Xiongnu
Sinologist Edwin Pulleyblank argued that the Xiongnu were part of a Xirong group called Yiqu, who had lived in Shaanbei and had been influenced by China for centuries, before they were driven out by the Qin dynasty. Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu expanded Qin's territory at the expense of the Xiongnu. In 215 BC, Qin Shi Huang sent General Meng Tian to conquer the Xiongnu and drive them from the Ordos Loop, which he did later that year. After the catastrophic defeat at the hands of Meng Tian, the Xiongnu leader Touman was forced to flee far into the Mongolian Plateau. The Qin empire became a threat to the Xiongnu, which ultimately led to the reorganization of the many tribes into a confederacy.In 209 BC, three years before the founding of Han China, the Xiongnu were brought together in a powerful confederation under a new chanyu, Modu Chanyu. This new political unity transformed them into a more formidable state by enabling formation of larger armies and the ability to exercise better strategic coordination. The Xiongnu adopted many of the Chinese agriculture techniques such as slave labor for heavy labor, wore silk like the Chinese, and lived in Chinese-style homes. The reason for creating the confederation remains unclear. Suggestions include the need for a stronger state to deal with the Qin unification of China that resulted in a loss of the Ordos region at the hands of Meng Tian or the political crisis that overtook the Xiongnu in 215 BC when Qin armies evicted them from their pastures on the Yellow River.
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.