Chapter 615: The Southern Campaign

In the thirty-fourth year of the First Emperor, mid-twelfth month, at Nanye County in Yuzhang Commandery (modern-day Nankang County, Jiangxi), a Qin army numbering in the tens of thousands had arrived.

They were about forty thousand strong: ten thousand troops from Guanzhong, ten thousand from Jiujiang and Donghai, and another twenty thousand conscripted laborers levied from Jiujiang and other commanderies. Because the roads were narrow and carts and horses could hardly travel abreast, the laborers mostly shouldered and hand-carried the baggage, packing the tiny place of Nanye so tightly that not a drop of water could trickle through.

This great army had marched a full two months just to reach this spot from Jiujiang Commandery.

As the southernmost county of Yuzhang — and of the Qin empire itself — Nanye County was the unavoidable route for attacking Southern Yue, and the Nanye County Commandant, Little Tao, respectfully came to pay his respects to the commanding "General Jia."

"His Majesty and General Tu have entrusted Jia with this heavy responsibility. I have heard that Commandant Tao has been stationed here for nine years and is well acquainted with the situation within the Five Ranges. I hope you will favor me with your guidance."

General Jia was originally the Commandant stationed in Jiujiang Commandery, holding the rank of Right Chief of the Masses, and now he commanded tens of thousands of troops. Though his words were polite, in his heart he did not care, and when he discovered during their conversation that Little Tao was a stutterer, he felt even more contempt!

"Your subordinate Tao... Tao..."

Little Tao was the same as ever; because there was so much he wanted to say in his mind, he got stuck for a long while without making himself clear and could only have someone fetch a stack of paper. These were all the key points for the southern campaign that Little Tao had written out in advance, which he presented to General Jia for his perusal.

General Jia glanced at them a few times and found they were maps of the vital communication routes through the Five Ranges. Every single mountain peak that the garrison troops had explored was clearly marked, and even a single stream or a small path on the verge of vanishing was not overlooked.

But this was limited to the region within a hundred li south of Lì Gate. Any farther south, and it was a complete blank.

General Jia skimmed them hastily and then set them aside. "The maps are good, but they don't differ much from those submitted by the traveling merchants..."

County Commandant Little Tao grew even more anxious and handed over another sheet of paper. General Jia reined in his impatience and took a look, discovering that what was written on it was intelligence about the Mei clan of the Yangyue tribe.

Little Tao had written down everything he knew on the paper: the Southern Yue tribes were numerous, and the northernmost among them was called the "Mei clan." This branch was said to be descended from King Goujian of Yue, who had gradually migrated from Yuzhang to Lingnan, and now they occupied a narrow, elongated mountain plateau south of Lì Gate Fortress, called the Meiling Road. Though the Mei tribe was not large, with only six thousand clansmen, they held a vital communication route. If the Qin army wanted to attack Southern Yue, they had to pass through their territory.

Qin merchants had also found out that, being an outsider clan, the Mei clan was very unwelcome among the native Southern Yue, who often came to hunt heads and had taken quite a few of their skulls. This had created a blood feud between the Mei clan and the various Southern Yue tribes for generations. With a little maneuvering, they might perhaps be won over...

Little Tao indicated that over the past several years, he had already made contact with the Mei clan's chieftain, Mei Xuan, exchanging goods and information. If the Qin army could guarantee it would not violate the Mei clan or plunder its people, Mei Xuan was willing to clear the way and let the Qin army pass!

He hoped this idea could be adopted by General Jia. Over the past few years, relations between Nanye and the Mei clan had been consistently good — until General Jia's vanguard arrived. Those arrogant northerners, ignoring Little Tao's orders, trespassed into the sacred ground where the Mei clan worshipped their ancestors, shattering the relationship between Nanye and the Mei clan.

General Jia frowned. "Then why have I heard that the vanguard sent to scout the path was attacked by those Yue people, who seized their weapons, stripped them of their clothes and armor, and sent them back stark naked?"

It was the twelfth month now. Though the south was not a thousand li of ice and ten thousand li of drifting snow like the north, it was still like late autumn, carrying a bit of a chill. That group of unlucky soldiers had to cover themselves with leaves and came back shivering. This made General Jia feel that he had been insulted.

