Text: Qin on ancient history
Reopening the long scrolls of history, we will find that for a time, there were two hegemons in this world at the same time: one was the Han Dynasty of China, which was the hegemon of the East; the other was the Roman Empire, the hegemon of the West. Due to geographical separation, the two sides did not clash, but in the face of such a coincidental time, it always makes people wonder: What would it be like if these two great powers clashed?
Let's first briefly analyze the comprehensive strength of the two countries.
The pinnacle of the Han Dynasty
During the Han Dynasty in China, after the Wenzhi martial arts of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the comprehensive national strength of the Han Dynasty was pushed to the peak, and the Zhongxing of the Guangwu Emperor made the Han Empire become the hegemon of the East again.
At the same time, the Roman Empire became the hegemon of the West under the conquest of Julius Caesar and Octavian Augustus. And during the reign of the Five Sages, the Roman Empire became a world superpower.
Territory of the Roman Empire
If two countries at the same time were at war at the same time, who would win and who would lose? The answer to this question is impossible for us to know, after all, such a history has never happened, and I can only share my personal opinion. Personally, I still think that China's Han Dynasty will win, and the eight reasons I have analyzed are as follows:
First: In terms of land area, the Han Dynasty had a land area of about 6.09 million square kilometers in 2 AD, and Rome had about 5 million square kilometers in 117 AD. In the ancient agricultural society, the princes would all be enthusiastic about land, and the land represented a large population, grain, mineral resources, and strong economic strength. Large populations, abundant food, rich mineral resources, and strong economic power were necessary conditions for victory in the war, and in this respect, the Roman Empire was defeated by China.
Second: in terms of weapons. Rome still stayed in the stage of using primitive tools, not to mention the stone they used, only the swords produced in bronze, the short swords were mainly short swords, draped in plate armor and leather armor, and the army composition was almost pure infantry; and the soldiers of the Han Dynasty, full-body armor and long swords, bows, crossbows, and siege equipment were readily available. The most famous is the cavalry, according to historical records: in the second year of the Han Wu Emperor Yuan Hunt, Li Guang encountered the Xiongnu siege of the battle, Li Guang's son Li Gan, led dozens of sudden horsemen, straight through the Xiongnu position, and destroyed the xiongnu's vigor.
The weapons of the Chinese soldiers were long swords and iron tools; and the weapons of the Roman soldiers were short swords or bronzes, and I am afraid that if the two clashed, the long swords would hurt the short swords. In terms of armor, Rome is also slightly inferior. The most important thing is that due to the development of China's metallurgical technology, it is far superior to Rome in weapons manufacturing, and the materials are different, how can it be compared? What's more, the Han Dynasty at that time had already invented long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows, and Rome was still a long gun. So in terms of weapons, China defeated Rome.
Third: on the tactical side. China is an ancient country with cultural heritage, "soldiers are not expensive and expensive", fighting in China pays attention to the art of war, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, there were a large number of books on the art of war circulated: "Liutao", "Sun Bing's Art of War" and "Wuzi" and so on, fighting a war is not a contest in the number of double hairs, but a tactical contest. In the ancient Roman period, there was almost no tactics to speak of except for the micro-tactics of infantry phalanxes, if China and Rome exchanged swords, the Chinese army used the "Art of War" of Sun Tzu" "The impermanence of soldiers, the impermanence of water", "the good defender, hiding under the nine lands, the good attacker, moving above the nine heavens, so it can protect itself and win all victories." "Can show that it can't, use it and show it without using it." "And so on, simple tactics, it is estimated that the Roman army will be able to turn around. And from the perspective of the classic war in the history of the two sides, Han Xin's ten-sided ambush is a model of the large army of the regular army; Zhou Yafu's battle to quell the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms is deceitful; Xiang Yu's Battle of Pengcheng is a classic of cavalry surprise attacks to win more with less, and Rome's classic battle of teutonic fort forest is also nothing outstanding in our view. In this way, in terms of tactics, China has another point.
Fourth: on politics. The Roman Empire was still a slave state at that time, and the Han Dynasty in the Chinese period was already a unified dynasty and a feudal state. From a socio-ideological point of view, China has led Rome. You may not feel such a contrast, but if you think about how China, which was in a feudal society, was bullied by capitalist countries at a higher social level. Politics is a prerequisite for the military, and the military serves politics. Analyzing the military at the political level is also a key factor in the outcome of a war. The mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops by the Han Dynasty was a matter of Han Tianzi's words, and it can be said that its mobilization power is no less than that of the army of a modern country. But the Roman Empire's desire to gather a national army was not a simple matter. Therefore, from a political point of view, China will win.
Slave market
Fifth: on technology. First of all, in the manufacture of weapons, China's metallurgy is far better than Rome, so in terms of weapon production and military quality, China's technology surpasses Rome. At the same time, the development of metallurgy has made China the first to give birth to gunpowder, although there is no wide range of use, but the power of gunpowder is known to everyone, no one knows. Secondly, in terms of transportation, the development of the Han Dynasty is also huge, and the formation of the "Maritime Silk Road", the Maritime Silk Road passes through more than 100 countries and regions, becoming a major maritime channel for trade exchanges and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and promoting the common development of countries along the route. To this day, the popularity of the "Silk Road" continues unabated. And then there's the birth of porcelain. In the early years, Chinese porcelain was introduced to the West, often looted, and the price in the West was even more surprising, and there was also the saying "white gold". Chinese porcelain is also an important business card for Westerners to understand China. At the same time, papermaking, one of the four major inventions, also appeared during the Han Dynasty. The emergence of papermaking has had an immeasurable impact on China and even the world. There was also the first mathematical treatise of ancient China, "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic". In the unified Han Dynasty after the emergence of the Qin Dynasty, the achievements in science and technology were immeasurable. Some technologies have a decisive influence on the outcome of wars, such as metallurgy. Major achievements in science and technology made it possible for China to win more during the Han Dynasty.
Sixth: in medicine. There were famous doctors such as Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing, and handed down the famous medical books "Qingbao Book" and "On Typhoid Fever and Miscellaneous Diseases", Chinese medicine has been relatively complete, and the principles of "anesthesia", "surgery" and "blood circulation" have been studied, which is nearly 1000 years earlier than Europe. The impact of achievements in medicine on the war was also decisive. As you can imagine, China has a well-trained medical soldier, after the soldier is injured, he has to be an experienced veteran, while the Roman medical skills are not good, and the serious injuries can only wait for death, and the training of soldiers also takes a long time. By comparison, Rome was bound to lose.
Seventh: In history. Now we all call people who are "not rich for three generations" nouveau riche, not aristocrats. A true nobleman has a heritage, and it can be called an aristocrat after more than three generations. And China is an ancient country with a history, a real aristocracy. China has a history order, faithfully record history, and China's predecessors constantly remind future generations to learn from history. The current history of Rome is a few pitifully incomplete records, pieced together, not complete. Judging from the inheritance of history, Rome will be defeated.
Hun Wars
Eighth: Extrapolate from what has happened in history. We can refer to the wars between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu attacked the Xiongnu from the north, forcing the Xiongnu to move west, and the Westward Migration of the Huns led to the collapse of the Roman Empire. Relying on this indirect analogy, we can also infer that the Han Dynasty in China was superior to rome.
Combining the above eight points, I personally believe that China, the hegemon of the East, will defeat the Roman Empire.
How many things in ancient and modern times are in the process of laughter. The Roman Empire eventually fell into the war of people's uprising and foreign invasion, but China was the only big country among the four ancient civilizations that had not been interrupted in culture, and it continued to advance in the long stream of history. Regardless of the temporary battle, China is already a winner.