Chapter 23 Chapter 23: How Ban Chao Managed the Western Regions

If the most influential war in the Western Han Dynasty was the counterattack against the Huns, then the most influential war in the Eastern Han Dynasty was Ban Chao's expansion of the Western Regions.Ban Chao, who followed the path of his predecessor Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, is, to some extent, a greater person than Zhang Qian, because Zhang Qian’s actions to expand the Western Regions have received the full support of Emperor Wu of the Han from the beginning to the end, especially after he passed 10 years. After the ups and downs returned to Han, the Han Empire provided absolute support and material guarantee for his re-entry into the Western Regions.The outcome of the surrender of the countries in the Western Regions to the Han Dynasty came not only from Zhang Qian’s personal diplomatic efforts, but also from the full support of the Han Empire, especially in terms of economic and military strength.

Compared with Zhang Qian, Ban Chao is much poorer. Compared with the pioneering efforts of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there were very few kings in the Eastern Han Dynasty who took the initiative to expand their territories.Most of the early kings advocated civil rule and advocated resting with the people, while the later kings were mostly young children, who didn't even understand things, and talked about He Xiongcai.During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Confucianism had become the mainstream, and the most important idea was to reduce foreign war expansion and protect the territory and the people. Therefore, the so-called expansion of the Western Regions and restoration of territory, in the eyes of Confucian scholars, is a waste of national power.As a pioneer who entered the Western Regions again after Zhang Qian, Ban Chao was faced with a dilemma from the beginning to the end. On the one hand, the vacillating attitude of the central government;And he has almost nothing except his status as an envoy of the Han Dynasty, and he often fights alone.However, the result of his hard work is that the land of the Western Regions once again belonged to the territory of China, and the Northern Huns fled westward in embarrassment. At one time a direct link between China and Europe was established.Ban Chao, whose achievements are no less than that of Zhang Qian, is more like a lonely hero, just like the famous military song sung during the Anti-Japanese War: "Don't you see, Ban Ding is far away, the absolute light cavalry destroys the clouds."

Let us take a look at the demeanor of this lonely hero, and the miracle between this man and the Silk Road. Speaking of Ban Chao's expansion into the Western Regions, we have to first talk about the foreign policy after the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty.After Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, in order to divert domestic conflicts, he adopted a policy of expansion abroad, which led to the resurgence of anti-Han forces within the Southern Huns who had reconciled with the Han Dynasty, and continued to fight against the Central Plains regime until the reign of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu of the Han Dynasty. , The Huns still waged war with the newly established Eastern Han Dynasty, supported the Lu Fang regime in the north to fight against the Han Dynasty, and continued to send troops to the south to attack and plunder.Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty focused on peace with the Xiongnu and continued to send envoys to communicate with them, but with little effect. It was not until the Huns split again in 48 AD that the Han Dynasty seized the opportunity to make peace with the Southern Huns, and the two sides achieved peace.The northern Xiongnu who moved westward occupied the Western Regions, expelled the Han Dynasty garrison, and enslaved the Western Regions. The vassal states of the Western Regions originally belonged to the Han Dynasty. They sent messages to the Han Dynasty through various channels, hoping that the Han Dynasty would send troops to the Western Regions. Restore the rule over the Western Regions and drive out the Huns.But the country was waiting to be rejuvenated, and the Han Dynasty was naturally unable to agree to this request.The Han Dynasty immediately closed the Yumen Pass that entered the Western Regions from Hexi, telling the countries in the Western Regions that they could choose to go to the Xiongnu. In this way, the land of the Western Regions that had been attached to the Chinese territory since the middle and late Western Han Dynasty was reluctantly abandoned by the Eastern Han Dynasty.

