Before the unification of the Mongol tribes, the tribes of the Mongolian steppe were oppressed and exploited by the rulers of the Jin Dynasty. In order to prevent the Mongols from becoming large and posing a threat to the Jin Dynasty, the Jin rulers implemented a policy of "divide and rule" on the Mongolian steppe very early on, so that the southern and northern parts of the desert were independent of each other and did not belong to each other. The Jin Dynasty also often alienated the relationship between the various tribes, so that the tribes fought against each other for many years in order to achieve their ultimate goal of controlling the Mongol tribes.
In 1146 AD, in order to suppress the rebellion of the Mongol tribes, Jin Xizong ordered that Genghis Khan's ancestor, Baba Boy Khan, be crucified on a wooden donkey in the name of the "Law on Punishing Treason", and since then the Genghis Khan family has kept this hatred in mind and regarded the Jin Dynasty as their family's feud.
But what was the reason for this when Genghis Khan unified the Mongol tribes not against the Jin Dynasty but in western Xia in the south of the Mongolian plateau? Was it simply because of fear that the Jin Dynasty would unite with the Western Xia against the Mongols?
Above_ Mongolian riding archery
First, the best training ground for the new mode of war
Growing up on horseback, Mongol armies were accustomed to galloping through steppes and deserts, but when they first began to face the towering walls of the Central Plains, they did not know how to deal with them. For the Mongol armies, the new mode of warfare— learning how to attack the city—was crucial to conquering the agrarian nations, especially the elimination of the enemy Jinguo, which occupied the heart of the Central Plains.
Like the Mongol Empire, Western Xia was founded by a warrior nomadic people. However, after nearly two hundred years of settled life, the degree of Sinicization in Western Xia was deepening, and the martial arts among the people gradually disappeared.
Above_ Western Xia Iron Harrier heavy cavalry image
Although the majesty of the ancestors is gone, the two hundred years of settled life have made the fortress city a party that was once a nomadic people. In the hundreds of years of wars with the surrounding Song, Liao, Jin and other dynasties, the Western Xia skillfully mastered a set of urban defense techniques. Being able to establish a state safely for more than two hundred years between the three great wars with the Song Dynasty and jinliao, the defensive strength of the western Xia cities can be seen.
In order to hone their siege tactics and quickly adapt themselves to this new mode of warfare, the Mongol army urgently needed a place to serve as its training ground to reduce casualties in the subsequent siege battles in the Central Plains. Therefore, when Genghis Khan looked around, the Western Xia, whose overall strength was weak but whose urban defense technology was first-class, inevitably entered his field of vision.
Above_ Map of Western Xia
Second, the need for social stability in the Mongolian plateau
In the long-term exchange with han culture, the mongolian steppe tribes became increasingly dependent on the Han region, the most typical of which was the import of edible salt from the Han regions in the Central Plains.
In ancient China, as a strategic material, the status of "salt" was extremely important, and all chinese dynasties without exception implemented a strict "salt monopoly" system. While the Mongols were dependent on the Jin Dynasty, the Mongols could obtain the edible salt that would satisfy their daily lives through commercial interactions with the Jin Dynasty. However, once the Mongols and the Jin Dynasty tore their faces, the salt merchant trade routes between Mongolia and the Jin Dynasty would inevitably be cut off, and the Mongolian plateau would inevitably face the dilemma of a shortage of edible salt.
For the less productive Mongolian plateau, it was impossible to find a local salt mine for exploitation in a short period of time, and the fastest and most effective way was to replace the Jin Dynasty's salt supply to the Mongolian plateau by the Western Xia, which had rich green salt resources.
Above_ BoerJin Temujin (31 May 1162 – 25 August 1227), also known as Genghis Khan
In the process of successive years of conquest, the Mongol ministries withered away from the hundred industries and the people's livelihood withered, not only the people's life was extremely difficult, but even the life of the upper echelons of mongolian rule was stretched, according to relevant historical records, even the wife of Genghis Khan did not have a complete set of clothes in the early days of the founding of the Mongolian state.
