The "bloody horse" became the trigger for the destruction of Dawan: Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered Dawan twice

?A bloody horse? The trigger for the destruction of Dawan: Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty’s two conquests of Dawan

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty’s conquest of Dawan was the earliest long march of thousands of miles in ancient China, which shocked the Han Dynasty North Korea, shocked the Western Regions, and shocked the Huns. Sima Qian only recorded the incident in "Historical Records of Dawan" and made almost no comments. Ban Gu changed this matter into the "Book of Han? Biography of Zhang Qian and Li Guangli", but basically followed the "Historical Records". However, the Long March was very controversial at the time, and later generations were also very critical of it. This issue deserves discussion.

horse. Also, it is said that this kind of horse can travel thousands of miles in a day, and when it runs, it sheds blood instead of sweat. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very interested in this at that time. As the Han Dynasty continued to communicate with various countries in the Western Regions, the Han envoy said: The bloody horse Zhang Qian said is true, but Dawan is unwilling to dedicate the bloody horse to the Han Dynasty, so the horse is hidden in Ershi City. ? Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty heard that it was true that Dawan had a sweat horse, and he was very happy regardless of whether Dawan was willing to give it to him or not. Because he liked good horses very much, "Historical Records? Music Book" said: The soldiers of the Han Dynasty who were stationed and defending in the west once found a good horse running from the Western Regions by the waterside, so they caught it and presented it to the court. , Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty happily composed a "Song of Taiyi". (Taiyi pays tribute to the horse under the sky, stained with red sweat and foam. The horse and the horse have traveled thousands of miles, and now they are friends with the dragon.) Although "The Book of Music" was not written by Sima Qian, it is true that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty liked BMWs. So he sent a strong man named Cha Ling as an envoy, carrying gifts such as a thousand pieces of gold and a golden horse, and asked for an exchange of bloody horses with Dawan.

Dawan already had a lot of property belonging to the Han Dynasty, and was not interested in gold and golden horses. The king discussed with the ministers and said: The Han Dynasty is thousands of miles away from us, and their envoys have to pass through the salt marsh when they come. Yanze is a Jedi place, and many people die there. If they did not go through the salt swamp, they would come from the north and be blocked by the Huns. Coming from the south, it was difficult for them to find water and grass, the population was sparse, and food was scarce. Therefore, each time the Han Dynasty mission set out, there were several hundred people, and more than half of them often died on the way. How could they send a large army over such a difficult journey? If we cannot send a large army, they will be helpless against us. Moreover, the sweat-blooded horse of Ershi City is Dawan's national treasure, and the national treasure cannot be given to others casually. ?So, he rejected the big man’s request. Che Ling and others were so angry that they went crazy. They cursed a lot, smashed the golden horse and walked away. The nobles of Dawan were also angry and said: "The envoys of the Han Dynasty underestimate us!" Let them go and we'll pick them up on the way! ?So Dawan ordered Yu Chengguo to the east to rob and kill the Han envoys on their way back and plunder all the property. Only a few people from the Han Dynasty mission survived and told about the humiliation they suffered in Dawan. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious and decided to go to war against Dawan.

The first expedition to Dawan failed.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appointed Li Guangli as the general of the Second Division, expedition to Dayuan, and went to the Second Division City to collect the bloody horses. Li Guangli was the brother of Mrs. Li, the concubine 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 allow him to make meritorious services and become a marquis. Because Yao Dinghan and others who had been on an envoy to Dayuan said: Dayuan's army is not strong. If it has no more than three thousand elite soldiers and strong bows and crossbows, it can be defeated in one fell swoop. ?Some time ago, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhao Ponu, the Marquis of Zhaoye, to attack Loulan. He only led 700 cavalry and quickly captured King Loulan. Then, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also appointed Zhao Shi as the military commander, the original Haohou Wang Hui as the guide, and Li Duo as the captain. They only led 6,000 elite cavalry from the subject country, and tens of thousands of delinquent young men with criminal records from various counties and states, together with Li Guangli Go to war. That year was the first year of Taichu. In this year, there was a serious locust plague in Guandong. The locusts flew all the way to Dunhuang in the west. (The emperor's envoys to Wan, Yao Dinghan and others, said that the Wan army was weak, and sincerely believed that the Han soldiers were no more than 3,000. If they shot them with strong crossbows, they would defeat Wan. The emperor had already sent the Marquis of Zhuoye to attack Loulan, and arrived first with 700 cavalry. The king was captured, and the Han Dynasty was confirmed. He wanted to favor his concubine Li Shi, and worshiped Li Guangli as the general of the second division. He sent 6,000 cavalry from the country and tens of thousands of evil young men from the county to attack Wan. He took the good horse from the city, so he was named "General of the Second Division". Zhao Shi became the commander of the army, so Haohou Wang Hui made him the commander of the army and commanded the army. In the first year of Taichu, the locusts broke out in Guandong and flew west to Dunhuang. . )

