In the southwest region, there are many tribal leaders, with the largest being the Yelang Kingdom; to the west of the Yelang Kingdom, there are many tribes, with the Dian Kingdom being the largest. Moving north from the Dian Kingdom, there are also many leaders, with the Qiongdu Kingdom being the largest. The people of these countries all wear bun-like hairstyles, farm the land, and have towns and villages.
To the west of them, from Tongshi to the east and to the north to Yeyu, these places are called Xiu and Kunming, where people wore their hair down, migrated with their livestock, had no fixed abode or leader, and occupied huge territories, covering thousands of miles. Further northeast from Xiu, there are many leaders, with the Xiguo and Zeguo being the largest; continuing northeast from Zeguo, there are also many leaders, with the Ranmao Kingdom being the largest. Their customs vary, with some settling down and others migrating, all located to the west of Shu. Northeast of the Ranmao Kingdom, there are many leaders, with the Baima Kingdom being the largest, all of which are Di tribes. These groups lived beyond Bashu's southwestern borders.
During the reign of King Wei of Chu, General Zhuang Jiao led troops up the Yangtze River, conquering the areas west of Bajun and Qianzhong. Zhuang Jiao was a descendant of Chu's King Zhuang. He arrived at Dianchi, which was three hundred miles across, surrounded by plains and fertile land spanning thousands of miles. He conquered the area by force, bringing Dianchi under Chu's control. He wanted to return to report but encountered an attack by the Qin Kingdom on Chu, which captured Bajun and Qianzhong, blocking the road back. So, he stayed, leading his army as the King of Dian, changing his attire, learning the local customs, and living there long term. During the Qin Dynasty, they often carved out five-foot-wide trails and set up officials in these countries. After more than a decade, the Qin Dynasty fell. After the Han Dynasty was established, they abandoned these countries and reorganized the old borders of Shu. Sometimes, people in Bashu would secretly trade, buying their Zema, Botong, and Maoniu, which made the Bashu region very prosperous.
In the sixth year of Jianyuan, Prince Daxing Wang Hui went to attack Dong Yue, but Dong Yue killed Wang Hui in revenge. Before his death, Wang Hui used his prestige to send the county magistrate of Fanyang, Tang Meng, to investigate the situation in Nan Yue. The people of Nan Yue treated Tang Meng to a dish made with sauce from Shu, and when Tang Meng asked where the sauce came from, they said, "It comes from Zangke in the northwest; the Zangke River is very wide, several *li* across, all the way to the city of Panyu."
After returning to Chang'an, Tang Meng went to ask Shu merchants, who told him, "Only Shu produces this kind of sauce; many merchants smuggle it to Yelang under the cover of darkness. Yelang is located next to the Zangke River; although the river is only a hundred steps wide, it is wide enough for boats to pass through. Nan Yue has been trying to bribe Yelang with wealth and even fought with them, but still could not completely control Yelang."
Tang Meng then wrote to the emperor, saying, "The king of Nan Yue, with his ostentatious use of the Yellow House and the Left Banner (symbols of imperial authority), has a territory stretching across its vast territory for tens of thousands of miles. Although they claim to be vassals of the Han Dynasty, they are effectively an independent kingdom! Now, if we were to attack Nan Yue from Changsha and Yuzhang, the water routes are largely impassable, making it difficult to travel. I have heard that Yelang has a hundred thousand seasoned troops, who can travel by boat along the Zangke River to launch a surprise attack on Nan Yue; this is the perfect way to take down Nan Yue! If we utilize the strong power of the Han Dynasty and the abundant resources of Ba Shu to open up the road to Yelang and establish officials there, it would be child's play!" The emperor agreed.
So the emperor appointed Tang Meng as a commanding officer, giving him a thousand soldiers and enough supplies to feed an army of over ten thousand, allowing him to enter Yelang from the Zouguan in Bashu, where he finally met the Yelang King, Duotong. Tang Meng presented Duotong with many gifts, demonstrating the strong power of the Han Dynasty and employing a combination of kindness and firmness. They agreed to let Yelang establish officials, and Duotong's son was appointed as a county magistrate. The surrounding tribes were lured by the Han's silk and cloth, but found the roads difficult to travel; ultimately, they could not resist and agreed to Tang Meng's request. After Tang Meng returned, the court established Jianwei Commandery there. They then mobilized soldiers from Bashu to build roads, extending from Bodao to the Zangke River.
At that time, Sima Xiangru of Shu also suggested that counties could be established in the Qiong and Zou regions of the Western Yi. The emperor sent Sima Xiangru to persuade the local leaders in those areas. The situation mirrored that in the Southern Yi, resulting in the court establishing a commandant and over ten counties under the jurisdiction of Shu Commandery.
