Quick questions on Han foreign relations, the Silk Road and evaluation: HSC Ancient History

1short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.

What is emperor Wu's offensive wars against the Xiongnu?

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Emperor Wu (r. 141-87 BC) reversed decades of appeasement. In 133 BC, Han tried to lure the Chanyu into an ambush near the border town of Mayi; the plot was discovered and the Chanyu withdrew, but the episode ended heqin in all but name and opened three decades of open warfare. The general Wei Qing recovered the strategically vital Ordos region (the Henan bend of the Yellow River) from the Xiongnu in 127 BC, while the young cavalry commander Huo Qubing drove deep into the Hexi Corridor in 121 BC, a campaign so effective that the Xiongnu's own Hunye King surrendered to Han rather than face his Chanyu's punishment for the defeat.

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