A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 158 Destruction of the Country
Dark clouds obscured the moon as a troop of knights galloped north along the eastern bank of the Great Marsh, arriving in Chang'an at dawn.

News of the victory in South Korea spread to the capital region at lightning speed, and officials, nobles, and members of the imperial family from both the central and foreign courts flocked to the palace to congratulate the emperor.

"A feat that will last for generations!"

Liu Ju's joyful voice rang out from inside the Xuan Shi Hall, concluding the great victory.

A huge map was placed on the ground in the middle of the hall, officially announcing the return of Lingnan, a region that had been separated from China for nearly a century.

Prince Zhao Jiande of the Nanyue Kingdom, Prime Minister Lü Jia of the Nanyue Kingdom, and the entire Lü clan and relatives were killed.

All the Nanyue officials who opposed the annexation were thoroughly purged under the joint efforts of Zhang Cigong and Ren Zhu.

The counties and prefectures of the Southern Yue Kingdom all expressed their intention to surrender and submit.

With all obstacles between Han and Yue territories cleared, Yue soldiers near Han territory surrendered to the nearest Han prefectures and counties. This included Zhao Guang, the Prince of Cangwu, and his followers, who were granted the title of prefecture-level king by the Southern Yue Kingdom.

Commander Lu Bode, a crossbowman, traveled down the Zangke River and took control of the entire Nanyue Kingdom. He was awaiting the imperial edict.

"I request Your Majesty to establish a prefecture for Nanyue," Gongsun Hong petitioned.

In the 28th year of Qin Shi Huang's reign, Qin Shi Huang ordered Tu Sui to lead an army of 500,000 men in five routes to attack the Lingnan region.

One route was used to conquer Dong'ou and Dongyue, two routes were used to attack Nanyue, and the remaining two routes were used to attack Xi'ou.

The first phase went smoothly with almost no major resistance, but the war in Guangxi lasted for six years and was only able to unify the Lingnan region at the cost of "hundreds of thousands of corpses and bloodshed".

Subsequently, Qin Shi Huang divided the Lingnan region into three commanderies: Lingnan Commandery, Xiang Commandery, and Nanhai Commandery, which was a very crude division.

Now that the Han Dynasty has completely conquered Nanyue, it is necessary to refine the process in order to destroy Nanyue, which had existed for eighty-three years, and make it a part of the Han Dynasty.

In his father's southern campaign plan, there was a plan for conquering the southern Yue region, which saved Liu Ju a lot of thought. He calmly asked, "How about the nine prefectures of Nanhai, Cangwu, Yulin, Hepu, Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen, Rinan, Zhuyai, and Dan'er?"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Under the leadership of Gongsun Hong, officials from both dynasties chanted praises of the sacred way.

Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, its relations with neighboring countries and ethnic groups have not been so "friendly".

Civil wars and foreign wars have never ceased.

Among the many enemies of the imperial court, the number one archenemy was of course the Xiongnu, and the second was the Nanyue.

Strictly speaking, the fall of the Nanyue Kingdom was the first "war of annihilation" fought by the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, the glory of the victory was unprecedented. The Han Dynasty sent Zhang Ci's delegation to resolve the opposition forces in Panyu City and Nanyue Kingdom. The war was over before even the army of the Strong Crossbow Captain Lu Bode could make a move.

This is the complete opposite of the situation during Your Majesty's reign, when wars were waged recklessly, exhausting the people and wasting resources, resulting in heavy losses for soldiers and generals.

War is a continuation of politics.

The wisdom of the ruler is almost supernatural.

Gongsun Hong pointed to the location of the Southwest Yi Road on the map and petitioned again, "Please, Your Majesty, establish a prefecture for the Southwest Yi."

Although Lu Bode's army was not put to use in Nanyue, Lu Bode, adhering to the idea that since he had already come all this way, dispatched a portion of his army to conquer the southwestern Yi. The various local tribes and small kingdoms were all destroyed, and the southwestern Yi were incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty.

Subjugate them all at once, and you'll avoid sending out large armies frequently.

The land of the southwestern barbarians.

It was smaller than the Southern Yue Kingdom.

Liu Ju recalled his father's map and plans of the territories that the Han Dynasty could explore, and smiled, "How about the five commanderies of Wudu, Zangke, Yuexi, Shenli, and Jiaoshan?"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The voices of praise for the emperor resounded once again.

