In this battle for strategic development direction, Zhao Bing has always been at a disadvantage, but he still insists on his view of the Southeast first and constantly tries to convince the ministers. People who have played Go, especially beginners, often like to occupy the corners and occupy the edges, forming a stable situation before developing to the center, so there is a saying of "golden horns and silver angels". From the perspective of military geography, China's geographical pattern is also like an irregular Go board. On this irregular Go board, Guanzhong, Hebei, Southeast and Sichuan are its four corners, Shanxi, Shandong, Hubei and Hanzhong are its four corners, and the Central Plains are its central hinterland.

The four corners of the land have their own unique geographical conditions, generally have relatively superior mountain and river situations, relatively stable rears and dangerous obstacles that can be relied on, and can be able to advance and attack and defend; have superior economic conditions, which are enough to support and support a huge political and military group; have a certain social foundation, which is easy to form a certain social and political force. Therefore, when a force first emerges, it occupies a dangerous land of the four corners of the mountains and rivers, and can establish a base, operate calmly, accumulate strength, and lay the foundation for future advancement.

The four sides generally have relatively dangerous mountains and rivers, but the comprehensive conditions of these regions are not as good as those of the four corners. They are sandwiched between the two corners, and they can come and go. They are both the links of contact between the two sides and the focus of the competition during confrontation. Their terrain characteristics are also consistent with their status, with both traffic channels for entry and exit, and dangerous points that can be guarded; and, there are relatively close channels between them and the Central Plains. Therefore, although the heroes in history compete in the Central Plains, most of the heroes who can truly participate in the competition do not arise in the Central Plains, but tend to the four corners.

Historically, most of the forces that finally completed the great cause of unification of the world have tended to four corners. Most of the forces that finally completed the great cause of unification of the world have also originated from the dangerous places of the four corners. First, based on the dangerous places of the four corners, mountains and rivers, because of the right time, the right place, the peace of people, and the accumulation of violent forces can often achieve hegemony. However, this is only the completion of the accumulation stage. If you want to unify the world, you must complete the principle of progress in the Central Plains after the accumulation stage is completed.

Therefore, in the stage from governance to chaos, from integration to division, it is often difficult to base the four battles in the Central Plains, and it is often easy to base the four corners of mountains and rivers, and can first occupy one to two corners, accumulate strength, then expand to the two wings, and then develop to the Central Plains, and advance to the world. In the stage of chaos and division and integration, only those who go out of the four corners to fight for the Central Plains have the opportunity to compete for the world. The superior can pacify the four directions and unify the world; secondly, they can control one side and dominate the world. When the conditions for unification are not mature, local order can be established based on the four corners and achieve hegemony.

From this perspective, Xichuan and Southeast are in the same position, but Zhao Bing knows that history can be learned from, but nothing is unchanged. With the evolution of the historical trend, in fact, no matter when, the status and strategic significance of different regions are not fixed. But with the different political and military situations at that time, the status and strategic significance of different regions have changed. The trend of China's political center of gravity from west to east illustrates this point.

When the political focus was in Guanzhong, it was unspeakable to say that Guanzhong's status was in his own right; later, after a period of sway, the political focus moved to Hebei. This process was accompanied by the decline of Guanzhong's status and the rise of Hebei's status. This change also had a certain impact on the status of other regions. When the political focus was in Guanzhong, Hubei was the link between the northwest and the southeast, and its status was relatively important. After the political focus was moved to Hebei, with the decline of Guanzhong's status, Hubei's status also declined, and Shandong became a hub for the connection between the north and the south and the economic center of gravity, and its status became very important.

Currently, the capital of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, which is modern Beijing, is within the scope of Hebei. Shandong is the wing of the southeast. If you occupy the southeast and seek Shandong, you can form a siege against Hebei. However, if you occupy Xichuan to seek the Central Plains, you must first conquer Guanzhong and then go to Hebei. Shaanxi and Gansu are close to the old capital of the Mongolian Yuan, and will be in a situation of attacking on both sides of the enemy. Moreover, it is very difficult to attack the enemy in a tide in the ridge. However, few people who have successfully seized the Northern Expedition in Sichuan were mostly destroyed by the enemy.

When Zhao Bing tried to convince the ministers, everyone tried to make him follow the advice, and advised him from many aspects such as humanities, resources, and folk customs. He thought that it was not unreasonable, but there were also biases, and many of the situations had greatly improved.

