Guanzhong wins the world? Invalidated after the Tang Dynasty? The history of the change of strategic position!
Guanzhong, this word rich in history and culture, does it refer to? We can find some clues from the "Historical Records" of the Western Han Dynasty. According to statistics, "Guanzhong" is mentioned more than 40 times in the "Historical Records".
One of the earliest records is "Qin Shi Huang Benji" in "The first emperor is a micro line Xianyang, and the four warriors go out at night, every time the thief Lanchi is embarrassed, the warrior kills the thief, and the Guanzhong Dasuo is 20 days." ”
Judging from the description in the "Historical Records: The Biography of the Goods and Colonies", the Guanzhong area is located in the east of Weishui and Yongshan, and west of the Yellow River and Huashan. However, Hanzhong and northern Shaanxi are sometimes included.
Xu Guang put forward the theory of four passes in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, believing that there were four important passes in the Guanzhong area, including Hangu Pass, Wuguan, Sanguan and Xiao Pass. In addition, there are also the six passes of Tongguan and Jinsuoguan, although these statements were put forward relatively late, but they are in line with the view that "Guanzhong is the land of four stops" in the Warring States Qin and Han dynasties, and accurately reflect the actual situation of Guanzhong at that time.
From ancient times to the present, Guanzhong has always been regarded as a battleground for soldiers, and its strategic position is unmatched. As the birthplace of many dynasties in history, Guanzhong gradually evolved into "the area north of the Qinling Mountains in central Shaanxi, south of the Meridian Mountains and Huanglong Mountain, east of Longshan and west of Tongguan due to the rise of Tongguan Pass and the decline of Hangu Pass".
This area contains important passes such as Hangu Pass, Xiao Pass and Wuguan Pass, which not only have important military value, but also are symbols of cultural and economic prosperity. After the Han Dynasty, this view was generally accepted and continues to this day.
Since the Zhou Dynasty, Guanzhong has attracted many princes, nobles and princes with its superior geographical location and fertile land, and has become the land of emperors. King Wu of Zhou raised troops in Guanzhong and conquered the world in one fell swoop, although the Zhou Dynasty won the world, but did not move the capital to the Central Plains, but continued to build the capital in Guanzhong, and divided the vast Central Plains to other princes.
Zhou Gongdan once gave a very high evaluation of Guanzhong: "Surrounded by mountains and rivers, fertile fields for thousands of miles, the world is victorious, nothing more than this." "In the eyes of the Zhou people, Guanzhong is a treasure of the world and irreplaceable.
In the sixth year of King Xiao of Zhou, Qin Feizi was rewarded by Zhou Tianzi for his outstanding performance in horse breeding, and became a vassal state of the Zhou royal family. During the reign of Xianggong of Qin, he took advantage of the invasion of the dog Rong to unite with the Duke of Wei Wu, the Marquis of Wen of Jin, and the Duke of Zheng Wu to crusade against the dog Rong in the name of rescuing the Zhou royal family, and finally succeeded in expelling him from Haojing.
He also sent an army to escort King Zhou Ping to move east to Luoyi, and because of the merits of "saving the driver" and "supporting the establishment", he was named a prince, and got a promise from King Zhou Ping: if he could drive away the dog Rong, he would take the land west of Qishan as a fief.
With the efforts of the two generations of monarchs, Xianggong and Wengong, the territory of Qin expanded to Qishan. The following generations of monarchs continued their efforts, so that the land of Qifeng was included in the territory of Qin, and at the same time, they also recovered Du, Zheng and other places, and the territory advanced to the eastern end of the Guandong.
Subsequently, the Qin state expanded eastward, and in 677 BC, the Qin moved its capital to Yong, so far, after nearly a hundred years of hard work in the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the Qin people have occupied most of the land in Guanzhong.
During the reign of King Huiwen of Qin, Zhang Yi praised Guanzhong as "the fields are fertile and beautiful, the people are rich, the chariots are ten thousand, the hundred trades are fought, the fields are fertile for thousands of miles, and the accumulation is rich,......This so-called Tianfu is also the majestic country of the world! ”
After the Qin Dynasty, the Qin people used Guanzhong as a base to capture Bashu in the south and Hedong and Hanzhong in the east, and finally realized the unification of the Central Plains. After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu wanted to establish a capital in Guanzhong, and his advisor Han Sheng believed that Guanzhong had the potential to become an overlord due to its superior terrain and abundant resources.
