Looking at the map of China as a whole, how important is Xiangyang’s geographical location in history?

The dividing line between China's north and south geographically refers to the Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River line. The Qinling Mountains are the dragon vein of the Chinese nation. They are located between Hanzhong and Guanzhong in Shaanxi and are more than 800 miles long. The Huaihe River is the feng shui river of the Chinese nation. It is located between the Yangtze River and the Yellow River and mainly flows through the three provinces of Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu today.

Basically, it can be understood as: south of the Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River is the south, and north of the Huaihe River is the north. This is the geographical basis for dividing the south and the north. If you put the two natural mountains and rivers of the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River on the map Connected, then the place in the middle is Xiangyang. Xiangyang is located in the middle of the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River. It can also be understood that the south of Xiangyang is the south and the north of Xiangyang is the north.

If we look at the entire map of China, taking the Cold War Era as an example, there are three main passages for southerners to move north or northerners to move south:

The first major passage is the Western Passage , that is, crossing the Qinling Mountains from Hanzhong to Guanzhong, or from Guanzhong to Hanzhong via the Qinling Mountains. During the cold weapon era, there were only five roads to travel in this section of the Qinling Mountains. From west to east they are: Qishan Road, Chencang Road, Baoxie Road, and Tangluo Road. Road, Ziwu Valley Road.

These five roads are very difficult to walk. You can refer to Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition in the Three Kingdoms or Gao Yingxiang's Northern Expedition in the Ming Dynasty. Zhuge Liang made five Northern Expeditions in his life and returned without success. Gao Yingxiang was killed in one Northern Expedition because the roads here are very difficult. It is difficult to move. Whether it is the cavalry in the north or the mountain soldiers and navy in the south, it is not conducive to march and fight here.

This is also the Shu Road in the traditional sense. The Shu Road is only difficult to reach the sky, which means that the road here is very difficult to walk. The mountains here are high and the valleys are deep. Most of the time, we rely on plank roads built on the cliffs. As for moving forward, once the plank road is destroyed, you have to walk through the mountains, which is very difficult. Large-scale marches generally do not go here.

The second largest channel is the eastern channel, which is the Huaihe River Basin. In addition to the Huaihe River, there are also the Yangtze River and Hongze Lake, one of the five major freshwater lakes. The area is densely covered with water networks and crisscrossed by rivers. In the cold weapon era, it was very inconvenient for large-scale marches, and a large number of boats were used. Northerners went south. , generally speaking, there are no such ships, and when southerners go north, they can only travel to the place where the ship reaches, and then change to travel by land.

The third major passage is Xiangyang in the middle. One of the political centers of China is on the North China Plain. The northernmost part of the North China Plain is today's Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, and the southernmost part is Nanyang in Henan. The North China Plain If you continue to the south, you will reach the Nanyang Basin. The Nanyang Basin is an important passage from the Central Plains to the Jianghan Plain, and the south of the Nanyang Basin is Xiangyang.

The best way to go south from the traditional Central Plains area to the Jianghan Plain is to reach Xiangyang via the Nanyang Basin, then cross the Han River and enter the Jianghan Plain and the Yangtze River Basin. Let’s call this road Nanxiang Corridor, there are mountains on both sides of the Nanxiang Corridor. This southward route looks like a corridor, connecting the Jianghan Plain and the North China Plain, and Xiangyang is the most important node on the Nanxiang Corridor.

From the North China Plain, there is not only the Nan (Nanyang) Xiang (Xiangyang) Corridor, but there are other ways to go, but you need to go over mountains and ridges. Only the Nan Xiang Corridor is the best, and you can pass the cavalry. , infantry, and baggage. To the west of the Nanxiang Corridor is the Qinling Mountains, to the northwest are Tongguan and Wuguan, to the southwest are Jingshan and Wudang Mountains, to the east are Tongbai Mountain and Dahong Mountain, and to the east are the Dabie Mountains. The Nanxiang Corridor is actually a A narrow corridor between two large mountains, where Xiangyang is located is an important pass of the Nanxiang Corridor.

Looking at Xiangyang from the map of China as a whole, the center of the map of China is Hubei Province. Xiangyang is located a little west of the northernmost part of Hubei Province. It is an important transportation artery connecting Henan Province and the North China Plain. Looking at the entire map of China, Xiangyang is located a little above the heart. Since ancient times, Xiangyang has been said to be a thoroughfare for the south and north, which means that Xiangyang is the junction of the north and the south, and is a strategic location extending in all directions. The land, and Xiangyang City has been said to be the first city in China since ancient times.

The history of Xiangyang truly becoming a transportation artery in Chinese history began in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. After Cao Cao unified the entire north, he chose the strategy of attacking Xiangyang occupied by Liu Biao from the Central Plains via the Nanyang Basin. The reason for this is that Xiangyang is the best passage from the north to the Jianghan Plain and the Yangtze River Basin, suitable for large-scale cavalry and infantry battles. Cao Cao did not have the time and energy to train the navy for a long time, so he chose to attack Xiangyang. .