"Because the Mongols did not settle in any towns, and the caravans did not gather in them, clothing was very scarce among them."
- Shifeni, History of the Conquerors of the World
After the unification of the Mongol Empire, they urgently needed to find ways to expand their wealth to stabilize the lives of the people and meet the needs of the ruling class. Compared with the developed agricultural society, the only way for the nomads to quickly accumulate a large amount of wealth in a short period of time was to plunder, so the relatively weak Western Xia, which bordered Mongolia, became the first place in the Mongol Empire's plunder.
Above_ Mongolia, Jin, Western Xia, Southern Song Dynasty, Western Liao
Third, the superior strategic geographical location of Western Xia
Whether from the perspective of geographical resource location or from the perspective of geopolitical location, the geographical location of Western Xia is excellent.
There have been only two horse-producing areas in China since ancient times: one in the northeast and one in the northwest. One is the so-called Thistle North Wild, and the other is the area around the Ganliang River Loop. The horse-producing areas of northwest China were firmly controlled by the Western Xia. The capture of Western Xia could not only provide the Mongol Empire with vast pastures, but also provide an important strategic resource of a large number of excellent horses for the conquest of the Mongol Empire.
In addition to occupying an important horse-producing area in ancient China, The Western Xia also firmly grasped the Silk Road, the most important trade channel for ancient China's exchanges with other countries in the world. For the Mongol Empire, taking the Western Xia was not only equivalent to controlling the lifeblood of trade and transportation through the East and the West, but also that Mongolia could rely on the prosperous Silk Road to obtain a steady stream of wealth, which was not only more and more durable than the wealth obtained by simply relying on plunder, providing important financial and material support for the Western Expedition of the Mongol Empire's army.
Above_ (Ancient) Route Map of the Silk Roads
In addition, the territory of Western Xia was bordered by the Mongolian desert in the north, the Jin Dynasty in the east, and the Song Dynasty through the Tubo provinces in the south, and the geostrategic position was extremely dangerous.
When the Mongols took Western Xia, the Mongol army could bypass the Tongguan Pass of the Jin Dynasty's heavy troops through the "Great Detour Strategy", and through the Song Dynasty's neighbor Tubo tribes, they attacked the hinterland of the Jin Dynasty from the south through the Song Dynasty.
And the Beiliang defenders are empty, the Jin Dynasty will definitely transfer troops from the neighboring Tongguan to support, and when the main force of tens of thousands of reinforcements in Tongguan arrives, it will be sleepy and lacking, so that if you take the opportunity to fight with it, you will be able to win a complete victory, and the last fresh force of the Jin Dynasty will also be destroyed, and the demise of the Jin Dynasty will be just around the corner.
"The Jin elite soldiers are in Tongguan, the south is based on the mountains, and the north is limited to the big river, which is difficult to break through." If the false Tao is to Song, Song and Jin Shiqiu will be able to promise me, then I will send down my troops To Tang and Deng and directly pound the great beams. Jin Is anxious, and will be conscripted into Tongguan. However, tens of thousands of people, thousands of miles to help, people and horses are tired, although they can fight, they will be broken. ”
- "History of the Yuan"
Above_ marked with the Location of Tongguan
The reason why the Western Xia became the first target of Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire was the result of a combination of historical conditions. Looking back at history, we will find that the western Xia's important role in the Mongol Empire in the destruction of the Jin Dynasty and the conquest of the world is irreplaceable. It was unfortunate that Western Xia became the first target of The Mongol attack, but it was ultimately a choice of history.
Author: Sherlock Correction/Editor: Lilith
Resources:
[1] The History of the Yuan Dynasty is detached
[2] "Political Gains and Losses in Chinese Dynasties" Qian Mu
[3] History of the Conquerors of the World, Shifini
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