1
閩越王無諸及越東海王搖者，其先皆越王句踐之後也，姓騶氏。 秦已并天下，皆廢為君長，以其地為閩中郡。 及諸侯畔秦，無諸、搖率越歸鄱陽令吳芮，所謂鄱君者也，從諸侯滅秦。 當是之時，項籍主命，弗王，以故不附楚。 漢擊項籍，無諸、搖率越人佐漢。 漢五年，復立無諸為閩越王，王閩中故地，都東冶。 孝惠三年，舉高帝時越功，曰閩君搖功多，其民便附，乃立搖為東海王，都東甌，世俗號為東甌王。
Wuzhu, the King of Minyue, and Yao, the King of Eastern Sea Yue, were both descendants of King Goujian of Yue and bore the clan name Zou. When the Qin dynasty united the realm, it stripped them of their royal titles, reducing them to local chieftains, and incorporated their territory into the Commandery of Minzhong. When the lords rose against Qin, Wuzhu and Yao led their Yue followers to join Wu Rui, the magistrate of Poyang—known as Lord Po—and fought alongside the other lords to bring down the Qin dynasty. At that time, Xiang Yu held the power to bestow titles but did not make them kings, and so they never aligned themselves with Chu. When the Han forces campaigned against Xiang Yu, Wuzhu and Yao led their Yue warriors to fight on the side of Han. In the fifth year of the Han dynasty, Wuzhu was restored as the King of Minyue, reigning over the old Minzhong territory from his capital at Dongye. In the third year of Emperor Hui's reign, the court reviewed the wartime contributions of the Yue dating back to Emperor Gao's era. It was noted that Yao, the lord of Min, had distinguished himself through exceptional service and commanded the loyal devotion of his people. He was therefore made the King of the Eastern Sea, with his capital at Dong'ou—and so the people came to call him the King of Dong'ou.
2
後數世，至孝景三年，吳王濞反，欲從閩越，閩越未肯行，獨東甌從吳。 及吳破，東甌受漢購，殺吳王丹徒，以故皆得不誅，歸國。
Several generations later, in the third year of Emperor Jing's reign, King Bi of Wu launched his rebellion and tried to recruit the Minyue to his cause, but they refused. Only Dong'ou chose to side with Wu. After Wu fell, the people of Dong'ou accepted a reward from the Han court and killed the King of Wu at Dantu. Because of this act, they were all pardoned and allowed to return to their kingdoms.
3
吳王子子駒亡走閩越，怨東甌殺其父，常勸閩越擊東甌。 至建元三年，閩越發兵圍東甌。 東甌食盡，困，且降，乃使人告急天子。 天子問太尉田蚡，蚡對曰：「越人相攻擊，固其常，又數反覆，不足以煩中國往救也。 自秦時棄弗屬。」 於是中大夫莊助詰蚡曰：「特患力弗能救，德弗能覆； 誠能，何故棄之？ 且秦舉咸陽而棄之，何乃越也！ 今小國以窮困來告急天子，天子弗振，彼當安所告愬？ 又何以子萬國乎？」 上曰：「太尉未足與計。 吾初即位，不欲出虎符發兵郡國。」 乃遣莊助以節發兵會稽。 會稽太守欲距不為發兵，助乃斬一司馬，諭意指，遂發兵浮海救東甌。 未至，閩越引兵而去。 東甌請舉國徙中國，乃悉舉眾來，處江淮之閒。
Ziju, the prince of Wu, fled to Minyue. Harboring a deep resentment against Dong'ou for slaying his father, he constantly urged the Minyue to attack them. In the third year of the Jianyuan era, the Minyue sent their army to lay siege to Dong'ou. Dong'ou's provisions ran out. Desperate and on the brink of surrender, they dispatched envoys to make an urgent appeal to the emperor. The emperor consulted Grand Commandant Tian Fen, who replied: 'The Yue tribes warring among themselves is nothing unusual—it is simply their way. They have proven fickle time and again, and it is hardly worth the trouble of sending the empire's forces to rescue them. They have been beyond our domain since the days of Qin.' At this, the Palace Grandee Zhuang Zhu confronted Fen: 'The only question worth asking is whether we lack the strength to rescue them or the virtue to shelter them; If we truly have the power, why should we abandon them? After all, Qin gave up its very capital of Xianyang—so shall we follow that