However, Xiang Yu was not interested in this, and finally chose his hometown Pengcheng as the capital, but Liu Bang preemptively occupied Guanzhong by repairing the plank road and secretly crossing Chencang.
The people in the Guanzhong area are rich and the supply of soldiers is sufficient, during the period of the Chu and Han dynasties, Liu Bang was defeated by Xiang Yu many times, and Xiao He continued to collect soldiers and food from Guanzhong, so that "the Han army is strong and strong, the grain and grass are sufficient, and the army of King Xiang is exhausted and lacks grain and grass."
Taking advantage of their famine, Liu Bang succeeded in capturing Guanzhong. ”
Lou Jing advocated the establishment of a capital in Guanzhong, so as to choke the throats of the eastern countries and control their backs, so as to obtain a certain victory. Zhang Liang, on the other hand, was more inclined to the actual situation in Guanzhong, believing that Guanzhong only needed to hold the east side, and the attack could be carried downstream, which was very convenient, so he preferred to build the capital in Guanzhong.
Although the views of the two advisors were different, they both agreed on the importance of Guanzhong's geographical location.
Tian Ken has such a wonderful description of the topography of Guanzhong: "Qin land, the country of shape victory, with rivers and mountains, convenient terrain, its soldiers are among the princes, and they still live on high houses to build water." ”
His description is more vivid than Lou Jing's humor and Zhang Liang's, and even directly derives the idiom "from a high position". Because so many people recognized the superior status of Guanzhong, Liu Bang finally chose to establish the capital in Chang'an, thus creating the history of the Han Dynasty.
When Ma Qian of Taishi Company wrote the "Historical Records", he also deeply realized the advantages of Guanzhong's terrain, he wrote: "To achieve great things, you must do the southeast; And in the end, Guanzhong is the best place to establish a dynasty. ”
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, an epoch-making event occurred - the eastward movement of Hangu Guan, which allowed the Guanzhong region to expand eastward to the Henan line. At that time, people distinguished between "Guanzhong people" and "Guanwai people", and the people of the Han Dynasty were generally proud of being "Guanzhong people", so in order to become a "Guanzhong person", Yang Fu, the general of Louchuan in Xin'an County, wrote to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and requested that his family wealth be moved to the east of Hangu Pass.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deeply felt the sincerity of Yang Fu, and in order to satisfy his wishes, he specially moved the site of Hangu Pass to the east for three hundred miles. This move not only allowed Yang Fu to realize his dream of becoming a "Guanzhong person", but also included the Hongnong area in western Henan into the territory of Guanzhong.
It was not until the reunification of the Northern Song Dynasty that Hongnong re-separated from Shaanxi and belonged to Henan. This event had a profound impact on the development of Chinese history and provides an important reference for today's research.
The military value of Hangu Pass has shrunk, and Tongguan has risen to become a new military strategic center at the gateway to the eastern part of the Guan. According to historical records, although Dong Zhuo controlled the Guanzhong region, he failed to gain the world, mainly because of the strategic position of the Guanzhong region and its natural environment, resources and folk customs.
Since ancient times, Guanzhong has been a battleground for soldiers, where the climate is suitable, the irrigation system is perfect, the land is fertile, and it is surrounded by mountains, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, the Guanzhong area is also a production area of war horses, which can provide high-quality cavalry.
Therefore, at a time when the world is in turmoil, grasping the control of the Guanzhong region is undoubtedly of great strategic significance to the struggle for the world.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, many heroes and heroes who occupied Guanzhong, such as Dong Zhuo, Li Dao, Guo Yan, Ma Teng and Han Sui, etc., ultimately failed to unify the world or the north.
Based on historical data, although Dong Zhuo is a man because of his brutality, it is undeniable that he is the most promising of these people. Let's take a look at the situation of Li Dao and Guo Yan.