Little Tao could only explain helplessly: to the Yue people, allowing outsiders who trespassed on their land without permission to return alive, rather than cutting off their heads to offer to the ancestors, was already an act of extreme leniency.

Now, all that was needed was General Jia's consent, and Little Tao could dispatch an interpreter to go negotiate, explain the misunderstanding, and restore good relations between the two sides...

General Jia, however, sneered derisively. "Ridiculous. A mere barbarian tribe, overestimating its strength, dares to offend the mighty soldiers of a great state. This general shall sweep them away and exterminate them — why waste words! Furthermore, once the great army marches south, if those faithless barbarian Yue suddenly repent and strike our baggage train, wouldn't we be caught between two enemies?"

He believed that such a vital communication route must be firmly controlled in the hands of the Qin army to be reliable, and so he rose to his feet. "There is no need to negotiate. Commandant Tao need only assign a few guides familiar with the roads to lead my tens of thousands of troops to expel this swarm of mosquitoes and flies!"

Little Tao was greatly alarmed and hurriedly tried to dissuade him, saying that the Mei clan was intimately familiar with the mountains, ridges, streams, and valleys, and could scatter and regroup at any moment. He feared they would be difficult to annihilate completely. Moreover, they had six thousand clansmen, all capable of bearing spears and hunting, and possessed a certain fighting strength...

"Six thousand?"

General Jia laughed. The Qin army's countless years of invincibility had filled him with absolute confidence.

"Commandant Tao should know that this southern campaign is different from the past. Its very purpose is to capture people. Capturing live prisoners can also earn military merit and noble ranks. What 'no offense against the people'? That is useless against these barbarian Yue. The more of them there are, the more people I can seize! And we can reach the Southern Yue coast sooner to link up with General Tu's flanking force!"

Little Tao still wanted to speak again, but General Jia waved his hand dismissively.

"Commandant Tao need not speak further. You need only safeguard the supply route and await this general's good news!"

"I knew it would turn out like this..."

A dozen or so days later, as spring approached, at Nanchang County, the seat of Yuzhang Commandery, Magistrate Li Xian faced Ji Ying, who had traveled a thousand li to deliver Little Tao's letter, with a face full of helplessness.

This southern campaign was a massive undertaking. The First Emperor had dispatched a total of two hundred thousand men, comparable to the first campaign to destroy Chu — this already showed the Hundred Yue immense respect.

But the south was sparsely populated and its roads difficult to traverse. If two hundred thousand men were packed together, they wouldn't even need to fight; after gnawing away all the local grass roots and tree bark, they would simply starve to death. Besides, the various Hundred Yue tribes lived scattered apart, so concentrating the troops was useless.

Therefore, the commander-in-chief, Tu Sui, divided the two hundred thousand men into five routes: one army to block the pass at the Tan Fortress Ridge, one army to guard the pass at the Nine Doubts, one army to attack the shores of the Southern Sea, one army to advance from the border of Nanye, and one army to assemble on the waters of Yugan...

Among them, Changsha Commandery was the main direction of attack. The armies at Tan Fortress and Nine Doubts were to attack the Western Ou, who defied the Qin dynasty — that is, the later Guangxi — and this was the western route.

Another army was to go through Yangshan Pass and thrust straight toward the Southern Sea, attempting to split Southern Yue in two! And the army marching south from Nanye County in Yuzhang was to link up with the Yangshan army and together sweep through the Southern Yue tribes, the most populous among the Hundred Yue. These two armies were considered the central route.

The final route assembled at Yugan County, bypassing the Wuyi Mountains to the east to advance on the Eastern Ou. It intended to meet the naval forces setting out from Kuaiji on the coast of the Min Sea, and then jointly attack Minyue — this was the eastern route...

The southern campaign's battlefront stretched for several thousand li. These three routes — east, west, and center — were nominally under the unified command of Tu Sui, but in reality, it was like brothers climbing a mountain, each striving on his own.

The western route was personally led by Tu Sui himself. The only person there connected to the Southern Commandery hometown faction was Zhao Tuo. He had originally been an old subordinate of Tu Sui, but later grew very close to Heifu. Perhaps because of this, Tu Sui disdained him, and this fellow had been treading water without much success in recent years.

