Person
Duong Boc
General Lau Thuyen, who led one of the five Han columns against Nam Viet. He reached Phien Ngung first and set the city on fire, but the harder he attacked, the more he drove the enemy into Phuc Ba's camp.
At a glance
- Also known as
- General Lau Thuyen — the general of the towered ships1
- Role
- Chief commandant for noble ranks, leading the second column from Yuzhang down to Hoanh Pho; reached Phien Ngung first, camped on the south-east side and set fire to the city; made a marquis because his troops had stormed the strongholds1
Life
The old chronicles say
In the winter of the sixth year of Yuanding, that is 111 BC, he arrived first. He took his picked troops, captured Tam Hiep, broke through Thach Mon, seized the Viet boats and grain, pressed on with that momentum and broke the spearhead of the Viet army, then halted with several tens of thousands of men to wait for Phuc Ba. At exactly this sentence the Han thu has one extra word: he waited for General Phuc Ba with several tens of thousands of Viet men. Who they were, the book does not explain.12
At Phien Ngung he went ahead and chose the advantageous ground on the south-east side for himself. Just as dusk came on, he defeated the Viet and set fire to the city. But the Viet knew Phuc Ba's name and could not tell how few his troops were, so the Shiji describes the result in an ironic sentence: the harder Lau Thuyen attacked and burned, the more he drove the enemy into Phuc Ba's camp. The man who burned the city was Duong Boc; the man who received its surrender was Lo Bac Duc.1
Sima Qian does not praise him. In his closing verdict on the account of Nam Viet he writes: Lau Thuyen gave rein to his desires, grew slack and arrogant, and went astray; while Phuc Ba, fallen into dire straits, only grew richer in stratagems, and turned misfortune into good fortune. The man who fought hardest is the one who is faulted.3
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