Zhao Tuo
Lü Zhi, the Han empress dowager, banned trade with Nanyue in 185 BC. "Emperor Gaozu set me up as a feudal lord and sent his envoy giving me permission to carry on trade," said Zhao Tuo. "But now Empress Lü...[is] treating me like one of the barbarians and breaking off our trade in iron vessels and goods." Zhao Tuo responded by declaring himself an emperor and by attacking some border towns. His imperial status was recognized by the Minyue, Western Ou (Âu Việt), and the Luolou. The army sent against Nanyue by Empress Lü was ravaged by a cholera epidemic. When Zhao Tuo was reconciled with the Han Empire in 180 BC, he sent a message to the Emperor Wu of Han in which he described himself as, "Your aged subject Tuo, a barbarian chief". Zhao Tuo agreed to recognize the Han ruler as the only emperor.