On the Unity of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

In 589 AD, the Sui Dynasty unified China, and the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties ended the historical period dominated by the division between the North and the South. If history is full of accidents, it is an inevitable result and an inevitable trend. This trend is mainly reflected in two aspects, one is the background of cultural awareness and economic development, and the other is the comparison of political and military strength between North and South at that time.

Although there were many separatist regimes in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the factors contributing to reunification were quietly budding. First of all, the tide of refugees and immigrants has promoted language exchange. ? Kyushu people have different opinions, and the people have come to Changran. . However, if they don't communicate with each other, the differences between them will become bigger and bigger. The exchange of immigrants breaks this barrier, because immigrants and aborigines always have to communicate, and they will find new exchange agreements. The pronunciation of Luoyang after the Western Jin Dynasty? South dyed Wu, Yue, North mixed? And Yangzhou in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the Eastern Jin Dynasty? Is the mixed voice of overseas Chinese and Wu the most popular? And then what? This mutual assimilation has a wide range? . Related to this, the mother tongues of ethnic minorities who entered the Central Plains gradually disappeared in their lives. The unity of language and writing has become a prelude to political unity.

Secondly, the integration of living customs mainly lies in the adaptation of nomadic customs and farming life. The ethnic problem in this period was not the border attack, but how China and Turkey got along. The process of national integration can be roughly divided into four steps: the first step is communication; The second is mixed living;

Third, common intermarriage; The fourth is the recognition of culture and code of conduct. For the upper class of ethnic minorities, agriculture and sinicization are the same. In order to rule, if they want to deal with Han people, they will take the lead in learning Chinese, such as Ji Hu? He also lives in the wrong place with China people, and his Qu Shuai knows a lot of words. . This result is amazing. At the beginning of the post-Wei Dynasty, the Central Plains was fixed, and all military orders were in foreign languages. How can you not get past the customs of China? , to the late Northern Dynasties? Record your own words and teach them from generation to generation. Call it? Mandarin? ! Then there is the infection of civilization. For example, the atmosphere of the Tu people is very attractive to them. If Wei Daowu also eats cold food powder, then? How much medicine did you use? . One of the motives is to improve one's status or authority in the ethnic group. But the two are often synchronized, especially at a lower level. Once the lower classes are also integrated, national integration will be difficult to reverse.

The land and water roads are open again. The road is made by people, and the army's conquest, people's migration, merchants' selling and monks' wandering will make way wider and wider. Soldiers, immigrants, businessmen and monks were the most common people in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Their communication promoted the development of roads and brought unified conditions. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, in order to meet the needs of war, Cao Wei began to do two things in water conservancy. First, build an irrigation system to meet the needs of large-scale reclamation, like at that time? The upper reaches of this river lead to Huai Ying and the lower reaches to Huai Ying. All the vicious areas have been treated in the south and north of Ying Ying, crossing more than 300 miles of canals and irrigating 20,000 hectares of fields? . Even a regime like Yan Qian, because of the wasteland? Ditch irrigation is beneficial to officials and private interests, and owners should make full use of land and water. . Second, a series of waterways were dug or dredged to transport soldiers and grain, such as Baigou, Pinglu, Quanzhou, Xinhe, Cao Li, Baima, Lukou, Houjia, Lu Tao, Cao Guang, Huaiyang, Bai Chi and Chaofei Canal. What about then? Both the northern and southern regimes attached importance to the waterway leading to the Huaihe River basin, further expanding the waterway traffic between the Yangtze River and the Yellow River? . The excavation or dredging of these waterways undoubtedly laid the foundation for the opening of the Grand Canal in Sui Dynasty, which made the unification of Sui and Tang Dynasties less geographical obstacles. Therefore, despite political differences, economic exchanges are very common. One of the evidences is that the commercial tax of past dynasties has increasingly become an important income of officials. Not only that. He Qiao Jin Meng, losing money by solving bonds? , is the hostel along the way? Trade diversion? Who is it? Charge by guest house? , and ultimately pursue profits. This is especially true in the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties. The second evidence is that the north and the south are still standing? Common market? . As early as the Qin bamboo slips? Jingzhou was established in Fengyang county, attracting exotic goods from the south, painting wax with bows and poles, passing through the city and coming from far away, so the country used enough, but different bribes accumulated? . Later Northern Wei Dynasty? There is a mutual market in the south, so that there are foreign goods and feather tooth skins everywhere? . In the local area, Wei Cuikuan is the commander of Shaanxi Town. Heng Nong Jia lacquer wax, bamboo and wood, road and Nantong, trade, rich family, the people enjoy happiness? . For example, after the Northern Wei Dynasty occupied the Huaihe River Basin. There are no mullet in Jiangnan, or there are rich ones. How much is one? However, some people bought 30 mullet at once, which shows that the transaction volume is not small. Even during the war, it didn't stop, such as high season style? As commander-in-chief, he followed Stuart Panle in the conquest between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. Border trade for private entertainment, back to Beijing, sitting in jail? . And this commercial interest caused officials in the border counties of the Northern Wei Dynasty? There is no heart to prevent bandits and thieves, only the meaning of trading and accumulation? . When the other side is like a beam. Yuzhou meets the border, and the folk customs are in contact with wei ren. All this shows the scale and influence of north-south border transactions. Wei is divided into east and west parts. The scholar still marries the old and deals privately? Although there is a ban, but? The criminal is not one? Later, I had to relax. Another example is BAIC? Under the old system, it was forbidden to listen to vendors. . Su Qiong is Zuo Cheng for Xuzhou. After the trip to Xuzhou, she listened to two grains with children. Therefore, it is estimated that the business will return and benefit each other, and the land and water interests will be linked to Hebei. . This situation is certainly one of the factors promoting reunification.

