Wei Qing
Wei Qing, courtesy name Zhongqing, born Zheng Qing in Linfen, Shanxi, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty who was acclaimed for his campaigns against the Xiongnu, and his rags to riches life. He was a consort kin of Emperor Wu of Han as the younger half-brother of Emperor Wu's wife Empress Wei Zifu, and later the third husband of Emperor Wu's older sister Eldest Princess Yangxin. He was also the maternal uncle of Huo Qubing, another decorated Han general who participated in the war against the Xiongnu.
Early life
Wei Qing was born from humble means as a bastard child from a serf family. His father Zheng Ji was a low-level official for Pingyang County and was commissioned to serve at the estate of Cao Shou, the Marquess of Pingyang, and his wife Princess Pingyang. There, Zheng met and had an extramarital affair with a lowly female servant known as Wei Ao, and their relationship produced a son named Zheng Qing. The child was initially sent to live in his father's household as his serf mother could not afford to raise him in poverty, but due to the illegitimacy of his birth, the young boy was detested and mistreated by his father and step-family, and was made to live as a lowly sheepherder. Unable to tolerate the abuse, Zheng Qing eventually ran away back to his mother's side during his early teenage years, and served as a stableboy in the marquess's estate of Pingyang. He then severed his paternal bond by adopting the surname "Wei" of his mother's family.Early career
Legend says that Wei Qing once followed his master on a visit to Ganquan Palace and encountered a cangued prisoner, who foretold that it would be Wei Qing's fate to achieve nobility and marquisate, a prediction Wei Qing simply dismissed as a joke, citing that not getting caned would be fortunate enough for someone living the life of a serf.After Princess Pingyang offered the singer Wei Zifu to Emperor Wu as a concubine c. 139 BC, Wei Qing followed as an accompanying gift and served as a horseman at Jianzhang Camp. However, as his sister gained the Emperor's love and fell pregnant, near-disaster would befall Wei Qing. The powerful Grand Princess Guantao Liu Piao, the mother of Empress Chen Jiao, angry that Wei Zifu had siphoned off the imperial favor from her daughter, kidnapped Wei Qing and wanted to kill him privately as retaliation. However, Wei was rescued at the last moment by his friends, a group of fellow palace guards led by Gongsun Ao. In response to the incident and as a sign of annoyance towards Empress Chen and her mother, Emperor Wu appointed Wei Qing the triple role of Chief of Jianzhang Camp, Chief of Staff and Chief Councillor, effectively making him one of Emperor Wu's closest lieutenants. He also publicly made Wei Zifu a consort, and rewarded other members of her family. This marked the beginning of the rise of one of the most influential clans in the political history of Western Han – the Wei/Huo family.
Great wealth would not be all Wei Qing would have. Emperor Wu saw qualities in him – brilliant horsemanship, archery, bravery, outstanding tactical intuition as well as excellent leadership skills. Over the next several years, Wei Qing would be entrusted as Emperor Wu's most loyal consul, as his sister also monopolized the Emperor's love for the next decade.
Military campaigns
In 129 BC, Xiongnu attacked the Shanggu Commandery. Emperor Wu promoted Wei Qing as the General of Chariots and Cavalry and dispatched him with Gongsun Ao, Gongsun He, and Li Guang in four separate columns against Xiongnu, each leading 10,000 cavalry. Li Guang and Gongsun Ao suffered major losses at the Xiongnus' hand, while Gongsun He failed to encounter and engage any enemy. Wei Qing, the least experienced out of the four, distinguished himself with a successful long-distance raid of the Xiongnu's holy site Longcheng, killing over 700 Xiongnu soldiers in the process. As a reward for the victory, Wei Qing was promoted to a higher command and created an acting Marquess of Guannei, with a march of several hundred households.In 128 BC, Consort Wei Zifu gave birth to Emperor Wu's first son, Liu Ju, and was created Empress very soon after. Later that year, Wei Qing, who was now officially a trusted member of Emperor's extended family, led 30,000 cavalry from Shanwu in Yanmen Commandery, killing thousands of Xiongnu soldiers.
In 127 BC, Wei Qing led a 40,000-strong cavalry from Yunzhong Commandery, then maneuver to Gaoque to Longxi region, and totally outflanking and surrounding the forces of Xiongnu's Princes of Loufan and Baiyang, killing 2,300 and capturing 3,017 Xiongnu soldiers as well as over a million cattle. According to record from Shiji and Hanshu, the battle was so swift and one-sided that the Han forces "returned with all warriors intact", implying a near-zero casualty rate. This earned Wei Qing a further promotion to the Marquess of Changping, with a march of 3,800 households. His subordinates Su Jian and Zhang Cigong were also created marquesses. The Han recapture of this territory forced the two Xiongnu tribes to withdraw from the fertile Hetao region, and dealt devastating blow to their economy. The city of Shuofang was built, and later became a key stronghold for offensive and defensive campaigns against Xiongnu.
