The Book of Han and the Biography of the Western Regions records some of Ban Gu's views on Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty on the Western Regions, and writes
"Isolated from Han, far away from the tao, it is not beneficial to gain, and it is not to be harmed to abandon it... Although The Order of Dayu Xi Rong, Zhou Gongzhi let Bai Yan, Taizong Zhi walked the horse, righteousness and righteousness, why Shangzi! ”
From this record, it can be seen that Ban Gu was actually opposed to what Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty held through the Western Regions
In Ban Gu's view, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's slight western region was actually a waste of resources.
As mentioned above
"Abandon it and do not harm"
Moreover, Emperor Wu of Han also paid a lot of manpower, material and financial resources in order to pass through the Western Regions.
However, in modern times, this view of Bangu is wrong, but as a local person at that time, it was indeed a thankless thing to go through the Western Regions
And This view of Bangu is nothing more than a comment made by the limitations of history.
Of course, it was not only Ban Gu who thought so, but had been criticized since Emperor Wudi of Han decided to go through the Western Regions, and since there were so many voices of opposition, it showed that Emperor Wudi of Han's approach did not seem desirable at the time.
First of all the Han Dynasty period has been
"Deposing the Hundred Schools of Confucianism"
finish
Therefore, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's practice of skimming the Western Regions was inconsistent with Confucian thought.
Confucianism has always been exquisite
"The king acts benevolently and is invincible to the world"
However, emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's original purpose of skimming the Western Regions was to do so
"Broken Hun Right Arm"
。
Such an approach would be contrary to confucian ideas of benevolent government
Therefore, it is reasonable to be criticized, but now it seems that Emperor Wu of Han's strategy of skimming the Western Regions is definitely a very high-opinioned decision.
If Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had not opened the Silk Road through the Western Regions, it is unknown whether the Central Plains and the Western Regions, or even China's exchanges with foreign countries, would have been so close.
Not only did it benefit greatly culturally, but it also laid the foundation for the Han Dynasty to become the hegemon of East Asia
If Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had not passed through the Western Regions, perhaps the status of the Han Dynasty in Chinese history would not have been equal to that of the Qin Dynasty.
However, on the way through the Western Regions, Emperor Wudi of Han also encountered many difficulties, the most important thing was financial pressure, but Emperor Wudi of Han was very persistent about the Western Regions, and implemented a series of measures to finally achieve the goal of passing through the Western Regions.
First, one of the policies of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was fiscal reform
In order to solve the financial problem, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty first thought of reforming the finances
Of course, the financial reforms carried out by Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty were not all through the Western Regions, and there were also some reasons for the Xiongnu.
In fact, not only the financial reform was forced by the Xiongnu, but even a large part of the western region was also the cause of the Xiongnu, which shows that the existence of the Xiongnu was a very important driving force for the Han Dynasty.
1. The direct reason why Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty passed through the Western Regions was because of the repeated invasions of the Xiongnu
In addition to the great unification of the Qin Dynasty in the early days of the establishment of the Han Dynasty, it also inherited the biggest hidden danger of the Qin Dynasty, that is, the Xiongnu
During the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu were very arrogant, repeatedly violating the Han Dynasty, and even once hit the vicinity of Chang'an.
Compare the historical records
"The Xiongnu were rebellious, trespassed, committed crimes against China, killed the lieutenants of Dai County, County, and Shuofang, and were very rebellious and unscrupulous, and it was advisable for Zhu Zhu to ask for a long time."
Therefore, the top priority of the Han Dynasty was to eliminate the threat of the Xiongnu, and for this reason Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty proposed it
At the same time, Zhang Qian was sent on an envoy to the Western Regions.
However, in the process, the goal of Emperor Wudi of han changed, from the beginning of "breaking the right arm of the Xiongnu" to "guangdi wanli, heavy nine translations, special customs, and weide all over the world".
Therefore, it was the repeated invasions of the Xiongnu that led to the idea that Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty had the idea of going through the western regions, and it was also because of the invasion of the Xiongnu that it led to later financial reforms.
After all, the military supplies needed to fight the Xiongnu were a very large expenditure, and Zhang Qian's envoy to the Western Regions also needed sufficient financial support.
Faced with such a dilemma, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty proposed fiscal reforms
2. Brief analysis of the specific implementation measures for the financial reform of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
After the financial crisis appeared, both the crusade against the Xiongnu and the western region were affected
On the one hand, the Huns, who had just extinguished their arrogance but refused to surrender.
On the other hand, the western states at both ends of the first rat, no matter which side is a potential threat to the Han Dynasty becoming the hegemon.
Therefore, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty understood very well that the war against the Xiongnu must be cut down and rooted, and the economic strategy for the Western Regions must not be stagnated, so he had to reform the finances of the Han Dynasty and fill the rear forces for the war in the front
The main direction of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty's fiscal reform was to collect social wealth under the control of the central government
as a reserve resource for war.
It is recorded in the Treatise on Salt and Iron
"The first emperor mourned the long-term suffering of the border people, and the suffering was also gained by the prisoners, so the obstacle was repaired... The use of the side is insufficient, so the salt and iron are set up, and the wine is set up, and the place is lost, and the goods are long-term, so as to help the side fee. ”
From the above records, it can be seen that the collection of social wealth implemented by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is actually a monopoly of the income of some industries
For example, the salt industry, iron and wine industry, etc.
Many of these industries were profiteering industries, and many of them were necessities of life, so the financial revenue from monopolizing these industries was very impressive, and the money could be used as funds to support the crusade against the Xiongnu and the Western Regions.
Moreover, this financial reform of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very successful
These social wealth accounts for an increasing proportion of the total fiscal revenue.
In a short period of time, the pressure on government finances was quickly solved, compared with the historical records
"One year old in Taicang, Ganquan Warehouse full, side remnants, all things lost, five million horses, the people do not benefit the rich and the world uses forgiveness."
Second, the second policy of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was the strategic plan for the reclamation of the border areas
In terms of finances, Emperor Wu of han made a wise and divine decision, and in the strategic direction of the western region, he also showed the emperor's far-sighted and far-sighted momentum.
Although the government's fiscal revenue has been greatly improved, it is far from quenching the thirst of the near future, and the army that passes through the western region still needs a large amount of military supplies.
So Emperor Wudi of Han thought of a good way to solve this problem, that is, to implement the strategy of reclamation and reclamation.
The so-called reclamation of the shubian can be regarded as two major strategic events, one is the reclamation and the other is the shubian.
1. A brief analysis of the content of the Tun reclamation plan of emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
The so-called reclamation means that the army marches while reclaiming the wasteland
The reclaimed wasteland can be used as a warehouse for military reserves.
Moreover, this can also greatly reduce the expenditure and input of military supplies, and achieving self-sufficiency, although unrealistic, can greatly alleviate the financial pressure of the Han Dynasty.
The western region road is mostly desert, and the terrain is also the Loess Plateau, so to speak
"There is much food in the road, and the soldiers do not suffer from war, but suffer from hunger"
It can be seen that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's strategy of reclamation and reclamation of the border really saw the crux of the problem and solved this problem very effectively.
The wasteland reclaimed under the border of Tunken during the Han Dynasty is still serving the people to this day, according to the record of this route
"Let the world be transformed into a millet, starting from the yellow and losing the county of the sea, and transferring to the North River."
That is today's Shandong.
Although the policy of reclamation has the conditions for implementation, after all, the western region must continue to advance, and the army cannot reclaim wasteland and plant crops here forever.
Then the drawbacks of tun reclamation will also be exposed
It's just that Emperor Wudi of Han also thought of a solution, that is, to carry out immigration and reclamation
"The poor people are 700,000 yuan in the New Qin Central West of Guan and south of Chongshuo Fang" that is to say, some poor people were immigrated to the journey through the western region and let them also join the ranks of Tun reclamation.
This will not only ensure the smooth implementation of the reclamation, but also ensure that the progress of the army through the western region will not be affected
2. A brief analysis of the content of the Shubian plan of emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's Tunken Shubian strategy
With the implementation of fiscal reforms and the system of reclamation, the Han army advanced steadily through the western region, and the Han army also occupied the high ground in the war with the Xiongnu.
However, Emperor Wu of han was well aware of the principle that arrogant soldiers would be defeated, so he was very cautious when marching and fighting, which is the so-called border policy, that is, continuous attacking and stopping, and absolutely not bubbling forward.
One of the focal points of the Western Regions was actually the Xiongnu
After all, compared with the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu had a greater influence on the Western Regions, so if Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty wanted to pass through the Western Regions, he would inevitably have to conquer the Xiongnu first.
Therefore, in the strategic policy of conquering the Xiongnu, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty not only wanted to conquer the Xiongnu by force, but also wanted to conquer the Xiongnu in all aspects such as economy and politics.
Therefore, after Wei Qing, Huo Zhiyi and other generals defeated the Xiongnu by force, Emperor Wu of Han began psychological warfare against the Xiongnu.
III. What significance did Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty mean to China's history through the Western Regions?
It can be seen that Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty paid a lot in order to conquer the Xiongnu in order to pass through the western region, and not only used a lot of finances.
A large number of manpower was also used, and it was precisely because of the labor of the people and the loss of money that many people such as Ban Gu did not agree with and criticize Emperor Wu of Han.
However, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty made a very wise decision from a long-term perspective through the western region, first of all, to solve the Xiongnu problem that had plagued the dynasty for a long time, secondly, to achieve cultural exchanges, and most importantly, to open the Silk Road.
The importance of the Silk Roads is self-evident, and not only ancient societies but also modern societies have always enjoyed the benefits of the Silk Roads.
In addition, the strategic policy of reclamation and reclamation initiated by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the policy of immigration and reclamation provided great help to China's development later.
All in all, the policy of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty through the Western Regions did have some fuss in the society at that time, did a lot of useless work, and also brought great pressure and difficulties to the country.
However, the decision of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to go through the Western Regions was a decision that would benefit the millennium
Therefore, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has a feeling of coolness after the former people planted trees in the western region,
After the efforts of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, China became the hegemonic state of East Asia.
The foundation of a great power was laid, and the western regions carried out by subsequent dynasties and dynasties were inspired and influenced by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
bibliography:
[1] Notes on the Salt and Iron Treatise, Ma Feibai Zhonghua Bookstore
[2] History of China's Tax System, Huang Tianhua, East China Normal University Press
[3] "Han Dynasty Nongtun Theory" Zhu Heping Agricultural Archaeology
[4] Quicksand Falling Jane, Kingdom Wei Zhonghua Bookstore