Han dynasty
To the north of China proper, the nomadic Xiongnu chieftain Modu Chanyu (r. 209–174 BC) conquered various tribes inhabiting the eastern portion of the Eurasian Steppe. By the end of his reign, he controlled Manchuria, Mongolia, and the Tarim Basin, subjugating over twenty states east of Samarkand. Emperor Gaozu was troubled about the abundant Han-manufactured iron weapons traded to the Xiongnu along the northern borders, and he established a trade embargo against the group. In retaliation, the Xiongnu invaded what is now Shanxi province, where they defeated the Han forces at Baideng in 200 BC. After negotiations, the "heqin" agreement in 198 BC nominally held the leaders of the Xiongnu and the Han as equal partners in a royal marriage alliance, but the Han were forced to send large amounts of tribute items such as silk clothes, food, and wine to the Xiongnu.
Huchuquan
During the tumultuous period between 189 and 215, Huchuquan was outside the interest of the Chinese annals. Nothing is known about the life and events of the southern Xiongnu, who numbered in excess of 100,000. In compliance with treaties, a cavalry division headed by Western Jükü-Prince Kyuibi served as bodyguard troops for the figurehead Han sovereign Emperor Xian, who was a hostage of various warlords vying to rule in his name. However, with the consolidation of power and the emperor's return to Luoyang, the Han central government attempted to assert control over the southern Xiongnu. In 215. Huchuquan was invited to meet the Han chancellor Cao Cao, but was detained, stripped of royal status, and replaced with a puppet Chanyu, the Western Jükü-Prince Kyuibi, from an ineligible line. By that time, the Western Jükü-Prince Kyuibi was released from guardianship duty and returned to his horde in Pingyang to rule the five remaining southern Xiongnu tribes, a far cry from the 80 tribes that sought safety in China in the 50s BC. Nothing is known about the fate of the southern Xiongnu who deposed Huchuquan.