To this day, apart from the small "Eastern Yue Kingdom" in the southeast, the entire southern part of the Han Dynasty is controlled by the Han Dynasty.

The rapidly expanding territory and borders far exceed what Your Majesty could achieve by building Shuofang City.

"Please, Your Majesty, bestow rewards upon this meritorious official."

Great merits will be rewarded. The specific battle achievements of the soldiers in the Southern Campaign have not yet been tallied and reported, but some Han generals, Yue people, and southwestern Yi people can be directly rewarded to reassure the people.

Such as Zhang Cigong, Lu Bode, Zhao Yingqi, Ren Zhu, Zhao Guang, King Wang Duotong of Yelang Kingdom, King Chang Qiang of Dian Kingdom...

"Zhang Cigong was promoted to General Who Conquers the South and enfeoffed as Marquis of Pingnan, with a fief of six thousand households."

"Lu Bode was promoted to General Who Conquers the West, enfeoffed as Marquis of Pingxi, and given a fief of five thousand households."

"Zhao Yingqi was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Shunnan, with a fief of eight thousand households."

"Ren Zhu was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Annam, with a fief of three thousand households."

"Zhao Guang was enfeoffed as Marquis of Funan, with a fief of two thousand households."

"Duo Tong was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Shunxi, with a fief of four thousand households."

"He was granted the title of Marquis of Anxi, with a fief of four thousand households." "..."

Lu Bode and Zhang Cigong were originally Han generals. In addition to being enfeoffed as marquises, they were also promoted to the rank of Four Expeditionary Generals, finally adding a brilliant chapter to their resumes in the Qilin Pavilion.

Zhao Yingqi, Duotong, Changqiang, and others were originally kings of the Nanyue and Southwestern Yi regions. Their territories were different, and their voluntary submission and surrender were two different things. Although they were similar in title, their fiefs were worlds apart.

According to the agreement between Han and Yue, Zhao Yingqi should have been a marquis of ten thousand households. However, there was another agreement between Zhao Yingqi and Ren Zhu, which was explained in the victory report. Therefore, he was allocated two thousand households, while Ren Zhu, who was of lower rank, was promoted from marquis of one thousand households to marquis of three thousand households.

However, Zhao Guang was a member of the Zhao clan. He surrendered at the mere sight of the enemy and was granted the title of Marquis of Two Thousand Households. Combined with the title of Marquis of Eight Thousand Households, the Zhao clan still received a fief of Ten Thousand Households.

Other prominent Han generals and non-Han generals were all rewarded, and the officials who drafted the edicts recorded them all. Sima Tan, the Grand Historian standing beside the palace, also recorded the rewards for the great victory.

"Please, Your Majesty, issue an edict for the nine prefectures of Nanyue and the five prefectures of the southwestern barbarians," Gongsun Hong pleaded three times.

Rewarding Han generals was to stabilize the morale of the army, while rewarding kings and ministers of foreign tribes was to ensure their obedience to the imperial court's orders.

Honey in one hand, a big stick in the other—this was a common method used by the Han people to subdue other ethnic groups.

How many people were in the Nanyue Kingdom?

"Reporting to Your Majesty, according to the household registers of Nanyue, Nanhai County has the largest population, with 9,300 households and 94,253 people. The total population of all counties is nearly 600,000."

In the South, there are many clans, with each household forming its own clan, which is not unusual; there are few households but many people.

"What about the southwestern barbarians?"

"According to the household registers submitted by the southwestern Yi countries, Yelang has the most, with 80,000 households and a population of over 400,000. Adding the countries and ethnic groups such as Dian, Qiongdu, Kunming, Xi, Zuodu, Ran, and Baima, the total population is over one million."

There are quite a few clans among the southwestern Yi people, but none as numerous as those in the south.

Liu Ju was silently calculating.

The total population of the Nanyue Kingdom and the southwestern Yi kingdoms was only 1.6 million, less than half of the total population of Han territory, yet they previously occupied more than 30% of Han territory, perfectly illustrating the saying "vast land with sparse population".

But it's understandable. The south is mostly mountainous and watery, with some places having seven parts mountains, two parts water, and only one part farmland. Even if they wanted a large population, they couldn't. If there were too many people, even more would starve to death.

"A decree was issued to the Nanyue, Southwestern Yi, Ouluo, and other ethnic groups, ordering them all to submit to the Central Plains."

