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The origin of Huqi

The so-called "Hu cavalry" refers to the cavalry army composed of northern nomadic peoples. The use of northern nomadic cavalry in combat has existed since the pre-Qin period. The famous "King Wuling of Zhao's Hu clothing and horse riding" is an example. During the Warring States Period, the nomadic people "Loufan" roamed in the Hetao area in northwestern Shanxi Province. According to "Historical Records·The Family of Zhao", Loufan was defeated by King Wuling of Zhao. After defeating Loufan, King Wuling of Zhao did not attack and kill their troops, but adopted the strategy of "attracting their soldiers" to accommodate and reorganize the Loufan cavalry and continue to use them for the State of Zhao. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the Loufan cavalry was scattered all over the place and was seen in the armies of various northern vassal states. When the Han Dynasty was established, the "Loufan cavalry" was still active on the battlefields of the Chu-Han War, as recorded in "Historical Records·The Biography of Fan, Li, Teng and Guan": "He defeated the army of Wang Wu, the Duke of Zhe, in the west of Yan, and his soldiers killed five generals of Loufan and one Lian Yin. He attacked Huan Ying, the general of Wang Wu, at Baimaxia and defeated him, and his soldiers killed one commander. … He followed Han Xin to the east to attack Long Ju and Liu Gong at Jiami, and his soldiers killed Long Ju, captured alive the Right Sima, Lian Yin, and ten generals of Loufan."Records of the Grand Historian: Emperor Gaozu's Meritorious Officials Yang Du Jing Hou Ding Fu":He started from Ye as a general of Zhao and went to Bashang. He was appointed as the Marquis of Pingding by the general of Loufan and was given the title of Commandant of Cavalry."Records of the Grand Historian: The Biography of Xiang Yu":Han had a man called Loufan who was good at riding and shooting. Chu challenged him three times, and Loufan shot him to death. King Xiang was furious, so he put on armor and held a halberd to challenge. Loufan wanted to shoot him, but King Xiang glared at him and shouted at him. Loufan dared not look at him, nor shoot, so he ran back into the wall and dared not come out again. "And so on.

In the early days of the Western Han Empire, the use of Guiyi Huqi was considered to resist the Xiongnu invasion. In the early Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu frequently harassed the border and killed and plundered the border people. Not only the Han people, but also other northern ethnic minorities were deeply troubled by the Xiongnu. For example, nomadic peoples such as Loufan and Yiqiu were oppressed by the Xiongnu and moved southward. After entering the territory of the Han Dynasty, facing these ethnic minorities who came to rely on them, the famous minister Chao Cuo suggested recruiting them as an army. Chao Cuo suggested granting them armor and forming them into a Huqi, and selecting generals to lead them. In terms of specific use, he also suggested using them in conjunction with light vehicles (chariot soldiers), material officers (infantry) and other county soldiers. Huqi is used for dangerous places, and light vehicles and material officers are used for flat land. "The two armies are the inside and outside of each other, each using their strengths, and weighing them with the crowd, this is a perfect method.""Now, those who surrendered to the Hu, Yiqu, and other barbarians have come to surrender to the Huns. There are several thousand of them, and their diet, skills, and abilities are the same as those of the Xiongnu. We can give them strong armor and quilted clothes, strong bows and sharp arrows, and also good cavalry from the border counties. Let wise generals who can understand their customs and win their hearts lead them according to your Majesty's wise agreement. If there are dangerous obstacles, we can deal with them with these; if there are flat roads, we can use light vehicles and materials to build them. The two armies will serve as the front and back, and each will use its own strengths and skills, and balance them with numbers. This is a foolproof strategy."These nomadic peoples were settled on the border and called "Baosai Huqi". They fought alongside local county and state troops to defend the Han Dynasty's borders.

2. “Vassal Hu Cavalry” during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Han-Xiongnu War reached its climax, and the use of Hu cavalry was larger than before. Whether in the central army or the local army, there were many "Hu cavalry" participating in the battle. The central direct army of the Han Dynasty can be divided into the Southern Army and the Northern Army. The Southern Army was mainly stationed in the Weiyang Palace area of ​​Chang'an City. It was named because the Weiyang Palace was located in the south of Chang'an City. The Northern Army was mainly stationed in the north of Chang'an. During the reign of Emperor Wu, the Southern Army and the Northern Army had a total of 65,000 troops. Except for very few cases, such as Zhou Yafu who once unified the command of the Southern and Northern Armies, the Southern and Northern Armies were independent in most cases, not affiliated with each other, and even restrained each other. The Northern Army was a permanent force guarding the capital, led by a lieutenant, who was later the Imperial Guards, and had a high status. Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, once regarded becoming the Imperial Guards as his ideal. The Northern Army was named because its camps were mostly in the north of Chang'an City. There were more soldiers, excellent weapons and equipment, and the combat effectiveness exceeded that of the Southern Army. In peacetime, they were responsible for guarding the capital Chang'an and the Sanfu area. They patrolled the imperial palace three times a month and served as the front and back of the Southern Army. In wartime, some or all of them would go on expeditions with the general. Soldiers of the Northern Army were recruited from the regular soldiers in the Sanfu area near the capital, and their service period was one year. This was an important military force that the emperor of the Western Han Dynasty personally controlled. During the reign of Emperor Wu, the Northern Army was further expanded. In addition to the original forces of the Northern Army, seven additional troops were built, including Tunqi (patrol cavalry), Infantry (patrol infantry), Yueqi (patrol Han elite cavalry, or the Baiyue cavalry in the south), Changshui (patrol surrendered Xiongnu cavalry), Huqi (same as the left), Shesheng (patrol archers), and Huben (patrol chariot soldiers). Each unit had about 1,000 people, each led by a lieutenant, plus a lieutenant in the middle. They were collectively called the "Eight Colonels", and 7 new troops were added. Except for Changshui and Huqi, most of them were Xiongnu soldiers who surrendered to the Han Dynasty, the rest were mostly Han people, and most of them were still recruited from the Sanfu area. They were lifelong soldiers and did not serve in rotation. They were hereditary soldiers. In the Northern Army, the Huqi and Changshui Colonels were both composed of ethnic minorities who surrendered. The Huqi Colonel was the emperor's personal soldier, responsible for protecting the emperor's safety. Later, he also went on expeditions and was in charge of more than 700 soldiers. Most of these Hu cavalry came from surrendered Xiongnu and Hu people from Yiqu. For example, Gongsun He and Gongsun Ao, who had followed Wei Qing to fight in the border, were all from the former Yiqu area, and were very likely to be Hanized Yiqu people. The Changshui Colonel was in charge of the Changshui and Xuanqu Huqi. " Yan Shigu's note said: "Changshui, a name for the Hu people. Xuanqu is the name of a place, and the Hu cavalry stationed in Xuanqu. The number of soldiers was roughly the same as that of the Hu cavalry.It is worth mentioning that the "Yue Cavalry Captain" is also believed to be a cavalry composed of the Baiyue ethnic group in the south. Ru Chun said that "the Yue people surrendered to the country and became cavalry." However, there is still controversy in the historical community as to whether it was composed of Yue people.

