Who is a diplomatic master who surrendered to more than 50 countries, and how did he do it?

There is a kind of person in the world who seems to be born for a certain mission. If Huo Qubing is the sword that God gave to the Western Han Empire to beat up the Huns, then Ban Chao is the indestructible shield of the Eastern Han Empire in the western regions.

After more than ten years of unremitting efforts by Wang Mang, the blood of the Huns who had surrendered to the Western Han Dynasty was resurrected. In particular, the northern Xiongnu took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to regain control of the Western Regions, which became the biggest threat to the new Eastern Han Empire.

If we want to break the Xiongnu, we must first cut off its "right arm", control the oasis vassal states in the western regions, and form a favorable strategic situation of east-west attack. However, the Eastern Han Empire, which just put down years of war, did not have enough manpower and material resources to manage the Western Regions. From time to time, countries in the western regions fell into rebellion, which was beyond the reach of the Han army. There was even a tragic scene in which the "Thirteen Warriors of Geng Gong" were trapped in Shule for more than a year, but could not be rescued.

However, the appearance of a character turned around the unfavorable situation in one fell swoop. He only brought a 36-member diplomatic mission, backed by national prestige and relying on personal courage and talented diplomatic means. Finally, it surrendered to more than 50 countries in the western regions and controlled the western regions for 3 1 year, which firmly bound the hands and feet of the northern Xiongnu, and laid a solid foundation for Dou Xian to "seal the wolf in Xu" and completely attack and destroy the northern Xiongnu.

This man is Ban Chao who created a series of myths. His title, like Huo Qubing's "Champion Hou", was not named after a fief, but was specially respected and praised by the imperial court for his outstanding achievements. Dingyuan was praised by the past dynasties for its grand image and iron spirit, and became the flagship name of Beiyang Navy in Qing Dynasty.

Statue of Ban Chao

Ban Chao is an exception in the family. His father, Ban Biao, his brother, Ban Gu, and his sister, Ban Zhao, are all well-known figures in the field of Chinese history, and they have compiled Hanshu alternately. Needless to say, Ban Biao and Ban Gu, Ban Zhao was appointed as the teacher of the queen and the imperial concubine by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (because he married Cao), so he was named as "Cao Dajia (sound Gu, meaning a model of knowing books and honoring ceremony)". In his spare time, he wrote seven chapters of Women's Commandments, which became the code of conduct for traditional women in China.

Growing up in such a family with profound literary accomplishment, Ban Chao's writing level is naturally quite good, but he naturally doesn't like dancing and writing. After my brother went to Luoyang, he copied official documents for the government for many years to subsidize his family. He got tired of copying and threw away his pen.

A courageous person should make an expedition to Wan Li like Zhang Qian and make contributions. How can you always do these stupid things!

This throw actually throws out an idiom: throw a pen and join the army.

Ban Chao's confidence in joining the army expedition came from an unknown fortune teller. The fortune teller pointed to him and said, You were born with a swallow and a tiger's neck. Swallows will fly as far as Wan Li, and tigers will eat meat. This is Wan Li's face.

Therefore, not all Xiong Haizi has the capital to write, and this inspirational brother's behavior should not be the reason for lazy children not to study. Before you throw a pen, you'd better look in the mirror and study your face.

Ban Chao cheerfully signed up for the army and followed Dou Gu to fight the Huns. This walk is a lifetime.

Dou Gu is the son-in-law of Emperor Guangwu, and the Dou family joined the camp of Emperor Guangwu through the introduction of fellow villager Ban Biao in his early years. These two families are family friends. Dou Gu gave him the position of a fake Sima and asked him to lead a small army to fight in the west. Ban Chao, like a falcon, stopped fighting in the Prehai (now Barkol Lake in Xinjiang) in one breath.

Dou Gu saw that this fellow countryman was very capable and liked to travel long distances. He simply let him follow Guo Yao and sent a delegation of 36 people to the Western Regions, hoping to divide and disintegrate the Xiongnu forces through diplomatic means. Dou Gu never dreamed that his casual decision was like throwing three 7s on a slot machine and winning the lottery.

