Killing and wounding tens of thousands of people, Emperor Wu of Han attacked two provinces in the face of infamy, but now found that he was really wise
In the third year of Yuan Shuo (126 BC), Zhang Qian, a great explorer who had been stranded with the Xiongnu for 13 years, finally returned to the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of Han, who was so talented and ambitious, also personally received this ragged iron man.
Through Zhang Qian's words, Emperor Wu of Han learned that he had not fulfilled his original plan to contact the Great Moon Clan and attack the Xiongnu. However, Zhang Qian brought two exciting news to Emperor Wu of Han.
First, to the west of the Hexi Corridor, there are numerous Chinese countries that have never been heard of before.
Secondly, in the southwest of China, there is a big country called body poison. When Zhang Qian visited Bactria, he found bamboo sticks from Shu land. He then asked local merchants where the goods came from. The other person replied, "But from the country of poisoning."
Therefore, Zhang Qian speculated that starting from Shudi to the southwest, he would definitely be able to find a way to the body poison. And the country that Zhang Qian is talking about is the neighboring country we know as India.
When Emperor Wudi of Han heard that there was such a vast world in the western part of China, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. So he dispatched his troops and became famous from two directions. To the west, open the road to the western region; to the south, open the road to the poison. In order to achieve this goal, Emperor Wu of Han launched two large-scale wars.
The Battle of Dawan - the opening up of Xinjiang
The first is the two Battles of Dawan. Dawan was an ancient country in Central Asia, located in the Fergana Basin of present-day Uzbekistan. The country has a strange horse - a sweat and blood horse that can travel thousands of miles a day. In the eyes of Emperor Wu of Han, the sweat and blood horse is the legendary Pegasus. As long as you get the Pegasus, you can surpass the Huns in the horse breed and defeat them.
Therefore, Emperor Wu of Han sent envoys with a pegasus cast in gold in exchange for Dawan's sweat and blood horses. However, the King of Dawan believed that the Sweat and Blood Horse was a national treasure of Dawan and did not sell it, let alone send it. Seeing that his mission could not be accomplished, the envoy angrily smashed the golden horse in front of the king of Dawan. And the even more angry King Dawan brazenly killed the Han envoy.
Emperor Wu of Han was furious at Dawan's ignorance of lifting up, so he ordered his brother-in-law, Li Guangli, to be a general of the Second Division, and launched a large-scale crusade against Dawan. At that time, Dawan was far away from the Han Dynasty, separated by 36 countries in the western region and the towering Pamir Plateau. In ancient times, when transportation conditions were extremely poor, it was quite difficult to conquer Dawan.
In terms of military strength, Dawan was very weak and was not an opponent of the Han army at all. However, the harsh natural environment along the way and the lack of cooperation with the countries in the western region made tens of thousands of Han troops fall into hunger and cold, and it was difficult to move. At that time, the western states were still under the control of the Xiongnu and had always been enemies of the Han Dynasty. When Han envoys passed through their countries, they were often killed or humiliated by them. When Li Guangli's Han army passed by, they all closed the city gates and refused to provide food. At the end of the strong crossbow, it was difficult to penetrate Lu Artemisia, and the long journey exhausted the sharpness of the Han army, and finally the gutter overturned and was defeated by Dawan.
Receiving news of Li Guangli's defeat, Emperor Wu of Han severely rebuked his brother-in-law for his incompetence and at the same time ordered that no one should be allowed to withdraw to Yumen pass, otherwise he would be sentenced to death. Subsequently, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty mobilized the whole country, gathered a more powerful army, and mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to provide them with weight.
Many courtiers were puzzled by Emperor Wu of Han's mobilization order, and some corrupt Confucians, such as Deng Guang and others, even said: "It is a waste to go to war with Dawan for a few horses!" However, Emperor Wu of Han said angrily: "If Dawan is not destroyed, the countries in the Western Regions will look down on the Han Dynasty even more; if Dawan is not destroyed, the envoys of the Han Dynasty will be bullied and insulted by small countries such as Luntai and Wusun, and ridiculed by foreign countries!" ”
It turned out that Emperor Wu of han's crusade against Dawan was not for a few horses, but actually for the purpose of conquering the entire western region. The crusade against Dawan was nothing more than his false plan to cut down the Han Dynasty, and the ultimate purpose was to use this expeditionary army to spread the power of the Han Dynasty, so that the countries in the Western Regions did not dare to despise the Han Dynasty.
In this way, the heavily armed and mighty 60,000 Han army crossed the entire Western Regions, and this time, the countries of the Western Regions no longer dared to despise the Han Army, and opened the city gates one after another and offered grain. The Luntai state, which refused to give up grain, was destroyed by Li Guangli in a battle, and everyone from the king down to the people was killed. Luntai City, which turned into white land, also became the base of the Han Dynasty through the western region.
