class 3 out of (32-102), with name Zhongsheng. Fufeng Pingling (now Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province). HTM3HTM3HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4HTM4H
Ban Chao is a person with great ambitions and does not study details, but he is filial and respectful in his heart and examines the truth. He argued and read a lot of books. Unwilling to copy documents for the government, he joined the army, followed Dou Gu to attack the northern Xiongnu Hungarians, and was ordered to go on missions to Western Regions. In thirty years, he conquered more than 50 countries in the Western Regions and made great contributions to the return of the Western Regions. He was appointed as the Western Regions Protector , and was named Dingyuan Hou , and was known as " Dingyuan ".
In the 12th year of Yongyuan (100th year), Ban Chao returned to the court due to his old age. In the 14th year of Yongyuan (102), he arrived in Luoyang and was appointed as sound captain . He died of illness soon after, at the age of 71. After his death, he was buried on , Luoyang, .
The geopolitics and geographical conditions of ancient China are the pattern of Mongolian Plateau and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau surrounding the Central Plains, and the Hexi Corridor between the two major plateaus is the only strategic place that can break out of the encirclement. A geographical pattern like
determines the geopolitical strategies of Chinese dynasties.
As Gu Zuyu said in " Reading History Fangyu Ji ": "If you want to protect Qin and Long, you must consolidate Hexi. If you want to consolidate Hexi, you must denounce the Western Regions."
means that if you want to protect Shaanxi, you must actually control the Hexi Corridor. If you want to actually control the Hexi Corridor, you must regain the Western Regions, push the national border thousands of miles away, and defend the enemy from the country.
However, Gu Zuyu's point of view is focused on "protecting Qin and Long". If we look at it from the whole of China, I think there should be another sentence later:
"If you want to repel the Western Regions, you will be weak in Mongolia."
Because there is a flat horse between the Mongolian Plateau and the Western Regions, once something happens in the Western Regions, the cavalry of the nomadic tribe will arrive soon, and the Chinese infantry and cavalry have to pass through the Hexi Corridor before they can reach the cities of the Western Regions.
At the critical moment when rescuers are like putting out fires, such traffic is really too delayed.
So, to recover the Western Regions, it is necessary to weaken the Mongolian Plateau so that it cannot compete with China for the Western Regions. On the other hand, to weaken the Mongolian Plateau, it is necessary to recover the Western Regions and form a strategic encirclement of the Mongolian Plateau.
Chinese dynasties should establish absolute geopolitical security and radiate China's influence to the Persian Gulf and Siberian . They have always weakened the tribes on the Mongolian Plateau and recovered the Western Regions through the Hexi Corridor.
Only in this way can China succeed?
The Eastern Han Dynasty sent Ban Chao to manage the Western Regions and Dou Xian to take Shi Yanran almost at the same time, which is a typical case of this grand strategy of China's geopolitical security.
2.
In 72 AD, the nephew of Geng Yan, the founding hero, Geng Bing , wrote a letter to Emperor Ming of Han, requesting to lead troops to attack the Northern Huns. Emperor Ming of Han was not sure whether to send troops, so he summoned Geng Bing, Dou Gu, Ji Tong and other ministers to discuss.
When the meeting was held, Geng Bing expressed his detailed strategic plan:
"The turning point of Emperor Wu of Han's attack on the Huns was to open up the Hexi Corridor, then attack the Western Regions, and completely surround the Huns geographically. This was why the future Huhanye Shanyu asked to surrender. Now to attack the Northern Huns, we must first send troops to Tianshan , occupy Yiwu and Pocheshi Kingdom, form an alliance with Wusun , and then plow the caves against Northern Huns ."
Emperor Ming of Han slapped his thigh, and Geng Qing was right.
In February 73 AD, Emperor Ming of Han divided his troops into four groups.
Xian personally waited Dou Gu and Haoqiuhou Geng Zhong to lead two thousand cavalry out of Jiuquan, the son-in-law Geng Bing and cavalry out of Qin Peng brought 10,000 cavalry out of Zhangye . The mission of these two Han troops was to attack the countries in the Western Regions.Taipu Jitong and Liao general Wu Tang brought 10,000 cavalry out of Gaoque (now Hetao area), and the cavalry commander came to Miao and Wuhuan commander Wen Mu brought 10,000 cavalry out of Pingcheng (now Datong , Datong area). The task of these two Han troops was to restrain the Northern Huns.
has some confrontation and restraint, some major and some secondary, and tasks are clearly assigned.
