The expedition of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to Dawan was the earliest long march in ancient China, which shocked the Han Dynasty, the western regions and the Huns. Sima Qian only recorded this matter in “historical records · biographies of Dawan” and made few comments. Ban Gu changed this matter into the biography of Zhang Qian and liguangli in the Han Dynasty, but basically followed the historical records. However, this long march was very controversial at that time, and later generations also took a critical attitude towards it. This issue is worth discussing.
The fuse of “sweat blood horse” the Han Dynasty knew Dawan from Zhang Qian’s mission to the western regions. Zhang Qian told Emperor Wu that Dawan had a kind of BMW called sweat blood horse. In addition, it is said that this kind of horse travels thousands of miles in a day. When it runs, it does not shed sweat, but blood. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very interested in this at that time. With the continuous exchanges between the Han Dynasty and the western countries, the Han envoy said: “the sweat and blood horse that Zhang Qian said is true, but Dawan is not willing to give the sweat and blood horse to the Han, and the horse is hidden in the second division city.” Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very happy when he heard that Dawan had a sweat and blood horse, and whether Dawan wanted to give it or not. Because he liked good horses very much, “records of the historian · Le Shu” said that the soldiers who stationed in the West and defended in the Han Dynasty once found a good horse running from the western regions near the water, so they caught it and presented it to the court. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty happily wrote a song of Taiyi. (Tai Yi’s tribute comes from the sky, his sweat comes from the sky, and his foam flows from the ochre. Cheng Rong and Xi Yun are thousands of miles away, and Xi Long is a friend today.) although the music book was not written by Sima Qian, it is true that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty liked BMWs. Therefore, he sent a warrior chariot as an emissary, carrying gifts such as gold and gold horses, and asked to exchange sweat and blood horses with Dawan.
Dawan has a lot of belongings from big men and is not interested in gold and Golden Horses, The king consulted with his ministers and said: “The Great Han is thousands of miles away from us. When their mission comes, they have to pass through Yanze. Yanze is a Jedi, and there are a lot of dead people there. If they don’t go through Yanze, they come from the north and are blocked by the Huns. From the south, they are hard to find water and grass, sparsely populated, and lack of food. Therefore, every time the Great Han mission sets out, there are hundreds of people, and more than half of the people often die on the way. How can they send troops to such a difficult journey? No Army, they have nothing to do with us. Moreover, the sweat and blood horses of the second division city are Dawan’s national treasures, which can’t be given to people casually. ” So he refused the big man’s request. Che Ling became so popular that he scolded many cruel words, smashed the golden horse and left. The nobles of Dawan were also angry and said, “the messengers of the Han Dynasty underestimated us! Let them go and we will deal with them on the way!” Therefore, Dawan ordered yuchengguo in the east to rob and kill the Han emissary on his way home and take away all his property. Only a few of the missions of the Han Dynasty survived. They told of their humiliation in Dawan. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so angry that he decided to go to war against Dawan.
Lost the first expedition to Dawan
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appointed liguangli as the general of the second division, went on an expedition to Dawan, and went to the second division city to collect sweat and blood horses. Liguangli was the elder brother of Lady Li, a favorite of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appointed him as the general of the second division, mainly to strengthen the favor of the Li family and make him a marquis. Because yaodinghan, who had been an envoy to Dawan, said: “Dawan is not strong. If there are no more than 3000 elite soldiers and powerful crossbows, they can be defeated in one fell swoop.” A few days ago, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhao Bonu, the wild Marquis of Zhuo, to attack Loulan. He led only 700 cavalry, and soon captured the king of Loulan. Then, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appointed Zhaoshi as the military commander, the former Hao Hou Wang Hui as the guide, and Liduo as the captain. They asked them to lead only 6000 elite cavalry troops of the host country, as well as tens of thousands of bad young people with criminal records in various prefectures and countries, to join liguangli in the battle. That year was the first year of the Taichu period. In that year, there was a serious plague of locusts in Kanto, and the locusts flew all the way to Dunhuang in the West. (according to Yao Dinghan of Wan, Wan soldiers are weak. They believe that there are no more than 3000 Han soldiers. When they are shot with a strong crossbow, Wan will be completely defeated. The emperor has tried to send the Marquis of Zhuye to attack Loulan, and take the king with 700 horses first. According to Ding Han and other words, he wants to spoil his wife, Li, and worship liguangli as the general of the second division. He has issued 6000 cavalry and tens of thousands of evil young people of the prefecture and country. In the past, Wan was attacked. He planned to take good horses in the second division City, so he was called “the general of the second division” ? Zhao began to become a military commander, so Wang Hui, the Marquis Hao, led the army and was a military officer. It is the first year of Taichu. And the locusts in the east of Guandong rise and fly west to Dunhuang.)
