Chapter 45 1. Return of Zhang Qian

126 BC, winter.With the help of the winter wind, there is a piece of good news that spreads to Chang'an: the Xiongnu started internal strife. It happened very suddenly.First of all, the old military minister Shan Yu died of illness, and it is reasonable for the prince to take over.But Zuo Guli Wang Yizhixie, the younger brother of the army minister, refused to admit it and declared himself his successor.So, the two sides had to fight.As a result, Prince Yu Shan was defeated and had to defect to the Han Dynasty. Liu Che sympathized with Yu Dan very much, took him in and named him Marquis of She'an.But a few months later, Yu Dan, a short-lived ghost, whether it was because he was depressed or because he was not acclimatized, went to the sky to complain to his father.

If the internal strife only ended in this way, it would be too boring.In fact, the surprising thing is yet to come.When the Huns were fighting each other, suddenly a Han took advantage of the confusion and fled towards Chang'an. A few months later, a shocking news came out of Chang'an: Zhang Qian is back! ! As a Chinese, if you have never heard of Zhang Qian, just like a European who has never heard of Columbus, you will be laughed at. I seem to see that in the summer of 126 B.C., all the Chinese were adoringly watching a ragged Han man staggering into the city of Chang’an.The ground was silent, and Chang'an City couldn't hide the tears of excitement. It followed the footsteps of the man from the Han Dynasty, sweeping along the way.

This man who had gone through ups and downs, he didn't know that when he dragged his shadow back to the Han Dynasty, he also dragged his name into the glorious history. Zhang Qian, courtesy name Ziwen, was born in Chenggu, Hanzhong County (now Chenggu County, Shaanxi Province).Thirteen years ago, the surrender of the Huns revealed a very important message to the Han Dynasty: between Dunhuang and Qilian Mountains, there was Yuezhi Kingdom, which was once very powerful.When Mao Dun was in power, he once surrendered it.Later, the old Shang Shanyu became so violent that he beheaded King Yueshi and twisted his head off to use as a jug.As a result, the Yuezhi people fled and forged a sworn hatred with the Huns ever since.If the Han Dynasty got in touch with the Yuezhi and jointly resisted the Hungarians, it would definitely succeed.

That year, Liu Che had just turned seventeen.We have reasons to believe that the emperor, who was determined to take over the Xiongnu as the greatest cause in his life, was so excited when he heard the news.Therefore, he decided to select an envoy from the palace to get through Yuezhi for him. In China before Liu Che, there was never heard of a country called Yuezhi.If it is true as the Xiongnu envoy said, regardless of the long distance, one must also consider that if you bypass the Huns and cross the border.Who will take on such a job that has never been done before or since? At this moment, Zhang Qian stood up.

It's not that as long as someone stands up, they can be favored by Liu Che.The reason why Liu Che took a fancy to Zhang Qian was because the other party had two conditions that were more satisfactory.First of all, Zhang Qian was a Lang, an attendant of the emperor, and the emperor trusted him if he used such a person; second, Zhang Qian was physically strong, wise enough, honest and reliable. Running, it takes physical strength; encountering troubles, it needs to rely on wisdom; adversity, it takes some integrity.Therefore, after a comprehensive assessment, Zhang Qian won and represented the Han Dynasty as an envoy to the Western Regions.

Thus, a great emperor entrusted a great diplomatic dream to a great man. Zhang Qian, a tour guide from the Huns, and one hundred attendants, set off like this. If you want to figure out the Western Regions, you must smuggle through the Huns.More than a hundred people want to sneak across the border from the eyes of the Huns, unless the Huns are completely blind.It can be said that whatever you are worried about, you will come here.Just when Zhang Qian was about to smuggle, he was discovered by the patrolling Huns. The Xiongnu patrol soldiers handed Zhang Qian over to Shan Yu, who was a military minister at that time.The number one robber on the grassland almost lost his teeth when he heard that Zhang Qian had crossed the border to the west.He jokingly said to Zhang Qian: You have such a beautiful idea.If I, the Huns, send envoys to South Vietnam, will you let us go there?

Of course not.Since the Han people could not let the Huns go to South Vietnam, why should the Huns let Zhang Qian go to the Yuezhi Kingdom?Military minister Shan Yu detained Zhang Qian and his party and put them all under house arrest. To be honest, the military minister Shan Yu had a good attitude towards Zhang Qian.He wasn't as cruel as his father, who would twist heads off and use them as wine jugs or urinals at every turn.He appreciates Zhang Qian's heroic spirit who knows that there are wolves in the grassland but prefers to walk on the grassland.So, in order to win over Zhang Qian, he was given a Huns wife.

