40 replies to this topic

[warlordgeneral]

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Edited by warlordgeneral, 31 March 2013 - 02:45 AM.

[warlordgeneral]

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Edited by warlordgeneral, 31 March 2013 - 02:46 AM.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Will post some info about Huo Qubin when I get home tonight.. I've got several info about him.

[General_Zhaoyun]

I'll narrate some account of the story of Huo Qubing (霍去病), the famous Han general.

Part 1

Huo Qubing was the youngest chief commander of the army in the history of China. As a famed anti-Xiongnu general of the western han dynasty, his career bore a legendary flavour. A native of Pingyang county (now Linfen, Shanxi) in Hedong Prefecture, Huo was born in 140 BC. His father, Huo Zhongru (霍仲孺), was a court attendant of Pingyang county. He was assigned to the palace of Princess Pingyang (平阳公主). His mother, We Shaoer (卫少儿), was also a maid of the palace.

Huo Qubing spent his younger days among the maids and servants. At the age of 13 or so ( during the first year of Emperor Han Wudi's Yuanshao reign), he was able to free himself from the destiny of slavery and follow his mother to Chang'an b'cos his aunt, Wei Zifu (卫子夫), was made an empress and his uncle, Wei Qing (卫青), had rendered meritorious military services to the nation.

Since young, Huo had been yearning for a military career. He trained hard in horsemanship, archery and spearing; he also learnt the art of war. After years of painstaking practice, he soon became a heroic and brave young soldier. Emperor Han Wudi thought extra highly of such a 'hero'. When he was only 18 years old, he was appointed "Military Attendant" (侍中) in the palace in charge of transport and uniform affairs.

Since Emperor Han Wudi came into power, the Western Han Dynasty, based on the administration of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, became more and more powerful and prosperous day by day. Following the prosperity of social economy, consolidation of centralised power, growth of the national financial resources and development of the management of horses and cavalry construction, the historical mission of thwarting (with a counterattack) the Xiongnu aristocracy's raids and plunder was correspondingly placed on the daily agenda.

Xiongnu (匈奴) was a nomadic tribe roaming in northern China. During the latter part of the Qin dynasty and early han dynasty, it founded a military regime under the slavery system headed by Chanyu (单于 - 'title of XiongNu's leader'). Its territory stretched to the Liao River in the east, Tianshan Mountain in the west, Lake Baikal in the north and the vast region of Hetao in the south. It possessed a cavalry of over 300,000 men , which was an unprecendented powerful force. To abduct people and plunder livestock and property, the Xiongnu ruling bloc concentrated its target on the rich Han territory. Since Xiongnu was situated at the border of China, its presence caused serious sufferings to the inhabitants in the north and posed an enormous threat to the Western Han regime.

Compelled by weak national strength, China all along carried out the humiliating "heqing" 和亲 policy from the reign of Emperor Gaozu to that of Emperor Wen, but this did not stop the Xiongnu rulers' avarice ("heqing" means marrying a chinese princess to the Xiongnu aristocracy). Instead, it fostered the aristocrats' arrogance and imperiousness; they even attacked Weibei and coveted Chang'an. By the reign of Emperor Jing, though there were some changes in the passively-beaten situation, there was still no reversal basically; Chinese princess had been married to the Xiongnu royalty, with valuable presents.

When Emperor Han Wudi first ascended the throne, he avowed the old treaty on the one hand and carried out preparations for a counter offensive on the other. In 133 BC, when all the conditions were completely ripe, the monarch with great talent and bold vision unleashed a strategy to lure the enemy into the deep part of China's territory and annihilate them by ambush, thus opening the prelude of the large-scale war between China and Xiongnu.

