As early as the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Western Regions became part of the Han Empire, and the Han Dynasty also set up capital protection in the Western Regions to administer the large and small city-states in the Western Regions. In the last years of the Western Han Dynasty, due to the chaos in the world, the western regions also fell apart, and many city-states were dependent on the Xiongnu and made enemies of the Han. After the Eastern Han Dynasty Guangwu Zhongxing, the Han Empire came out of the dangerous situation brought about by Wang Mang's rebellion, like a sweat and blood BMW that spanned thousands of miles, restored its majestic body, marched forward with its head held high, and became strong again. National hero Ban Chao "did not enter the tiger's den, but got the tiger", after thirty years in the western region, in exchange for the people in the western region, brought peace and prosperity of the Silk Road.
The Huns in the north have always been the fierce enemies of the Tianzi of the Han family in the south, and the two sides have attacked and defended each other for hundreds of years, endlessly. Later, the southern Xiongnu were annexed to the Han Dynasty, and the Northern Xiongnu still controlled the western region.
Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty wanted to open the road to the west again, and sent Dou Gu to attack the Pushi Sea in the south of the Tianshan Mountains, which is today's Hami area. The Western Regions, which have been cut off for decades, have been reconnected.
Now that the road had been opened, it was necessary to send people to contact the feelings and sweep away the control and influence of the Huns. Therefore, Ban Chao and Guo Ke, yiwu yiwen, were dispatched by Dou Gu to pick up this heavy burden.
Ban Chao and Guo Ke led thirty-six brave men to the kingdom of Shanshan, and the king's name was Guang. When we first met, Guang was quite polite, but after a few days, it became cold. Ban Chao was very sensitive and estimated what had changed, so he pretended to be indifferent and asked the Hu people who were waiting for him with a smile: "How many days have the Xiongnu emissaries come?" Where to stay? ”
But the waiter was very frightened, and said, "It has only been three days, thirty miles away from here." Ban Chao originally did not know the situation of the Xiongnu emissaries, but he really cheated out.
Ban Chao immediately gathered the brave men and, while drinking wine, discussed ways to kidnap the Xiongnu emissaries. Everyone advised him, should he consult with Guo Ke? Ban Chao patted his thigh: "It is a curse or a blessing just today, he is a civilian official, he can only play with the pen pole, when he hears of this kind of thing, his bitter guts will also be frightened, and he may leak." We do it ourselves! "But Ban Chao didn't have many men and horses, and the Xiongnu soldiers were strong and strong, and the defense was tight. Ban Chao said, "Don't go into the tiger's den, get the tiger!" ”
It was dark, the wind was howling, and thirty-six brave men, galloping in the wind, went straight to the tent of the Xiongnu emissaries. They laid an ambush separately and set fire to it. Suddenly, the flames burst into the sky, drums were beating and shouting, and the people in the tent were frightened and scattered. Ban Chao killed three people in a row, and the rest of the Huns were buried in the sea of fire.
The next day, Ban Chao told Guo Ke about this, and he was shocked and his face changed sharply. Ban Chao saw his thoughts and said, "Although you did not participate, you still have a share of the credit." Guo Ke was happy. They sent the head of the Xiongnu emissary to the feet of King Guang of Shanshan and warned him not to step on two boats. Guang lian apologized for his sins and handed over his son as a hostage.
Subsequently, Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty appointed Ban Chao as Sima Zheng as an ambassador and continued his expedition to Khotan. This was a great southern power, and the Huns had guardians here. Ban Chao came, King Guangde, not very reasonable. It turned out that the people here were superstitious about witchcraft, and a shaman said, "God is angry, and you can't listen to the Words of the Han People." The Han people have a horse, go and bring it to the gods! ”
The king sent the minister to meet with Ban Chao and asked him to take a horse to sacrifice. Ban Chao verbally agreed, asking the wizard to come and fetch the horse himself. When the wizard appeared, Ban Chao cut off his head with a knife, and then drew dozens of whips to Give to Guangde. The king had already heard of Ban Chao's prestige, and this son panicked, hurriedly killed the Xiongnu emissaries, and submitted to the Han Dynasty. In this way, more than fifty countries in the western region, large and small, all smelled the scenery and expressed friendship. Since then, the north and south roads of the "Silk Road" have gone to the west for more than 40,000 miles, and through heavy crossings, they have been smoothed again.
After some years, the Che general Dou Xian divided his troops into three roads and fought a bloody battle with the Northern Xiongnu at Jiluo Mountain, defeating Shan Yu. He ascended Mount Yanran, which is now Mount Hangai in Mongolia, and ordered the Central Protector Bangu to write it as "Ji Gong Ming" and carve it on the mountain stone to show the weed of the Han Dynasty, and then return to the south in triumph. This was the same as huo's zen sacrifice on the Wolf Juxu Mountain two hundred years ago, which was just as mighty and vigorous. Since then, the Northern Huns have migrated west along the steppes of Central Asia, whether in the Western Regions or in the Central Plains, and the threat of force from outside the regions to the Han Dynasty was lifted.
Ban Chao became the protector of the Western Regions and was given the title of Marquis of Dingyuan. He wanted to see what the western side of Dawan and Kangju was like, so at the end of 97 A.D., He sent Gan Ying to the west, intending to establish contact with the Great Qin State, that is, the Roman Empire. Gan Ying traveled all the way to the west, recording the foreign customs and customs and treasures he saw and heard, which greatly enriched people's understanding of the Central Asian countries. He walked to today's Persian Gulf, in front of the vast sea, the locals told him: "Here is boundless, encounter a tailwind, three months to reach the other shore, no tailwind to two years, therefore, the people who go to the sea must bring enough food and water for three years." People are homesick at sea, and there are also people who want to die, you are alone, how to get there? Gan Ying could only sigh and quickly turned back. This is the first record of Chinese reaching the Persian Gulf.
Ban Chao lived in the Western Regions for almost thirty years, and after he was old, he often missed his hometown, so he wrote a letter to the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Emperor, and earnestly said: "The subject does not dare to look forward to Jiuquan County, but wishes to be born into the Yumen Pass." He said that he was old and weak, and if he set off immediately, he might have time to enter the gates of the Central Plains; as for his hometown in the interior? Whether you can see it or not, you don't dare to hope. The rhetoric is very sad and sounds sentimental. At the same time, he sent his son Ban Yong, with the treasures of the Rest country, back to Chang'an to meet the Heavenly Son, and took the opportunity to let his son see the mountains and rivers of the Central Plains.
Ban Chao's patriotic homesickness, but The Han and Emperor could not understand it, saw the letter, was indifferent, and did not reply for three years.
Ban Chao's sister Ban Zhao, married to Cao Shou, known as Cao Everyone, she was a teacher in the harem, knew all this, and felt sad, so she wrote to Han he and the emperor: "Ban Chao is old and unable to do it, if he dies suddenly, no one will take over, and unexpected changes may occur." Did the Minister of Military Affairs of the Chinese dynasty consider this? Ban Chao was thousands of miles away, expressing his feelings to the imperial court, looking forward to hearing back every day, not only for himself, but also for the country! The ancients served as a soldier at the age of fifteen, and at the age of sixty they should retire and return home. I dared to write a letter and begged His Majesty to let him come back and see his hometown. This attracted the attention of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the emperor, and the next edict replaced Ban Chao back.
In the Mid-Autumn Festival of 102 A.D., Ban Chao returned to Luoyang to worship as a lieutenant of the Archery School, and a month later, he fell ill and died.