Zhang Qian had no choice but to accept the Huns' wives and stay in the prairie. After staying like this, ten years have passed. How many decades are there in a person's lifetime?Zhang Qian not only traveled too far this trip, but also stayed long enough.I believe that there is no one in the Han Dynasty who does not believe that these more than a hundred people must have been beaten by meat buns and never returned. Perhaps someone has forgotten the way back because he has gone too far.But in the past ten years, Zhang Qian has never forgotten how he came here, and he has to tell himself how he will go back.So in the past ten years, when the Xiongnu gradually relaxed their vigilance against him, he did two things to escape.First of all, he learned Hu language; secondly, he figured out the route to the Western Regions.

With a map in your heart, no matter how far you go or how long you fly, you will never get lost. In Zhang Qian's heart, there are two maps, one is the Western Regions and the other is the Han Dynasty. Han Dynasty, I will be back.I think it won't be too long. Sure enough, one day, Zhang Qian and the Xiongnu guide fled with their followers.However, the direction of their escape this time is Dawan.In the past ten years of living in the Huns, the Western Regions have changed a lot.The Yue clan, who was living a decent life, was actually defeated by another country called Wusun.Therefore, the Yuezhi Kingdom had no choice but to flee to the farther west in search of a new habitat.

After finishing the Dawan Kingdom, the next stop is the Yueshi.So, Zhang Qian led the people across mountains and ridges, and after more than ten days, they finally arrived in Dawan. Even though the Dawan Kingdom is thousands of miles away from the Han Dynasty, they seem to have heard a little bit about the prosperity of the Han Dynasty.It coincided with Zhang Qian's arrival, and with such advocacy in their ears, they believed in the Han Dynasty even more. Zhang Qian lobbied the King of Dayuan in this way: I am on behalf of the Han Dynasty as an envoy to the Kingdom of Yuezhi.Unexpectedly, he was caught by the Huns on the road and locked up for more than ten years.If your Majesty is willing to send someone to protect us and reach Yuezhi Kingdom safely, then after I return to the Han Dynasty, please play His Majesty the Emperor, and I will definitely reward you.