Six years later, according to the Emperor's tactices and strategy and military deployment - changing simple defence to attacks with one's initiative - Wei Qing, leading an army, recovered Hetao region. After a lapse of 3 years, he dealt a heavy blow to Prince Youxian's strongest force. Facing the Xiongnu aristocracy's savage counter-attack and having heard of the Han army's victory, Huo Qubing was filled with the longing to go to the battlefield. In 123 BC (when he was Military Attendant), he followed Wei Qing's troops twice - in the 2nd and 4th months- to Dingxiang (today's Heling-ge-er in Inner Mongolia) to continue attacking the Xiongnus in the south of Gobi desert. In the 2nd battle, the Emperor ordered Wei Qing to pick 800 most elite cavalrymen to be under the sole command of Huo, and conferred on him (Huo) the rank of "Captain Valour/Agility" (票姚校尉).

Huo lived up to his appointment. Leading the 800-man cavalry, he charged into the rear of the enemy which was a few hundred li from the main force of the Han army. Quick as the wind and swift as lightning, they attacked the Xiongnu tents that they found, killing over 2000 Xiongnus and Changyu's granduncle, Duke of Jiro, and capturing alive Chanyu's uncle, Luogubi (罗姑比), the Prime minister and other officials. They then returned triumphantly.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Part 2

Huo compared favourably with other army officers. General Su Jian (苏建) fled back alone after being defeated in battle; former General Zhao Xin (赵信) surrendered to the enemy when he was surrounded, while other officers scored negligible victories. In view of the fact that his merits topped the whole army, Han Wudi (Emperor) set the precedent by conferring the title of "Duke Champion" (冠军侯) on him.

Appointment of talented personnel was one of the key contents of Emperor Han Wu's way of administration. In his eyes, Huo Qubing, who could score a remarkable victory in his first expedition, was a rare army officer who could be given important appointments. In the spring of 121 BC, the Emperor boldly appointed this new taltent from the military circle as "general of the cavarly" (骠骑 将军), and ordered him to attack and capture Hexi with a 10,000 men cavalry.

Hexi was the region in today's Hexi Corridor and was the vital communication line leading to the Western Region from the heartland of China. Since Emperor Wen's reign, this line had been occupied by Xiongnu and was separately administered by Prince Hunxie (浑邪王) and Prince Xiutu (休屠王). Compared to Wei Qing's battle of recovery of Hetao (Henan) and the 3 battles in The South of Gobi Desert, the battle to recover Hexi presented a different set of difficult problems.

Firstly, the 2 Xiongnu princes possessed an elite cavalry of nearly 100,000 men with whom it was difficult to deal. Secondly, this area was most suitable for a nomadic life as it had an abundant supply of water and grass, with warm winter and cool summer. Besides, its strategically important position would impel Xiongnu to fight stubbornly and desperately. Thirdly, the Han cavalry could not move freely in this area as its terrain was complicated. So whether this great and difficult military mission (campaign) could be accomplished or not was a fairly serious challenge to the young 20-year-old Huo Qubing. Huo took the challenge bravely, and made decisions as demanded by circumstances, thus materialising Emperor Han Wu's war plan.

Huo led his troops out from Longxi, passing through Jincheng (today's northwestern part of Lanzhou in Gansu) and Lingju (presently the western part of Yongdeng in Gansu), crossed Wusao Mountain, Wuli Mountain and Hunu River and pushed deep into the enemy's territory. After 6 days of fighting, he wiped out 5 Xiongnu tribes with one vigorous effort. After that, moving non-stop, his contingent penetrated fearlessly further in, crossed Yanzhi Mountain (today's Dahuang Mountain in Shandan, Gansu, which was used by Xiongnu to symbolise its glory, raced over 1000 li and engaged in a surprised hand-to-hand comabt with the troops of Prince Hunxie and Prince Xiutu. The Han army scored a total victory in the brief encounter at the foot of Gaolan Mountain (outside the Zhangye Fortress in Gansu). Altogether, Xiongnu lost over 8900 soldiers. Prince Zhelan (折兰王) and Prince Luhu (卢胡王) was killed. Prince Hunxie's son, the Prime Minister, palace guards and others were taken prisoner. The golden figure (used by Prince Xiutu to offer sacrifices to Heaven) was also captured by Huo. Prince Hunxie and Prince Xiutu was forced to flee to fluster with his remnant troop.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Part 3

