But Ban Chao didn't want to write it down in the court hall. He is bent on making contributions on the battlefield and serving the country. As a civilian, I have an ambitious "general dream" in my heart.
Ban Chao joined the army after entering middle age, served under General Dou Gu, recruited the Northern Xiongnu, and served as a pseudo-Sima in the army.
As soon as Ban Chao arrived in the army, he showed his unique talent. He led the troops to attack Yiwu (now Xibibao, Hami, Xinjiang) and fought the northern Xiongnu in Prehai (now Barikun Lake, Xinjiang), and gained a lot.
Dou Gu appreciated his talent very much and sent him to the Western Regions with Guo Yao. From then on, Ban Chao began his career in the Western Regions, which lasted 3 1 year.
Ban Chao first went to Shanshan (Loulan) in the Western Regions. King Shanshan was very enthusiastic about Ban Chao and other Han people, but after a while he suddenly changed his attitude.
Ban Chao was keenly aware that the situation had changed, and confirmed that the Xiongnu messenger had come to Shanshan. Compared with Xiongnu 100 messengers, there were only 36 people in the Han Dynasty, and the situation was very critical.
Ban Chao decisively decided to strike first and take the initiative. He encouraged everyone to say, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." That night, he attacked the unprepared Xiongnu emissary, and both the Xiongnu ambassador and the assistant ambassador were killed.
Ban Chao took the heads of Xiongnu envoys and envoys to see King Shanshan. King Shanshan thought that there were many Huns and the Huns were strong, so he wanted to fall to the Huns. Unexpectedly, the Xiongnu messenger was killed by Ban Chao now, so he had to submit to the Han Dynasty.
Since Wang Mang's New Deal, the Central Plains Dynasty lost control of the Western Regions for decades, and many countries in the Western Regions were afraid of the Huns. With extraordinary courage and insight, Ban Chao was decisive and brave, and opened up the situation of managing the western regions in the crisis.
Ban Chao decisively dealt with the news that the Xiongnu emissary was in Shanshan, which made the old superior Dou Gu very happy. He reported Ban Chao's achievements to the imperial court, and Emperor Han Ming named Ban Chao as an army Sima, and asked him to continue his mission to the Western Regions.
Dou Gu thought that Ban Chao had brought too few people before and wanted to assign more men to him, but Ban Chao said, "I just need to lead more than 30 people who follow me. If there is an accident, more people will increase the burden. "
So, Ban Chao led the more than 30 people and started the journey of continuing to manage the western regions. Ban Chao, with extraordinary courage and talent, united with Lian Heng to "control foreigners with barbarians", managed the Western Regions for 3 1 year, successfully brought the countries in the Western Regions back to the imperial court, and made indelible contributions to completely cutting off the Huns' arms and driving them away.
The year of 365,438+0 in the Western Regions was not so easy. The Western Regions have been influenced by the Xiongnu for a long time, and the Xiongnu is closer to the Western Regions, and the countries in the Western Regions have also repeated it from time to time. Ban Chao is often in danger in the western regions.
For example, when Emperor Han Ming died, when the Han Dynasty was in mourning, the Yan State of the Western Regions besieged the Western Regions to protect Mu Chen, and Mu Chen was killed. Countries such as Qiuci and Gu Mo often attacked Shule who surrendered to the Han Dynasty. In isolation, Ban Chao and King Shule fought with each other for more than a year.
Later, Ban Chao led more than 10,000 soldiers in a small country that surrendered to the Han Dynasty. At first, Gu Mo, which was relatively weak, was destroyed and Qiuci was isolated. Later, they defeated shache, Yueshi and other countries, and Qiuci, Gu Mo, Wensu and other countries also surrendered to the Han Dynasty. In 94 AD, Ban Chao defeated Yan Qi and other three countries that killed lord protector and Mu Chen in the Han Dynasty.
At this point, more than 50 countries in the Western Regions were unified with the Han Dynasty, and Ban Chao finally realized his ideal of making contributions in a foreign country.
It can be said that without Ban Chao's excellent military ability and political and diplomatic ability, it would be difficult for the Eastern Han Dynasty to successfully regain control of the western regions in a short time.
After successfully controlling the situation in the western regions, Ban Chao began to look further west.
At that time, the silk trade of the Han Dynasty continued to circulate westward through the interest countries in Iran, but the situation west of the interest countries was not clear to the Han Dynasty. So Ban Chao sent his subordinate Gan Ying to Daqin (Rome).
Gan Ying and his party traveled across mountains and rivers to Tiaozhi (present-day Syrian region) to go to Rome by boat, but they heard rumors that people who didn't want to see the Han Dynasty trading with Rome had a trip, saying that it was a long and dangerous journey to Rome, and Gan Ying finally gave up.
Why didn't the person who spread this rumor want to trade with Rome in the Han Dynasty? Probably for their own economic interests. There is no direct trade route between the Han Dynasty and Rome, and the goods of both sides need to be transferred through solidarity, so that solidarity can benefit from it. If the Han Dynasty directly traded with Rome, it would be difficult for "middlemen" to "earn the difference".
Although Ban Chao was born in a literary family, he didn't want to write notes and join the army all his life. During the period of 3 1 year in the Western Regions, he consolidated Lian Heng with extraordinary political, diplomatic and military talents, and "controlled foreign countries with foreign countries", divided, disintegrated and expelled the Xiongnu forces, which not only safeguarded the security of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but also strengthened the ties with countries in the Western Regions, and made outstanding contributions to the return of the Western Regions to the Central Plains.
Without Ban Chao, it would be more difficult and tortuous for the Eastern Han Dynasty to successfully control the Western Regions.
What do you think of this?
For most people, the west may be a familiar and unfamiliar place. I am familiar with it because textbooks often mention the bloody BMW that sent missions to the Western Regions and Dawan in Zhang Qian, and Ban Chao's missions to the Western Regions mentioned in this article; Recently, the Qing Dynasty put down the rebellion in Junggar and recovered Xinjiang from the left. The Belt and Road Initiative has been very popular in recent years.
Strangeness is because these are just isolated fragments in history, lacking an introduction to connect these isolated histories. Recently, @ Pioneer Reading Club's "All the way west: 3000 years of things" is a good introduction, which just connects the ancient and modern history of the western regions.
This book describes the civilization and history of the East and the West for thousands of years by the author's on-the-spot investigation, and describes the past lives of the Western Regions in an all-round and three-dimensional way from the aspects of political power struggle, economic exchange of needed goods, collision and integration of cultural customs and so on.
The book is rich in historical materials and concise in words, which is a rare and excellent popular reading for understanding the history of the western regions and the globalization of the world.
If the Belt and Road links the geography of the East and the West and plays a leading role in the communication between China and Central Asia, West Asia and Europe, then this book plays an equally leading role in the culture and history of the East and the West.
All real history is contemporary history. Only by linking history with modern society can we better learn from history, gains and losses.
References:
The book of the later Han dynasty,
Purple tongzhi sword,
History of Hanshu Oriental View,
Post-Han dynasty,
All the way west: 3000 years from east to west.