During the Three Kingdoms period, why did some people think that Cao Cao’s Wei Kingdom was the most powerful?

During the period of the Three Kingdoms, the Wei state was strong. That is an indisputable fact. We can analyze it from political, military, demographic and economic aspects.

Political aspect

At that time, Cao Cao held the emperor in order to make the princes, and he took the political advantage. This allowed many places loyal to the Han Dynasty or the old warlords to echo, and let the famous ministers in the DPRK list. The Chinese minister was Guo Jia ( Died early), Xun Yu, Xu You, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, etc., generals such as Dian Wei, Xiahou Dun, Zhang Liao, Xu Chu, Pound, Cao Ren, etc., these people are good ministers from inside to outside.

Military

Cao Wei has five good generals, and some unrecognizable generals. The army is more than one million. Although it seems a little bragging in the romance, Cao Cao’s army at that time was indeed a force that should not be underestimated. We can see from the alliance between Soochow and Shuhan.

Let’s start from the perspective of military control. Cao Cao has always controlled the north. In addition to pacifying the northern barbarians with carrots and sticks, the old man controls the Central Plains. Even the military powerhouse Jingxiang area occupies a large area. What is important is that the north at that time occupied a large proportion in terms of politics, military, and economy. After all, it was the political center of the Han Dynasty.

In terms of population

In ancient China, the size of the population was one of the important factors in distinguishing whether a country was strong or not. Although there were many wars and chaos in the north at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a population of less than 30 million in the end. The proportion of Cao Wei, Dongwu, and Shuhan is 5:2:1 in the order of Cao Wei, which means that the population of Cao Wei is almost twice that of the Wushu Alliance.

Economic aspect

During the Three Kingdoms period, shipping had not yet appeared, and the Silk Road was only accessible for about 200 years. However, Chang'an and Luoyang Xudu in the Central Plains were all economic centers. After the war, the Silk Road was rebuilt and the rest was added. The two countries can't compete economically with Cao Wei's side. Therefore, in terms of the time and place, Cao Wei is the well-deserved boss.

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