Finally, it is implemented in the strengthening of the unified concept. At that time, the north and the south were divided, but there were frequent exchanges. What was the original cliche? Want to be quiet in the territory, this rate is safe and peaceful? And then what? Want to show no hint? Regardless of each other, change to? Want to be clear on the territory, and today the world is at peace? Throw, get the recognition of the north and the south. As for the deep conceptual cohesion, it is meticulous, such as? It was the laws and regulations of the Northern Dynasties, the influence of the Southern Dynasties and the interweaving of local characteristics that formed the rich and colorful connotation of Qingzhou local culture in the Southern and Northern Dynasties? . Another example? In the 50 years after Xuan Wudi ascended the throne in the Northern Wei Dynasty (that is, during the reign of Liang Wudi in the Southern Dynasty, about 500 AD? In 550), the North and the South entered a period of relative peace, cultural exchanges were frequent, and decorative art styles, especially decorative themes, shapes and patterns gradually converged. For example, the theme of the ceiling decoration in the tombs of the Southern Dynasties is the same as that in Gongxian Grottoes in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the themes of gods, kings and beasts are popular in stone carvings in the late Northern Dynasties and tombs in the Southern Dynasties. . Aesthetic consistency is also one of the forms of convergence of values.

After Tuoba Xianbei unified the north, there was a long-term peace and stability. Guanzhong and Zhongyuan were not only the most economically developed areas at that time, but also the centers of traditional culture. The envoys of the south came to Luoyang? I first met the gentry in clothes and lived in the Central Plains. Rich in etiquette, rich in character? . Therefore, under the material and psychological support, whoever occupies the Central Plains will have the heart to unify the whole country, and the justified act of respecting the king and resisting foreign aggression will always make people eager to try. When Emperor Xiaowen of Wei got drunk, he sang loudly: The sky is bright in the daytime, and the left corner of the river is not unique. His deputies echoed:? Would you like to climb the weight from Xi, Ming Sheng and meet with other countries sincerely? Chui. Fu Jian has this great ambition, and so does Tuoba Tao, but the objective situation is not mature. After Yuwen Yong destroyed the Northern Qi, he met the conditions of unification, but unfortunately he died young. Therefore, Emperor Wendi's policy of eliminating Chen after the Sui Dynasty is a natural continuation of this will. All these show that no matter whether the rulers in the north are Han or ethnic minorities, the subjective desire for reunification is always strong, which is also an inevitable trend.

