The great man will live forever

Chapter 293: The Power of the Eastern Han Dynasty (Sanle Shi Yanran became a marquis from thousands of miles away)

Things in the world are never smooth sailing.

As the saying goes, when things go to extremes, they must turn against each other. In his letter, Ban Chao proposed the strategy of "using barbarians to control barbarians."

After Han Zhang Emperor Liu Jin looked at the list, he knew that Ban Chao's achievements could be successful. He was very satisfied and prepared to increase Ban Chao's strength.

Reinforcements had not yet arrived. Yarkand believed that the Han army would not come, so it surrendered to Kucha. Fan Chen, the captain of Shule, also rebelled.

Therefore, Ban Chao did not make any big progress, basically it was Ping Shule and Yarkand.

At that time, the Wusun Kingdom had a strong military force. Ban Chao was keenly aware of this problem and thought that he could use its strength, so he wrote a letter saying: "Wusun is a big country with one hundred thousand archers, so Emperor Wu married Princess Xijun to King Wusun. .

By the time of Emperor Xiaoxuan, it finally had its effect. Now you can send envoys to appease Wusun and cooperate with him. "

Emperor Zhang of Han Dynasty Liu Jin adopted his suggestion.

In the eighth year of the founding of the People's Republic of China (83 AD), Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty Liu Jin paid homage to Ban Chao as the commander-in-chief of the generals and soldiers, and borrowed flag-raising instruments such as drums and banners. Xu Qian was promoted to Army Sima, and Wei Hou Li Yi was sent to escort Wusun envoys. He also gave brocade and silk to people of Kunmi and below.

But when Li Yi reached Khotan, he was catching up with Qiuci's attack on Shule. He was too frightened to move forward.

In order to cover up his cowardice, he wrote to the court, saying that his efforts to pacify the Western Regions were in vain. He also said that Ban Chao embraced his beloved wife, held his young son in his arms, and was enjoying peace and happiness abroad without thinking about domestic affairs.

After hearing this, Ban Chao sighed and said, "I am not as good as Zeng Shen, but I have been slandered by the Three Supreme Beings. I'm afraid some people will doubt me now."

Fortunately, Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty Liu Jin was not a foolish emperor and did not listen to Li Yi's slander.

He issued a special edict to refute Li Yi, saying: "You are just talking nonsense. He believes in Ban Chao's judgment and his loyalty."

And in order to show his trust in Ban Chao, Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty directly ordered that the etiquette should be under Ban Chao's jurisdiction.

Whether Li Yi returns to the Central Plains or accepts Ban Chao's command on the spot is entirely up to Ban Chao. You can do whatever you want.

Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty still had great trust in Ban Chao. He directly said in the edict: "If Ban Chao really hugs his wife and children and misses the Han Dynasty, then the more than 1000 warriors under his command will also long for their hometown in the Central Plains. Okay, why can I still be of the same mind as Ban Chao?"

But something shocking still happened, even though Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty had already said this.

This Banchao still insists on divorcing his wife. This is probably the only necessity and heartache in his life. She is the wife who has been with him for more than ten years.

What is even more surprising is that Ban Chao did not retaliate against the slanderer Li Yi. Instead, he showed enough etiquette and sent Li Yi back to the Central Plains.

His subordinates all advised him to kill Li Yi, but Ban Chao said, "It is precisely because Li Yi slandered him that he must be sent back to the Central Plains.

To the fullest extent, he showed to the court that he was an upright and loyal minister who was not afraid of slander. "

Ban Chao did this out of necessity.

Even though he had obtained the highest level of recognition from the emperor, he still had to insist on divorcing his wife. This was the most helpless aspect.

This is because Ban Chao had experienced something personally in the ten years before he went to the Western Regions, which made him understand that it was the emperor's approval, which was not necessarily reliable.

For example, even if the emperor is supporting him, what if the emperor suddenly dies?

Ban Chao had encountered this kind of thing before. When he was 41 years old, he went to the Western Regions as an envoy. In just two years, he became famous and conquered the three countries of Shanshan, Khotan, and Shule, and gained the power of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty. quite.

However, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty died in the third year after Ban Chao arrived in the Western Regions. As a result, it triggered a major adjustment of the Western Region strategy of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The good situation that Ban Chao had fought so hard was instantly in danger.

Ban Chao himself was almost transferred back to the Central Plains. In the end, Ban Chao decided to stay in the Western Regions and fight to the death, and finally opened up the situation again.

Therefore, Ban Chao had to show his loyalty again and again. Even if Emperor Zhang of Han died, the successor emperor would continue to support him because he was so loyal. This was his plan.

