Ever since Bowang Hou Zhang Qian was honored for opening the way to foreign countries, those who had followed him, whether they were petty officials or subordinates, have been vying to write to the emperor, introducing all kinds of strange things in foreign countries, and stating their interests, in the hope of getting an errand to a certain country or countries. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed that the places they mentioned were far away and not everyone wanted to go, so he readily agreed to them, granted them talisman festivals, and allowed them to recruit their own entourage. As long as they are willing to go, they don't ask about their origins; as long as they recruit all the troops, they will be sent off. The purpose of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was to open up a wider world. If these people committed a crime during their mission, let them pay for their sins, and then let them go on a mission again. These people are also prone to breaking the law. They broke the law and could not go on missions. Their subordinates would write to the emperor as they did before, introducing all kinds of strange things about foreign countries and stating their interests. Those who can blow to the sky will be appointed as chief envoys and given talismans; those who can't play well will be appointed as deputy envoys and assistants. So, guys who can talk nonsense all compete to talk nonsense. These messengers are often children from poor families. Under the banner of the government, they want to buy materials at low prices at home and take them abroad to make huge profits. Abroad, they also talk nonsense and make different opinions about each other, leaving others wondering who to believe. Gradually, they become disgusted, and they can't even find anything to eat. Although those small countries in the Western Regions were weak in national power, they bullied Han envoys without restraint because they were far away from the Han Dynasty. The bullied Han made everyone full of resentment, even to the point of venting it on their own people and attacking each other. Loulan and Cheshi were both small countries, but they happened to be on the way of the Han envoy to the Western Regions, and they attacked and looted the Han envoy Wang Hui and others most powerfully. Moreover, the Huns cavalry often intercepted envoys traveling to the Western Regions. The envoys came back and rushed to report the harm done to the Han envoys by various countries, and reported that although each country had cities and towns, their military strength was weak and easy to attack. Therefore, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent his subordinate Zhao Ponu to lead tens of thousands of troops from the vassal states and counties to march towards the Hanuy River. River, also translated as Hari River or Hunegor River, is a tributary of the Selenge River, the largest river in Mongolia. It is located at the northern foot of Hangai Mountain. It was called "Xiong River Water" in ancient times. It is one of the important activity centers of the Xiongnu Moton Chanyu and the First Turkic Khanate. The largest Xiongnu tombs and the Turkic Tubo Khan Cemetery are located in the river basin, preparing to attack the Huns. Seeing the arrival of the Han army, the Xiongnu retreated. The next year, the Han army attacked the chariot division. Zhao Ponu and more than 700 light cavalry arrived first. They attacked without waiting for the arrival of the larger army, captured King Loulan, defeated the chariot division, and took the opportunity to show off to Wusun, Dayuan and other countries. After Zhao Ponu returned, he was granted the title of Marquis of Zunye. This year is the third year of the Han Yuan Dynasty (108 BC). The next year, because Zhonglang General Wang Hui was repeatedly bullied by Loulan (now the north of Ruoqiang County, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, west of Lop Nur, and 7 kilometers south of the Kongque River) on his way to the Western Regions, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to ask Wang Hui to assist Zhao Ponu to defeat Loulan, and made Wang Hui a Haohou. After that, the Han Dynasty built many castles, watchtowers and other fortifications from Jiuquan to Yumen.
According to the "Book of Han: Biography of the Western Regions", after Loulan surrendered, he began to pay tribute to Han. When the Huns found out, they sent troops to attack Loulan. So Loulan sent one prince to the Xiongnu as a hostage, and another prince to the Han Dynasty as a hostage. This is like the and Zheng countries that were sandwiched between the Jin and Chu states in the Spring and Autumn Period. They could only please both sides and did not dare to offend either party.
When Li Guangli attacked Dayuan, Ren Wen, who was stationed at Yumen Pass and served as Li Guangli's guard, captured some Huns prisoners, and they confessed Loulan's behavior of sitting on the fence. So Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered Li Guangli to arrest King Loulan when he returned to the army. Before he was about to be taken to the court for trial, facing the court's ordering documents, King Loulan argued that a small country is between big countries and there is no way to deal with it without standing on the fence. If we want to avoid this situation from happening, we can only move all my people to Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appreciated his directness and asked him to return to his country, and then sent someone to spy on the Xiongnu's movements. The Xiongnu could not believe Loulan from then on.
