Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 221 The world of smart people!

While Su Yun was on his way, when he arrived at the hotel, he studied a lot of information from the front line and discussed it with Wang Shunchen.

As he studied the wars between Western Xia and Song Xia, Su Yun had to admit that the confrontation between countries has never been easy, especially the regime that can confront China has never been simple.

Especially the country of Western Xia, which was able to survive for nearly two hundred years under the attack of the two great powers, Liao and Song. If it had not encountered the prehistoric behemoth like Mongolia, the Song Dynasty might have perished while Western Xia was still alive and well.

The key point is that the poor innate conditions of the Western Xia country are unimaginable to the Chinese.

The entire country is only 770,000 square kilometers, while the Liao Dynasty of the same period was nearly 5 million square kilometers, and the Northern Song Dynasty was 2.8 million square kilometers.

Among the Three Kingdoms, it goes without saying that the Liao Kingdom had the largest territory. Although the territory of the Song Dynasty was not as large as that of the Liao Kingdom, the territories actually controlled by the Song Dynasty were all fertile lands. The Central Plains, Jiangnan, Jinghu area, etc. were all grain-producing areas with unique advantages and abundant soil and water.

However, the land quality of Western Xia’s 770,000 square kilometers of territory is very poor!

Of the 1200 square kilometers of territory, only three areas are considered effective. One is the Dingnan Five Prefectures where Li Yuanhao made his fortune, namely the Ordos grassland, with an area of ​​about square kilometers.

The other area is the Xitao Plain, namely Lingzhou, now the Ningxia Plain, with an area of ​​about 1.7 square kilometers.

The last area is the Hexi Corridor, with major cities including Shazhou (Dunhuang), Suzhou (Jiuquan), Ganzhou (Zhangye) and Liangzhou (Wuwei), covering an area of ​​about 66 hectares, or 6600 square kilometers.

In other words, the actual effective territory of Western Xia was only 2.48 square kilometers.

Apart from these 2.48 square kilometers of land, the rest is Gobi Desert, which is neither suitable for farming nor grazing.

Well, there are five major deserts within the territory of Western Xia.

To the west of Lingzhou is the Tengger Desert, and to the northwest is the Badain Jaran Desert which occupies the center of the country. To the northeast are the Ulan Buh Desert and the Kubuqi Desert, and to the southeast is the Mu Us Desert.

The harsh natural environment usually directly affects the population, because most of the land in Western Xia is covered by deserts, and the areas suitable for farming and grazing are not only scarce but also scattered and divided, so naturally it cannot support many people.
Therefore, even during the heyday of Western Xia, its total population did not exceed 300 million.

With a population of less than three million, it fought against the Liao Dynasty with a population of tens of millions and the Song Dynasty with a population of one hundred million. It could be said to be the Israel of the Middle Ages.

However, there were certainly reasons why Western Xia was able to survive.

The bravery and fighting skills of the Dangxiang people are naturally an important reason, but what is more important for a country to survive is its national defense.

The competition between countries has never been that simple.

A country's national strength is never constant, especially when the scale is extended to a hundred years. The economic, political and national defense strength in each period is not constant.

When you are strong in all aspects, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a national barrier, because no one can beat you anyway.

But when you are declining, the national barrier is the last line of defense, which can help you get through the most difficult times and wait for the opportunity to rise again.

Take China, for example.

China's core area since ancient times has been the Eighteen Han Provinces. No matter what happens outside, as long as the Eighteen Han Provinces are protected, the Chinese dynasty can live a prosperous life.

In order to protect the eighteen provinces of Han, a barrier must be built in the north.

There are three options for building a defense line in the north: upper, middle and lower.

The best line of defense is from Lake Balkhash in the west (outer northwest), through the East and West Sayan Mountains - the northern line of the Mongolian Plateau, across Lake Baikal, and ends at the Greater Khingan Range (outer northeast) in the east:
This line is the most advantageous geographical dividing line for China to defend against the northern regime. Historically, the Han Dynasty, the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China before Mongolia's independence all followed this national border line.

When the national border is located on this line, China is on the offensive and the North is on the defensive, which has always been China's advantage regardless of ancient or modern times.