After several months of marching, the Jitong tribe and the Lai Miao tribe had basically no results, which was equivalent to going out to the frontier for a walk. Dou Gu tribe pursued the Northern Xiongnu army to Pulehai, beheaded more than a thousand levels, and recovered the former land of Yiwu. Geng Bing tribe pursued the north to Sanmulou Mountain 600 miles away, and seized the current Simon area.
From left to right: Dou Gu, Geng Bing, Ji Tong, Lai Miao
The four Han troops completed their mission and began to rest. The troops pointed directly at Dou Gu in the Western Regions, and sent fake Sima Ban Chao and Guo Xun to the Western Regions to envoy the Western Regions, preparing to take advantage of the prestige of winning the war and pacify the countries in the Western Regions.
Military is a continuation of politics, diplomacy is a continuation of military affairs. It can be said that after the glorious military victory, the important task of recapturing the Western Regions fell on Ban Chao.
The first stop of the class of the Super League is Shanshan Kingdom .
Shanshan King heard that Han Dynasty messenger Ban Chao was coming, so he quickly served with good wine and good food. He was afraid that Dou Gu would send troops to Shanshan. Ban Chao used good wine and good food and felt that Shanshan was stable at one time.
But the good times didn't last long. The level of Shanshan King entertaining Ban Chao quickly changed from a Michelin three-star to a roadside stall.
Ban Chao thought:
"This is not right. King Shanshan was afraid of the Han Dynasty. How could he treat the Han envoys slowly? The reason why he dared to do this is definitely because there is someone behind him, and only the Northern Huns can support Shanshan."
I have to say that Ban Chao is very political.
He wanted to understand the logic behind it, so he called the waiter from Shanshan Kingdom and asked him where the Hun envoy was? The waiter thought the matter was exposed and immediately confessed that the Hun envoy had been there for three days and was thirty miles away.
So Ban Chao said the famous saying - You can't get a tiger's son without entering the tiger's den. He summoned 36 followers and burned the camp of Xiongnu envoys at night. More than 30 people ran out were cut to death, and the remaining more than 100 people were burned to death by the fire, none of them were left.
That night, Ban Chao was like a Rambo, and he cut off three Huns' heads with his own hands.
The next morning, Ban Chao reported to Guo Xun about the burning of the Hun camp, and promised not to take the credit alone. Then he summoned King Shanshan and threw the head of the Northern Hun envoy to him, which means:
"Give you two choices, die or kneel down, you can do it."
King Shanshan looked at the bloody head, and did not dare to have the idea of riding a fence. He quickly expressed his thoughts to Ban Chao, saying that I have absolutely no second intentions, and from now on, the leader of the Han Dynasty will only follow the leader.
At this point, Ban Chao opened the first stop in diplomacy, and Ban Chao was promoted to the Sima of the Army due to his merits, with a rank of 1,000 stones, equivalent to a current department-level cadre.
Shanshan is the gateway to the Western Regions. Leaving Shanshan and going west along the southern border, it is the great power of the Western Regions Khotan . Emperor Ming of Han told Dou Gu: "Ban Chao is doing things, I don't worry, let him continue to go on the Western Regions."
So Dou Gu sent Ban Chao out of the mission to Khotan and was preparing to send some troops to Ban Chao. After all, he is a senior cadre now. Don't think that you are a Rambo and do things with your own courage.
Who knew that Ban Chao immediately refused: "Jotan is a big country, and it's useless to give me hundreds of people. I'll still bring 36 old subordinates and act according to the opportunity."
Dou Gu was speechless, so let's do it.
At that time, Khotan was a vassal state of the Northern Huns. He took advantage of the power of the Northern Huns to dominate southern Xinjiang and ignored Ban Chao at all. He had never even given him the treatment of a three-star Michelin star. He came up directly and was a roadside stall.
However, Ban Chao soon discovered Yutian's weakness.