In the first year of Zhenghe of the Han Dynasty (92 BC), King Loulan died, and the people of the country asked their prince who was a hostage in the Han Dynasty to return to inherit the throne. At that time, the prince had been castrated for violating the laws of the Han Dynasty and could not be allowed to go back. When the Han Dynasty replied to Loulan's envoy, he said that the Emperor of Han liked this prince and was reluctant to let him go back. Loulan could make another person king. Loulan had no choice but to establish another king. The Han also ordered the new king to send the prince into the court as a hostage. Loulan sent another prince to the Han as a hostage, and another prince to the Huns as a hostage. Later, the king died again. The Xiongnu got the information first and sent the prince who was a hostage to Loulan to succeed him as king. After the Han Dynasty found out, he sent an envoy to inform the new king and asked him to come to Chang'an to see him, saying that the emperor would give him generous rewards. The new king's stepwife, who was also his former stepmother, said to him, the previous king sent two of his sons to Han as hostages, but none of them came back. Why do you still want to go? The new king felt that her reminder was reasonable, so he tactfully told the Han envoy that I had just ascended the throne and the country was not yet stable. I hope that I can be allowed to meet the emperor the year after next. But Loulan Kingdom is closest to the eastern border of Han , right on Bailongdui (located in the northeast of Lop Nur, a saline-alkali earth platform group, stretching for nearly 100 kilometers. The middle route of the ancient Silk Road into Lop Nur passed through Bailongdui, and merchants still passed through it until the Tang Dynasty). That place lacked water and grass. Their main tasks were to provide guides and supplies for the Han army, and to receive Han envoys. It was already very annoying for a small country to bear such a heavy task, but the Han army officers and soldiers often bullied them, and they did not want to welcome the Han people. Later, the Xiongnu tried to sow discord between them and the Han. They secretly intercepted and killed Han envoys many times. Their secrets and actions were not very clear to the Han government. It was not until King Loulan's younger brother Wei Tuqi surrendered to the Han that the Han government knew the reason for their passing.
Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty In the fourth year of Yuanfeng (77 BC), the Han Dynasty began to solve the problem of decaying buildings again. Huo Guang, the general at that time, sent Pingyue supervisor Fu Jiezi to Loulan to assassinate the King of Loulan. Fu Jiezi led a few warriors, took some money, and announced that his mission was to reward foreign countries. After arriving in Loulan, he deceived King Loulan and said that he was sent to reward Fu Jiezi. King Loulan was very happy and served Fu Jiezi with wine. During the dinner, King Loulan got drunk. Fu Jiezi took King Loulan to a quiet place and said that he had something important to tell him. Then he signaled two warriors on the left and right to assassinate King Loulan from behind. The Loulan nobles and Wang Zhi who were present were stunned by this sudden scene and ran away. Fu Jiezi stood up and said that King Loulan had violated the laws of the Han Dynasty. The emperor of the Han Dynasty asked me to carry out the death penalty. He also appointed Wei Tuqi, the younger brother of the king of the Han Dynasty. The Han army will arrive soon. Don't act rashly and bring about your own destruction. After saying that, Fu Jiezi cut off King Loulan's head, picked up his horse and left. The head of King Loulan was hung under the North Tower of the Han Dynasty for public display, and Fu Jiezi was named the Marquis of Yiyang. Wei Tuqi was supported by the Han Dynasty as the King of Loulan. He accepted the seal given by the court and the maid given by the emperor. Before he returned to the country and ascended the throne, the Han Dynasty prepared carriages and baggage for him and held a grand farewell ceremony. The prime minister and the general led all the officials to the outside of Hengmen, and after offered sacrifices to the Road God, they allowed him to leave. Before leaving, he asked the Emperor of Han again, saying that I had been in Han for a long time, and now that I was going back, I would be alone and weak. The son of the former king was still there, and I was afraid of being killed by him. There is a city in our country called Yixun City with fertile land. I hope that the Han Dynasty will send a general to farm and accumulate grain there so that I can have a backer. Therefore, the Han Dynasty sent one Sima, forty officials and soldiers to settle in Yixun City to deter the opposition forces in Loulan Kingdom. Later, Han Dynasty also set up and . From then on, it was the first time to set up officials in Yixun City.
