War
Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu (3rd century BC)
In 215 BC, Qin Shi Huang ordered General Meng Tian to set out against the Xiongnu tribes in the Ordos region and establish a frontier region at the loop of the Yellow River. The emperor launched a preemptive strike against the Xiongnu, because he believed that the Xiongnu posed a potential threat and sought to expand his empire.
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Text from the Wikipedia article “Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
In 215 BC, Qin Shi Huang ordered General Meng Tian to set out against the Xiongnu tribes in the Ordos region and establish a frontier region at the loop of the Yellow River. The emperor launched a preemptive strike against the Xiongnu, because he believed that the Xiongnu posed a potential threat and sought to expand his empire.
In 215 BC, the Qin army led by General Meng Tian defeated the Xiongnu, drove them from the Ordos, and seized their lands. After the catastrophic defeat at the hands of Meng Tian, the Xiongnu leader Touman fled far north into the Mongolian Plateau.
Following the victory, General Meng Tian was instructed to secure the frontier with a line of fortifications, which would become known as the Great Wall of China. He and Crown Prince Fusu were stationed at a garrison in Suide and undertook the construction of the walled defenses, which was connected with the old walls from the Qin, Yan, and Zhao states.
As a result of the northward expansion and the resulting threat of the Qin empire, the many different Xiongnu tribes reorganized and united into a confederacy against the Chinese state.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Qin campaign against the Xiongnu”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.