Li Guangli led his troops across the Yanze, but the small countries passing by were all afraid, both of fear of attack by the Han army and fear of offending the Huns by befriending the Han army. They all defended their castles and refused to provide food and drink for the Han army. Li Guangli was so angry that he went to attack them. Those who conquered could get some supplies, but those who could not conquer did not dare to fight. Li Guangli came to Yu Chengguo, who had killed Che Ling's envoy. Yu Cheng was an ally of Dawan and would not let the Han army pass. At this time, the Han army followed only a few thousand soldiers, and they were all exhausted. Li Guangli did not rest and reorganize his troops, and immediately ordered an attack on the city. The result was a complete defeat. Li Guangli discussed with Li Duo, Zhao Shicheng and others and said: "We can't even attack a small country like Yucheng, let alone Dawan?" You can't beat them for sure. ?So, he had no choice but to lead the remaining soldiers and retreat in embarrassment amidst the ridicule. It took two years to go back and forth.

When the Han army retreated to Dunhuang, only one or two of the ten remaining soldiers were left. Li Guangli sent someone to report to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty: "Due to the long distance and frequent lack of food, the soldiers are not afraid of fighting, but afraid of fighting." starving. Now, too few soldiers survived to fight. I hope to temporarily withdraw our troops and send more troops to conquer in the future.

After hearing this, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious and immediately sent an envoy to stop them outside Yumen Pass, and issued a strict order: "Anyone in the army who dares to take a step back from Yumen Pass will be killed without mercy." ?Li Guangli was afraid and had to stay in Dunhuang to rest. Li Qi sarcastically said about this in "Ancient Military Expeditions": "When you hear that the Yumen is still covered, you should throw your life away." ?That is, I heard that Yumen Pass had been blocked by the emperor's order, and anyone who dared to retreat into the pass would be beheaded. The soldiers had no choice but to risk their lives, wait to follow the chariots, and then turn back to fight the enemy.

Another victory in the Dawan expedition

In the year of Li Guangli's defeat, Zhao Ponu, the Marquis of Zhaoye, also suffered a disastrous defeat in the battle against the Xiongnu, losing more than 20,000 elite soldiers, and was captured and surrendered. . Most of the ministers and officials in the Han Dynasty believed that the current enemy was the Xiongnu, and the Xiongnu should be conquered exclusively. Military operations in Dawan should be stopped immediately, and the humiliation could only be endured for now. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed that the war between the Han Dynasty and Dayuan had begun. Dayuan was a small country. If we could not conquer the small country, then the larger countries in the Western Regions such as Daxia would despise the Han Dynasty. Don't even think about getting it again. Countries such as Wusun and Luntai (Luntou) will also cause trouble for the Han Dynasty envoys at any time and be ridiculed by foreign countries. The two sides argued fiercely, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so angry that he imprisoned Deng Guang and others who were more strongly opposed.

As a result, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty pardoned a large number of warriors among the prisoners, organized youths who usually loved fighting and border cavalry, and in the beginning of a year, he assembled 60,000 people and handed them over to Li Guangli. At the same time, there were many militiamen who brought their own food and clothing to join the war. These people brought with them 100,000 cattle, more than 30,000 horses, countless donkeys, camels and other livestock, as well as a large amount of grain and various weapons, which caused a commotion throughout the country. According to legend, the school captain who was recruited There were more than fifty people. Since there are no wells in Dawan City, domestic water comes from the rivers flowing through the city. The Han Dynasty brought many water workers who would divert the rivers to prepare to divert the rivers in Dawan, cut off the water supply in the city, and force them to surrender. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent an additional 180,000 troops to garrison north of Jiuquan and Zhangye, and established two counties, Juyan and Xiutu, to guard Jiuquan. He also dispatched seven types of sinners across the country and asked them to deliver food to the army. In the Han Dynasty, there were so many people transporting military supplies that it was difficult to count, and there was an endless stream of people on the road, all the way to Dunhuang. He also recruited two Bo Le who were good at horse-drawing and appointed them as driving captains, so that after occupying Dawan, they could go to Ershi City to select bloody horses.