When the Han envoys arrived in Parthia, the Parthia king sent a cavalry force of 20,000 people to greet them on the eastern border. From the Parthian border to the Parthian capital, the Han envoys passed through dozens of cities, and there were Parthians everywhere along the way. When the Han envoys returned, King Anxi also sent envoys to follow the Han envoys to visit the vastness of the Han Dynasty. The gifts they prepared to present to the Han emperor were ostrich eggs and magicians. Along with the Anxi envoys came envoys from Huanqian and Dayi, a small country to the west of Dayuan, and Cheshi, Hannan, Su Xue and other small countries to the east of Dayuan. Their arrival made Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty very happy.
It was at this time that the Han government also organized an inspection of the source of the Yellow River. The conclusion of the investigation is that the source of the Yellow River lies in Khotan (located on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, and its territory at its peak included counties and cities such as Hotan, Pishan, Moyu, Luopu, Cele, Yutian, and Minfeng). The mountains there produced jade, which the investigators collected and presented to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After consulting ancient books, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty named the mountain where the source of the Yellow River is located Kunlun Mountain.
Khotan Ruins
When envoys from various countries in the Western Regions arrived, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty happened to be inspecting the eastern coast. He invited all foreign friends to accompany him. Because there are so many people, they don’t stop in any big city on the way. They just distribute a lot of money to the local people as they pass by, so that foreigners can see how rich China is. He invited everyone to watch various performances held in his honor, and gave generous rewards after watching. The wine pool and meat forest at the banquet made the foreigners stunned; the goods piled up in the warehouse made them even more horrified. The vastness of China left an unprecedented deep impression on them.
Envoys from various countries in the northwest came and went, and came again. However, all the countries west of Dawan thought they were far away from the Han and remained as arrogant as before. The Han's influence on them was still very small. From the west of Wusun to the Parthian countries, they were too close to the Xiongnu, and the story of the Xiongnu's attack on the Yuezhi was still deeply frightening to them. Therefore, as long as the Xiongnu envoys had a letter from Shan Yu, no country dared to neglect them, and all the countries they passed honestly provided food and supplies. For the Han envoys, the situation was different. The reason why this happened was because the influence of the Han could not reach them, but the Xiongnu could; at the same time, it was also because the Han was too rich. Since the Han was so rich, let's use the money to buy it. Countries around Dawan use grapes to make wine. A wealthy family's wine collection can reach more than ten thousand stones. If it is stored for a long time, it can be stored for decades without the wine deteriorating. The locals are addicted to alcohol, and the local horses are addicted to alfalfa . Han envoys brought back alfalfa seeds, so the emperor of the Han Dynasty began to experiment with planting alfalfa and grapes in fertile lands. Later, as more and more Tianma came from Dawan, and more and more foreign envoys came, endless grapes and alfalfa were planted everywhere around the emperor's palace and other temples. From the west of Dawan to the Parthian countries, although the languages are different, the customs are roughly similar and they can communicate with each other. The people there have deep eyes, big beards, and great business talents, and they fight for every penny in transactions. Women have a high status, women speak and men listen. The local area does not produce silk or lacquer, and does not know how to cast. It wasn't until some members of the Han envoys escaped and stayed in the local area that someone taught them how to forge weapons. When they got Han's gold and silver, they used it to make utensils, not coins.
The Han Dynasty's war against the Western Regions was initially just to open up the road to the Western Regions. However, as the understanding of the Western Regions deepened, Dawan's excellent horses became the trigger for Han to launch a war against the Western Regions. The war lasted for a long time, the combat distance was far, the number of people mobilized was large, and the impact on the Western Regions was huge. It was probably unique in the world at that time. From 334 BC to 324 BC, Alexander led the Macedonian and Greek coalition forces in the Eastern Expedition. The route traveled was also very far and it took a long time. However, the troops used and the extent of the country's influence were definitely not on the scale of this war.
This may not have been thought of by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and it was something that the countries in the Western Regions, especially Dawan, did not think of, just like Wei Qing Juemo and the Xiongnu Chanyu did not think of it.
