Huyandi was not first in the line of succession and only became chanyu, due to a plot by his mother Zhuanqu Yanzhi and the Han defector Wei Lü. He came to power in 85 BC.[2]
In 71 BC, Chang Hui and two other generals led a force of 100,000 to aid the Wusun against the Xiongnu. The majority of the forces failed to find any Xiongnu, but Chang Hui successfully aided the Wusun in defeating a Xiongnu invasion. However, the Xiongnu came back in winter and took many captives. On the way back across the Altai Mountains, the Xiongnu suffered heavy casualties from a sudden blizzard, devastating their army. The next year the Xiongnu were attacked on all sides by Wusun, Wuhuan, and the Han. One-third of all Xiongnu died.[3]
Huyandi died in 68 BC and was succeeded by his brother, Xulüquanqu.[1]
Bichurin N.Ya., "Collection of information on peoples in Central Asia in ancient times", vol. 1, Sankt Petersburg, 1851, reprint Moscow-Leningrad, 1950
Chang, Chun-shu (2007), The Rise of the Chinese Empire 1, The University of Michigan Press
Cosmo, Nicola Di (2002), Ancient China and Its Enemies, Cambridge University Press
Cosmo, Nicola di (2009), Military Culture in Imperial China, Harvard University Press
Loewe, Michael (2000), A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han, and Xin Periods, Brill
Taskin B.S., "Materials on Sünnu history", Science, Moscow, 1968, p. 31 (In Russian)
Whiting, Marvin C. (2002), Imperial Chinese Military History, Writers Club Press
