Why is Hunan called Baoqing made of iron and Yiyang called Yiyang made of silver?

This is based on their geographical location. From their geographical location, we can well judge whether their place is vulnerable to attack.

"Baoqing made of iron" is today's Shaoyang, Hunan, surrounded by water on three sides and backed by mountains on one side. The terrain of this place is dangerous, because it is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and because the folk customs here are tough, it is also a difficult area to manage. At that time, there was a saying that "Hunan has treated the treasure at the end, and before the treasure was disturbed, it can hold the official of Baoqing and the whole of Hunan" and "on bullying foreigners, Hunan is afraid of Baoqing people". According to the difficult terrain and folk customs here, there is a saying that Baoqing is made of iron.

Yiyang made of silver, which is today's Yiyang, is also called Silver City, Lido and Badminton Town. It is a prefecture-level city in Hunan Province, located in the south bank of Dongting Lake on the south bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and in the north of Hunan Province. The local network is dense and the water resources are particularly rich. Since ancient times, it has been called "the land of fish and rice".

During the Daoguang period, this place has become one of the important waterway transportation hubs in Hunan. Because of the manufacture of more than 200 tons of rough wooden boats, Hankou workers called them "big ships with big docks", hereinafter referred to as "big docks". Due to the superior water conservancy conditions, Yiyang has become a prosperous place of commerce and trade, and money is constantly flowing, so there is a saying that "Yiyang makes silver".

"Paper Changsha", Changsha is now Changsha. In Qing dynasty, Changsha was not very important. Yiyang was more important then Changsha. During the Yongzheng period, Changsha was appointed as the governor of Hunan and has been the capital city of Hunan until today.

As we all know, Changsha is the capital city of Hunan Province and an important central city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, enjoying a high reputation at home and abroad. But in the Qing Dynasty, Changsha's name was not loud, not even comparable to Yiyang. Changsha is located in the plain, and there is no danger to defend. If there is a war, as long as the enemy grasps the upper reaches of Xiangjiang River and goes downstream, Changsha will be broken as soon as it is attacked. It can be seen how fragile Changsha is, just like paper paste.