The guardian of the Ban Chao Silk Road fulfilled his unrepentant promise with his life's work

After Zhang Qian "hollowed out" the Western Regions, the Han Dynasty continued to strengthen its control over the Western Regions until the establishment of the Western Regions Protectorate in 60 BC, marking the establishment of direct rule by the Han Dynasty over the Western Regions. In the last years of the Western Han Dynasty, The Hancheng Emperor Liu Xiao after the Han Yuan Emperor was infatuated with the Zhao sisters and ignored the government, causing the government to rot, Wang Mang usurped Han, Wang Mang failed to reform, social contradictions became more acute, peasant uprisings surged and gradually lost control of the western regions, and at the beginning of the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to busy calming the internal strife of the country.

In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Central Plains gradually stabilized, and the countries of the Western Regions could not bear the exploitation of the Xiongnu, and sent envoys to request the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu to imitate the previous dynasty and reset the capital. However, Liu Xiu's foundation in the Central Plains was not firm, and he was powerless to take care of him, so he did not agree. Since then, there have also been major changes within the Xiongnu, because of infighting, it was divided into two parts, the north and the south, and the southern Xiongnu were annexed to the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Eastern Han Dynasty placed the Southern Xiongnu in the area of present-day Hetao, Inner Mongolia, in an attempt to use it as a barrier against the Northern Xiongnu. But sometimes, the Southern Xiongnu also had rebellious tribesmen, and joined forces with the Northern Xiongnu to invade the Eastern Han Dynasty. After forty or fifty years in this way, the Eastern Han Dynasty gradually accumulated strength after recuperation, and when it came to Liu Zhuang, the Emperor of The Han Ming Dynasty, he had the strength to solve the Xiongnu problem and decided to reopen the Western Regions. This is a national grand strategy, and it is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make meritorious achievements. And the person who seized this opportunity and became famous for eternity is Ban Chao.

Ban Chao is the younger son of historian Ban Biao. Although he is ambitious and informal, he is filial and respectful, and he is very diligent at home, but he is not ashamed of this. Ban Chao is very eloquent, reads widely, and often reads "Ram Spring and Autumn". In the fifth year of Yongping (62), Ban Chao's brother Ban Gu was summoned to Beijing as a school secretary, and Ban Chao and his mother also moved to Luoyang. Ban Chao's family was poor and made a living by copying documents for the government. It is reasonable to say that born in such a family, Ban Chao should also be a person who dances ink. But unlike his father and brother, he is a man with the ambition of a hero. In the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Yongping of The Han Dynasty (62 AD), he and his mother followed their brother, who was an official, to Luoyang, because their family was poor and they often had to copy books for the government to supplement the family. Once, when he was bored with writing, he threw away his pen and said, "The eldest husband should go to the Western Regions like Fu Jiezi and Zhang Qian to make meritorious contributions and make a career in order to take the title of Marquis, how can he walk around the pen every day?!" "This is where the idiom throws pen from Rong. Later, he went to see the person who met him, and the person who met him said, "Although your ancestors were ordinary people, you will be a marquis thousands of miles away in the future." Ban Chao asked him why, and the person who met him said, "Your forehead is like a swallow, your neck is like a tiger, and you fly to eat meat. Ban Chao strengthened his belief.

