Qin Shihuang made three expeditions to Baiyue. Although he finally succeeded in obtaining the land of Baiyue, Qin Jun pacified Baiyue for more than ten years, which consumed countless military resources and killed more than 300,000 soldiers. So, why did the Qin Dynasty pay such a high price?
Three signs and hundreds of leaps:
The landlords of Baiyue mainly refer to the southern coastal areas where China lived in ancient times. The indigenous tribes living here were called Yue people by Zhongyuan people in the pre-Qin period, and they were also called Baiyue because of their numerous branches.
According to "Geography of Hanshu", "From crossing toes to meeting records, there are seven or eight thousand miles, and there are hundreds of places with different castes". This sentence reveals two messages. First, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and northern Vietnam, which are seven or eight thousand miles long, are the scope of Baiyue. Second, there are many Baiyue tribes, and the ancestors of each descendant group are different.
To sum up, the land of Baiyue in the pre-Qin period is very vast. Although there are many Baiyue tribes, they are all separated by mountains and rivers, so they are far from the Central Plains where the core of Chinese civilization is located. In addition, many ancient books have recorded a lot of miasma and wild animals, which are often regarded as wilderness and barren land by the Central Plains.
But in fact, these are all great misunderstandings about Baiyue area in later generations. According to literature records and textual research, the earliest communication between Guyue people and Zhongyuan people was embodied in trade. At that time, the Vietnamese exchanged precious luxuries such as ivory, tortoise shell, jade, rhinoceros horn, osmanthus and fragrant wood for silk and handicrafts in the hands of the Central Plains people.
Even the Yuyue tribe in Baiyue tribe was a guest of Zhou Chengwang in the north. Therefore, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, Baiyue region and the Central Plains region had close economic and cultural exchanges. In addition, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Baiyue had frequent contacts with wuyue and Chu, and the favorite tea crystal of Chu nobles came from Baiyue area.
Many people think that the development of Baiyue civilization is closely related to the conquest of Qin Shihuang, but in modern archaeological discoveries, Baiyue had a brilliant Neolithic Age and Bronze Age before the establishment of the Qin Dynasty.
Two purposes of Qin Shihuang's conquest of Baiyue:
"Zhu Nanzi's Human Training" mentioned that "Qin Huang also benefited from rhinoceros horn, ivory, jade and pearls, which made Wei Tuju die 500,000". It can be seen that one of the reasons why Qin Shihuang sent troops to attack Baiyue area was that he wanted to have local luxury goods such as rhinoceros horn and ivory and rich natural products.
But in Mo Jun's view, Qin Shihuang attacked Baiyue area for another important reason, that is, he coveted the strategic position of Baiyue area.
Because there are no rhinoceros and elephants in Guangdong and Guangxi where Baiyue is located, where do these precious rhinoceros horns and ivory come from?
From modern archaeological discoveries, we got the answer. In recent archaeological discoveries, stone tools and spar produced in Baiyue area have been found from Taiwan Province Province, the Philippines and even Indochina Peninsula, while agate and beadwork have been unearthed in Guangzhou, and these agate and beadwork techniques came from ancient India and other countries, which shows that Baiyue had a considerable maritime trade in the pre-Qin period.
At the same time, the site of Qin Jun Shipyard discovered in Guangzhou proves the important maritime trade position of Baiyue area. Therefore, Qin Shihuang not only wanted to possess the natural resources in Baiyue area, but also wanted to get the maritime trade in Baiyue area.