I grew up near Maoling and climbed the stone horse in front of Huo Qubing's tomb. Later I learned that a twenty-three-year-old young man was buried in the tomb that looked like Qilian Mountain. He was an illegitimate child and lived in the stables of Princess Pingyang's mansion until he was ten years old. At the age of seventeen, he led 800 cavalry into the grassland, beheaded 2,000 people, captured Shanyu's uncle, and was granted the title of Marquis of the Champion. At the age of nineteen, he conquered Hexi twice, crossed the snow-capped mountains, and opened up the Silk Road. At the age of twenty-two, 50,000 fine cavalry drove two thousand miles, sealed the wolf in Xu, drank from the vast sea of horses, and planted the Han flag on the sacred mountain of the Xiongnu. He died at the age of twenty-three. History books only record his achievements, never what he was thinking on horseback, what he was afraid of in the middle of the night, or what he was lonely when thousands of people cheered. This book attempts to answer a question: What price does a young man have to bear to become a god of war in the eyes of future generations? If the Xiongnu is not destroyed, why should we take care of our family? When he said this, he didn't know that he only had six years left.
