After the imperial army of Daqin wiped out the six eastern countries, the talented Qin Shihuang turned his unified eyes to the land of Baiyue in the south and launched a war against Baiyue. The land of Baiyue is also commonly called Lingnan, which is now Guangdong and Guangxi. In the war between Qin and Baiyue, * * * happened three times. The first time was in 2 19 BC. Qin Shihuang ordered Tu Youyou to lead 500,000 troops south to attack Baiyue. The second time was in 2 14 BC, when Qin Jun, led by Ren Tao and Zhao Tuo, attacked Baiyue, razed Baiyue's land, unified Lingnan and established Nanhai, Guilin and Xiang Jun counties. The third time was in 2 10 BC, when Zhao Tuo, the general of the Qin Dynasty, attacked Luo Ou. Historians generally say that this time is only a continuation of the Second War. In short, these three times are collectively called "Qin Shihuang's Three Signs of Lingnan". Among the three wars between Qin Jun and the indigenous armies of Guangdong and Guangxi, this paper focuses on the most important and tragic first war.

The first war between Qin and Baiyue was also known as the "Battle of Qin and Ou" in history, but there are few historical records, only a few books such as Huainanzi. I think the main reason is that Zhao Tuo, the general of the Qin Dynasty, broke away from the Qin Dynasty shortly after he captured Baiyue in 2 14 BC, and refused to send his Qin Jun army north to fight against the anti-Qin rebels at the end of the Qin Dynasty, thus blocking Guangdong and Guangxi. And after the demise of the Qin Dynasty, Nanyue State was established. According to the present statement, South Vietnam belongs to the local separatist regime. Today, historians know little about the history of local governments, so it is precisely for this reason that our understanding of this war is limited to a small amount of historical records. But from these historical materials, we can see that it was also a very cruel war, and we can also see from one side that the price paid by Qin Jun for reunifying China is quite amazing.

The reason why this war is also called "the Battle of Qin and Ou" in history is mainly because the former leader of Baiyue indigenous army was Yi, the leader of Ou country (Xi 'ou country is located in present-day Guangxi). In fact, the Baiyue Army participating in the war was not only the army of Ou State, but also the Vietnamese army and other indigenous armed forces in other Baiyue areas, but the commander in chief was Yi, the leader of Ou State, and the main force was Ou Army. Many historians believe that "Xu Yisong" is the name of the leader of Baiyue indigenous army, but there are different opinions. It is said that the word "Xu Yisong" is probably the password shouted by the general commander of Baiyue Army on the battlefield, because the word "Xu Yisong" is very similar to the word "123" in Zhuang language and Cantonese in Guangdong and Guangxi. Qin Jun is a foreigner, and Qin Jun did not go deep into the hinterland of Guangdong and Guangxi in this war. But what is certain is that the leader of the Baiyue Army in this war is indeed the leader of Xi 'ou State. As for the leader, is his name Yi? If not, what was the name of the leader of Ou in the war? Why did Xi Oujun shout "one two three" on the battlefield? None of this can be confirmed.

In history, Qin Jun's opponents were generally called the Ou Army, but in order to take into account other Vietnamese troops in Guangdong and Guangxi at that time, the opponents were collectively referred to as the "Hundred Vietnamese Army" below, mainly the Ou Army. (From the present geographical position, it is mainly the troops from Guangxi who are fighting Qin Jun. )

Qin Jun's strength and composition in this war, almost all history books mention that Qin Jun mobilized 500,000 troops to attack Baiyue under the leadership of Tu Sui. It is recorded in "Huai Nan Zi Human Training": "In the 28th year of Qin Shihuang (2 19 BC), Wei Tu Sui sent 500,000 troops, one army sealed the city, and the other army held the plug of nine doubts. According to the local chronicles of Guangdong and Guangxi, Qin Jun first attacked from Tusui Road and Zhao Tuo Road with 200,000 troops. But when did the remaining 300,000 people start to join the war? According to historical records, the remaining 300,000 people should be the frontline troops trapped in the quagmire of war, that is, they were dispatched before Tu Youyou wrote a war report about the lack of food for the troops to Qin Shihuang, because in a letter written by Tu Youyou, he said that his "500,000 troops suffered heavy casualties", and according to research, all the way Qin Jun began to attack Dongou, Fujian and Vietnam (now mainly in Fujian), and Qin Jun was also the latest one of the five roads to join the battlefield of Guangdong and Guangxi. Qin Jun's 500,000-strong army is controlled by soldiers there? According to our local chronicles in Hunan and other places, Qin Jun's troops used in this war are still mainly the troops that destroyed Chu in that year, but in order to adapt to southern operations, there are no less than 6.5438+10,000 original Chu troops in Qin Jun's 500,000 troops.

Almost no history books accurately record the participation of the Baiyue Army in this war. It can only be seen from some archaeological data that the number of Baiyue troops was far less than that of Qin Jun, and Baiyue in Lingnan was basically a wilderness with inconvenient transportation, dense virgin forests and harsh natural environment, so the total population of Guangdong and Guangxi at that time was estimated by archaeologists to be less than 500,000, and the young and middle-aged people who could fight at that time were about 50,000, which was similar to Baiyue in many unofficial history. But in any case, Qin Jun's power is absolutely dominant, and Qin Jun will win the war at all costs.