Liguangli led his troops across Yanze, but the small countries he passed through were afraid of both the attack of the Han Army and the offending of the Huns by making friends with the Han army. Each of them held fast to the castle and refused to provide food for the Han army. Liguangli was so angry that he went to attack them. If he attacked them, he could get some supplies. If he could not attack them, he did not dare to fight. Liguangli came to yuchengguo, who killed the chariot order mission. Yu Cheng, an ally of Dawan, refused to let the Han Army pass. At this time, there were only a few thousand soldiers followed by the Han Army, and they were all exhausted. Liguangli didn’t rest his troops either. He immediately ordered the siege of the city, but was utterly defeated. Liguangli discussed with Liduo and zhaoshicheng and said, “we can’t even attack a small country like Yu Cheng, let alone Dawan. We can’t beat them.” Therefore, he had to lead the disabled soldiers to retreat in a state of embarrassment in the midst of ridicule. It took him two years to go back and forth.
When the Han army retreated to Dunhuang, there were only one or two tenths of the remaining disabled soldiers. Liguangli sent someone to report to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty: “because of the long journey and the constant lack of food, soldiers are not afraid of fighting, they are afraid of starvation. Now, there are too few soldiers surviving to fight. I hope to recruit soldiers temporarily and send more troops to fight in the future.” Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so angry that he immediately sent messengers to stop them outside the Yumen pass. He ordered: “anyone in the army who dares to step back from the Yumen pass will be killed.” Liguangli was afraid and had to stay in Dunhuang for rest. Li Qi satirized this in his ancient military journey: “when I heard that the Jade Gate was still covered, I should drive my life away from the light car.” That is, it is said that the Yumen pass has been blocked by the emperor. Whoever dares to retreat to the pass will be beheaded; The soldiers had to risk their lives and wait to follow the chariot before turning back to fight the enemy.
Win another expedition to Dawan
In the year of liguangli’s defeat, Zhao Bonu, the wild Marquis of Zhuo, suffered a disastrous defeat in the battle against the Huns. He lost more than 20000 elite soldiers and was captured and surrendered. Most Gongqing officials in the Han Dynasty believed that the current great enemy was the Huns, who should be recruited. The military operations in Dawan should be stopped immediately, and the humiliation could only be endured first. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed that the war between the Han Dynasty and Dawan had begun. Dawan was a small country. If we could not even attack a small country, then the larger western countries such as Daxia would despise the Han Dynasty, and the sweat and blood horses would never come again. Countries such as Wusun and Luntai (Luntou) would also make trouble for the envoys of the Han Dynasty and be laughed at by foreign countries. The dispute between the two sides was very fierce. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so angry that he sent Deng Guang and others who were strongly opposed to him to prison for punishment.
Therefore, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty pardoned a large number of brave prisoners and organized young people and border cavalry who loved fighting. In his early years, he pieced together 60000 people and handed them to liguangli. At the same time, there are many militia who bring their own food and clothing to fight with the army. These people carried a total of 100000 cattle, more than 30000 horses, countless donkeys, camels and other livestock, as well as a large amount of food and various weapons, causing a nationwide commotion. It is said that more than 50 school captains were recruited. Since there were no water wells in Dawan City, the domestic water came from the rivers flowing through the city. The Han Dynasty brought many hydraulic workers who would divert the river, prepared to divert the river in Dawan, cut off the water in the city and forced them to surrender. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent an additional 180000 soldiers to garrison in the north of Jiuquan and Zhangye, and set up Juyan and XiuTu counties to protect Jiuquan. In addition, seven kinds of sinners have been dispatched to deliver food to the army. In the Han Dynasty, there were so many people transporting military supplies that it was difficult to count. They came in an endless stream on the road until Dunhuang. Two bole, who were good at looking at horses, were recruited and appointed as school captains, so that after occupying Dawan, they could go to the second division city to select sweaty horses.
