In 22 1 BC, after Qin Shihuang wiped out the six countries and unified the Central Plains, he set out to formulate the strategy of finding Xiongnu in the north and Baiyue in Nanping. After a series of preparations, in 2 18 BC, Qin Shihuang ordered generals Tu Youyou and Zhao Tuo to lead a 500,000-strong army and launched a war to conquer the Vietnamese in Lingnan. Qin Junbing was divided into five roads, passing through Yuechengling in the north of Guangxi, Jiuyi Mountain in the south of Hunan, Nankang and Yugan in Jiangxi, and marched into Yue State in Guangdong and Guangxi today. Among them, Qin Jun, which captured Panyu, was the fastest. They passed through Jiuben Fortress, went down the Beijiang River, went straight to the Pearl River Delta and occupied Panyu. Today, the two armies attacking Guiyue people are familiar with the terrain, good at climbing mountains and wading, and attack Qin Jun at night, which makes Qin Jun miserable. Once the Vietnamese won, Qin Jun's grain route was cut off and supplies were insufficient, and Tu Youyou, one of the commanders, was also killed. Due to lack of food, the Commander-in-Chief was killed, Qin Jun suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties, and the war fell into a confrontational stage, which lasted for three years.
In order to reverse the shortage of troops and the difficult supply of grain and grass, in 2 17 BC, Qin Shihuang ordered Shi Lu, a portrait painter of Qin Shihuang, to dig a Lingqu connecting Hunan and Lishui in Xing 'an, Guangxi. As the total length of Lingqu is only 34 kilometers, the engineering quantity is not large, and Qin Jun was completed soon. Lingqu connects the Xiangjiang River and the Pearl River system, and Qin Jun's wages can be continuously transported to Lingnan, providing a reliable material guarantee for Qin Shihuang to complete the great cause of Lingnan reunification.
In 2 14 BC, Qin Shihuang ordered Ren Tao and Zhao Tuo to attack Baiyue tribe again. Qin Jun was on a roll, and soon defeated the resistance of Xi 'ou people in Guangxi and Luoyue people in central and northern Vietnam, and the whole Lingnan area was incorporated into the territory of the Qin Dynasty.
In order to maintain the stability of Lingnan, Qin Shihuang ordered the soldiers who marched into Lingnan to stay in the local "garrison". In addition, there are a large number of Central Plains immigrants to Lingnan area. The remaining soldiers and immigrants, except a few who married migrant women from the Central Plains, mostly married Yue Nv. They brought advanced culture, agriculture and handicraft technology to Lingnan area, and made great contributions to the development of Lingnan. The war at the southern foot of Qinling Mountains was an important part of Qin Shihuang's war to unify China. For the first time in history, Lingnan was formally incorporated into Chinese territory, making the Yue nationality a member of the Chinese nation. It has played an important role in promoting the integration of Han and Vietnamese nationalities and the social, political, economic and cultural development of Lingnan.
Attack Xiongnu in the north
In the thirty-three to thirty-four years of Qin Shihuang (2 14 BC-2 13 BC), Qin Shihuang sent general Meng Tian to attack the Huns in the north.
During the Warring States Period, Huns living in the north of China had entered the slave society. It occupies the vast grassland areas in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia today. At that time, the Central Plains countries had no time to look north, and the Huns often raided the northern border areas of Qin, Zhao and Yan bordering them. After Qin Shihuang annexed six countries, Meng Tian ordered 300,000 troops to attack the Xiongnu in the north in order to relieve the Xiongnu's threat to Qin. In the spring of thirty-three years, the main force of Meng Tian's unification attacked its east from Shang Jun (the county for treating skin, now south of Yulin City, Shaanxi Province). Yang Wengzi led a division from Xiaoguan (now southeast of Guyuan, Ningxia) to the Great Wall and attacked its west. Xiongnu fled after defeat. The State of Qin then seized the land in Henan (now the land in Yike, south of Inner Mongolia River and Zhao Meng). There are 44 counties along the river, and immigrants will be cultivated. Due to the continuous attack of Xiongnu, the following autumn, Qin Shihuang ordered Meng Tianjun to cross the Yellow River north, take Gaoque (now Jilan Pass in the middle of Langshan Mountain in Inner Mongolia), capture Yangshan Mountain (now Langshan Mountain and Yinshan Mountain in the north of Wu Jia, Inner Mongolia), and take a vacation to the north (now Jiashan River area south of Wu Jia). The Huns were defeated and moved north. In order to consolidate Henan, Qin established Jiuyuan County (the county governs Jiuyuan, now northwest of Baotou City, Inner Mongolia). In order to prevent the Huns from going south, Meng Tian was ordered to recruit a large number of migrant workers to build the Great Wall of Wan Li from Lintao (now Min County, Gansu Province) in the west to Liaodong in the east, which played an important role in consolidating the northern border of Qin. The Qin Dynasty's victory over Xiongnu was the first and heaviest blow to the invading army of Xiongnu nobles. Because Tou Man was invincible in Qin State, Xiongnu Khan was forced to "move northward" for more than ten years.