Khotan King believed in witchcraft, and obviously he was not very smart and was a great injustice for the Northern Huns all year round. Now that the Han Dynasty envoy has arrived, the wizard controlled by the Northern Huns warned King Khotan not to get close to the Han Dynasty, otherwise I will not bless you.
In order to cut off King Khotan's thoughts, the wizard also asked him to ask Ban Chao's horse to pay tribute to himself.
The great clever King of Khotan came to the fore as soon as he heard this and ordered the Prime Minister to find Ban Chao to ask for horses. Ban Chao used the trick and said that since the wizard wanted a horse, let the wizard come and take it in person.
"Damn it, if you dare to ask for my horse, then I'll play with you."
Results Just like Shanshan Kingdom, when the wizard entered the door, Ban Chao raised his sword and fell, chopped off the wizard's head, packed it up and sent it to King Khotan. He gave him two ways to die or kneel down, and let King Khotan choose it himself.
King Khotan could still choose Mao, and immediately went out to kill the Hun envoy, knelt in front of Ban Chao with his head, ensuring that he was loyal to the Han Dynasty in the future and would never dare to stand on the fence again.
Ban Chao led two countries in a row, which shocked the Western Regions.
From then on, all countries in the Western Regions knew that there were Han troops stationed outside and Han envoy Ban Chao who liked to behead him. This wave must be unable to escape. They submitted their letters to submit to the Han Dynasty and sent their sons to Luoyang as hostages.
This happened in May 1973, only 3 months have passed since the Han Dynasty's army set out.
This speed is quite good.
Then in April 1974, Ban Chao turned northwest and headed straight to Shule , used the same "beheading technique" to kill the King Shule appointed by the Xiongnu, re-enacted the nephew of Shule Lao Wang as the king, and changed his Chinese name to "Zhong". In November, Dou Gu and Geng Bing joined forces to attack the Che Shiguo and returned with great victory.
The victory in the east and west sides completely cut off the connection between the Huns and the Western Regions and took the Western Regions into his pocket.
So the Western Regions Protectorate and Wuji Captain were re-established, and Chen Mu was appointed as the Western Regions Protectorate and . Wulei City stationed is the current Luntai County , and Geng Gong was the Wu Captain. Jinpu City stationed is in the northeast of Urumqi today, Guan Chong is the Ji Captain, and Liu Zhongcheng stationed is in the southeast of Turpan .
At this point, the Western Regions were pacified and the Han army returned to the court in triumph.
3.
originally, according to Geng Bing's plan, he would attack the Northern Huns after pacifying the Western Regions, but no one expected that the counterattack of the Northern Huns was one step faster than that of the Han Dynasty.
Because when the Han army was in the Western Regions, the Northern Xiongnu did not dare to attack. Now the Han army withdrew from the Central Plains, and only a few thousand people remained in the Western Regions. They also returned to the Western Regions Protector and the Wuji School Captain. Specifically, the Han army stationed in a separate Han army stationed, the troops were only a few hundred.
This little force can monitor the countries in the Western Regions, but the battle with the Northern Huns is not enough.
So the Northern Huns took advantage of the "power vacuum" in the Western Regions and dispatched a large number of cavalry to prepare to re-incorporate the Western Regions into their sphere of influence.
In July 75 AD, the Northern Huns launched a large number of troops and surrounded Geng Gong's troops, which led to the problem of drinking water in the lonely city. They once fell to surviving horse manure. Later, they dug 15 meters to dig a deep well and solved the urgent needs of the Han army.
What's even more terrible is that Emperor Ming of Han suddenly passed away, and the Luoyang court was busy changing its leadership and did not care about the affairs of the Western Regions at all.
By November, the countries in the Western Regions found that the Han Dynasty had not sent troops to rescue him, and gradually could not bear it. They felt that the Han Dynasty was not protected but could not be protected, which means that the Han Dynasty was either insincere or had poor ability, so they decided to return to the Northern Huns and not be buried with the Han Dynasty.
In fact, we cannot blame the countries in the Western Regions. Their national strength determines the attributes of fencemen. Whoever wins and helps whoever wins.
Two years ago, the Han Dynasty won, and then towards the Han Dynasty. Now the Northern Huns have won, so they naturally turn to the Northern Huns.