A royal decree was issued.

Gongsun Hong was startled and exclaimed, "Your Majesty?"

At the beginning of Your Majesty's reign, in the third year of the Jianyuan era, King Ying of Dongyue launched an attack on the capital of Dong'ou, which resulted in the death of King Zhenfu of Dong'ou and the succession of Zouwang.

To resolve the crisis, Zou Wang sought help from the Han court. His Majesty dispatched Zhuang Zhu, a senior official, to mobilize the Kuaiji navy for support. However, before the Han army arrived, the Dongyue army had already withdrawn on its own.

After the siege was lifted, Zou Wang faced a population that had dwindled to just over 40,000 after the war, and worried that Dongyue would invade again. So he simply asked the Han court to allow him to move inland.

After His Majesty approved the imperial edict for the relocation, Zou Wang led his people northward along the Ou River, passing through Pucheng in Fujian and entering Yugan in Jiangnan. He then crossed Poyang Lake and arrived at Lujiang County. After the relocation was completed, Zou Wang was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Guangwu by the court, and the Eastern Ou Kingdom came to an end.

The remnants of the Dong'ou people and immigrants from Dongyue migrated together to the Jianghuai region. This migration led to the Dongyue Kingdom occupying the former territory of Dong'ou. To this day, the imperial court still has little power over the southeastern coastal areas.

If all the people of Nanyue and Southwestern Yi migrated inland, wouldn't that be equivalent to giving Dongyue a huge piece of "fat meat" away?

The Great Han is currently undertaking a large-scale land reclamation project. The expenses incurred by the internal forces are manageable with the current national strength. With over a million people joining the reclamation efforts, it can compensate for the population loss caused by years of war and accelerate the reclamation process. But why should such a good place be given to the hostile Eastern Yue?

Saying it's "buying the casket and returning the pearl" is a bit of an exaggeration, but "buying the pearl and returning the casket" does capture the essence of the phrase.

Although the nobles, marquises, and members of the imperial clan did not say it, they conveyed the same meaning.

Every territory we conquered belonged to our ancestors; not an inch of it could be given away.

If we conquer Southern Yue, it would be absolutely unacceptable if Eastern Yue benefited greatly from it.

Looking at the increasingly restless officials of the two dynasties, Liu Ju smiled and said, "I did not say that the Southern Strategy was over."

Everyone in the hall was taken aback.

The Southern Strategy Plan is not over? That means the war is not over yet.

But Nanyue is gone, and the Southwestern Yi are gone too. In the south of the entire empire, only Dongyue remains. What does the Supreme Ruler mean?

Destroy Dongyue!

"In the memorials of Zhang Cigong and Lu Bode, it was mentioned that the losses in the two battles against Nanyue and the Southwestern Yi were minimal, and the army still maintained its fighting strength. Therefore, they requested to continue the war."

Liu Ju tapped his fingers on the victory report, his voice slightly cold, "Furthermore, when Lu Bode took over the Southern Yue Kingdom, he noticed unusual movements in the Eastern Yue Kingdom's army. After tracing the source, it was found that the Southern Yue Kingdom's Prime Minister Lü Jia and the Eastern Yue Kingdom's King Yu Shan had conspired to kill the Han envoy and then the two countries would jointly become enemies of our Great Han. Lü Jia is dead and Southern Yue has become a vassal state, but judging from the Eastern Yue Kingdom's actions, even without Lü Jia and the Southern Yue Kingdom, Yu Shan does not intend to give up his enmity with our dynasty."

After the fall of the Nanyue Kingdom, the Dongyue Kingdom was left destitute. Yu Shan may have foreseen the Dongyue Kingdom's impending doom and decided to fight the Han Dynasty to the death.

Faced with the might of the Han army, the Dongyue Kingdom not only did not back down, but also intended to attack the Han army.
this moment.

Many high-ranking officials, marquises, and members of the imperial family could no longer contain themselves; their expressions were all quite intriguing.

Some were even grinning, and if they weren't in front of the emperor, they would have laughed out loud.

"My mind is made up. The people of Nanyue and the southwestern barbarians shall be incorporated into the Central Plains. Lu Bode and Zhang Cigong shall fight against Dongyue again, and after they have pacified Dongyue, they shall set up camp there, marry women from the Dongyue Kingdom, and transform the barbarians into Han people."

(End of this chapter)