The eastern route army was commanded by Yuzhang Commandery Commandant Yin Tong, who directly requisitioned many troops and civilians from Yuzhang and stationed them at Yugan. That was the territory of the Gan Yue people, who, unlike other Yue, were relatively more civilized and had submitted to the Qin dynasty early on.

County Magistrate Wu Rui was also a sworn brother of Heifu and Zhao Tuo. Back when Heifu's rank was not high, Wu Rui hadn't felt it much. But now, the moment he mentioned Heifu's name, those officials from the Central Plains who looked down their noses at the "barbarian Yue" would immediately turn solemn and respectful.

Wu Rui had reaped many benefits from this connection. Although he was a Gan Yue chieftain, he showed not the slightest hesitation in helping the Qin officials capture Yue slaves from other tribes.

Furthermore, Yin Tong relied heavily on Heifu's old subordinates, so as far as Li Xian knew, Wu Rui was doing quite well under Yin Tong's command. The Gan Yue had close dealings with the Eastern Ou, and with him as a guide, the eastern route army's progress was relatively smooth.

But the central route army passing through Nanye County was different. That General Jia had a host of trusted veteran officers under his command. The Luling County Commandant, Dongmen Bao, and the Nanye County Commandant, Little Tao, who were ordered to follow his command, now had no say at all. Dongmen Bao wanted to fight for the vanguard position but was assigned to escort the rear army, and Little Tao could only manage logistics.

Factional strife exists in every dynasty and every era, and it's hardly blameworthy. Who would set aside their own trusted men and place their faith in outsiders?

But seeing General Jia stubbornly go his own way, and after the great army penetrated deep into Lingnan, rashly making enemies and launching an attack on the Mei tribe, which could have been won over, Little Tao anxiously wrote to Li Xian. He said this was completely different from the combat strategy of "divide and dissolve, destroy one by one" laid out in Heifu's secret letters...

After understanding Little Tao's predicament, Li Xian shook his head vigorously and said to Ji Ying, "Last year we discussed this. The most suitable person for the southern campaign was none other than the Sheriff. But what about Little Tao? He stubbornly believed the Hundred Yue were not easy to fight. Yet in truth, this was never a question of whether they were easy to fight or not. The Emperor's decision would not change. If the Sheriff wasn't the commander, it would have to be someone else."

He spread his hands. "And here we are. Tu Sui is the commander. Apart from Commandant Yin on the eastern route, who is one of our own, the deputy commanders of the other flanking forces are all outsiders. The Anlu brothers who once awed the southern frontier under the Sheriff's command can now only guard the baggage, eating dust and watching others earn merit."

Ji Ying grew anxious. Over all these years, their group of comrades-in-arms had long since become a community bound by shared interests. To earn merit together, make money together, and share the spoils together — that was their private pact.

Now the fighting had started, but brothers like Dongmen Bao and Little Tao were being marginalized and couldn't get any benefits at all!

"Now we're like sons born to a lowly maidservant — nobody thinks much of us."

He spat out a curse, then probed tentatively,

"Do you think we should ask the Sheriff..."

"Don't trouble the Sheriff with every little thing!"

Li Xian's face hardened. "The Sheriff is now not only the Governor of Jiaodong Commandery but also the Army Supervisor for the northern campaign. I've recently heard that Prince Fusu has failed to exterminate the bandits, and the great army is stuck for a long time east of the sea. There's a whole mess over there waiting for the Sheriff to clean up. Even if he had the energy to solve our problems, how could his authority reach all the way to the south?"

"Then what do we do?"

Ji Ying rolled his eyes. In the current situation, they, the local bosses of Yuzhang, were instead being controlled by others, and it left a bitter taste in their mouths.

"What's the rush!"

Li Xian sneered. "Since the generals look down on the Hundred Yue, thinking they can crush them like dry weeds and rotten wood, and they slight the old Southern Commandery hands, refusing to use Little Tao's strategy, then we might as well keep our mouths shut! Without our help, will this campaign really go smoothly everywhere? The deep winter season is still tolerable for now. But once spring begins and summer arrives, these northerners who don't know the depths will learn just how terrifying Lingnan can be!"

(End of chapter)