The Western Region has always been the second battlefield between the Han people and the Xiongnu. Long before Zhang Qian of the Han Dynasty sent his envoy to the Western Regions, the Xiongnu had already established forces in the Western Regions and had a governor of the Western Regions (Cangpu Duwei) stationed in the Yanqi area to govern the countries in the Western Regions. It can be seen that the area controlled by the Xiongnu during that period was already huge.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he implemented a series of expansion policies that made the Han Dynasty more prestigious. Especially after Zhang Qian passed through the Western Regions, Han envoys began to communicate continuously among the countries in the Western Regions and cultivate fields and plows. The relationship between Han and Hungary became increasingly complicated, and the two started a tug-of-war in the Western Regions.
The strong and weak relationship between the Han and the Huns is also clearly reflected in the attitude of the countries in the Western Regions towards envoys. When the Xiongnu was strong, all the expenses for the Huns’ envoys to the Western Regions were provided by the kingdom where they were located. When the Han Dynasty was weak, its envoys had to use money to buy food and drink in the Western Regions. How could this make the Han Dynasty feel embarrassed? In addition, under the pressure of the Xiongnu, various countries often intercepted and killed Han envoys, so the Han Dynasty finally launched a series of retaliatory wars.
Fu Jiezi was from Beidi (now northwest of Qingyang, Gansu). When Emperor Zhao ascended the throne and Huo Guang assisted the government, facing the current situation in which Qiuci and Loulan in the Western Regions allied with the Xiongnu to kill Han envoys and plunder property, Fu Jiezi requested to be sent as an envoy to Dayuan. Emperor Zhao of Han and Huo Guang agreed to his request and made him When he passed Loulan and Qiuci, he blamed the kings of the two countries for betraying the Han Dynasty and killing Han Dynasty officials and envoys. After arriving in the Western Regions, Fu Jiezi used the Han Emperor's edict to question Loulan and Qiuci, and killed the Xiongnu envoys. After returning to the court, he was appointed as Pingyue Supervisor. In the fourth year of Yuanfeng (77 BC), he was ordered to bring gold and brocade to Loulan in the name of reward, beheaded the Loulan King at the banquet, and established another Han Loulan hostage as the king. He was granted the title of Marquis of Yiyang for his merit. Finally, the Han Dynasty also sent a palace maid to be the new king's queen. Fu Jiezi entered the imperial court with hundreds of people and took the heads of the Fan kings like picking up mustard. His extraordinary courage and superb resourcefulness were highly praised by the world. In the 1950s, there was still a "Fujiaxiang" spread in his hometown. Unfortunately, later was demolished.
In the third year of Benshi (71 BC), the Han Dynasty and the Wusun Kingdom (Kyrgyz Ishtik City) finally reached an agreement and decided to jointly send troops to attack the Huns in an attempt to cause the Huns to collapse in the difficult situation of fighting on two fronts. Among them, the Han Dynasty sent five generals including Tian Guangming and more than 160,000 cavalry troops from Yunzhong (today's Togtuo, Inner Mongolia), Xihe (today's southwest of Jungar Banner in Inner Mongolia), and Zhangye (today's Zhangye, Gansu). , Wuyuan (now Baotou, Inner Mongolia), and Jiuquan (now Jiuquan, Gansu) sent troops from five directions. The Wusun Kingdom sent Captain Chang Hui to control the more than 50,000 Wusun cavalry and advance east and west with the Han army, forming a huge pincer offensive to attack the Xiongnu.
When the Huns got the news, they immediately made a large-scale emergency retreat. As a result, the powerful Five Route Army of the Han Dynasty penetrated more than a thousand kilometers into the desert and still could not capture the enemy's main force. The main force of the Xiongnu fled westward in panic, but unexpectedly encountered the Wusun soldiers. After a fierce battle, they returned defeated. The Wusun captured more than 40,000 people including the Xiongnu prince, and Chang Hui was named Changluo Marquis. In the winter of the next year, the Xiongnu were unwilling to be defeated by the small country they had enslaved, so they led a large army to attack Wusun. However, God did not bless the Xiongnu. When the army was halfway through, they encountered heavy snow, and less than 10% of the survivors survived. one. Wusun, Wuhuan, Ding Ling and others heard the news and hurriedly mobilized their troops to attack. The Xiongnu "lost three-tenths of their people and five-tenths of their livestock, and their national strength was greatly weakened."
Soon after, three thousand Han troops rode north to attack the Huns, but they were able to capture several thousand Huns and return them. The Huns did not dare to retaliate, so they had the intention of making peace with the Han Dynasty. This victory was not only the fruit of the resolute implementation of the policy of uniting with Ukraine to attack the Huns since Emperor Wu, but also the effectiveness of Zhang Qian's westward policy of cutting off the right arm of the Huns half a century later. From this point of view, Zhang Qian's keen vision can see sixty years into the future. Such resourcefulness shows that he is not only a great explorer, but also a great statesman. Since then, the Xiongnu has become even weaker. As one goes, the Han Dynasty becomes more powerful, which directly determines the situation in the Western Regions. Most countries have come under the control of the Han Dynasty since then.
