Wang, irritated with Chanyu Zhi, declares war against Xiongnu.

The strategy that he sets out is to divide the Xin forces into twelve armies to divide and conquer Xiongnu.

Under this scenario, Chanyu Zhi would be attacked and forced to retreat to the Dingling tribes (around Lake Baikal), and Xiongnu would be divided into fifteen small kingdoms to be ruled by fifteen descendants of Chanyu Huhanye, who had first established friendly relations with Han.

Under this plan, three hundred thousand men would be gathered (and would attack at the same time).

Wang does not follow his generals' recommendations to start the campaign as soon as a critical mass of men is gathered, but wants to attack with overwhelming force.

This causes the border regions to become strained with accommodating the men who had already arrived for years, while fruitlessly waiting for the full support of three hundred thousand to be gathered.