The Battle of Hanzhong was a battle between Liu Bei and Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period at the end of Han Dynasty. This war was initiated by Liu Bei from the 22nd year of Jian'an (217) and ended in May of the 24th year (219) of Jian'an. The war lasted for nearly two years. The coaches of the two warring sides were Liu Bei and Cao Cao. Liu Beifang's generals participating in the war mainly included Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Fazheng, Huang Quan, etc., and Cao Cao's generals participating in the war mainly included Xia Houyuan, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, Cao Hong, Zhang Yun, Xu Huang, and Guo Huai. From this, it is very obvious that for the Battle of Hanzhong, both the duration and the generals participating in the battle can reflect the importance Liu Bei and Cao Cao attached to this battle.
In the Three Kingdoms period at the end of Han Dynasty, many battles often ended within a few months. The Battle of Hanzhong lasted for about two years, showing the attitude of struggling with Liu Bei and Cao Cao for the land in Hanzhong. Moreover, for Liu Bei's side, in addition to Guan Yu who guarded Jingzhou, the other four of the five generals of the Shu Han Dynasty participated in the battle of Hanzhong, and Cao Cao also sent five good generals such as Zhang Yun and Xu Huang, as well as Xia Houyuan, Cao Xiu, and Cao Zhen. Waiting for the clan generals. So, here comes the question, in the Three Kingdoms period, did Hanzhong have multiple uses? Why are Liu Bei and Cao Cao fighting hard?
一
First of all, for the Three Kingdoms period at the end of Han Dynasty, the land of Hanzhong mainly refers to the establishment of Hanzhong County. Hanzhong County was established in the thirteenth year of the Warring States Period by King Huiwen of Qin Dynasty (312 years ago) to rule Nanzheng County (now Hanzhong City, Shaanxi). Named for swimming in the Han River. The jurisdiction is south of Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province, east of Liuba County and Mian County, west of Ganyou River Basin, west of Yun County and Baokang County of Hubei Province, and north of Fenqing River and Pearl Ridge. However, the Hanzhong County established by the Qin State during the Warring States Period had a relatively vast territory. Entering the Han Dynasty, the scope of Hanzhong County gradually shrank. Even in the Three Kingdoms period at the end of Han Dynasty, the scope of Hanzhong County was basically the same as that of Hanzhong City in Shaanxi Province.
The geographical location of Hanzhong area is very unique. As early as the Warring States Period, it was a battleground for military strategists. At that time, Qin, Chu, and Ancient Shu repeatedly competed for land in Han. In this regard, in the author's opinion, the Qin State is occupying the land of Hanzhong, and only then can the State of Ba and Shu be eliminated to the south, thereby occupying the land of Bashu, and using this as a platform to attack the State of Chu. In the period of the Chu-Han struggle, Liu Bang used Hanzhong to attack Guanzhong and was able to compete with Xiang Yu for the world.
二
During the Western and Eastern Han dynasties, Hanzhong was a strategic place to connect Yongliang to the north, control Bashu to the south, and resist Qianghu to the west. As for the period of the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu, Hanzhong's status was even improved. For example, when Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, expedition to the Central Plains, he needed to use Hanzhong as a basis to attack the territory of Cao Wei. It can be found from the map that to the north of Hanzhong is Chang'an where the capital of the Han Dynasty is located, that is, the Guanzhong area. As we all know, Guanzhongnan is leaning against the Qinling Mountains and the Weihe River passes through it. There are natural terrain barriers on all sides, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Since the Warring States period, there has been a saying of "the kingdom of four sages". Therefore, Zhang Liang of the Han Dynasty used "the golden city of thousands of miles" to summarize the advantages of Guanzhong and persuade Liu Bangding to be Guanzhong.
If Hanzhong goes to the west, it will be in the Longyou area. There are forces such as Qiang and Hu in this area, so it has become an important direction for Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei's northern expedition. In other words, Cao Wei's power in the area was relatively weak, which gave the Shu Han the opportunity to harass the area. However, if there is no land in Hanzhong, it is undoubtedly more difficult to attack the Longyou area. To the east of Hanzhong, it is the land of Xiangfan, that is, Jingzhou where Wei, Shu and Wu are fiercely contested.
三
After Zhuge Liang passed away, Jiang Wan believed that Zhuge Liang sent troops to Qinchuan many times before his death, and the roads were difficult and dangerous and inconvenient to travel. The two counties of Wei Xing and Shangyong were preparing to attack the Wei state, but unexpectedly the old disease relapsed and the trip failed. At that time, Jiang Wan thought that he could start from Hanzhong and follow the Han River to attack Cao Wei's Dongsan County and even Xiangfan. Therefore, if the land of Hanzhong is occupied by Liu Bei, it can threaten many areas of Cao Wei. If Hanzhong goes north, it is the land of Yizhou. In this regard, in the eyes of many historians, once Cao Cao controlled Hanzhong for a long time, he could attack the Shu Han in the south, Ding Qianghu in the west, and conquer Sun Quan in the east.
Of course, the most important thing here is that after Cao Cao occupy the land of Hanzhong, he can attack the hinterland of Yizhou relatively easily. This is undoubtedly an important threat to the survival of Liu Bei's forces. Of course, from another perspective, after Liu Bei seized the land of Hanzhong, he could join Qianghu in the west, Cao Wei in the north, and Sun Quan in the east. However, in the author's view, considering the power gap between the Shuhan and Cao Wei, Hanzhong's value for Liu Bei's side is more importantly providing a self-protection barrier.
四
Finally, for the present Hanzhong City, it is located in the southwest of Shaanxi Province. Hanzhong City is bounded by the main Qinling Ridge in the north, adjacent to Baoji City and Xi'an City in Shaanxi Province, and bounded by the main ridge of Daba Mountain in the south, adjacent to Guangyuan City and Bazhong City in Sichuan Province, connected to Ankang City in Shaanxi Province in the east, and Gansu Province in the west. It is bordered by Longnan City. Therefore, after taking the land of Hanzhong, Cao Cao's power can basically be embedded in Yizhou, which will not only bring great defensive pressure to Liu Bei, but even gain the opportunity to attack Chengdu directly. For example, in the battle between Wei and Shu in 263 AD, after Zhong Hui's army broke through the Hanzhong line of defense, they successfully came to the Jiange area. If Jiang Wei hadn't returned to the defense in time, the general who wiped out Shu Han might not have the turn of Deng Ai. In addition, Hanzhong belongs to the northern subtropical climate zone. There are two barriers, the Qinling Mountains in the north and the Daba Mountains in the south. Cold currents are not easy to invade, and humid airflows are not easy to go north. The climate is mild and humid, with a degree of dryness and humidity.
On this basis, the Hanzhong Basin is undoubtedly a place suitable for farming, which can bring a certain amount of grain output, which is naturally an important reason why Hanzhong has become a battleground for military strategists. In general, from 217 AD to 219 AD, Cao Cao and Liu Bei tried their best and mobilized all resources in order to compete for Hanzhong. Because no matter which party occupied the land in Hanzhong, it would directly affect the historical trend of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, that is, it was precisely because Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao and obtained the land in Hanzhong, this provided a guarantee for the existence of the Shu Han. Correspondingly, if Cao Cao did not lose Hanzhong, then the situation faced by Shu Han would be very passive, and Cao Wei would probably eliminate Shu Han in advance.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-