Dawan Horse
An envoy came back from the Western Regions and reported to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that there were fine horses in Dayuan hidden in Ershi City (today's Uletaba in Kyrgyzstan, or south of the city of Andiyan in present-day Uzbekistan, or present-day Asgabat in Turkmenistan) and they were unwilling to sell them to the Han envoys. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did not want to hear about a good horse. As long as he heard about a good horse, he would get it no matter what. So he sent his warriors and chariots with a large amount of money and even a golden horse to ask Dawan to sell some of the fine horses from Ershi City to the Han Dynasty.
Dawan Kingdom once met Zhang Qian. He had many Han things and was not interested in what Che Ling brought. After discussion between the monarch and his ministers, they came to the conclusion that the Han Dynasty is far away from me, and most of the visitors come from Yanshui (Saltwater, that is, salt lake, which is located in the Lop Nur area today). "Annotation of Historical Records": Fu Qian said: "The name of the water, the road comes from the outer water." For example, Chun said: The road is far away, and there is no grain or grass. "Historical Records of Justice": Kong Wenxiang said: "Salt, salt lake" means that the water is far away, and it may lead to trouble. Pei Ju's "Records of the Western Regions" says: In Xizhou Gao. It is 1,300 miles east of Chang County and southeast of Guazhou. It is a land of sand and moraine, where water and grass are difficult to travel, and there are dangers on all sides. The roads cannot be accurately marked. Travelers can only use human and animal bones and horse dung as indicators of the bad roads. People and animals do not keep track of each other. There have been people who heard people's calls in the moraine but lost sight of them. There were also songs and cries, and they were lost and their whereabouts were not known in an instant. They died from this. If they take the north route they will encounter the Huns, if they take the south route they will lack water and grass. There are no cities or settlements along the way, and it is difficult to find food along the way. How could a Han mission send a large army when hundreds of people were often short of food and more than half of them died? There is absolutely nothing they can do to us. Moreover, the Ershima is Dawan's BMW, how can it be easily matched with others? So he decided not to sell it to the Han envoy. The chariot commander was furious, uttered evil words, smashed the golden horse, and walked away. The nobles of Dawan were also angry, saying that the Han envoys looked down upon us too much! So they expelled the Han envoys and secretly ordered King Yucheng (the name of the city east of Andiyan in Central Asia) to their east to intercept the Han envoys and kill people and steal goods. When the news came back to Chang'an, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious. Immediately summoned Yao Dinghan and others who had been sent as envoys to Dawan to understand the situation in Dawan. When they came back, they all said that Dawan's troops were very weak. If they really sent Han soldiers, they would not need more than 3,000 soldiers. They would just need to shoot randomly with powerful crossbows and they would be completely destroyed. At that time, because Zhao Ponu, the Marquis of Zhaoye, had attacked Loulan earlier, and the Han army captured King Loulan alive with only 700 cavalry who arrived first, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had no doubts about the reply of Yao Dinghan and others. And because Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wanted to find an opportunity to make his favorite Li Ji family a marquis, he appointed Li Guangli as the general of the second division. He mobilized 6,000 cavalrymen from the vassal states, as well as tens of thousands of evil young men from various counties and vassal states to attack Dawan. Because he expected to get a good horse as soon as he arrived at Ershi City, Li Guangli's general title was "General Ershi". Zhao Shi became the military commander, and the former Haohou Wang Hui served as the army guide (this Wang Hui was not the Wang Hui who participated in the Mayi conspiracy. "Annotation of Historical Records": Xu Guang said: Hui was first granted the title, and for one year, he served as the envoy to Jiuquan to correct the system and eliminate the country). Li Duo was the school captain to manage military affairs. This year was the first year of Taichu in the Han Dynasty (104 BC).
A war started because of the failure of commercial trade.
In 1840 AD, the British launched the Opium War against China because of commercial trade. The difference is that because of the trade deficit , the British buy things from the Chinese, but the Chinese do not buy things from the British. In this war, the Dawan people did not sell things to the Han people.
