As we all know, in addition to being a key cultural relics protection unit in China and a world cultural heritage, the Great Wall is also the largest military project in ancient China. It takes the city wall as the main body, and combines with a large number of cities, barriers, pavilions, and standards to form a complete set of defense systems. However, after a detailed tour of the Great Wall, some tourists will find that the average height of the Great Wall is only 7.8 meters. Some tourists can't help but ask: "At such a height, what can the Great Wall defend against?" Xiaobian will introduce the role of the Great Wall today.
When everyone talks about the Great Wall, they always think of Qin Shi Huang, and it seems that Qin Shi Huang was the first builder of the Great Wall. But in fact, long before Qin Shi Huang, the six kingdoms began to build their own Great Wall. According to historical records, the history of the construction of the Great Wall can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. At that time, in order to defend against the attacks of the northern nomads, the Zhou Dynasty built a continuous row of castles "Leh" as a defense. The "City of Leh" is the earliest Great Wall in China.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, in order to compete for hegemony, the princely states built the Great Wall on the border according to their respective defensive needs. The earliest of the nations to build the Great Wall was the State of Chu, which at that time called it "Chu Fang City". After that, Qi, Han, Wei, Yan, Zhao, Qin, Zhongshan and other large and small princely states began to build the Great Wall for self-defense. Because the three kingdoms of Qin, Zhao, and Yan were close to the Xiongnu and other nomadic peoples in the north, they also built the "Great Wall of Rejecting Hu" while building the Great Wall to defend against other princes.
At the same time as Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Qi, Qin, and Yan developed, the ethnic minorities in the north, especially the Xiongnu, also became strong and flourished, and constantly plundered the northern borders of the three kingdoms of Qin, Zhao, and Yan. At this time, the State of Zhao produced a King Wuling of Zhao, who practiced Hufu riding and shooting, and drove the Xiongnu to a more remote and bitter cold land. Although the Yan kingdom was weak in the Seven Kingdoms, it could be beaten for its northern neighbor Donghu. Qin Kai, the general of the State of Yan, led an army to break through Donghu and plundered thousands of miles. For the Qin state, the Yiqu was destroyed. After driving the nomads out of the Central Plains, these great powers built the Great Wall for defense.
By the time these nomads were recuperating and planning to re-enter the Central Plains, Qin Shi Huang had unified the world. Qin Shi Huang heard the saying that "Hu Ye the Late Qin" was heard from Fang Shi, so he ordered Meng Tian to drive the Xiongnu back to his hometown, and mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to build the Great Wall of Ten Thousand Miles, linking the Great Wall of Yuan Yan, Zhao, and Qin into one. Not only modern people, but also Tang Taizong and Kangxi have doubts about the defensive role of the Great Wall. Kangxi even said proudly: "In the past dynasty, the great construction of the Great Wall was built, and I went to Shien Khalkha, and the longer city was stronger." ”
But is the Great Wall really of little use? This is not the case. Geographically, the Great Wall of Qin is located on the 400 mm equal rainfall line, south of the Great Wall is an agricultural area suitable for farming, and north of the Great Wall is a nomadic area of bitter cold. It is precisely because of the obstruction of the Great Wall that the people in the area south of the Great Wall can live and work in peace and contentment. The northern nomads lacked food and clothing, which led to backward economic development and a primitive life of drinking blood. When they wanted to go south to plunder, they were beaten back by the powerful Central Plains Dynasty, which also forced them to develop westward. After arriving in Central Asia and Europe, this group of people can completely abuse the local countries and forces due to their strong combat effectiveness. Therefore, some Western historians believe that the Great Wall of our country harmed their ancestors.