Chapter 41 6. In the south of Pingling Mountains, Guilin County was added

In the south of the vast Wuling Mountains, there is a vast area known as Lingnan in history.In the pre-Qin period, hundreds of primitive tribes lived here, and people at that time called this area Baiyue.At that time, the people here were still at the end of the primitive society, with extremely low productivity, relying on stone tools and a few bronze tools, and lived a life of slash-and-burn farming, fishing and hunting. In 221 BC, after ten years of war, Qin Shihuang wiped out the six kingdoms and completed the great cause of unifying the Central Plains.However, in Qin Shihuang's heart, there was always an unfulfilled wish.He believed that it would be an easy task to pacify the Lingnan region, which was not included in the territory of the Great Qin Empire at that time, with the help of the Great Qin's million cavalry.

During the court meeting, Qin Shihuang handed over the idea of ​​conquering Lingnan to the ministers for discussion.What he didn't expect was that this move was opposed by many ministers, especially the old prime minister Wang Wan's attitude was the most resolute.Wang Wan believes that the Baiyue area is far away and the mountain roads are rugged, making it extremely difficult for a large army to march, not to mention transporting grain and grass, and there are many inconveniences in logistical support.Because the world has just settled down, people need to rest and recuperate, and it is not appropriate to go to war.The conquest of Lingnan should take a few more years, and it will not be too late to make plans after everything in Daqin is on the right track and the treasury is full.

Qin Shihuang has a stubborn side in his character. Once he decides something, it is difficult to be persuaded.Qin Shihuang was very angry that Wang Wan dared to publicly oppose his opinions in the court.Moreover, the last time Wang Wan proposed to divide the world, he had already caused his dissatisfaction; coupled with the slow progress of the collection of weapons and the repair of the road that Wang Wan was asked to carry out, he had long thought that Wang Wan was old and confused and could not bear the responsibility.In a fit of anger, he dismissed Wang Wan as prime minister and was succeeded by Li Si, who had always been trusted by him.

The ministers saw the fate of the old prime minister who was dismissed because he opposed the pacification of Lingnan, and knew that Qin Shihuang had made up his mind on this matter, and no one could stop it, so they followed suit one after another, and those who had originally opposed it were all in unison He said that Qin Shihuang's decision to crusade against Baiyue was wise and powerful. In 218 BC, Qin Shihuang appointed general Tu Sui as the commander in chief, Zhao Tuo as the deputy commander, and led 500,000 Qin troops to conquer Lingnan.After the auspicious day was selected, the Qin army set off immediately and rushed to the front line. Qin Shihuang even came to the outside of Xianyang city in high spirits to bid farewell to the Qin army.Seeing the mighty and mighty army drifting away, Qin Shihuang felt inexplicably proud and proud.

The Qin army divided into five groups and marched towards the Lingnan area through Yuechengling in northern Guangxi, Jiuyi Mountain in southern Hunan, Nankang and Yugan in Jiangxi.Among them, a Qin army led by Zhao Tuo who captured Panyu was the fastest.They passed through the Jiuyi Fortress and went down the Beijiang River to the Pearl River Delta.Due to strict military discipline, the army strictly prohibited disturbing the people along the way, so they did not encounter any resistance along the way and successfully occupied Panyu. The two armies led by Tu Sui, who were responsible for attacking the Yue people in Guangxi, marched slowly.Because he adopted a policy of discriminating against Yue people and was eager to implement Qin Shihuang's tyranny, it aroused full resistance from Yue people.The Yue people are not only familiar with the terrain, but also good at crossing mountains and rivers. Using the cover of the jungle, they often raid the Qin army at night, sometimes gathering, sometimes breaking up into pieces, and disturbing the Qin army.Due to the rugged mountain roads and crisscross rivers, the Qin army's food roads were cut off and the supply was insufficient. For a while, the Qin army fell into an extremely dangerous situation.In the middle of the night, the army led by Tu Sui was severely damaged by the Vietnamese army, and Tu Sui was killed by an arrow while breaking through.The death of the commander seriously shook the morale of the army. In addition, the soldiers of the Qin army were extremely unsuitable to the climate conditions in Lingnan, and homesickness spread. The Qin army on the western front collapsed. Qin Shihuang's war to conquer Lingnan initially failed.

