Sentence / Kodama
Any dynasty completes the control of the empire through the transportation system, and the development of the transportation network directly determines the size of its size and the degree of control over the place, and at the same time, it can also enjoy economic dividends and complete the cultural exchange between different regions.
In 316 B.C., when Qin was discussing the issue of whether to send troops to Bashu, Sima Cuo clearly pointed out: "If you get Shu, you will get Chu, and if Chu dies, the world will be united." ”
The central meaning of Sima Cuo is one point, to control the upper reaches of the Yangtze River by taking the Shu State, and then to destroy the Chu State through the homeopathy of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. If the state of Chu is destroyed, then the world will completely become a situation of unification of the state of Qin.
This was the first time that the Qin State incorporated transportation conditions into its military plan in the process of starting a business. Of course, this is not the first initiative of the Qin State, Wu Wangfucha dug the Zhongdu water connecting the Yangtze River and the Huai River when he was fighting for hegemony in the north. King Wei Hui later also dug a gap between the Huai River and the Yellow River.
This is the awakening of the geographical consciousness of the Chinese ancestors in the process of competition, not only the consciousness of taking the initiative to use the natural mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, but also the ability to artificially transform the natural environment to serve themselves.
In order to give full play to the geographical advantages of conquering Chu by water from Shu, Qin started the construction of the Dujiangyan project in 256 BC with Li Bing, the county guard of Shu County, as the general responsibility. After the completion of the Dujiangyan project, the water transportation channel from Shu to Chu was also opened.
At the same time, Dujiangyan also solved the problems of flooding and cultivated land irrigation in Shudi, further increased the grain output in Shudi, and made Shudi a material supply base for Qin's eastward strategy.
Of course, this also made the Qin state realize the great significance of transportation to the political, military, and economic levels. Especially after Qin ate the dividends of Zheng Guoqu, he had a deeper understanding and dependence on the transportation system.
Therefore, in 221 BC, after Ying Zheng annexed the six kingdoms to dominate the world, he quickly copied the relevant experience-
In order to strengthen his control over the homeland of the six countries in the Kwantung region, the First Emperor embarked on the gallop project; in order to make the quickest response to the crisis in northern Xinjiang, the First Emperor asked Meng Tian to preside over the construction of the straight road project; in order to control Lingnan, the First Emperor not only dug the Ling Canal to open up the water transportation channel between the Central Plains and Lingnan, but also launched the new road project after conquering Baiyue, opening up the land transportation channel.
Since then, the First Emperor has completely completed the control of the entire world through the improvement of the transportation system, and no matter where there is a crisis, the Xianyang court can make the fastest response through the perfect transportation system.
The county system, the Qin army, and the transportation system became several powerful weapons for the first emperor to control the empire.
At the same time, the improvement of the transportation system has also strengthened the cultural and economic exchanges between various places, and further promoted the formation of the Chinese national community.
Of course, the death of Great Qin II is a complex proposition, and we cannot deny that the First Emperor's transportation strategy was problematic. The subsequent Han Dynasty was able to firmly control the four directions of the world and solve the problem of South Vietnam during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, which had a lot to do with the transportation system built by the First Emperor.
Since then, with the development of history, transportation has always been a good way for dynasties to solve military, economic and cultural problems, such as: Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty connected the shipping channel between Suzhou and Jiaxing, and Cao Cao dug through the Licao Canal that diverted water from Zhangshui into Baigou...
In essence, the reason why Soochow was able to maintain the pattern of confrontation with Cao Wei in the north and south was that it effectively managed the defense line of the Yangtze River, not only built a series of military towns along the Yangtze River, but also developed tuntian in the Jianghuai area at the same time, and vigorously developed shipbuilding, so that water transportation became a solid defense line for Soochow to defend the north.
In addition, Soochow also made efforts at the maritime level to further expand its living space, for example, through maritime transportation to open up the connection with the Liaodong Gongsun forces.
Sun Quan was the first separatist force to claim the title of emperor in Jiangnan, and his use of the water transportation system also provided a set of templates for later generations to divide Jiangnan.
Sun Quan laid the template for separating Jiangnan Source/Stills
Later, the Southern Dynasties represented by the Eastern Jin Dynasty maintained the confrontation pattern with the north and carried out the Northern Expedition, all thanks to the rational management of the Yangtze River defense line.
However, due to the gap in the transportation system between the north and the south, the pattern of confrontation between the north and the south continues to be extended. The task of solving this historical problem ultimately fell on Emperor Yang of Sui.
In the first month of the ninth year of the emperor's reign (589), the Sui army defeated Nanchen and dominated the world. However, due to the long-term division, the inertia of confrontation has been formed between the north and the south, and the differences in culture and economy will also make the southerners naturally disagree with the north, and the unstable gene still exists, just like Qin Shi Huang annexed the six countries, but the nobles and people of the six countries did not forget their homeland.
By the tenth year of Kaihuang (590), this instability finally manifested itself in a large-scale rebellion in Jiangnan. Although Emperor Wen of Sui successfully quelled the rebellion with Yang Su, the seeds of instability still took root in the shadows. The best way to solve this historical problem is to copy the plan of Qin Shi Huang, start from the transportation level, build a land and water transportation system, strengthen the control of the imperial court over the south, accelerate the integration between the north and the south, and finally form a pattern of a game of chess under heaven.
Emperor Wen of Sui excavated the Guangtong Canal, which stretched from Chang'an in the west to the Yellow River in the east, which was the beginning of solving this problem from the level of water transportation.
On March 21, the first year of the Great Cause (605), Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty issued an edict to levy more than 1 million people in Henan and Huaibei to dig a Tongji Canal with a total length of more than 650 kilometers connecting the Yellow River and the Huai River, and completed it on August 15 of that year.