It is recorded in the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Dong Zhuo: "By the time Li Dao and the others returned, Fu had already been defeated, and everyone had lost their support, and they planned to disperse. Li Dao was originally ordered to go east to attack Zhu Jun, who was intending to crusade against Dong Zhuo, but when he returned, Dong Zhuo had already been killed, and there was also news that Wang Yun wanted to ** Liangzhou people.
In order to take refuge, Li Dao originally planned to dismiss his subordinates, but later listened to Jia Xu's advice and led his subordinates back to Chang'an.
Although Dong Zhuo's old army, under the leadership of Li Dao Guo Yan, gradually increased in number, reaching more than 100,000, and successfully invaded Chang'an and took control of the Han court. However, Li Dao Guo Yan was only the nominal leader of Dong Zhuo's old department, and he was more like an upstart.
They lack roots, they lack complete control over Guanzhong. Li Dao Guo Yan's suspicions everywhere, and even his "good partner" Guo Yan's mutual attack, are all manifestations of this lack of foundation.
Therefore, Guanzhong could not become the foundation for them to seize the world, and the two were far from controlling Guanzhong. The lack of foundation and incomplete control of Guanzhong doomed Li Dao Guo Yan to failure.
And Ma Teng Han Sui's foundation in Guanzhong is even shallower, they were originally the forces of Liangzhou, and they were invited by Dong Zhuo to enter Guanzhong. However, when they arrived in Guanzhong, Dong Zhuo had already been killed, and Li Dao led the forces to occupy Guanzhong, feeling uneasy about Ma Teng and Han Sui, and tried to drive them away, but Ma Teng did not leave, but chose to garrison troops in Guanzhong.
After the defeat of Li and Guo, Ma Teng Han rose to become a powerful military group in Guanzhong, but they did not fully control Guanzhong. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Zhong Xuan" recorded: "The generals of Guanzhong, Ma Teng, Han Sui, etc., each supported strong troops and competed with each other. ”
Therefore, although Ma Teng Han Sui's strength is strong, it has not reached the level where he can go east to dominate the world. Compared with them, Dong Zhuo is undoubtedly the most likely to seize the world.
He held Guanzhong, Luoyang and Hedong were also under his control, and even Ma Teng and Han Sui, who had seized Longyou, were willing to cooperate with him. It can be said that Dong Zhuo's strength and influence have reached their peak.
However, Dong Zhuo ruined his bright future because of his absurd behavior. The first thing he did after entering Chang'an was to depose the cowardly Liu Wei and choose the smarter and decisive Liu Xie.
Although his decision seemed to be correct, it was a great rebellion for the ministers to depose the monarch, not to mention the brutal murder of the fifteen-year-old Liu Wei and his mother, the Empress Dowager He.
Dong Zhuo's behavior undoubtedly announced to the world his intention to usurp the throne and undermined political stability. What he did, he made his reign full of violence and chaos, which ultimately led to his defeat.
Dong Zhuo's crimes are not only against specific families or individuals, his actions have violated the bottom line of the entire society. His acts of revenge and killing not only led him to form hatred with the elite of society, but also to create countless enemies for himself.
His corrupt behavior and extravagant life are even more distressing. His power and position allow him to act recklessly, without regard for the suffering and rights of the people. What he did not only undermined social order and harmony, but also made us see the danger of abuse of power.
Compared to Cao Cao's"coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes", Dong Zhuo's behavior seems more cruel and selfish.
Dong Zhuo's governing methods made the corruption of the government more serious, ruined his character, and attracted many people who wanted to carve him up. Although Guanzhong had a certain amount of financial and material resources as the capital, Dong Zhuo's wanton looting led to food shortages and extremely high prices, but instead of taking frugal measures to stabilize prices, he carried out large-scale coinage and luxury purchases, which caused inflation and eventually led to the obstruction of currency circulation.
Dong Zhuo moved west to Chang'an and gave up the land east of the river because the food in Luoyang was no longer able to meet the needs, and there was even a tragic scene of changing children and eating. If Dong Zhuo had Cao Cao's ability, he could choose to take Guanzhong as the foundation, gradually seize Liangzhou and Yizhou, and then march eastward, slowly operate, and the possibility of dominating the world exists.