In border areas, "Bao Sai Hu Qi" was still widely used. At the same time, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the so-called "vassal states" and "vassal state Hu Qi" appeared. The so-called "vassal states" originated from the "vassal states" of the Qin Dynasty. The direct source of the vassal state system of the Han Dynasty was the inheritance of the vassal state system of the Qin Dynasty. Mr. Wang Zongwei believes that: "During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the terms "bang" and "guo" were used interchangeably, but the Qin State mostly referred to minority regimes as "bang". A vassal state refers to a larger tribal regime among the minority groups that belonged to the Qin State." Mr. Sun Yancheng believes that: "Qin had vassal states. The Han Dynasty changed the vassal state to a vassal state in order to avoid the taboo of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, just like changing the prime minister's state to the prime minister's state." "Subordinate states", as the name suggests, can be determined to be minority regimes that were dependent on the Qin Dynasty. Judging from the unearthed Yunmeng Shuihu Qin bamboo slips, "subordinate states" had their own production institutions and armies. The Western Han Dynasty changed "bang" to "guo", calling it "vassal state" or "dian vassal state", which inherited the vassal state system of the Qin State. The establishment of the vassal state system is generally believed to have occurred during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but some scholars believe that it had already appeared during the reign of Emperor Wen. For example, "Han Shu·Biography of Jia Yi"I secretly estimate that the number of Xiongnu people is no more than that of a large county in Han. It is shameful for the officials to think that the whole country is trapped by the people of a county. Your Majesty, why don't you try to make me an official of a vassal state to rule the Xiongnu? If you follow my plan, please tie the Chanyu's neck and control his life, ambush Zhonghang Shuo and whip his back, and make all the Xiongnu people obey your orders."The term "vassal state" appeared, proving that such an administrative institution as "vassal state" may have existed during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, or at least it was a concept. During the reign of Emperor Wu, vassal states began to be established on a large scale. According to the "Book of Han", in the second year of Emperor Wu's Yuanshou reign, the Xiongnu King Kunxie killed the King Xiu Tu and surrendered 40,000 of his people to the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty was called "Set up five vassal states to deal with them, and use their land as Wuwei and Jiuquan counties."Yan Shigu said: "All vassal states retain their titles but are subordinate to the Han Dynasty, so they are called vassal states." It can be seen that the Western Han government retained the original official positions, titles and organizations of the vassal ethnic groups or tribes, maintained their original production methods and living customs, and the original kings and leaders of the ethnic groups continued to manage the affairs of their own ethnic groups. However, they had to be subordinate to the Western Han government, and the Han government set up vassal state commanders in the vassal states to be responsible for protecting the security of the vassal states. The vassal state commander was an assistant to the central government in managing the affairs of the vassal ethnic groups, and was used to coordinate the relationship between the Han and ethnic minorities.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the vassal states established to settle the surrendered minority groups included the Beidi, Tianshui, Shangjun, Xihe and Wuyuan vassal states. They were all located in the northern regions of Gansu, Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces. The vassal states had a military force of about 2,000 people each and a population of more than 10,000 people each. The minority groups settled in the five vassal states were mostly Xiongnu people. These Xiongnu people were mainly the surrendered people of King Kunxie from Hexi. The surrendered Xiongnu people and captives from other regions were also settled in large numbers in the vassal states. The land around these vassal states was vacant, and there were cavalry units composed of Hu people. The cavalry of these vassal states were mainly ethnic soldiers. They were composed of people from various ethnic groups such as the Xiongnu, Qiang, Yuezhi, Di, Yi, Xianbei, etc. living in the vassal states. Most of them were brave and good at fighting, and had outstanding martial arts. According to the "Book of Han", "The emperor mourned the death of Qubing and sent the vassal states to fight in black armor, and the army formation was from Chang'an to Maoling." These "vassal state Hu cavalry" played an important role in the Han-Xiongnu War. In the fourth year of Yuanshou (119 BC), Huo Qubing attacked the Xiongnu and achieved great success. Emperor Wu of Han issued an edict to commend him.General Qubing led the army, personally led the captured soldiers, and ordered a light delivery. He broke through the main tent, captured Zhang Qu, and killed Bi Cheqi. He turned to attack the left general, captured his flag and drum, and captured Li Hou.The "people who love meat and porridge" mentioned in the imperial edict are the Xiongnu, Loufan and Yiqu people in Huo Qubing's army. In the list of rewards after the war, "Therefore, Guiyi granted Fuluzhi, the Prince of Chun, and Yijixiang, the Prince of Louzhuan, the title of Marquis of Zhuang with 1,300 households, and Yijixiang the title of Marquis of Zhongli with 1,800 households, because both of them served as General of the Cavalry., these two people belonged to the minor Xiongnu kings who surrendered to the Han Dynasty before; in the previous battle of the Hexi Corridor, in the list of generals who followed Huo Qubing to be granted titles of nobility and made meritorious services, most of his captains were granted titles of nobility because of their military exploits, and judging from their names, these people were typical Xiongnu people. Wei Qing, after the death of Huo Qubing, Li Guangli became the main generals of the Han Dynasty in the war against the Xiongnu. These "vassal state Hu cavalry" also followed Li Guangli to fight. In the first year of Emperor Wu's Taichu reign, Emperor Wu sent General Li Guangli to conquer Dayuan, and sent out about 100,000 evil young men from all over the world and 6,000 cavalry from vassal states. As a result, he beheaded the king of Dayuan, obtained 3,000 good horses, and lost eight or nine out of ten soldiers. In the third year of Zhenghe (90 BC), Li Guangli led an army on an expedition to the Xiongnu."When General Ershi (Li Guangli) was about to go out of the border, the Xiongnu sent the Right Grand Commandant and Wei Lu with 5,000 cavalry to attack the Han army at the narrow Fuyangju Mountain. Ershi sent 2,000 Hu cavalry from his vassal state to fight. The enemy soldiers were scattered and hundreds of them were killed or wounded. The Han army took advantage of the victory and pursued them northward to Lady Fan's city. The Xiongnu fled and no one dared to confront the enemy."In this battle, the "vassal Hu cavalry" made great contributions to the victory of the Han army. Unfortunately, with Li Guangli's surrender to the Xiongnu, the "vassal Hu cavalry" under his command may have surrendered to the Xiongnu as well. In addition to these "vassal Hu cavalry", there are records of the Western Region Wusun, Loulan, Yuezhi, Northeast Wuhuan, etc. fighting in the Han army as cavalry or vassal troops, but there are not many historical materials left.