Seven years later, Ban Chao gathered a total of 25000 people from Khotan and other countries to completely solve the big trouble in Yarkand. After learning the news, King Qiuci sent General Zuo to send troops from Wensu, Gumo, and Weitou to rescue Yarkand. .

The enemy is strong and we are weak, so Ban Chao decides to use the strategy of diverting the tiger away from the mountain.

He summoned the generals and the King of Khotan to discuss the military situation. He deliberately pretended to be timid and said: "Now that we can't defeat the enemy with a small number of soldiers, the best strategy is to disperse. Khotan will go east from here, and the long history of Shule will also return to the west from here. Each will return to his home, and wait until he hears Set off with the sound of drums in the night.”

Everyone was in a state of confusion. Not long after, someone ran away and went back to report the news.

In fact, Ban Chao secretly asked his people to deliberately relax the supervision of the Kucha prisoners and let them escape back to report the news.

All this was under Ban Chao's control. King Qiuci was very happy after receiving the news.

"Little Banchao, if this is the case, I will definitely chop off his head!"

He personally led 1 cavalrymen to wait for Banchao in the west, while King Wensu led men to block Khotan in the east.

Finding no one there is a typical case of trying to lure a tiger away from the mountain.

After receiving the news, Ban Chao secretly assembled his troops and rushed straight to the Shache Army in the middle of the night.

"kill!"

"The enemy is coming!"

"Didn't they go back?"

"Run!"

The Yarkand Army had no time to react, collapsed in a frenzy, and fled in all directions.

"kill!"

"Come on!"

Ban Chao and his men chased and beheaded more than 5000 people.

"That's King Shache!"

"Chase!"

"This king surrenders and asks for forgiveness from the Han Dynasty!"

King Yarkand surrendered in fear.

At this time, King Qiuci was still thinking, it was almost dawn, why hadn't these people come yet?

This is the gap, dimensionality reduction blow!

Ban Chao's battle shocked the Western Regions, and many countries surrendered.

The neighboring Yuezhi Kingdom also wanted to get closer, so it sent an envoy to Ban Chao's residence to pay tribute to the Han Dynasty with treasures, lions, etc., and proposed to marry a Han Dynasty princess, but Ban Chao directly detained him. What did he want? Do you deserve it? That’s my big man’s princess!

The Yuezhi was furious. In the summer of the second year of Yongyuan (90 years), Dayuezhi's deputy king Xie led troops to the east across Congling to attack Banchao. Banchao's army was at a disadvantage and everyone was panicked.

Ban Chao said calmly: "Although there are many Yuezhi soldiers, they have traveled thousands of miles and crossed the green mountains to invade. The transportation is extremely inconvenient. What is there to worry about? As long as we collect the food and hold on, the enemy will He will surrender out of hunger. He will defeat the enemy in just a few dozen days."

As expected, the Yuezhi army couldn't defeat it after several attacks. They were panicked and hungry.

So he sent people to Qiuci to buy grain, but still fell into Ban Chao's plan. The purchasing troops sent to buy grain were all intercepted and killed on the way, and their heads were then sent to the enemy's camp.

The leader of the Yuezhi was shocked and immediately sent someone to plead guilty and surrender, asking Ban Chao to let them live.

Ban Chao smiled slightly: "Go back."

From then on, the Kingdom of the Moon respected the Han Dynasty extremely and paid tribute every year.

Not long after, in the third year of Yongyuan (91), Qiuci, Gumo, Wensu and other countries all surrendered.

Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty died as expected. The succeeding Emperor He still trusted Ban Chao and appointed Ban Chao as the Protector of the Western Regions, Xu Qian as the Chief Historian, Bai Ba as the King of Qiuci, and sent Sima Yao Guang to escort him.

Ban Chao and Yao Guang ordered Qiuci to depose the original king Yuliduo and establish Bai Ba. Yao Guang brought Yuliduo back to the capital. Ban Chao then stationed himself in Kucha Tagancheng.

At this time, among the countries in the Western Region, only three countries were left: Yanqi, Weixu (now northeast of Yanqi, Xinjiang), and Yuli (now northeast of Korla, Xinjiang).

Because they had killed Chen Mu, the governor of the Western Regions, they were afraid and had not yet surrendered.

The other countries have been pacified.

In the autumn of the sixth year of Yongyuan (94 years), Ban Chao dispatched a total of troops from eight vassal states including Kucha and Shanshan to attack Yanqi, Weixu and Weili. Ban Chao led them to the old city where Chen Mu was stationed, killed them all, and reported them to the capital. They also sent troops to plunder, killing more than people, capturing people, and more than horses, cattle, and sheep.

