A RECORD OF THE HISTORIAN: THE BIOGRAPHY OF SIMA QIAN

THE BASIC ANNALS OF EMPEROR WUDI

After ages of endless war and strife, the Han Dynasty took rest under the administrations of Han Wendi and Han Jingdi. Such solace soon disappeared after Liu Che, sixth sucessor of the Western Han Dynasty, ascended the throne at age 15. This boy became Emperor Wudi, the Martial Emperor.
As fierce and as bold as the warrior Hsiang Yu, Wudi dedicated his reign to the suppression of the Huns. The Emperor unleashed three waves of attack on the tribe, driving them far north at Gobi. To hold the enemy at bay, Wudi ordered the construction of a new Great Wall, much more imposing than that of the Qin Dynasty. And the former barrier was renovated still.
Before the victory, Han Wudi sent out his trusted general Zhang Qian to propose an allegiance with the Yuezhi Tribe against the Huns. After a thirteen year odyssey of capture and escape, exploration and discovery, Zhang Qian finally returned. The trail that he blazed would become known as...