"Huqi" and "Tuqi" during the Han Dynasty

By the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Huqi and other minority cavalry were still active in the Han army. In the chaos at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the vassal Huqi also became a weapon for warlords from all over the country to fight or protect themselves. We can see the active presence of Huqi on the battlefields in the northwest and northeast (Youzhou). For example, Lu Fang, Lu Fang, whose courtesy name was Junqi, was from Sanshui County, Anding County (now Tongxin, Ningxia). During the Wang Mang period, he pretended to be the great-grandson of Emperor Wu of Han to confuse the people. In the last years of Wang Mang, he jointly rose up with the vassal Qiang and Hu of Sanshui, and accepted an official position granted by Emperor Gengshi. In 25 AD (the third year of Gengshi), Emperor Gengshi Liu Xuan was killed, and the heroes of Sanshui jointly supported Lu Fang as the general and King of Xiping, and ruled one side. Lu Fang, a small figure with neither a prominent background nor great benevolence and virtue, could secede and establish a country because he had the support of the Xiongnu and the "vassal Huqi" under his command. As recorded in "Zizhi Tongjian·Volume 40": "After Gengshi was defeated, the tyrants of Sanshui jointly appointed Fang as the Supreme General and King of Xiping, and sent envoys to make peace with the Western Qiang and Xiongnu. The Chanyu thought: "The Han clan is broken off, and the Liu clan has returned. I should also establish a king like Huhanye, and make him respect me." So he sent the King of Julin with several thousand cavalry to welcome Fang's brothers into the Xiongnu, and established Fang as the Han emperor. He appointed Fang's brother Cheng as the General of the Central Army and led the Hu cavalry back to Anding. "However, under the attack of the Han army, Lu Fang was ultimately unable to resist and fled to the Xiongnu, where he died outside the Great Wall. Another person who ruled the Hexi region, Dou Rong, also relied on the "Qiang Hu cavalry" to gain a foothold in Hexi. Dou Rong was born into the Dou family, a relative of the emperor, and served as an official under Wang Mang. Later, he surrendered to Emperor Gengshi. Dou Rong believed that"The safety of the world is uncertain. Hexi is rich and secure with the river. Zhangye is a vassal state with 10,000 elite soldiers. If there is an emergency, they can block the crossing of the river and defend themselves. This is the place where the descendants will be."Therefore, he bribed the Grand Marshal Zhao Meng and asked Emperor Gengshi to send him to Hexi to serve as the commander of the vassal state of Zhangye, so that he could control "ten thousand elite soldiers and cavalry of the vassal state" and thus travel across Hexi. Later, Dou Rong led his troops to surrender to Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, leaving behind the beautiful story of "Dou Rong's return to Han".

During the wars between the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty, the "Youzhou Tuqi", composed of the Wuhuan, Xianbei and other Donghu ethnic minorities living in the northeast and the local Han border residents, emerged as a force that should not be underestimated. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, the Wuhuan, Xianbei and other Donghu ethnic groups had joined the Han army and became the "Tunqi" in the border areas. In the war at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, these Donghu ethnic groups joined Liu Xiu's army based in Hebei and became the famous "Youzhou Tuqi". The main founders of the "Youzhou Tuqi" were Wu Han (a fellow villager of Liu Xiu, but he wandered around Yuyang during the reign of Wang Mang and made a living by selling horses) and Geng Yan (his father was the governor of Shanggu County). They "Each sent 2,000 cavalry and 1,000 infantry."He defected to Liu Xiu and became one of Liu Xiu's elite troops, the "Youzhou Tuqi". In Liu Xiu's war against Wang Lang in Hebei, the "Book of the Later Han" records that"At that time, the emperor sent Wu Han and other generals to lead the cavalry, show off their weapons and horses, and ride around Handan City on horseback, and then besiege it."After Liu Xiu broke with Emperor Gengshi, he relied on the "Youzhou Tuqi" to recruit the general Ma Wu of Emperor Gengshi."I have captured Shanggu and Yuyang's cavalry. How would you like to let the general lead them?"In the battles under Liu Xiu, "Youzhou Tuqi

