In Chinese history, since Qin Shi Huang created the title of emperor, it has been a symbol of supremacy. Therefore, in the era of separation, China could have many princes and kings at the same time, and it was rare for two emperors to exist at the same time. Once two emperors did exist at the same time, they would inevitably be hostile to each other, and there would be a fierce battle for legitimacy in their positions.
Statue of Zhao Tuo, King of Nanyue.
However, in the Western Han Dynasty, when the title of emperor had just been stabilized, there was a situation where two emperors coexisted for a period of time. Although Zhao Tuo of South Vietnam only controlled the present-day Liangguang and parts of Vietnam, he adopted the honorific title of emperor after all. This was unacceptable in the eyes of later dynasties. However, the ruler of the Western Han Dynasty at that time acquiesced to his behavior, from which we can get a glimpse of the management policy of the Western Han Dynasty for these remote areas at that time.
However, with the increase of the national strength of the Western Han Dynasty, the attitude of the rulers of South Vietnam towards the Western Han Dynasty also changed greatly. They also chose to be vassals to the Western Han Dynasty and became vassals of the Central Plains regime. And the fundamental reason for this change is the increase in the dominance of the Western Han Dynasty.
The territory of Nanhai County during the Western Han Dynasty.
The Liangguang region, located in southeastern China, is now one of China's most important foreign ports and economic centers, but during the Qin and Han dynasties, it was still considered an uncivilized region by the Central Plains. As a result, most of the rulers of the time thought that developing the place was a matter of more than worth the cost. Therefore, until the end of the Warring States period, the Liangguang region did not get too good development.
However, this situation changed dramatically with the accession of Qin Shi Huang to the throne. As the first emperor in Chinese history, Qin Shi Huang had a very ambitious goal in his heart, and after conquering the six kingdoms of Shandong, he wanted to further expand China's territory, so he launched a large-scale campaign of conquest, including an attack on southeastern China. At that time, Qin Shi Huang sent a Qin army deep into Bumao and launched an attack on the indigenous ethnic minorities living in southeastern China.
Expanding territory was Qin Shi Huang's lifelong pursuit.
At that time, the aborigines living here lacked communication with the Central Plains, and their education level and production capacity were completely incomparable with the Central Plains, so they could not organize effective resistance in the face of the Qin army's attack, and the Qin army soon occupied this vast land.
Later, the Qin Dynasty set up three counties in these places: Guilin, Nanhai and Xiangjun, and set up some county towns in them, which included them in the jurisdiction of the Qin Dynasty. However, at that time, the population living here was very sparse, and it was impossible to choose a suitable place from them**, so Qin Shi Huang selected many people from northern China to work in the three newly established counties, and Zhao Tuo, the founder of the Nanyue Kingdom, was one of them, and he was only a county commander at that time.
Map of the territory of the Qin Dynasty.
No sooner had the Qin Dynasty conquered the surrounding regions than serious problems arose within its rule. And after the death of Qin Shi Huang, the power of the Qin Dynasty fell into the hands of the eunuch Zhao Gao. His ability to govern the country was not enough, so rebels sprang up all over the country against the rule of the Qin Dynasty, and China was once again in the midst of war.
Nanhai Wei is arrogant.
At this time, the southeast region was relatively safe, there were no large-scale uprisings here, and the rule of the Qin Dynasty was quite stable. However, at that time, Nanhai Wei Ren Huan knew that the rule of the Qin Dynasty was about to fall, so the three counties here would be useless, so he had the idea of separating himself from each other. However, he was already seriously ill at that time, and he called Zhao Tuo to tell him that he should retreat to Panyu as soon as possible, and then wait for an opportunity to control the entire southeast. Zhao Tuo accepted his suggestion and immediately went to Panyu. Immediately after Ren Huan's death, he killed the rest of the Qin officials in Nanhai County. Ren Huan's advice to Zhao Tuo is in"Hanshu Southwest Yi Liangyue Korean Biography".It is recorded as follows:
"Hearing that Chen Sheng and others were in turmoil, they rebelled against Qin and stood up, and the South China Sea was far away, fearing that the thieves would invade here. I want to raise an army and make a new way, and I will be very sick if I prepare to serve the princes. Moreover, Panyu bears mountains and dangers, thousands of miles from north to south and east to west, and is quite complemented by Chinese, which is also the lord of a state and can be a country. The magistrate of the county died and conspired, so he called for an announcement. "After Liu Bang entered the customs and eliminated the Qin Dynasty, Zhao Tuo knew that the officials of the Qin Dynasty were no longer able to defend Guilin and Xiangjun, so he immediately sent troops to attack these two places, and soon won the victory. At this point, the de facto rule of southeastern China fell into the hands of Zhao Tuo, who soon established himself as King Wu of Southern Yue.