They said that the ancients often said that the customs of the south were weak and one piece of paper was safe. The fact is true. At that time, the people in the south did not have much intention to resist, and the customs of the north were strong, especially in the northwest and Hebei. Moreover, the nomadic people in the north mostly live by hunting, mainly meat eating, exercise more, and have a stronger body; while the Han people mainly use noodles and food and exercise less. Since the Han Dynasty, they have advocated Confucian culture and advocated the pursuit of fame and fortune, which shows their quality.

Zhao Bing disagreed with this. In ancient times, the people in the southeastern region were brave and brave, which was also a condition that the regime based in the southeast could rely on. The "Book of Han" records the customs of the southeast: Wu and Yue are both brave, so their people are still good at using swords and are easy to get out of the sky. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu and Yue were able to compete with the Central Plains powers such as Qi and Jin, Xiang Yu led 8,000 Jiangdong children, which made the Qin people scared. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xie Xuan and Liu Yu once led the Northern Palace soldiers who repeatedly defeated the strong enemies in the north. This is a manifestation of this power, which is all due to the brave and brave folk customs in the southeastern region.

The eastern Zhejiang and Jiangxi areas are also quite similar, especially the Huainan area. It is a place where refugees have been wandering in the past dynasties. The refugees have many ethnic groups. They are both impatient and decisive in their customs. They are willing to suffer disasters. They treat death as if they are homeless, and they are more deceitful in wars and displaced. They form armed forces to protect themselves. This is a potential armed force that can be used. Later generations also included the Guangxi wolf soldiers who are known as the world's strong soldiers.

In addition, in terms of material supply, Zhao Bing also admitted that in terms of available mineral resources and mineral development capabilities, the most relevant to cold weapons is coal and iron resources, which are dominant in the north and continue to the modern era. In the supply of grain and meat, traditional northern crops include sorghum, millet, minced, wheat, sorghum, etc., which has a relatively strong adaptability to natural conditions and a relatively stable yield, which is conducive to strategic reserves.

However, the introduction of Chameng rice after the Song Dynasty had changed this situation, and it became common to ripen two a year. Unless a large-scale disaster occurs, military rations are guaranteed. The supply of meat is a problem, and Zhao Bing also deeply understands it in Qiongzhou. However, he successfully used fish in the rivers and seas to solve the dilemma of protein deficiency, and eating fish among all armies has become a habit. The dense water network in the south will naturally not lack fish supplements, and it is much lower than raising livestock.

In addition, due to geographical and environmental factors, it is suitable for raising horses in the north, especially in the Mongolian grasslands and surrounding areas. In the era of cold weapons, war horses had a great effect. In field battles, cavalry had an absolute advantage in the infantry. If the infantry could not defeat the cavalry, it would be difficult to escape the result of the annihilation of the entire army. If it could be beaten, it would be difficult to pursue and expand the results. Zhao Bing admitted that the cavalry was so powerful and knew that it was difficult to obtain war horses. Now the Qiongzhou army is difficult to further expand because of the insufficient number of war horses.

However, it is probably not a good idea to use infantry to go out to Xichuan to compete with the enemy's cavalry. However, the Qiongzhou navy dares to say that the world is invincible, so that Yang Fan can go on an expedition in the sea and can be unobstructed in the inland rivers. However, water shortage in Guanzhong is the norm, and rivers are densely populated in the southeast. Why should we attack the enemy's strength with our own shortcomings? Moreover, the Jianghuai area is rich in water and grass, and although it is not as suitable as the north to shepherd horses, it can also solve the risk of lack of horses.

In addition, the difficulties mentioned by the ministers are also present, whether it is to take Xichuan or occupy the southeast. Since most of the northern plains are geographically conducive to marching and fighting, it is relatively easy to unify the north. The mountains, rivers and forests in the south are dense, with many natural barriers, which are not conducive to marching and fighting, so it is relatively difficult to unify the south. The northern regions that are easily unified are likely to form advantages in concentrated forces and resource, and are easy to defeat them in one by one when they go south.

The north is relatively cold and has a long winter, while the south is relatively warm, with short winter and basically no freezing. Such climate differences make the climate impact relatively small when attacking from the north to the south, while attacking from the south to the north is hugely affected by climate factors. Especially after the arrival of winter, southerners who rarely see snow live in the middle of winter, let alone combat. Moreover, logistical supply in winter will be very difficult, which can easily lead to very serious failures.

