During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, the Xiongnu repeatedly raided the border. The nomads, riding light and swift, struck and vanished without a trace. By the time the Han court raised a large army, the enemy had already disappeared, wasting vast supplies of grain and fodder. If the Han forces split into several columns to hunt them down, the Xiongnu would attack their weakest points and cut off their supply lines, resulting in heavy losses, destroyed border towns, and plundered civilian wealth.
In the fourteenth year of Emperor Wen of Han's reign, the Xiongnu chanyu led 140,000 cavalry through Xiao Pass, killing the commandant of Beidi and plundering countless people and livestock. The enemy rode deep into Pengyang and Anding, just over a hundred kilometers from the capital Chang'an. Emperor Wen appointed Zhou She, commandant of the capital, and Zhang Wu, palace attendant, as generals, mobilizing 100,000 elite cavalry and a thousand war chariots to guard Chang'an. He also assembled 300,000 troops to march north and intercept the chanyu's main force. But by the time the Han army reached Beidi Commandery over a month later, the Xiongnu had already withdrawn north of the Great Wall, leaving the Han forces to return without a single battle.
The northern border troubles had the entire imperial court deeply vexed.
Crown Prince's household steward Chao Cuo, sharp and perceptive, was called "Wisdom Bag" by the prince's household. He submitted a memorial to Emperor Wen of Han, presenting his views on subduing the Xiongnu. He said:
Since the rise of the Han Dynasty, barbarian tribes repeatedly invaded—small raids brought small gains, large incursions brought great plunder. During Empress Dowager Gao's regency, enemies twice launched massive attacks on Longxi, slaughtering officials and soldiers while plundering wildly. As the saying goes, victory breeds prestige and boosts morale a hundredfold, while defeat crushes spirit, taking a century to recover. Now is precisely such a time of broken morale and lingering wounds.
The key to defeating the enemy lies first in selecting the right general, and soldiers must be skilled at assessing the terrain. The Art of War says: In ditches fifteen feet wide, rivers that flood chariots, steep mountains with dense forests, piled rocks and tangled vines—this is the domain of infantry, where two charioteers or cavalrymen are worth less than one foot soldier. On rolling hills and endless plains—this is the domain of cavalry, where ten infantrymen are worth less than one horseman. On fields dotted with small mounds, riverbanks facing each other across the water, with the high ground—this is the domain of crossbowmen, where a hundred short-weapon soldiers are no match for one archer. When two armies close in on flat, short grass, where they can advance or retreat freely—this is the domain of long halberds, where three shield-bearing swordsmen are no match for one halberdier...
"Furthermore," the advisor continued, "Chinese horses cannot match the Xiongnu's in speed and endurance, our archers are less skilled than theirs, and the Xiongnu far surpass Chinese soldiers in hardship tolerance. However, in war chariots, strong crossbows, sturdy armor, disciplined formations, and mass volleys of ten thousand arrows, the Xiongnu cannot compare to us. The Xiongnu excel in three areas, while China excels in five. If our generals and soldiers leverage our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, the Xiongnu can be pacified."
Chao Cuo also proposed strategies such as using barbarians to control barbarians and relocating civilians to garrison the frontiers, all of which were adopted by the emperor, thereby easing the tense situation along the borders.
Chao Cuo's phrase "a hundred cannot match one" is now used to describe people or things of outstanding excellence.
Source: *Han Records*, Chapter "Annals of Emperor Wen, Part Two"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "百不当一" came to describe people or things of outstanding excellence.