What is the historical scene we saw at the end of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties? In the south, since Emperor Wu of Song established the Song Dynasty? Taking Gangjiangdong as a teacher, forcing him to pass through and recommending him is fierce. In the contest with the north, it gradually went downhill. Emperor Wu of Song was an excellent commander-in-chief, but in order to ensure the capture of the Eastern Jin regime, he hurried back to Jiankang from the front, which led to the loss of opportunities, the fall of Guanzhong, and his strength was greatly weakened. During the Song and Ming Dynasties, the Qing and Qi States were owned by the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the Huaihe River became the dividing line between the north and the south. ? When the Northern and Southern Dynasties confronted each other, the dividing line between their national strength and strength was about the battle that the Northern Dynasties took advantage of the civil strife in the Southern Dynasties to capture the land of Qing and Qi. . Qi Liang has not changed much, and the border with Huai is mutually offensive and defensive, and can basically maintain balance under confrontation. However, after the invasion of Wei Taidi Tuoba Tao, the Huaihe River was broken and could not be the base of the Northern Expedition. The Southern Dynasties lived on the defensive. At the end of the Liang Dynasty, due to the Hou Jing Rebellion, the territory of the Chen Dynasty was limited to the south of the Yangtze River. Shu Han died in the west, Huai and Fei lost in the north, and added power. Jing and Yang had no place to stand. . The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, on which Jiangzuo regime depends, are in ruins. For example, Zi Jian, Volume 163, May of the First Year of Liang and Dabao, said: Since the Jin family crossed the river, Sanwu is the richest, and tributes and business trips are all out of place. And the Hou Jing Rebellion plundered gold and silks, but plundered people and ate them, or sold them in the north, and all the adherents were gone? . In this way, the Southern Dynasties lost their strength base against the Northern Dynasties.

In addition, for the southern regime, Shu is upstream and tends to go downstream; However, if the river is protected first, the Huai land will fall, which will not only expose Jiankang, but also benefit the northern army. Therefore, the loss of profit and Huai determines that the whole Chen Dynasty just lingers on. What was the policy of cutting Chen adopted by Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty? Iraq, Xinjiang, Hunan, Beijing, Hebei, Ying and other States, quickly build boats, multiple situations, for the water war? . Once it is decided to attack Chen, the northern army of Shu and Han will go straight down by boat, and the southern army will take advantage of the situation and advance without great resistance. If it gathers ships to confront it, the river defense will be empty, and everyone below Wuchang can cross the river, so the south can't see this and that. Therefore, in the Chen dynasty, the time of reunification depends on the development of the situation in the north itself.

But in the long run, there are other reasons for the weakness of the Southern Dynasties. Although the men of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties paid attention to leading troops from the beginning, they came from a cultural family. Over time, it is bound to emphasize literature over martial arts, and the status of soldiers is very low and morale is low. However, the northern minorities have always been martial. Although it weakened after the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang, it revived in the Northern Zhou and Northern Qi Dynasties. This difference is also one of the reasons why the Southern Dynasties lost more and won less in the civil war. Secondly, due to the long-term accumulation and the amount of regional resources, the economic development of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River was still higher than that of Jiangzuo at that time, and the materials and appearance of coins cast by the Northern Dynasties were also better than those of the Southern Dynasties, that is to say, the North was also better than the South in terms of human and material resources as the basis of war. Furthermore, although northerners are afraid of the heat and southerners are afraid of the cold, it seems that they have their own advantages, but the clothing demand brought by the cold winter depends more on transportation, which is also an important reason why the Southern Dynasties visited the North many times and were sad when they arrived at the Yellow River.