Hearing Zhang Qian's words, the King of Dayuan made a small calculation in his heart: to be a favor, to make another friend, and to have more paths in the future, why not do it. Sure enough, they sent guards, equipped with interpreters and tour guides, and sent Zhang Qian and his party to Kangju safely.King Kang Ju took care of Dawan Kingdom's face, and also sent Zhang Qian to Yuezhi Kingdom safely. Thousands of miles, I pursue you.Yuezhi Kingdom, I finally found you. However, to Zhang Qian's deepest disappointment, the Yuezhi Kingdom that he found after exhausting more than ten years of wind, frost, rain and dew is no longer the Yuezhi Kingdom in the past.In the Yuezhi Kingdom in the past, a man was the king, but now it is a woman.This is just one of them, not the most important. More importantly, although the Yuezhi Kingdom was run around by the Xiongnu and Wusun like cats chasing mice away, the mice were different in size.The fleeing Yuezhi mouse suddenly found Daxia, a mouse that was easy to bully, so he surrendered and took root. As soon as the Yuezhi Kingdom took root, it discovered a new territory, which is really a good place for survival.The land here is fertile, and the Xiongnu and Wusun are far away in the sky. It seems that Daxia is also very obedient.Anyway, he was bullied in the past, and now it's his turn to bully others, which seems to be enough.Ever since, year after year, the Yuezhi Kingdom, which lived a good life, gradually forgot about the Huns in the distance, and still owed their ancestors blood debts. Time is really the best plaster. No matter how big the historical wound is, as long as you apply it firmly, all the pain will be healed slowly with the watery years and the spring breeze.Ever since, Zhang Qian found out that he came at a fucking bad time. No matter what, since we are here, we still have to finish talking.However, the Yuezhi queen was not polite, and tactfully rejected the strategy of cooperating with Han Tonghao to deal with the Xiongnu. Queen Yuezhi's reasons are also very good: We have managed to live a good life, why should we look for blood when we have nothing to do.Besides, what are the benefits of communicating with the Han Dynasty.The Han Dynasty was in the east, we were in the west, and the Huns were in the middle.If the Huns bully me, the Han Dynasty will be too far behind.In any case, Yueshi is losing money.Therefore, this diplomatic business can only go sour. Woman, why are you so easily satisfied.Zhang Qian was really speechless, but there was nothing he could do. After searching hard for more than ten years, it turned out to be such a result.Still have to admit it.Go back home and report the situation to the emperor. If you return to Chang'an by the same route, you must pass through the Huns, which is a dead end.At this time, Zhang Qian decided not to go the same way, but to take another shortcut.This new road is the legendary South Road.The so-called South Road is the South Road in the Tarim Basin.The Huns are in the north of the Tarim Basin, that is, the North Road. That's it, this time the Huns want to arrest people, it's difficult.But what I never expected was that when Zhang Qian walked along the South Road, he fell into the hands of the Huns again. Zhang Qian's route was designed in this way, and there were Qiang people in the southern road.The Han Dynasty had no enmity with the Qiang people, and it should be safe to cross their territory.In fact, the safest place in the world is actually the most dangerous place. There is only one reason, the territory of the Qiang people has long been taken over by the Huns.After all the calculations, Zhang Qian unfortunately fell into the clutches of the Huns. This time, the Huns did another good deed for Zhang Qian, reuniting Zhang Qian with his wife and children who stayed in the Huns.The Huns still say that, the sky net is restored, and it is not leaked, so let's stay here obediently until we grow old.As for the Han Dynasty, stop daydreaming. The Xiongnu thought that Zhang Qian could only stay and daydream. In fact, daydreaming is not impossible.Zhang Qian was detained again. After more than a year, Shan Yu, a military official of the Huns, died of illness, and the prince and his younger brother fought.Therefore, Zhang Qian prepared to escape with his original tour guide and his wife and children while the two sides were fighting in the dark. Zhang Qian and the fateful tour guide escaped back.However, Zhang Qian's wife and children were intercepted by the Huns who were chasing after them, and the husband and wife could never see each other again. Careful people calculated the cost of Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions: more than one hundred people went out, and only two of them could come back alive.Moreover, Zhang Qian did not succeed in persuading the Yuezhi Kingdom to join forces against the Xiongnu.However, Zhang Qian has two things in his heart, which cannot be exchanged for any treasure. One is the map of the Western Regions; the other is the perseverance of the Han Dynasty! For these two things, Zhang Qian did not lose, Liu Che did not lose, and the Han Dynasty did not lose. So I believe that when Liu Che saw Zhang Qian appearing in front of his eyes, he was just like all ordinary Han Dynasty people, only tears and excitement.Thirteen years, how many winds and rains have come up, how many vicissitudes have been blown from the slopes, and finally came back alive. In a word: not easy! ! Zhang Qian's hollowing out journey is like a magic ax that opened the third eye of the Han Dynasty and saw a wider world.If you speak louder, it will be conducive to the exchange of Eastern and Western cultures; if you speak more realistically, the countries in the Western Regions are all potential allies of the Han Dynasty. As long as they are willing to develop these diplomatic resources, they will also have a drink from the Huns. After returning, Zhang Qian told Liu Che: During this long journey, they actually found bamboo sticks from Southwestern Qiong and cloth from the Kingdom of Shu in the Great Xia Kingdom.Later, Daxia Kingdom told him, and only then did he know that these two things were sold by merchants from Shendu Kingdom (now India).This Shendu country, its customs and customs, are inseparable from the Great Xia country.The only difference is that its people fight on elephants, and its country faces floods. So Zhang Qian made a bold guess according to what Daxia said: Daxia is tens of thousands of kilometers away from the Han Dynasty, in the southwest.The Shendu Kingdom is located in the southeast of the Great Xia Kingdom, and sells special products from the Kingdom of Shu.Then, the Shendu Kingdom should lie between the Kingdom of Shu and the Kingdom of Great Xia, not far from the Kingdom of Shu. In this case, it is easy to handle.The Han Dynasty was connected to the Western Regions, taking the northern route, and there were Xiongnu; taking the southern route, the Qiang people worked their lives for the Xiongnu, but it didn’t work.The best way is to take the Shu Road.The road from Shu to the countries in the Western Regions, the road is short and there are no invaders, is an excellent shortcut for the Han Dynasty to open up the outside world and broaden its horizons. Liu Che waited hard for thirteen years, and what he waited for was such a miraculous report. At that moment, he was excited.