In the third year of the Taichu period, Li Guangli led the reorganized Han Army to march from the west of Dunhuang. This time, some small countries in the western regions, seeing such a line-up of the Han Army, almost all of them were afraid. They hurried to supply food along the way, and some risked their lives to resist. When liguangli arrived at Luntai, Luntai refused to obey him. He ordered the siege. Within a few days, Luntai was captured and the Han army slaughtered the city bloody. The slaughterhouse shocked the western regions. Wherever the Han army went, no one dared to compete with it. It soon reached Dawan. The Han Army had 30000 elite soldiers. Dawan met them and was defeated by the Han army with arrows. Dawan army retreated into the city and wanted to rely on the city wall to fight a protracted war. Liguangli was afraid that Dawan would play tricks and that the protracted war would be detrimental to the Han Army, so he ordered the hydraulic engineering to change the waterway. Dawan didn’t expect to be in trouble. The Han army attacked the city fiercely. More than 40 days later, the outer city was broken and the brave general of Dawan aristocracy was captured. Dawan people have retreated from the outer city to the middle city, and their spirit is almost broken.
The nobles of Dawan deliberated and said, “the reason why the Han came to attack us was that our King Wu Shao refused to exchange sweat blood horses with them and looted their mission. Now, as long as we kill Wu Shao and donate sweat blood horses, the Han army will stop fighting and break the siege. If we don’t stop fighting and break the siege, we will fight with them.” The nobles thought this was reasonable, so they assassinated Wu Shao and brought his head to negotiate, He said, “don’t attack any more. We are willing to sacrifice all the good horses for you to choose from and provide you with food. If you don’t accept the request for peace, we will kill all the good horses, and our ally Kangju’s reinforcements will soon arrive. If Kangju’s reinforcements arrive, Dawan’s troops are in the city, Kangju’s troops are outside the city, and the two countries are fighting together. Where do you go? I hope you will seriously consider.”
At this time, Kang Ju’s scouts were indeed watching the Han Army, because the Han soldiers were so powerful that they did not dare to advance. Liguangli discussed with zhaoshicheng, Liduo, etc, Say: “It is said that Dawan city recently hired some Qin people from Guanzhong area of Han Dynasty. These people are proficient in drilling wells, and there is enough food in Dawan city. Our purpose here is to kill the chief culprits of Dawan. We have already got the heads of these people. If we don’t grant their request to stop, they will stick to it. If the reinforcements who live in comfort come to help us when we are tired, we may be hurt again Failed. ” The officers thought that the general of the second division was right, so they agreed to Dawan’s request. So Dawan gave the horse of Ershi city; Take out grain to supply the Han army. The Han Army selected dozens of their excellent horses, including more than 3000 male and female horses below the middle level. It also established a new king of Dawan, the aristocrat who was close to the Han Dynasty, and made an alliance with him. Both sides stopped fighting. The Han army never entered Dawan city.
When Li Guangli set out from Dunhuang, he divided the army into several detachments and marched from north to South because of the large number of people and the inability of the small countries he passed through to provide food. Wang Shensheng, the captain of the school, and Yuan Honglu huchongguo led more than 1000 people to Yu Chengguo from other routes. Yu Chengguo saw the arrival of the Han Army and stuck to the city. Wangshensheng and others are 200 miles away from the army, but they think that Yu Cheng’s small country is nothing with the support of the army, so they ask Yu Cheng for food. Yu Chengguo not only refused to give it, but also spied on the reality of the Han Army, that is, the number of the Han army was decreasing day by day. So one morning, they launched a surprise attack on the Han army with 3000 soldiers. Wangshensheng and others died in the war. The Han army was almost wiped out and only a few people escaped. At this time, the Dawan problem had been solved, and the general of the second division ordered captain sou sudu Jie to go to investigate. Yu Chengguo was defeated, the king fled to Kangju, and Shangguan Jie chased him. When Kang Ju heard that the Han Army had captured Dawan and dared not accept King Yu Cheng, he presented him to Shangguan Jie, who ordered four cavalry to tie him up and prepare to escort him to the camp of the general of the second division. The four cavalry soldiers deliberated and said, “King Yu Cheng is the most hated man in the Han Dynasty. If he is sent alive and let him escape on the way, it is not a responsibility we can shoulder. It is better to kill him and just take his head.” However, none of the four would do it first. Finally, the youngest brother of Zhao, Shangying man, drew his sword and cut off the head of King Yu Cheng.