"Dou played a crucial role in many battles. For example, in the battle with the peasant army and bronze horse army in Hebei,"Wu Han led the Tuqi to meet Qingyang. The bandits challenged him several times, but Guangwu defended himself by firmly camping. If anyone came out to plunder, he would attack them and cut off their food supply. After more than a month, the bandits ran out of food and fled at night. Guangwu chased them to Guantao and defeated them."This strategy of cutting off food supply was effective. During the war between Liu Xiu and Wang Lang, the Book of the Later Han said:(Han general) Jing Dan followed Wang Lang's general Ni Hong and others to attack the Nanman. Lang's soldiers fought back and the Han army retreated. (The Book of the Later Han Dynasty says: The Nanman bandits fought back and captured several drum carts and baggage carts.) Dan and his cavalry attacked them and defeated them. They chased them for more than ten miles, and the dead and wounded were scattered all over the place. When Dan returned, Emperor Taizu (Liu Xiu) said to him: "I heard that the cavalry were the best troops in the world. Now I see them fighting. How can I say that I am happy!" So he followed the expedition to Hebei. "Wu Han himself also "often led 5,000 cavalry as the vanguard of the army, and often went into battle first."Youzhou cavalry directly charged infantry, which was a very rare tactic at the time (because stirrups had not yet been invented in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, it was quite dangerous for cavalry to charge infantry), which was enough to shock and defeat the enemy. In Liu Xiu's battles with the Western Heroes, Youzhou cavalry also performed well. For example, in the war against Longxi Weixiao, Ma Wu and Geng Yan were at a disadvantage in the first battle, "Ma Wu selected the best cavalry to serve as the rear guard, wearing armor and holding spears, and rushed to attack, killing several thousand people, so that Wei Xiao's troops retreated."When attacking the Gongsun Shu regime that ruled Shu, the Han army and the Gongsun army fought a decisive battle outside the city of Chengdu."(The two armies fought) from dawn to noon. (Gongsun Shu's army) was hungry but could not eat, and tired but could not rest. After sunset, Shu's army was defeated. The Han knight Gao Wu stabbed Shu in the head with a halberd, and he fell off his horse and beat his chest dozens of times. Everyone knew it was Shu, and they went forward to take his head. Ya and others returned to the city in despair. The officials and civilians were desperate, so they opened the gates at night and surrendered."The Tuqi killed Gongsun Shu in the battle formation, achieving a brilliant record of defeating Gongsun Shu. It must be said that the Youzhou Tuqi played a great role in the Eastern Han Dynasty's victory over the heroes and unification of the world.

After the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to political and economic needs, the army was reformed. In the sixth year of Jianwu (30 AD), the commandery commanders were dismissed and the governors were concurrently appointed. At the same time, the capital trial law was abolished. In the seventh year (31 AD), the light chariots, cavalry, materials officers, tower ships and military officials in the world were dismissed and returned to the civilians, and the taxes were changed as before. In the twenty-third year (47 AD), the officials and soldiers in the border counties were dismissed. All the reform measures were aimed at weakening and abolishing the border defense army. Regardless of the pros and cons of the reform, the weakening of the border defense army foreshadowed that more foreigners would join the Han army in various identities and serve as the force to guard the border of the Han Dynasty. The "Youzhou Tuqi" of the Eastern Han Dynasty spread across the country. The Eastern Han Dynasty imitated the "Youzhou Tuqi" and formed the so-called "Yingchuan Tuqi" to appease the Nanyang noble group. In terms of the imperial guards, compared with the central imperial guards of the Western Han Dynasty, which were composed of Langwei, Nanjun, Beijun, The structure of the Eastern Han Dynasty's central imperial army, including the city gate soldiers and the eight lieutenants, has undergone great changes. It is mainly composed of "the guards led by Guanglu Xun, the guards led by Weiwei, the five soldiers of the Northern Army led by Zhonghou of the Northern Army, the fire and police forces of the capital led by Zhijinwu, and the city gate soldiers led by the city gate lieutenants". As for the eight lieutenants, the Eastern Han Dynasty only retained the five lieutenants of "Tunqi Lieutenant, Yueqi Lieutenant, Infantry Lieutenant, Shesheng Lieutenant, and Changshui Lieutenant", abolished the Huqi Lieutenant, and only retained the number of Changshui Lieutenant, and changed all its soldiers to those who were more worthy of the Eastern Han Dynasty's trust and The Wuhuan Tuqi (rather than the "Changshui Hu" who were mainly northwestern ethnic minorities in the Western Han Dynasty) were under strict control and had made great military achievements for the restoration of the Eastern Han Dynasty under the banner of Youzhou Tuqi. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, the Tunqi Xiaowei was mainly composed of Youzhou Han border residents who were good at cavalry combat. The Eastern Han Dynasty continued this practice and composed Tunqi Xiaowei with Youzhou border residents. In this way, the Tunqi Xiaowei and Changshui (Hu) Xiaowei's troops became the most relied upon and most elite guards of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and even served as the emperor's guards. As recorded in the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Liu Ban",In the tenth year, he was summoned to take charge of the Jinwu affairs. He followed him to Nanyang and returned as a marquis. The next year, he was also appointed as the cavalry commander. Whenever he visited a county or state, he would always bring the Changshui Hu cavalry with him.These Hu cavalry also served as guards for the princes, such as the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: King Jian of Zhongshan" records: "Whenever a prince leaves a territory, he must be accompanied by his attendants. That is why the Sima accompanied him at the meeting in Jiagu. Now each of the five states has a hundred cavalrymen, marching in front of them. They are all northern Hu cavalrymen, skilled in shooting, and their bows never miss, and they will hit the target. If there is civil affairs, there must be military preparations, so the duties of the vassal are important. The king should not refuse them. "Moreover, in Liyang, a strategic point in the north of Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was also a third imperial army cavalry unit with Youzhou cavalry bloodline (or it can also be called garrison cavalry according to its original nature as garrison garrison troops), namely the Liyang Camp. However, in the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty, with the long-term peace, the "Tuqi" with the hereditary military system of father-to-son succession inevitably became "weak" after entering the interior, and even completely lost its combat effectiveness (just like many nomadic peoples who entered the Central Plains and became corrupt and degenerate). For example, Wang Lang, a minister of the later Cao Wei period, once wrote a letter to criticize the gradual weakening of the combat effectiveness of the five schools of the Northern Army in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, saying that their soldiers were ""Some are the lazy sons of merchants, or the prudent and dull farmers. Although they have some knowledge of riding and marching, they do not know how to fight in battle formations. They are not simple and experienced, and they hope to be repelled by the enemy. Although their name is not worthy of their reality, they are difficult to prepare for emergencies." Under such circumstances, another minority cavalry - Qianghu cavalry began to appear on the historical stage.