In the third year of Taichu, Li Guang led the reorganized Han army and set off west from Dunhuang. This time, some small countries in the Western Regions were almost frightened when they saw such a lineup of Han troops. They hurriedly provided food and drinks along the way, and some even risked their lives to resist. Li Guangli arrived at Luntai, but Luntai refused to obey. He ordered an attack on the city. Within a few days, Luntai was captured, and the Han army carried out a bloody massacre. The massacre shocked the Western Regions. Wherever the Han army went, no one dared to compete with them, and they soon arrived in Dawan.

The Han army had 30,000 elite soldiers. Dawan fought against it, but was defeated by the Han army's arrows. The Dawan army retreated into the city, hoping to rely on the city wall to fight a protracted war. Li Guangli was afraid that Dawan was playing tricks and that a protracted war would be detrimental to the Han army, so he ordered hydraulic engineers to change the water channels. In this regard, Dawan did not expect that he was suddenly in trouble. The Han army violently attacked the city. More than forty days later, the outer city was breached and the brave general Jian Mi of the Dawan nobles was captured. The people of Dawan retreated from the outer city into the middle city one after another, and their spirits were almost broken.

The nobles of Dawan discussed and said: The reason why the Han came to attack us is because our king Wuwu refused to exchange blood and horses with them, and also robbed their envoys. Now, as long as we kill Wu Wu and sacrifice our blood and horses, the Han army will stop to relieve the siege. If they don't stop to relieve the siege, it will not be too late to fight against them again. The nobles thought this was reasonable, so they assassinated Wu Wu and brought his head to negotiate, saying: "You should stop attacking." We are willing to donate all our good horses for you to choose from and provide you with food and drinks. If you do not accept your request for peace, we will kill all the good horses, and reinforcements from our ally Kang Ju will soon arrive. If Kang Ju's reinforcements arrive, Dawan's army will be in the city, Kang Ju's army will be outside the city, and the two countries will attack together. Where do you go from here? Hope it will be seriously considered. ?

At this time, Kangju's scouts were indeed watching the Han army. Because the Han army was so numerous, they did not dare to advance. Li Guangli discussed with Zhao Shicheng, Li Duo and others and said: "I heard that Dayuan City has recently invited some Qin people from the Guanzhong area of ??the Han Dynasty. These people are proficient in well-drilling technology, and the food in Dayuan City is quite sufficient." The purpose of our coming here is to kill Wuwu, the culprit of Dawan Kingdom. Wuwu's heads have been obtained. If they do not agree to their request to stop, then they will hold on. If Kangju's reinforcements come to rescue us when we are tired, we may suffer another defeat. ?The officers all thought that the general of the Second Division was right, so they agreed to Dawan's request. So Dawan donated the fine horses from Ershi City and provided grain to the Han army. The Han army selected dozens of their best horses and more than 3,000 stallions and mares of average and below average. They also appointed Meicai, a pro-Han nobleman, as the new king of Dawan, and made an alliance with him. Both sides stopped fighting. The Han army never entered the city of Dawan.

When Li Guangli set out from Dunhuang, considering the large number of people and the inability of the small countries passing through to supply food, he divided the army into several detachments and marched from the north and south. School captains Wang Shensheng and Yuan Honglu Hu Chongguo led more than a thousand people and arrived at Yu Chengguo from other routes. Yu Chengguo saw the arrival of the Han army and defended the city.

Wang Shensheng and others were two hundred miles away from the army, but they thought that with the army as their backing, Yu Cheng's small country was nothing, so he asked 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 Han soldiers was decreasing day by day. So, one early morning, they launched a surprise attack on the Han army with three thousand soldiers. Wang Shensheng and others died in the battle. The Han army was almost completely wiped out, and only a few people escaped. At this time, the problem of Dawan had been resolved, and the general of the Second Division ordered Shangguan Jie, the commander of Sosu, to go and conquer. Yu Chengguo was defeated and the king fled to Kangju. Shangguan Jie pursued him to Kangju. Kang Ju heard that the Han army had captured Dayuan and did not dare to take in King Yu Cheng, so he dedicated him to Shangguan Jie. Shangguan Jie ordered four cavalry to tie him up and prepare to escort him to the camp of the general of the Second Division. The four cavalrymen discussed and said: King Yucheng is the most hated person in the Han Dynasty. If he is sent alive and he escapes on the way, this is not a responsibility we can afford. It's better to kill him and leave with just the head. ?However, none of the four people wanted to take action first. Finally, the youngest Zhao brother, who was from Shanggui, drew his sword and cut off King Yu Cheng's head with one blow.