The news of the defeat on the front line spread to Xianyang City, which shocked Qin Shihuang and his ministers.They all thought that the 500,000 Qin army's conquest of Nanyue should be easy to capture, but they didn't expect that it would end up like this.Qin Shihuang suddenly remembered the old prime minister Wang Wan. He once opposed his decision to attack Baiyue. It seems that he really blamed him at the beginning!He only hated himself for not following Wang Wan's advice.He had to hastily summon the ministers to the court to discuss countermeasures. Above the court hall, Qin Shihuang said to the ministers with grief: "My dear friends, think about how mighty our Daqin army was at the beginning. It swept Liuhe and unified the Central Plains without any effort. Unexpectedly, the strength of Baiyue, which is far inferior to the six kingdoms In a land of barbarians, our Great Qin army was defeated, and General Tu Sui also died in battle. This is an insult to all the subjects of our Great Qin Empire, and this revenge must be avenged! Do you have any good strategies to defend against the enemy, please submit it quickly .”

The ministers were silent, and they were speechless.They thought to themselves that the old prime minister, Wang Wan, had repeatedly advised not to use troops recklessly in the South Vietnam region. You are self-willed, and not only did you not listen to the old prime minister's good words, you also dismissed him as prime minister.Today, facts have proved that Wang Laocheng's initial worries were correct. Seeing that no one answered, Prime Minister Li Si, who was the head of all the officials, had no choice but to bite the bullet and stepped forward to answer: "I tell your majesty, I believe that there are two main reasons for our army's failure: one is that Tu Sui was so rejoicing in his achievements, and rushed forward in a hurry. The policy of discriminating against the Yue people led to their fierce resistance; secondly, due to the special geographical conditions in the south of the Five Ridges, our army's food and grass could not be delivered in time, which affected our army's morale and combat effectiveness. According to Yichen, the current plan The first thing to solve is the problem of transporting grain and grass; secondly, we should send troops to guard the Lingnan border in advance, and suspend the encirclement and suppression of South Vietnam. In addition, let the people in the wild South Vietnam learn our farming techniques in the Central Plains and accept the education of the Central Plains. If this is the case, our army will not spend a single soldier. If you are a pawn, you can easily win the land of Lingnan."

After listening to Li Si's report, Qin Shihuang nodded and decided to adopt Li Si's suggestion. In 217 BC, in order to solve the difficult situation of grain and grass supply, Qin Shihuang ordered Yu Shilu to dig a canal connecting the Xiang River and the Li River in Xing'an County, Guangxi today, which is the famous Lingqu Canal.The total length of the Lingqu Canal is 34 kilometers, and the labor load of the project is not large, so the Qin Army completed it quickly.The Lingqu connected the Xiangshui River and the Pearl River water system, greatly improving the transportation between the Lingnan area and other places. With the help of the Lingqu, the Qin army's food and salaries could be transported from the Xiangshui River to Lingnan in an endless stream.The construction of Lingqu provided a reliable guarantee for Qin Shihuang to complete the unification of Lingnan.

In 214 BC, Qin Shihuang ordered Ren Xiao and Zhao Tuo to attack the tribes of Baiyue again.Having learned from Tu Sui's failure, this time, the Qin army was as powerful as a bamboo, and quickly defeated the resistance of the Xiou people in present-day Guangxi and other places and the Luoyue people in central and northern Vietnam today. The entire Lingnan area has since been included in Qin Dynasty. Towards the territory.After Lingnan was pacified, Qin Shihuang rewarded him for meritorious deeds. Because Longchuan's geographical location and military value were extremely important, Zhao Tuo was appointed by Qin Shihuang as the first Longchuan county magistrate.

In addition, in order to strengthen the management of these areas, Qin Shihuang also established three counties here based on the suggestions of Li Si and other ministers, namely Xiangjun (now Liuzhou, Xiangzhou and other places), Nanhai County (now Nanhai area of ​​Guangdong) and Guilin County (now Guilin, Guangxi). In 208 B.C., Zhao Tuo was transferred to Nanhai Commandery. During his tenure as Longchuan County Magistrate and Nanhai Commandant, he had been implementing the policy of "harmonizing Baiyue", bringing the advanced culture of the Central Plains to the wild land of South Vietnam, and promoting the The integration of nationalities has enabled the Baiyue area to develop very well.

In order to maintain the long-term stability of the Lingnan area, Qin Shihuang ordered the soldiers who marched into Lingnan to stay in the area and "garrison".In addition, Qin Shihuang also ordered that 500,000 criminals be moved from the Central Plains to the Lingnan area, allowing them to cultivate here in peacetime and guard the border in wartime.The left-behind soldiers and immigrants, except for a few who married the immigrant women from the Central Plains, mostly married Yue women.These immigrants brought advanced culture, agriculture and handicraft technology to the Lingnan area, and made great contributions to the development of Lingnan. The Ping Lingnan War launched by Qin Shihuang is a continuation of the unification of China and is an important part of it. For the first time in history, Lingnan was officially included in the territory of China, making the Yue people a member of the big family of the Chinese nation.This battle played a non-negligible role in promoting the integration of the Han and Vietnamese nationalities, as well as the social, political, economic and cultural development of Lingnan.