The mysterious, distant Silk Road: yellow sand fills the sky, camel bells ring softly, and a beautiful woman of Loulan approaches slowly, her face veiled in white. She offers a bowl of sweet, refreshing spring water. “General, after fighting through countless battles, would you drink this nectar and fight the Xiongnu in the Western Regions once more?”
Throughout Chinese history, why were nomadic peoples such as the Xiongnu, the Five Hu, the Liao, the Jin, and the Yuan, who herded horses and sheep, able to repeatedly crush the Central Plains? Were they really backward and weak? How did the Han Dynasty win its first victory over the powerful Xiongnu and find its confidence? Read this book to learn about the nomadic peoples as they truly were and uncover the mysteries of history.
At last, this book is complete. Honestly, unlike the histories of famous figures and classic anecdotes that people love to discuss, the mid-Western Han campaign in which Emperor Xuan wiped out the Xiongnu is obscure history, known to few. And because it deals with nomadic peoples, readers unfamiliar with the subject have little interest in it, so few have read this book. But I believe this magnificent, brilliant chapter of history was pivotal to China’s emergence onto the world stage and its transformation into a global power. It is therefore well worth recording.
The Dragon-Guarding Officers come from the Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist, Legalist, and Mohist schools. They move between the imperial court and the martial world, completely eradicate the Xiongnu, pacify the Western Regions and the desert, establish the Protectorate of the Western Regions, and preserve the prosperity of the Silk Road!