When Li Guangli went on the expedition, the army lineup was unprecedentedly strong, and there were very few soldiers killed or injured in the entire battle. But when he returned to Yumen Pass, there were only more than 10,000 men and more than 1,000 horses left, and the non-combat attrition was unprecedented. This time they brought the most military supplies, and supplies from various countries along the way were abundant. However, due to the corruption of officers at all levels and their lack of care for the soldiers, a large amount of military supplies were resold, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people starving to death. The one with the most military exploits this time was Zhao Shicheng, the one who dared to go deep was Shangguan Jie, and Li Duo came up with many tricks. (The Second Division attacked Wanye, and the army was in the right position. Zhao Shicheng fought vigorously, and achieved the most success; when Shangguan Jie dared to go deep, Li Duo made a plan. More than 10,000 troops entered Yumen, and more than a thousand horses. The Second Division moved behind, but the army was weak. Lack of food meant that many people could not die in battle, but the generals were greedy and did not love the soldiers, so they invaded and exploited them. They rewarded the people without punishing them.

It took Li Guangli four years to conquer Dawan. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed that during the Long March, only merits and demerits should be recorded. As a result, Li Guangli was granted the title of Marquis of Haixi (Ban Gu said there were 8,000 households in the city), Zhao Di was granted the title of Marquis of Xinju, Zhao Shi became the official of Guanglu, Shangguan Jie became the Shaofu, and Li Duo became the prefect of Shangdang. There are three people in the army who have been promoted to the rank of Jiuqing, more than 100 officials have been promoted to the rank of minister of the princes, governor of the county, etc. of 2,000 shi, and more than 1,000 officials have been promoted to 1,000 shi or less. Those who volunteered to join the army received rewards that exceeded their expectations, and those who were sentenced to join the army also had their merits compensated for their crimes. The total value of the rewards given to the soldiers this time was 40,000 jins of gold. (The emperor conquered Wan for thousands of miles, without any mistakes, and made Guangli the Marquis of Haixi. He also made Zhao Di, the knight who beheaded Yu Cheng the king, the new Marquis. Zhao Shi, who was in charge of the army, became the Guanglu doctor, and Shangguan Jie was the Shaofu. Li Duo is the governor of Shangdang. There are three officers and officials, including the princes and ministers, and more than a hundred people with two thousand stones. Lao. The soldiers were given 40,000 gold. If he rebelled against Wan again, he would be rewarded at the age of four. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty rewarded Li Guangli generously, which may be related to his love for Mrs. Li. Because when Li Guangli came back, Mrs. Li had died of illness, and Li Yannian and Li Ji were exterminated because of the imperial palace, and everything was changed. "Han Shu? Biography of Wife Relatives" added: After Mrs. Li fell ill, she could not be cured for a long time, her body was weak, and she became increasingly haggard. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to see her. She covered her head with a brocade quilt and said: "I am exhausted in bed, and my face is disfigured." , I really don’t dare to meet His Majesty. If I should die, I would like to entrust my son and brothers to the care of Your Majesty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said: "My wife is so seriously ill that she may not be able to get up. Why don't you meet me and entrust your son and brothers to me face to face? Wouldn't this be better?" ?Mrs. Li said: ?As a woman, if your appearance is not trimmed and your decoration is not neat, you cannot meet your father. What's more, I am unkempt and dressed in casual clothes, so I really don't dare to meet His Majesty. Wanwang Haihan. ? Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said again: ? Madam, as long as you meet me once, it is enough. I will give you a thousand pieces of gold and promote your brother to a respected official. Mrs. Li said: "Whether to promote them to respected senior officials is up to the emperor's own discretion, and it does not depend on whether he wants to meet me or not." Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty 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 Wu of the Han Dynasty's request for a meeting. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was not very happy and left helplessly. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty left, Mrs. Li's sisters all complained about her, saying: "Your noble concubine, why didn't you meet the emperor before entrusting it to our brothers?" Why do you hate the emperor so much? Don't even want to see each other? Mrs. Li explained: "The reason why she didn't want to see the emperor was to deepen the trust relationship with her brother." My son is also the emperor's son, so we don't need to worry too much. We have to entrust our brothers to think of something. I am favored by a humble advocate because of my outstanding appearance. Any woman who uses her appearance to please others will fall out of favor if her appearance fades, and the love she once had will be cut off. The reason why the emperor still has a lingering attachment to me now is because he misses my usual appearance. If he sees that my appearance has been damaged and is far less beautiful than before, he will definitely feel disgusted and stay away from me. If so, can he still remember my past beauty, compassion and caring for my brother! ?Mrs. Li passed away, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty buried her with the etiquette of a queen. (At the beginning, Mrs. Li was seriously ill, and the emperor came to wait for her. Mrs. Meng was thanked and said: "I have been ill for a long time, and my appearance is ruined. I cannot see the emperor. I would like to take care of the king and my brothers." The emperor said: "My wife is very ill." , I almost cannot afford it. Wouldn’t it be nice to see me, King Tuo, and my brothers? The lady said, “The woman’s appearance is not beautiful, and she doesn’t see your father.”

