How did Qin Shihuang think of building the Great Wall?

Before 22 1, Qin Shihuang destroyed six countries and became the only regime in China, transforming into an empire. 2 14 years ago, Meng Tian, a general sent by Qin Shihuang, led 300,000 men to attack the Huns, occupied Hetao, and began to connect the old city walls built by Qin, Zhao, Wei and Yan, extending from Lintao to Liaodong, Wan Li, hence the name "Wan Li Great Wall" [References 1][ References 2]. At the same time as the Great Wall in the north was built, the walls used by the former vassal States to "defend each other" were demolished [see 3].

Qin Changcheng can be roughly divided into the western section and the northern section. The western section starts from Min County, Gansu Province, along the Taohe River north to Lintao County, passes through Dingxi County to Guyuan County and Huanxian County in Ningxia, Jingbian, Hengshan, Yulin and Shenmu in Shaanxi Province, then turns north to Tuoketuonan in Inner Mongolia and reaches the south bank of the Yellow River. The northern section is the Great Wall north of the Yellow River, along the Yinshan Mountain and Langshan Mountain, east to the northern foot of Daqing Mountain, east to Jining and Xinghe in Inner Mongolia to Shangyi in Hebei, east to Zhangbei and Weichang in Hebei, east to Fushun and Benxi, and finally to the sea of Qingchuan River in North Korea.

Qin Changcheng played an important role in resisting the harassment of Huns, ensuring the stability of production and life in the Central Plains and reclaiming the land in the north. Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall with 300,000 people, which created a miracle in the history of human architecture. This heavy construction project also brought great pain to people at that time. Someone told the folk story of "the wife of Qi Liang" and Meng Jiangnv. Now there are Qin Changcheng relics near Lintao, Yinshan and Daqingshan.

Speaking of the role of the Great Wall, people only say that it is a kind of fortifications, which is not comprehensive. In fact, its functions should include the following four aspects: defending against looting, protecting national security and the stability of people's lives. This is the main use. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Great Wall was mainly the mutual defense of vassal states. After Qin Shihuang unified the world, it was mainly to defend against the harassment of Xiongnu slave owners and nobles. Many subsequent dynasties were mostly built by the rulers of the Central Plains to defend against the harassment of nomadic rulers.

Why did the Great Wall of China be built for more than two thousand years? This is mainly to defend the needs of the nomadic rulers in the north for the agricultural production-oriented areas in the Central Plains. Agricultural production needs stability to have a good harvest, while nomadic rulers live on weeds and wander around endlessly. Rulers of nomadic people often come to the Central Plains to plunder, but it is not so easy for the Central Plains people to defeat them: you chase him and you return him. Therefore, the rulers of the Central Plains in the Qin and Han Dynasties and later dynasties believed that only building the Great Wall was the best way to prevent it. Develop wasteland, protect wasteland and protect the development of production in remote areas. Wherever the Great Wall is built, the people who built it and their families should be organized to carry out agricultural production, so as to ensure the supply along the Great Wall and promote the development of agricultural production. When Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, not only twelve counties were set up along the Great Wall, but also immigrants went to develop it. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a large number of land reclamation and frontier defense were carried out, and agricultural and animal husbandry production was developed in an organized way. At the same time, the beacon tower of the Great Wall is also the best barrier to protect wasteland and develop these areas. Open up the Silk Road. In the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, after many wars of conquest against the slave owners of Xiongnu nobles, in order to ensure the safety of strategic places in Hexi, a vast northwest frontier was opened up, and ramparts and pavilions were built as far away as Lushan Mountain (about the northern foot of Yinshan Mountain). These ramparts enabled the Han army to retreat and attack, thus protecting the rich reclamation areas and grasslands inside and outside Yinshan Mountain and Qilian Mountain. Protect communications and business travel. When Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, there were wide straight roads and alleys inside and outside the Great Wall, which were connected with Xianyang, the capital city, and there were also avenues in twelve counties along the Great Wall. It is very convenient to transfer documents and travel for business, which has played an important role in developing the economy of the Central Plains and remote areas. The traffic avenue in the western regions was opened in the Han Dynasty, which was beneficial to the diplomatic envoys and business travel between countries. The beacon tower of the Great Wall was also built along this avenue to protect the smooth traffic between China and the West.