The Four Qiang Rebellions and the Qiang-Hu Cavalry

The Qiang people are an ancient ethnic group that appeared in oracle bone inscriptions. They were divided into dozens or even hundreds of tribes, which were not subordinate to each other. They roamed in the northwest region. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the Qiang people had developed into many tribes of different sizes, including Xianling, Shaodang, Biannan, Bianhe, Ruo, Canlang, Zhong, etc. During the Western Han Dynasty, the Qiang population in the five counties of Hanyang (Tianshui), Jincheng (Lanzhou), Anding, Beidi, and Longxi in the northwest region reached 259,990 households and 1,001,802 people, and gradually moved inland, becoming the most influential ethnic minority in the northwest. Entering the Eastern Han Dynasty, with the weakening of the Xiongnu power, the Qiang rebellion became the most troublesome problem for the Eastern Han government. Unlike the Western Han Dynasty, since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the number of Qiang people who moved inland has reached an unprecedented level, and the duration has lasted for almost the entire history of the dynasty. Moreover, the areas of migration are no longer limited to the counties along the border, but have penetrated into Anding, Beidi, Shangjun, and even the Sanfu area and Hedong area. Due to the tyranny of the Wang Mang era, many ethnic minorities on the border rebelled one after another. Many border warlords also recruited Qiang people to serve as mercenaries, or won over Qiang tribes, allowing Qiang people to enter the Liangzhou area. For example, the warlord Wei Xiao in the Longxi area "recruited the (Qiang) chieftains and used them" and "formed an alliance with (Qiang) to mobilize their people." Dou Rong of Hexi (who later surrendered to the Han Dynasty and was granted the title of Anfeng Hou) "captured the Qiang captives" and "won the hearts of the Qiang Hu." After the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, small-scale rebellions continued to occur among the Qiang people, especially the powerful Shaodang Qiang (a part of the ancient Qiang people. Named after Shaodang, the 18th-generation grandson of Wuyi Yuanjian, Wu Ge Aijian was a leader of the Qiang people in the early Warring States Period, who taught the Qiang people to farm and repair houses). Like them, the Eastern Han army also recruited a lot of "Qiang Hu cavalry." "Qiang cavalry" often appears in the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", and the number is even in the tens of thousands, which is very shocking. Even when Dou Xian fought back against the Huns, he had "8,000 cavalrymen from the Qiang and Hu tribes" under his command. His use of Qiang mercenaries was astonishing.

With the large-scale migration of Qiang people, the Hu and Han peoples mixed together. In the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, with the corruption of officials and the rise of local tyrants (the rise of tyrants was an important feature of Eastern Han society), the oppression of Qiang people became more serious.At that time, the surrendered Qiang tribes were scattered in the counties and prefectures, and were all forced to work as laborers by officials and wealthy people, which filled them with sorrow and resentment.In such a situation, the Qiang people were like a powder keg, and a large-scale rebellion could explode at any time. In the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a massive "Qiang Rebellion" broke out in the border area of ​​Liangzhou in the northwest, which lasted until the demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It became an important reason for the decline of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the summer of the first year of Yongchu of Emperor An of the Han Dynasty (AD 107), the Qiang people rose up because they were dissatisfied with the military service of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The first large-scale Qiang Rebellion broke out. The Eastern Han government spent a lot of effort and even bribed assassins to assassinate the leaders of the uprising before suppressing the Qiang Rebellion. Starting in 140 AD (the fifth year of Yonghe), the Qiang people rebelled again and invaded the Guanzhong Sanfu area on a large scale. This was the famous "Yonghe Qiang Rebellion". General Ma Xian, who had defeated the Qiang people several times, died in battle, and the Han army lost tens of thousands of people. The Guanzhong area was in mourning. In the sixth year of Yanxi (AD 163), Liangzhou was almost entirely occupied by the Qiang people. A large number of residents in the areas around Chang'an City moved inland, and a large number of border counties in the northwest also moved to Guandong one after another. The land of Guanxi was about to fall. As a last resort, the Eastern Han court had to recruit a large number of local people from Liangzhou to suppress the rebellion, which also marked the beginning of the Xizhou Group coming to the fore.