Therefore, Jia Yi, a famous political commentator in the early Han Dynasty, called it "more than 700 miles away from the Xiongnu, the Hu people dare not go south to herd horses, and the scholars dare not bow down." Sang Hongyang also said: After Meng Tian's counter-offensive, "Huns were too strong and looked south for more than ten years". This counterattack relieved the intrusion and destruction of the Xiongnu slave owners and nobles, "took over the land of Henan", and freed the vast areas inside and outside the Hetao and north and south of the river from the long-term disaster of war.
Develop northern Xinjiang
At the same time, the court moved a large number of criminals, "the beginning of the real county." In the thirty-fifth year of Qin Shihuang (2 12 BC), the number of people migrating to the border was further increased. In addition to criminals emigrating, ordinary people are also encouraged to emigrate to border areas. For example, in the thirty-sixth year of the first emperor (2 1 1 BC), 30,000 people immigrated from the mainland at one time and settled in Beihe and Yuzhong, all of them went to the "first class". While cultivating land and guarding the border, these immigrants and criminals played an important role in developing the northern border and enriching military equipment. This is of positive significance to the formation of a unified multi-ethnic country in ancient China, the promotion of economic and cultural development in these remote areas, and the protection of the lives and property of people of all ethnic groups, including the Huns.
Open southwest
After Qin Shihuang annexed six countries, in order to open up the southwest, the people of all ethnic groups in the southwest decided to open up the southwest in order to have long-term contacts with the mainland. The first emperor faction often communicated with southwest yi. Because of the traffic jam, Chang Li dug a plank road from Yibin, Sichuan to Dianchi, Yunnan. Because of its "strategic location" and "the road is only five feet wide", it is named five-foot road. After the plank road was opened, Daqin forces directly arrived in Galand, Yelang, Du Qiong, Kunming and other places, and set up officials and governments here. At the same time, Qin passed through Shu county, strengthened the contact with, Ruo and Ran Zhe, and brought them into the administrative system of county system. Therefore, Han said, "Joan, Ruo, and Ran are close to Shu, and Lu Yitong. Qin often passed through counties and counties until Han Xing. " Since then, the southwest minority areas have not only strengthened their ties with the mainland, but also become a part of a unified multi-ethnic country.
Build the Great Wall
After Qin destroyed the six countries, it began to build the Great Wall in the north.
But the large-scale corvee was forced by the situation at that time.
At that time, the Central Plains had just been unified, and the original aristocratic forces in various places were still very strong. If the traffic and links between the central areas are not maintained, the country will be divided again at any time. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the traffic and contact between Qin Changcheng (5) Central District and other counties and cities as soon as possible, so roads must be built as soon as possible.
Due to years of war, the agricultural facilities in the first few countries have been greatly damaged, or they have been in disrepair for a long time because of war; Agricultural production must be resumed as soon as possible after reunification; Therefore, it takes considerable manpower to dredge rivers and repair canals, which is beneficial to waterway transportation and agricultural irrigation.
The Great Wall was built to protect people's lives and property on the northern border, and its purpose was to reduce people's burden. Because the Huns are nomadic people, their cavalry activities are very extensive. Without the Great Wall, many troops will be needed to defend them, which will add a great burden to the people. Qin Shihuang didn't create the Great Wall, he just connected the original Great Wall in the northern part of Qin, Zhao and Yan, but the history books blamed Qin Shihuang for all the suffering caused by the Great Wall, which is not true.
It turns out that there are some Great Walls between countries, but the Great Wall in the north is incomplete. After reunification, he ordered the original Great Wall between countries to be demolished, and then the Great Wall in the northern part of Qin, Zhao and Yan countries was connected to prevent the Huns from invading the south.