Preface
In China's feudal historical era, the division and unification of dynasties actually formed a cyclic phenomenon to a certain extent. As the saying goes, the general trend of the world will be divided for a long time, and this is the truth.
This is also an important reason why the cycle theory and fatalism were so prevalent in ancient feudal dynasties, not to mention how absurd this view seems to people today, but throughout the thousands of years of dynasties development history in China, it seems that this kind of fatalism And circularism, has its own source of ideas.
A famous person once said: Existence is reasonable. Indeed, this kind of philosophical and mechanistic discourse does not seem to be recognized by most people.
However, the ancient mechanical materialism and metaphysical ideology had a very important and significant influence at that time, and even became the basis of public opinion for the feudal ruling class to control people's thoughts and vigorously promote ideological repressive rule.
From the point of view of maintaining the rule of the feudal dynasty and the core interests of the ruling group, this kind of thinking does have its rationality.
The success rate of the Northern Expedition is significantly lower than that of the Southern Expedition
When it comes to the union and division of dynasties, we have to come into contact with a very sensitive but unavoidable term, that is peasant uprising .
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the peasant uprising, as one of the five golden flowers of historical research, played an irreplaceable role in the progress and development of the academic world.
Of course, each era has its mainstream ideas. In an era when Marxist historiography is very popular, the history of peasant wars should be a powerful weapon for reversing the verdict of the vast majority of the people before and acknowledging their absolute role in promoting historical development. Of course, that is also historiography. The world has not been fully opened, but there is a closed expression.
With the advent of the new era, Chinese historical research has undergone tremendous changes under the promotion and influence of , European and American historical research trends. The most obvious aspects of
are the perspectives, ideas and methods of historical research. There has been unprecedented innovation and development. Naturally, the history of peasant wars has rarely appeared, but it still plays an important role in the transformation of the ancient dynasties. There is a phenomenon in
, that is, the victory rate of expeditions from south to north is often lower than that of expeditions from the south. This phenomenon is definitely not accidental, which is closely related to the transfer of grain and grass and the geographical terrain.
The Northern ArmyThe Southern Expedition is easier to obtain supplies
Then you may not understand it well, The southern is richer in products, and the economic development of the south is also higher than the northern . It stands to reason that whether it is from grain output, military expenditure In terms of fundraising, it should be that the South has more advantages. Why is it easier for the Southern Army to fail in the Northern Expedition?
There is no problem with the above statement. However, abundant food and grass does not mean convenient transportation. We can understand it this way. When the Southern Army was on the northern expedition, it was necessary to send troops with food and grass. Get supplements.
This makes the northern expedition more difficult. On the contrary, when the northern army is expedition to the south, due to the rich grain and forage economy in the south, the supply of the northern army is more convenient and quicker. In contrast, the advantage is more prominent.
Powerful military power is the most fundamental guarantee of victory
Since ancient times, military operations have always been an important catalyst for the replacement of dynasties, not only in the interior of the Central Plains dynasty in ancient China, but also in the relationship between the Han and the minority regimes. It also occurs frequently.
China has a vast land and abundant resources, which made the ancients, who were underdeveloped in science and technology and whose human abilities were quite limited, had to choose to compromise with nature both mentally and physically.
No matter how powerful the political means, if it lacks a necessary or even a strong military foundation, as a blessing, then this can only be regarded as a fox and a tiger.
After all, military power is the strength that can be seen and touched, which plays a vital role in escorting the stability of a dynasty's regime.
Therefore, whether it is a northern expedition or a southern expedition, the two military combat modes in different directions are, in the final analysis, aimed at improving the status and strength of the feudal ruling group and meeting political needs.
Fighting from north to south is called going south, while fighting from south to north is called northern expedition. South and northern expeditions are actually two different concepts in the history of ancient Chinese warfare. Although they are both important stages and modes of feudal warfare, they have encountered The results, especially the difference in the odds of winning and losing, are very obvious.
Evaluation
Generally speaking, the winning rate of the southward expedition is higher than that of the northern expedition, and most feudal unified dynasties were gradually established from north to south. This is inseparable from the ancient Chinese natural geography and military elements. Compared with the moderate terrain, the north provides a more stable strategic environment for military operations.
At the same time, as an important supporting element of the army's long-term and cross-regional operations, grain and forage transshipment will naturally play a positive or negative role due to the completely different natural environments between the north and the south.
, coupled with the traditional dynastic political center, is deeply rooted in the northern region, which will inevitably provide a more "righteous" political impetus for the northern army to expedition south.
References: "Historical Records"