In 124 BC, Wei Qing would be the vital part of the greatest Han victory over Xiongnu to date. When Xiongnu's Right Worthy Prince made harassing raids against outskirts of Shuofang, Wei Qing launched a crushing long-distance night assault from Gaoque with 30,000 cavalrymen, completely surprising and surrounding the Worthy Prince's main camp. Not only did the Han forces send the Worthy Prince running for his life from his drunken slumber, they also took about 15,000 captives, among them a dozen Xiongnu nobles, and millions of cattle. For this victory, Wei Qing was made the "Grand General" of All Armed Forces, and his march was enlarged by 8,700 households. His three young sons Wei Kang, Wei Buyi, and Wei Deng were also made marquesses, as well as seven generals under his command.
In 123 BC, Wei Qing set off from Dingxiang and returned with several thousand enemy kills. A month later, Wei Qing again launched from Dingxiang, but would fight a relatively inconclusive battle. Although he was able to kill/capture more than 10,000 Xiongnu soldiers, part of his vanguard forces, a 3,000-strong regiment commanded by generals Su Jian and Zhao Xin, encountered a Xiongnu force led by Chanyu Yizhixie, and was outnumbered and annihilated. Zhao Xin defected on the field with his 800 ethnic Xiongnu subordinates, while Su Jian escaped after losing all his men in the desperate fighting. Showing compassion on Su Jian, Wei Qing spared him even though some advocates advised him to execute Su on the spot after court martial to enforce his commanding authority. Due to the loss of Su's detachment, Wei Qing troops did not earn any promotion, even though they scored more gains than losses. At this campaign, his nephew Huo Qubing distinguished himself in battle and was given his own command.
The Battle of Mobei
After Huo Qubing's successful campaigns in the Hexi Corridor, Xiongnu strategically retreated to north of the Gobi Desert, as the barren lands would serve as a natural barrier that was very difficult to overcome for the Han forces. However, in 119 BC, Emperor Wu decided to defy the odds and launched a massive expeditionary campaign across the desert. In this engagement, Emperor Wu broke the normal pattern of reaction against Xiongnu attacks by making a major excursion against Xiongnu's headquarters in the north of the Gobi Desert. This is known to history as the Mobei Campaign. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were in command of the two main corps, each with 50,000 cavalrymen and 100,000 infantrymen/charioteers.Under Wei Qing's command were four other generals, namely Gongsun He, Zhao Yiji, Cao Xiang and an elderly but very enthusiastic Li Guang. Contrary to the arrangements promised to Li Guang by Emperor Wu, Emperor Wu secretly told Wei Qing not to assign Li Guang to crucial missions due to Li's infamous history of "bad lucks". Wei Qing, after the army had already departed, merged Li Guang's forces with Zhao Yiji's and ordered them to take an eastern flanking route through a barren region. According to the historian Sima Qian, Wei Qing had done this to give his old friend Gongsun Ao, who had recently been stripped of his title, a chance to win a major battle and be re-promoted. However, sending Generals of Front and Right on flanking maneuvers was one of Wei Qing's typical tactical arrangements. This was evidenced by his previous deployment of Zhao Xin and Su Jian, who were Generals of Front and Right respectively, during the less successful 123 BC campaign.
After crossing the desert, Wei Qing's army unexpectedly encountered Chanyu Yizhixie's main forces, who was waiting in anticipation of ambushing the Han army. Despite being significantly outnumbered as well as fatigued after the long journey, Wei Qing was able to counter Xiongnu's cavalry charge with archery defense created by heavy-armored chariots arranged in ring formations, which was reinforced with cavalry counteroffensives. The Han forces successfully enforced a stalemate that lasted until dusk, when a sandstorm descended upon the battlefield. Seizing the moment of poor visibility provided by the dust, Wei Qing broke the stalemate and launched bilateral flanking attacks with his cavalries. Already exhausted after a day of unsuccessful attacks against Han positions, the sudden sight of incoming Han soldiers in the darkness further broke the Xiongnu's morale, routing them. This decisive pincer attack shattered the Chanyu's line, nearly capturing him and completely overrunning his forces, killing over 10,000 Xiongnu soldiers in the process. The Han army pursued all the way to the modern Ulan Bator region, destroying the Xiongnu stronghold Zhao Xin Castle before returning in triumph with a total of about 19,000 enemy kills. Chanyu Yizhixie was forced to escape with very few men, lost communication with his tribe for days, and did not return until his clan presumed his death and installed a new Chanyu. This was a narrow but critically significant victory for the Han empire. Xiongnu was greatly weakened to the point that they would huddle up into the barren northern Gobi desert, and unable to raid south for the next decade. The next major Xiongnu invasion did not occur until after the Han dynasty collapsed, some 400 years later during the Jin dynasty.