The territory of the South Vietnamese State.
The reason why Zhao Tuo was able to grow from a small county order to a prince king on one side of the division was that in addition to Ren Huan's guidance to him, the most important reason was actually the Qin Dynasty's mistakes in local administration. After pacifying the Six Kingdoms, Qin Shi Huang did not choose to restore his national strength, but continued to carry out expeditionary activities, which consumed a lot of financial resources. This made it impossible for the Qin dynasty to govern well, even if they were able to conquer these places and incorporate them into their territory. That's why people like Zhao Tuo were given an opportunity.
While Zhao Tuo pacified the southeastern region, the Central Plains were once again in flames, and Liu Bang and Xiang Yu's Chu-Han struggle for hegemony plunged much of China into turmoil. Later, although it ended in Liu Bang's victory, the national strength of the Central Plains regime was already very weak. In response to such a national situation, Liu Bang adopted a national construction plan that paralleled the county system and the sub-feudal system.
The advantages and disadvantages of this national political system are very obvious, on the one hand, these feudal feudal states are the barrier of the country, on the other hand, once they are not subordinate, it is a great threat to the Western Han Dynasty. However, when the Western Han Dynasty was first established, these vassal kings were still relatively loyal, so their defensive role was still very obvious.
Territory map of the early years of the Western Han Dynasty.
At that time, Zhao Tuo's South Vietnam bordered the border of the King of Changsha in the Western Han Dynasty, and although Zhao Tuo did not attack the Western Han Dynasty, it was always a threat. Therefore, Liu Bang decided to send envoys to South Vietnam in an attempt to establish good diplomatic relations with Zhao Tuo. Under the recommendation of everyone, Lu Jia undertook this task.
At this time, Zhao Tuo also had a good understanding of the situation in the Western Han Dynasty, and he knew that after the war, the current Western Han Dynasty was still relatively weak and did not have the ability to come to conquer the distant southeast. The king of Changsha and other peripheral vassal kings had not been in the domain for a long time, and had not yet established stable rule in their own fiefdoms.
And once he recruits troops on a large scale within his own country, it will inevitably arouse suspicion, so his South Vietnamese state will still be able to maintain stability for a period of time. What's more, the once-prosperous Qin Empire also died out in a short period of time, and no one knows how long the current Western Han Dynasty can rule, so Zhao Tuo is not very respectful and afraid of the Western Han Dynasty.
Lu Jia on his mission to South Vietnam.
After Lu Jia arrived in South Vietnam, Zhao Tuo received this famous literati, but Zhao Tuo did not receive the envoy with due courtesy, but sat in front of him, which was very rude in ancient China. Moreover, Zhao Tuo is not a local aborigine, he understands traditional etiquette, so there is only one explanation for his approach, that is, he wants to show Lu Jia his authority and contempt for the Western Han Dynasty.
