Shangqiu City, Henan Province, whose core area was called Suiyang in ancient times, is a famous historical and cultural city. As early as the 24th century BC, Zhuanxu was built in Shangqiu. From then on, Shangqiu was also known as the capital of the Shang Dynasty, Zhou Dynasty vassal state Song Dynasty’s capital.
However, the ancient city of Shangqiu had a decisive influence on the suppression of the rebellion in the Han and Tang dynasties. In the battle between the Han army to suppress , the Wu Chu Seven Kingdoms Rebellion and the Tang army to suppress Anshi Rebellion, the army loyal to the imperial court held the city here and dragged down the rebel forces and became the main force of the Han and Tang empires. Countering the rebels gained time.
So, how important is Shangqiu City, Henan Province, so that it has become the imperial army that must stubbornly hold fast, and the rebels must conquer the battlefield, and bring a decisive influence for the suppression of the rebellion in the Han and Tang dynasties?
Picture above_ The location of Shangqiu
Geographical view of Shangqiu from 116 degrees east of latitude to 49 minutes from 1sp114 Between 34 degrees and 52 minutes. Shangqiu looks east to the "Five Provinces Thoroughfare", Xuzhou, an important city contended by ancient military strategists, and is adjacent to the ancient capital Kaifeng to the west. It is worth mentioning that the core area of Shangqiu- Suiyang District is located in the Huai River Basin, close to the Yellow River. Most of Shangqiu's terrain is the Yellow River floodplain. In ancient Chinese military operations, cities located on plains and close to large rivers were the preferred targets of enemy attacks. As long as the enemy forces occupy Shangqiu, they can move westward along the Yellow River, relying on the favorable terrain of the Yellow River to flood the plains to occupy Kaifeng, Luoyang, and Sanmenxia.And cross the Yellow River east to take the Guanzhong Plain and occupy Chang'an.
Because Shangqiu's geographical location is very important, this seemingly unremarkable ancient city has become a battleground for military strategists in the past. Shangqiu's gains and losses often have a decisive impact on the outcome of a war.
Below, we will take a look at the decisive influence of Shangqiu on the imperial army's counter-insurgency by combining the battle layout between the imperial army and the rebels in the Wu Chu Seven Kingdoms Rebellion and the Anshi Rebellion.
Picture above_ The Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms
Shangqiu and Han and Tang dying rebellion _strong pstrong pstrong
The main battlefield of combat. In the battle of the Han army to quell the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, Shangqiu became an important hub for contention between the enemy and ours.For the Wu Chu rebels, the city of Shangqiu must be defeated. Because the Wu Chu rebels launched military attacks along the Huai River, and Shangqiu is an important hub city at the confluence of the Huai River and the Yellow River. Taking down Shangqiu and capturing or killing Liu Wu alive, the Wu Chu rebels could not only move westward along the Yellow River to take Chang'an, but also deal a devastating blow to Emperor Han Jing politically. Therefore, Liangguo , where Shangqiu is located, became the primary target of the rebels' offensive.
above _ Zhou Yafu (from 199 years to 143 years)
span1The city of Shangqiu must be preserved. The reasons are as follows:
First of all, Shangqiu is a "hub city" and "magnet city" in the battle plan of the Han army. Because the Han army was unfavorable in the first battle in the operation to quell the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, the Han army was in The military fell into a passive position. In order to give the main force of the Han army led by Zhou Yafu time to counter the rebels, 梁王 Liu Wu's army must guard Shangqiu at all costs, the longer the better. As a result, the longer Liu Wu's troops held the main rebels in Shangqiu, Zhou Yafu and other generals led the army to avoid the actual attack and attack the granary behind the rebels, cutting off the rebels’ food passages, and then defeating the rebels. If Shangqiu falls, the Han army commanded by Zhou Yafu will have to face off against the main force of the rebels, the time for countering the rebellion will be greatly extended, and the entire Han army's operational deployment to quell the rebellion will be disrupted.
Secondly, Shangqiu is an important city at the confluence of the Huai River and the Yellow River. When the rebels stormed Shangqiu, King Wu Liu Bi had already called himself "Emperor of the East" in Luoyang and established a puppet government. The rebellion was quite arrogant. Once Shangqiu falls, the military defenses of the Han army in the Central Plains will collapse across the board. The rebels under the command of Wu Wang Liu Bi are likely to pursue victory and attack and occupy Chang'an along the Yellow River.
