In 272 BC, the Qin general Bai Qi attacked the State of Chu and occupied the city of Wancheng in southern Henan, and king Zhao of Qin placed Nanyang Commandery (南陽郡). During the Western Han Dynasty, Nanyang County administered 36 counties and was one of the five major cities in the country.
In June 25 AD, Liu Xiu restored the Han Dynasty and Jianyuan Jianwu. His hometown of Nanyang County was upgraded to Nandu, with 37 counties, the largest county in the world, and was revered as an imperial township.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms, this place changed hands several times, and most of the owners who received the "real estate certificate" of the county ended in tragedy, what caused the "Nanyang Curse"?
Above_ Nine counties of Jingzhou, Nanyang County is located above the map
Explore Namyang County
At the end of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo was in charge, the situation was turbulent, and Nanyang County could not stay out of the matter. In the first year of Chuping (190 AD), Sun Jian rebelled against Dong Zhuo passing through Nanyang, lured Taishou Zhang Zhi to a banquet, and beheaded him privately in the name of "no road and no military assets". "The county is shaken, and everything is not sought", Sun Jian took control of Nanyang County. At this time, Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo were divided over the production of the deposed emperor, and "shu also feared the calamity of Zhuo and went out to Nanyang". Sun Jian took Nanyang as a "surrender form" and attached himself to Yuan Shu. Only two years later, he was killed in battle with Liu Biao.
According to the "Strategy" compiled by the Eastern Jin Dynasty historian Sima Biao, "Liu Biao was originally Jingzhou Ye, Jiangnan Zong Thief Sheng, Yuan Shutun Luyang, and all the people of Nanyang. It can be seen that Yuan Shu has made a lot of profits in Nanyang County. In the third year of Chuping (192 AD), Yuan Shu gathered his main forces and fought against Yuan Shao and Cao Cao at Fengqiu, but suffered a major defeat and was forced to flee to Jiujiang.
After Yuan Shu fled in defeat, Liu Biao transferred Nanyang to his name. In the first year of Jian'an (196), the Hun general Zhang Ji was shot dead by Liu Biao's army due to a shortage of food in his army, and led troops into Jingzhou, where he fought fiercely at Yongcheng. His nephew Zhang Xiu succeeded him as the leading elder brother of Liangzhou Bing. Liu Biao adopted a gentle strategy, beckoned Zhang Xiu, and garrisoned Wancheng. In the "Battle of Wancheng", Zhang Xiu defeated Cao Cao. The following year, Zhang Xiu surrendered to Cao Cao under the persuasion of Jia Xu.
Above_Zhang Embroidery(?) –207), a native of Wuwei Zuli (present-day Jingyuan, Gansu).
After Zhang Xiu surrendered to Cao, Liu Bei came to prominence in Nanyang. In the fifth year of Jian'an (200 AD), Liu Bei, at the time of the Battle of Yuan Cao's Guandu, established himself in Nanyang and harassed Xu Du. The following year, Cao Cao, who had defeated Yuan Shao, withdrew and beat Liu Bei, who had to defect to Liu Biao. Liu Biao placed him in Xinye as a barrier against Cao Cao.
In the seventh year of Jian'an (202 AD), Liu Bei took advantage of Cao Cao's busy efforts to suppress the remnants of Yuan forces and once again attacked Nanyang, at one point reaching Ye County, a stone's throw away from Xuchang. Cao Cao organized a counterattack led by Xiahou Huan, and Liu Bei showed weakness and retreated, defeating Cao's army at Bowangpo. After that, Cao Cao and Liu Biao repeatedly pulled in Nanyang. In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208 AD), Nanyang Commandery was placed in Cao Cao's sphere of influence, and the competition for it came to an end.
Liu Bei (161 – 10 June 223)
Economic advantage
From Zhang Zhi to Cao Cao, the turnover rate in Nanyang County was surprisingly high. The reason is that the developed economy of Nanyang has made all parties covetous. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, The Biography of Yuan Shu, frankly said: "Nanyang has millions of household registrations. "In the fifth year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (140 AD), the total population of Nanyang County reached 2.43 million, which was equivalent to the population of Youzhou in the Thirteen Thorns Department. At that time, the total population of the Eastern Han Dynasty was 49.15 million, of which the population of Nanyang County accounted for 4.94% of the total.
In ancient times, Confucianism was advocated, and under its influence, society generally emphasized agriculture and suppressed commerce, and agriculture-oriented became the mainstream consensus. Agriculture, land, and population were the three elements of the ancient economy. Farmers engaged in agricultural farming, harvesting considerable grain, the government bound large numbers of people through land, and society received huge taxes through agricultural taxes. Nanyang County, as the most populous county in the Eastern Han Dynasty, is known as the "granary of Zhongzhou", and its economic strength should not be underestimated.
