The Battle of Mobei (119 BC)

The Han emperor Wu (141-87 BC) ended the heqin peace made after Baideng and began a long war against the Huns. In the winter of 119 BC he sent two great cavalry armies beyond the Gobi into the Hun heartland, led by Wei Qing and the young general Huo Qubing.

After crossing the desert, Wei Qing's army met the forces of the chanyu Yizhixie. The fighting went on until evening in a sandstorm, and the chanyu broke out with a small band to the north-west. On the eastern side Huo Qubing defeated the Hun left wing and pushed very far north, according to some historians as far as Lake Baikal.

Mobei was a heavy defeat for the Huns, who lost the pastures south of the Gobi and withdrew north. But the Han army also lost most of its horses and could not mount a new campaign for a long time. The Hun state did not collapse; it lasted two more centuries before splitting into northern and southern branches.