In 121 BC, the battle between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu led directly to the birth of the Silk Road. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty pushed the boundary of the Han Dynasty west from today's Lanzhou line to the wheel platform in Xinjiang, and he used the power of the Pegasus to turn the "weak Han" into a "strong Han", and also made the Silk Road, a road that was stepped out by war horses, a broad avenue for the exchange of civilizations between the East and the West.
Emperor Wu of Han had achieved great feats in his lifetime, but in that era, it was the horse that stood with his martial arts. Why a horse? Only because horses were the key to victory in the wars of those days, like the tanks in our land wars today.
In May 2015, Turkmenistan presented a sweat horse to China. This is the third time since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Turkey that the Turkish side has presented the sweat and blood horse to the Chinese side as a national gift. This is not only a continuation of historical affection, but also helps to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples and continue to develop bilateral relations in a friendly and equal manner. Why is it called "historical love"? This is because more than 2,000 years ago, sweat horses have been Chinese attention and introduced.
The Sweat Horse is a world-renowned horse breed, the pride and glory of the Turkmen nation, and is painted in the center of the national emblem of Turkmenistan as a symbol of the country. At the same time, the sweat horse has long been loved by the Chinese people and has a deep Chinese love. In the Western Han Dynasty history book "History", the figure of a sweat-blooded horse appears, saying that "Dawan is a good horse, and the horse sweats and blood". Emperor Wu of Han praised it as a "heavenly horse", and Emperor Taizong of Tang Li Shimin once made the Khan Blood Horse a "Thousand Mile Horse". In the Yuan Dynasty, the sweat and blood horse became the royal driver of Genghis Khan, and made a great contribution to the Mongol army to gallop on the battlefield.
During the Battle of Baideng in the early Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gaozu, led an army of 300,000 people to be trapped by the Xiongnu cavalry, and the fierce and brave Xiongnu cavalry left a deep impression on Han Gaozu. At that time, the legendary sweat and blood BMW was an important mount for the Hun cavalry. In the early Han Dynasty, in order to defend against the Xiongnu, many military horses were raised, and civilian horses were also encouraged to be raised in preparation for wartime requisition.
Horses can improve the combat effectiveness of the troops, especially sweat and blood BMW is good in size, empathy, fast, good endurance, suitable for long-distance marching, very suitable for use as a military horse. Later, because the Han Dynasty cavalry introduced sweat and blood horses, there was even such a story: in the battle between the Han army and the foreign army, a unit was all formed by sweat and blood, and the enemy was numerous and impressive. The reason is that the enemy uses a short Mongolian horse, and seeing that the sweat and blood horse is tall, thin, and erect, it is thought to be a strange animal, and it retreats without fighting.
Emperor Wu of Han fought a lifelong battle and also found a horse for a lifetime. It was with the "power of the Pegasus" that he opened up the Western Regions and opened up the Silk Road.
People today don't know what kind of mood Emperor Wudi felt when he first saw "Tianma", but they know that the Xiongnu nation had always made the Han Dynasty people very upset before Emperor Wudi of Han.
Emperor Wu of Han became emperor at the age of 16 and was the seventh emperor of the Western Han Dynasty. The history books say that he was born brilliant, wise and insightful, and free to retreat. And has an amazing memory, a particularly strong desire for knowledge, especially love to read the ancient sages and emperors in the great deeds, never forget. In addition to these, he was not yet an angry master, and when he saw that the Han Dynasty sent money and women to the Huns to maintain the so-called peace, it was indeed not a way, and he thought of talking to the Huns with his fists.
At that time, the "Han Boundary" westward of the Han Dynasty was on the line of Lanzhou. The Han Dynasty pushed a "pawn" past, walking slowly, not to mention, it is clear that it cannot solve the problem. Instead, it was the "pawn" of the Xiongnu who crossed the river as a "big cart". In order to win this game of chess with the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions in the second year of Jianyuan (139 BC) to give his opponent a two-sided attack, but Zhang Qian was captured by the Xiongnu. Although Emperor Wu of Han did not know about this at the time, he knew that his opponent Xiongnu would not give him much time to prepare for war.