The vast Cheshi Kingdom (Jimsar, Xinjiang) located north of the Tianshan Mountains was one of the main routes from the Han Dynasty to the Wusun Kingdom. King Wugui of Cheshi married a Xiongnu princess, so he formed an alliance with the Xiongnu and continued to cover up and kill the Han Dynasty envoys.
In the third year of Emperor Xuan's Dijie (67 BC), Zheng Ji, the chief of the Han Dynasty's settlement in the Quli Kingdom, led the settlement regiment of 1,500 people under the instruction of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. He also mobilized armies from various countries and assembled more than 10,000 people. , attacked the chariot division, and soon defeated his army. The Huns sent troops to help, and Zheng Ji led the troops to attack. When the two armies encountered each other, the Huns were afraid and retreated. Wu Gui knew that he could not resist, but he surrendered and was afraid of the Huns' revenge. Faced with the dilemma, Wugui simply gave up the throne and went west to the Wusun Kingdom. The Han Dynasty moved the people of Che Division eastward to Jiaohe City (Turpan, Xinjiang), settled in Che Division's former homeland, and sent 300 Han soldiers to garrison Che Division. In the first year of Yuankang of Emperor Xuan (65 BC), the brother of King Shache of South Road called Tuzheng and killed King Wannian who was close to the Han Dynasty.
Why was Wannian killed by his brother Hu Tuzheng?
This involves the status of princesses from various countries in the Western Regions who have made peace with the Han Dynasty. It is understandable that although Princess Chong Guo and Qin may have been a little-known palace maid in the Han Dynasty palace at that time, she became a symbol of the Western Han Empire in the Western Regions. It is conceivable that her status was noble and prominent.
As the first princess of the Western Han Dynasty to station in the Western Regions, Liu Xijun married Wusun Wang Cen. When Liu Xijun died, the Han Dynasty married another princess Liu Jieyou to the successor Wusun Wang Weng Guimi, and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. One daughter married Jiangbin, king of Qiuci, and Jiangbin was deeply proud to be the grandson-in-law of a powerful man. The princess of the Han Dynasty also had a maid, Feng Shi, who was married to the general of the Wusun Kingdom. She was known as one of the most beautiful and successful female politicians in history. She often represented the princess and the Han Dynasty government on envoys to various countries in the Western Regions. Mediating disputes, countries have high respect for her.
In 65 BC, in order to strengthen the relationship between the Han Dynasty and Kucha, King Jiangbin and his wife went to Chang'an to meet Liu Xun, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xun was deeply moved by his loyalty and gave them a large amount of money. When Jiangbin and his wife returned to the Western Regions, the grand procession was the envy of all countries, even the Yarkand Kingdom (Yarkand, Xinjiang) far away in the western region of the Western Regions. Therefore, after that, the Yarkand Kingdom made every possible effort to make good friends with the envoys of the Han Dynasty, hoping to get strong support from the Han Dynasty. After the death of the king of the Yarkand Kingdom, he had no children. In order to rely on the prestige of the Han Dynasty, he welcomed Liu Jieyou's youngest son Wannian. Be a king. Unexpectedly, Wan Nian was an incompetent gangster, which greatly disappointed the people of the country. The king's younger brother, Hu Tu Zheng, killed Wan Nian and succeeded to the throne himself.
At the same time, Hutu Zheng also killed the Han envoy Xi Chongguo and incited the countries in the South Road to rebel against the Han Dynasty. The South Road was blocked and the Han Dynasty was shocked because he not only killed the symbol of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions, but also directly It violated the Han's strategic interests in the Western Regions. Therefore, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty decided to let the Han Dynasty's envoys in the Western Regions severely attack the Hutu Zheng.
At this time, General Zheng Ji was still in the Beidao Reclamation Area, and Feng Fengshi was on his way to Dawan as an envoy sent by Emperor Xuan. Feng Fengshi acted decisively. With the support of Zheng Ji, Feng Fengshi recruited more than 15,000 soldiers from various countries in the Western Regions in the name of the Han Dynasty envoy to attack Yarkand. Soon he captured the capital, pacified the South Road, and committed suicide in fear. The head of Hu Tuzheng was sent all the way to Chang'an. Feng Fengshi took advantage of the situation and entered the country of Dayuan. The king was afraid of the power of the Han Dynasty and was especially respectful to him. Feng Fengshi even got the country's famous horse "Elephant Dragon" and brought it back to Chang'an. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty was very happy.
