Zhao Chongguo has achieved the power of subjugating soldiers without fighting. While fighting the war against Hungary, Zhao Chongguo had another opponent: the Qiang people. The Qiang people at that time were the aborigines in the Hexi Corridor area, and they were the first to accept the rule of the Huns. The power expanded rapidly, and the conflicts with the Han Dynasty also increased day by day. After being repeatedly attacked by the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu also changed their strategy, and changed it to the policy of instigating the rebellion of the Qiang people in order to contain the Han Dynasty.After Emperor Xuan of Han came to the throne, the rebellion of the Qiang people increased day by day, which gradually became a serious problem for the Han Dynasty. But fortunately, there was Zhao Chongguo in the Han Dynasty. In 65 BC during the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, the rebellion of the Qiang people was already serious.During this period, Zhao Chongguo had been old for many years. In desperation, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty invited Zhao Chongguo back again for advice.Zhao Chongguo has long been aware of the situation of the Qiang people in Hexi. He analyzed the local situation in detail and opposed the policy of brutal suppression of the Qiang people proposed by some ministers. Most of the tribes should send envoys to appease them.However, the envoys sent by the Han Dynasty to appease the Qiang people caused trouble.In 61 BC, the Han envoy Yiqu made an improper policy to secure the country, killing innocent Qiang people indiscriminately in Hexi, triggering a large-scale rebellion of the local Qiang people, which almost reached an unmanageable situation.The 70-year-old Zhao Chongguo took the initiative to ask Ying, and asked to go to Hexi to clean up the mess. He adopted a cautious policy, still "seeing is believing", meticulously scouting the enemy's situation, clarifying the internal situation of the Qiang tribe, and then disintegrating and disintegrating. A three-step strategy was formulated.First of all, focus on attacking the most rebellious Dingling tribe, and then encircle the other rebel tribes without fighting, adopt a confrontation policy, build fortresses in the local area, and prepare to stick to the fields for a long time. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty issued edicts several times to reprimand, but Zhao Chongguo was unmoved. Instead, he repeatedly wrote letters stating his strategy. , but to really solve the problem, we still have to attack the heart.Under his insistence, the Western Han Empire finally agreed to his counter-insurgency strategy. While continuing to divide and appease the local area, after investigation, it was found out that the former invaders in the Han area were the first zero tribes, and then quickly mobilized troops. Severe damage to the Xianling tribe, and the way of quickly resolving the battle taught the surrounding Qiang people a lesson.The strategy of using both grace and power really worked.Afterwards, many Qiang people sincerely surrendered and surrendered to the Han Empire. After that, until the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the Hexi Qiang tribes rarely clashed with the Han Empire. This is exactly the greatness of Zhao Chongguo. He may not have read much, but he knows one of the most important truths: the purpose of war is peace, not to continue to create hatred.Bridging the hatred between nations is more meaningful than simply fighting.All his life, he has been this attitude. The solution of the Qiang issue made Zhao Chongguo's prestige in the Han Dynasty unstoppable. After that, he retired again, but Emperor Xuan of the Han ordered him to "retire without rest". Every time there was an incident on the border of the country, the first thing that Emperor Xuan of the Han thought of was to invite Zhao Chongguo to come. discuss.Every time, Zhao Chongguo didn't care about personal gains and losses, and proceeded completely from the country's major policies, analyzed the interests of the Han Empire, and repeatedly prevented the Han Empire from taking the initiative to initiate foreign wars.The peaceful situation of Zhaoxuan Zhongxing has thus been continued.In 52 B.C., this famous general who had worked all his life on side affairs died suddenly at the age of 86.He started at the end of Han Wudi's counterattack against the Huns, but he was a late bloomer and became famous in the last glory of the Western Han Empire-the period of Zhaoxuan Zhongxing.While he was in charge of the military administration, although there was no large-scale war against the Huns, An Bian's prudent thinking repelled the Huns' invasion of the Han land many times. it is good.It was also during this period that the Xiongnu split into two tribes, the northern and southern Xiongnu. The northern Xiongnu continued to shrink under the attack of the Han Empire, and the southern Xiongnu was led by Hu Hanxie Shanyu during the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, and sent to the Western Han Empire collectively. surrender.So far, the problem of the Huns' invasion that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had never forgotten was finally completely resolved during this period.As one of the founders of all this, Zhao Chongguo has contributed a lot.Regarding his contribution, when Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, Huang Menlang Yang Xiong once wrote a Fu to praise him, saying that "with Han Zhongxing, he will fill the country and become a martial artist", which can be described as the best summary of his life's contribution.