So Yanqi and Kucha sent troops to surround the Western Regions Protector Chen Mu. As a letter of favour to the Northern Huns, Cheshi rebelled and sieged Geng Gong with the Northern Huns, and the Northern Huns divided their troops to surround Guan Chong, who was in Liuzhongcheng.
The entire Northern Xinjiang The situation is corrupt.
Under the attack of the Northern Huns and the vassal army of the Western Regions, Chen Mu and Guan Chong died one after another, and most of the Han army under his command were slaughtered. Geng Gong's troops were still holding on, but they were very short of food. Dozens of Han soldiers in the lonely city could only remove the leather on the crossbow and the armor, cooked it and chewed it.
That's it, they did not surrender.
Even though the Huns promised Geng Gong to be the king, Geng Gong was not moved. Instead, he killed the Hun envoys with one knife, set up a fire on the top of the city, and had a barbecue with the Han soldiers.
By the end of the year, the Luoyang court completed the personnel arrangements for the change of leadership and finally had time to care about the affairs of the Western Regions.
Sikong Dilun suggested that "the road is too far away and don't save it." Situ Bao Yu asked back, "If you don't save the trapped Han army, who will work hard for the court in the future." After some discussion, the court's ministers felt that Situ Bao Yu had a reasonable point, so they decided to save it. So they ordered Jiuquan Prefect Duan Peng to summon 7,000 troops from Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dunhuang and Shanshan countries to go out to rescue the Han army in the Western Regions.
Duan Peng and others drove the Huns and defeated Che Shi. It was not until early 1976 that the Han army and Geng Gong troops who were stranded in the Western Regions were rescued.
Historical records:
"Open the door, and they all cried and cried. Tomorrow, they followed each other and returned with their soldiers. The soldiers chased them and fought and went on. When the officials and soldiers were hungry and were trapped, there were still twenty-six people who died along the way. In March, only thirteen people left at Yumen, wearing clothes and walking, describing their withered appearance." ( Shule City, which was stationed by Geng Gong's troops, was not far from Urumqi. The Shule Kingdom where Ban Chao was stationed was in Kashgar , not the same place)
This is the story of the thirteen soldiers returning to Yumen.
Thirteen soldiers returned to Yumen
After returning to Luoyang, Emperor Zhang of Han regarded Geng Gong as the cavalry commander, and the others were properly placed. Then he issued an edict to abolish the Western Regions Protectorate and Wuji Captains, and Ban Chao returned to the court.
According to the ideas of Emperor Zhang of Han and the ministers, the Western Regions were taken back by the Northern Huns. What are your Ban Chao doing in Shule? Come back first, and then make a long-term plan later. If
really doesn't work, we don't want it in the Western Regions.
originally Ban Chao was going to return to the court under the imperial edict and would come back again if he had the chance in the future.
But just as Ban Chao was about to set off, Shule's military and civilians stopped Ban Chao and refused to let him go. Duwei Li Yan said: "If the Han envoy leaves, Kucha will definitely send troops to destroy Shule, you can't leave." After that, he committed suicide. Ban Chao walked to Yutian, and from the kings and princes to the subjects held his horse's legs and said that he would not let Ban Chao return to the court.
This situation is similar to the current military and civilian family. Ban Chao was deeply moved and decided to stay in the Western Regions and not leave.
Doing this may lack some heroic spirit and does not conform to Ban Chao's character design for two thousand years.
But Ban Chao is actually a flesh-and-blood person. He is also afraid of the charge of forgery of imperial edicts, suspected of comparing with the strength of the Northern Huns, and was confused and entangled. Until he saw the heart of the Western Regions towards the Han Dynasty, he finally made up his mind to stay in the Western Regions.
Those ordinary men who rush hard are not heroes. Only those who overcome inner fears and pros and cons are real heroes.
so Ban Chao turned his horse and returned to Shule - from today on, my Ban Chao will defend the Western Regions alone.
How can one person defend the Western Regions?
If we look at the "Speed Win and Fast Loss Theory" in "On the Protracted War", it is obviously impossible for Ban Chao to defend the Western Regions, but if we analyze it from the perspective of "unified front", Ban Chao's cards are actually good.