Because of the tributary to the north of the Yellow River, it is almost impossible for ships in the south to sail, and the army can't fight without logistical support. As long as the north occupies the area between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, it can use ships and waterways to send troops south to cross the river. Therefore, in the case of confrontation between the north and the south, Huaihe River is very important. Only by building a strong cavalry here and preparing enough chariots and horses can the Confederate army hope to conquer Hebei. Few people in the history of China have thought of this, and it is even more difficult to do it. Because? Where northerners use cavalry, everyone takes a horse, and the other horse is a deputy horse? . Shenzhen, of course, this is very conducive to long-distance raids, but it is difficult to get so many horses in the south. Until the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the agricultural areas were mainly horse-raising areas? Is it really the north? Of course, this area also belongs to the Northern Dynasties. What's more, the northern cavalry was equipped with stirrup armor at that time, and it was unstoppable when charging. Northern Wei Dynasty? Since Xu Yang's attachment, it is still in the world. . Later, Northern Qi Zeng? Send thousands of Turkic horses to Yangzhou? Although its purpose is to extract money from local local tyrants, the imbalance between the northern and southern cavalry bases can also be seen, so the situation that the north is strong and the south is weak is always difficult to change.

However, based on the above analysis and comparison, after the establishment of the Sui Dynasty and the reunification of the north, it will naturally follow. Although Confucianism advocates kingship and morality, since it wants to be unified, it has to use troops. There are few examples of peaceful reunification in the history of China. Even if one side surrenders, it will not be Enemy at the Gates. Just like the situation in which Jin destroyed Wu, when the Sui Dynasty ended the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the scene of southern reunification was repeated.

Objectively speaking, the conditions are ripe and the general trend is inevitable. Subjectively, meritorious service is needed to consolidate the easily obtained throne. Jin, Qin, and Qinghe sent Su as the marching marshal. . In December, the Confederate army set out from Linjiang. Although from the perspective of power comparison, the transformation from Zhou Jun was in high spirits after the demise of the Northern Qi Dynasty, while the main force of the Southern Army was lost after the Northern Wu Expedition. There is no doubt that Sui beat Chen with stones, but Sui is still very cautious. First of all, in March of that year, when he sent a special envoy to Chen to verify the authenticity, he also sent a letter listing bad deeds to create public opinion. It used to be a high strategy. Because the harvest in the north was earlier than that in the south, the farming in the north was finished. When the farmers in the south of the Yangtze River harvested, the soldiers were stationed in the river. A few years later, the farmers were abandoned and paralyzed. Chen Ye overreached to provoke:? Although the late Lord and Sui made up, they sent troops across the river to attack the town, and the imperial court was empty. , more to the sui army with ammunition. Secondly, Sui used a lot of soldiers. There are 90 generals and 510.8 million soldiers, all of whom were saved by the king of Jin. ; There are also a large number of ships built in advance, the largest of which is five stories high and can accommodate 800 soldiers. The south has no advantage in the water army. Once again, cross the river and attack more. East to the sea, west to Bashu, with flags, across thousands of miles? . This not only overwhelmed people in momentum, but also made it difficult for Chen Jun to take care of the head and tail, which was similar to the Western Jin Dynasty in strategy. In addition, Chen Houzhu was unprepared at the beginning, and Sui Jun was on the verge of collapse, which established health through encirclement and quickly broke the city. In the first month of the ninth year of Emperor Kai of Sui Dynasty, he was captured and Chen died. Since then, a new historical period has begun.

Related to this battle and affecting the future historical development, this time, King Yang Guang of Jin was the army of the marching marshal and the president. Why not use Prince Yong Yang to lead the army? In fact, for the Sui Dynasty at that time, the more dangerous enemy was the Turks in the north. The Turks were very powerful at that time, and they often violated the border. After crossing the Great Wall, Guanzhong shook, so he opened the emperor for two years. The crown prince bravely stationed troops in Xianyang to prepare for Hu? . In the autumn of the sixth year, Yong Yang moved the capital to Luoyang. Although the task is important, it is the premise to ensure Chen's demise to guard against Turks. But pacifying the south and unifying the whole country was the first achievement of the Sui Dynasty. In addition, after Chen was destroyed, Chen's courtiers were also killed, which made people very happy. Seal the treasury, don't take money, and the world is called a sage? . Later, Yang Guang was able to win the position of Prince, although there were other reasons, but it was not unrelated to this.