The 150-kilometer-long ditch connecting the Yangtze River and the Huai River was also completed simultaneously with the Tongji Canal.
On the first day of the first month of the fourth year of the Great Cause (608), Yang Guang issued another edict to levy more than 100,000 men and women from Hebei counties to dig the Yongji Canal with a total length of 1,000 kilometers to communicate the two major water systems of the Yellow River and the Haihe River. It will be completed in about a year.
In the sixth year of Daye (610), the Jiangnan River, which connects the Yangtze River and the Qiantang River with a total length of 400 kilometers, was also started and soon completed.
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty spent six years digging a Grand Canal with more than 2 million meters of water systems running from Yuhang (now Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province) in the south, Jiangdu (now Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province), and Zhuo County (now Beijing City) in the north to connect the five major water systems of the Qiantang River, the Yangtze River, the Huai River, the Yellow River and the Haihe River through the north and south, connecting the geographical sections of Guanzhong, Jiangnan, Guandong and Northeast China, forming a pattern with Luoyang as the center to control the Quartet.
Through the Grand Canal, the Sui Dynasty's control over Kwantung and Jiangnan was further strengthened, and it provided a military channel for transporting troops and grain to solve the Goguryeo problem in the later period.
In other words, the Grand Canal is a supporting facility for the unification of the Sui Dynasty, and the significance of the Chi Road system to Daqin is the same.
At the same time, as the economic center gradually shifted southward, the Guanzhong region could not supply Chang'an, which was the national capital, so the Grand Canal would continue to transport goods from the south to the north to maintain the operation of the empire.
Of course, strengthening cultural exchanges between the North and the South is also one of the functions of the Grand Canal.
After the opening of the canal, Yang Guang further deterred the southern clan forces by cruising the south of the Yangtze River, and strengthened the cultural exchanges between the north and the south through cultural export.
Every action is in the service of politics, so don't say that Yang Guang went to Jiangnan to play.
Like the fall of the Great Qin, the fall of the Sui Dynasty was also a big proposition, and the reasons were complex, but the excessive pursuit of efficiency by the First Emperor and Yang Guang and the simultaneous launch of a number of major projects were definitely the catalyst.
According to statistics, the population of the Sui Dynasty was about 46 million, but Yang Guang completed 22 large-scale projects from the fourth year of Renshou (604) to the eighth year of Daye (612), mobilizing 30.12 million people.
Water can carry boats and capsize boats, these large-scale projects have achieved Yang Guang's achievements, but they also led to the demise of the Great Sui.
Yang Guang is still too anxious Source/Stills
It's just that these projects have made the Tang Dynasty in reverse, and the wealth of Jiangnan has been continuously transported to Guanzhong through the canal, supporting the Tang Empire. The reason why Datang was able to quell the Anshi Rebellion was because of the continuous support of Jiangnan's wealth.
Of course, the demise of the Tang Dynasty is also related to the blockage of the canal system. The prosperity and the end of the world are closely related to the fate of the canal.
In the fifth dynasty, in order to build Bianliang City into a trade and logistics center at that time, Zhou Shizong Chai Rong carried out dredging work on the Bianhe River in October of the second year of Xiande (955). In May of the fourth year of Xiande (957), Chai Rong ordered the construction of the Wuzhang River, which connects Henan and Shandong.
The reason why the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty took Bianliang as the national capital was because the canal was able to continuously transfuse blood to Bianliang through the Bianhe River to support the Jingshi.
However, the canal not only made the Northern Song Dynasty successful, but also accelerated the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty. Because Kaifeng has no danger to defend, so it is very easy to cause the nomads to cross the Yellow River to threaten the dangerous situation of the Beijing Division, in 1004 A.D. Khitan attack on the Northern Song Dynasty, the army is the beginning, later, the Jin army to destroy the Song Dynasty is also across the Yellow River horse to step on the Central Plains.
Because the Southern Song Dynasty lost the land in the north and had limited income, it opened up maritime trade, which also made a lot of money.
In 1279, Kublai Khan completely destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, blending the north and the south, and ending another period of history in the history of the north and south dynasties. Like the Sui Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty faced the same problems: how to strengthen its control over the south, how to transport the wealth of the south to the north to support the capital, and how to strengthen economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south.
The solution can only be broken through at the level of transportation. As a result, there is the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which has a total length of more than 3,500 miles and runs through the five major water systems of the Haihe River, the Yellow River, the Huai River, the Yangtze River and the Qiantang River. Since then, the grain from the south of the Yangtze River can be transported from Hangzhou to Dadu by water, which is more than 1,800 miles shorter than the Sui-Tang Grand Canal that bypasses Luoyang, and connects the north and the south more efficiently.
Kublai Khan also communicated the north and south through the Grand Canal Source/Stills
Of course, this is also because the location of the national capitals of the Sui Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty is different, and at the same time, the Sui Dynasty also needs canals to cover Guanzhong, Guandong, Jiangnan, and Liaodong at the same time, and the situation is different.
At the same time, the Yuan Dynasty also built the most complete post station system to strengthen its control over the empire.
Of course, the reason why the Yuan Dynasty was unable to maintain the operation of the Mongol Empire was also because of the limited transportation conditions, which made it unable to control the Golden Horde and other peripheral forces outside the Central Plains.
The Yuan Dynasty's contributions to water and land transportation directly strengthened the model of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties to unify the empire, and also stabilized Beijing's status as the capital.
Since ancient times, the fate of dynasties has been closely related to the canal, and transportation has determined the upper limit of the development of successive dynasties.
Therefore, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads, and this saying is not outdated in any era.
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