As a result, Liu Biao died, and his son Liu Cong came to the throne and surrendered to Cao Cao. Then Cao Cao effortlessly occupied Xiangyang and the entire Jingzhou. Although Cao Cao was defeated in the Battle of Chibi, the entire Jingzhou territory south of Xiangyang was defeated. All were taken away by Sun Quan and Liu Bei, but Cao Cao firmly grasped the strategic points of Xiangyang and Fancheng, because Cao Cao knew that Xiangyang was the key to his unification of the world. If Cao Cao still wants to unify the world, he must control Xiangyang and march from Xiangyang in the future to defeat the southern forces.

The most famous battle about Xiangyang in the late Eastern Han Dynasty was the Northern Expedition to Xiangfan launched by Guan Yu in 219 AD. In this battle, Guan Yu used the troops from the three counties of Jingzhou to make the northern expedition and quickly defeated the southern generals Cao Ren and Xiangyang. The prefect Lu Chang and the prefect Man Chong of Runan trapped Cao Ren, Lu Chang and Man Chong in the city to hold on. Then Guan Yu took advantage of the surge in the Han River to capture Yu Jin and the Seventh Army, and killed Pang De, which shocked China for a while. .

But throughout the Battle of Xiangfan, although Guan Yu surrounded Xiangyang and Fancheng, he was unable to capture the city because Xiangyang and Fancheng were too difficult to defeat. First, the city was strong, second, it was surrounded by the Han River, and third, Cao Wei Guan Yu is strong and weak. Guan Yu failed to capture Xiangyang and Fancheng even if he attacked from south to north. If he attacks from north to south, it will be even more difficult.

Why did Guan Yu want to expedition to Xiangfan?

Because Guan Yu wanted to open the door to the Central Plains, as long as he captured Xiangfan and then further captured Nanyang (then Wancheng), he could directly enter the North China Plain from the Nanyang Basin. The North China Plain was without danger. Defended, Pingchuan is covered. Cao Wei's core cities of Xuchang, Luoyang, and Yecheng are all in the North China Plain. If Guan Yu wants to enter the Central Plains, the most important thing is to capture Xiangfan. This is also Longzhong's strategy against Zhuge Liang, and it is also the Shu Han's plan to unify the world. strategy.

If you want to unify the world, you must capture Xiangyang, because the northern expedition from Hanzhong to Guanzhong is too difficult. Liu Bang was able to succeed not only because of the situation in the world, but also because of luck and geography. But Liu Bei did not have this luck, so if Liu Bei's group wanted to make a northern expedition to the Central Plains and revive the Han Dynasty, the best way was to make a northern expedition from Xiangfan, so the importance of Xiangyang was reflected.

The ancient Xiangfan included Xiangyang City on the south bank of the Han River and Fan City on the north bank of the Han River. These two cities were horns of each other and echoed each other from a distance. They were difficult to capture. Take a look at the period between Mongolia and the Southern Song Dynasty from 1267 to 1273 AD. You will understand from the Battle of Xiangyang between the two. The Mongolian army attacked Xiangyang City and fought for six years. In the end, the Mongols borrowed Arab cannons and the Southern Song Dynasty had no reinforcements, so they were able to defeat Xiangyang City.

The strategy adopted by Mongolia at that time was to capture Xiangyang, then enter the Yangtze River along the Han River, advance from the Yangtze River to the east by land and water, and finally attack Lin'an (now Hangzhou), the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. If they could not capture Xiangyang, they would There was no way to enter the Yangtze River, so Xiangyang was the most important battle for the Mongols to attack the Southern Song Dynasty. The Southern Song Dynasty put up a desperate resistance here, but because the powerful Prime Minister Jia Sidao was in power, the will to resist was not strong, and he secretly colluded with the Mongols, which led to reinforcements on the Xiangyang front line. Insufficient, coupled with the continuous surrender of Southern Song generals, eventually led to the fall of Xiangyang.

Only 2 years after the fall of Xiangyang City, the Mongolian army captured Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the Southern Song Dynasty was destroyed. It can be seen that for the southern regime, once Xiangyang is lost, the southern regime will not be able to maintain power, regardless of its The capital cannot be saved in Nanjing or Hangzhou, so the success or failure of Xiangyang City is related to the life and death of the entire regime.

If the north and south of China are a unified political power, then the convenience of Xiangyang City only lies in transportation and exchanges. If the north and south are in separate regimes, then Xiangyang City is related to the strategy of the system. The Three Kingdoms in Chinese history , Eastern Jin Dynasty, Sixteen Kingdoms, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Southern Song Dynasty and other non-unification periods, Xiangyang City was an important existence, related to the important task of the north and south competing for the world. This is why Xiangyang is called the first city in the world.