Above_Map of the Thirteen States of the Eastern Han Dynasty
Geographical advantage
Nanyang County is located in the Nanyang Basin, with a total area of about 36,600 square kilometers, it is east of Bangtongbai Mountain, west of Qinling, north of Pillow Funiu Mountain, south of Daba Mountain. The Nanyang Basin has a humid monsoon climate with four distinct seasons, plenty of sunshine and abundant rainfall. The main local rivers are Han River, Dan River, Tang River, Bai River, Huai River, Turbulence River, etc., more than 10 rivers of more than 100 kilometers, and many rivers, laying a good foundation for agricultural production.
From the overall point of view, the Nanyang Basin connects the Guanzhong Plain in the northwest, the Chengdu Plain in the southwest, the Central Plain in the northeast, then into the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the Jianghan Plain in the southeast, and then directly to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. These four regions are all economically developed areas in ancient times, and the Nanyang Basin is among them, which can be called the "Central Great Plain", and its importance is obvious. During the Three Kingdoms period, Nanyang, whether it was Jingzhou or Xuchang, played the role of a strategic barrier.
Cao Cao (155–220)
Transportation advantages
Nanyang has superior water and land transportation advantages. The Nanxiang Pass, which runs from Nanyang through the Tangbai River Valley to Xiangyang, is connected to Xiangyang, Jingmen, Jingzhou, etc., forming the most important Jingxiang Ancient Road connecting the north and south in ancient times. During the Qin Dynasty, the official expansion of this road into a chi road, with this as the backbone, constituted a transportation network in all directions.
From the Jingxiang Ancient Road to the south, it can not only peek into the lake, but also control the waterways of the Yangtze River and the Han River, which has important strategic value. In addition, through the Nanxiang Pass, out of the Zao corridor, into the Yangtze River. During the Yin Shang Dynasty, Emperor Wuding of Shang Conquered Jianghan through this passage and built Panlong City (present-day Huangpi, Wuhan, Hubei), which became the southernmost territory of the Shang Dynasty.
The Nanxiang Pass Road leaves Luyang in the east, takes the "Three Crow Road", and drives directly to Luoyang, which the ancients called "the shortcut to Luoluo". Nanyang passed through Pingdingshan and reached Xuchang, a distance of only 200 kilometers, for which Cao Cao's struggle for Nanyang was actually to seize control of the Nanxiang Pass and eliminate Liu Biao's military threat to Xuchang.
Above_Topography of NanxiangJiadao Road
From Nanyang through Wuguan, through Funiu Mountain, over Shangluo, over the Qinling Mountains, to Lantian, Shaanxi. Lantian is only fifty kilometers away from Chang'an. Chu and Han fought, Liu Bang avoided the real attack, and with the help of the Nanxiang Pass and the LanWu Dao, took the lead in entering Guanzhong, accepted the surrender of the Prince of Qin, and achieved the moral high ground. Because of this, there is a saying in history that "the road to the south and the east to move, into the blue field and the right danger".
In terms of waterway transportation, Nanyang County radiates the Tang River, Bai River, Danshui, Huaishui, Turbulence River, Rolling River and other rivers, which belong to the Han River system, in which ships go south down the Tang River and the White River, enter the Han River, pass through Xiangyang, and enter the Yangtze River from Jingzhou. The close connection between water and land transportation has strengthened the interdependence between the Jianghan Plain and the Nanyang Basin.
Zhuge Liang (181-234), character Kong Ming
Talent advantage
Zhuge Liang's account in the "Table of Renunciation": "The subject is clothed and cultivates in Nanyang. "Nanyang Wuhua Tianbao, the people are brilliant, and a large number of outstanding talents have emerged. The Shu state had Zhuge Liang, Deng Zhi, Li Yan, Dong Que, Guo Youzhi and other strategists and capable ministers, and Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Fu Wei, Fu You, and other outstanding representatives of military forces. In the State of Wei, there were professional talents such as Xu You, Lou Gui, and Han Ji, Deng Ai, Wen Ping, and Zhou Tai who had distinguished themselves in battle, Wu Guowen with Zhao Zhi, Xie Jing, Li Su, and others, and Wu with Gan Ning. Among the forces of the Three Kingdoms, there are nanyang people.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Nanyang County's good social outlook and strong economic strength built a talent highland at that time. In the face of the chaotic world, all the talents of Nanyang resolutely threw themselves into the torrent of the times and did their best to display their talents for the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu. It can be said that the wonderful splendor of the Three Kingdoms is to a certain extent a historical drama dominated by the Nanyang people.
In summary, Nanyang County itself has advantages in geography and transportation, and at the same time, it is treated favorably by the officials of the Eastern Han Dynasty. On the basis of innate incubation, Nanyang's economy, talents and other acquired resources have gradually emerged. Influenced by geopolitics at the end of the Han Dynasty, the competition for interests was the root cause of the emergence of the "Nanyang Curse". Cao Cao was strong in strength, judged the hour and sized up the situation, repeatedly defeated strong enemies, and finally cracked the "Nanyang Curse" and became the final winner.
Text: Count white as black
Reference: "Three Kingdoms"
The text was created by the History University Hall team, and the picture originated from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author