Some readers may be curious when reading this, where is Loulan, and why did Wang Changling write such a murderous poem? In fact, Loulan was just a small country in the western region, swinging back and forth between the Central Plains dynasty and the nomadic regime, just like dozens of small countries in the western region at that time.
Then, why did the Central Plains Dynasty have to destroy this small country?
The prelude to the struggle between the two major regimes and the destruction of Loulan.
The reason why Loulan State was involved in the two major regimes was closely related to the war between the two major regimes. The struggle between the Central Plains dynasty and the Xiongnu regime began as early as the Warring States period.
During the Warring States period, Qin, Yan and Zhao all built a large-scale Great Wall on the northern border to prevent the Huns from invading the south. After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, the Great Wall in the north was connected into one piece, which became a powerful defense line for the Central Plains to defend the northern nomads from invading the south.
However, the fortresses were all breached from the inside. Although it was in the national interest for the Qin Dynasty to vigorously carry out infrastructure construction, it also caused a large-scale peasant uprising at the end of Qin Dynasty, and the Central Plains fell into civil strife, and northern nomads took the opportunity to invade the Central Plains.
After the establishment of the Western Han regime, after several generations of emperors' recuperation, they finally defeated the main force of Xiongnu in several wars. The Huns split, and some Huns did not choose to submit to the Han Dynasty. After all, "the thin camel is bigger than the horse", and the western regions have become the new target of the Huns. Why?
At that time, there were many small countries in the western regions. At that time, trade between countries was very frequent, and there was a scene of prosperity. Seeing the prosperity of the western regions, the Huns who came to northern Xinjiang began their own plunder. Many countries were killed and forced to surrender to the Huns, paying a lot of money.
In order to completely eliminate the threat of the Huns to themselves, the Western Han Dynasty sent a special envoy of the Han Dynasty, represented by Zhang Qian, to contact the western countries and destroy the Huns.
Loulan was targeted by the two major regimes for various reasons.
1, although small, but prosperous.
Around the third century BC, the ancient country of Loulan was formally established. According to the later records in Historical Records, in the Western Han Dynasty, the total population of Loulan just exceeded 14000, and the total number of soldiers was less than 3000.
Among the 36 countries in the western regions, this scale is relatively large, but it is not worth mentioning in front of the powerful Western Han Empire.
Although Loulan is small, it is extremely prosperous. A few years ago, a female mummy was unearthed from the ruins of the ancient city of Loulan, which was called "Loulan Beauty". Even after thousands of years, the exquisite accessories on this "Loulan Beauty" still shocked archaeologists. It is not difficult to see how prosperous Loulan was at that time.
Although Loulan's prosperity has created splendid culture and prosperous commercial economy for its people, its prosperity has also brought disaster to it. With the army of the Western Han Dynasty constantly defeating the Huns in the Central Plains and the depths of the desert, the Huns split and some Huns began to move westward.
The prosperity of the western regions, especially Loulan, attracted these uninvited guests. In addition, the Han Dynasty opened up the Silk Road, and the description of the prosperity of the western regions by Han envoys also attracted the attention of the Western Han emperors.
2, the crossroads of military trade.
Loulan, such a small place, will become the most prosperous place in the western regions. In fact, the reason is very simple. The location of Loulan is really great. This brought a lot of wealth to Loulan, and also brought disaster to Loulan. Because the place where Loulan is located is not only an important node of the Silk Road, but also a battleground for military strategists.
In fact, it is not difficult to see how important the location of Loulan is from the map. Loulan has Lop Nur to the east and Dunhuang to the east. Turpan Oasis and Hami Oasis in the north, Yanzhe Oasis in the northwest, and banded oases in the north and south edges of Tarim Basin in the west and southwest.
Loulan is like the fork of a big tree. Caravans from Hexi Corridor came to Loulan, where silk and other commodities were sorted and headed for their respective destinations.