With regard to the progress of the war, Qin Jun's 500,000 troops have an absolute advantage in terms of strength and equipment, but they also far surpass Baiyue Tribal Army. However, the process of the war made Qin Jun feel the unprecedented difficulties and pressures before the war. Before the war, Qin Jun considered the possible problems of grain and grass, and the hot climate in the south was not suitable for most Qin Jun soldiers born in the north. However, after Qin Jun arrived in Guangdong and Guangxi, he discovered that the harsh battlefield environment and the unusually fierce and tenacious enemy were unexpected. In the history books, he recorded the tenacious resistance of the Baiyue Army with Xi 'ou Army as the main force. The Baiyue Army, led by the leader "Xu Yisong", fought fiercely with Qin Jun, who was gradually frustrated and weakened. During the war, after the death of the leader "Xu Yisong", Baiyue Army immediately chose a new leader and retreated into the mountains and forests to continue fighting Qin Jun. Baiyue Army even kept company with wild animals until it died, and constantly attacked the army, cutting off the route for providing foodstuff in Qin Jun, forcing Qin General Tu Youyou to write to Qin Shihuang and report the lack of food and grass. Qin Shihuang was forced to order a large number of migrant workers to dig canals to connect Xiangjiang River and Lijiang River systems and ensure the transportation of grain and grass in Qin Jun. In addition, Qin Jun has one of its biggest enemies-the hot climate. Qin Jun's soldiers are mostly northerners, most of whom come from Shaanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places. They couldn't adapt to the hot climate in the south, and the plague raged among the soldiers, which directly affected the fighting capacity of Qin Jun. At this time, the Baiyue Army, with the West Ou Army as the main force, led by the new leader Jie Jun, launched a counterattack against Qin Jun around 2 18 BC, and Qin Jun was defeated. According to Huainanzi, the pool was "hundreds of thousands of corpses", and its general commander Tu Youyou was also killed by a night attack force of Baiyue Army in Guilin, Guangxi, forcing him to "have nowhere to retreat". According to academic discussions, about 300,000 people were killed in Qin Jun, and the remaining 200,000 people all retreated to the northern border of Guangdong and Guangxi. However, the casualties of the Baiyue Army are also very heavy, and there is no strength to continue attacking. The two sides formed a confrontation situation, and a confrontation lasted for three or four years.

It was not until 2 14 BC that Qin Shihuang collected nearly 654.38+million soldiers (possibly businessmen and prisoners) and the original remaining 200,000 Qin Jun troops when the Lingqu grain route was completely opened and there was sufficient grain and grass. Qin Jun once again concentrated 300,000 troops to launch a final assault on the Baiyue Army. It can also be seen from here that in the previous three or four years of counter-offensive operations and armed confrontation, Baiyue's few tens of thousands of troops have long been exhausted. Finally, Qin Jun occupied the whole Lingnan without great resistance, and established three counties, including Nanhai, Guilin and Xiang Jun. This is Qin's second attack on Lingnan.

In a narrow sense, the Qin-Ou War is a war between the Qin Dynasty and Ou, who is entrenched in Guangxi, but in fact it should be said that it is a war between the Qin Dynasty and the whole Baiyue nation in the south. This war improved the basic territory of China, and since then, Guangxi and Guangdong have become provinces with China territory. Although Zhao Tuo, the general of Qin Dynasty, established the South Vietnamese State in the late Qin Dynasty and the early Han Dynasty and went to war independently, the South Vietnamese army also repelled the attack of the Han army several times during the reign of Emperor Gaozu and Lv Hou in the early Han Dynasty. However, the South Vietnamese army also consumed a lot. During the reign of Emperor Wendi, the South Vietnamese army withdrew its emperor and made peace with the Han Dynasty. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, 65438+ Wan Hanjun went south to attack the South Vietnamese army. After the previous anti-Han war, the South Vietnamese army suffered heavy casualties and was unable to resist the powerful Han army. Finally, the king of South Vietnam led more than 400,000 people living in South Vietnam to surrender to the Han Dynasty. Since then, Guangdong and Guangxi have never been separated from China.

But the war is cruel after all, not to mention that Qin Jun lost more than 300,000 troops before and after the Third World War, and the people of Guangdong and Guangxi also suffered heavy losses. According to historical records, Qin Jun's army remained in Guangdong and Guangxi after the Second World War, and these Qin people merged with the local people and became one of the ancestors of Guangdong and Guangxi people. It left nearly 300,000 Qin Jun soldiers, who left an indelible impression on the development of Guangdong and Guangxi. However, according to historical research, Guangdong and Guangxi were not battlefields during the peasant war and the Chu-Han war in the late Qin Dynasty. At this time, Guangdong and Guangxi were almost independent from the Qin Dynasty. However, according to the book Population of China in Past Dynasties, at the end of the war in the late Qin Dynasty, the population of Guangdong and Guangxi was only over 400,000. If we deduct the nearly 300,000 Qin soldiers left behind, that is to say, the original Baiyue nationality in Guangdong and Guangxi has dropped sharply from 500,000 before the Qin-European War to 65,438+10,000. During this period, there was no literature about the plague epidemic in Guangdong and Guangxi. Of course, it does not rule out that the Qin people did not adapt to the climate in the south after the war, which led to a decline in population, but I think the main reason for the decline in population due to the war should be that at least 400,000 people died or fled to Southeast Asia. Until the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, although Nanyue State, which had been established in Guangdong and Guangxi, was known as "one million armor" in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, according to historians' analysis, when the total population of Nanyue State was the largest (roughly during the reign of Lv Hou after Emperor Gaozu), it would not exceed 800,000, and the number of soldiers was about 654.38+10,000 at most. "Million Armor" is an exaggeration to show the prestige of the country. When it finally surrendered to the Han Dynasty,

In any case, the war also promoted the integration of the Chinese nation. Although ethnic integration often goes through a brutal war, Qin Jun has brought advanced production technology, which laid the foundation for the development and construction of Guangdong and Guangxi.