Ban Chao appointed Yuan Meng as King of Yanqi. In order to stabilize the situation, Ban Chao stayed there for half a year.

At this point, more than fifty countries in the Western Regions have returned to the Han Dynasty, and Ban Chao finally realized his ideal of making contributions to foreign lands.

In the seventh year of Yongyuan (95 years), in order to commend Ban Chao's meritorious service, Emperor He of the Han Dynasty issued an edict to confer him the title of Marquis of Dingyuan, with a settlement of thousands of households. Later generations called him "Ban Dingyuan".

It took Ban Chao 22 years to unify the Western Regions. Nine years later, he returned to Luoyang in the last month of his life and dedicated his life to the Western Regions and the motherland.

He did fulfill his dream at the cost of his life, but the opening of the Silk Road and the return of the Western Regions were such great achievements that made Ban Chao feel gratified.

When Ban Chao swept through the Western Regions, there was another person who made great contributions, which was equivalent to giving Ban Zhao a big assist in unifying the Western Regions, because this person destroyed the Northern Huns.

Let’s take a look at what happened to the Northern Xiongnu, the biggest enemy in the north of the Eastern Han Dynasty?

In the year when Ban Chao played the trick of inducing the tiger to leave the mountain, the Northern Xiongnu defeated Xianbei to the point of defeat, and even the Chanyu was killed. Then there were natural disasters one after another, and people continued to surrender to the Southern Xiongnu.

In October 87 AD, the first year of Zhanghe, Xianbei attacked the Northern Xiongnu. The Northern Xiongnu were defeated and Youliu Chanyu was killed. As a result, the Northern Huns were in chaos, and many Northern Huns surrendered to the Han Dynasty.

The Xianbei are an ancient nomadic nation that emerged on the Mongolian Plateau after the Xiongnu. They emerged in the Greater Khingan Mountains. They belong to the Donghu ethnic group and the Mongolian language group. They were the nomadic nation that had the greatest influence on China during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Donghu was defeated by Maodun Chanyu of the Xiongnu, and was divided into two groups. They retreated to Wuhuan Mountain and Xianbei Mountain respectively. Both of them took the name of the mountain as their clan name, forming Wuhuan and Xianbei. They were ruled by the Xiongnu, so some customs and habits of Xianbei were related to those of the Xiongnu. Wuhuan and Xiongnu are similar.

In 45 AD, Xianbei invaded the border, and the Eastern Han Dynasty destroyed it, which shocked Xianbei.

In 49 A.D., the Eastern Han Dynasty appointed Pianhe as the Great Protector of Xianbei, allowing Xianbei to attack the Northern Xiongnu in consecutive years. Later, all Xianbei leaders surrendered to the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Ming and Zhang, they continued to defend the border fortresses of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Seeing the dying Northern Xiongnu, the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu planned to annex them, so he wrote to the court requesting to attack the Northern Xiongnu and completely eliminate the northern border troubles.

The emperor at this time was Hanhe Emperor Liu Zhao, who had just succeeded to the throne. He was only ten years old, so the person in charge was Empress Dowager Dou.

This is also a great person, a bit like Empress Lu in her style. She is not Dou Yifang, the Queen Mother Dou of the Western Han Dynasty. Her posthumous title is Queen Zhangde Dou, and she is known as "Dou Zhangde" in the world.

She was born in Pinling, Youfufeng (today's Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province). She was the empress of Han Zhang Emperor Liu Jin, the great-granddaughter of Guangwu Emperor Guo Shengtong, and the great-granddaughter of Grand Sikong Dourong. Her mother was Princess Xianyang, daughter of Liu Qiang, Prince Gong of the East China Sea. .

In the second year of Jianchu (77), she was selected into Yeting and became the concubine of Emperor Zhang of Han Dynasty, Liu Jin.

After the death of Empress Dowager Ma, Empress Dou conspired with her mother, Princess Xianyang, to get rid of the Song Guiren sisters, deposed the crown prince Liu Qing, and made her adopted son Liu Zhao the crown prince.

Afterwards, he assassinated Liu Zhao's biological mother, Liang Guiren, and tortured his father, Liang Song, to death. He then exiled the entire Liang family, imprisoned Princess Wuyin, demoted Queen Mother Ma and her family, and at the same time purged the harem so that no one in the palace knew about Liu Zhao. The biological mother cleared the way for the Dou family to have monopoly in the future.