When liguangli set out to fight, his army was unprecedentedly strong, and there were few soldiers killed or injured in the whole battle. However, when he returned to Yumen pass, there were only more than 10000 people and more than 1000 horses left, and the non combat attrition was unprecedented. This time they brought the largest amount of military supplies, and the supply of countries along the way was abundant. However, due to the corruption of officers at all levels, they did not like nurses and soldiers, and reselled a large amount of military supplies, causing tens of thousands of people to starve to death. Zhaoshicheng made the most meritorious service this time. Shangguan Jie dared to go deep. Li duo had a lot of tricks. (the second division fought against Wan, and the army was led by Zhao Shicheng, who made the most of his contributions; and the Shangguan Jie dared to go deep, and Liduo schemed. More than ten thousand people and more than a thousand horses entered the Yumen. The second division followed. The army was not short of food, and could not die in battle. Instead, the generals were greedy, and did not love soldiers and soldiers. They invaded Mou, so as to cause many people.) Excessive reward without punishment
It took liguangli four years to conquer Dawan. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed that in the Long March, only meritorious deeds were recorded and no demerits were counted. As a result, liguangli was granted the title of marquis Haixi (Ban Gu said that there were 8000 households in Shiyi), and younger brother Zhao was granted the title of Marquis Xindan. Zhao Shi became a doctor Guanglu, with Shangguan Jie as the Shaofu and Liduo as the Shangdang prefect. In the whole army, three people were promoted to the rank of Jiuqing, more than 100 officials were promoted to the rank of dukes, state ministers and prefects, and more than 1000 officials were promoted to the rank of Qianshi or below. Those who volunteered to join the army received rewards that exceeded their expectations, and those who were sentenced to join the army also made amends. The total value of this reward to the soldiers reached 40000 Jin of gold. (the emperor conquered Wan for thousands of miles, but he did not record it. He named Guangli Marquis of Haixi. He also named brother Zhao, the knight who killed Yu Cheng as king, as Marquis of Xinxi. The army became a doctor of Guanglu before Zhao. The upper official Jie was the Shaofu, and Liduo was the Shangdang prefect. The officers and officials were three of the nine Qing Dynasties. The princes, prefects, and more than a hundred people were over two thousand stones, and more than a thousand people were under one thousand stones. Those who tried hard to pass the official’s expectations would be in short supply of their work. The soldiers gave 40000 gold. If they attacked Wan again, they would be four years old and Don’t worry about it.) Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty rewarded liguangli generously, which may be related to his love for Mrs. Li. When liguangli came back, Mrs. Li had died of illness, while Li Yannian and Li Ji were exterminated because of their promiscuity, and everything was changed. The book of the Han Dynasty, biography of relatives, added that after her illness, Mrs. Li was unable to heal for a long time. She was frail and became increasingly haggard. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to see her, she covered her head with brocade and said, “I was tired in bed and my face was damaged. I really didn’t dare to meet your majesty. In case I die, I hope to entrust my son and brother to the care of your majesty.” Emperor Hanwu said, “madam is so ill that I’m afraid she can’t get up. Why don’t you meet me and entrust my son and brother to me? Isn’t that better?” Mrs. Li said, “as a woman, you can’t see your father without a well groomed face and untidy decorations. Besides, I’m unkempt and dressed in casual clothes. I really don’t dare to meet your majesty. I hope I can forgive you.” Emperor Hanwu said, “just meet me, madam. I will give you money and promote your brother to a respected high official.” Mrs. Li said, “whether to promote them to high-ranking officials is up to the emperor to decide whether to meet me or not.” Emperor Hanwu insisted on meeting her, but Mrs. Li refused to show her face. She turned her head to the other side, sighed and never answered Emperor Hanwu’s request for meeting again. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was not very happy and left reluctantly. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty left, Mrs. Li’s sisters all complained about her and said, “Dear imperial concubine, why don’t you meet the emperor and entrust our brothers? Why do you hate the emperor so much? Why don’t you even see him?” Mrs. Li explained: “The reason why I don’t want to see the emperor is to deepen the trust relationship with my brothers. My son is also the son of the emperor. Don’t worry about it. I have to think of some ways to trust our brothers. I am a superior looking woman, and I get favor from a humble advocate. Any woman who uses her looks to please others will fall out of favor, and her old love will be cut off. The reason why the emperor still clings to me is to miss her My usual hue. If he saw that my face was damaged and far less beautiful than before, he would feel very sick and stay away from me. If so, can he still remember my past beauty, pity and take care of my brother! ” When Mrs. Li died, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty buried her in the Queen’s manner. (at the beginning, Mrs. Li was very ill and waited for her. She was thanked and said, “I have been sick for a long time and my appearance has been damaged. I can’t see the emperor. I wish I could trust the king and my brothers.” The emperor said, “madam is very ill and will not be able to afford it. How happy is it to see that I belong to the king and my brother?” The lady said, “if a woman doesn’t look good, she won’t see her father. I dare not see the emperor with Yan.” The saying goes, “madam, when my brother sees me, he will give me a thousand more gold, and I will give him my brother’s respect.” The lady said, “your official is in the emperor, but I won’t see you again.” He said that he wanted to see it, so his wife turned to her hometown to hiss and stop talking. So I got up without saying. Madam and sister let him say, “you can’t see that you are a brother. Why do you hate me so much?” The lady said, “therefore, if you don’t want to see the emperor, you want to trust your brother deeply. I’m lucky to have humble love for my good looks. If you do things with color, you will lose your color and love me. If you love me, you will be grateful. Therefore, if you care about me, you will have a lifetime appearance. Now that you see me destroyed, you will be afraid of evil and abandon me. You are willing to recall min Lu’s brother!” And his wife’s death, how can they be buried after going to the funeral ceremony.) Some people think that Mrs. Li is very clever. In fact, this is a small trick of flattery, which is not advisable. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty really had feelings for her. After Mrs. Li died, he asked the painter to draw a portrait of her before her death and hang it in Ganquan palace to express his missing feelings. Huo Guang knew Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty best. Later, when he offered sacrifices to Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, he always used Mrs. Li as his companion and granted her the title of “empress Xiaowu”.
Historical reflection
Later generations hold a negative attitude towards Emperor Wu’s expedition to Dawan. For example, Li Qi of the Tang Dynasty said in his poem “ancient military line”: “every year, the bones of the war are buried in the wasteland, and grapes are found in the Han family.” That is, “countless bones died in successive years of war were buried in the wild; only grapes from the western regions were presented to the court of the Han Dynasty.”
Now, some people think that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty fought against Dawan, but envied his hard-working BMW.
We believe that the Khan blood horse was only the fuse for the invasion of Dawan, which was an important part of the “western region strategy” of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The strategy of invading Dawan was right: the Han and Hungary had faced off for many years. If the Han Dynasty did not conquer the western regions and the western regions allied with the Huns, the Han Dynasty would be in a dangerous situation; If the Han Dynasty fails to conquer the Huns, and the western regions despise the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty will also be in danger; Conquering Dawan, shaking the western regions and isolating the Xiongnu did not pose a threat to the Han Dynasty; The western regions are all barbaric countries. In the past, the effect of “De Fu” in the Han Dynasty was not obvious. Without martial arts, they would not really give in. It is true that only a year after the Han army returned, Dawan high nobles murdered Mei Cai, and their widowed brother Chan was granted the title of Dawan king. However, they still sent Chan Feng’s son as a hostage in the Han Dynasty. In addition, Duwei was set up in Dunhuang and Jiuquan in the Han Dynasty, and there were pavilions along the way to the salt water in the West. In Luntai, the Han Dynasty left hundreds of soldiers in the fields to accumulate food and provide food for the overseas missions, which strengthened the exchanges between the Han Dynasty and the western regions. The significance can not be underestimated.
The mistakes of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty in the expedition to Dawan: 1. Improper employment. Liguangli lacked military talent. It was only because of Mrs. Li that he became commander-in-chief of the long march. He should be fully responsible for the failure of the first expedition to Dawan and the serious corruption that occurred the second time. 3. Luntai slaughters the city. This is the most disgusting page in China’s ancient war history. Today, we should reflect and repent for it, and resolutely criticize it. 3. The reward and punishment are unknown. The generous rewards for meritorious officers and men are beyond reproach. However, liguangli should be removed from office instead of being a marquis and continuing to lead the army. The main corrupt elements should also be brought to justice to seek justice for the many starving soldiers, so as to eliminate military discipline and restore military prestige.