Yizhixie

Yizhixie (r. 126–114 BC) was a Chanyu of the Xiongnu (sometimes described as Huns), the successor to Junchen. Yizhixie reigned during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC), after Emperor Wu broke the heqin peace and kinship treaty with the Xiongnu.

Yizhixie reigned during one of the most aggressive periods in the Chinese history, and one of the many troubled periods in the Xiongnu history. To come to the throne, the Eastern Luli-Prince Yizhixie, a younger brother of Junchen, had to stage a coup against the next in line to the throne, the Eastern Jükü-Prince (Wise Prince, 屠耆) Yui bi. Yui bi faced Yizhixie in a battle, was defeated, and fled and submitted to China, where the Emperor Wu gave him a princely title She-an-heu; in few months after that Yui bi died. A few years before Yizhxie's enthronement, in 133 BC, the Chinese captured Ordos, which the Xiongnu held for the previous 80 years from the time of the Touman Chanyu, after a decade-long occupation by the Zhao state. The loss was a heavy blow for the Xiongnu, and the war flared up. Just as Yizhixie ascended the throne, in the summer the Xiongnu with several tens of thousands cavalry raided Dai Commandery, killed regional governor Gun Ji, and captured up to 1,000 people; in the autumn the Xiongnu also raided Yai-myn, and also captured up to 1,000 people.

The next year, 125 BC, the Xiongnu in 3 groups, each with 30,000 cavalry, again raided Chinese provinces. The Western Jükü-Prince, incensed that Chinese Court took away Ordos and built Shuofang (朔方城), a few times attacked the borders of China; and when entered the Ordos, plundered Shuofang, and killed and captured a multitude of officials and people.

In the spring of 124 BC the Chinese Court appointed Wei Qing a Supreme Commander, and assigned him a 100,000 cavalry. Wei Qing set out against the Xiongnu from Shuofang. The Chinese army at night surrounded the intoxicated Western Jükü-Prince. The Western Jükü-Prince fled. The Chinese took prisoner up to 15,000 of both sexes and up to ten lower Princes from Jükü-Prince wing. In the autumn the Xiongnu retaliated with 10,000 cavalry, killed District Chief Chu Yan, and captured up to 1,000 people.

In 123 BC Wei Qing campaigned twice from Dingxiang, penetrating into Xiongnu lands to the north a few hundred li. During these campaigns, more than 19,000 Xiongnu people were killed and captured, but the Han troops suffered heavy losses. Two mounted detachments were lost. A commander of one of them, Su Jian (蘇建) managed to escape, but the commander of the second detachment Zhao Xin (趙信) surrendered when he was surrounded. Zhao Xin was a minor Xiongnu prince, who switched to the Han. Once again among his tribesmen, he married the sister of Yizhixie and became his chief adviser on matters related to China. On the advice of Zhao Xin, Shanyu moved his headquarters to the north of the Gobi Desert, to avoid direct Chinese assaults, and to lure Chinese troops deep into the steppes to destroy them. The struggle for the Ordos thus concluded with a complete victory for China.

After securing Ordos, the Han dynasty shifted to the west against the Xiongnu tribes in modern Gansu province. In the spring of 121 BC Chinese cavalry division of 10 thousand horsemen headed by a commander Huo Qubing invaded the Xiongnu lands of the Prince Syuchu. After several battles, Huo captured many prisoners and a golden idol used for sacrifices to the Sky. In another raid the same year, Huo inflicted a crushing blow, taking prisoner more than 25 thousand and killing over 30 thousand Xiongnu soldiers, but he lost half of his army headed by Li Guang, only few surviving soldiers were saved from death.

Yizhixie was angered by two serious defeats inflicted by Huo Qubing, and ordered two commanders to report to the court. Both Princes were scared of punishment, Prince Hunie wanted them to flee to China, but Prince Syuchu refused, and Hunie killed him. The treason of Hunie considerably improved the balance of power, strengthening Chinese hand. In the Chinese raids between 124 and 119 BC, the Xiongnu lost, per Chinese annals, 300,000 killed or captured military and civilian people.