Han campaigns against Minyue

The Han campaigns against Minyue were three Han Dynasty military campaigns dispatched against the Minyue state. The first campaign was a response to Minyue's invasion of Eastern Ou in 138 BC. In 135 BC, a second campaign was sent to intervene in a war between Minyue and Nanyue. After the campaign, Minyue was split into Minyue, ruled by a Han proxy king, and Dongyue. Dongyue was defeated in a third military campaign in 111 BC and the former Minyue territory was annexed by the Han Dynasty.

Background
The Qin Dynasty began the process of southward expansion that continued under the next dynasty, the Han. After the fall of the Qin, Minyue was established in 202 BC and Eastern Ou in 192 BC with the support of the Han.

Military intervention
In 138 BC, Minyue invaded the Eastern Ou, prompting Eastern Ou to request the intervention of Han forces. The Han court was divided over offering military support. The campaign was opposed by the Han commander-in-chief Tian Fen, who argued that warfare between the Yue tribes occurred frequently and the affairs of Yue were not the responsibility of the Han government. The concept of Chinese centrality among nations persuaded the court to dispatch an army. In accordance with Chinese political philosophy, the ruler or Son of Heaven held a mandate that obligated the emperor to help smaller countries in need. Otherwise, as the Han official Zhuang Zhu phrased it, "how could we treat the myriad kingdoms as our children?"

A Han naval force led by Zhuang Zhu departed from Shaoxing in northern Zhejiang towards Minyue. The Minyue surrendered before the arrival of the Han troops, and withdrew from Eastern Ou. The residents of Eastern Ou were moved to the area between the Huai River and Yangtze River, following a request by the king of Eastern Ou.

Second intervention
In 135 BC, war broke out between Minyue and Nanyue. Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue asked for and received the military assistance of the Han. In 180 BC, Zhao had offered to submit as a vassal and the Han agreed, a decision that was partly based on Zhao's ancestry and family as a native of northern China. An army led by the generals Wang Hui and Han Anguo was ordered to invade Minyue. Fearing Han intervention, the brother of the Minyue king Zou Ying, Zou Yushan, conspired with the royal court to depose Ying. Yushan killed his brother with a spear, decapitated the corpse, and sent the head to Wang.

Following the campaign, Minyue was split into a dual monarchy, Minyue and Dongyue. Minyue was controlled by the Han through a proxy ruler, while Dongyue was ruled by the younger brother of the Minyue king deposed by the Han during the military expedition.

Third campaign and conquest
As Han troops returned from the Han–Nanyue War in 111 BC, the Han government debated annexing Dongyue. Dongyue under the king Zou Yushan had agreed to assist the Han campaign against Nanyue, but the Dongyue army never reached Nanyue, blaming the weather. Suggested by the general Yang Pu, the annexation proposal was dismissed by Emperor Wu. The naval force arrived home without having attacked Dongyue. Zou was informed of Yang's request, and responded by revolting against the Han. Han forces were led by General Han Yue, General Yang Pu, commander Wang Wenshu, and two marquises of Yue ancestry. The army crushed the rebellion and annexed Dongyue in the last months of 111 BC, placing the former Minyue territory under Han rule.