Research On The Military Geography Of The Ordos Plateau During The Liao, Song, Xia, Jin And Yuan Dynasties

Located between the Inner Mongolia Plateau and the Loess Plateau,the Ordos Plateau has the vital Strategic Position,because it is a necessary military route of the northern nomadic regime into south and the feudal dynasties of the Central Plains marching north in ancient China.During the period of the Liao,Song,Xia,Jin and Yuan dynasties,the Ordos Plateau experienced a process from multiple ethnic regimes competing each other to eventually unified by Mongolian.In this process,the Liao,Northern Song,Xi Xia,Jin and Mongol-Yuan implemented the military and political management style with its own characteristic,so as to strengthened the rule over their respective jurisdictions.This paper discusses the military geography of the Ordos Plateau from the Liao,Song,Xia,Jin to Yuan,consisting of the boundary evolution,administrative systems,military deployment and related wars.During the Liao,Song and Xia confront each other,Xi Xia continued to expand to the northern and western parts of the Ordos Plateau on the basis of the original Xia,Sui,Yin,Yong and Jing five states.And at the time of Zhao Yuanhao,Xi Xia had basically occupied most of the areas except the Lin,Fu and Feng states in the southeast of the plateau.Yuanhao established the Jianjun Si system in combination with the tribal army system and the state-county system.In the occupied plateau region,he set up five Jianjun Si concluded by Zuoxiang,Youzhou,Weizhou,Suizhou and Xiangqing,and built the ministry fortresses closed to them.In 1043 and 1048,two wars broke out between Liao and Xia in Hequ.Although the Xi Xia had won,he lost Shengzhou and Tanglong Zhen located in the northeastern part of the plateau.Then,Liao set up Heqing Jun,Jinsu Jun and Ningbian state in this area,and assigned it to the Southwest Side(Road)Zhaotao Si.Besides,the immigrants were moved here.During the reign of Emperor Shenzong,Zhezong and Huizong,the Northern Song actively pursued the policy of extending borders,built many fortresses in the bordering Xi Xia'Roads that located at the edge of the Ordos plateau.At the same time,the Northern Song adopted the strategy of active attack and sustained consolidation,constantly nibbled Xi Xia'territory,and left Xixia in an extremely passive situation.During the Xia-Jin confrontation,the Xi Xia captured Jinsu Jun,Heqing Jun and Ningbian state belonged to the Liao and Lin-Feng zhou owned by the Song,simultaneously,got the northern land of Hengshan from the Jin Dynasty.In order to consolidate the rule over the occupied area of the plateau,Xi Xia made some reforms to the Jian Jun Si system to adapt to the new situation of Jin-Xia confrontation period.After Jin destroyed Liao and Song Dynasties,the Lu-Fu-Zhou-Xian system as well as the Southwestern Road Zhao Tao Si,the Shaanxi Tong Jun Si were implemented in the occupied area of the Ordos Plateau to prevent the southwestern tribes and Xi Xia.At the end of it,faced the fierce offensive of Mongolia,establishment of the military and political organizations such as the Xing Sheng and Xing Yuan Shuai Fu on the Shaanxi frontline,so as to dispatch strategic materials centrally.At the beginning of the 13th century,the rising Mongolia died the Jin and Xi Xia through the more than 20 years,and entirely took over the Ordos Plateau.Based on the absorption of the Jin' Xing Sheng,Mongol-Yuan regime created the Xing Sheng system combined with its own Duan Shi Guan system.According to the Central Plains Dynasties' feudal system and the Mongolian Ulus system,the Zong Wang Chu Zhen system was established.As a protective barrier,the kings of the imperial family"commanded troops and guarded the key lands located in the frontier",represented the imperial court to conquer the rebellion and monitor places.Besides,Yuan also established Xuan Wei Si and Du Yuan Shuai Fu,palmed "the military affairs in the frontier”,and concurrently managed the civil affairs.These systems and measures of the Mongol-Yuan embodying to the Ordos Plateau,which were the Zhongshu Province,Shaanxi-Gansu Xing Sheng as well as Xuan Wei Si and Du Yuan Shuai Fu in Caqan-nahur concurrently managed the military and civil affairs,while the king of Anxi guarded in Guanzhong,and commanded the army for conquest.The Ordos Plateau during the Liao,Song,Xia,Jin and Yuan became the region which Liao,the Northern Song,the Western Xia,Jin and Mongol-Yuan put forth efforts to operate because of its strategic position.The land not only reflected the political and military contest among different regimes,but also witnessed the historical process of integration among the ethnic groups.It had an irreplaceable role for the political situation of the North at that time.