As we all know, the Longxi area of ​​Liangzhou is a place where the people of different ethnic groups live together, and the people are tough. Many local tyrants are "good at chivalry" and "good at riding and shooting", and can be said to be "full of martial virtues". The Guanlong Group of the Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties also originated from here. In the constant Qiang rebellion, in order to suppress the Qiang rebellion, the court had to use local tyrants who were familiar with the local situation. The local tyrants in Longxi, Liangzhou also continued to grow and develop in the rebellion, forming a group. According to the definition of scholar Mr. Xue Xiaolin, we call it the "Xizhou Group", which later developed into the Xiliang Army in the Three Kingdoms period. The early representatives of the Xizhou Group were the so-called "Liangzhou Sanming". "Liangzhou Sanming" refers to three outstanding military generals who were all from ancient Liangzhou in the late Eastern Han Dynasty: Huangfu Gui, Zhang Huan and Duan Ji (jiǒng). Huangfu Gui's courtesy name is Weiming, Zhang Huan's courtesy name is Ranming, and Duan Ji's courtesy name is Jiming. Because the courtesy names of the three people all have the character "Ming", they are all from Liangzhou, and they all made contributions and became famous in governing the Qiang, so they were called "Liangzhou Sanming" at that time. The three men started their careers in Liangzhou and were appointed as generals by the court. They made great military achievements in the war to pacify the Qiang and held high positions. For example, from the second year of Yan Xi (159 AD) to the second year of Jianning (169 AD), Duan Xing served as the Protector of the Qiang, and fought on the border for more than ten years. He fought with the Qiang people 180 times and killed nearly 40,000 people. He finally pacified the Western Qiang and destroyed the Eastern Qiang. For his meritorious service, he was granted the title of Marquis of Xinfeng County. In the third year of Jianning (170 AD), he entered the court as an official and served as the Palace Attendant, the Imperial Guards, the Prefect of Henan, and the Protector of the Capital. Huangfu Gui served as the General of the Central Army and the General of the Liao River, and was promoted to the Protector of the Qiang. Under the command of Sanming of Liangzhou, the rebellion was finally suppressed gradually. For example, the Biography of Duan Yu in Volume 65 of the Book of the Later Han Dynasty states: "In the second year of Yongshou, Emperor Huan ordered the ministers to select generals who were both civil and military. Si Tu Yin Song recommended Xiou, who was then appointed General of the Central Army. He defeated Dou and Ju and others, and killed them. He captured more than 10,000 heads, and the rest of the gang surrendered and dispersed."The Biography of Huangfu Gui" in Volume 65 of the Book of the Later Han states: ""Gui was appointed as the governor of Taishan. After he took office, he made many plans and pacified all the bandits.""Book of the Later Han, Volume 65, Biographies of Huangfu, Zhang and Duan, Chapter 55":In the spring of the first year of Yongkang, the Eastern Qiang and the Xianling tribes led 5,000 to 6,000 cavalrymen to attack Guanzhong and plunder Yunyang. In the summer, they attacked and destroyed two camps again, killing more than a thousand people. In the winter, Qiang Anwei and others coerced their tribesmen to attack Sanfu again. Huan sent Sima Yinduan and Dong Zhuo to attack them together, and defeated them. They beheaded their chieftains and captured more than 10,000 people, and the three states were pacified.”，During the "Sanming" suppression of the rebellion, a large number of Qiang people either surrendered, were captured, or joined the Han army, which further increased the proportion of Qiang and Hu cavalry in the Han army, especially the Xiliang Corps, creating a vicious cycle (see below).However, the three were not united, and their relationships and practices were obviously different. Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan advocated appeasement, while Duan Xing adopted a policy of genocide and extermination. Politically, Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan looked down on eunuchs, while Duan Xing attached himself to them. Therefore, Duan Xing was one faction, while Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan were another, and they fought and even undermined each other. Regarding the Qiang people, Duan Xing once declared, "I think they have wolves' ambitions and are difficult to accept. Even if they are submissive, they will still move again. I will only use long spears to hold them in my arms and sharp blades to put them in my neck.""The Xiongnu and the Qiang have occupied the land, which is a hidden disease for the Han Dynasty. If they are not punished, they will grow stronger."The "Three Alls Policy" made the conflict between Han and Qiang more and more acute. He himself did not have a good end. In the second year of Guanghe (179), he was implicated in the case of Wang Fu, a powerful eunuch, and was imprisoned and died of poison. Since the three Mings in Liangzhou were loyal to the court and had conflicts with each other, and were transferred back to the court shortly after the rebellion, although they gained great prestige and strength in the rebellion, they did not cause any adverse consequences. However, at this time, the growth of the Liangzhou group was an inevitable trend. Once used by ambitious people, the consequences would be disastrous.

Soon after the death of the three Liangzhou people, the famous Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184. The Eastern Han court had no time to look west, which made some Liangzhou tyrants with ulterior motives begin to stir. In 184, the northern Xianling Qiang and other external rebels, so they appointed Beigong Boyu and Li Wenhou as generals and killed Leng Zheng, the captain of the Qiang Guard. In March 185, Liangzhou tyrants Bian Zhang, Han Sui and others, in the name of punishing eunuchs, united with Qiang and Hu, led tens of thousands of cavalry to invade Sanfu, invaded Yuanling, and annihilated Beigong Boyu and other troops. Emperor Ling sent Huangfu Song, the left chariot general, and Dong Zhuo, the general of the middle army, to conquer them, but they failed. Bian Zhang, Han Sui and others were very popular and stirred up the world. This rebellion was different from the previous ones. It was not a simple Qiang rebellion, but a joint rebellion of Han and Qiang led by local tyrants, and its impact was extremely bad. The reason for the alliance between the local nobles and the Qiang and Hu was that the Qiang and Hu had been fighting with the Liangzhou generals and Han soldiers for a long time, which to a certain extent eliminated the gap and opposition between the two sides, allowing them to unite and start an uprising. They also had certain political experience and strong combat effectiveness. For example, under the command of the Protector of the Qiang, there were many Qiang and Hu cavalrymen.Then the Yuezhi came to surrender and lived together with the Han people. Although they were dependent on the county officials,First apply to both ends. They followed the Han army to fight, and their strengths and weaknesses depended on the situation. ... There were seven major tribes, with a total of more than 9,000 victorious soldiers, who were stationed in Huangzhong and Lingju, and several hundred households in Zhangye, and they were called "Yi Conghu".Soon after, in April of the fourth year of Zhongping (187), Geng Bi, then governor of Liangzhou, trusted corrupt officials, which led to the Hanyang native Wang Guo , and the Di, Qiang and other ethnic groups rebelled. Soon, Geng Bi was killed by his subordinate Li Xiangru. Geng Bi's general Xiliang Ma Teng (Ma Chao's father) joined forces with Han Sui and others, and joined forces with Hanyang people Wang Guo, calling themselves "General Hezhong". They jointly nominated Wang Guo as the commander-in-chief and led their troops to plunder Sanfu. The Han Dynasty called it the rebellion of Sanfu. Soon, the two abolished Wang Guo, appointed themselves as leaders, and repeatedly defeated the Han army. The court was helpless.

