Qin’s attack on the Xiongnu

Qin's attack on the Huns

Pre-emptive strike

In the summer and autumn of the 32nd year of Qin Shihuang, according to the original battle plan, Meng Tian set out from Shangjun and entered the northern part of Hetao via Yulin. , the army entered the southern part of Hetao from Yiqu Xiaoguan Road. As soon as the two armies arrived, they launched an attack on the scattered Xiongnu. The tribe encountered no apparent resistance. By the early winter of this year, all the Xiongnu tribes in the Hetao area had been annihilated, and the remaining Xiongnu tribes crossed the river and fled to the northwest. Meng Tiannai rushed the two armies to the south bank of the Yellow River to spend the winter, waiting for the battle in the next spring.

In the early spring of the 33rd year of Qin Shihuang, Meng Tian's main force crossed the Yellow River from Jiuyuan (now Wuyuan County, Inner Mongolia) to attack Gaoque and Taoshan (now Langshan). The army crossed the Yellow River and marched westward into Helan Mountain. The Xiongnu were shocked by Qin's military power and fled to the north. So Qin Zhaoyuan completely recovered the land occupied by the Xiongnu.

He set up camp on the northern border to defend Xianyang, the capital of Qin, and Meng Tian guarded the border for more than ten years. He gained an in-depth understanding of the northern mountains and rivers and prepared for future counterattacks against the Huns. The border with northern ethnic minorities such as the Xiongnu is thousands of miles long, so it is unrealistic to station troops everywhere. The Huns were mainly cavalry, with strong mobility and fast movement speed. In order to better prevent the Huns from going south, the Qin Dynasty formulated a defensive policy of city wall defense against cavalry, ordered a comprehensive restoration of the original Great Wall built by Qin, Zhao, and Yan, and connected them to form the Great Wall starting from Lintao in the west and ending in Liaodong in the east.

Building Chi Road to raise food and money

At the same time, Qin Shihuang also built Chi Road to raise food and wages. One year after the reunification of the six kingdoms, Qin Shihuang ordered the construction of Chidao across the country. In the Imperial Road (today's Lintao, Gansu), Qin Shihuang's first inspection mission after becoming emperor was to patrol Beidi and Longxi. Following the late emperor, he established three granaries in Huang (now east of Huang County, Shandong), Frontier (now Fushan, Shandong), and Langya (now Jiaonan, Shandong) to provide logistical support for the Northern Expedition.

So when Qin Shihuang made his eastward tour, he specifically inspected Youbeiping, Yuyang, Shanggu, Daijun, Yanmen, Yunzhong, Shangjun and other places. Later, Qin Shihuang sent Meng Tian to garrison Shang County to defend against the Xiongnu.

Recover Henan

The Qin Empire set the goal of this campaign to recover Henan and restore the border opened by King Wuling of Zhao. Weak.

Qin had been preparing for war for many years and its attack was very fierce. Meng Tian led an army of 300,000 to the north of Longxi and quickly captured the northern area of ??Hetao. At the same time, the Qin army in Beidi and Longxi also attacked the southern area of ??Hetao.

Faced with the Qin Empire’s sudden attack, the Xiongnu were defenseless. Most of the Xiongnu in Henan were scattered tribes, unable to withstand Qin’s cavalry and suffered defeats one after another. Qin quickly regained Henan and continued to advance to Beihe (today's Wuga River). Going north to the Huns

After fighting for the land in Henan, Meng Tian clearly realized that the Huns would never be willing to lose the land in Henan and would definitely organize a counterattack, so he took the lead and led the main force into the Yinshan and Helanshan highlands the next year. , discovered the main force of the Huns in Gaoque, Yangshan, Beijia and other places, and fought fiercely with them. The leader of the Xiongnu, Touman Chanyu, was gathering his troops to march south. Unexpectedly, the Qin army came again and was caught off guard. The Qin army has advantages in strength, quantity, and types of troops. Meng Tian led his troops in fierce battles and won consecutive victories, dealing a huge blow to the Xiongnu. Touman Chanyu was forced to withdraw from the highlands of Yinshan and Helan Mountains, retreated more than 700 miles north, and retreated to the Monan area north of Yinshan to nomadic.

At this point, Meng Tian used his troops to deal with the Huns and easily won a complete victory. After that, Meng Tian's 300,000 troops were stationed in the north to frighten the Huns. Qin Shihuang subsequently established Jiuyuan County in Henan and established 34 counties. In 211 BC, 30,000 households moved north to develop Henan. Here became the prosperous Xin Qin and the rear area to fight against the Xiongnu.

Building the Great Wall

Due to the situation at that time, in the struggle with the Xiongnu slave-owning nobles, the Qin Dynasty built a world-famous great project-the Great Wall.

In 213 BC (the thirty-fourth year of the First Emperor of Qin), the Qin Dynasty connected the Great Walls of Qin, Zhao and Yan in the past and built the Great Wall from Lintao (Min County, Gansu) to the boundary stone of Liaodong. The Great Wall played an important role in resisting the intrusion of the Huns and ensuring the stability of production and life of the people in the interior.

The purpose of building the Great Wall was to protect the lives and property of the people on the northern border and to reduce the burden on the people; because the Huns were nomadic people, their cavalry had a wide range of activities. Without the Great Wall, a large number of troops would be needed to defend it. A great burden has been placed on the people. Qin Shihuang did not build the Great Wall after him. He just connected the original Great Wall to the north of Qin, Zhao and Yan. However, in the history books, all the suffering caused by the construction of the Great Wall is attributed to Qin Shihuang. This is not true. fact.

In the past, there were some Great Walls between countries, but the Great Wall in the north was incomplete; after reunification, he ordered the demolition of the original Great Walls between countries, and then connected the original Great Walls in the north of Qin, Zhao, and Yan to Prevent the Huns from coming north. Invasion southward.

Open up territory

In order to further consolidate his rule here, Qin Shihuang moved more than 30,000 households to Beihe and Yuzhong (beyond the Yijinhuoluo Banner in Inner Mongolia) in 211 BC. North) to cultivate fields for production and open up frontiers. This mass immigration was of great significance both economically and militarily. Not only did it effectively prevent the Huns from plundering, but it also promoted the development of this area.

Postwar Impact Meng Tian's victory in the Northern Expedition against the Huns not only effectively stopped the Huns' slave-owning nobles from plundering the Central Plains, but also further promoted the development of this region.

During the long-term exchanges and labor, many Huns moved south to the Central Plains, and gradually lived and produced together with the Qin people and people of other ethnic groups, promoting the great integration of the ethnic groups. Attack the Xiongnu in the north and recapture the Hetao area, making this area forever Chinese territory. "Starting from Dahai and Korea in the east, to Lintao and Qiangzhong in the west, to Xianghu (south of the Tropic of Cancer) in the south, to the fortress in the north, from Yinshan to Liaodong."

In addition, in the battle to repel the Huns from the north, At the same time, Qin Shihuang also launched two wars against Baiyue in 219 BC and 214 BC, built the Lingqu Canal, developed the Lingnan area, and included this area for the first time. China map.

In the southwest, Qin Shihuang opened up the Wuchi Avenue to the southwest, roughly from Yibin, Sichuan to Qujing, Yunnan, controlled the local tribal countries, and extended his power into the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.