But this was discarded helplessly, the Eastern Han Dynasty was not reconciled, and the result of discarding did not bring peace in the north.At this time, the Northern Xiongnu, who were entrenched in the Western Regions, still had great strength. After the Eastern Han Dynasty occupied the Western Regions, they continued to use the Western Regions as their base to harass southward wantonly.Fortunately, during this period, they hardly threatened the Han land in the north, and the focus of their intrusion was still the Hexi Corridor area.During this period, it was Dou Rong's Dou family who guarded Hexi. Most of the Huns' invasion of Hexi was repelled.In order to guard against the Northern Huns, the Eastern Han Dynasty had to fully support the Southern Huns.During this period, the strength of the Northern Xiongnu was growing day by day, and the Southern Xiongnu was being squeezed out day by day. The Eastern Han Dynasty began to allow the Southern Xiongnu to live in the Han area, and provided a large amount of food every year as a barrier against the Northern Xiongnu.For the northern Xiongnu, the Eastern Han Dynasty insisted on a policy: fight!After being defeated by the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu's former homeland of Mobei was occupied by emerging tribes such as Wuhuan and Xianbei. Its main sphere of influence is concentrated in today's Western Mongolia and the Western Regions.The main battlefield of the Han and Hungarian sides has also become the Hexi Corridor.In the Han Dynasty's counterattack against the Huns and the development of the Western Regions, the Hexi Corridor became an important springboard.

After decades of recuperation in the Eastern Han Dynasty, during the reign of Han Ming Emperor Liu Zhuang, the national strength was increasing day by day, and it was on the agenda to solve the border problem of the Northern Huns.In 73 A.D., Emperor Han Ming finally decided to launch an aggressive war against the Northern Huns. Similar to the Western Han Dynasty, this task was also undertaken by foreign relatives, and it was the leader of the foreign relatives Dou family group-General Dou Gu.This Dou Gu's family was the Dou family who guarded Hexi during the transition period of the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties and defeated the Huns' invasion several times. Therefore, he is the most suitable candidate.

During this period, the combat forms of the Han and Hungarian sides were also similar to those in the late Western Han Dynasty. The sphere of influence of the Huns was limited to the Western Regions and Western Mongolia.In this attack in 73 A.D., the Eastern Han soldiers divided into four groups and launched a full-scale attack on the Northern Huns. However, the Northern Huns had been prepared for a long time and retreated after hastily engaging the Han army. The Han army only killed thousands of enemies. It failed to achieve the goal of severely injuring the Northern Huns.But a major achievement of this battle is: a young marching Sima (staff officer) boldly proposed the strategy of leading the army in a surprise attack, made a roundabout attack, and successfully occupied the main route of the Xiongnu's southward march-Xinjiang Yiwu. This victory was very important at the time. The meaning of Yiwu's capture made the Xiongnu lose the springboard to go south to the Central Plains.After this battle, it became very difficult for the Xiongnu to harass the Han land. The Eastern Han Dynasty who got Yiwu kicked open the first door into the Western Regions.This young marching Sima is the one who is destined to take on this mission-Ban Chao.

The decision to reopen the Western Regions was not first mentioned by Ban Chao, but the opinion of Dou Gu, who was responsible for attacking the Huns in the north at this time. He believed that the current situation of the Han-Hungarian War was similar to that in the middle and late Western Han Dynasty. It cut off the arms of the Huns and cut off their connection with the countries in the Western Regions.But to his surprise, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty himself was not enthusiastic about this proposition. The monarchs and ministers of the Eastern Han Dynasty still remembered the past. Diplomatic actions made the country spend a lot of money. It is so difficult to achieve the goal of breaking the arms of the Huns without spending money. Even if you do achieve it, the national economy will be dragged down to poverty.Under Dou Gu's repeated requests, Emperor Han Ming's attitude finally relaxed, and decided to send a tentative mission to the Western Regions. This mission had only 36 people, and it did not carry a large number of expensive gifts like Zhang Qian did. The main purpose is to say hello to the countries in the Western Regions and tell them that the Han Dynasty has returned. As for how many countries will join, this is really an uncertain unknown.Not to mention the strength of the Xiongnu in the local area, the decision of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty to abandon the Western Regions also greatly damaged the prestige of the Han Dynasty. With these 36 people, they wanted to successfully restore the territory of the Han Empire in the Western Regions, and even expel the powerful For the Huns, this was almost impossible, but Ban Chao turned all this into reality.

