Hetao was also called Henan Land because it lay south of the Yellow River. After several sorties by the Han Court and several victories by Wei Qing, the Xiongnu no longer held an overwhelming advantage on this land. In particular, the King of the White Sheep and the King of Loufan, who were closest to the Great Wall, were nowhere near as powerful as before after Wei Qing's repeated blows.
Wei Qing's primary objective in striking directly at Dragon City, the Xiongnu's sacred site, was to rout the main force of the Xiongnu Royal Court and thereby trigger an internal struggle for power. His secondary objective was to sever contact between the Chanyu's court and Henan Land, crush the forces of the King of the White Sheep and the King of Loufan, completely remove the Xiongnu threat to the Great Wall, and gain an excellent stretch of horse-breeding land.
"As long as we can gain a firm foothold in Henan Land, we can make it our foundation. With five years to build up our population and resources, we can breed large numbers of warhorses, then head north to attack the Xiongnu again-even cross the Yin Mountains, cross the North Sea, cross those endless deserts and gravel wastes to attack them, and drive the Xiongnu out of the Southern Desert once and for all."
This was what Liu Che had said when discussing the great undertaking against the Xiongnu with Wei Qing. It was his vision and plan for the Han-Xiongnu War, and Wei Qing was the man who would carry it out.
After the Han Army marched beyond the frontier, Wei Qing led the main force onward day and night, intending to give the Xiongnu a tremendous surprise. From their several clashes, Wei Qing knew that the Chanyu was an