5. Foreign Cavalry in the Late Eastern Han Dynasty

After "Sanming", another spokesperson of Liangzhou (Xizhou) Group was the notorious Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo, courtesy name Zhongying, was from Lintao, Longxi (now Minxian, Gansu Province). He was born as a low-level official and grew up in Liangzhou. He was a member of the Xizhou Group. According to historical records, "(Dong Zhuo) was fond of chivalry when he was young. He once traveled among the Qiang people and made friends with all the heroes. Later, he returned to the wild, and some heroes came to follow him. (Dong) Zhuo returned with them, killed the oxen and feasted with them. The heroes were touched by his kindness and returned to collect more than a thousand heads of miscellaneous livestock to give to him." Dong Zhuo was a martial arts expert, a generous person, and had military merits. He was recommended by Duan Jiong, and later served as a general or deputy general under Zhang Huan and Huangfu Song, the nephew of Huangfu Gui. Although he did not make great achievements in suppressing the Qiang rebellion, he did not make any mistakes. He accumulated a lot of reputation and strength, and also had an army loyal to him. However, due to his disagreement with Huangfu Song during the rebellion, Huangfu Song wrote to the court to deprive him of his military power. The court decided to transfer Dong Zhuo away. "The imperial edict appointed (Dong) Zhuo as the governor of Bingzhou and ordered him to assign his troops to Huangfu Song." Zhuo wrote again, saying, "I have no experience and no achievements. I have been mistakenly given the grace of heaven to lead the army for ten years. The soldiers, big and small, have been close to me for a long time. They are grateful for my kindness in raising them and are willing to fight for me. I beg you to lead them to the northern province and serve the border." So he stationed troops in Hedong to observe the changes of the times. Unlike Sanming of Liangzhou, who was born in the upper class of Liangzhou and received a systematic Confucian education, Dong Zhuo was born in the lower class, lived with Qiang and Hu people, advocated martial arts, and found it difficult to integrate into the circle of scholars and officials. Therefore, his behavior was erratic and violent, and his loyalty to the court and imperial power was extremely limited.

Dong Zhuo, the Grand Tutor

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the struggle between eunuchs and relatives of the emperor was very fierce. General He Jin, who was a relative of the emperor, decided to eliminate the eunuchs. He foolishly led foreign troops into the capital and recruited heroes from all directions. Soon the plan was exposed and he was killed. This foolish decision allowed Dong Zhuo to prosper. Dong Zhuo brazenly led his troops into the capital. "At that time, (He) Jin's brother, General Miao, was killed by Jin's men. Jin and Miao's troops had no one to belong to, so they all went to Zhuo." Dong Zhuo also lured Lu Bu to kill Ding Yuan, the Chief of the Guards, and annexed the armies of Lu Bu and other Bingzhou people. Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others were unwilling to associate with Dong Zhuo and fled to other places. It is very likely that their troops were also annexed by Dong Zhuo. In this way, Dong Zhuo controlled all military power in Luoyang. Dong Zhuo brazenly deposed the emperor and established Emperor Xian Liu Xie as emperor. Dong Zhuo was cruel, and most of his subordinates were "Qiang and Hu soldiers". "Zhuo let his soldiers go, broke into their houses, raped women, and looted their property, which was called "raiding the prison". People were in a state of panic, and they could not protect themselves from the coming day or night. When Queen He was buried and Wen Mausoleum was opened, Zhuo took all the precious things in the collection. He also raped princesses, married palace ladies, and used cruel punishments. All the officials must be killed, and none of them, inside or outside the court, could defend themselves. Zhuo once sent his army to Yangcheng, and the people of the time gathered at the altar. He ordered them to be beheaded, drove their heavy carts, loaded the women, tied their heads to the shafts of the carts, and returned singing and shouting. "It dealt a devastating blow to the city of Luoyang. Soon, Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an. "He moved all the people of Luoyang, numbering several million, to Chang'an, where they were driven by foot and cavalry, trampling each other, starving and looting, and the roads were filled with corpses. Zhuo stayed in the Bigui Garden and burned all the palaces, temples, government offices, and houses, leaving no one alive within 200 miles. He also ordered Lü Bu to open the tombs of the emperors and the graves of the ministers and nobles to collect their treasures."His atrocities were appalling, and Dong Zhuo's rebellion led to a series of disastrous consequences. The battle-hardened Liangzhou group and the powerful fighting power of the Qiang and Hu cavalry under Dong Zhuo's command were almost overwhelming in the face of the long-peaceful inland county army. "The princes outside the pass were regarded as grass by Bu." The powerful fighting power of the Liangzhou group also made the army to fight against Dong return empty-handed. The army to fight against Dong was divided into pieces and attacked each other, making the Eastern Han court basically in name only. Soon, under Wang Yun's alienation plan, Dong Zhuo was killed by Lu Bu, and his generals Li Jue and Guo Si were under the control of Jia Xu (Jia Xu was also from Liangzhou, and Jia Taiwei was actually a Under the persuasion of the evil man, Dong Zhuo led the soldiers of Xiliang to attack Chang'an. Wang Yun was killed, Lu Bu fled, Li Jue and Guo Si controlled the government, and soon they killed each other. I will not elaborate on this. It is worth mentioning that Dong Zhuo sent people to form a certain degree of alliance with Han Sui, Ma Teng, etc., which indicated that the Liangzhou group had a trend of converging under the leadership of Dong Zhuo. Since the two belonged to Liangzhou and had a common language, the alliance was very smooth. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Volume 72, Biography of Dong Zhuo, Volume 62": At first, when Zhuo entered the pass, he asked Han Sui and Ma Teng to conspire in Shandong. Sui and Teng saw that the world was in chaos, and they also wanted to rely on Zhuo to raise troops. "But the two had not arrived yet. Dong Zhuo was killed, Li Jue and Guo Si entered Chang'an, and soon they killed each other. At the beginning, the two also took the action of uniting Han Sui, Ma Teng and others, but soon attacked Han Sui and Ma Teng for trivial matters. "Teng and Sui were defeated and fled back to Liangzhou." After that, the Liangzhou group declined in constant mutual suspicion and self-killing, and was finally completely eliminated by Cao Cao in the late Jian'an period. Ma Teng and Han Sui were killed, and Ma Chao, the son of Ma Teng, led the remnants to Zhang Lu and Liu Bei successively. The army under Ma Chao inherited many Western Liang Qiang and Hu cavalry, and was brave and good at fighting. They were good at using cavalry attacks and horse-riding archery tactics, which impressed Cao Cao and Liu Bei deeply. "The Book of Wei" records that "many people said: Guanxi soldiers are strong and practice long spears. If they are not selected as vanguards, they cannot be defeated." When Ma Chao fought against Cao's army, Ma Chao often led his cavalry to attack and pursue Cao's army. "Every time (Cao) Gong's army crossed the Wei River, they were always colliding with Chao's cavalry, and the camp could not be established." "Chao led more than 10,000 cavalry to rush to Taizu's army, and arrows fell like rain" ("Three Kingdoms·Biography of Xu Zhu"), which caused great trouble to Cao's army.

