View source for Battle of Mayi

{{Short description|Battle in 133 BC}}
{{No footnotes|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|image=
|caption=
|conflict=Battle of Mayi
|partof=the [[Han–Xiongnu War]]
|date= June, 133 BC
|place=[[Mayi (town)|Mayi]], [[Bingzhou]]<br>(now [[Shuozhou]], [[Shanxi]])
|result=Aborted by Xiongnu retreat
|combatant1=[[Xiongnu]]
|combatant2=[[Han dynasty]]
|commander1=[[Junchen Chanyu]]
|commander2=[[Emperor Wu of Han]]<br />Wang Hui<br />Han Anguo<br />Li Xi<br />[[Li Guang]]<br />Gongsun He
|strength1=100,000 cavalry
|strength2=270,000 Han infantry at [[Shuozhou|Mayi]], 30,000 Han infantry at [[Zhangjiakou|Dai Prefecture]]
|casualties1=None
|casualties2=None, other than the capture of a low-profile outpost sentry
}}
{{Campaignbox Sino-Xiongnu War}}

The '''Battle of Mayi''' ({{zh|t=馬邑之戰}}), also known as the '''Scheme of Mayi''' (馬邑之謀) or the '''Encirclement at Mayi''' (馬邑之圍), was an abortive [[ambush]] operation by the [[Han dynasty]] against the invading [[Xiongnu]] forces led by [[Junchen Chanyu]], with minimal casualties from both sides. Although no fighting took place, it marked the end of ''[[de jure]]'' peace between the Han dynasty and the Xiongnu, and led to the beginning of the subsequent [[Han–Xiongnu Wars]]. The failure of the operation also motivated the Han court to develop effective cavalry forces and the use of offensive [[expeditionary warfare|expeditionary]] military policies.

==Background==
[[File:铁兜鍪 狮子山.jpg|thumb|[[Han dynasty]] helmet]]
Before the Battle of Mayi, there had been two main encounters between the Han Chinese and the Xiongnu. During the [[Warring States period]], General [[Li Mu]] of the [[State of Zhao]] defeated the Xiongnu by luring them deep inside Zhao territory and ambushing them. With similar tactics, General [[Meng Tian]] of the [[Qin dynasty]] drove the Xiongnu north for {{Convert|750|km|mi|abbr=on}} and built the [[Great Wall]] at the edge of the [[Loess Plateau]] 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]] and allowed the Xiongnu to unite under [[Modu Chanyu]] and became a powerful nomadic confederacy.

After [[Emperor Gaozu of Han|Emperor Gao]]'s [[Battle of Baideng|humiliating defeat at Baideng]] by Modu in 200 BC, the newly established Han dynasty was forced to resort to an [[appeasement]] 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]]'' ("peace through marriage"), border townships and villages were still seasonally ravaged by nomads, as the prosperous Han Chinese lands remained attractive to Xiongnu raids.

After seven decades, the Han dynasty had built up its military strength. [[Emperor Wu of Han|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 Han Chinese strategy was more conservative and defensive, aiming to lure the Xiongnu [[cavalry]] into Han Chinese territory, on terrain where the Chinese army, composed almost entirely of [[infantry]] and [[chariot]]eers, would be at a [[counteroffensive]] 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 [[Xiongnu]] ''Chanyu'' at the city of [[Mayi (town)|Mayi]]. A powerful local trader/[[smuggler]], Nie Wengyi, also known as Nie Yi, deceptively claimed to [[Junchen Chanyu]] that he had killed the local magistrate and was willing to offer the city to the Xiongnu. The plan was to entice the ''Chanyu''<nowiki/>'s forces into advancing on Mayi, so that a 300,000-strong Han force hidden around the area could [[encirclement|encircle]] and ambush them.

When the ''Chanyu'' took the bait and moved in for a raid on Mayi, he saw fields full of cattle but with no [[herder]]s. Feeling increasingly suspicious, the ''Chanyu'' 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 ''Chanyu''. Shaken with shock, the ''Chanyu'' abandoned the raid and withdrew 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]]ed. While awaiting trial, he sent men to bribe the [[grand chancellor (China)|chancellor]] Tian Fen, who was Emperor Wu's maternal uncle, in the hope of obtaining [[parole]]. 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 been ongoing 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]] stance, and the "marriage/gift for peace" policy was officially abandoned. For the next few years, the 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 [[chariot tactics|chariot]]/[[infantry tactics|infantry]]-orientated Han army to achieve tactical superiority against the more mobile Xiongnu [[cavalry]]. This led to a change in Han strategy and hastened the development of an effective [[cavalry tactics|cavalry]] [[military doctrine|doctrine]].{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} In later campaigns, the Han dynasty went from a defensive-counteroffensive stance to an offensive strategy of launching [[expeditionary warfare]] 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]] and [[Huo Qubing]], as old-school commanders like [[Li Guang]] and Han Anguo began to fall out of favor.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*Ban Gu et al., ''Hanshu''. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1962. {{ISBN|7-101-00305-2}}
*Sima Guang, comp. ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1956. {{ISBN|7-101-00183-1}}

{{coord missing|Shanxi}}

[[Category:133 BC]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Han dynasty|Mayi 133 BC]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Xiongnu|Mayi]]
[[Category:2nd century BC in China]]
[[Category:Military history of Shanxi]]
[[Category:Emperor Wu of Han]]