After the Second Division General Li Guangli's army crossed Yanyan westward, the small countries in power along the way panicked and closed their cities to defend themselves, refusing to supply the Han army with food. Li Guangli had no choice but to order an attack on the city. If you can capture it, you'll have a good meal; if you can't capture it in a few days, you'll have to give up and move on hungry. When they arrived at Yucheng, only a few thousand people caught up with the team. Li Guangli ordered an attack on Yucheng, but the Han army was defeated miserably. Li Guangli discussed with Zhao Shicheng, Li Duo and others. If he couldn't even defeat Yu Chengdu, could he still break through Dawan's capital? So, I decided to go back to school. It took two years from the departure of the army to the return of the army. When we reached Dunhuang, only one or two-tenths of the troops were left. Li Guangli wrote a letter reporting that he had to return to the army because of the long journey and difficulty in supplies. Soldiers are not afraid of fighting, but they are afraid of going hungry. It seems that the troops we dispatched are still insufficient. We are just temporarily suspending our troops now. It will not be too late to wait until we have sufficient troops to fight again. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very angry after reading this report. He sent an envoy to guard Yumen Pass and issued an order to kill anyone who dared to enter the pass! Li Guangli was frightened and stayed in Dunhuang and did not dare to go back.
That summer, the Han Dynasty lost more than 20,000 Zhao Ponu's troops. At the meeting convened by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to discuss the war against Wan, the ministers and those who participated in the review all believed that the war against Wan should be stopped and all-out efforts should be made to deal with the Xiongnu.But Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought otherwise. If a small country like Dawan could not win, then a big country like Daxia would despise the Han, and it would be impossible to get Dayuan's good horses, and Wusun and Luntou (i.e. Luntai, at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, at the northern edge of the Tarim Basin, in the middle of the Western Regions , as the key point of the Silk Road North Road, it was the center of the ancient Silk Road. In the second year of Shenjue, in 60 BC, the Western Regions Protectorate was established in the territory. It lasted for 72 years and ruled the countries of the Western Regions. In the Tang Dynasty, it was the governor of Qiuci (Wulei Prefecture). It was easy for a powerful country to bully the Han envoys, and the country no longer had prestige at all. Therefore, he ordered that those among the prisoners who could use bows and arrows be pardoned, and more bad boys from the vassal states and counties were recruited, as well as border cavalry. At the end of the year, as many as 60,000 people, including 100,000 cattle, 30,000 horses, and tens of thousands of donkeys, mules, and camels, set out from Dunhuang with sufficient food and weapons. The world was in commotion, and everyone was rumored that the army was ordered to conquer Wan. During this expedition, there were more than fifty captains in the army. In addition, because there are no wells in Dawan City, drinking water relies on running water from outside the city. The Han army also brought water conservancy engineers to cut off the water source under Dawan City. Then, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty recruited 180,000 border guards to garrison the north of Jiuquan and Zhangye, and established two counties: Juyan (today's Ejina River Basin in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) and Xiutu County (the county roughly includes the northern part of Wuwei City, the southern part of Minqin County, and the eastern part of Yongchang County) to defend Jiuquan. They also collected suitable transportation supplies from seven branches in the world to supply the generals of the second division. There was an endless stream of vehicles and people transported along the way. Moreover, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also sent two horse experts and named them the driving school captains, who were responsible for selecting and escorting good horses after breaking Wan.