The second best line of defense is from the Altai Mountains in the west, through the northern line of the Inner Mongolia Plateau - that is, the southern line of the Mongolian Plateau, along the Greater Khingan Range, and ending at the Heilongjiang River in the east:
This line is a geographical dividing line acceptable to both the Central Plains and the North, and historically the Ming Dynasty used part of this line.

When the national border was on this line, the Ming Dynasty had a slight advantage over the north.

The worst line of defense starts from the Hexi Corridor in the west, passes through the Yellow River and Qianhoutao, that is, the southern line of the Inner Mongolia Plateau, along the Yinshan Mountains, and ends at the Yanshan Mountains in the east:
This line is the most unfavorable geographical dividing line for the Central Plains regime. After 1000 AD, only the Northern Song Dynasty used this line.

What’s even more despairing is that the Song Dynasty also lost the Yanshan Barrier!
When the national border is located on this line, China is on the defensive and the North is on the offensive or even has an absolute advantage. When it is located on this line, the Central Plains regime is already in danger.

This is why the Liao Dynasty and the Western Xia Dynasty, whose population and economy were far inferior to those of the Song Dynasty, were always able to maintain their pressure on the Song Dynasty.

However, Western Xia, with the smallest population and the smallest effective land area, was able to stand firm. It relied not only on its bravery, but also on the barrier formed by the seemingly ineffective land.

The desert is an excellent barrier in any period. Surrounded by five deserts, if the Liao Dynasty and the Song Dynasty wanted to attack the Western Xia mainland, they could only penetrate through the city line inside the oasis.

Therefore, Xixia only needed to deploy a small number of troops in the oasis to defend against attacks from the south and east.

The key points are two mountain ranges, namely Hengshan and Helan Mountains.

The Helan Mountains were the key to Western Xia’s defense against the Liao Kingdom, so we will not discuss them here.

The Hengshan Mountains start from the Liupan Mountains and run across Ningxia and Shaanxi. They are the natural dividing line between the Western Xia and the Northern Song Dynasty. This area not only produces food and war horses, but also has high terrain in the north and low terrain in the south, making it both offensive and defensive, and extremely important to both sides.

For Western Xia, losing the Hengshan area is equivalent to losing important material assets and land. What is even more dangerous is that the core area of ​​Lingzhou will be completely exposed to the threat of the Song army from then on.

For the Northern Song Dynasty, Hengshan was like the Great Wall of Western Xia. The Dangxiang people could go south to harass border cities at any time, and even if the battle was unfavorable, they could quickly retreat and defend themselves to remain invincible.

Therefore, the smart people of the Song Dynasty had long realized that if the Song Dynasty wanted to strategically suppress the Western Xia, it had to take Hengshan.

Fan Zhongyan once proposed the strategic policy of "gradually recovering Hengshan Mountains". In the following decades, the wars between Song and Xia were almost all fought around the Hengshan Mountains.

Su Yun's sight did not stay here, but also looked at the flank of Xixia. With just a quick glance, Su Yun understood the intention of the Song Dynasty's layout in the Hehuang area.

Lingzhou and the five states of Dingnan had long faced tremendous pressure from both the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom, while the Hexi Corridor was the rear base of the Western Xia.

Relying on the Silk Road and the snowmelt from the Qilian Mountains, this place was the agricultural and commercial center of the Dangxiang people.

However, although there were no powerful enemies approaching, the Hexi Corridor was equally unsafe, and the Hehuang area south of the Qilian Mountains seriously threatened the flank of the Western Xia Kingdom.

From a geographical point of view, the Hehuang area is located on the edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It has a dense water network and is suitable for agricultural and animal husbandry development. As long as it is controlled by a major power, it can easily cut off the Hexi Corridor by attacking from the north.

The opening of the Xihe frontier was a military operation launched to recover the Hehuang region while taking advantage of the internal strife and decline of the Zuosiluo regime.

By the time of Emperor Huizong of Song, the Hexi Corridor had been completely exposed to the threat of the Northern Song Dynasty's Longyou Protectorate, and its demise was imminent. If it had not been for the sudden rise of the Jin Dynasty, Western Xia would probably have perished a hundred years earlier.