Because of this, Loulan played a vital role on the Silk Road. Whether it's south road or north road, you have to go through Loulan. If Loulan is in the hands of Xiongnu, then Xiongnu is equivalent to controlling the trade between East and West. This is totally unacceptable to the Han regime. So for Loulan, when the Huns and the Central Plains Dynasty set their eyes on themselves, how to survive became the most important goal.
In the face of repeated struggles between the two major regimes, where should Loulan go?
1, "swinging grass"
The word "swinging grass" is a derogatory term, and it is perhaps the most appropriate to describe what Loulan did. The situation in Loulan at that time was very similar to that in the northeast controlled by the warlord Feng Zhi in modern times. Modern Northeast China was sandwiched between Russian Empire and Japan, and Loulan was sandwiched between Xiongnu and Central Plains Dynasty.
Xiongnu was the most powerful nomadic regime at that time, and Zhongyuan Dynasty was the most powerful farming civilization regime at that time. It is not easy to save yourself between two great powers. When the Huns were in the sphere of influence, Loulan had to obey the Huns, intercept and kill the envoys of the Han Dynasty. Under the control of the Central Plains Dynasty, Loulan took orders from the Western Han Dynasty.
From the point of view of the Central Plains Dynasty, after establishing good diplomatic relations with Loulan, Loulan repeatedly violated the agreement between the two countries and killed the envoy representing the Han Dynasty, which was really treacherous and not a gentleman's move. Therefore, the Central Plains Dynasty, especially the Western Han Dynasty, sent troops to Loulan many times, and even used some special means to force King Loulan to submit to the Central Plains Dynasty.
2. Behind it is the contest between agricultural civilization and nomadic civilization.
So Loulan is really so treacherous, both ends of the first mouse? Of course not. "There must be something sad about hateful people." Loulan did this out of helplessness. What is helpless is the bad international situation sandwiched between two big countries. As long as Loulan surrenders to one side, the other side will definitely force Loulan to surrender to it through war and other means.
So back and forth, both the Central Plains Dynasty and Xiongnu wanted to take Loulan as their own, and the two sides fought constantly.
In order to show obedience to both sides, Loulan gave the prince who had the right to inherit the throne to the Central Plains Dynasty and the Xiongnu regime respectively. Once the current king dies, the Huns and the Central Plains Dynasty will send their Prince Loulan back to Loulan as quickly as possible, so that Proton can gain control of Loulan at the same time. The most famous story is that Fu Jiezi single-handedly killed King Loulan.
At that time, Fu Jiezi was appointed by Huo Guang to assassinate King Loulan. But Loulan was controlled by Xiongnu, and Fu Jiezi, as an envoy representing the Central Plains Dynasty, was never received by King Loulan, so he made a plan and pretended to give the gold and silver jewelry originally given to Loulan to other countries.
Loulan officials were in a hurry and immediately asked Loulan Wang for instructions. When King Loulan heard about it, he immediately gave a banquet in honor of Fu Jiezi. King Loulan was drunk, held a bodyguard and assassinated King Loulan.
Fu Jiezi brought Loulan Wang Angui's head back to Chang 'an, and put it up for public display to deter the western countries. Later, the Han Dynasty awarded the title of King Shanshan to Prince Loulan, who was regarded as a "proton" in Chang 'an, and sent him back to Loulan to become the new King of Loulan. In order to ensure Loulan's loyalty to the Central Plains Dynasty, Dahan also sent troops to protect Loulan, the king of the new country. With the Xiongnu in the northern Tianshan Mountains in the Western Han Dynasty going south and surrendering to Khufu in the western regions, the battle of Loulan ended in the victory of the Central Plains dynasty.
However, even if Loulan surrendered to the Central Plains Dynasty, it failed to change her ultimate fate. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the northern Wei army completely destroyed Loulan. Then the ancient country of Loulan disappeared in Lop Nur.
In western countries, there are not a few people who swing back and forth between the Xiongnu and the Central Plains dynasty, but Loulan is coveted by the Xiongnu and the Central Plains regimes, and political confrontation continues. The country of Loulan, for some reason, finally disappeared into history with its secrets.