The ancients did not have the opportunity to pick up a magnifying glass and turn a globe to study the so-called "geopolitics".

The role of geography in conflict has never been overlooked, but it has never been limited by perspective. We can blame our predecessors for their lack of foresight, and we should not think that they are stupid, because a wise practitioner will not be divorced from his time and environment, and it is the immediate, real threats that need to be taken seriously. "After I die, no matter how big the flood is" is also a normal mentality, as long as you don't shout it out, no one will blame you.

Nature, politics, and economics are the elements that make up geography, and psychology, tradition, and even prejudice affect the understanding of geography.

The process is reasonable and the result is absurd, this kind of thing often happens, and pessimists interpret it as fate. Fate is actually a well made of "known", and you can only sit in it honestly and watch the sky. There is no shortage of visionary prophets who perceive the universe from the sky, but it is best to hide it in their hearts as a secret, and it is heresy to say it.

For example, in the history of China, the role of the ocean was only to produce salt and seafood. The Song Dynasty's open-mindedness and profit-seeking mentality brought the sea and trade into a relationship. The contempt of the ocean is still palpable, and its charm does not even trigger the mood of the literati's writing.

The mysterious itinerary of the three eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty has been debated to this day. Immediately after the intermittent sea ban, Zhu Di's descendants are afraid that it is not only the pirates of the eastern island countries that are afraid, but also the Ming Dynasty, which is high and does not value profits, so it is natural to refuse the sea. The immediate consequence was to stifle the adventurous spirit of the people and cut in half the survival of seafaring technology.

The sea in the east is as safe as the plateau in the west, and it is a god-given barrier to protect China's fertile soil, and it is unquestionable common sense that the sea will not pose any other threat except for typhoons and pirates.

In 1840, the British fleet's cannons were announced, and common sense changed with the times.

The Central Plains is the core region, the south is full of variables, and the threat comes from the north-northeast. This was the geopolitics of the early Song Dynasty.

An interesting phenomenon can be seen from the map of the motherland: the center of China once lingered in the center of the modern land territory for a long time. Much like a coincidence.

Over-exploitation caused the land to be pulled out, the wind and sand were pressing, and the beacon fire destroyed the Qin bricks and Han tiles for many years, but also destroyed people's confidence, and the center of gravity of the five dynasties began to move eastward. The southern crossing of Jianyan was a passive strategic shift, and Zhu Yuanzhang almost succeeded in turning Nanjing into a new center. History is almost self-defeating. Thanks to Zhu Di's experience as King Yan, moving the capital to Beijing is his greatest achievement, and the north and south cannot be separated from then on. Later, although China suffered a lot, the basic territory was preserved.

It is no accident that Bianliang (Kaifeng) is favored. Bianliang lives in the hinterland of the Central Plains, surrounded by rivers and rivers, fertile fields for thousands of miles, Bianhe River, Yellow River, Guangji River and Huimin River can be transported.

Rivers are a gift from nature. In ancient times, water transportation was the most economical and convenient transportation of materials. The abundance of the South has long been indispensable. The significance of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty digging the canal is no less than that of Qin Shi Huang's construction of the Great Wall.

The Bianhe River connects the Yellow River and the Huai River, and has been a major water transportation route since the Sui and Tang dynasties. Kaifeng chokes the throat of the Bianhe River, connects Luoyang and Chang'an through the Yellow River and Weihe River in the west; The southeast is directly connected to the Yangtze River through the Huai River and the canal, connecting all parts of the south.

"Bianshui traverses the Central Plains, the first to inherit the Yellow River, leading to the south of the Yangtze River and Jinghu Lake, and its benefits are as far as the South China Sea, half of the world's wealth, and the department stores of the mountains and rivers, all of which are advanced from this road." ("Song History and River Canal Chronicles")

Except for the north, everything is perfect.

The Southern Song Dynasty Zhang Ruyu's "Treatise on the Three Capitals" has a calm summary of the geography of Chang'an, Luoyang, and Kaifeng:

"The system of Chang'an is supplemented by Shaanxi, and the shield is really in Hedong; The system of the girder is supplemented by Henan, and the shield is really Hebei. Therefore, since ancient times, the disaster of Luojing often originated in Hefen, and the change of Biandu often originated in Yanzhao".

At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, China's own geopolitician Gu Zuyu made the following conclusion in his magnum opus "Reading the Minutes of History and Public Opinion": "The worries of all the shoulders are really Hebei. ”

They are expounding phenomena, phenomena that are seen as a result of many infighting. Why did Hebei restrain Henan? The explanation of Kanyu is too esoteric. From the analysis of normal thinking, Hebei has been developed for a long time, and compared with Henan, it is not lagging behind. In the same way, the construction of the capital of Hebei is also difficult to resist the impact of Henan.