When the mission came to Shanshan, the king had great respect for the envoys of the Han Dynasty at first, but then he became indifferent. Ban Chao felt something was wrong, so he called the staff in the inn and asked, "The Xiongnu emissary has been here for several days. Where do you live now? " ?

Ban Chao, in fact, this is a bluff, and the conference semifinals waiter who lacks experience in political struggle immediately got confused and told the whole truth-

The Xiongnu Mission did come, and King Shanshan is suspicious now and doesn't know how to take sides.

Ban Chao locked the waiter into the darkroom, immediately called his 36 people, drank first, and after blushing, Ban Chao began to dare:

The Xiongnu emissary has come, and King Shanshan will escort us to Xiongnu. I'm afraid you and I will be killed by wolves. What can we do?

Brave officials said in unison: listen to you!

This is what Ban Chao is waiting for. He invented another idiom with a wave of his hand:

Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Murder for money, raid the Xiongnu camp tonight, kill the messenger, and let King Shanshan stop thinking about anything else before it's too late!

Someone suggested that we should ask Lord Guo Yao for instructions?

Ben was furious: Guo Yao, a scholar, was scared to death. This can only be a bad thing. It's a death anyway. Let's die like a strong man!

That night, Ban Chao set off quietly with 36 officials. He arranged for 10 people to hide behind the camp with drums, while others "squatted behind the door" with swords, guns and crossbows. God also came to help, the wind blew, and Ban Chao set fire to the wind, and the drums shook the ground. Although there were many Xiongnu missions, they were suddenly attacked, and it was late at night. The fire broke out and they couldn't find a way to escape. Ban Chao personally beheaded three people, more than 30 Xiongnu envoys and followers were beheaded, and the remaining hundred people were all buried in the sea of fire like headless flies, but none of the missions in the Eastern Han Dynasty suffered casualties.

Guo Yao was too scared to speak for a long time after getting the news. Ban Chao, the first-class emotional intelligence, quickly comforted him: Although you didn't take part in the battle, how dare I take all the credit to myself? Don't worry, the military medal is half mine and half yours.

Killing the Huns' emissary is tantamount to killing Shanshan's back road. A small country is sandwiched between big countries, and there are not many cards to play. Now, King Shanshan can only crustily skin of head, obey the orders of the Han Dynasty wholeheartedly, and obediently "take the son as the quality".

When the news came back, Emperor Han Ming was overjoyed and wrote a letter to Dou Gu: Since Ban Chao is so capable, let him be appointed as an ambassador as a military commander to visit western countries.

Dou Gu intended to add some military forces to Ban Chao, but Ban Chao refused with a smile: thirty-six people were enough, and diplomacy mainly depended on strategy. If something really happens, too many people will be a burden.

The second stop of the motorcade is Khotan. Wang Guangde in Khotan just breached shache and became a tyrant in the southern Tianshan Mountains, and the Huns also sent messengers to guard Khotan. In this context, Guangde did not dare to rebel against the China Mission, but his behavior was very arrogant. The middle school wizard probably accepted the benefits of the Huns, excusing the gods from being angry and needing the mounts of the messengers of the Han Dynasty as sacrifices. In fact, they just want to kill the envoys of the Han Dynasty.

Guangde, who believes in witchcraft, sent someone to beg for a horse. Ban Chao seems to understand. He said that starting from the overall situation of friendly relations between the two countries, he agreed to give away his mount, but let the wizard get it himself.

The guide came running to lead the horse. As soon as he entered the door, Ban Chao drew his sword, cut off his head and let his entourage take it back. Guangde has heard of Ban Chao's heroic deeds in Shanshan. Now, looking at this wizard who is regarded as a god by China people, his head fell to the ground, trembling with fear. He stuttered and sent troops to attack and kill the Xiongnu prison army stationed in Khotan, and announced his defection to the Han Dynasty.