Lu Jia, as a messenger, was naturally very annoyed by Zhao Tuo's behavior, but he did not criticize Zhao Tuo's faux pas from his own point of view, but analyzed the situation he was in from the other party's point of view. Lu Jia mentioned that now the Western Han Dynasty has just been established, but the national strength is still unmatched by the South Yue State, and the reason why he did not send troops to conquer now, but chose to send himself here, is just to let the people of the Central Plains get rest. If Zhao Tuo still doesn't know how to restrain his behavior, then only the army of the Western Han Dynasty will be waiting for him. Lu Jia's words to persuade Zhao Tuo are there"Historical Records: The Biography of Lisheng Lu Jialie".It is recorded as follows:
"When the Son of Heaven heard that the king of Nanyue did not help the world to punish the tyranny and rebellion, he would move the troops and punish the king, and the Son of Heaven took pity on the new labor of the people, so he took a leave of absence, and sent his ministers to grant the king's seal, and cut the talisman. The king should be welcomed in the suburbs, and the north is called a minister, but he wants to create a new uncollected Yue, and succumb to this. When Han Cheng heard this, he dug up and burned the tomb of the king's ancestors, wiped out the clan, and made a partial general to cross the 100,000 people, and then killed the king and descended to the Han, such as repeating his hands and ears. "
Powerful Western Han army.
After hearing these words, Zhao Tuo changed his previous arrogant attitude and apologized to Lu Jia for his previous behavior. After that, he also left Lu Jia to live in Nanyue for a period of time, and agreed to be a vassal to the Western Han Dynasty, and also gave Lu Jia a valuable gift. After Lu Jia returned to Chang'an, he reported to Liu Bang the results of this mission to South Vietnam, and Liu Bang was very happy when he heard the words and rewarded Lu Jia.
In the course of this mission, Liu Bang's attitude is also very noteworthy, we know that after the envoy returns, he must have to make a detailed report on the itinerary, from the historical materials that are now circulating, we can also know that Liu Bang must have known Zhao Tuo's faux pas, but he did not seem to show too much anger about this matter, but was very satisfied with the result of Zhao Tuo's courtierhood. From this, we can see that Liu Bang attaches great importance to the results of this mission, as long as Lu Jia can complete the set task, then other things are not important, and we also have reason to believe that Liu Bang's reward to Lu Jia after that is also a kind of compensation for Lu Jia.
Liu Bang took a tolerant attitude towards Lu Jia.
And after Zhao Tuo proclaimed himself a vassal to the Western Han Dynasty for a period of time, he found that the emperor of the Western Han Dynasty was far away and seemed to be unable to restrain his behavior, so he also began to call himself the emperor and no longer used the title given to him by the Han Dynasty before. Such behavior is undoubtedly transgressive, but the Western Han Dynasty did not say anything about his behavior.
On the one hand, it was because the Western Han Dynasty was experiencing the chaos of the Empress Lu at that time, and had no time to take care of South Vietnam, and on the other hand, it was also because the national strength of the Western Han Dynasty was not enough to launch such a conquest, and the vassal kings did not seem to have the obligation to crusade against such disobedient behavior, and their main task was only defense after all. From this, we can also see the difficulties of the Western Han Dynasty at that time, and due to the situation, they seemed to be able to only adopt a forbearance and compromise attitude towards Zhao Tuo.
Before his death, he also made his own people vassal kings, intending to seize the world of the Han Dynasty, but Zhu Lu's rebellion was quickly quelled under the efforts of Chen Ping, Zhou Bo and other old ministers, and the Western Han Dynasty ** also temporarily returned to stability. Later, under the agreement of the minister, Liu Heng, the acting king, became the candidate for the new emperor, and the Western Han Dynasty finally returned to the leadership of the Liu family.
In the process of pacifying Zhulu this time, Empress Lü's behavior of making her brother a vassal king is very noteworthy. After they were defeated, the Western Han Dynasty did not divide these fiefs to other clans, but incorporated them into the territory of *** and established new counties in them. This kind of behavior is a very obvious signal, that is, the Western Han Dynasty began to weaken the strength of the vassal king to strengthen. Later, under the advice of Jia Yi and others, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty also strengthened his determination to cut the domain, although the strength of the first was not enough for him to launch a large-scale reduction of the domain, but there were many small fiefs that were constantly included in the territory of the first country, and the power of the Western Han Dynasty has been significantly enhanced.
Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty Liu Heng.