Su Yun nodded.

There are many smart people in Chinese history.

In fact, from a strategic point of view, there was nothing wrong with the Song Dynasty's approach. The mistakes were more on the tactical level.

From the moment they entered Shaanxi, everyone felt a sense of solemnity, which was an atmosphere unique to the military road.

Xu Jin said uncomfortably, "Why do I feel like the atmosphere is different once I enter Yongxingjun Road?"

Su Yun's face was also a little solemn. The situation was more serious than he had imagined. Looking at the Yongxing Military Road, the economy was very depressed, people's livelihood was declining, and there were fewer young and middle-aged people than in the Central Plains. It should be because of the long-term recruitment of soldiers in the local area.

But it's normal if you think about it.

These military roads are specifically used to deal with border affairs. All expenses of the Northwest Army have to be borne by these military roads, and the burden is extremely heavy.

This place is also threatened by the Western Xia army all year round. Business requires a safe environment. Without a safe environment, it is difficult for business to develop.

Therefore, it is understandable that the economy of this place is not good.

Su Yun and others arrived in Yanzhou before the Spring Festival.

Although Yanzhou is considered the front line against Western Xia, the Spring Festival is here and there is a festive atmosphere. After all, the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, and both countries have tacitly suspended the war.

Although Su Yun was in charge of Suide's military affairs, he was also the military commander of Fuyan Road. Naturally, he had to meet with Zhong Yan, the governor of Fuyan Road, first to discuss what to do next.

And Zhong Yan also had another position as the governor of Yanzhou, so he stayed in Yanzhou most of the time, so Su Yun and his companions' first stop was Yanzhou.

But after entering Yanzhou, Su Yun went to the Yanzhou government office to ask to see Zhong Yan, but was told that Zhong Yan was ill and bedridden at home.

The person who came to receive Su Yun was Zhong Pu, the official in charge of the Fuyan Road Jinglüe Office. Zhong Pu was the eldest son of Zhong Yan.

After listening to Jong Park's self-introduction, Su Yun couldn't help but glance at Wang Sun-sin.

Wang Shunchen didn't understand.

Su Yun just thought it was fun.

Wang Sun-sin's famous battle was when he displayed his superb power and led the army out of a desperate situation after the main general Jong Park was ambushed and killed.

But now the two may no longer have many opportunities to interact with each other.

Zhong Pu does not have too much arrogance as a general, or it may be because facing Su Yun, the top scholar, even a general has to retract his minions.

Zhong Pu told Su Yun worriedly that his father Zhong Yan had developed a carbuncle on his back since Yongle City and was very ill. He did not intentionally neglect Su Yun and others.

Su Yun suddenly remembered that Zhong Yan did have a carbuncle on his back and died soon after the defeat of Yongle City.

Then this kind of Park is definitely not lying.

Su Yun then asked about the patient's condition with concern, asked if he had found a famous doctor, etc. After showing some concern, he said goodbye to Zhong Pu.

"Su Qinxia, ​​please wait a moment." Zhong Pu called Su Yun.

Su Yun turned around and looked at Zhong Pu.

Zhong Pu asked, "Is Su Qinxia going to Suide Army?"

Su Yun nodded and said, "Among my errands, there is a commander of the German Army, so I plan to stay there most of the time."

Zhong Pu nodded and said, "It would be better if you could stay in Yanzhou. My father is seriously ill and unable to take care of things. There are many things that are difficult to decide. You are the military commander, so it would be better for you to make the decision on these matters."

Su Yun smiled and said, "Yanzhou affairs are under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office, and the military affairs of Fuyan Road are also under the jurisdiction of the Five Departments Office.

Since General Zhong was unable to handle the affairs, naturally the Chief Eunuch, Deputy Chief Eunuch, and Chief Supervisor would jointly handle the affairs.

Although I am a military commander, I am just a newcomer in military affairs and know nothing. I can't do anything if I stay. I am afraid that I will cause trouble to the Military Administration, so I'd better give up.

So I plan to go to the Suide Army to do some work in governing the people, and also learn about military affairs up close."

(End of this chapter)