I don’t dare to see the emperor as Yan Yu. He said: "When my wife's brother sees me, he will give me a thousand pieces of gold and give him some respect." ?The lady said: ?The emperor is the most respected official. ?The emperor said that he would see her again if he wanted to, so his wife went to her hometown and sighed but did not say anything more. So he started without saying anything. The madam and the sister asked him: "A noble man can't just see his superiors and entrust their brothers." Why do you hate it so much? The lady said: "So those who don't want to see the emperor want to support their brothers deeply." Because of my good looks, I am lucky enough to be loved from a humble position. If a husband treats others with sex, his sex will fade and his love will be relaxed, and his love will be relaxed and his kindness will be cut off. The reason why you care about me is because of your appearance. Now that I have been destroyed and my appearance is different, I will be afraid of evil and abandon me, but I am willing to remember Min Lu and his brother again! ?The wife died and she was buried later. ) Some people think: Mrs. Li’s approach is very clever. In fact, this is a sycophantic trick and is not advisable. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did have true feelings for her. After Mrs. Li passed away, he asked an artist to paint a portrait of her during her lifetime and hung it in Ganquan Palace to express his feelings of longing for her. Huo Guang knew Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty best. Later, when he offered sacrifices to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he always used Mrs. Li as his wife and posthumously named her "Queen Xiaowu".

Historical Reflection

Later generations held a negative attitude towards Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty’s conquest of Dawan. For example, Li Qi of the Tang Dynasty said in the poem "Ancient Military Expeditions": "The bones of the battles are buried every year. Outside, I saw grapes entering the Han family. ?That is,? Countless bones of those who died in battles over the years were buried in the wilderness; only grapes from the Western Regions were presented to the court of the Han Dynasty. ?

Nowadays, some people think that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty crusaded against Dayuan, but he was only envious of his blood-earned horses.

We believe that the Khan Blood Horse was only the trigger for the conquest of Dayuan, and the conquest of Dayuan was an important part of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's Western Region Strategy. The strategy of conquering Dayuan is right: the Han and Huns have been in conflict for many years. If the Han Dynasty does not conquer the Western Regions and the Western Regions unite with the Xiongnu, the Han Dynasty will be in a dangerous situation; the Han Dynasty has a high chance of conquering the Western Regions, but a small chance of conquering the Huns. If it fails to conquer the Xiongnu, The Western Regions despise the Han Dynasty again, and the Han Dynasty will also be in danger; the conquest of Dawan will shock the Western Regions, and the Xiongnu will be isolated, so they will no longer pose a threat to the Han Dynasty; the Western Regions are all barbarians, and the Han Dynasty used to use virtue to pacify them. The effect is not obvious, and without martial arts, they will not truly surrender. It is true that just over a year after the Han army returned, the high-ranking nobles of Dayuan murdered Wu Cai and established Wu Wu's brother Chan as the king of Dayuan. However, they still sent Chanfeng's son to the Han Dynasty as a hostage. Moreover, the Han Dynasty set up captains in Dunhuang and Jiuquan, and all the way to Yanshui in the west, there were pavilions and pavilions along the way. In Luntai, the Han Dynasty left hundreds of soldiers stationed in the fields to accumulate food and provide food for missions abroad. This strengthened the exchanges between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions, and its significance cannot be underestimated.

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Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made mistakes in conquering Dayuan: 1. Improper employment. Li Guangli lacked military talent, and it was only because of Mrs. Li that he became the commander-in-chief of the Long March. He is fully responsible for the failure of the first expedition to Dawan and the serious corruption that occurred the second time. 3. Luntai Massacre. This is the most disgusting page in the history of ancient Chinese wars. Today we must reflect and repent for this, and we must resolutely criticize it. 3. Unclear rewards and punishments. Generous rewards for meritorious service are beyond reproach. However, Li Guangli should be removed from his post and should not be granted a title of marquis or continue to lead the army. The main corrupt elements should also be brought to justice to seek justice for the many soldiers who starved to death, so as to improve military discipline and restore military prestige.