In BC 138, Zhang Qian was ordered to send people to the Western Regions to find and contact the Yue family who had been driven away by the Huns and jointly attack the Huns. Zhang Qian and his party set out from Chang 'an and went west via Longxi. After they came to the Hexi Corridor, they were discovered by tarquin in the occupied area. Zhang Qian and his party were all captured.

After the Huns Khan knew the purpose of Zhang Qian's Western Expedition, he dispersed them to herd sheep and release horses, which was strictly controlled by the Huns. Back in Zhang Qian, I married a Hun woman, one to spy on him, and the other to induce him to surrender. However, Zhang Qian is unyielding.

Eleven Spring and Autumn Periods passed, and Zhang Qian took the opportunity to escape from the Xiongnu territory with his personal entourage Gan Fu, and continued the Western Expedition. After going through all kinds of hardships, I finally crossed the desert Gobi, crossed the snow-covered green ridge (now Pamir Plateau) and came to Dawan State (now Fergana). The king warmly received Zhang Qian and helped him to Kangju (now Samarkand), Da Yue and Daxia. However, the Yue family lived and worked in peace and contentment in the Amu Darya River, and did not want to go east to fight the Huns. Zhang Qian failed to complete the mission of forming an alliance with Dayue family to attack Xiongnu, but he gained a great deal of knowledge about human geography of western countries.

Zhang Qian was captured by Xiongnu again on his way back to the East, and then he designed to escape. 13 later, return to Chang 'an. This trip to the Western Regions made people living in the hinterland of the Central Plains understand the reality of the Western Regions, inspired the ambition of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to "expand the territory" and launched a series of wars against the Huns.

In BC 1 19, in order to further contact with Wusun, the Han Dynasty broke off the "Xiongnu's right-hand man" and sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions again. This time, Zhang Qian took more than 300 people and arrived in Wusun smoothly. He also sent envoys to visit Kangju, Dawan, Da Yue, Daxia, Rest in Peace (now Iran), Body Poison (now India) and other countries. However, due to the civil strife in Wusun, the purpose of the alliance was not achieved. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Huo Qubing to attack the Xiongnu with heavy troops, wiped out the Xiongnu occupying Hexi Corridor and Mobei, established four counties and two customs in Hexi, and opened the Silk Road.

Zhang Qian braved difficulties and obstacles, sent two missions to the western regions, communicated the traffic arteries in the interior of Asia, officially started friendly exchanges with western European countries, promoted extensive economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West, and opened up the Silk Road, making him the first person in China to go to the world.

2. Ban Chao joined the army.

"A gentleman has no ambition, but he should still make contributions to Fu Jiezi and Zhang Qian in a foreign country, so that he can get a title and study for a long time?" (Biography of Ban Chao in the Later Han Dynasty)

Xiongnu is a nomadic people in northern China. They are good at riding and shooting, brave and good at fighting. They fly like birds, arrive instantly, retreat like smoke, and disappear instantly. When the autumn is crisp, the horses are fat and plundered everywhere, and the Central Plains region is unbearable. There are more than 50 small countries in the western regions, all controlled by Xiongnu. To effectively resist the invasion of Xiongnu, we must control the countries in the western regions and cut off the Xiongnu's arms.

In 73 AD, Dou Gu, the conductor of Ban Chao, attacked the Xiongnu and asked Ming Di to send him to the Western Regions. We arrived in Shanshan first, and the king followed respectfully. Ban Chao concluded that the Huns also sent messengers. The situation is critical, so it is better to strike first. Ban Chao concentrated his entourage of 36 people, and burned down the residence of Xiongnu messengers at night, killing more than 30 people and burning 100 people. Shanshan shocked the whole country and was first returned to Han. Then, Ban Chao sent non-stop missions to Khotan and Shule to subdue the two countries, crushed the attack of Yanqi and Qiuci commanded by Xiongnu, and restored the relationship with the Han Dynasty, which had been interrupted for 65 years.

Ban Chao is determined to stay in the Western Regions for a long time. Since 87 AD, the rebellion in shache and other countries has been put down successively, and the attack of 70,000 people of Da Yue Dynasty has been repelled, thus protecting the security of countries in the southern part of the Western Regions and the smooth flow of the Silk Road. In 9 1-94 AD, countries such as Qiuci, Gu Mo, Wensu, Yanqi, Yuli and Shu Wei surrendered to the Han Dynasty, and all 50 countries in the Western Regions belonged to the Han Dynasty. Zhang Han named Ban Chao as Dingyuan Hou. Since then, the western regions have been stable, and the Huns dare not go south.