Li Guangli sets out again. Wherever he went, no small country dared not to welcome him, and they donated military supplies one after another. The army encountered resistance when they arrived at Luntou. After a few days, the city was defeated and Li Guangli ordered a massacre of the city. When they continued due west from Luntou and reached Dawan City (i.e. Guishan City, Kasan, or Juzhanti, a city in the northern part of Tajikistan located on the upper tributary of Syr Darya River ), the Han army only had 30,000 people. Dawan opened the city gate to attack the Han army. The Han army fired thousands of arrows. The Wan army was defeated and retreated into the city to defend it. When passing Yucheng on the road, Li Guangli planned to attack Yucheng, but he was worried that Yucheng would do something behind his back in Dawan, so he decided to attack Dawan first, cut off its water source, and divert the river flowing into the city, causing a flood in Dawan. The Han army surrounded Dawan City and attacked for more than forty days, breaking through its outer city and capturing Dawan's brave general Jianmi. Dawan became timid and retreated to the central city. Under this situation, the Dawan nobles began to gather together secretly to discuss and seek ways to retreat from the enemy. Some people say that the reason why the Han army attacked Wan was because King Wuwu hid his good horses and refused to sell them to the Han envoys. Now, in order for the Han army to retreat and save Dawan, we can only kill the few and release the good horses. Even if the Han army does not retreat then, it will not be too late to fight and die. The nobles in Dawan all thought this was reasonable. So everyone swarmed up and killed Wu Wu, and sent an envoy to see Li Guangli with his head, saying that as long as the Han army does not attack us, we will release all the good horses for you to choose, and we are willing to provide supplies for the Han army; if you don't agree with this suggestion, we will kill all the good horses so that you can get nothing; and the reinforcements from Kangju will arrive soon. Once the reinforcements arrive, we will attack the Han army from both inside and outside. Please consider our suggestions carefully. At that time, Kangju's reinforcements were indeed watching the Han army from a distance. Seeing that the Han army was in great strength, they did not dare to approach. Li Guangli discussed with Zhao Shicheng and Li Duo that they heard that there were newly acquired Qin people in Dawan City. They knew how to dig wells, and there was a lot of food in the city. The purpose of our coming here is to kill the culprit Wuwu. Now Wuwu's head has been placed here. If we don't withdraw our troops, they will definitely hold on. When our army is exhausted and Kang Ju's soldiers attack our army again, our army will be defeated.
Therefore, Li Guangli replied to the Dawan envoy and agreed to cease the war as agreed. Dawan released their good horses for the Han army to choose, and also provided a large amount of supplies to the Han army.The Han army selected dozens of the best horses from the horses released by the Wan people, and also selected more than 3,000 male and female horses below the average level. Among the Dawan nobles, Mocai , who was pro-Han, was made the king of Dawan and formed an alliance with him.
This may be the largest foreign invasion that Dawan has encountered since ancient Greece Alexander the Great. Alexander only reached Kuchanti on the banks of the Syr Darya River and built the "Far East Alexander City", but did not go east deep into Dawan.
When Li Guangli set out from the west of Dunhuang, he thought that the number of troops was too large and it would be difficult for the countries on the road to solve the supply problem, so he divided his troops into several groups and advanced from the north and south wings. More than a thousand people, including school captain Wang Shensheng and Qian Honglu Hu Chongguo, took another road to Yucheng. King Yu Cheng refused to provide food, and Wang Shensheng cursed King Yu Cheng. King Yu Cheng secretly peeped and found that Wang Shensheng's troops were decreasing day by day. In the early morning, he suddenly sent 3,000 troops out of the city to attack and kill this partial division of the Han army, which was 200 miles away from the main force. Only a few people escaped and watched Li Guangli's army leave. After hearing the news, Li Guangli sent Lieutenant Sosu Su Shangguan Jie to lead his army to attack Yu Cheng. King Yucheng fled to Kangju on horseback. Shangguan Jie pursued Kangju. Kangju heard that Dawan had been defeated, so he handed over King Yu Cheng to Shangguan Jie. Shangguan Jie ordered four knights to tie up King Yu Cheng and escort him to the general's camp ("Historical Records": Ru Chun said: "There are many generals at that time, so the second division is called the general") Li Guangli's camp. On the way, the four people discussed that King Yu Cheng was the enemy of the Han Dynasty, and it made no sense to let him be brought alive to the general. So, they wanted to kill King Yu Cheng, but no one dared to do it first. Finally, the youngest Shanggui knight named Zhao Di drew his sword and beheaded King Yu Cheng, and then took King Yu Cheng's head and Shangguan Jie and others to chase the main force.
