Qin campaign against the Baiyue
| Qin campaign against the Baiyue | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Qin dynasty | Baiyue | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Yue chieftains | ||||||||
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As trade was an important source of wealth for the Baiyue peoples of coastal southern China, the region south of the Yangtze attracted the attention of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, and he undertook a series of military campaigns to conquer it. Lured by its temperate climate, fertile fields, maritime trade routes, relative security from warring factions to the west and northwest, and access to luxury tropical products from Southeast Asia, the emperor sent armies to conquer the Yue kingdoms in 221 BC. Military expeditions against the region were dispatched between 221 and 214 BC. It would take five successive military excursions before the Qin finally defeated the Yue in 214 BC.
The book 'Huainanzi' states that 500000 soldiers were mobilized for this operation, but it is a philosophical book and may not be credible.