example over the matter of Yue! Now a small kingdom, driven to desperation, has come to plead with the emperor. If the emperor refuses to act, where else are they to turn? And how then can we claim to be a parent to the myriad kingdoms?' The emperor said: 'The Grand Commandant is not fit to be consulted on this matter. I have only just come to the throne, and I am reluctant to issue the tiger tallies to mobilize the armies of the commanderies and kingdoms.' He therefore sent Zhuang Zhu with an imperial tally to raise troops from Kuaiji. The Grand Administrator of Kuaiji tried to obstruct the mobilization, but Zhu executed one of his colonels to demonstrate his authority, and the troops were duly dispatched across the sea to relieve Dong'ou. Before the relief force even arrived, the Minyue pulled back their troops and withdrew. Dong'ou petitioned to relocate their entire kingdom to the interior. They moved all their people and resettled in the lands between the Yangtze and Huai rivers.
4
至建元六年，閩越擊南越。 南越守天子約，不敢擅發兵擊而以聞。 上遣大行王恢出豫章，大農韓安國出會稽，皆為將軍。 兵未踰嶺，閩越王郢發兵距險。 其弟餘善乃與相、宗族謀曰：「王以擅發兵擊南越，不請，故天子兵來誅。 今漢兵眾彊，今即幸勝之，后來益多，終滅國而止。 今殺王以謝天子。 天子聽，罷兵，固一國完； 不聽，乃力戰； 不勝，即亡入海。」 皆曰「善」。 即鏦殺王，使使奉其頭致大行。 大行曰：「所為來者誅王。 今王頭至，謝罪，不戰而耘，利莫大焉。」 乃以便宜案兵告大農軍，而使使奉王頭馳報天子。 詔罷兩將兵，曰：「郢等首惡，獨無諸孫繇君丑不與謀焉。」 乃使郎中將立丑為越繇王，奉閩越先祭祀。
In the sixth year of the Jianyuan era, the Minyue launched an attack on Nanyue. Nanyue honored its covenant with the emperor and refrained from retaliating on its own, choosing instead to report the aggression to the court. The emperor sent the Grand Herald Wang Hui forth from Yuzhang and the Grand Minister of Agriculture Han Anguo from Kuaiji, each to serve as a commanding general. Before the Han armies had even crossed the mountain passes, King Ying of Minyue sent his own troops to fortify the defiles. His younger brother, Yu Shan, conspired with the chancellor and their kinsmen, saying: 'The king attacked Nanyue without imperial permission, and that is why the emperor's armies have come to punish him. The Han armies are vast and powerful. Even if we were lucky enough to repel them today, they would only send more, and in the end our kingdom would be destroyed. Let us kill the king and offer his head as an apology to the emperor. If the emperor accepts, he will withdraw his forces, and the kingdom can be preserved; If he does not, then we fight with everything we have; And if we cannot prevail, we flee to the sea.' They all agreed to the plan. They struck the king down and sent an envoy to deliver his head to the Grand Herald. The Grand Herald declared: 'Our purpose in coming was to punish the king. Now that the king's head has been delivered and they have submitted, we reap the harvest without shedding a drop of blood—there is no greater advantage.' Acting on his own authority, he halted the advance and notified the army of the Grand Minister of Agriculture, while dispatching a rider to present the king's head to the emperor. An imperial edict ordered both armies to stand down, declaring: 'Ying and his accomplices were the chief culprits. Only Chou, Lord Yao, a grandson of Wuzhu, had no part in the conspiracy.' A palace attendant was then dispatched to install Chou as the King of Yueyao, charged with maintaining the ancestral rites of the Minyue.