After Liu Zhao ascended the throne, the Dou family was revered as the empress dowager, and she was called the empress dowager. This marked the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty in which the empress dowager ruled the country and had the exclusive power of her relatives, which was known in history as the "Dou family's autocratic power."

Empress Dowager Dou handed the memorial of the Southern Huns to Geng Bing. Geng Bing said that this was a gift from heaven and should be approved.

But Shangshu Song Yi firmly opposed it. He said that Emperor Guangwu's strategy was to let the barbarians attack each other to achieve a balance.

Xianbei's attack on the Northern Xiongnu is nothing more than to exchange the victory for our rewards. If the Southern Xiongnu are allowed to return to the royal court after reunification, the previous balance will inevitably be broken, and the border will be catastrophic again, so we cannot agree.

However, at this time, someone took the initiative to ask for help to attack the Northern Huns and make meritorious deeds.

He is Dou Xian, the elder brother of Queen Mother Dou. He is a relative of Dou Gu, who originally appreciated and reused Ban Gu.

Dou Gu is the nephew of Dou Rong, the founding hero of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and his father is Dou Rong's younger brother Dou You. Dou Xian's grandfather was Dou Rong's eldest son Dou Mu, who was Dou Gu's cousin, so Dou Gu and Dou Xian were cousins.

This guy Dou Xian is the kind of person who has to be avoided by everyone who meets him, because nothing good will happen if you get involved with him. If someone doesn't like you, he will attack you. If you don't accept it, he will attack you. You can't have a temper. .

This is a master who is not afraid of heaven and earth. Except for his sister Queen Mother Dou and his dead brother-in-law Emperor Han Zhang, he has never been intimidated.

How lawless can he be?

When Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty Liu Jin was in power, he bullied his sister and forced him to buy Princess Qinshui's garden at a low price. The princess was afraid of Dou Xian's power and did not dare to compete with him.

Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, Liu Jin, was furious when he found out and wanted to chop him up. However, his sister destroyed her clothes (downgraded her clothes to show self-blame) and apologized. After repeatedly interceding on his behalf, Emperor Zhang gradually calmed down and ordered him to kill him. Sonoda returned the princess, but did not reuse him.

Now, Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, Liu Jin, has become the elder brother of the Empress Dowager. His arrogance has no limit. The sky is the largest, the earth is the second largest, and I am the third largest. He always walks sideways.

He felt that his sister had become more powerful and he had to keep an eye on her to prevent her and the people around her from harming him. This stare really made him realize the problem.

A handsome young man was often summoned by Empress Dowager Dou, probably for a visit. This man was Liu Chang, the Marquis of Duxiang. He was the great-grandson of Liu Yan, the elder brother of Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was suave, handsome, and talented.

Dou Xian thought that this boy would definitely divide his rights in the future and would not be able to keep him, so he sent someone to kill him. It was a capital crime to assassinate a relative, not to mention that he was the one Empress Dowager Dou liked. Good guy, he directly took his sister's little one away. The lover was killed.

One word, absolutely!

Queen Mother Dou was naturally very angry and ordered a thorough investigation.

Not long after, the truth came out and the murderer was Dou Xian.

Queen Mother Dou immediately put Dou Xian in solitary confinement, and Dou Xian also discovered the seriousness of the matter. Your capital crime has caused an uproar. How can your sister protect you? The key is that my sister also likes that little lover.

Dou Xian immediately asked for help and wanted to attack the Northern Huns to redeem themselves from the death penalty.

Although Queen Mother Dou was angry, she was her brother after all. Blood was thicker than water, and she did not want him to die. Against the unanimous opposition of all the ministers, she asked Dou Xian to go on an expedition to the north to atone for his sins.

In the Han Dynasty, fighting against the Xiongnu was absolutely politically correct. If you win, basically no crime will be considered a crime. You need money and fame, just like fighting Xiao Baga in later generations.

However, no one in the court would have thought that this delinquent young man, whom almost everyone hated, was extremely fierce in fighting.

In 88 AD, Dou Xian was appointed as a general of chariots and cavalry, wearing a golden seal and purple ribbon. He was equipped with subordinates according to the specifications of Sikong. With Jinwu Geng Bing as his deputy, he sent knights from the five schools of the Northern Army, Liyang, Yongying, and Yuanbian twelve counties. , and the Qiang and Hu soldiers came out of the fortress.