In the end, Li Guangli successfully attacked the Kingdom of Dawan and returned to the Han Dynasty with thousands of good horses. In the two battles of Dawan, at least 50,000 to 60,000 people were killed. But through this battle, the Han Dynasty successfully established its prestige in the western regions. The countries of the Western Regions no longer dared to despise the Han Dynasty, and turned their backs on the Xiongnu and surrendered to the han Dynasty's wing. During the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, the Han Dynasty established the Western Regions Capital Protectorate in the Western Regions, and since then Xinjiang has been officially incorporated into the Territory of China.
Battle of Southwest Yi - opening up Yunnan
At the same time as opening up the western region, the Han army also marched southwest under the orders of Emperor Wu of Han, trying to open up a road to the poison. First of all, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty sent more than ten teams of envoys in a row to penetrate deep into the subtropical forest with a hot climate and a plague epidemic. Eventually, explorers such as Wang Ranzi, Bai Shichang, and Lü Yue found a legendary ancient country near today's Kunming, the Kingdom of Dian.
According to legend, the Kingdom of Dian was founded by the Chu general Zhuang Ji . In that year, Zhuang Ji led tens of thousands of Chu troops in the name of King Wei of Chu and occupied hundreds of miles of land around Dianchi Lake. However, the Qin army soon captured Qianzhong Commandery and cut off Zhuang's contact with the Chu state. Therefore, Zhuang Jian established the country on the spot for the dian kingdom. By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the State of Dian had become a large country with a radius of thousands of miles.
Hearing that the Han envoy was going to poison the country, the King of Dian immediately became wary, so he closed the Kunming Road and did not allow the Han envoy to continue westward. Not only that, but the King of Dian also arrogantly asked the Han envoys, "Who is han bigger than me?" And this question was also asked by Chinese New Year's Eve Langguo.
13 years later, the Dian kingdom, which did not know how to lift and was "arrogant in the night lang", soon tasted the taste of the blade. At that time, Emperor Wu of Han had already conquered the states of South Vietnam, Jilan, Qiongjun, and Yelang. At the same time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also established the counties of Muke, Yuewei, Shenli, and Wudu in the homeland of these countries.
With the threat of victory, Emperor Wu of Han ordered the King of Dian to enter the dynasty immediately. The King of Dian not only did not listen, but also joined forces with Laoshen and Jingmo to attack the border counties of the Han Dynasty. In 109 BC, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty sent tens of thousands of troops deep into Dianchi Lake, destroyed Laoshen and Jingmo, and attacked the capital of the State of Dian. In desperation, the entire State of Yunnan surrendered. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established Yizhou Commandery in the homeland of the State of Yunnan, and Yunnan was officially incorporated into the territory of China.
The significance of Xinjiang and Yunnan is overlooked
It can be said that the reason why China today can have two large provinces, Xinjiang and Yunnan, is that the conquest of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty is particularly crucial. Geographically, both Xinjiang and Yunnan have brought huge benefits to China.
First of all, Xinjiang is connected to Central Asia, the center of Eurasia. Purely geographically, Xinjiang is far from the traditional Chinese region and is part of greater Central Asia. Unlike barren Central Asia, Xinjiang's abundant water and grasses are suitable for farming and animal husbandry, so it can become a bridgehead for the Central Plains regime to march west of the Pamir Plateau and north of the desert.
To the north, Xinjiang can have direct access to Central Asia and land to Europe, which can bring huge national defense and military benefits. At the same time, as long as Xinjiang is controlled, it can overlook the desert north and even Siberia, so that the enemy in the north will be attacked by the enemy in the belly and back, and dare not act rashly. To the southwest, Xinjiang can also assist in the defense of Tibet and condescend to threaten India. Today, in China's Belt and Road policy, Xinjiang is the only way.
Second, from the geographical point of view of Yunnan. Like Xinjiang, Yunnan was isolated from the traditional Chinese region for a long time and was regarded as a barbarian land. In terms of ethnic composition and customs, there are similarities with the Southeast Asian countries. In the history books of Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and other countries, they all believe that they were born in Yunnan and are descendants of the countries of Yunnan, Ailao and Nanzhao.
From the perspective of national defense, Yunnan is not only the gateway of China's southwest border defense, but also the bridge for China to go south and west, located in the heart between China and "Sanya", which shoulders major development to become a central area between China's hinterland and Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia (referred to as "Sanya"), to build an international metropolis, and to play the central responsibility and heart responsibility of the regional "heart" function. Yunnan plays a pivotal role in China's relations with Southeast Asian and South Asian countries. In the construction of the Belt and Road, Yunnan's position is equally important.
Thus, Xinjiang and Yunnan are like two nails, fiercely embedded in Central, South and Southeast Asia, becoming the bridgehead and the first line of defense for China to enter these places, with important military and economic interests.
It can be seen from this that Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty's policy of moving westward and southward was far-sighted and clever, and even after more than 2,000 years, we still benefit from his decision-making. Therefore, Emperor Wu of Han, however, suffered too many casualties and was saddled with the insult of poor soldiers. However, if a country wants to have long-term development, how can it not sacrifice? Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is "guilty of the present, meritorious in the thousand autumns". With the passage of time, the status of Emperor Wu of Han will be further improved.