Since Ban Chao sent to the Western Regions, southern Xinjiang countries such as Shanshan, Khotan, Shache, and Shule have been hardcore in the Han Dynasty. Moreover, after the two hundred years of military power in the Western Han Dynasty, Kangju and Wusun were also willing to submit to the Han Dynasty, which formed a C-shaped encirclement against the northern Xinjiang.
Ban Chao's real rivals are actually the four northern border countries, Kucha, Yanqi, Gumo and Wensu. The kings of the latter two countries are also foreigners enthroned by Kucha.
Speaking of this, Ban Chao's strategy of managing the Western Regions is very obvious, that is, to use the strong Han Dynasty as a backing and the Han envoy as a weapon to reach a united front with the countries in the Western Regions to "oppose Kucha" and encircle Kucha on three sides.
Of course, Kucha will also launch a united front and instigate the Western Regions countries that followed Ban Chao. Therefore, the shallow logic of the Western Regions War is the diplomatic war between Ban Chao and Kucha, and the deep logic is the proxy war between the Han Dynasty and the Northern Huns. Emperor Zhang of Han also figured out the two layers of logic of
.
So in 80 AD, Xu Gan was appointed as the fake Sima, and led a thousand army of prisoners, criminals and Yi Cong to the Western Regions and directly returned to Ban Chao to the dispatch. Soon after, Ban Chao was appointed as the chief general, equivalent to the ancient deputy general and now the provincial and ministerial level.
Although the number of people is small, their task is not to conquer cities and territory, but to support Ban Chao. Its function is similar to the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty , which is enough.
In this way, Ban Chao started a ten-year battle with Shule as the base.
Kucha instigated the rebellion against King Shache, and Ban Chao conscripted Shule and Khotan's troops to suppress the rebellion. When King Shule rebelled, Ban Chao persuaded Kang Ju to send troops as a Han envoy. When the King of Kucha came to attack, Ban Chao used the "temptation of the enemy and pull out the empty camp" tactic of Han Xin to command 20,000 United Nations troops in the Western Regions to defeat Kucha.
Ban Chao's ten years of conquest, greatly weakening Kucha's strength. He himself was also intimidated by his ruthless style of winning every battle and rebelling and killing.
4.
Just when Ban Chao was conquering the Western Regions, the Luoyang court also sent a magical assist to Ban Chao.
In the summer of 88 AD, the Northern Huns encountered a great famine, and the tribes fought endlessly to fight for cattle, amniotic fluid and grass. It would be good if you could protect yourself in such a mess. You basically have no strength to interfere in the Western Regions and the Central Plains.
but everyone beats the drum.
Southern Xiongnu , who had been forced to surrender to the Han Dynasty, saw that his half-brother was suffering, and he might have wanted to drive the Northern Xiongnu away and returned to the grassland, or he might have simply wanted to take revenge, so he encouraged the Han Dynasty to send troops to attack the Northern Xiongnu, and he promised with tears -
If the Han Dynasty sent troops, I would lead the way.
That year, Emperor Zhang of Han passed away, and the ten-year-old Emperor He ascended the throne. Because he was too young to govern the country, he was the empress dowager Dou and took office. The Han Dynasty has always had the tradition of governing relatives. Now that Empress Dowager Dou is in charge of politics, she must value the Dou family.
It’s a coincidence that after Emperor Zhang of Han passed away, Liu Chang, the Duxiang Marquis, went to Luoyang to attend the funeral. Dou Xian, the brother of Empress Dowager Dou, was afraid that Liu Chang would share his favor, so he sent someone to assassinate Liu Chang, hoping to use this to strengthen his favor.
The assassination of the royal family by foreign relatives has been a serious crime of killing nine clans throughout the dynasties.
and so on calm down. Dou Xian also knew that he was wrong. He heard that the court was going to attack the Northern Xiongnu, so he asked Empress Dowager Dou, saying that I might lead my troops to attack the Northern Xiongnu and lose my punishment.
Anyway, Empress Dowager Dou wants to hire people. Since Dou Xian wants to go, then go.
10 In October, the court appointed Dou Xian as General of the Cheqi and Cavalry, Geng Bing as Deputy General of Jinwu (he was promoted again), and Ban Gu as Central Guard (Ban Chao's brother), and led the Five Northern Army Schools of Luoyang, the Cavalry of the 12 County, the Southern Xiongnu and other Qiang and Hu soldiers to go out of the frontier, preparing to defeat the Northern Xiongnu in one fell swoop.