Ban Chao was so good that he stopped and "gave him back to the King", beating and pulling, acting affable. Since then, Yu Kan has become the main ally of the Han Mission in Tianshan South Road.

Then, Ban Chao turned his attention to the formidable tortoise (Qiu) on Tianshan North Road. With the support of Xiongnu, Qiuci attacked and killed King Shule, making Qiuci people think they are King Shule. Although there are more than 50 countries in the western regions, most of them are distributed in a series of oases in the north and south of Tianshan Mountain. Without Qiuci, countries on Tianshan North Road could not contact the Central Plains.

Ban Chao went to the Western Regions.

There will be no weak soldiers. According to Ban Chao's instructions, Guan Tian's appointment only takes a few people to see the topic. After meeting, they don't say hello to each other, so they directly push him to the ground. Shule's guards have long been dissatisfied with Qiuci and dispersed in a hubbub. Ban Chao then arrived and made Shule's nephew the new king. Shule people surrendered to the Han Dynasty and became enemies with Qiuci.

While Ban Chao was getting along well in the Western Regions, Emperor Han Ming died, and the Eastern Han court was too busy with funeral services to take care of the Western Regions. Countries such as Yanqi took the opportunity to make waves, joined forces with Qiuci, Gu Mo and other countries to attack and destroy the Western Regions established by the Han Dynasty to protect Mu Chen, and attacked Shule.

Zhang Han, the newly succeeded emperor, worried that Ban Chao was alone, and ordered him to return to the Central Plains-in fact, the Eastern Han court had decided to give up the Western Regions after evaluating its own strength. When Shule heard the news, the whole country was worried, and his captain, Li Jian, died because he was worried that the Chinese ambassador would be destroyed by Qiuci after he left.

Back in Khotan, he cried loudly. King Khotan grabbed Ban Chao's leg and refused to move eastward. Ban Chao saw popular support, but he didn't want to give up the Western Regions, so he decided to return to Shule. At this time, the two cities of Shule had surrendered to the Huns, and Ban Chao mobilized Shule troops to arrest the rebels and stabilize the situation again.

Three years later, Ban Chao assembled 10,000 troops from Shule, Kangju, Khotan and other countries, and tried to attack Moshi. He gave advice to Zhang Han, carefully analyzed the situation, and thought that the people in the western regions were popular, and only Qiuci and Yanqi refused to accept it. He asked the imperial court to establish Prince Baiba, who was originally sent to Luoyang by Qiuci, as the new king Qiuci, send a small army to escort him back to the western regions, and establish Qiuci's anti-government armed forces to "attack foreigners with foreigners". As long as Qiuci is destroyed, the territory of the whole western region will be a cinch.

Emperor Han Chengdi sent Xu Gan to organize 1000 volunteers and probation prisoners to the Western Regions, and sent Wei Hou Li Yi to escort Wu Sun's emissary back to China, reaffirming the traditional friendship between Princess You Jie and Wu Sun of the Western Han Dynasty, and asking Wu Sun to cooperate with Ban Chao from the west.

When Li Yi arrived in Khotan, he was too timid to go any further. He made an offer to Zhang Han, slandering Ban Chao for marrying a beautiful woman from the western regions. "Holding a loving wife and a loving son, I am happy in a foreign country and have no inner concern." Request the court to terminate the lawsuit.

Hearing this, Ban Chao sighed: Even Zeng Shen's high morals and integrity made his mother unable to stand "visiting the humble abode". Besides, I'm sick, and I'm afraid the court will doubt my motives, so the tide is gone.

In order to show his mind and complete the great cause of pacifying the western regions, he reluctantly divorced his beloved wife.

Zhang Han is well aware of Ban Chao's ambitions. He wrote back blaming Li Yi: Even if Ban Chao is happy, can the soldiers who miss home so much unite with him?