By then, all four counties in Bashu had built roads to the Southwest, and the garrisons supported each other with food. However, after a few years, the roads became blocked again. The soldiers suffered from hunger, cold, and exhaustion, with many perishing; the southwestern Yi rebelled multiple times, prompting the court to dispatch troops for suppression, which proved costly and fruitless. Distressed, the emperor sent Gongsun Hong to investigate the situation. Upon his return, Gongsun Hong reported that the area was exceedingly difficult to govern. When Gongsun Hong became the Grand Minister of Justice, the court was fortifying the north, using the Yellow River as a defense against the Xiongnu. Gongsun Hong repeatedly advised the emperor to temporarily abandon control of the southwestern Yi and focus on dealing with the Xiongnu. Taking Gongsun Hong's advice, the emperor abandoned control of the Western Yi, retaining only two counties and a commandant in the South, leaving Jianwei Commandery to fend for itself.
In the year 122 BC, also known as the first year of Yuanshou, Zhang Qian, the Marquis of Bowang, returned from his mission to the Great Xia and said that when he was there, he saw the cloth and bamboo staffs from Shu and inquired about their origin. He was told, "Those come from Shen-du, to the southeast—a journey of thousands of miles. Shu merchants traded there." It was rumored that about two thousand miles west of Qiong, there was also a Shen-du. Zhang Qian lauded the Great Xia's admiration for the Han, but lamented the Xiongnu's blockade of the route. If the road from Shu to Shen-du could be opened, it would be very convenient, with many benefits and no harm.
So the Emperor dispatched Wang Ran, Bai Shichang, Lü Yueren, and others on a secret mission west to the Western Yi to find Shen-du. When they reached Dian, the King of Dian, who was the ruler at that time, detained them and sent more than ten of his men to search for the road to Shen-du. More than a year passed, and they were all stuck in the Kunming region, having failed to find a route to Shen-du.
The King of Dian asked the Han Dynasty envoy, "Which country, the Han Dynasty or our Dian, is larger?" The Marquis of Yelang also asked the same question. Cut off from the outside world, both the King of Dian and the Marquis of Yelang assumed their realms were the largest, oblivious to the Han's true might. When the envoy returned, he reported Dian as a powerful kingdom ripe for pacification. The Emperor, intrigued, took notice.
Later, the kingdom of Nanyue rebelled, and the emperor sent Lord Chiyi to lead the army of the Southern Yi (Nan Yi) in Jianwei County to suppress the rebellion. However, Qie Lanjun was afraid of the long journey and worried that other countries would attack his people, so he rebelled with his followers, killing the messenger and the governor of Jianwei. The Han court then sent eight captains, using a contingent of convicts captured from Ba and Shu, who had previously participated in battles against Nanyue, to attack Qie Lan. Without pausing, the eight captains marched on to suppress Tou Lan, which had been blocking the road to Dian. After Tou Lan was pacified, the Han empire secured the Nan Yi region and established Zangke County. The Marquis of Yelang had previously been dependent on Nanyue, but after its demise, he hurried back to ask for forgiveness from the Han. As a result, the Marquis of Yelang went to Chang'an to meet the emperor, who then appointed him as the King of Yelang.
After Nanyue was pacified, the Han also attacked Qie Lan, the Marquis of Qiong, and killed the Marquis of Zhuo, causing fear among Ranmao and the surrounding tribes. They all requested to submit to the Han and asked for officials to govern them. Therefore, the Han established Yue Xiu County with Qiong as the center, Shenli County with Zhuo as the center, and Wenshan County with Ranmao as the center, and also established Wudu County in the area west of Guanghan County.
The emperor sent Wang Ran to Yunnan to use force to intimidate the southern Yi tribes and allow the King of Dian to come and pay homage. The King of Dian had thousands upon thousands of soldiers under him, and in the northeast of his territory were the tribes of Laojin and Mimo, who shared the same surname and were in league, refusing to obey orders. Laojin and Mimo also frequently attacked the envoys and officials sent by the court.
In the second year of Yuanfeng, the emperor directly sent the army from Ba Shu to attack, destroying the Laojīn and Mìmò tribes, and then the army advanced on Dian. The Dian King then submissively surrendered, so the emperor did not kill him. From then on, the Dian King was spared further conflict, surrendered along with his entire kingdom, requested the court to send officials to govern, and personally came to court. So the emperor made the Dian Kingdom part of Yizhou County, gave the Dian King a royal seal, and allowed him to continue managing his people.
In the southwest region, there were so many tribal leaders they were impossible to count, but only the Yelang and Dian kingdoms received royal seals. Although the Dian Kingdom was small, it received the greatest favor from the emperor.
Sima Qian said: Could it be that the ancestors of the Chu Kingdom really had some kind of divine blessing? In the Zhou Dynasty, they were teachers of King Wen of Zhou and made him a lord. By the time of the decline of the Zhou Dynasty, the territory of the Chu Kingdom had reached five thousand li. When the Qin Dynasty conquered the six states, only the descendant of the Chu Kingdom, the Dian King, remained. When the Han took over the southwest, many countries were destroyed, but the Dian Kingdom once again received the emperor's favor and was enfeoffed as a king. However, the chaos of the southern barbarians can be traced back to places like Gujiang, Panyu, Daxia, and Qiongzhu. The western barbarians eventually broke apart and were conquered by the Han, becoming seven counties.