But Dong Zhuo's tyrannical behavior led to the consequences of resentment, and in the end he could only be killed. Therefore, to unify the world, the key lies in the people, not in the localities. The Tang Dynasty was the last dynasty to use Guanzhong as a base to unify the world.
After Li Yuan raised his army in Jinyang, Li Shimin suggested occupying Guanzhong first, because the heroes of the Guanzhong region did not yet know who to follow, and if they could march west and appease these people, then they could easily gain control of the Guanzhong region as easily as taking something from their pockets.
Li Shimin emphasized the important position of Guanzhong, believing that controlling the heroes of Guanzhong could easily unify the world, and this strategy was adopted and succeeded by Li Yuan. Although Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty set the capital of Kaifeng, what he really longed for was Chang'an, and he believed that there were dangerous mountains and rivers there and opportunities to reduce redundant troops, so as to achieve the goal of stabilizing the world.
Zhao Kuangyin foresaw that redundant troops would become a burden for the Northern Song Dynasty, but his intention to move the capital was opposed by his ministers. In the end, he decided to give up moving the capital, and left a sentence: "Although the words of King Jin are very good, within a hundred years, the manpower of the world will be exhausted." ”
Unsurprisingly, the problem of redundant troops in the Northern Song Dynasty became a burden. When the Southern Song Dynasty was rebuilt, the minister Li Gang suggested that Guanzhong be chosen as the capital in order to occupy the Central Plains and control the southeastern region.
Since ancient times, most of the monarchs who rule the world have come from Guanzhong in the northwest, and those who occupy the southeast have rarely been able to reach Guanzhong or even unify the world in history. However, at this time, Guanzhong is no longer the "four stops", but the "four dangers", north of the desert, west of the Western Xia, south of Tubo, east of the strong enemy Jin.
Therefore, for Zhao Gou, who has limited guts, choosing Jiankang as the capital is naturally the safest choice. In the Yuan Dynasty after the Song Dynasty, Beijing became the imperial capital after Xi'an, and the political influence of Guanzhong declined, and the road to Guanzhong was too steep, resulting in the economy also beginning to lag behind, and Guanzhong was no longer the first choice for building a capital.
So, why did the Guanzhong advantage gradually disappear after the Tang Dynasty? There are two main reasons for this: First, the economic center of gravity is gradually shifting southward. In addition to geographical advantages, Guanzhong's economic advantages are also very important.
However, with the southward shift of the economic and cultural center of gravity, the economic weight of Guanzhong has declined, and it has become more and more difficult for those who have won Guanzhong to win the world. Secondly, the southern region gradually developed and became an important military and cultural center.
Before the Western Han Dynasty, the southern region was not fully developed. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he began to set up counties in the south to govern and migrate the population for development, and by the Eastern Han Dynasty, the economy of Jiangsu and Zhejiang had been relatively prosperous; During the Three Kingdoms period, Jingzhou became an important military and cultural center, and in the words of Sima Hui, "The world's best people come from here." ”
In the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty, in order to escape the war, the Central Plains scholars moved south with a large amount of cultural wealth, which drove the economic development of the south; With the opening of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty, materials from the south were conveniently transported to the north, and the Central Plains was very dependent on grain from the south.
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, a large number of workers and peasants fled to the south and north China, which contributed to the economic prosperity of the south during the Tang Dynasty. By the Northern Song Dynasty, the north had become the forefront of confrontation with ethnic minorities such as the Dangxiang, Khitan, and Jurchen, and its economic status was neglected.
The economic development of the Guanzhong region has been greatly affected, especially in terms of grain output, which cannot be compared with the North China Plain, which makes the Guanzhong region lose its economic advantage as the starting point and base of the emperor's actions.
In addition, due to the important geographical location of Guanzhong, soldiers must fight, so the Guanzhong area has been devastated by war for a long time. Historically, Xiang Yu at the end of the Qin Dynasty once burned Xianyang, Dong Zhuo at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty once burned Luoyang, Liu Yao at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty broke through Luoyang, killed more than 30,000 Jin officials and people, burned Luoyang City, during the Anshi Rebellion, the rebels burned and looted in Luoyang, causing serious losses, and finally when Liang Zhu Wen moved the capital to Luoyang, he also burned Chang'an City.