This time, the Han army divided into three groups:
Dou Xian and Geng Bing from Shuofang County Jilusai, the Southern Xiongnu Shanyu from Manyi Valley in Xihe County, and the Liao general Deng Hong from Zhiyang Pass in Jiuyuan County, and agreed to meet in Zhuoxie Mountain.
After arriving at Zhuoxie Mountain, Dou Xian found that the Northern Xiongnu Khan was not here, but was in Jiluo Mountain in the east. He ordered the deputy captain Yan Pan, Sima Geng Kui and Geng Tan to lead 10,000 cavalry as vanguards, and the decisive battle between the Jiluo Mountain and the Northern Xiongnu Khan, and the three armies then covered them and killed them.
This war went smoothly. The Han army defeated the Northern Huns, beheaded more than 13,000 levels, captured millions of cattle, sheep and other livestock, and surrendered 81 units of the Northern Huns, totaling more than 200,000 people. Even the Northern Huns Khan knelt on the ground and asked for surrender, asking the Han army not to kill him.
Since the Han Dynasty prepared to recapture the Western Regions and attack the Huns in 1972, 17 years have passed since then. How many Han men buried their bones in the frontier, and how many heroes died in the battlefield. Now in Jiluo Mountain, all of this has come to a perfect end.
Western Regions, the Northern Huns can no longer go.
Central Plains, the Northern Huns can no longer go.
After the war, Dou Xian and Geng Bing led the troops to advance northward, climbed Yanran Mountain not far from Baikal, and hit the guard Ban Gu to write the "Inscription on the Feng Yanran Mountain" and carved stones on Yanran Mountain to record their merits.
From then on, Yanran Leshi and Fenglangjuxu were side by side, becoming the noblest honor in the hearts of the Chinese.
Of course, Dou Xian commanded the Han army to go out for three thousand miles, defeated the Han Dynasty's biggest enemy in one battle, and made the greatest military achievements since Huo Qubing Fenglangjuxu. Geng Bing was the first to write a letter to request the attack on the Huns. Now he has fulfilled his ideals personally as the deputy general, and they all deserve this honor.
Although the Han army severely damaged the Northern Xiongnu in this battle, the Northern Xiongnu still has some strength. As an enemy that has been hostile for decades, Dou Xian would not be able to sleep if he could not completely eliminate the Northern Xiongnu.
So in the autumn of 90 AD, the Northern Xiongnu Khan was about to visit the emperor in Luoyang. Dou Xian, who had already served as the general, stationed troops in Liangzhou. On the surface, he sent Ban Gu to the frontier to welcome the Northern Xiongnu Khan, but secretly sent 8,000 Southern Xiongnu and Han troops to attack Jilusui.
Beheaded eight thousand levels in one battle and captured thousands of people.
In February 91 AD, Dou Xian sent the captain Geng Kui and Sima Ren Shang to lead the troops out of the frontier for 5,000 miles, defeating the Northern Xiongnu in Jinwei Mountain, beheading 5,000 levels. The Northern Xiongnu Khan was unknown where he ran and disappeared from history.
At this point, the Han Dynasty completely lifted the threat from the Northern Huns, and there was no obstacle to international influence advancing into Central Asia.
However, instead of replacing the Xianbei tribes occupied the grasslands of the Northern Huns, and the Southern Huns that grew stronger in the process of attacking the Northern Huns, they also laid the groundwork for the Five Barbarians' invasion of China 200 years later.
can be said that every gift has a price, and every strategic decision has sequelae, and no one can avoid it from ancient times to the present.
5.
With Dou Xian’s magical assist, Ban Chao had no worries anymore.
In 90 AD, one year after Yanran tied the stone, the Han army recovered Yiwu's old land and guarded the gate of the Western Regions again, monitoring the every move of Cheshi and Kucha. This restricted the forces of the countries in the northern border and shared the pressure on Ban Chao.
Because of this, Ban Chao also achieved unprecedented military victory that year.
