Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought that since Yueshi was in the west of Xiongnu. If the Han Dynasty can unite the Yue people and cut off the contact between the Xiongnu and other countries in the western regions, isn't this equal to cutting off the Xiongnu's right arm?
So, he made an imperial edict, asking capable people to contact the Vietnamese. At that time, no one knew where the moon kingdom was and how far it was. It takes a lot of courage to undertake this task.
There was a young doctor (official name) zhangqian (sound qiān), who thought it was a meaningful thing and applied first. With him taking the lead, others have the confidence and a hundred warriors respond. There was a Hun named Tang Yi's father in Chang 'an, and he was willing to go to Yue's country with Zhang Qian.
In 138 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to look for the Yue people with 100 people. But to go to the Yue people, you must pass through the territory occupied by the Huns. Zhang Qian walked carefully for a few days, but they were surrounded by Huns and all were captured.
The Huns didn't kill them, but sent people to disperse them and control them. Only Tang Yi's father and zhangqian have lived together for more than ten years.
After a long time, the Huns were not so strict with them. Zhangqian consulted with Tang Yi's father. Seeing that the Huns were defenseless, he rode two fast horses and ran away.
They ran west for dozens of days, suffered a lot, escaped from the Xiongnu territory, did not find the Yue people, but broke into another country called Dawan (in modern Central Asia).
Dawan and Xiongnu are close neighbors, and all the locals understand Xiongnu dialect. Zhang Qian and Tang Yi's father can speak Hun dialect, which is convenient to speak. They met King Dawan, who had long heard that the Han Dynasty was a rich and powerful country. This time, he heard that the envoys of the Han Dynasty had arrived, welcomed them, and sent someone to escort them to Kangzhou (about between Lake Balkhash and Aral Sea today), and then from Kangzhou to Renyue.
After being defeated by Xiongnu, the Yue family moved to Daxia (now northern Afghanistan) and established the Yue family country, unwilling to fight against Xiongnu again. Zhang Qian's words did not interest the King of Yue, but because Zhang Qian was an envoy of the Han Dynasty, he was received politely.
Zhang Qian and Tang Yi's father lived in Dayue's home for more than a year, went to a big summer and saw many things they had never seen before. But they couldn't convince the big moon family to deal with the Huns and had to come back. After passing through the territory of Xiongnu, he was detained for a period of time. Fortunately, the Huns were in civil strife, so he fled back to Chang 'an.
Zhang Qian didn't come back until he was away for thirteen years. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought that he had made great contributions and named him as a Chinese medicine practitioner.
Zhang Qian made a detailed report to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty about the countries in the Western Regions. He said: "In summer, I saw bamboo sticks produced in Qiongshan (in today's Sichuan province, Qiongyin qióng) and fine cloth produced in Sichuan (in today's Chengdu, Sichuan). The locals said that these things were sold by Tianzhu (now India) merchants. " He thinks that since Tianzhu can buy things from Sichuan, it must be not far from Sichuan.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian as an emissary and set out from Sichuan with gifts to make friends with Tianzhu. Zhang Qian divided the troops into four teams and went to Tianzhu separately. Four groups of people walked two thousand miles each, but they couldn't find it. Some were beaten back by local tribes.
A group of people going south were also blocked when they arrived in Kunming. The envoys of the Han Dynasty bypassed Kunming and went to Yunnan and Vietnam (in present-day eastern Yunnan). The last generation of Dian Yue Wang was originally from Chu, and was isolated from the Central Plains for several generations. He is willing to help Zhang Qian find the way to Tianzhu, but Kunming is blocked in the middle and can't get there.
When Zhang Qian returned to Chang 'an, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought that although he didn't find Tianzhu, he was satisfied with making a friend who had never been in contact with Yunnan and Vietnam.
After Wei Qing and Huo Qubing wiped out the main force of Xiongnu soldiers, Xiongnu fled to the north of the desert. Many countries in the western regions saw that Xiongnu had lost power and influence and were unwilling to pay tribute to Xiongnu. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took this opportunity to send Zhang Qian to the Western Regions again. In 65438 BC+065438 BC+09 BC, Zhang Qian and several of his deputies made friends with the Western Regions with 300 warriors, two horses each, more than 10,000 cattle and sheep, gold, coins, silks and satins and other gifts.
When Zhang Qian arrived in Wusun (Xinjiang), King Wusun came out to meet him. Zhang Qian gave him a generous gift, suggesting that the two countries become relatives and fight against the Huns together. King Wusun only knew that the Han Dynasty was far away from Wusun, but he didn't know how powerful the Han Dynasty was. He wanted help from the Han Dynasty, but he was afraid of offending the Huns. So Wu Sun and his subjects discussed how to deal with the Huns for several days, but they still couldn't decide.
Afraid of delaying the day, Zhang Qian sent his deputies with gifts to contact Dayuan, Dayue, Khotan (in Hotan, Xinjiang, Khotan County) and other countries.
King Wu Sunguo also sent several translators to help them.
Many of these representatives have been away for many days and have not returned. King Wusun sent Zhang Qian back to Chang 'an first. He sent dozens of people to visit Chang 'an with Zhang Qian, and took dozens of marooned horses to the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very happy to see them, and he also met the horse sent by King Wusun, and gave special treatment to Wusun's emissary.
A year later, Zhang Qian died of illness. Zhang Qian's deputy sent to western countries also returned to Chang 'an. The delegates summed up the places they have been to, and they have always been to 36 countries.
Since then, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has sent envoys to visit western countries every year, and the Han Dynasty has established friendly exchanges with western countries. The envoys and businessmen sent by the western regions are also in an endless stream. China's silk and silk products are transported to West Asia and then to Europe through the Western Regions. Later, people called this route "Silk Road".