Sima Qian said: The Xiongnu shattered the peace treaty and attacked the border fortresses; the Minyue waged war on their own, while Dong'ou sought to surrender. These two warring peoples invaded simultaneously during the height of the Han Dynasty's power, showing that the rewards given to these heroes matched those of their ancestors! Why do I say this? Classical texts detail countless wars against such peoples; it was simply the norm. Qi's Duke Huan crushed the Yan and Shanrong, King Wu of Zhou used the small state of Zhao to conquer the Xiongnu Chanyu, Duke Mu of Qin relied on Bailixi to defeat the Western Rong, and the Kings of Wu and Chu led vassals to subdue the Baiyue. Moreover, now that our China is unified, with the Emperor above, strong in both governance and warfare, leading the world, and with hundreds of millions of people united, could we possibly *not* strike back against our border enemies?
The Han subsequently launched campaigns north against the powerful Xiongnu and south against the fierce Yue tribes, and as a result, those soldiers were rewarded one after another.
The tables in Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) are not translated. If you are interested in these tables, you can click on the Republic of China flag above to view the Traditional Chinese page.