Above _ Liu Qi (188 BC-141 BC), that is, Emperor Jing of the Han
Finally, Shangqiu is the capital of Liang State, and Liu Wu, the king of Liang State The younger brother of the emperor Han Jing was the most loyal vassal king. Once Shangqiu fell, Liu Wu was captured or killed, which was a heavy blow to Emperor Han Jing himself in a political sense. What is even more frightening is that once Shangqiu falls and Liang is defeated, other vassal states in the Han Dynasty are likely to fall to the rebels, and the battle will be even more unfavorable for the central government led by Emperor Han Jing.
Based on the above three reasons,Although Liu Wu had many complaints about Zhou Yafu's failure to support the defense of Shangqiu, Liang Wang Liu Wu still focused on the overall situation and commanded the army to defend Shangqiu. Liang Wang Liuwu's defense battle in the Shangqiu area withstood the main force of the rebels and won precious time for the main force of the Han army under the command of Zhou Yafu to counter the rebels. In the end, Zhou Yafu led the army to cut off the grain road, and the rebels that lost the grain and grass were defeated. The rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu ended with the victory of the Han army.
Above picture_ Tang Jun
In the battle of the Tang Dynasty to quell the Anshi Rebellion, Shangqiu's gains and losses had a decisive influence on the situation of the war. The main reason for this was that the Tang _span3 spann0 army: _p7 In other words, Shangqiu is the only way to go to the Jianghuai area to the south of the Central Plains. The main land roads and waterways to the Jianghuai area pass by the Suiyang District, the core area of today's Shangqiu. The Jianghuai area was also a large granary for the wealthy in the Tang Dynasty and an important tax support area. As long as the Anshi rebels can occupy Shangqiu, the rebels can occupy the Jianghuai area along the canal, take the rich granary of the Jianghuai area, and block it. Live in the canal.
The soldiers and horses did not move the grain and grass first. Once the Jianghuai granary falls and the canal is blocked, the Tang army will become extremely passive in countering the rebels. Therefore, Shangqiu has become a city that the Tang army must stick to. The success or failure of Shangqiu is related to the success or failure of the entire counterinsurgency war.
Picture above _ Anshi Rebellion
For the Anshi rebels, the purpose of taking Shangqiu was twofold:
to replenish the base of the Tang army. Jianghuai Granary.
second,The goal of the rebels was to seize power. After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, the rebels occupied parts of Henan, but today the Shandong region and the central and southern parts of Henan Province are still in the hands of the Tang army.
Suiyang happened to be stuck in the middle of the Shandong area and the south-central Henan province, defending the Jianghuai area. If Shangqiu is in the hands of the Tang army, the Tang army can mobilize troops around Shangqiu at any time to cut off the supply line of the rebels. The Tang army will encircle the main rebel forces in Xuzhou and Bozhou. This is a very dangerous signal for the rebels. Therefore, if the rebels captured Shangqiu, they could not only seize the granary and block the logistics supply throat of the Tang dynasty to quell the rebellion, but also further change from passive to active and grasp greater combat initiative.
Above image _ Anlushan (January 22, 703-January 29, 757), my surname Kang, the word Nangshan _1span
So, based on the above For these reasons, the rebels and the Tang army launched a 10-month decisive battle on offensive and defensive battles in Shangqiu. In the end, the thousands of Tang troops commanded by Zhang Xun all died for the country, and 120,000 rebels were annihilated under the city of Shangqiu. As Zhang Xun’s troops dragged down the rebels of and Shi Siming, the main force of the Tang army was able to vacate and concentrate its forces to counterattack Chang'an and Luoyang, and wipe out the main force of the Anlushan rebels at Xiangji Temple in the south of Chang'an. More than 60,000 people. If the Tang army of Zhang Xunbu did not fight to the death in Shangqiu, and the rebels would take down Shangqiu, the Tang army's battle in the Central Plains would collapse across the board, and the people in the Jianghuai area would be killed by the rebels.
Through the above analysis, we can see that the gains and losses of Shangqiu played a decisive role in the battle between the Han and Tang dynasties to quell the rebellion.
Author: Military handsome guy Correction/editing: Lilith
Reference materials: "Hanshu", "Old Tang_span" and "New Tang Book"
text was created by the History University team,The picture comes from the network and the copyright belongs to the original author
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