The first battle of Hexi ended with the triumphant return of Huo. To expand the outcome of the battle, Emperor Han Wu organised the second offensive in the summer of the same year. Again, he despatched Huo, with Gongsun Ao (公孙敖) following, and ordered them to lead an army of several tens of thousands of men and set off from Beidi (today's southeastern part of Huan County in Gansu) on separate routes. He also ordered Zhang Qian (张骞) and Li Guang (李广) to lead over 10,000 soldiers and set off separately from Youbeiping (now Pingquan, Hebei) to attack Prince Zuoxian (左贤王) of Xiongnu in order to support by co-ordinated action the operations of Huo and Gongsun.

Unexpectedly, Li was surrounded by the enemy and depended on Zhang to rescue him; Gongsun lost his way and was unable to join forces with Huo as arranged. There was now no reinforcements from the rear or coordination from other troops. Under such circumstances, Huo willingly took the risk and led his troops to cross the Yellow River from Lingwu, Ningxia, when the Xiongnu army at Hexi was several times larger than that of his and was waiting at ease for the Han army to get exhausted. After crossing, the troops advanced northwestwards, made a detour of the Juyuan Sea, turned and passed through Xiaoyueshi, turned again southeastwards and penerated 2000-odd li into the Balck River basicn between Mt. Qiliang and Mt. Li. From here, they made a detour and came to the side of the amry of Prince Hunxie and Prince Xiutu, and as swift as thunder, launched a ferocious attack on the enemy.

After the battle, Xiongnu's Prime Minister, army generals and 63 palace guards were taken prisoner. Even Chanyu's wife, Prince Wu and his mother, a few princes and others, numbering 59 persons altogether, also became prisoners. Prince Chanhuan (单桓王), Prince Youtu (酋涂王) and their prime ministers and 2500 palace guards and those below them were forced to surrender. As many as 30,200 Xiongnu soldiers perished. However, the casualty figure of the Han army stood at only 30 per cent of that of the enemy's.

On account of Huo's defeat the enemy by a suprise move' tactic and his payment of a small price in exchange for a great battle result, his political position kept rising and his military prestige became higher and higher as the days went by, almost enjoying equal popularity as that of General Wei Qing's in China.

The day when Huo's prestige was at its peak was the day when Prince Hunxie and Prince Xiutu were to be punished. So they planned to surrender ot Han. After negotiations, Emperor Han Wu ordered Huo to lead a 10,000 strong amry to Xiongnu to accept capitulation. Acceptance of surrender was tough as fighting in the battlefield because Xiongnu still had 40,000 soldiers in Hexi. Mishaps could happen anytime. THe Han troops even faced the danger of surprised attack.

Just before Huo arrived at Hexi, Prince Xiutu changed his mind and was killed by Prince Hunxie. When Huo's men were lining up in formation to cross the Yellow River, Prince Hunxie's troops were waiting for them in full force. The situation became tense when the 2 armies gazed at each other across the river, with the Han troops pressing on. On seeing the solemn and well-organised formation of the Han contingent, the Prince's troops were awed. Some minor army officers who did not wish to surrender seized the opportunity to start a riot, throwing the entire army into disarray at once, with the tendency of dispersing at one's beck and call.

At this critical juncture, Huo immediately led an elite cavalry and charged into the Xiongnu encampment, restraining Prince Hunxie. At the same time, Huo ordered his troops to kill all those who tried to flee, thus stabilising the situation. To prevent another mutiny from happening, Huo quickly had the Prince sent to Chang'an in a carriage alone to see Emperor Han Wu. The 40,000 surrendered men, led by Huo, crossed the river in a relaxed mood and returned to the east.