5
餘善已殺郢，威行於國，國民多屬，竊自立為王。 繇王不能矯其眾持正。 天子聞之，為餘善不足復興師，曰：「餘善數與郢謀亂，而後首誅郢，師得不勞。」 因立餘善為東越王，與繇王并處。
Having killed Ying, Yu Shan's authority spread across the land. The people rallied to him in great numbers, and he secretly proclaimed himself king. The King of Yao was powerless to restrain Yu Shan's followers or to uphold lawful authority. When the emperor learned of this, he decided it was not worth mobilizing the army again on account of Yu Shan, remarking: 'Yu Shan plotted rebellion alongside Ying time and again, yet in the end he was the first to bring Ying to justice, sparing our forces the trouble.' And so Yu Shan was made the King of Dongyue, to rule alongside the King of Yao.
6
至元鼎五年，南越反，東越王餘善上書，請以卒八千人從樓船將軍擊呂嘉等。 兵至揭揚，以海風波為解，不行，持兩端，陰使南越。 及漢破番禺，不至。 是時樓船將軍楊仆使使上書，願便引兵擊東越。 上曰士卒勞倦，不許，罷兵，令諸校屯豫章梅領待命。
In the fifth year of the Yuanding era, when Nanyue rebelled, Yu Shan, the King of Dongyue, submitted a petition offering to lead eight thousand troops to join the General of the Towered Ships in the campaign against Lu Jia and his allies. When his forces reached Jieyang, he used the stormy seas as a pretext to halt his advance. He played both sides, secretly sending envoys to Nanyue. By the time the Han forces took Panyu, he had still not appeared. At that time, the General of the Towered Ships, Yang Pu, sent a memorial to the throne requesting permission to turn his forces against Dongyue. The emperor, saying the troops were weary from their campaigns, denied the request. He ordered the army to stand down and the officers to encamp at Meiling in Yuzhang to await further orders.
7
元鼎六年秋，餘善聞樓船請誅之，漢兵臨境，且往，乃遂反，發兵距漢道。 號將軍騶力等為「吞漢將軍」，入白沙、武林、梅嶺，殺漢三校尉。 是時漢使大農張成、故山州侯齒將屯，弗敢擊，卻就便處，皆坐畏懦誅。
In the autumn of the sixth year of the Yuanding era, Yu Shan learned that the General of the Towered Ships had petitioned for his execution and that Han forces were massing on the border. He rose in open rebellion, sending his troops to block the roads leading into his territory. He gave his general Zou Li and others the title of 'Han-Devouring Generals,' then launched attacks on Baisha, Wulin, and Meiling, killing three Han colonels. At that time, the Han court had placed the Grand Minister of Agriculture Zhang Cheng and the former Marquis of Shanzhou, Chi, in command of the garrisons, but neither dared engage the enemy. They withdrew to safer positions, and both were later executed for cowardice.
8
餘善刻「武帝」璽自立，詐其民，為妄言。 天子遣橫海將軍韓說出句章，浮海從東方往； 樓船將軍楊仆出武林； 中尉王溫舒出梅嶺； 越侯為戈船、下瀨將軍，出若邪、白沙。 元封元年冬，咸入東越。 東越素發兵距險，使徇北將軍守武林，敗樓船軍數校尉，殺長吏。 樓船將軍率錢唐轅終古斬徇北將軍，為御兒侯。 自兵未往。
Yu Shan had an imperial seal carved bearing the title 'Martial Emperor' and declared himself sovereign, deceiving his people with extravagant claims. The emperor dispatched the General Who Crosses the Sea, Han Yue, from Gouzhang to sail eastward across the sea; The General of the Towered Ships, Yang Pu, marched from Wulin; The Commandant of the Capital, Wang Wenshu, advanced from Meiling; The Marquis of Yue, appointed as the General of Spear Boats and Rapids, set out from Ruoye and Baisha. In the winter of the first year of the Yuanfeng era, all the forces converged on Dongyue. Dongyue had already dispatched forces to hold the mountain passes, placing the General Who Patrols the North at Wulin. He routed several colonels of the Towered Ships army and killed their commanding officers. The General of the Towered Ships directed Yuan Zhonggu, the garrison commander of Qiantang, to slay the General Who Patrols the North. For this feat, Yuan Zhonggu was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Yu'er. His main force, however, had yet to move forward.