Before Li Guangli set out, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent an envoy to notify Wusun, hoping that they would send a large army to cooperate with Li Guangli. Wusun indeed sent two thousand cavalry, but when they arrived at the front line, they were at two ends, waiting and watching. When Li Guangli returned to his army, the small countries he passed through heard that Dawan had been defeated, so they all sent their sons to follow the army to Chang'an to pay tribute, pay homage to the Emperor of Han, and offered to stay as hostages. During the crusade against Dayuan, Zhao Shicheng, the commander of the army, fought the most vigorously and made the most achievements; Shangguan Jie, the captain of the search for susu, dared to go deep; Li Duo, the school captain, strategized and came up with many good ideas. There were 60,000 horses when we set out, but only 10,000 were left when we came back. We had 30,000 horses when we started, but only 1,000 were left when we came back. The reason why the losses were so great this time was no longer a problem of supplies or combat attrition, but a problem of officers being too greedy, not caring about their soldiers, and committing violence at every turn. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty considered that he had traveled thousands of miles and encountered many difficulties, so he did not hold anyone responsible and named Li Guangli the Marquis of Haixi (Haixi refers to the West Sea where the branches are located, which is today's Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and northwest of the Indian Ocean). He also named Zhao Di, the knight who beheaded King Yu Cheng, as the new marquis of Xinji, Zhao Shi, the military commander, became the Guanglu doctor, Shangguan Jie as the Shaofu, and Li Duo as the Shangdang prefect. There are three people in the army who have entered the ranks of Jiuqing, and they have served as prime ministers of princes and governors of various counties. There are more than a hundred people who enjoy a salary of two thousand stone, and more than a thousand people who have less than a thousand stone. Those who had great ambitions to build meritorious service received official positions that exceeded their initial expectations; those who were forced to join the army due to guilt also had their crimes reduced. The government spent as much as 40,000 gold on the reward. The two wars against Wanyuan lasted four years.
When Li Guangli brought back a thousand-mile horse named Pushao (sweat-blooded horse?) from Dawan, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very excited. Moreover, this excitement had reached a level that could not be buried in his heart. He had to sing poems to express it. He sang in front of all the ministers:
Heavenly horses come from the West Pole,
After traveling thousands of miles, they return to virtue.
Carrying the spirit of power, he descended to foreign countries, and
wading through quicksand, he surrendered to all foreign countries.
Lieutenant Ji An Jin said: "Every king makes music to inherit the ancestors and to bring blessings to the people. Now that your Majesty has a horse, the poem is supposed to be in harmony with the ancestral temple. How can the people of the late emperor know his music?" Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was silently displeased. Prime Minister Gongsun Hong said: "Slandering the holy system and being a clan." In the eyes of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it was a very proud achievement to get such a horse from such a distant place, so he wanted to compose a song and sing it in the ancestral temple where his ancestors were worshipped.This is not just a matter of horses. The horses here symbolize the unprecedented strength of the Han Dynasty and the unprecedented victory since the beginning of the Han Dynasty. All the joy of being a conqueror is reflected in the lyrics of this song. Moreover, the act of writing songs and singing shows that as a conqueror, he longs for his ancestors and for the people to know about his conquests and his happiness as a conqueror. This psychology is something people like Ji An don't understand.
Maybe Gongsun Hong understands.
After the Han withdrew their troops, less than a year later, the nobles of Dayuan blamed Micai and Meihan, causing Dayuan to suffer losses. They collaborated to kill Micai, and established Wuwu Kun's younger brother Chan as the king of Wan. However, they still had lingering fears about the Han and sent their princes to the Han as hostages. The Han Dynasty also turned a blind eye to this and did not care about it. He sent envoys to control them with both soft and hard tactics.
Li Guangli's expedition was later evaluated a lot. scholar Liu Xiang of the Han Dynasty thought it was not worth it. he said "The General of the Second Division donated 50,000 troops and spent hundreds of millions. After four years of hard work, he only got 30 horses. Although he killed the head of Wan Wang Wugu (widow), it was not enough to repay the money..." However, from a historical perspective, without this expedition, the Western Regions would not have belonged to China, and the current Chinese territory would not be what it is now. There is a reason for Ban Gu to include Li Guangli in the same biography as Zhang Qian, because they also contributed to the development of the Western Regions.
After that, the Han Dynasty sent more than ten groups of envoys to the countries west of Dawan to seek rare treasures and take the opportunity to promote the mighty virtue of the Han Dynasty in breaking Wan. At the same time, the Jiuquan Captain was set up in Dunhuang to be responsible for the affairs of the Western Regions; watchtowers were set up along the way from Jiuquan to Yanshui. Several hundred people of the reclamation troops were stationed in Lundou, and envoys were set up to manage the reclamation affairs, accumulate food, and receive passing envoys. The settlement system established by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a profound influence on later China.