In the fourth year of jianyuan (137 BC), when Emperor Wu of Han first went to Yong County (present-day Fengxiang County, Shaanxi) to perform suburban sacrifices, Xida Longxi (present-day Longxian County, Shaanxi), Kongtong Mountain (present-day Pingliang Kuntong Mountain) south of Beideng Guyuan, and Xingganquan (in present-day Chunhua County, Shaanxi), which was the first northern tour of Emperor Wudi of Han to prepare time for the war against the Xiongnu.
In 133 BC, the war between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu officially broke out. Emperor Wu of Han took Wang Hui's advice and sent five generals Li Guang, Gongsun He, Wang Hui, Li Xi, and Han Anguo to lead 300,000 Han troops to ambush near Mayi. He also sent Nie Yi out to trade with the Xiongnu and lure the enemy. The Xiongnu warlords, finding out that this was a ploy to lure the troops, immediately led the troops to retreat. The 300,000 troops of the Han Dynasty returned without success. Since then, "the Xiongnu have been absolutely peaceful and pro-kin, attacked the road plug, and often stolen from the Han side, and there are countless."
In 127 BC, the Xiongnu nobles invaded Shanggu (Huailai County, Hebei) and Yuyang with 20,000 horses. Emperor Wu of han adopted the strategy of attacking the west from the east, sending the young general Wei Qing to lead 30,000 horses out of Yunzhong (Inner Mongolia Tokto County) and west to Longxi (eastern Gansu), to recover the Hetao region and sweep away the xiongnu military strongholds. Wei Qing took a roundabout attack method, encircled from the rear road, and drove away the Xiongnu King Lou Fu and the White Sheep King in one fell swoop, relieving the threat of Chang'an. At the same time, Shuofang City was built, and the fortress built by Qin Shi Mengtian was repaired, because the river was solid. It also relocated the residents of the interior to carry out animal husbandry, reclamation, and border reclamation, so that the population of Ningxia at that time increased greatly, and the crown and cover were all over the road.
In 124 BC, Wei Qing led his cavalry to drive away the Xiongnu King's Right Sage, captured more than 10 Xiongnu princes, and returned triumphantly. The following year, in the battle with the Xiongnu, an 18-year-old general emerged, who was Wei Qing's nephew Huo Quyi, who led 800 cavalry to break into the Xiongnu camp for hundreds of miles and won a great victory.
In 121 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty launched the Battle of Hexi and sent Huo to Longxi, crossed the Yanzhi Mountain (Rouge Mountain southeast of Shandan County, Gansu) and marched westward, into the Xiongnu territory for more than a thousand miles, and won a great victory. In the summer of the same year, Huo went on a second expedition to the west, crossed The Yanze (Juyanhai, Inner Mongolia), attacked the Qilian Mountains, broke the Xiongnu army, and the Hun Evil King led 40,000 people to surrender to the Han. After this battle, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty placed the four counties of Wuwei, Jiuquan, Zhangye and Dunhuang here, which were historically called "Four Counties of Hexi". Since then, the road to opening up the western region has been opened.
In 119 BC, Emperor Wu of han launched the longest large-scale annihilation expedition in ancient Chinese history, the Battle of Mobei, and he ordered Wei Qing and Huo Quyi to each lead 50,000 cavalry to break through the Xiongnu, who went deep for more than 2,000 miles and beheaded more than 70,000 enemies until they reached Mount Wolf Juxu (about the vicinity of present-day Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia). A fatal blow was dealt to the Xiongnu, and a situation of "the Xiongnu are far away and there is no royal court in the south of the desert". Since then, the Xiongnu have migrated north and west, and began to decline.
In these wars, horses are a must, and they have also made great contributions to the victory of the war. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty loved horses to find horses and love horses in order to further explore distant places. As he did in the "West Pole Heavenly Horse Song": "The Heavenly Horse Wanders from the West Pole and returns to virtue through thousands of miles." Chengling Wei obstructed foreign countries, waded into quicksand and four yi obedience. ”
In 133 BC, "Wusun envoys offered horses, and wished to receive Princess Shanghan as a Kundi." The Son of Heaven asked the courtiers to agree. This should be the earliest account in the historical records of Wusun Guo's offering horses to the Han Chamber and proposing marriage. At that time, Zhang Qian, who was on the way to the Western Regions for the first time, was captured by the Xiongnu and had not yet returned to the Central Plains. The Han Dynasty agreed to "exchange" the princess for a horse, but people should also know that Emperor Wu of Han, who had beaten off the Xiongnu, had already raised his own horses in Gansu and Ningxia.