Moreover, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, as a representative figure of the Ming monarch in Chinese history, implemented the political line of recuperation after his accession to the throne, which relieved the living pressure of the people of the Western Han Dynasty and greatly improved the productivity. At this time, Emperor Wen of Han finally had the energy to deal with the South Vietnamese issue, but under his political policy, it was obviously not a wise decision to start a war, so he chose to send envoys to South Vietnam again to re-establish diplomatic contacts with Zhao Tuo, and hoped that he would be able to claim vassal to the Western Han Dynasty. This time, it was no surprise that Emperor Wen of Han chose Lu Jia, who had been to South Vietnam before and had a good relationship with Zhao Tuo, to be his envoy this time.
However, Lu Jia's second envoy is very different from the first envoy, this time Zhao Tuo received his old friend with very formal courtesy, and quickly agreed to Lu Jia's request, promised to maintain a good relationship with the Western Han Dynasty, and no longer use the title of emperor. The reason why this mission was able to get such good results was mainly because the Western Han Dynasty at that time already had strong strength, and the rule of Emperor Wen of Han was supported by the people, which made Zhao Tuo know that he could not compete with it.
Zhao Tuo, who was called the emperor.
Moreover, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty also set up a guard next to the tomb of Zhao Tuo's ancestors, and ordered people to carry out regular sacrifices, and also rewarded Zhao Tuo's clansmen, such a courtesy is very rare. This made Zhao Tuo feel the benevolence of the Western Han Dynasty, which was also one of the reasons why he could return to him with peace of mind. Emperor Wen of Han's initiative is in"Hanshu Southwest Yi Liangyue Korean Biography".It is recorded as follows:
"In the first year of Emperor Wen, the first town pacified the world, and the princes were told to take the throne from the generations, and they were given the title of Shengdeyan. It is for the mound of the relatives to be placed in the real ding, and the year is enshrined. Summoning him from Kundi, honoring officials and favoring him. "Judging from Lu Jia's second mission, we can clearly see the change in the attitude of Nanyue towards the Western Han Dynasty, which allows us to go straight out of the Western Han Dynasty and gradually become stronger, and the benevolent government of Emperor Wen of Han also played a very important role in this process.
In his later years, Zhao Tuo became a loyal subordinate of the Western Han Dynasty.
As the first local government in southeastern China to establish ties with the Central Plains Dynasty, Nanyue was essentially different from other ethnic minority led regimes: first, this region had already been incorporated into China's territory by Qin Shi Huang during the Qin Dynasty, and three southeastern counties were set up here. Zhao Tuo, the ruler of Nanyue, was a Han Chinese from the north, who was very familiar with the culture of the Central Plains, and the Nanyue Kingdom under his rule also had the characteristics of the Central Plains culture.
Therefore, Nanyue was more like a lost territory than a subject country for the Western Han Dynasty, but in the early days of the Western Han Dynasty, they insisted on maintaining good diplomatic relations with Zhao Tuo, rather than planning to conquer it, mainly because the political system of the Western Han Dynasty was not perfect at that time, and the territory of the Western Han Dynasty was surrounded by vassal states in the Guanzhong region.
Golden Seal of the King of South Vietnam.
Bordering South Vietnam was the vassal state of the Western Han Dynasty, and it was not easy to mobilize their forces, so it was very difficult to conquer by force, and at the same time, considering the national strength of the Western Han Dynasty at that time, it was very unwise to carry out such an expedition. Therefore, even if Zhao Tuo made rude actions to the envoy and even claimed to be the emperor without authorization, the Western Han Dynasty did not choose to take military action.
However, with the accession of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, the national strength of the Western Han Dynasty has achieved good development, and the strength of the vassal king has been gradually withdrawn from his hands. Emperor Wen of Han's benevolent government in China also won him the support of the people, which put the Western Han Dynasty on the right track. In this case, Zhao Tuo also knew that it was impossible to have a good result in the confrontation with the Western Han Dynasty, so he accepted the conditions of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty and chose to be a vassal to the Western Han Dynasty. This makes it obvious to us that only when a regime has strong enough military and economic strength, as well as a good cultural image, can it win the support of others and ensure its dominance.