The success of this acceptance of capitulation brought about the total victory in the battle of Hexi. As of now, the right-wing protective screen of Chanyu's Court had been destroyed. A new era had begun in which a new political regime in the northwestern region was set up, and economic development initiated. This had promoted national unification and the merger of hte peoples of various nationalities of China and Xiongnu; it had guaranteed that the roads leading to the western region from the interior were unimpeded; and it had strengthened the cultural exchange between China and Europe. All these were contributed by Huo Qubing.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Part 4

On the military aspect, although Chanyu's right arm had been cut off, Xiongnu's nucleus was still in the north of Gobi Desert and Prince Zuoxian's vitality had not been hurt. So the border regions of China still could not avoid the raids of the Xiongnu cavalry. In order to thoroughly defeat Changyu's main force, Emperor Han Wu, after 2 years reorganisation and making use of Xiongnu's wrong judgement that "Han soldiers were unable to cross and stay in the desert", decided to mobilise the forces of the whole country to engage Xiongnu in a decisive battle.

As regards troop allocation, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were allotted 50,000 cavalrymen each, and Huo's men were specially-picked able-bodied warriors. In addition to this mightly force, there were 40,000 horses, infantry and soldiers in charge of impedimenta, numbering several hundreds of thousands of men. Regarding the advance route and battle mission, Huo would set off from Dai Prefecture (today's Wei County in Hebei) to annihilate Chanyu's main force, while Wei would set off from Dingxiang to restrain Xiongnu's left flank so as to help Huo in his manoeuvre.

All deployments having been made, the Han army set off in 119 BC. At this time, Huo was only 22 years old. As the chief Commander of the east-route army with the main responsibility, he led his troops northwards, crossed the vast desert and pushed deep into a distance of over 2000 li. Although they did not meet Chanyu's main force, they caught his trusted minister Zhangqu (张渠) and killed Beicheqi (北车耆). They then turned to attakc General Shuang and met Prince Zuoxian's army; a battle ensued in which the Xiongnu troops were dealt with by a destructive force. After that, the Han detachment continued with its advance, crossing Mt. Nanhou and River Gonghu (now River Kelulun). They captured alive Prince Tuntou, Prince han, another prince, some army generals, the Prime Minister and 83 palace guards. In this campaign, the Han army killed and captured over 70,400 Xiongnu soldiers, almost completely exterminated Xiongnu's left regiment.

With a brilliant battle result, the Han army joined forces at Lake Baikal. To celebrate his victory, Huo built a platform on the main peak of Langjuxu Mountain (today's eastern part of Ulan Bator) , and opened up a square at the side of Guyan Mountain. A ceremony was held to pray to Heaven and Earth and to make offerings to the spirits of those who died heroically for their country. Thousands upon thousands of torches were burning brightly and thunderous shouting, at intervals, filled the air.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Part 5

Responding to the east-route army's Han Sea victory song, the west-route army also killed over 19,000 Xiongnu soldiers in the palace where Chanyu actually stationed his troops. They pursued the enemy until they came to Zhaoxin city at Mt.Tianyuan (now Mt. Nalate). They burnt the city and the provisions in it before returning. The operations of Wei and Huo in the battle in northern Gobi basically eradicated Xiongnu's threat to the Western Han regime. As regards the destruction of the effective strength of the enemy, the east-route army (东路军) was equal to 3 1/2 times the west-route army (西路军), and exceeded the totla number of soldiers engaged in Wei's 10 year 7 battles by over 20,000 men.

As the young Chief Commander's merits were greater than those of the veteran general's, he would certainly be rewarded by Emperor Han Wu who would mete out due rewards and punishments without fail. So he appointed them Supreme Commanders (大司马) whose task was to jointly take charge of the nation's armed forces. It was also stipulated that Huo's rank was the same as that of General Wei's .

