Ban Chao was a famous diplomat and military figure of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In 73 AD， Ban Chao and 36 subordinates were on a diplomatic mission to the kingdoms of the Tarim Basin， and first arrived at the kingdom of Kroran， also known as Loulan or Shanshan.

The king at first gave them a warm reception， but after some time， he began to be cold and rude towards them. Ban Chao investigated and found that a large Xiongnu delegation had also arrived， so that the kings attitude towards the Han dynasty had begun to waver. Ban Chao assembled his men and told them that the situation was grave. Arguing that“without entering the tigers den， one cannot capture the tigers cub”， Ban Chao decided that the only solution was to risk everything in a sneak attack on the Xiongnu delegation that night.

At night， Ban Chao and his 36 men snuck up to the Xiongnu camp. Ten of them hid behind the camp with drums， while the others lay in ambush with weapons at either side in front of the camp. Then they set a fire right outside the camp and began shouting and beating drums at the same time. The Xiongnu woke up in confusion and panicked， thinking a large Han army was attacking them. Over 30 of them were killed in the ambush， including the leader of the delegation. More than a hundred others were killed by the fire. The next day， Ban Chao met the king of Kroran and showed him the severed head of the Xiongnu leader. The king then decided to ally with the Eastern Han.