The Guanzhong region has been hit by many wars in its history, including the melee in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the turmoil in the Wuhu Rebellion, the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, and the invasions of the Tibetans and Uighurs.
The long-term war caused the economy of the Guanzhong region to suffer a serious blow, and the population fell sharply, and it was not until the Northern Song Dynasty that the Guanzhong region gradually regained its vitality.
3. Changes in military statusFrom the Qin and Han dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties, the threat in the Central Plains mainly came from the ethnic minorities and nomadic peoples in the northwest, so the Guanzhong region has always had an important military position because of its geographical location that is easy to defend and difficult to attack and its proximity to the strategic frontier.
However, with the changes in the surrounding situation, the military status of the Guanzhong region is also declining. First of all, with the Central Plains regime repeatedly using troops to the northwest, the Longxi region was basically controlled by the Central Plains Dynasty after the Sui and Tang dynasties, after all, the Sui and Tang royal families themselves were born in Longxi nobles.
Secondly, with the gradual pacification of the Longxi region, the western defense line of the Guanzhong region lost its original role, and the western threat of the subsequent dynasties mainly came from the Western Regions, and the strategic frontier has been extended to Gansu and Ningxia for a generation, so the Guanzhong region has changed from the strategic frontier to the second line of defense.
With the deepening of the threat in the north, the rise of Xianbei, Turkic, Mongol, and Jurchen made the military status along the Great Wall continue to rise, and the importance of northern border passes such as Yulin, Datong, Xuanfu, Taiyuan, Jizhou, Youzhou, and Liaodong has become increasingly apparent.
The relative security of the Guanzhong region has gradually shifted the military center of gravity to the west and north, and the strategic position of the Central Plains region has also been enhanced. Before the Song Dynasty, the main reason why the Guanzhong region was valued by successive emperors was its unique geographical pass, however, with the development of hot weapons, the protective effect of the pass gradually weakened.
The Song army had advanced methods to deal with the city, such as a bed crossbow with a range of 1,000 steps, a stone thrower that could throw 90 catties of stone projectiles, and gunpowder. During the conquest of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the Song army was already equipped with rockets, artillery and other firearms, some of which were even the most powerful and had strong lethality.
During the Ming Dynasty, firearms were more widely used, and Zhu Yuanzhang began to use firearms early. According to the "Fire Dragon Sutra", when Zhu Yuanzhang recruited soldiers in Jiangbei and Zhou, a craftsman named Jiao Yu presented him with dozens of "Fire Dragon Guns".
The first recorded use of firearms by Zhu Yuanzhang was when he fought against Zhang Shicheng. According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", in February of the 19th year of Zhizheng (1359), Zhu Yuanzhang's brave general Hu Dahai launched an attack on Shaoxing.
Defending Shaoxing was Zhang Shicheng's subordinate Lü Zhen, who commanded his subordinates to fire down from the city walls using torches, rockets, and artillery stones, leaving Hu Dahai's troops in a difficult position.
But Hu Dahai did not give up, and he also introduced his own firearms, including fire barrels, rockets and iron projectiles. Among them, the iron projectile is considered to be the earliest recorded metal projectile in human history, and its power was so powerful that it eventually turned the Shaoxing City Gate into a sieve.
According to historical records, Zhu Yuanzhang's sailors were equipped with a large number of firearms, including firearms, large and small generals' barrels, large and small iron cannons, large and small muskets, rockets, and "helpless" with incendiary properties.
Moreover, the number of firearms used by Zhu Yuanzhang's army was considerable. According to the record of "Baoyue Lu", in the thirteenth year of Hongwu, among the 100 households composed of 100 people, 10 people used firearms, 20 people used knives, 30 people used bows and arrows, and 40 people used spears, of which firearms accounted for one-tenth of the total number of its ** equipment.
By the 25th year of Hongwu, the proportion of firearms equipped with 100 households had reached one-eighth, and as early as the 21st year of Hongwu, the Ming army had mastered the technology of continuous shooting of guns and cannons, which also directly promoted the rapid growth of the number of firearms in the army.
With the development of thermal weapons, although the pass still plays a role in military defense, it is no longer an insurmountable obstacle.