Huo defeated Xiongnu in 6 battles, repeatedly scoring brilliant merits. Objectively, his victories stopped the savage plunder of Xiongnu's slave owners' bloc, and protected the lives and property of the people in the Han dynasty's border regions; they also prevented the destruction of the advanced civilization of the central plains regions and ensured its further development. No wonder the great Tang Dynasty's poet Li Bai (李白) heaped praised on Huo zeolously with the following poem:

骏马似风飙，鸣鞭出渭桥。
弯弓辞汉月，插羽破天骄。
阵解星芒尽，迎空海雾消。
功成画麟阁，独有霍嫖姚！

English Translation:

Riding a steed that gallops as fast as a strong wind,
I cross the Wei River.
Carrying a bow and arrows,
I leave my homeland to attack Xiongnu.
I break the enemy's battle front,
And dissipate Xiongnu's power as swiftly as the fog vanishes.
Rejecting the luxurious mansion,
Huo Qubing is the only man with this nature in the world.

As a warrior of the expeditionary type, Huo was not only youthful and rare with great battle merits, his morality was also striking. After the Battle of Hexi, Emperor Han Wu, to commend this cavalry general's meritorious service, specially built a grand mansion for him in the capital. Huo was invited to view it to see if he was satisfied with it. Unexpectedly, he refused to accept such "royal favours" and "outstanding glory", alleging decisively:" Before Xiongnu is exterminated, I don't need a home." It was highly commendable to hear these words from a young general who had a wife and a small child and who was in his prime. Deeply touched, the monarch thought more highly of him. As a matter of fact, the Emperor was not the only one with such feelings. Since time immemorial, many a patriot and national hero who sacrificed their lives to defend their country took what Huo said as their motto.

On the balance of national affairs and family affairs, Huo unhesitantly attached greater importance to the former, showing he had the sublime spirit of a selfless person who would devote his life to serve his country. Such spirit still moves and inspires people and fills them with great admiration today!

In his sacred undertakings to defend his country, Huo became the fine psychological quality that army officers possessed. In time of peace, he was taciturn and worked with careful consideration; during war time, however, he became brave and fearless and would exert himself to achieve his goal. Especailly when he was in a critical situation in battle, he was full of energy and would brace up and move before the cavalry. Not only this; when an unexpected change occurred, he would respond swiftly and make prompt decisions. His performance at the acceptance of capitulation in Hexi was the best example of his quality in this respect.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Part 6

If we say that his firm patriotic conviction and fine psychological quality constituted the soul of Huo's military career, then his superior battle-commanding skills became the quintessence of his military practice and activities, and exuded a strong lustre of new consciousness.

Emperor Han Wu wanted him to study Sun Zi's Art of War but he replied: 'Strategies must be drawn up according to the situation in the battlefield. Learning the ancient Art of War will not help much'. By "strategies", he was referring to the contingency plans in battlefields. According to Huo, the ancient art of war, though desirable, should not be adhered rigidly and applied mechanically.

The crux was that, according to the actual requirements of every war and battle, proper measures and appropriate tactics must be adopted, and the initiative must be held firmly in one's hands. In view of this, Huo, countering Xiongnu's distinguishing feature - the unpredictable movemnet, vigorous advance and swift retreat of its cavalry - made use of the advantageous position emanating from his well-trained, capable, vigorous and strong cavalry and, according to the demand for long-distance fighting without rear support, creatively formulated a series of successful tactices to fearlessly penetrate into enemy territory, outflank the enemy and, taking them unawares, attack them fiercely.

To solve the problems arising from the replenishment of provisions, water and grass when his troops were fighting and moving in the wilderness, the vast desert, high mountains and forests, and the identification of directions and roads, Huo wisely made use of the local Hans and the surrendered Xiongnus who were familia with the border situation.

Huo won every battle he was engaged in. By adopting the "obtain provisions from the enemy" strategy, he was still abel to maintain a strong attacking force and movement strength after his army had travelled 1000 li. To disintegrate the Xiongnu tribes, Huo also paid attention to the strategy whereby those who refused to submit would be killed and those who yielded would be allowed to settle down. He strictly restrained his men to plunder the property of the surrendered tribes.