Cast pen from Rong

In the sixteenth year of Emperor Yongping of Hanming (73 AD), the opportunity came. At that time, the Han Dynasty government sent Dou Gu and others to lead the Four Roads Army to conquer the Northern Xiongnu, and Ban Chao followed Dou Gu on the expedition and served as the acting Sima ( 司馬). He fought bravely, and was ordered to lead an army to attack Yiwu (now Hami, Xinjiang), the throat of the Silk Road, and beheaded many enemy troops. Dou Gu was very appreciative of Ban Chao, and ordered him to take Guo Ke and 36 other people on an envoy to the countries of the Western Regions, mainly to connect with feelings, isolate the Northern Xiongnu, and open up the Han Dynasty's Silk Road to the Western Regions. Therefore, leading a small force of 36 people, Ban Chaoxiong set off with great enthusiasm. After a arduous trek, they crossed the wide Yanze (present-day Lop Nur in Xinjiang) to the Shanshan Kingdom (present-day Ruoqiang, Xinjiang). At that time, Shanshan was not only a transit point for the Han Dynasty to the northern and southern provinces of the Western Regions, but also a strategic location. By opening up Shanshan, the left could go on to win the Control of the Weaker Southern Provinces; the Right could threaten the Northern Provinces that fell to the Xiongnu. At this time, the Han Dynasty army had just broken the Xiongnu, so when Ban Chao and others came, king Shanshan, who was originally dependent on the Xiongnu, was very enthusiastic, often booing and greeting Ban Chao and others, caring for him, showing that he wanted to submit to the Han Dynasty. But within a few days, King Shanshan suddenly became distant. Ban Chao highlighted the sensitivity of the diplomat, and he guessed that it must be the Xiongnu emissaries who had come, so he called the Shanshan people who took care of them to inquire, and the waiter told the truth in a panic. Ban Chao gathered his companions together for a drink, and after the wine was hot, he said: "Brothers come to such a far place, they all want to make great contributions to seek wealth and glory, but the envoys of the Xiongnu have only been here for a few days, and the king of Shanshan has alienated us, if he binds us to the Xiongnu, what should we do?" Everyone replied in unison: "Now that we are in a dangerous situation, only you are the leader!" In the end, Ban Chao decided to take these people to attack the Xiongnu camp. At night, Ban Chao led his soldiers to attack the camp of the Xiongnu emissaries. He assigned 10 men to beat the drums, telling them to use the fire attack as a trumpet, and when they saw the fire, they beat the drums and shouted loudly, and the rest of them took their weapons and ambushed on both sides of the door. Ban Chao lit a fire with the wind, the fire took advantage of the wind, and in an instant the Xiongnu emissaries camp was a sea of fire, and the drummers desperately beat the drums and shouted, frightening the Xiongnu emissaries, thinking that there were many enemies, scattered and fled, and the soldiers who were ambushed on both sides attacked and killed. Ban Chao personally killed 3 people, others also killed more than 30 people, and the remaining Huns were all burned to death. After Ban Chao killed the Xiongnu envoys, he placed the human head in front of King Shanshan, who was speechless and had to submit to the Han Dynasty and send his son to the Han Dynasty as a proton. Ban Chao went back to report the victory to Dou Gu. Dou Gu was very happy and reported in detail to the imperial court the merits of Ban Chao. Emperor Hanming was certainly happier, appointing Ban Chao as Sima and sending him on another mission to the Western Regions.

Ban Chao's second mission was naturally more valued than the first, and Dou Gu wanted to increase his manpower, but Ban Chao believed that 36 elite soldiers were enough, and a large number of people was a burden. At that time, each country in the small western region had a small population and few soldiers, and many countries had hundreds or hundreds of troops, so Ban Chao was very confident. This time, Ban Chao came to a key stop, Khotan (now Hotan, Xinjiang). Khotan was a major power on the southern Silk Road, and by this time had already breached another large country on the southern route, Shache (now the Kashgar region of Xinjiang). Therefore, King Guangde was arrogant and very cold to Ban Chao. Khotanese wizards are even more unscrupulous. At that time, Khotan was superstitious about witchcraft, believing that wizards had a high status and were a bridge between the gods and the king. One day, the wizard said, "The gods are angry, why are you close to the Han Dynasty?" The Han envoy had a light black horse, so he quickly led this horse to sacrifice to the gods, otherwise he would be in trouble! "In ancient China, contributing sacrifices had the symbolic meaning of submission, so the attitude of the shaman was obvious, that is, he wanted Khotan to break with the Han Dynasty. Ban Chao was calm, and he promised to sacrifice the horse, but it had to be the wizard himself to fetch the horse. When the wizard came in with a big swing, Ban Chao raised his knife and carried the wizard's head to see Guangde. Guangde had long known about Ban Chao's extermination of the Xiongnu emissaries at Shanshan, and this time he dared to kill the divine wizards, and he was greatly frightened, so he obediently submitted to the Han Dynasty. On behalf of the Han Dynasty government, Ban Chao rewarded Guangde and his subordinates. As soon as Khotan fell, other small countries in Southern Province were annexed. In 74 AD, Ban Chao led his troops to Shule (present-day Kashgar, Xinjiang). Shule is located at the confluence of the north and south roads, which is the passage connecting the Han Dynasty to Central Asia, and only through it can the Silk Road be completely smooth. At this time, Shule was controlled by the northern province power Guizi (now the Kuqa area of Xinjiang). After Guizi killed king Shule, he set up another Guizi people to take the title of King Shule. The rule of the mob is brutal and unpopular. After Ban Chao grasped this information, he led his troops to a small road to a place 90 miles away from the city of Panqi (pronounced Tongtao) where Tuti lived, and then sent his subordinates Toda to persuade Tuti to surrender, and said that if He did not surrender, he would be arrested. Tian Wei came to the palace alone and persuaded him to surrender. Looking at his weak stature, where is he willing to drop? Unexpectedly, Tian Ji suddenly jumped forward and tied up the hood, because it was too sudden, and the hooded men panicked and fled in all directions.