Regarding Ban Chao's resume, the world knows that he was born in a famous family and had little ambition. His elder brother is Ban Gu who edited Han Shu. He himself also participated in the compilation of Han Shu. And left a heroic allusion of "throwing a pen and joining the army".Since he was young, he has been doing "impossible" things. For example, how can a young man from a literati family become a soldier, but he just became one. A scholar who has never learned how to fight, how can he fight a war? He fought and won, but this time, he took the initiative to invite Ying, and was appointed by Dou Gu as an envoy to take 36 people to the Western Regions to carry out the next impossible task: no money or soldiers, let the Western Regions sincerely surrender.

I didn't know until I arrived in the Western Regions that it really seemed impossible.Of the 36 countries in the Western Regions, most of the countries have intricate relationships with the Huns. Some are relatives, and there are marriages between the two parties. Even the reigning king has the blood of the Huns. Although some are not relatives, they live under the eyes of the Huns. The cavalry will be in sight at any time, but the Han Dynasty is beyond reach.There are also countries that have long been cold-hearted about the Han Dynasty, and are determined to be slaves of the Huns.Facing the impossibility, Ban Chao adopted the strategy with the greatest confidence. At this time, the countries in the Western Regions were divided into the South Road and the North Road, which is what we call Southern Xinjiang and Northern Xinjiang today. Among them, the South Road is relatively weakly controlled by the Huns, and the North Road is relatively strong. , as long as the South Road is conquered first, the situation in the Western Regions can be opened.To conquer the South Road of the Western Regions, it is necessary to conquer the two largest countries on the South Road, Khotan and Shanshan.

These two countries are the hardcore of the Huns, among them Shanshan is a fool, and he always listens to whoever is strong, so let him know how strong the Han Dynasty is.After Ban Chao and his entourage arrived in Shanshan, the Huns also came. The king of Shanshan was vacillating, so Ban Chao simply gave him a warning. If you want to make it clear, you have to cooperate with the Han Dynasty and drive the ducks up and down. The king of Shanshan subdued, sent the prince as a hostage to the Han Dynasty, and surrendered to the Han Dynasty again.Khotan is very superstitious, and has always been superstitious about the will of the gods, and the will of the gods is usually told to him by a wizard, and the wizard is a Hun.This is easy to handle. Ban Chao slaughtered the wizard first, and threw the bloody head in front of King Khotan. You believe in the gods and the Han Dynasty. Are you afraid of the Huns?Khotan's reaction was also expected: I'm afraid of you, surrender!

