In 179 BC, Zhao Tuo, a Chinese general who has established the Nanyue state in modern-day Southern China, annexed Âu Lạc, and began the Sino-Vietic interaction that lasted in a millennium. In 111 BC, the Han Empire conquered Nanyue, brought the Lac Viet region under Han rule. By 2 AD, there were around nearly one million people lived in northern Vietnam and central Vietnam (981,735 people according to Han census). The Han Chinese began conducting their civilizing mission over the local people, which ultimately resulted in an violent uprising of the local Lac people led by Trung sisters in 40s AD. The sisters' stronghold was annihilated in 43 AD, the rebelled Lạc lords were butchered, five thousand people were decapitated, and some hundred families were deported to China. After 43 AD, the Han dynasty imposed direct imperial rule over the region. The Lạc Việt elites started adopting Chinese culture, techniques, and life style, while retaining their own customs. Mahayana Buddhism arrived from India via sea routes in the 1st and 2nd centuries, while Taoism and Confucianism made their ways to early Vietnamese society at the same time.