Kaifeng lacks a natural barrier around it, and the topography determines that it can only be a beautiful city of peace.

The northern forces have long threatened the Yellow River civilization, the northwest has been defeated in the confrontation with the Han and Tang dynasties, the large ethnic groups have looked elsewhere for a way out, and the small ethnic groups cannot escape the fate of being integrated regardless of success or failure.

The centers of the Khitan and Jurchen are in the northeast, or nomadic or fishing and hunting, and the people are brave. The Khitan took advantage of the rebellion of the Five Dynasties, and the forward marched southward, including Youyun into the bag, and became the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Without the defense of Youzhou, the northern frontier defense can only be based on Hebei. Hebei is flat, vast, and difficult to defend, and the cavalry can come and go like the wind.

The Northern Song Dynasty once planted trees near Bianliang to block the northern iron horses. In the east, from the mouth of Nigu (southeast of Tianjin) to Baozhou (Baoding, Hebei) in the west, the embankment is built to store water and build the "Tangluo defense line". These initiatives have not made a real difference.

The cost of running Hebei was huge, and Zhao Kuangyin believed that the lack of risk to defend offset all the other advantages of Bianliang.

Zhao Kuangyin is right. We must always be vigilant about the north, and the country is also inert, it is impossible to stay focused on one thing for a long time, enthusiasm will be reduced, the spirit will be tired, and attention will be distracted. The son of a daughter, who did not sit in the hall, under the auspices of Zhao Kuangyin, began a big discussion about moving the capital.

Shi Jingjiao is a clown, but his role changes the conflict of the play. Youzhou, the preferred place, is helpless in reality.

The north is conducive to stability and the south is conducive to development, and there is no doubt from the current perspective. At that time, the switch to the South meant abandoning orthodoxy, so the South was not discussed.

The Tang Dynasty is not too far in the past, and the charm of Xi'an and Luoyang touched Zhao Kuangyin's nerves.

To the west, to find back the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

In the ninth year of Kaibao (976), Zhao Kuangyin worshiped his ancestors in Luoyang and did not return.

Hebei is yang. Luoyang is located in the north of the Luo River, north through the Bishan and the Yellow River, connecting Youzhou; south through Yique, directly to Jianghan; There are Kunshan and Tongguan in the west, connecting Guanzhong; It is adjacent to Bianliang in the east and connects to Jianghuai. In Chinese history, the capital of the Nine Dynasties was built here.

Luoyang is the birthplace of Zhao Kuangyin, which adds a special feeling.

After a long war, the city of Luoyang at that time was withered, the camp was dilapidated, and the materials were scarce.

Zhao Kuangyin identified Luoyang with rare persistence. Even the imperial mausoleum was built in Gongyi, far away from Bianliang and close to Luoyang.

The plan to move west has encountered many obstacles.

Li Huaizhong is Zhao Kuangyin's confidant and favorite general, and said to Zhao Kuangyin: "There is a canal in Tokyo, and millions of Jianghuai rice have been sent every year, and hundreds of thousands of troops have been sent to Yan. And the treasury is heavily armed, all of which are in the beams, which have been stable for a long time and cannot be shaken. ("Renewal of Capital and Governance")

Li Huaizhong may not have such insight. Whether it is the people of the time or the posterity, this statement expounds the reality and the technical problems of reality.

It is said that Zhao Kuangyin and his younger brother Zhao Guangyi had a higher-level conversation. ("Renewal of Capital and Governance")

Zhao Kuangyin: "The move to Henan has not been, and it should be moved to Chang'an for a long time", "Those who move west, not it, want to go to redundant troops according to the danger of mountains and rivers, and follow the stories of Zhou and Han to settle the world".

Zhao Guangyi: "The world is in virtue but not in danger, Qin is in Guanzhong, harsh government and abuse of the people, and he will die." ”

Zhao Kuangyin: "The words of the King of Jin are good, but within a hundred years, the people of the world will be strong. ”

The standard of clear talk, like a debate between two too students. Is it as some say, the two brothers have a behind-the-scenes driving force, God knows.

The planned relocation of the capital was aborted. The Northern Song Dynasty nominally set up four capitals, and Zhao Kuangyin chatted to masturbate. Tokyo Kaifeng Mansion, Xijing Henan Mansion (Luoyang), Beijing Daimyo Mansion (now Hebei), Nanjing Yingtianfu (Henan Shangqiu). Tokyo is the only national capital