In the second year, Dou Xian and Geng Bing each led 4,000 cavalry, and the Southern Xiongnu Zuoguli Wang Shizi led 10,000 cavalry to send troops from Shuofang Jilusai (now the entrance of Hasage Canyon in the northwest of Dengkou County, Inner Mongolia);

Nandan sent troops from the Manyi Valley (now Guyang County, Inner Mongolia) with more than 10,000 cavalry from Tuntu River;

Deng Hong, the general who conquered the Liao Dynasty, and eight thousand Qiang and Hu cavalry from the border areas who had surrendered to the imperial court, and Zuoxian Wang Anguo's ten thousand cavalry sent troops from Pianyang Sai (the border of Guyang County).

The three armies met at Zhuoxie Mountain (today's western Mongolia, east of the Altai Mountains).

Dou Xian ordered the deputy captains Yan Pan, Sima Geng Kui, Geng Tan and others to lead more than 10,000 elite troops to fight Bei Shanyu in Jiluoshan.

In a great battle, the Northern Huns were defeated crazily, and the three armies were already well prepared. They chased and cut down the defeated Northern Huns. They seemed to be cutting from the southern sky to the Beitian Gate, and chased them all the way to the North Sea of ​​​​Dihai, killing 13000 people in total. They captured millions of livestock and surrendered a total of 81 tribes and more than 20 people...

In this battle, the Northern Huns were completely crippled, even their legs were gone.

After the mountains, Dou Xian and Geng Bing climbed up Yanran Mountain and asked Ban Gu to carve the "Inscription on Yanran Mountain" that has been passed down to this day on the stone tablet to promote the power of the Han Dynasty, and then returned in triumph.

"In the autumn and seventh month of the first year of Wei Yongyuan, there was an uncle of the Han Yuan Dynasty named Dou Xian, the cavalry general, Yinliang Shengming, who ascended to the Yi royal family and accepted him in Dalu to defend the Qing Dynasty and Jixi.

Then he and Zhijinwu Geng Bing reported on their duties and patrolled the country. Manage troops in Shuofang. The school of Ying Yang, the warriors of Chi and Tiger, the six divisions of Yuan Gai, the Chanyu of Jinan, the Wuhuan of Donghu, the Diqiang of Xirong, a group of nobles, kings and kings, with 30,000 knights.

Yuan Rong was lightly armed, with a long hub and four points. Clouds and supplies covered the road, and there were more than three thousand vehicles. The eight formations were formed, and the gods came to show their power. The black armor was dazzling, and the red flags were crimson in the sky. Suiling Gaoque, chickens and deer descended, passed through Qilu, and cut off the desert. Wenyu was killed to provoke drums, and the bloody corpses were driven away to dye the eel.

Then the four schools went on a rampage, the stars swept away, the country was desolate for thousands of miles, and there were no traces of bandits. So the territory was destroyed and the area was destroyed, and it turned around and turned around. It passed the test map and had a full view of its mountains and rivers.

Then he passed Zhuoxie, crossed Anhou, rode Yanran, crept to the area of ​​Dunluo, and burned Laoshang's Longting. The upper part is used to express the anger of Gao and Wen, and the mysterious spirit of the ancestors is illuminated; the lower part is used to stabilize the descendants, expand the realm, and revitalize the heavenly voice of the great Han Dynasty.

It is said that one effort can lead to long-term relief, and a temporary effort can lead to eternal peace. This is why the mountains are sealed and stones are published to show their great virtues.

His speech said: King Shuo is here to conquer the desolate people, to suppress the evil and cruel people, and to cut off the overseas. The earth's boundaries are long, the gods are enshrined in the hills, and the emperor Xi is here to vibrate the world! "

The mighty king's army conquers all directions; annihilates the ferocity and unifies the overseas; travels thousands of miles to the ends of the earth; enshrines sacred mountains and builds monuments; promotes imperial affairs and inspires all generations.

This great victory was not only able to take the blame, but also surpassed it, far surpassed it. Leaving behind Le Shi Yanran who was worse than Feng Lang Ju Xu was also a great honor among military generals.

There are only a few people in later generations who can reach this level. In the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing conquered the Turks and sealed the wolf in Xu. , Le stone records merit.

Feng Lang is the only one in Xu, but Le Shi Yan is comparable!

Dou Tai was very happy. This brother had such a long face. He immediately promoted Dou Xian to the supreme commander-in-chief of the country. The general was placed above the three princes. The death row prisoner instantly became the most powerful official in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

What is excitement? This is called stimulation. What makes you stand up? This is called turning over.

In the following two years, under the successive bombings of Dou Xian and the Southern Huns, the dying Northern Huns were beaten to the point where they could no longer breathe. The biggest enemy in the north for 300 years fell.

(End of this chapter)