To the west of Pamir is Kushan, occupying Afghanistan and North India, with a population of nearly 10 million, making it a powerful country in Central Asia. The ancestor of Kushan was Yuezhi . During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, he was closely connected with the Han Dynasty. Now that the Han Dynasty has risen again, the Kushan King wanted to marry the Han Dynasty princess and asked Ban Chao to help inform him.
Ban Chao directly refused. How could the princess of the Supreme Kingdom of the Celestial Kingdom marry the barbarians for no reason?
Kulshan King was furious and felt that he had lost face, so he sent Kushan deputy king Xie to command 70,000 troops, preparing to destroy Ban Chao and actually control the Western Regions.
Ban Chao's soldiers were a little scared, but Ban Chao was not in a hurry.
In the past, the difficulty of fighting was due to harassment from Kucha. Now Kucha is restrained by the Han army. Ban Chao's troops can concentrate on dealing with the Kushan army. As for the specific tactics, Ban Chao is also very clear:
"The Kushan crosses the Pamir Mountains for an expedition, and the logistics will definitely not keep up. As long as we firmly clear the walls and clear the field, we do not take the initiative to attack, the Kushan army will naturally be in chaos after a period of time. At that time, we will send troops to guard the main traffic roads and cut off the connection between Kushan and Kucha, and we can make a decision in one battle."
The facts are indeed as Ban Chao expected.
Kushan Army launched an expedition, because it could not capture the city and could not receive food supplements, and soon became a mess. He wanted to contact Kucha to borrow food, but the messenger was also intercepted by Ban Chao. Ban Chao carried the Kushan envoy's head and went to negotiate with Kushan Deputy Wang Xie himself.
What kind of flowers can we talk about? The Kushan army has no food, Kucha’s food cannot be reached, and the city cannot be defeated. If we retreat now, Ban Chao will chase and cover it up from behind, but it will be completely over.
Deputy Wang Xie has been struggling for a long time, so he should kneel down. He knelt in front of Ban Chao and begged Ban Chao not to kill himself or pursue the Kushan army.
Ban Chao knew that this was the best result. It was impossible for Kushan to really destroy it, so he let them go back.
Although reconciliation is Ban Chao's optimal solution, Kushan felt that Ban Chao was proud and spared their lives. He was impressed by the Han Dynasty's mind and means. From then on, Ban Chao would have to offer supplies to Ban Chao every festival, which is equivalent to a small country sponsoring military expenses to a big country.
The international influence of the Han Dynasty began to cross the Pamir Mountains and cover Central Asia.
With the results of this war, Ban Chao's united front mission was basically completed, and the C-shaped encirclement against Kucha was even more complete. After losing the powerful foreign aid of the Northern Huns, Kucha was surrounded by the Han army from the East and West. He felt that it would not take long for him to surrender, and in the winter of 1991, he surrendered with Wen Su and Gu Mo. When Ban Chao's memorial arrived in Luoyang, the court celebrated and immediately re-established the Western Regions Protectorate, appointed Ban Chao as the Western Regions Protectorate, Xu Gan as the Chief Envoy, and appointed Kucha Protector Bai Ba as the King of Kucha, and sent Sima Yao Guang to escort back to Kucha to ascend the throne.
This is not over yet.
Three years later, Ban Chao mobilized 70,000 troops from eight countries including Kucha and Shanshan to encircle Yanqi from both east and west, and took the King of Yanqi to the place where the former Western Regions Protector Chen Mu died, beheaded, and then sent the head to Luoyang.
Because of the chaos in the Western Regions 19 years ago, King Yanqi was stirred up by the fence-headed king, killing Chen Mu and countless Han families. Ban Chao beheaded King Yanqi at the place where Chen Mu died, which was to avenge and to pay tribute to the heroic spirits of the Han families who died here.
At this point, the Western Regions were completely pacified, and more than 50 countries became vassal states of the Han Dynasty again. Moreover, because of Ban Chao's great reputation, even Kushan, Anxi, and Daqin were worshipped all year round.
As mentioned earlier, Kushan is the current Afghanistan and North India, while Rest is the current Iran area. The Qin Dynasty refers to the Syrian and Türkiye regions of the Roman Empire .
It can be said that the international influence of the Han Dynasty has reached the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean, and Black Sea .
Ban Chao was also named Marquis of Dingyuan for his merits, with a fief of 2,000 households.