In 112 BC, Emperor Wu of Han led tens of thousands of retinues to climb the Kuntong Mountains, left Xiaoguan in the north, reached Anding County, and then went north into the Hetao region (then known as "New Qinzhong", a vast area north of the Great Wall around the Yin Mountains in Inner Mongolia). Emperor Wu of Han saw that there was "no pavilion in this area" (a fortress fortress used for ancient defense) and the defense was lax, so he was furious and ordered the killing of the Northern Commandery Taishou and his subordinate officials. This is killing chickens to show monkeys. In order to make up for the shortage of military horses, he also ordered the development of horse breeding in border counties. The specific method is that the mare is provided by the government for breeding and returned after three years. Whether these horses are Heavenly Horses from the Western Regions or not, we have no way of knowing, but we can clearly see that emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty at this time was already raising horses and operating border lands.
In 114 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty again divided Anding County from Beidi County. Nineteen counties were established in Ningxia, namely Fuping County in present-day Wuxi, Lingwu County in present-day Qinggangbao, Qingtongxia, Lingzhou County in present-day Wuzhongshi, Lingzhou County in the north of present-day Wuzhong, Lian County in present-day Helan Nuanquan, and Xiaoyan County in present-day Yanchi County. In Gaoping, There are 21 counties in charge of 21 counties, of which there are 7 counties in Ningxia. That is, Gaoping County in present-day Guyuan, Chaona County in the ancient city of Pengyang, Jingyang County on the north bank of Pingliang XijingShui, Wuzhi County under the Liupan Mountains in Guyuan, Sanluan County in the south of Tongxin, Qiujuan County in present-day Zhongning Ancient City and Countryside, and Sanshui County in Hongchengshui in Maguan under Tongxin. In this way, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, on the basis of the Qin Dynasty system, added Anding County on the basis of Beidi County, and set up a total of twelve counties in the area of present-day Ningxia, and began the large-scale development of The Frontier in ancient Ningxia.
In 107 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered that the taxes of Gaoping and Chaona counties be exempted from the taxes of that year, and the middle road should be repaired (starting from the north of present-day Longxian County, Shaanxi Province, at the southern end, along the North River through Wenshui Town, Huozhaozhai Town, and the eastern part of Xinjichuan Town into the village of Xiaguan in Shenyuhe Township, Gansu Province, and then eastward through Donghua Town to Forty Lipu in Pingliang, through Zhenyuan, Xincheng, Ningxia Pengyang County, Baiyang Town and Gucheng Town, and beyond Xiaoguan to Guyuan Yuanzhou District). The opening of Huizhong Road is the first milestone in the history of Guyuan, an opportunity for large-scale development of Guyuan, and has played a positive role in promoting the urban construction of Guyuan, the establishment of political and economic status, and the prosperity of culture. For more than two thousand years, this road has been the traffic avenue from Guanzhong to Guyuan and even the northwest, which attracted the attention of the world at that time. At that time, the imperial court sang and danced to celebrate, so Emperor Wudi of Han led his courtiers back to the Middle Way to hunt, and left Xiaoguan in the north to patrol the border defenses, and at the same time, exempted Gaoping and Chaona from the rent of that year.
At that time, the natural geographical environment composed of the Liupan Mountains, the Helan Mountains, the Qingshui River and the Yellow River was the best area for agriculture and animal husbandry, which was both a natural granary and the best nomadic area for raising military horses. Emperor Wu of han was certainly aware of the importance of this place: if it is gained, the country will be rich and the army will be strengthened; if it is lost, it will be fertile to the Xiongnu. At this time, the northern Han Dynasty went from Shuofang to Lingju (Yongdeng, Gansu) in the west, and strengthened the defense with 600,000 officials. Inside and outside the Great Wall, "horses and cattle indulge, and livestock accumulate wild", which has created extremely favorable conditions for economic and cultural development and for the country to be more unified.
By this time, Zhang Qian had already returned to the Han Dynasty, and for the second time, he sent an envoy to the Western Regions, arrived at the State of Wusun, met Kun Mo (king) of Wusun, and persuaded him to join the Han Dynasty in dealing with the Xiongnu. Wusun Kunmo had doubts, worried that the Han Chamber was far away and the Xiongnu were near, and did not immediately take the initiative to move closer to the Central Plains Han Chamber, but still accepted Zhang Qian's suggestion, sent dozens of people to Chang'an, and presented dozens of Wusun horses to Emperor Wu of Han.
