At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, after Zhang Qian, an outstanding strategist and diplomat appeared. He is the famous Ban Chao. He was appointed as an envoy to the western regions. After arduous struggle, he opened the Hexi Corridor and revived the Silk Road. He is a hero who has made outstanding contributions to promoting economic and cultural exchanges between China and the West. The hero who joined the army was the man of the hour, Ban Chao.
After Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty established the Eastern Han Dynasty, he asked Ban Biao, a great scholar, to sort out the history of the Western Han Dynasty. Ban Chao is the son of Ban Biao, a famous writer and historian. His father, Ban Biao, and his brother, Ban Gu, are both very famous historians, and the famous history book Hanshu was jointly compiled by their father and son. Ban Chao, who has worked hard since childhood, is full of ideals for the future. He is willing to think, good at expression and has read many books.
In 62 AD (the fifth year of Han Yongping), Ban Gu was called to Luoyang by Liu Zhuang, Ming Di, and became a famous scribe. Ban Chao and his mother followed. At that time, because of his poor family, Ban Chao got a job copying books for the government to earn money to support his family.
However, although Ban Chao was born in a literary family, he was not interested in literature. After a long time, he is no longer willing to do this boring copying work. One day, when he was copying documents, he suddenly felt bored and distressed. He couldn't help but stand up, give up his pen and sigh: "A gentleman has no ambition, so he should still make meritorious service for Fu Jiezi and Zhang Qian in a foreign country so that they can study for a long time." In this way, he decided to join the army and give up his desk job to join the army. Hearing this, people around him laughed at his whimsy. Ban Chao lamented: "How can a mediocre person understand the ambition of a strong person!"
In 73 AD, Ban Chao joined the army and got his wish. At that time, Emperor Han Ming sent General Dou Gu to attack the Huns. Ban Chao went to war with the army and served as Dou Gu's agent Sima. Because of his bravery in fighting, he repeatedly made meritorious military service and was appreciated by Dou Gu. He was sent to the Western Regions to contact the countries in the Western Regions and fight against the Huns together.
At that time, both the Eastern Han Dynasty and Xiongnu wanted to win over the western countries in order to enhance their own strength and weaken their opponents, so they had to use kindness and prestige to the western countries. Ban Chao arrived in Shanshan with 36 followers. At first, Wang Shanshan was very polite to them. A few days later, the Huns also sent messengers to contact Shanshan. Due to the provocation of Xiongnu emissaries, King Shanshan's attitude towards Ban Chao gradually became cold and hostile. The vigilant Ban Chao thought that the Huns might send messengers, and King Shanshan was inclined to the Huns, so he had to strike first. One night, a strong wind blew, and Ban Chao set fire to the camp of Xiongnu Messenger Corps.
The Huns were unprepared and woke up from their sleep. I don't know how many men and horses there were in the Han army, so I was scared to death and ran away. More than 30 people, including Hun emissaries, were killed on the spot, and about 100 people were all burned to death. King Shanshan saw that the Xiongnu Mission was completely destroyed by Ban Chao and agreed to cooperate with the Eastern Han Dynasty. Ban Chao successfully fulfilled his mission.
Later, Ban Chao went to the Western Regions, this time in Khotan. In the kingdom of Khotan, there is a superstition about wizards, who talk wildly and want to sacrifice the horses of China envoys to the gods. Ban Chao agreed, and when the wizard came, Ban Chao killed him by surprise. The tiger's mouth snatched the food, shaking the mountain and shaking the tiger, which achieved the deterrent effect. King Khotan had long heard of Ban Chao's fame. Seeing this scene, he was also frightened and said, "I am willing to make peace with the Han Dynasty." . Shanshan and Yutian are the main countries in the Western Region, and they made good friends with the Han Dynasty. Other countries in the western regions, such as Qiuci in Kuqa County, Xinjiang today, and Shule in Kashgar, Xinjiang today, were also reconciled with the Han Dynasty.
Later, Ban Chao sent missions to various countries in the Western Regions to help them get rid of the bondage and slavery of Xiongnu, which made more than 50 countries in the Western Regions join the Eastern Han Dynasty. Ban Chao went to the Western Regions at the age of 40 and returned to Luoyang at the age of 765, 438+0. He lived in the western regions for 3 1 year, protected the business travel along the Silk Road and strengthened the ties between the western regions and the mainland. Countries in the western regions have broken diplomatic relations with the Han Dynasty for 65 years since Wang Mang came to power. Because of Ban Chao, the two sides began to communicate again, which restored the communication between Zhang Qian and the western regions.