The other army that inherited the "Youzhou Tuqi" of the Eastern Han Dynasty in various aspects was the army of the late Han Dynasty warlord Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan was one of the heroes of the late Han Dynasty and was born in Lingzhi, Liaoxi (now Qian'an, Hebei). He had fought against nomadic peoples such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan in the Youzhou area (now northern Hebei and western Liaoning) for many years, so he had a large number of elite cavalry under his command, and he was also familiar with cavalry tactics. The elite cavalry under Gongsun Zan included "Youzhou Tuqi" and "Baima Yicong". The former, as the name suggests, was an impact cavalry. As mentioned above, "Youzhou Tuqi" was an elite force under Liu Xiu as early as the early Eastern Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu praised Youzhou Tuqi, "I heard that Tuqi was the best soldier in the world. Now I see them fighting. Can I say how happy I am?" ("Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Biography of Jingdan"), and Cai Yong, a famous scholar in the late Han Dynasty, also said, "Youzhou Tuqi and Jizhou strong crossbows are the best soldiers in the world and the country relies on them." The "Youzhou Tuqi" performed well under Gongsun Zan. The "Records of the Three Kingdoms" records that Gongsun Zan once led dozens of "Youzhou Tuqi" to confront hundreds of Xianbei cavalry.Zan then held a spear with blades on both ends, rushed out and stabbed the Hu people, killing and wounding dozens of them, and also losing half of his cavalry, so he escaped."This shows the powerful fighting power of the "Youzhou Tuqi". Another elite cavalry unit is the Baima Yicong, which was carefully selected by Gongsun Zan. It is an elite light cavalry unit that uses horseback archery as its main tactics and also undertakes certain assault tasks. The "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Gongsun Zan" records that"Zan liked white horses and often rode them to defeat the enemy, so the enemy called him "White Horse General". So he selected 3,000 elite soldiers, all of whom rode white horses, and named them "White Horse Volunteers" to serve as the imperial guards."In 192 AD, during the Battle of Jieqiao between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao,"Zan's infantry of more than 30,000 men formed a square array, with cavalry forming two wings, each with more than 5,000 horses. The White Horse Volunteers formed the core, also divided into two schools. The left shot at the right, and the right shot at the left. Their flags and armor illuminated the heaven and earth."Yuan Shao ordered Qu Yi to lead 800 elite soldiers as the vanguard, wearing large shields and covered by thousands of powerful crossbows, while he led tens of thousands of infantry in the rear. The "White Horse Volunteers" could have performed better in this battle, but Gongsun Zan made a mistake in command. "Zan underestimated the small number of soldiers and charged at them with cavalry", and blindly charged Qu Yi's troops with cavalry. Qu Yi's soldiers calmly lay down under their shields, and when the enemy cavalry rushed to a distance of only a few dozen steps, they jumped up and hacked at them; at the same time, thousands of powerful crossbows were fired at the White Horse Volunteers. Gongsun Zan's army, which "beheaded more than a thousand soldiers on the battlefield," suffered an unexpected blow and fell into chaos. The cavalry and infantry were all scrambling to escape, and "Zan's army was defeated." Although Gongsun Zan's main force was not damaged in this battle, the once-powerful "White Horse Volunteers" were completely wiped out and never recovered. Seven years later, Gongsun Zan's forces were finally eliminated by Yuan Shao, and he ended up burning himself, which was a sad and lamentable fate.

After Gongsun Zan's demise, it is speculated that the "Hu cavalry" under his command, such as the Wuhuan and Xianbei, should have been incorporated by Yuan Shao. For example, Chen Lin's famous "Hu cavalry" was specifically mentioned in his "Cao Cao Manifesto".“The shogunate obeyed the Han Dynasty's might and spirit, and fought against the universe; millions of long spears and thousands of Hu cavalry”，Yuan Shao himself once said:I control the Yellow River in the south, block Yan and Dai in the north, and unite the people of Rong and Di. If I go south to fight for the world, will I be able to succeed?"Unfortunately, Yuan Shao himself did not seem to be good at cavalry combat, which resulted in these foreign cavalry not playing their due role. Although Yuan Shao had a large number of cavalry, his record was not good. In the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao "selected 100,000 elite soldiers and 10,000 cavalry" to attack Cao Cao, but the 10,000 Yuan cavalry played almost no role and even became Cao Cao's "experience package". For example, in the Battle of Baima, Yuan's general Wen Chou and Liu Bei led 5,000 to 6,000 cavalry to pursue Cao Cao, while Cao Cao had less than 600 cavalry. However, Cao's army adopted a strategy of luring the enemy, deliberately abandoning baggage and property, and suddenly mounted their horses to attack when Yuan's cavalry was looting property. Yuan's army was in chaos, Wen Chou was killed in battle, and Liu Bei fled. Also in the Battle of Guandu, Zhang He once advised Yuan Shao "not to fight with Cao Gong, secretly send light cavalry to cut off his southern troops, and then the army will be defeated by itself", but Yuan Shao did not listen, and only sent Liu Bei to attack Xuchang in a roundabout way. After being defeated by Cao's army, Liu Bei quickly fled and went south to Liu Biao. The Battle of Guandu ended with Yuan Shao's defeat. It is worth mentioning that Liu Bei may have had a considerable number of ethnic minority cavalry under his command."Yuan Shao attacked Gongsun Zan, and the First Lord and Tian Kai camped in Qi in the east. Cao Gong attacked Xuzhou, and Xuzhou Governor Tao Qian sent an envoy to ask for help from Tian Kai, and Kai and the First Lord came to rescue him. At that time, the First Lord had more than a thousand soldiers of his own, as well as Wuhuan and other Hu cavalry from Youzhou, and also captured several thousand hungry people."We don't know whether these foreign cavalry followed Liu Bei all the way to Xuzhou, Jingzhou, and Yizhou.