Dozens of horses? Where can this satisfy the appetite of Emperor Wu of Han!
From the data at this time, the Han army's horses were already quite large, and it was good enough--at this time, Emperor Wudi of han had launched the Battle of Cheshi (108 BC) and the Battle of Loulan (108 BC), won the victory, and set up pavilion barriers in the area from Jiuquan to Yumenguan as a post station for supplying grain and grass and a defensive post. They all surrendered to Han, and their subjects belonged to Han.
However, this Emperor Wu of Han still launched his armed action to take the horse.
In 104 BC, when the Han Dynasty had passed through the western regions, an envoy of the Han Dynasty reported to Emperor Wu of Han that the state of Dawan had a BMW, and in the city of Yishi, refusing to show people, Emperor Wudi of Han cast gold into horses, and added thousands of gold, so that the heroes and carts were ordered to go to Dawan, and wished to yi yishi city BMW. The partial King Wan did not comply, provoked che Ling to be angry, insulted the King of Wan, crushed the golden horse, and returned with crumbs. After the negotiations failed, Emperor Wu of Han was furious and decided to start a war and take the horse by force. At this time, Wei Qing and Huo Fu were already dead, and Emperor Wu of Han ordered Li Guangli to lead tens of thousands of cavalry and march more than 4,000 kilometers to reach the border city of Yucheng in Dawan, but the initial battle was unfavorable, and he failed to capture the state of Dawan, so he had to retreat to Dunhuang, and when he returned, only one-tenth of the men and horses remained. Therefore, Li Guangli asked for a boycott. Unexpectedly, Emperor Wu was furious and sent envoys to stop him at the Jade Gate Pass, saying that if anyone dared to enter this pass, he would be beheaded immediately!
By the summer of 101 BC, Emperor Wu of Han was determined to increase his troops, but at this time, after years of war, he had no troops to adjust, so he ordered pardons for criminals throughout the country and let them join the army and participate in the war. Li Guangli brought 60,000 people, 30,000 horses, 100,000 cattle, and two soma experts to Dawanguo. After more than 40 days of bitter fighting, a coup d'état occurred in The State of Dawan, negotiated peace with the Han army, allowed the Han army to choose its own horses, and agreed that dawan would send two good horses to the Han Dynasty every year. The Han army selected dozens of good horses, 3,000 male and female horses below the middle age. After a long journey, when we reached The Jade Gate Pass, there were only more than 1,000 sweat and blood horses left.
At this time, the traffic in the western region was more smooth. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also set up lieutenants in Loulan, Quli (Tarim Hebei, Xinjiang), Luntai (east of Kuqa County, Xinjiang) and other places to manage Tuntian, which was the earliest military and administrative institution set up by the Han in the Western Regions, and officially incorporated the Western Regions into the Chinese territory.
In 2005, Turkmenistan gave the Chinese side a sweat horse also called the Akhal Tegin horse, and the total number of sweat and blood horses in the world is very rare: only about 3100 in total. The Akhal tejin horse has a thin neck, slender limbs, thin skin and fine hairs, light steps, great strength, speed and endurance. Sweat horse skin is delicate, because of the sweat flowing from the neck and neck when it runs, there is a red substance, bright red like blood, so it is called sweat blood horse. The sweat-blood BMW recorded a fastest speed of 4300 kilometers in 84 days. It was estimated that it only took 1 minute and 07 seconds for the sweaty BMW to run 1000 meters on flat ground.
At that time, Emperor Wu of Han spent such a big price to take Dawan's horse, was it because the han dynasty's horses did not run fast enough? Not good enough?
This is not clear, but what can be made clear is that the envoys of the Han Dynasty, including Zhang Qian, sent by Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty to the Sabbath, The Poison, the Death Cai, the Tiaozhi, and the Plough Xuan, and the Chinese emissaries were also greatly welcomed by the 20,000 people specially organized by the Sabbath. Since then, the Silk Road has been officially opened. It opened up trade routes connecting Chang'an in the east, the Roman Empire in the west, and as far as Alexandria in Egypt.
The pictures in this article are from the network, thanks to the original author!