It is a pity that Zheng Ji's settlement area in the north greatly threatened the interests of the Xiongnu, because before, the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty were governed separately based on the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. This time the Han army penetrated deep into the Xiongnu's sphere of influence, and the Xiongnu continued to send troops to harass them. Three years later, the Han Dynasty believed that it was impossible to maintain a stronghold north of the Tianshan Mountains, so it abolished the settlement area and returned it to the south of the Tianshan Mountains, merging it with the settlement area of the Quli Kingdom.
Although this settlement area is gone, Jiaohe City, the center of Zheng Ji's army north of the Tianshan Mountains, has not been damaged. It is called the Kingdom before Cheshi, and the old place is called the Kingdom after Cheshi, and the control of the northern foot of the sky is because There is no need to worry about harassment by the Huns, so it becomes more convenient.
In the second year of Emperor Xuan's reign (60 BC), the Xiongnu drove out their king Xian Shan. They admired the power of the Han Dynasty and surrendered to the Han Dynasty with tens of thousands of people. Emperor Xuan sent Zheng Ji to send 50,000 soldiers from Quli and Qiuci. , went to welcome the surrender, and escorted them all the way to Chang'an, the capital. If there were any escapees on the road, they would be killed. Zheng Ji defeated the charioteer and sent down the sun to chase the king. His reputation shocked the Western Regions. Emperor Xuan worshiped him as the protector of the Western Regions and granted him the title of Marquis of Anyuan. He also protected the charioteer and other countries in the northwest. Zheng Ji then was in the center of the Western Regions, and the Han government appointed Zheng Ji as the first Protector of the Western Regions. The Protectorate was located in the Wulei Kingdom (now northeast of Luntai, Xinjiang), and built Wulei City, more than 2,700 miles away from Yangguan, to command the Tianshan Mountains. In the north and south, the Han Dynasty's orders were officially issued in the vast Western Regions.
The establishment of the Protectorate of the Western Regions was an epoch-making event in Chinese history. From then on, the Han and the Huns fought against each other for more than seventy years, from Cheshi and Shanshan in the east to Wusun and Dawan in the west. All the countries in the Western Regions were included in the Han Dynasty, and the Huns were at a disadvantage in the confrontation with the Han.
Someone commented: "The beginning of Zhang Qian, the end of Zheng Ji, the wish of Han Wu, and the realization of Han Xuan."
The power of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions continued to increase. Even the Xiongnu, who had always been strong, had to surrender and no longer dared to compete with the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions. The previously established boy servant captains were abolished after becoming ineffective. From then on, the vast north and south of the Tianshan Mountains Tu, a majestic and vast land, ultimately belongs to the domain of the Han Dynasty.
Through continuous peacemaking, wars and other excellent foreign policies, the Han Dynasty's rule in the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains gradually consolidated, and the pressure from the Xiongnu on the Han Dynasty was also reduced, allowing the Han Dynasty to extend its tentacles to the Xiongnu-controlled areas north of the Tianshan Mountains.
After the Huns experienced a heavy defeat in the Western Regions, their decline became uncontrollable. In order to consolidate their power in the Western Regions, the Xiongnu launched a life-and-death struggle with the Han army in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. However, the Xiongnu did not expect that they would not be defeated by the powerful Han army, but would be defeated by the once small country and their vassal Wusun Kingdom. He was struck head-on, and the army was defeated like a mountain. The Xiongnu originally hoped that by marching from both sides at the same time, the flowers would blossom and everyone would be happy. However, after the failure of the Western Region, they had to set their sights on the East again. Because the Western Regions at this time had gradually been forged like iron barrels by the Han Dynasty, the only thing the Xiongnu could do was to continuously harass the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains and build a certain line of defense to prevent the Han army from pursuing victory.
There is no doubt that the Xiongnu's approach was effective. The Han Dynasty army did not actually want to completely defeat the Xiongnu at this time, because they could not find a reason to allow the Han Dynasty to use the whole country to occupy a barren grassland desert. composed of continents. Moreover, the Xiongnu were still very strong at this time, and the attacks from the Han Dynasty army and the Western Region Allied Forces did not damage their vitality. The flexibility and maneuverability of the horse nation made the Han Dynasty army, which had suffered countless losses in the past, dare not act rashly. Even so, the Huns were unable to reverse their decline. In the war in the east, it was defeated by the emerging Wuhuan tribe (the upper reaches of the Liao River in western Inner Mongolia), and its power gradually shrank. The country's power declined, and the Chanyu's authority gradually declined. The Chinese people complained about this. In addition, the Chanyu who was in power at this time was violent and murderous, which exacerbated the crisis. The Xiongnu Empire was in a predicament that was about to fall apart.
