In the southwest, there are many small countries, and the relatively large ones are Yelang and Dian countries. Some other small countries are not much different from tribes, some are still in the stage of slash-and-burn farming, and some are still matrilineal;Some were nomadic and lived by water, while others established city-states and began to grow crops. Now Sanxingdui and other archaeological discoveries, there are also advanced civilizations in the land of Southwest Yi, of course, Sanxingdui is in the land of Bashu, there is still some length from the southwest, but the siphon effect of culture should still be nourished by some civilization. Judging from the fragments of historical records, at the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the southwest had become a barbarian land, and civilization had long been buried underground.
The southwest land has once again entered the minds of the people of the Central Plains, and it should start with Zhuang Ji, the general of the Chu State. King Chuwei, who planned to expand his territory, sent Zhuang Ji to lead his troops to occupy the southwest, and the task was completed relatively smoothly, and a large area of the country was laid. But sadly, when I wanted to return, I suddenly realized that the way back had already been occupied by the Qin State. So Zhuang Ji called the king of Dian on the spot and followed the customs of the villagers. When Qin ruled the world, Yunnan set up officials to govern, and after Qin died and Han Xing, this place was abandoned again. With Shu as the boundary, set up checkpoints, and the outside places will not be governed for the time being. However, the connection between the merchants of Shu and the southwest was not broken, and they secretly sold the specialties here and obtained rich profits.
During the time of Emperor Wu, after Wang Hui pacified the rebellion in Dongyue, he sent Poyang to order Tang Mengshun to exert pressure in South Vietnam. The taste was so beautiful that Tang Meng was deeply impressed, and he asked where it was produced and stood in the land of Yelang. After returning to Chang'an, Tang Meng inquired with Shu merchants and got the same answer. Although he was a foodie, Tang Meng still returned to Yelang's strategic position from a strategic point of view, which could be used as a counterweight to South Vietnam, so he wrote to Emperor Wu to request that Yelang be re-included in the territory. Therefore, Emperor Wu named Tang Meng as a general, and led his troops to set off from Shu to Yelang to expand the land. This expansion of the territory was mainly based on rewards and agreements, and through the sealing of officials and rewards, several small countries were attracted and counties were set up here. Sima Xiangru, a native of Shu, suggested that another county could also be set up in the southwest, and soon Xiangru would be the general, and the county would be returned to Shu.
At that time, although the four counties of Bashu had been established, because of the surrounding high mountains, the difficulty of food supply and transportation, and the bad weather, the garrison suffered more casualties, and the original tribes began to rebel after not getting more benefits. Emperor Wu sent Gongsun Hong to assess whether the four counties would still be retained. In the context of the harassment of the Xiongnu in the north, Gongsun Hong thought that it was of little significance for the four counties to continue to be retained, so the southwest land was once again briefly abandoned, and only Jianwei County, which was closer to Shu, was retained.
In the first year of Emperor Wu's Yuanjia, Zhang Qian sent an envoy to the Western Regions to return to the Great Xia Kingdom, believing that Great Xia intended to communicate with the Han Dynasty, but was blocked by the Xiongnu in the middle. In the Great Xia, he once saw the special products of Bashu and other places, and he heard that through the body poison country, he could go straight to Bashu, and suggested that Emperor Wu open this channel. Emperor Wu sent envoys to Yunnan to explore the road, but because the king of Dian obstructed, the road was blocked, and the task could not be completed.
Soon, South Vietnam was in turmoil, and Emperor Wu sent troops to pacify it. Jianwei County had troops to support them, and the Helan tribe who sent troops feared that after the middle-aged men went out, other tribes would take the opportunity to occupy their land and capture their people. So, before the expedition, he rebelled and killed Jian as the Taishou. Emperor Wu was furious and sent troops to quell the rebellion of Helan. After the success of quelling the rebellion in South Vietnam, he began to focus on solving the problem of chaos in the southwest, and successively subjugated Yelang and other countries, and the horn trend that began to form in the Dian Kingdom and other countries of the same sect was also collapsed, and the King of Dian surrendered. Yizhou County was set up in Yunnan, and the king of Dian still retained the throne.
The southwest was razed to this level and pacified, with a total of seven counties.