Reviewing the 20-year war process of the Han Dynasty, it can fully prove the view of the article that in order to establish China's absolute geopolitical security and then promote international influence to the world, it is necessary to weaken the strong enemies in the north and recover the countries in the Western Regions. Both must not be biased or neglected.
This is China's geopolitical strategy determined by the geographical environment and has been tested by history.
6,
Since he was on the Western Regions, Ban Chao has been operating in the Western Regions for nearly 30 years.
After the Western Regions were pacified, Ban Chao also went straight to the 70-year-old gate. He was old and wanted to go home, so Ban Chao wrote a letter to the Hanhe Emperor:
"I dare not see Jiuquan County, but I hope to be born into Yumen Pass. I will send my son Yong to the frontier with the rest and offer things to the frontier. When I was born, I will let Yong see the Middle Earth."
Ban Yong is his son born in the Western Regions, and he is likely to be a mixed race, because Ban Chao has not returned to the Central Plains, so Ban Yong never knew what his hometown looked like.
This time Ban Chao sent Ban Yong back, maybe because he felt that his body was old and he might not be able to return to his hometown, so he asked Ban Yong to go back and see every tree and grass in Pingling County, Fufeng County for himself.
Henhedi received a letter, but he did not respond for three years.
Ban Chao's sister Ban Zhao felt sorry for her brother, so she wrote a letter to plead for mercy: "The nature of a barbarian is rebellious and insulting the elderly. However, Chao entered the earth every day and night and has not seen the generation for a long time. He is afraid that he will be in trouble and have a heart of rebellion."
means that Ban Chao is too old and may be buried at any time. If he doesn't replace him with a young and strong person, he may not be able to suppress the unjust intentions of the countries in the Western Regions.
involves the interests of the country and himself, and Ban Zhao said it touchingly. Emperor He of Han finally listened and ordered Ban Chao to return to the court.
Ban Chao received the edict and immediately packed his luggage. He set out from Kucha Qiancheng, passed Yanqi and Cheshi to Yumen Pass, then walked into Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Wuwei to enter Guanzhong , took a look at his hometown, and then advanced east along Yellow River , and finally returned to Luoyang in August 102 AD.
Han Hedi was apprenticed to Chao as the Captain of Shooting, with a rank of 2,000 stones, and it is still a provincial and ministerial level treatment.
In September, Ban Chao passed away in Luoyang.
When he was young, Ban Chao was unwilling to be a copywriter. He wanted to imitate Fu Jiezi and Zhang Qian to make contributions in a foreign land and be a marquis for thousands of miles. He fought desperately for most of his life. He finally realized his ambition and left his name in the history books.
However, in his later years, he might feel that it is no longer important to be a meritorious person. Ban Chao had only one wish in his heart - to go home.
See a mountain as a mountain, see a mountain not a mountain, see a mountain as a mountain.
Class Chao walked thousands of miles and finally completed the cycle of life with his own footprints. With extraordinary political and military talents, Ban Chao correctly implemented the policy of "cutting off the right arm of the Huns" in the thirty-one years of the Western Regions. From beginning to end, he was based on winning the majority, dividing, disintegrating and expelling the Huns' forces, so he would win the battle and win the attack. It not only maintained the security of the border areas of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but also strengthened its ties with the vassal states of the Western Regions, making outstanding contributions to the return of the Western Regions.
"In ancient times, generals were both literary and military, and had both courage and courage; they could gain people, know people, love people, and control people; they could save the opportunity of the times, observe the key points of geography, follow the harmony of people, and have a clear and safe situation. All the gains and losses of ancient and modern times, the changes in formations, the virtual and real and the strange and correct military corpses, and the fineness and cleverness of equipment. For example, the Sun Wu , Li Mu, Han Xin of the Han Dynasty, Ma Yuan , Ban Chao, Zhuge Liang, Li Jing of the Tang Dynasty, Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi of the Song Dynasty, Zong Ze of the Song Dynasty, Yue Fei , Qi Jiguang of the Ming Dynasty, and other famous generals, all of whom are familiar with calligraphy and history, know military skills, know the right place, and have fine equipment, which is no different from those in today's Taixi countries who emphasize generals and talents."