Huo's cavalry-battle pracitce and commanding stkills ran counter to the traditional military veiw that entry into "dangerous ground" by cavalries must be avoided at all costs. The problems arising from the transition of warfare from infantry/cavalry fighting in coordination to solely relying on cavalry were resolved brilliantly by both Wei Qing and Huo Qubing. Their contributions enriched China's treasure house of military thoughts.

The historical trend of the Western Han dynasty's unified domain pushed Huo to the stage of anti-Xiongnu war. The flames of war of righteousness caused him, a household slave, to take the role of frontline commander. With the positive support of the masses and the great efforts of the Han army, and the proper guidance of Emperor Han Wu who selected personnel wisely and made sound strategic decisions, Huo made 3 expeditions to Hexi and engaged in a decisive battle in the north of Gobi Desert, directing a drama in which the Han army emerged victorious in every battle, and creating one brilliant battle case after another in which cavalries launched large-scale attacks in far-off places.

Nevertheless, what was regrettable was that though the Goddess of Victory especially showed appreciation for him, the Goddess of Death descended prematurely on him. He died at the young age of 24 in the year 117 BC. Upon hearing of his death, Emperor Han Wu was immeasurably overwelmed with grief. He specially built for the late general a large mausoleum (which resembled Mt. Qilian) in the Maoling cemetery that he constructed for himself. A huge memorial was erected in front of the tomb; it bore this inscription : "Huo Qubing - Duke Champion - General of the Han Cavalry (汉骠骑将军大司马冠军侯霍去病墓）".

Up to today, this majestic mausoleum still stands loftily in Xingping County, Shaanxi province. Not only does it adorn the magnificent landscape of the 800 li River Qin, it is also an attraction, like a magnet, to foreigners as well as Chinese. It affects the feelings of the descendents of the "Yellow Emperor" and friends of the world for this famous general

[warlordgeneral]

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Edited by warlordgeneral, 31 March 2013 - 02:46 AM.

[Wu Zetian]

Thanks for the great info on Huo Qubing, General Z!

Did you get the info from watching Han Wu Da Di, or did you watch another TV series, or did you study chinese history books about Huo Qubing?

[Wujiang]

For those who don't know, Huo Qubing was one of the generals under Han Wudi and his key achievement among others was probably his conquest (or should I say reclaim for sinocentric people) of Hexi. If there is one general in Chinese history which can be symbolized by his boldness and nerve, I would say it would be Huo Qubing.

I have been writing a short biography of Huo Qubing (amomg the shortest I have written since his career lasted 5 years) and I have been trying to put in my analysis of his psyche. I was wondering what you guys thought of this young general under Han Wudi. I have been trying to decide whether or not this warrior was a genius in the making or just a impulsive kid who was lucky.

Thre reasons why I am curious is the level of risks he took. This is especially true for his first real mission where he took his 800 strong cavalry force known as the Qingyongqi and struck behind xiongnu lines killing thousands. The missions afterwwards he took required him to journey deep into Xiongnu territory without reinforcements and conduct lightning attacks on various Xiongnu targets.

From a military point of view, the risks he took was way too high for a experienced general to take. So in that light, one might be able to say that he was just a boy who didn't know what real danger was. Yet at the same time, his continuous victory and his tactical ability on the field may indicate that he knew full well what he was doing. One victory may be luck, but continuous ones like his was probably more of a sign of courage than impulsiveness.

He excelled in his campaign in Hexi when he rode out with 10000 cavalry without the support of supply lines and simply took food from this conqoured foes. This may indicate a youth's natural defiant of restraints.

Other facts about him which you might like to consider is how he declined Han Wudi's offer to him to study Sunzi Bingfa and Wuzi Bingfa saying that one should not be confined by prevous systems (which may be connected to the previous point). In addition, he doesn't treat his men very well. He is known to eat well and play soccer while his men starved.

There are actually a few more points about his general of I was just wondering what your thoughts on him was (not his achievement but his character).

[ahbian]

he struck me as being bold to the point of becoming reckless in his military decisions.

[poirot]

Impulsive. Give Wei Qing more credit in the victorious campaign against the Xiong Nu.