The Battle of Mayi (), also known as the Scheme of Mayi (馬邑之謀) or the Encirclement at Mayi (馬邑之圍), was an abortive

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

operation by the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

against the invading

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

forces led by

Junchen Chanyu Junchen (, Old Chinese ( ZS): *''kun-gin''; r. 161–126 BCE) was the son and successor to Laoshang Chanyu. As chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire, Junchen outlived the Han emperors Wen (r. 180–157 BC), Jing (r. 157–141 BC). He died during the ...

, with minimal casualties from both sides. Although no fighting actually took place, it marked the end of ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' peace between the Han dynasty and Xiongnu, and led to the beginning of the subsequent Han-Xiongnu War. The failure of the operation also motivated the Han court to develop effective cavalry forces and the use of offensive expeditionary military policies.

Background

Before the Battle of Mayi, there had been two main encounters between the Chinese and the Xiongnu. During the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

, General

Li Mu Li Mu (; died 229 BC), personal name Zuo (繓), courtesy name Mu (牧), was a Chinese military general of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period. He was named by Chinese historians as one of the four greatest generals of the late Wa ...

of the

State of Zhao Zhao () was one of the seven major State (Ancient China), states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han (state), Han and Wei (state), Wei, in the 5th century BC. ...

defeated the Xiongnu by luring them deep inside Zhao territory and ambushing them. With similar tactics, General

Meng Tian Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder brother of Meng Yi. ...

of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

drove the Xiongnu north for 750 km and built the

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

at the edge of the

Loess Plateau The Chinese Loess Plateau, or simply the Loess Plateau, is a plateau in north-central China formed of loess, a clastic silt-like sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. It is located southeast of the Gobi Desert and is surroun ...

to guard against future raids. However the collapse of the Qin dynasty and the subsequent chaos of the Chu-Han contention created a

power vacuum In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...

and allowed the Xiongnu to unite under

Modu Shanyu Modu, Maodun, Modun (, from Old Chinese (220 B.C.E.): *''mouᴴ-tuən'' or *''mək-tuən'', c. 234 – c. 174 BCE) was the son of Touman and the founder of the empire of the Xiongnu. He came to power by ordering his men to kill his father in 209 B ...

and became a powerful nomadic confederacy. After Emperor Gao's humiliating defeat at Baideng by Modu in 200 BC, the newly established Han dynasty was forced to resort to an

appeasement Appeasement in an international context is a diplomatic policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power in order to avoid conflict. The term is most often applied to the foreign policy of the UK governm ...

policy in order to decrease the scale of Xiongnu hostility, as the nation had yet to fully recover from the attrition of the Chu-Han contention. However, despite the periodic gifts and ''

heqin ''Heqin'', also known as marriage alliance, refers to the historical practice of Chinese monarchs marrying princesses—usually members of minor branches of the ruling family—to rulers of neighboring states. It was often adopted as an appeaseme ...

'' ("peace through marriage"), border townships and villages were still seasonally ravaged by nomads, as the prosperous Chinese lands remained attractive to Xiongnu raids. After seven decades, the Han dynasty had built up its military strength. Emperor Wu initially maintained a policy of peace and appeasement in his early reign, but began to formulate ideas of striking a major blow back against the Xiongnu. The traditional Chinese strategy was more conservative and defensive, aiming to lure the Xiongnu

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

into Chinese territory, on terrains where the Chinese army, composed almost entirely of

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

and

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...

eers, would be at a

counteroffensive In the study of military tactics, a counter-offensive is a large-scale strategic offensive military operation, usually by forces that had successfully halted the enemy's offensive, while occupying defensive positions. The counter-offensive i ...

advantage.

Ambush

In 133 BC, at the suggestion of Wang Hui, the minister of vassal affairs, Emperor Wu had his army set a trap for the

Shanyu Chanyu () or Shanyu (), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title "''Khagan''" in 402 CE. The title was most famously used by the ruling ...

at the city of Mayi. A powerful local trader/

smuggler Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

, Nie Wengyi, also known as Nie Yi, deceptively claimed to Junchen Shanyu that he had killed the local magistrate and was willing to offer the city to the Xiongnu. The plan was to entice the Shanyu's forces into advancing on Mayi, so that a 300,000-strong Han force hidden around the area could encircle and ambush them. The plan failed, ironically, because the Han arrangement was made excessively attractive. When the Shanyu took the bait and moved in for a raid on Mayi, he saw fields full of cattle but with no

herder A herder is a pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazing. ...

s. Feeling increasingly suspicious, the Shanyu ordered his men to halt their advance. Xiongnu scouts then captured a Han soldier from a local outpost, who disclosed the entire plan to the Shanyu. Shaken with shock, the Shanyu then abandoned the raid and withdrew quickly before the Han forces could act. The Han forces were scattered at this point, and unable to concentrate in time to catch the Xiongnu. Wang Hui, the commander of the entire Han operation, had only 30,000 troops under his direct command, too few to stop the Xiongnu from retreating to the steppe, so he hesitated and ordered the Han forces not to pursue. As a result, neither side suffered any casualties.

Aftermath

Back at the imperial court, Wang Hui's political enemies blamed him for the plan's failure and his reluctance to pursue the retreating Xiongnu army, and had him

impeach Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

ed. While awaiting trial, he sent men to bribe the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Tian Fen, who was Emperor Wu's maternal uncle, in the hope of obtaining a

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

. When Emperor Wu still refused to spare Wang (possibly because the emperor was wary of Tian Fen's growing power), he committed suicide in prison. Though border military clashes had already continued for decades between the two sides, this "battle" ended the ''de jure'' "peace" between the Han and Xiongnu. The ambush operation revealed the Han dynasty's

hawkish In politics, a war hawk, or simply hawk, is someone who favors war or continuing to escalate an existing conflict as opposed to other solutions. War hawks are the opposite of doves. The terms are derived by analogy with the birds of the same name ...

stance, and the "marriage/gift for peace" policy was officially abandoned. For the next few years, Xiongnu would increase their border attacks, further solidifying the cause of pro-war factions and their control in the Han court. The result of the battle made Emperor Wu realize the difficulty for the traditionally

-orientated Han army to achieve tactical superiority against the more mobile Xiongnu

. This led to a change in Han strategy and hastened the development of an effective

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

. In later campaigns, the Han dynasty went from a defensive-counteroffensive stance to an offensive strategy of launching

expeditionary warfare Expeditionary warfare is a military invasion of a foreign territory, especially away from established bases. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of rapid deployment forces. Traditionally, expeditionary forces w ...

deep into Xiongnu territory. The failure of the Mayi operation also prompted Emperor Wu to reconsider his choice of commanders. Disappointed at the ineffectiveness of existing generals, Emperor Wu began to look for younger generations of military hopefuls capable of offensive anti-cavalry warfare. That led to the rise of famous new-generation tacticians like

Wei Qing Wei Qing (died 106 BC), 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 ...

and

Huo Qubing Huo Qubing (140 BC – 117 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was the nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and the half-brot ...

, and old-school commanders like

Li Guang Li Guang (184-119 BC) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty. Nicknamed "Flying General" by the Xiongnu, he fought primarily in the campaigns against the nomadic Xiongnu tribes to the north of China. He was known to the Xiong ...

and Han Anguo began to fall out of favor.

References

*Ban Gu et al., ''Hanshu''. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1962. *Sima Guang, comp. ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1956. {{coord missing, Shanxi 133 BC Mayi 133 BC Mayi 2nd century BC in China Military history of Shanxi Emperor Wu of Han