Toward the last years of Western Han Dynasty, the rebellion of Wang Mang gave an, opportunity for Hun to invade the territory of Han Empire and to harass the people in the Western Regions. The transportation along the Silk Road was interrupted for more than 60 years. After the establishment of Eastern Han Dynasty, the situation on the Silk Road  was improved and stabilized. The Emperor Ming dispatched an army to  fight the Hun and restored the route to the Western Regions. Many  warriors fought fearlessly for the reopening of the Silk Road. The most famous among them was Ban Chao.

Ban Chao was a distinctive person from very early age. When he was  a young man, he engaged himself as a copyist for the feudal officialdom.He always complained: 'A real man should behave like a hero, and should as Zhang Qian achieve something in the Western Regions. How can I settle for being a poor man dealing with copying all my life?" In AD 73, Ban Chao eventually gave up his pen and joined the army Before long he received an order to go to the Western Region on a diplomatic mission with 36 agile and brave warriors.

At that time, all the small countries in the Western regions were under the control of northern Hun. It was unlikely to make them get rid of Hun control simply by diplomatic means and pledge allegiance to Han Dynasty.

After he left Yumen Pass, the first leg of Ban Chao's mission was to the country of Shanshan (in the present Xinjiang). At first, the king of Shanshan was very polite and courteous to them. Before long Hun diplomatic envoy arrived. The king was afraid of the arrival of the Hun envoy and started to alienate the messengers of Han Dynasty And then  Ban Chao decided to attack Hun convoy In a blustering night, Ban  Chao and 36 warriors quietly entered the camp where Hun was stationed. They set on fire and attacked from both sides of the camp. The men from Hun were thrown into a panic and annihilated entirely. This act made a great impact to the king ofShanshan. He himself had long been  resentful to Hun's behavior. Ban Chao persuaded him to break with  Hun and return to the embrace of Han Dynasty

Soon after this episode, Ban Chao was ordered on a mission to Yutian. There was a special resident commissioner from Hun to supervise the king of Yutian. So the king dared not to come into contact with the Han representative. The Hunophile royal wizard even demanded Ban Chao to hand over his horse and to kill it. Ban Chao readily nodded agreement.When the wizard came for the horse, Ban Chao killed him instead at one stroke. This action gave a heavy blow to Hun men. Under the advice and encouragement of Ban Chao, the king killed the Hun supervisor and entered into an alliance with Han Dynasty.