When he was captured, Ban Chao immediately rode into the city, gathered shule officials, and made the nephew of the original king the king shule. The Shule people were very happy and hoped that Ban Chao would kill The Puzzle, at this time Ban Chao showed the wisdom of the diplomat again, saying: "It is very easy to kill the Puzzle, but it will increase the hatred between Guizi and Shule, it is better to put him back and let the Guizi people know our benevolence." So Ban Chao sent the title back to Guizi and won a good name in the western countries. At this time, the Han Dynasty's war against the Northern Xiongnu was also victorious, and the Western Regions Capital Protector and the Second Lieutenant of The Western Regions were reset. As a result, these institutions, which were abolished after Wang Mang, were restored again, envoys and merchants from the Eastern Han Dynasty and the countries of the Western Regions continued to travel, and the Silk Road flourished again. In 75 AD, Emperor Ming of Han died, the Western Regions were once again plunged into a scuffle, and the Northern Xiongnu, who had been stagnant, made a comeback, seriously dealing a blow to the Han Dynasty's power in the Western Regions. In 76, Emperor Zhang of Han, who had just succeeded to the throne, decided to abandon the Western Regions, revoke the Western Regions Capital Protector and the Second Lieutenants of The Imperial Guard, close the Jade Gate Pass, and let Ban Chao and others return to China. When Shu Leguo heard that Ban Chao and others were going to return to China, they were very scared, and a lieutenant actually committed suicide by neck. When Ban Chao and the others walked to Khotan, the people in Khotan would not let Ban Chao go back, crying and crying, holding the horse's leg and refusing to let go. At this time, Ban Chao remembered that his ambition to be the marquis of the Western Regions was not rewarded, and resolutely turned the horse's head and decided to stay in the Western Regions. After Ban Chao returned to Shule, he formulated a strategy of using Shule as a base to unite the southern provinces and attack the northern provinces controlled by the Xiongnu one by one. In 78 AD, he led more than 10,000 troops from Shule and Khotan to attack Gumo. In 1980, Ban Chao wrote in detail about the strategy he had adopted in the Western Regions, the situation in the Western Regions, and the future strategy. Emperor Han Zhangdi was very satisfied when he saw this, and sent more than 1,800 people to him back and forth, asking him to make a big fist and foot in the western region.

With these 1,800 people as the main team, Ban Chao united the forces of various countries, destroyed Shache in the south, and united with the Dayue clan in the west (now afghanistan), opening up the southern route of the Silk Road and weakening the power of the Northern Provinces supported by the Xiongnu. From 89 to 91 AD, the Han Dynasty repeatedly used troops against the Xiongnu, breaking the Northern Xiongnu and forcing them to move west, basically removing the threat of the Northern Xiongnu to the Han Dynasty. The northern provinces lost the background of the Xiongnu and successively submitted to the Han Dynasty. In December 1991, the Han Dynasty re-established the Western Regions Capital Protectorate, with Ban Chao as the Western Regions Protector, and governed the Western Regions. In 1994, Ban Chao mobilized more than 70,000 troops from various countries to capture the three kingdoms of Yanqi, Weili and Weisu, which had not yet been annexed. At this point, more than 50 countries in the Western Regions were annexed to the Han Dynasty, and the Silk Road from the Han Dynasty to Central Asia was reopened through the Western Regions. In 95 AD, The 63-year-old Ban Chao of Han and Emperor Feng was made the Marquis of Dingyuan, enabling him to realize his ideal of being a marquis in the Western Regions. After the marquis, Ban Chao continued to govern carefully in the western region, and the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains flourished. In 97 AD, he sent Gan Ying on an envoy to Great Qin (the Roman Empire) to try to communicate with distant Europe. However, Gan Ying and his party stopped at the coast of the Western Sea (now the Persian Gulf) on the western boundary of sabbaticism. However, Gan Ying's visit further enriched the Han Dynasty's understanding of Central Asia and even Europe, which was of great significance for sino-Western exchanges. The Western Regions were stable day by day, and the mood of the elderly and frail Ban Chao missing his hometown was also very similar to a day. In 100 AD, Ban Chao wrote to Han and the emperor, hoping that his body of the wind and candle would return to his homeland, and there was a sentence in the book that "I did not dare to look forward to Jiuquan County, but I would like to be born into the Jade Gate Pass", which was a lament. The emperor read this book, and Ban Chao's sister Ban Zhao continued to write the book, describing Ban Chao's suffering, and when he was moved, he let Ban Chao come back. In August 102, after a long journey, Ban Chao finally returned to Luoyang and worshiped as a lieutenant of the archery school. However, due to the long battle in the western region, coupled with the desert wind and sand, Ban Chao had chest pain early on, and his condition worsened after returning to China, and he died in September of the same year at the age of 70. Ban Chao realized his ambition to be a marquis with his personal talents, and the state also provided support in military and economic aspects, thus forming a high degree of personal ambition and national interests, and the Silk Road was continued in the Eastern Han Dynasty, forming another prosperous period after the Western Han Dynasty. Ban Chao also deeply imprinted his name on the history of the Silk Road.