A war horse was unearthed from the tomb of Qin Gong, and scholars found accidentally in DNA testing. The Han Dynasty damaged tens of thousands of soldiers

Warhorse is an indispensable and important component of ancient military warfare. From the chariot of the Shang Dynasty to the massive use of cavalry during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, the number of warhorses has become a direct manifestation of the country's military strength.

When Zhang Yi was lobbying the princes, he often used the number of cavalry to discuss national strength, saying that Qin "rided 10,000 horses", Yan "rided 6,000 horses", and Wei "rided 5,000 horses." Ma Yuan, a general of Fubo in the Eastern Han Dynasty, also mentioned: "The horse is the foundation of the armor and the great use of the country."

However, the Huaxia nation is a typical farming nation, while the horse is a product of nomadic culture on the grassland. Therefore, throughout history, farming nations are often defeated by nomads. The quality of the horses can be said to play a key role in the success or failure of the war.

When Zhang Yi mentioned the number of cavalry in the princes and nations, he also emphasized that "Qin cavalry is not as good as the Six Kingdoms. Qin's horse explores the front and falls three times between the back hooves, which is innumerable. "The reason why the Qin State has excellent horses is related to the Qin people's good horse rearing, and on the other hand, it benefits from the geographical location of the Qin State.

The territory of the State of Qin borders the Hu people and the Xiongnu in the north, and Rongdi in the west. The unique geographical location is the natural advantage of the Qin State in acquiring and cultivating excellent horses. The reason for the clumsy chariot battle and the first cavalry force. The cavalry troops appeared in the Qin State during the Qin Mugong period, more than 300 years earlier than the "Hufu riding and shooting" of King Zhao Wuling.

By the Spring and Autumn Period, the Qin State Cavalry had become an independent unit. In the process of Qin Shihuang's unification of the Six Nations, the cavalry played a key role. The "Qin Law Miscellaneous Copy" unearthed from the Qin Bamboo Slips in Shuihudi records the recruiting standard of the Qin war horse: "The horse is five feet and eight inches or more."

And in the ancestral tomb of Qin Shihuang—the tomb of Qin Gong No. 1 in Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province in the 6th century BC (presumably the owner of the tomb is Qin Jinggong), a large number of corpses of war horses were also found. .

However, scholars from Jilin University and Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology have made subversive discoveries after conducting mitochondrial DNA tests on these warhorse remains.

A total of 7 mitochondrial DNA sample sequences were extracted from 10 war horse corpses unearthed from the Qin Gong Da Tomb. The results showed that there were 2 sample sequences distributed in the D lineage (characteristic of western Eurasia). One sample was completely identical with the Akhalje Golden Horse sequence, and the other had a maternal genetic relationship with the Akhalje Golden Horse sequence.

Ahaljie Golden Horse is the sweaty BMW recorded in Chinese history books, which shows that at least in the Spring and Autumn Period, the sweaty BMW has been introduced into our country. Previously, we generally believed that the sweaty BMW was introduced to my country only during the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

"Historical Records" once said: "The relics of the Western Regions, I first saw Zhang Qian; the relics of Dawan, I saw Zhang Qian", it was Zhang Qian who was an envoy to the Western Regions and discovered Dawan, and then learned that it was "good horse," Horse sweat and blood, its innate horse is also", but the DNA test results of the warhorse in the tomb of Qin Gong No. 1 have rewritten this historical perception, confirming that the sweat and blood BMW was introduced into Qin before the Western Han Dynasty.

Then why didn't the Han Dynasty know anything about it?

The first is the difference in appellation. From Qin Jinggong to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there was a gap of nearly 400 years between the Qin Kingdom and the Western Han Dynasty for the title of the sweaty BMW produced in Central Asia.

The second is quantity. The sweaty horse is known for its "strong strength, fast speed, and strong endurance." Historically, "a sweaty horse can travel thousands of miles per day and 800 at night". This was the elite of the Han Wudi who was eager to launch a counterattack against the Huns. The weapon of the cavalry unit.

Therefore, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty heard that Dawan had such a good horse, he did not hesitate to launch a war against Dawan twice. Mr. Bo Yang called the war launched by the Han Dynasty an "unhonorable" war. Obviously, The Han attack on Dawan made the Western Han Dynasty bear the infamy of being a poor soldier.

However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's thirst for sweaty horses was not entirely out of personal preference, but hoped to improve the Central Plains horse breed to cope with the Xiongnu horse. It is worth mentioning that our country is not the place where sweaty horses are produced. The sweaty horses acquired by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in exchange for tens of thousands of lives are only a mere 1,000. After the “introduction-hybridization”, a large number of local horse breeds were genetically modified. Under "flushing", pure-bred sweaty horses disappear easily.

The third is war. As mentioned above, the unique geographical location of Qin makes it easier to obtain excellent horse breeds from the West than the vassal states. This is why Qin's cavalry is strong. The corpses of sweaty horses in the tomb of Qin Gong showed that the excellent horses of Qin State were related to the continuous improvement of horse breeds.

However, the number of foreign horses is too small after all. After the "introduction-crossing", the stallions are all eliminated. After the end of the Qin war, even if they are improved Horse breeds also died in large numbers in the war. Han Gaozu Liu Bang could not even find four horses of the same coat color to drive in the whole country.

Therefore, the war horse in the early Han Dynasty was still the dominant Chinese horse breed. It wasn't until Zhang Qian gained access to the Western Regions that the Han Dynasty once again learned of the good horses like the sweaty BMWs and tried to introduce them for breeding.