"Since the Han Dynasty, around the first year of the Christian era, the Chinese government deliberately established a number of military colonies in the areas north of the Great Wall such as Alxa, Ordos , Suiyuan and Chahar, which were the centers of field sergeants. Therefore, a number of small islands of reclamation were created across the boundless sea of grasslands. This achievement is in line with the military established by the Roman people from the Rhine River to the Atlas. It was similar to a colony, but its continuation was much longer, so it is still carried out there today.
"The Qing Empire finally conquered the Mongols, and the result was that Chinese farmers advanced both comprehensively and bit by bit. These farmers continued to push back the Mongolian grasslands, just like they pushed back the forests in Manchuria. They plowed away forests here and opened up wasteland there. In the small islands of farming created in this way, small Chinese-style farms were established everywhere. This is a peaceful and nameless invasion. In the face of this invasion, the Mongolian herders or the Tungus forest dwellers have been retreating further and further north, just as the red people in the Americas have been retreating further and further west in front of the American farmers. "(Reiner Grusset's "History of the Mongolian Empire").
Grusset's statement may have some problems, but he told part of the truth.
After the Han took control of Loulan, it strangled the Western Regions by the throat. By forming an alliance with Wusun, it found a bridgehead into the Western Regions. By conquering Dawan, it shocked the entire Western Regions.
Although In this way, the Xiongnu still had strong influence in the Western Region. The actual control area of the Han Dynasty was only the section from Loulan to Luntai, and the rest of the area was still under the control of the Xiongnu. In order to control the entire Western Region, the Han Dynasty had to drive a wedge into the central area of Luntai and Quli in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains controlled by the Xiongnu. In the second year of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty (68 BC), tml4 Taking advantage of the death of the Xiongnu Chan, he sent Zheng Ji to carry out military reclamation in the Luntai and Quli areas. Both places had several hundred agricultural reclamation troops and were managed by school captains. Zheng Ji himself was stationed in Cheshi (now the ancient city of Jiaohe, Turpan) and had been dealing with the Xiongnu forces for a long time. At this time, the Han army controlled the southern route of the Western Regions and not all the northern route, but the Huns were already very uneasy. Later, King Ri Zhu betrayed Shan Yu , led his tribe to surrender to the Han Dynasty, and was named Guidehou. In the second year of Shenjue (60 BC), the Han Dynasty sent Zheng Ji to guard the north and south roads of the Western Region, so he was known as the Protector. Zheng Ji was the first guardian of the Western Regions. The duty of the governor is to supervise Wusun, Kangju and other countries and report their activities to the court at any time.Whatever happens, those who should be appeased should be appeased, and those who should be suppressed should be suppressed. The governor's seat was located in Wulei City (today's Luntai County), 2,738 miles away from Yangguan, close to Quli's military reclamation farm, and at the intersection of the north and south main roads of the Tianshan Mountains. From then on, the Han Dynasty became the master of the entire Western Region, and the vast area east and south of Lake Balkhash was officially included in the territory of the Han Dynasty.
Of course, there are still repetitions. In the third year of Tianfeng in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 16), Wulei City, where the Protectorate of the Western Regions was located, was attacked by the Yanqi, Gumo, Yuli, Weixu and other multinational forces organized by the Xiongnu. The Protector Li Chong withdrew to protect Kucha. Sixty years later, the Huns once again took control of the Western Regions. It was not until the 21st year of Jianwu (AD 45) that the Han Dynasty once again opened up the Western Regions at the strong request of the countries in the Western Regions. In the 16th year of Yongping (AD 73), the imperial court once again sent the guards of the Western Regions to garrison in Wulei City. After the class surpassed the Western Regions, many countries in the Western Regions surrendered to the Han Dynasty. In the sixth year of Yongyuan (AD 94), Ban Chao organized a multinational force to fight against the Xiongnu in the Western Regions, and all fifty countries in the Western Regions surrendered to the Han Dynasty. The Western Region Protective Office was moved from Wulei to Qiuci, which has a larger oasis area, more population, richer resources, and more important transportation location.
Author: He Guohui
Editor: Yan Yunfei
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