9
故越衍侯吳陽前在漢，漢使歸諭餘善，餘善弗聽。 及橫海將軍先至，越衍侯吳陽以其邑七百人反，攻越軍於漢陽。 從建成侯敖，與其率，從繇王居股謀曰：「餘善首惡，劫守吾屬。 今漢兵至，眾彊，計殺餘善，自歸諸將，儻幸得脫。」 乃遂俱殺餘善，以其眾降橫海將軍，故封繇王居股為東成侯，萬戶； 封建成侯敖為開陵侯； 封越衍侯吳陽為北石侯； 封橫海將軍說為案道侯； 封橫海校尉福為繚嫈侯。 福者，成陽共王子，故為海常侯，坐法失侯。 舊從軍無功，以宗室故侯。 諸將皆無成功，莫封。 東越將多軍，漢兵至，棄其軍降，封為無錫侯。
The former Marquis of Yueyan, Wu Yang, had been residing at the Han court. The Han sent him back to reason with Yu Shan, but Yu Shan refused to listen. When the General Who Crosses the Sea was the first to arrive, the Marquis of Yueyan, Wu Yang, turned against Yu Shan with seven hundred men from his estate and attacked the Yue army at Hanyang. He joined with the Marquis of Jiancheng, Ao, and their commanders, and together with the King of Yao, Ju Gu, they conspired: 'Yu Shan is the ringleader who has held us and our people hostage. Now that the Han armies have come in force, let us kill Yu Shan and surrender to the Han generals—perhaps we will be fortunate enough to save ourselves.' They killed Yu Shan and surrendered their forces to the General Who Crosses the Sea. For this, the King of Yao, Ju Gu, was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Dongcheng with a fief of ten thousand households; The Marquis of Jiancheng, Ao, was made the Marquis of Kailing; The Marquis of Yueyan, Wu Yang, was made the Marquis of Beishi; The General Who Crosses the Sea, Han Yue, was made the Marquis of Andao; The Colonel Who Crosses the Sea, Fu, was made the Marquis of Liaoying. Fu was a son of King Gong of Chengyang. He had previously held the title of Marquis of Haichang but lost it after running afoul of the law. Though he had served in earlier campaigns without distinction, he was granted a marquisate on account of his imperial lineage. None of the other generals achieved any notable success, and so none received enfeoffments. The Dongyue general Duo Jun abandoned his forces and surrendered when the Han troops arrived. He was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Wuxi.
10
於是天子曰東越狹多阻，閩越悍，數反覆，詔軍吏皆將其民徙處江淮閒。 東越地遂虛。
The emperor then declared that the lands of Dongyue were narrow and rugged, and the Minyue people fierce and incorrigibly rebellious. He decreed that the military officials were to relocate all the inhabitants to the lands between the Yangtze and Huai rivers. And so the lands of Dongyue were left desolate.
11
太史公曰：越雖蠻夷，其先豈嘗有大功德於民哉，何其久也！ 歷數代常為君王，句踐一稱伯。 然餘善至大逆，滅國遷眾，其先苗裔繇王居股等猶尚封為萬戶侯，由此知越世世為公侯矣。 蓋禹之餘烈也。
The Grand Historian remarks: Though the Yue were counted among the barbarian peoples, their ancestors must surely have bestowed great merit and virtue upon their people—how else could their line have endured so long! For generation after generation they served as kings and rulers, and Goujian himself once rose to the rank of hegemon. Yet even after Yu Shan committed the ultimate treason—the destruction of the kingdom and the forced relocation of its people—his ancestors' descendants, such as the King of Yao, Ju Gu, were still enfeoffed as marquises with ten thousand households. From this we can see that the Yue held the rank of dukes and marquises generation after generation. Surely this was the enduring legacy of the Great Yu.