Along with this reprimand, there is a new order with a punitive nature: Li Yi will follow Ban Chao's instructions in the future and take root in the frontier if conditions permit.

But Ban Chao arranged for Li Yi to return to Beijing. Xu Gan reminded Ban Chao: This boy slandered you. Why not leave him to clean up slowly, let him go back to see the emperor and recreate your rumors?

Ban Chao smiled faintly: That's too shallow. It was because he slandered me that he was sent back to Beijing to reply to my life. To be a man, you should have a clear conscience and always reflect on yourself. If you leave him to vent your anger, you are not a loyal minister.

After dealing with the contradictions among the people, the great events in Ban Chao's western regions were staged. He recruited 25,000 soldiers from various countries to attack shache, while King Qiuci came to the rescue with 50,000 people. For the village-level fighting in the western region, this scale is a complete decisive battle.

The war was imminent, and Ban Chao directed and performed a wonderful scene. He solemnly called a meeting of his men, saying that now he was outnumbered, Yu Canwang led the troops back to the east, I led the troops back to the west first, and then retreated at the same time with the number of drums at night.

After the meeting, he quietly arranged his men, deliberately relaxed the detention of prisoners, and "inadvertently" let a group of prisoners flee back to the enemy camp.

Wang Daxi of Qiuci, who heard the news, personally took ten thousand cavalry to intercept Ban Chao to the west, and ordered another powerful force to intercept Khotan troops to the east to prepare a pot of stew.

When these two elite enemy troops ran out of hundreds of miles, braving the cold and lying in the fields, eagerly waiting for the net to be drawn, Ban Chao concentrated his whole army and arrived at shache barracks at dawn. Shache was caught off guard, and the whole country surrendered. King Qiuci, who was cold and hungry, felt bored and had to go home.

Ban Chao and his 36 envoys are located in Gupan Bicheng (the ancient Shule country, now near Kashgar, Xinjiang).

With the prestige of World War I, Ban Chao led the allied forces composed of western countries for several years (the number of Han troops was only a thousand), and successively surrendered Yueshi, Qiuci, Gu Mo, Wensu and other countries through diplomatic means and military strikes, occupying more than half of the western regions. In the 6th year of Yongyuan (AD 94), Ban Chao was appointed as the capital of the Western Regions, and Yanqi, Shu Wei and Yuli were finally settled. So far, more than 50 countries in the western regions have all joined the Han Dynasty.

Compared with the expedition of Li Guangli, the general of the Second Division of the Western Han Dynasty, and the huge investment in governing the western regions in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Ban Chao firmly controlled the western regions for decades, but did not even use a regular army. He almost single-handedly defended the powerful existence of the Han Empire in the Western Regions.

The following year, Ban Chao, who was over 60 years old, ushered in the brilliant peak of his life-a resounding and inspirational title: Dingyuanhou.

Six years later, Ban Chao, who was old and homesick, wrote to ask Han and Emperor to step down and return to the Central Plains. The frontier model worker said emotionally in the letter, "I dare not look at Jiuquan County, but I hope to be born in Yumenguan." I don't expect to return to Jiuquan in the near future. As long as I can step into Yumenguan Gate of Dahan again in this life, my wish is enough!

Ban Zhao, who lives in the palace and is deeply respected by the royal family, also wrote to ask his brother to return. Emperor Xiandi was deeply moved, and Emperor Xiandi sent a letter to Ban Chao to return to Beijing.

In the 14th year of Yongyuan (AD 102), Ban Chao, who was 7 1 year old, returned to Luoyang, the capital, and died of illness only one month later.

From the year of 16 (AD 73) when Emperor Han Yongping led an army to go out to war, Ban Chao spent 30 years in the western regions far away from his native land. The eleven-character motto of governing the western regions summed up by this diplomatic wizard, "If it is appropriate to be simple, it should be simple, if it is appropriate to be broad, it should be small, and if it is appropriate to be broad, it will be brief", which has become the standard and treasure of governing foreign princes in central dynasties.