In this way, the key point of the matter was found. With the leadership of the two major countries, countries in the Western Regions on the South Road surrendered to the Han Dynasty one after another.Ban Chao continued his efforts and extended his hand to the North Road. The largest country on the North Road was Kucha, a subsidiary state of the Huns.This country is difficult to run, and the kings are supported by the Huns.For this, Ban Chao also has a way, just capture the king.Banchao’s mission gave a perfect performance of special forces to the countries of the Western Regions. 36 people made a surprise attack on Kucha through small roads, entered the palace of Kucha all the way, and even tied back the King of Kucha. It's all over.In 74 A.D., Ban Chao miraculously fulfilled this miraculous mission. The 36 countries in the Western Regions belonged to the territory of the Han Dynasty again. Under the rule of the Chinese territory. For a year, I entered the enemy's lair alone, discovered the key points of the matter with a keen eye, and solved the most critical part of the problem. With incomparable courage and the spirit of knowing what to do, I took risks and tried again and again, and succeeded again and again.This is the miracle created by Ban Chao in the Western Regions, which made the countries in the Western Regions afraid and convinced them even more. However, such a miracle is fragile, because the strength of the Huns in the Western Regions is still there. After the Han Empire regained control of the Western Regions, the situation in the Western Regions quickly changed.In 75 AD, the Northern Xiongnu launched a large-scale counterattack against the Western Regions, using tens of thousands of cavalry to attack the thousands of Han troops stationed in the Western Regions.The grasshoppers in the Western Regions also counterattacked one after another. Countries such as Qiuci and Yutian followed the Huns to fight back against the Han army. Although the Han army was tenacious, they were outnumbered and suffered repeated defeats. More than a thousand people faced the 20,000 army led by King Youxian of the Huns. After bloody battles, they severely injured the enemy several times, but in the end they were alone. After a tragic breakout, only 13 people returned to the Han Dynasty.During this period, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty who was determined to fight back against the Xiongnu had passed away. The Emperor Han Zhang who came on the throne only wanted to close his doors to ensure safety, and had no interest in fighting back against the Huns. In January, the Han Dynasty abolished the newly established post of Protector of the Western Regions and gave up competing for the Western Regions.The land of the Western Regions, only one year after it was lost and recovered, has been lost again. The imperial court didn't want it, the army didn't come to reinforce it, and all the countries rebelled one after another. How could it be possible for the Han Dynasty to seize the Western Regions again, but one person believed that it was possible, and it was still Ban Chao. At this time, the situation that Ban Chao faced could not be more miserable. He was stationed in the Shule area far from the inland, and continued to fight against the Huns together with Wang Zhong of Shule, who was the only one loyal to the Han Dynasty at this time. On the huge territory of the Western Regions, this It was the last ray of hope for the Han Empire at this time, but even this last hope, the Han Empire had to give up, and Emperor Han Zhang issued imperial edicts to let Ban Chao return to the mainland.When the news came, King Shule hugged Ban Chao's leg and wept bitterly. Ban Chao didn't want to, but he gritted his teeth and left.Along the way, the princes of the Western Regions who were loyal to the Han Dynasty tried every means to keep them. They were unwilling to accept the rule of the Huns. The arrival of the Han Dynasty brought peace and prosperity to the Western Regions. Arrival brought looting and war, and anyone who longed for peace would choose the Han Dynasty without hesitation between the two. Under the persuasion of these people who yearn for peace, Ban Chao finally changed his mind. He decided to do the biggest impossible thing in his life again. Even without the support of the court and the assistance of the army, I still will not leave. Go on, because this is Chinese territory, and defending Chinese territory is my mission as a soldier. For such a mission, Ban Chao started his most difficult journey alone in the Western Regions.If you don’t have troops, you recruit local people as soldiers; if you don’t have food, you take your subordinates to farm and plant food in the local area; if you don’t have weapons, you make weapons yourself; if you don’t have allies, you move around to find allies.His efforts finally paid off. In 78 AD, Ban Chao, who had been fighting alone for three years, not only persisted, but also became stronger and stronger. With this force, Ban Chao started a difficult counterattack.He first sent troops to the north, defeated the coalition forces of Kucha and the Huns, occupied