In the fourth year of Yuanzhen, in 119 BC, the Huns invaded Youbeiping and Dingxiang, brutally killed and plundered thousands of people, and then disappeared into the distant desert. This made Emperor Wu furious, and he decided to take revenge on the Huns and deal them a fatal blow. So, he ordered Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to lead 50,000 cavalry each to expedition against the Xiongnu.
Not only that, Emperor Wu also privately collected nearly 40,000 war horses from the people, and the number of infantry and personnel responsible for transporting food and salary for the army was as high as hundreds of thousands. This was Emperor Wu's largest military campaign since he launched the war against Hungary.
In the past disputes with the Xiongnu, the Han people have destroyed a total of 180,000 enemies, of which the new star Huo Qubing is extremely brave and kills more than half of the enemies. This made Emperor Wu more and more fond of Huo Quai, and appointed him and Wei Qing as the same great Sima. In the past, Wei Qing was outstanding, but with the rise of Huo Quzhi, his status seems to have declined. However, Wei Qing didn't care about those flashy fame and fortune, so when his old friends and disciples took refuge in Huo Quai, he just smiled indifferently. 
Li Kang, the son of Li Guang, forced his father to death because of a misunderstanding of Wei Qing, and once attacked Wei Qing. Although Wei Qing suffered some minor injuries, he knew Li Kang's hardships and chose not to report it. However, Huo Quzhi's personality is very different from Wei Qing's. Once, Huo Qubing and Li Dang hunted with Emperor Wu, and he actually injured people with a secret arrow in the back, causing Li Dang to die. In order to protect Huo Quai, Emperor Wu announced to the public that Li Dang was hit by a deer and died. Although Huo Qubing has a brilliant record, we cannot deny Wei Qing's military talent because of this. In fact, the achievements of the two stem from their different personalities. Wei Qing was kind and generous, caring for his soldiers, and he thought that it was not wise to venture deeper, and only dare to attack when the victory was in hand. Although Huo Quzhi was born poor, he lived an aristocratic life and was estranged from the low-level soldiers. By the time he returned in triumph, the meat and wine on the wagons had rotted, and the soldiers were starving. In contrast, the young Huo Qubing has less "compassion" feelings. 
Perhaps because of the heavy killing, Huo Qu suffered from heaven's curse, and died of a sudden violent illness at a young age, only twenty-four years old. Emperor Wu deeply regretted Huo Quai's untimely death, and specially built his tomb into the shape of Qilian Mountain to commemorate his brilliant military exploits. Huo Quai's tomb is close to the tomb of Emperor Wu, which shows Emperor Wu's cherishment and nostalgia for him.