Zhao Bing believes that the Mongols have unified the country now, which is a false proposition and they have to face it no matter what. It is not useless to divide the southeast. Some people remembered that later generations once said, "There are no elders in the south as well as the southeast." The southeast is located in the subtropical zone, with more rain and rivers, and the Yangtze River and Huai River flow in the east and west, scattering between the north and south. With their tributaries, a dense river water network is enough to buffer the impact of the northern iron cavalry. In terms of blocking the impact of the northern iron cavalry, the Yangtze River is indeed an insurmountable natural barrier.

The south can use these river channels to build military strongholds, guard some major channels, and give full play to its strengths in water warfare and city defense. In the entire southern region, no region can have so many river channels as in the southeast. In addition, the rainy season in the south is humid and hot, and the northerners and animals are not adapted. In this way, if the northern forces cross the Huai River and continue to go south, they will face huge climate and environmental difficulties, and find themselves in an unfavorable situation of abandoning their strengths and not having their shortcomings.

The economic conditions in the southeast region are also relatively good. The development of Jiangnan was relatively later than that in the north, but the previous turmoil in the north would lead to a large number of refugees moving south. The refugees brought advanced production technology to the south. The turmoil in the late Eastern Han Dynasty caused the peak of the first peak of refugees moving south in Chinese history. After the Yongjia Rebellion, the large tribes and people in the Central Plains moved south again. In particular, the southward migration of Song Dynasty forced northern refugees to move south one after another, further promoting the development of Jiangnan and the economic development of the southeast region.

The Taihu area in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River was originally a wealthy economic zone with a dense population. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Southeast wealth was highly valued by Guanzhong. Yangzhou's wealth was always the best in the world, and it was called "Yang Yi Yi Er" at that time. The Grand Canal opened the Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty governed the canal, and they all had the intention of transferring the Southeast wealth to supply Guanzhong. Beijing was built in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and economically relied on the Southeast Grand Canal. The re-drawn Grand Canal transferred the Southeast wealth to supply the capital. There were many waterways in the southeast, and the transportation was convenient and scarce, and the scope of lack of goods was easy to be supplemented. In addition, the Shanghai Transportation made the scope of transportation wider.

Most regimes established in the southeast can unify half of the south of the Yangtze River and form a confrontation between the north and the south with the north, which has a lot to do with the social foundation of the southeast regime. Most of the Southeast regimes are house-relocated regimes, which are the truest places in traditional Chinese politics and the preservation of the advanced culture of the Central Plains. After the Central Plains regime moved to the southeast, the advanced social and political culture of the Central Plains formed an important foundation for its rule. The Song Dynasty moved south again, and the Southeast once again became a gathering place for the social and political culture of the Central Plains.

These conditions provide an economic foundation for the political and military status of the southeast. However, it is not without weaknesses. The house-moving regime itself is a product of forced migration by strong enemies, so it is inevitably characterized by calmness and unwillingness to be enterprising. Historically, most of the southeast regimes took the Northern Expedition and recovered the Central Plains as a slogan, but most of the south-east regimes can unify half of the southern part of the Yangtze River and form a confrontation with the north. However, very few people who have succeeded in the northern expedition are related to the characteristics of the house-moving regime...

Zhao Bing knew that when fighting, it was money and food, and the people were fighting, and the southeast was the best counterattack stronghold. This made it difficult for him to understand why the court officials who were in charge of going to Xichuan. Later, he thought that it might be that the overturn of the court made them lose their confidence in operating the southeast again. He felt that he could not stop the Mongols' iron hoofs by relying on the strength of the whole country and for more than 40 years. It would be better to go to Xichuan, a closed place, to be at peace. As for conquering Guanzhong, they were afraid that they would not believe it themselves.

The existence of timidity, cowardice and peace of mind made the westward advance the mainstream of dynasty. Zhao Bing was "addicted" as an emperor at this moment. Of course, he didn't want to be the lord of Xichuan, but he had to restore his old place and return to the Central Plains. However, the two factions had no disputes and failed to discuss for a long time. He was not in a hurry before, and he could sit in the mountains and watch the tiger fight, thinking that everyone would be healthier to quarrel. However, Kublai Khan was about to die and the Mongols and Yuan civil strife was about to arise, so he naturally could not wait any longer, but it was not easy to form a unified opinion under such circumstances.
Chapter completed!