the important town of Gumo, and then moved south to defeat another powerful force, Shache. His territory was constantly expanding, and his troops and horses were constantly increasing, just like the desert A stubborn cactus took root and sprouted in a desperate situation, and grew tenaciously. Ban Chao's stubbornness finally moved Emperor Hanzhang who was planning to give up the Western Regions. What moved Emperor Hanzhang even more was that Ban Chao assured Emperor Hanzhang that he would be able to pacify the Western Regions with soldiers and horses from the Western Regions without spending money and food from the court.After eight full years of hard resistance, the Eastern Han Empire finally sent reinforcements to Ban Chao.With Ban Chao as the long history of the Western Regions, he was granted the power to control the Western Regions, and Sima Hegong led 800 Han soldiers to reinforce them. This force is obviously not enough for the enemy, but Ban Chao will use it.After the arrival of the Han army, Ban Chao quickly arranged, ordering the troops to be weak first and then strong, and first beat Shache who was attached to the Huns.As a result, the well-trained Han army once again staged a military show in the Western Regions, easily defeating the arrogant Shache people.In 87 AD, Ban Chao pursued the victory and led 20,000 troops to besiege the Shache Kingdom, but he did not fight. The most stubborn forces in the Western Regions were completely defeated.But what Ban Chao didn't expect was that just when everything was going well, a new powerful opponent arrived - Da Yueshi. The Da Yuezhi, the Da Yuezhi who Zhang Qian intended to unite against the Huns, originally lived in the Gansu region of China, and now settled in the Central Asian grasslands.However, the Da Yuezhi at this time is no longer the "Ameng under Wu" who was beaten by the Huns and dared not fight back.In Western history, the Da Yuezhi in this period had a new title of "Guishuang Empire". This country was the most powerful country in Central Asia at this time. It conquered the Persian region westward and fought invincible hands all over West Asia. It is recognized by Western historians , one of the world's three great powers in the 1st century AD - the Han Dynasty, Rome, and the Guishuang Empire. After dominating Central Asia, the Da Yue Clan's appetite grew, and they aimed at the vast land of the Western Regions.At this time, the Xiongnu had been beaten to death by the Han Empire, and they could not be enemies of the Han Empire for the time being.The Da Yue clan is different. They are separated from the Western Regions by the Pamir Plateau. They can be said to be close to the water. Although the Han Dynasty is powerful, they are far away. Instead, they can mobilize the most elite troops and complete their plan to annex the Western Regions. Unfortunately, , This plan has to add a premise-there is no Ban Chao. In 90 A.D., the Da Yue clan mobilized their capital and led a 70,000-strong army to march eastward with Deputy Wang Xie as the marshal.In the Han Empire at this time, apart from 1,800 Han soldiers in the Western Regions, there were only miscellaneous troops from various countries, and their combat effectiveness was obviously not at the same level as that of the Da Yuezhi.But Ban Chao has a lot of rice in the pot, and his strength is not enough, so he won't fight with you first, and lead you to go deep into the lone army, fortify the wall and clear the field, and then cut off your food road, let's see if you can still jump?He even confidently told everyone that within 10 days, the Da Yuezhi would be defeated, and the fact was once again confirmed by Ban Chao.After the Da Yuezhi crossed the Pamirs, Ban Chao used the local soldiers and horses of the Western Regions to resist head-on, and retreated in a planned way. The most elite 1,800 Han troops under his command copied from the rear and cut off the logistics of the Da Yuezhi. The elite of the Dayue Clan fell into a deadly situation all of a sudden.In desperation, the Da Yue clan had no choice but to submit to the Han Dynasty, one of the so-called "Three Great Powers", and never dared to touch the tiger's beard of the Han Dynasty. After pacifying the Dayue Clan, Ban Chao fought in the Western Regions for many years. In 95 AD, with the surrender of Shanshan, the last anti-Han force, the land of the Western Regions finally returned to the territory of the Han Empire.At this time, he was granted the title of Marquis of Dingyuan because of his great achievements, and the title of "Ban Dingyuan" by later generations came from this.In 100 AD, Ban Chao, who had been fighting in the Western Regions for 20 years, asked the Han Empire to retire. After three years of pleading, the Han Empire finally agreed to his request. In August 102 AD, Ban Chao returned to his hometown after 21 years of absence. Months later, this lonely hero who kept creating miracles all his life ended his life of constantly creating miracles. However, what Ban Chao didn't expect was that his painstaking efforts to open up the Western Regions would be in vain again after his death. That was 17 years after Ban Chao's