In the long history of China, the Western Han Dynasty was undoubtedly an era of great ambitions. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che, was an ambitious emperor whose reign not only strengthened the centralization of power, but also promoted foreign expansion and cultural exchange. In 138 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions in order to break the blockade of Western traffic by the Xiongnu, and started a legendary journey of exploration. Zhang Qian's mission was not only to find allies, but more importantly to open a new path to the West for the Han Dynasty. During this period, the stories of Yelang and Dian also illustrate the Han Dynasty's external relations and internal local governance strategies.
In 135 B.C., Zhang Qian made his second mission to the Western Regions, passing through the Great Xia Kingdom, and unexpectedly saw the cloth produced in Shu. These cloths actually passed through an unknown trade route, bypassing the Xiongnu and reaching the distant Western Regions. After Zhang Qian returned to Chang'an, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was eager to explore this mysterious route. As a result, Wang Ranyu, Bai Shichang, Lü Yueren and others were sent to set off from Shu and try to reach the country of poison. They went through hardships and finally reached the Dian Kingdom, but they were unsuccessful due to Kunming's obstruction, but this process greatly aroused the interest and desire of Emperor Wu of Han.
In the exchanges between the Dian Kingdom and the Yelang Kingdom, the envoys of the Han Dynasty revealed the cognition and attitude of the two places towards the Han Dynasty. In his dialogue with the Han envoys, the King of Dian asked, "Which is greater, the Han Dynasty or my Dian Kingdom?" And when the Han envoys arrived in the country of Yelang, the Marquis of Yelang asked the same question. Due to their long geographical isolation, these small, marginal states held themselves in high esteem and did not know the true strength of the Han Dynasty. The envoys of the Han Dynasty reported this situation to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, so that the allusion of "Yelang arrogant" has been passed down to this day.
Subsequently, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty decided to personally resolve this "misunderstanding". He sent a large army and successfully conquered the kingdom of Yelang, which was incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty and established Qianwei County. The army of the Kingdom of Yelang was drafted to participate in the war against the State of South Vietnam. The rebellion and conquest of Yelang marked the Han Dynasty's complete control over the southwestern region.
In the process, Emperor Wu of Han strengthened the political and cultural integration of these frontier regions not only through military conquests, but also through the establishment of a system of counties and counties. From a small and arrogant state, Yelang gradually became an integral part of the Han Dynasty, and its geography, culture, and economy were all integrated into the vast system of the Han Dynasty.
With the eventual subordination of Yelang Kingdom to the Han Dynasty, the people of this region gradually felt the influence of the central power. The Yelang people began to enjoy a more stable life and broader communication opportunities. The policy of the Han Dynasty was not only to show national strength through force, but also to gradually integrate the originally isolated Yelang Kingdom into the larger Chinese civilization circle through cultural and economic exchanges. Although this change brought a lot of impact and challenges at first, it eventually achieved long-term peace and stability in the region.
The story of "Yelang's arrogance" is not only an anecdote, but also a deeper reflection of the complexity of the interaction between the central government and the border regions in the course of history. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's conquest of the southwest, although it had obvious military overtones, its more far-reaching significance was that it achieved the stability of the frontier regions and the expansion of central power through the combination of force and literature. This historical episode reminds us that the reunification of our country requires not only military and political means, but also cultural and economic integration and exchanges. Just as the water of a river eventually returns to the sea, the cultures and characteristics of various places eventually converge in the vast ocean of Chinese civilization, which together constitute the brilliant galaxy of the Chinese nation for 5,000 years.