A Study On The Historical Military Geography Of Heluo Area

Heluo area was one of the most frequent military activities in ancient China,with its geographical situation surrounded by mountains and rivers and its geographical position in the world,it became a military hub and strategic place to communicate with Jin(晋),Wan(宛),Guanzhong(关中)and Eastern Henan(豫东).In the history of ancient Chinese war has a very important position.Mountains and rivers forming a victory in Heluo area are mainly embodied in the following three aspects:the geographical situation surrounded by mountains,the pass crossing in each direction,and the four-way access to land and water military channel centered on Luoyang(洛阳).Taihang Mountains(太行山),Mount Wangwu(王屋山)and Zhongtiao Mountains(中条山)are linked,roughly in the southwest-northeast direction,and lie in the northern part of the Heluo area.Together with the Yellow River,they form a geographical barrier between Shanxi(山西)and Hebei(河北)to the south and Luoyang.Mangshan(邙山),Xiao Mountains(崤山),Xiong’er(熊耳山),Funiu(伏牛山),Waifang(外方山)and Songji mountain(嵩箕山)ranges are protected by U-shaped grooves that open to the northeast in the central region of Luoyang.Between the mountains and rivers,pass and ferry crossing control the hub area.Located in the north,which is divided into Zhi pass(轵关),Pujin ferry(蒲津渡)(pass),Feng Ling ferry(风陵渡)(pass),Mao Jin ferry(茅津渡),Dou Jin ferry(浢津)(pass),Meng jin County ferry(孟津渡)(pass),Xiao Ping Jin ferry(小平津)(pass)and Wu She ferry(五社津).To the east are Yumen Ferry(玉门渡)and Hulao Pass(虎牢关).To the west are Hangu Pass(函谷关),Tongguan(潼关)and its passes in the north and south,and to the south are Guangcheng Pass(广成关),Yique Pass(伊阙关),Dagu Pass(大谷关)and Huanyuan Pass(轘辕关).The military routes radiating outward from Luoyang are mainly Xiaohan Road(崤函道)to the west,Luhun Road(陆浑道),Wanluo Road(宛洛道)and Huanyuan Road(轘辕道)to the south,Chenggao Road(成皋路)to the east,Jinluo Road(晋洛道)to the north and the road to Hebei.The distribution of ancient wars in Heluo area has obvious space-time characteristics.In terms of time,the number of wars was less when they were unified and stable,and more when they were divided and controlled.As far as the space is concerned,the overall characteristics are as follows:(1)Luoyang is the largest,followed by the eastern,western and northern districts,and the Southern District is the least.(2)The southwest is sparsely fought and the central and eastern are intensively fought.(3)It is mainly distributed along the main water and land transportation routes,especially in the key military areas such as passes,ferries,military towns and strategic strongholds.The long-term political factors,the complicated topography and the geographical position of“Being in the middle of the world” are the most important factors affecting the space-time distribution of ancient wars in Heluo area.The military offensive and defensive situation in Heluo area is mainly in the east,west and north directions.Its military location,namely the Eastern Xingyang(荥阳)region,the western Hangu Pass,Tongguan region and the Northern River Bridge area,with a typical area outside a city gate,river bridge and Mountain Offensive and defense examples.The Eastern Region of Xingyang was a strategic location in the unification war between the Han and Tang dynasties.Western Hangu Pass and Tongguan are the road and foot,riding the era of the east-west War of resistance and the dangerous and strong pass.The Northern River Bridge is the last line of defense heading south to Luoyang,from the Northern Dynasty to the Five Dynasties,there were many battles over this area,especially the Mangshan area on the southern bank,which affected the east-west pattern.The selection of tactics in ancient wars in Heluo area was deeply influenced by geographical environment.The eastern and southern mountains are low and broken,and the military passage is relatively flat and short,it is easy to be controlled by the defending side,and so the offensive side took many detours in battle.The west road has a broad strategic depth,and the mountains are high,difficult to cross,military movements often along a specific road,easy to intercept,coupled with mountain operations,but also easy to shade,usually using military ambush.