death, that is, in 119 AD.At that time, the Northern Huns once again colluded with the Cheshi Kingdom in the Western Regions to launch a rebellion. The Han Empire was already in decline during this period, and the rebellion was out of reach.The land of the Western Regions once again rebelled against the Han and became independent until AD 123. The Eastern Han Dynasty sent Ban Yong, the son of Ban Chao, as an envoy to the Western Regions. After two years of bloody fighting, they united with other countries in the Western Regions to expel the rebellion. Finally, in AD 125, the Han Empire’s sovereignty over the Western Regions was restored. .This is the whole process of the "Three Links and Three Uniques" in the Western Regions. With Ban Chao and Ban Yong's two generations of father and son expanding the Western Regions and supporting them independently, I have to ask a question to the Eastern Han Empire: Why did they give them so little support?If in the early days it was because the Northern Huns were oppressed by powerful enemies, it was understandable that they did not want to go to war. However, after the Northern Huns weakened, the Eastern Han Empire could only provide limited support to the Western Regions, and even mobilized no more than a thousand troops.The real reason is that the Hexi Corridor, the main route for the Central Plains to enter the Western Regions, is also engaged in a protracted war - the war between the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Qiang people. After Huo Qubing subdued the Huns in Hexi in the Western Han Dynasty, the Qiang people living in this place also surrendered to the Han Dynasty. In the civil strife era at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the Qiang people took the opportunity to grow in Hexi and finally developed into a powerful force.Since Emperor Guangwu, the Eastern Han Dynasty has been caught in the quagmire of protracted war with the Qiang people.The Qiang practiced a military system that integrated soldiers and civilians. Their operations were mainly raids, and they used the mobility of cavalry to fight guerrilla warfare.During the Guangwu era, General Fubo of the Han Dynasty Ma Yuan pacified the Qiang people.This situation has also become a fixed script for the relationship between the Han Dynasty and the Qiang people: rebellion—repression—rebellion—repression again. Before the arrival of the army of the Han Dynasty, the crowd gathered to cause chaos, and when the army quelled the chaos, they were broken into pieces.In this long war, generation after generation of famous generals of the Eastern Han Dynasty fought bloody battles in the Hexi Corridor, winning or losing with the Qiang people. , the long Hexi area was raging with flames of war, and the Han people were brutally killed and displaced.The government of the Han Dynasty spent more than 12 billion yuan. Many prefects were killed successively, and many famous generals were defeated. The Qiang people also paid a huge price. Many rebel tribes were wiped out by the Han Dynasty, but the signs of rebellion are like leeks in the field. The same, just cut a crop, but then another round of crazy growth.The Ping Qiang War became the heaviest burden on the hearts of the monarchs and ministers of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In 168 AD, a famous general named Duan Jiong finally solved the problem for the Han Empire.Duan Jiong's guerrilla tactics against the Qiang people, using light cavalry to attack long distances, chasing and fighting fiercely, fought with the Qiang people more than 180 times, beheaded more than 30,000 people, and finally restored peace in the Hexi area where the war continued. However, at this time, the Eastern Han Dynasty had also reached the end of its strength, and within a few years, it went to perish in the vortex of disputes among princes. For the Eastern Han Empire, the Ping-Qiang War was a hard bone stuck in their throat from beginning to end, unable to swallow or spit it out.The reasons for this situation, in addition to military factors, should be found more in politics.The oppression of the Qiang people by the Han Dynasty was undoubtedly the internal cause of the Qiang people's rebellion. The officials and powerful officials of the Han Dynasty liked to take the Qiang people as slaves, and they often recruited the Qiang people to go out to fight as cannon fodder.Especially after the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty, with the rise of local powerful forces and eunuch forces, political corruption provided a hotbed for the rebellion of the Qiang people, and accelerated the corruption process of the Han Dynasty army, eventually turning the Ping-Qiang War into a war of continuous wars. War of attrition.Another result of the Pingqiang War was probably not expected by the Han government. During the long Pingqiang War, the power of the Hexi warlords of the Han Dynasty expanded day by day, and gradually became an irreversible trend. Finally, the Hexi warlord Dong Zhuo came to Beijing to seize power. It kicked off the prelude to the feudal lords' competition in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty.