Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

At the same time, if the Yellow River and the Yangtze River really become a north-south direction, then east of the current Tongguan, there will be a rolling Yangtze River, cutting the two areas of Shanxi and Hebei, and the direction of the Yangtze River will become the current Beijing-Hangzhou A similar existence to the Grand Canal.

Then, coupled with the Qinling Mountains and Huaihe River, which have not changed, the entire Chinese civilization will be cut into scattered acres.

This also means that the formation of the natural Chu-He-Han realm will make it increasingly difficult for any country or force to unify.

The history of China will be completely rewritten. Regimes such as Sun Wu, Eastern Jin, Song Qi, Liang Chen, Southern Tang, Southern Song, etc. will become impossible to appear, or if they appear, they will be very fragile.

Because the upper reaches of the Yangtze River will be under the control of the north, and once it breaks through the Huaihe River, it will be completely undefendable.

It's not a good thing for the north either.

If this is really the case, it is conceivable that the Yellow River and Yangtze River, which were originally used to resist the invasion of nomadic peoples in the grasslands and deserts further north, will become fast channels for the other parties to move down the river.

At that time, not only will agriculture suffer huge losses at any time, but the country's security will not be guaranteed at all.

In this case, unless the North and the Central Plains build again similar to the Hebei Tunnel Great Wall in the Northern Song Dynasty and the Guanhe Defense Line in the Jin Dynasty, which require 200,000 armored elites to control the key points, with main walls, moats, auxiliary trenches, horse faces, and beacons , border fort, and military garrison city are integrated into one, and it cost the country countless money, food and taxes to build this defense line.

But even so, it's unclear how long the effect will last.

Since Li Jinglong is a "paper warrior sage", he naturally knows the meaning of Jiang Xinghuo's words, so he sighed sincerely.

"As Jiang Lang said, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River are really precious treasures of Chinese civilization that cannot be exchanged for any price!"

The secret room next door.

Zhu Gaochi said: "So, Mr. Jiang gave this example to stimulate thinking: If the topographic conditions that constitute the most basic Chinese civilization change, then everything will change accordingly? It is precisely because of this that it shows that geographical determinism is valid. meaningful."

"I think this assumption itself is meaningless."

Gu Cheng shook his head slightly and continued: "Mountains and terrain are of course also an extremely important factor in the military and cannot be ignored. But what this young man named Jiang Xinghuo said at the beginning is just a way to make people feel slightly Just an interesting hypothesis."

"Assumptions can't change anything." Gu Cheng looked sternly, "And if you don't consider this assumption, I won't be able to see anything unique in his remarks that are ordinary enough to be known to anyone who has read a little bit. .”

Zhu Di did not refute the veteran's remarks. Instead, he nodded in agreement and said, "So far, what Jiang Xinghuo has said is indeed somewhat disappointing."

"In the past, whether it was the 'Law of Dynasty Cycles' in "The Theory of National Destiny", or the 'sharing of labor between households', or the 'silver banknotes' that talked about how to manage the country and benefit the people, Jiang Xinghuo was always able to bring me Something refreshing.”

"But today, at least for now, I don't feel it."

Zhu Gaochi looked at his father and asked, "Father, do you think Jiang Xinghuo and Jiang Lang have exhausted their talents?"

Is your talent exhausted?

The homophone is quite interesting. Zhu Di smiled, waved his hand and said, "I think it's not impossible."

"After all, no matter how rich and profound a person is, his knowledge is limited. Therefore, Jiang Xinghuo has already said so much unique content. If today he just made a temporary decision and talked about some ordinary content, It’s not that I can’t understand it.”

Today's second volume of "On National Destiny" did not give any shock to the audience.

Therefore, they all felt that maybe Jiang Xinghuo was not prepared because of Cao Guogong's temporary problem, so he just played it casually, and the sense of expectation dropped accordingly.

Only Dao Yan fell into deep thought at this time.

Dao Yan believed that if Jiang Xinghuo didn't have something unique of his own, he would never tell it. If so, I'm afraid he would rather say nothing.

Dao Yan began to speculate that if we start from geographical determinism, as Jiang Xinghuo said, it is the basis of the "geo-temple theory", but it sounds like that.

But would Jiang Xinghuo really talk about such a boring, cliche, and meaningless issue?

If it was just to let Mr. Cao Guo understand the origins of Ryukyu, Japan and other countries, then I am afraid that it would really disappoint the people in the secret room.

Jiang Xinghuo nodded slightly and traced some images on the sand on the ground with his fingers.

Soon, a simple topographic map of China's mountains and rivers appeared on the ground.

"Next, let's talk about two major points."

"The first important point is that the geographical environment determines the formation of a country!"

"From the outside, according to the exploration of the Mongols' Western Expedition, in the world we know, China is located in the eastern part of the entire continent."

There is no doubt about this. If we do not take into account the great geographical discoveries that have not yet occurred, then the Mongolian expedition to the west was the most far-reaching journey of exploration from east to west.

Because of this, the Ming Dynasty realized more clearly than other dynasties that the world was not small, and at least it could not reach the end hundreds of thousands of miles west.

It was easy to accept the conclusion that I was in the easternmost part of the known world.

Seeing that they had no objections, Jiang Xinghuo continued.

"The center of the entire continent is actually where the Tamerlane Khanate is today, which is what our ancients called 'Congling'."

"To the west, the Kunlun Mountains extending from Congling to the east, the plateau where Tubo used to be located, and the Hengduan Mountains where Dali used to be located form a continuous line from northwest to southeast, cutting off the connection between China and Tianzhu."

"To the north, there is the dividing line between the monsoon and non-monsoon areas mentioned in the previous lesson, which forms the northern dividing line of China. These two dividing lines are composed of continuous mountain ranges."

"The overall environment of China is closed, with deserts to the north, plateaus to the west, jungles to the south, and oceans to the east, making China a separate geographical unit."

This is easy to understand. Zhu Gaoxu and Li Jinglong both agreed without any hesitation.

The geographical environment indeed determines China as a whole.

It is precisely because of this closed geographical environment that China has been able to form an overall sense of identity for thousands of years. Even if there are several troubled times, it will eventually be unified.

"From an internal perspective, the sub-units within the overall geographical unit of China still have strong cohesion and centripetal force, and this center is the Yellow River-Huaihe-Yangtze River region."

After talking about the reasons for external isolation, Jiang Xinghuo continued to talk about the reasons for internal centripetal separation.

“In the closed geographical unit of China, the Yellow River, Huaihe River, and Yangtze River pass through half of China’s fields, and also flow through areas with the best natural geographical conditions. These three rivers can not only provide fertile soil, but also provide Water transport facilitates trade.”

"At the same time, due to the constraints of the geographical environment, it is easier for surrounding areas, such as Longxi, Bashu, and Jiangnan, to develop closer to the central areas of China than to develop outwards, such as Longxi to the Western Regions, Bashu to Yunnan and Guizhou, and Jiangnan to Guangdong and Guangxi. Much more. Therefore, the Yellow River-Huaihe-Yangtze River region naturally forms a geographical centripetal force."

"It is precisely because externally, Huaxia is a separate geographical unit. Internally, the various sub-units in the large geographical unit of Huaxia still have a centripetal force to move closer to the birthplace of Huaxia centered on the Yellow River-Huaihe-Yangtze River region. .”

“That’s why China was able to become China!”

Zhu Gaoxu and Li Jinglong looked at the map on the ground in Shatian and fell into deep thought.

It turns out that the reason why China became China is not only because of the well-known isolation environment of desert to the north, plateau to the west, jungle to the south, and ocean to the east.

More importantly, the Yellow River-Huaihe-Yangtze River region also has a centripetal force on the surrounding geographical subunits. It is precisely because of the existence of this centripetal force that the huge Huaxia region can always be firmly gathered together and become A whole.

While the two were deep in thought, Jiang Xinghuo's voice was loud and clear.

"The strong wind is strong, the tide is pouring. The totem of the flood is the dragon, and the fire is the nirvana of the phoenix. The holy fire of civilization has never been extinguished through the ages, and I am the only one who has no equal. It coexists with the heaven and the earth, and shines with the sun and the moon."

Throughout the ages of China, I am the only one who is unparalleled!

In the secret room, listening to Jiang Xinghuo's chanting, several people couldn't help but trembled!

An indescribable pride burst out from the heart of Gu Cheng, the old general.

Gu Cheng himself is a military commander, with a fanatical pursuit of war, the nation, and glory!

Moreover, in his past military career, he had guarded Guizhou for nearly twenty years and put down hundreds of rebellions. He always killed the leaders and appeased the remaining people, and all the barbarians obeyed.

Now after listening to Jiang Xinghuo's words, Gu Chengfang finally came to his senses.

What he has done throughout his life is not to make the southwestern border areas submit to the Ming Dynasty and maintain the integrity of Chinese civilization?

Because of this, Jiang Xinghuo's words are filled with the Chinese civilization that has lasted for thousands of years, which makes people feel proud from the bottom of their hearts and makes Gu Cheng's blood boil!

At this time, Dao Yan's eyes suddenly looked at him, and he smiled faintly, showing an intriguing look.

As the smartest person in the world, he can even infer the future existence from Jiang Xinghuo's words.

Dao Yan had already vaguely traced the purpose of Jiang Xinghuo's lesson by relying on the clues in Jiang Xinghuo's words.

Jiang Xinghuo didn't mean to talk about the superficial things he said before.

Japan, Ryukyu, and how they came into being are all mentioned in passing.

Dao Yan has basically determined that what Jiang Xinghuo is going to talk about is an important theory related to the entire spiritual outlook of the future Ming Dynasty!

"Interesting, interconnected, and exhaustive."

"It would be perfect if Jiang Sheng's theory was spread out and cooperated with the Western expeditions."

Jiang Xinghuo said: "The first big point is that the geographical environment determines the formation of the country. Now that we have finished talking about what kind of internal and external geographical units China was formed, next, we will talk about the countries surrounding China. Such internal and external geographical units are formed.”

"Actually, the main ones we talk about are three. First, the nomadic countries in the north; second, North Korea; and third, Japan."

"I'm just going to talk about it briefly here. I won't go into too much detail. The most important thing is to let you understand that not all countries in the world have the congenital geographical conditions of China. Therefore, don't use China's perspective. To treat and demand other countries, this is also a regular habit of Chinese civilization in foreign exchanges."

In fact, the internal and external geographical environment of China is destined to give rise to a strong unified country, but it is also doomed to have difficulties in external exchanges. Under the tradition of a unified country, it is normal to have a mentality of having a celestial dynasty. With this inherent understanding , naturally will not get to know other places in the world.

Li Jinglong listened especially carefully, because what Jiang Xinghuo was talking about now was directly related to whether he could come back from Japan intact.

“Let’s talk about the first one first, nomadic countries in the north. What do you know about the geographical structure of the Mongolian Plateau?”

The two of them understood the word Mongolian Plateau in an instant without any obstacles.

Zhu Gaoxu was the first to say: "Naturally, north of the Great Wall along the Yinshan-Yanshan line is the Mongolian Plateau."

"That's not the case."

Li Jinglong suddenly spoke.

"Isn't that so?" Zhu Gaoxu was startled.

When his father, Zhu Di, went to conquer Mongolia in the north, he was still very young at that time and had no experience of going deep into the hinterland of Mongolia. After that, although he led his troops out of the fortress, it was only within and outside the Great Wall, so he didn't actually know much about the Mongolian plateau. The specific geographical structure is only vaguely believed to be all north of the Great Wall.

"The Mongolian Plateau is divided into Monan and Mobei!"

Li Jinglong asked: "Do you know that Su Wu was a shepherd in Beihai (now Lake Baikal)?"

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, and Li Jinglong explained: "When the Huns were strong, they served Ding Ling in the north, and Ding Ling grazed south of Beihai. The living conditions there were very difficult. In the era of the Xianbei people, the Rouran people lived there. And in Beihai The place to the south and north of the desert is Mobei.”

After he finished explaining, Jiang Xinghuo continued.

"Mobei has always been the ruling center of the northern nomadic countries. The Xiongnu's Shan Yuting, the Turks and Uighurs' Yazhang, and the capital and forest of the Mongol Khanate are all here."

"As for the desert across the Mongolian Plateau and the grassland between the Yinshan Mountains and the Yanshan Mountains, it is Monan."

"Monan also includes the Hexi Corridor and Hetao areas that are suitable for farming and grazing. When the Central Plains dynasty was relatively weak, the nomadic khanates could often control the entire Mongolian Plateau, such as the Huns before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Turks before Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and the Khitan who established the Liao Kingdom etc."

"However, if dynasties like the Han and Tang Dynasties control the Yinshan Mountains, there will be very little Monan Grassland left. If the Central Plains Dynasty takes over the Yinshan Mountains, the Monan Grassland cannot support the large number of nomads. The Nomadic Khanate can only The famous saying of the Han Dynasty that 'the Huns fled far away, but there is no royal court in the south of the desert' refers to the situation where the nomadic khanates fled to the north of the Gobi Desert and were unable to frequently attack and plunder southward due to geographical barriers."

Seeing that the two of them understood, Jiang Xinghuo concluded.

"So in terms of a large geographical unit, the Mongolian Plateau is a whole, and the middle is divided into two sub-units, Mobei and Monan. As he has just said, the northern nomadic countries determine their nomadic behavior based on the Mongolian Plateau. Characteristics, and also because of the two geographical sub-units, determine the pattern of their prosperity going south and their decline going north. This is the decisive role of geographical environment in the nomadic countries in the north."

After talking about the nomadic country in the north, Jiang Xinghuo drew a peninsula on the sand field with his finger and pointed.

"The second one is North Korea."

"Looking at it as a whole, the Korean Peninsula is surrounded by the sea on three sides and blocked by Changbai Mountain (called Taibai Mountain before the Song Dynasty) on one side. Therefore, it also forms a separate geographical unit."

"From an internal perspective, the Korean Peninsula has two completely different geographical subunits, namely the mountains in the north and the plains and hills in the south."

"This also means that the Korean Peninsula, as an independent geographical unit, can easily form a unified country like China and Mongolia. However, because the geographical unit structure of North Korea is too closed, it is difficult to expand externally, and it will be easier than China to fall into To a state of seclusion.”

Even in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, North Korea called itself "Little China" after the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Wu Qingyuan and Wu Xichang's father and son wrote "The Foreign History of Xiaohua": The East has been known as Little China for a long time in history. Same as oral administration. Hanxu is the one who flourished in the eastward transformation, and is more prosperous than the past. As the political saying goes, those who advance in China are the ones who are Chinese.

Well, the problem of stealing things started from that time.

After briefly talking about North Korea, Jiang Xinghuo talked about the last country.

It is also the country with the most obvious manifestation of geographical determinism within East Asia.

--Japan.

Jiang Xinghuo said: "On the whole, Japan is a pure island country, mainly composed of four large islands and more than 6,000 small islands. It faces North Korea, Ming Dynasty, Luzon and other countries across the sea."

"From a geographical perspective, Japan can be divided into four parts based on islands, while on the main islands, it is divided into two parts based on mountain ranges."

"The country is mountainous, and mountains and hills occupy about seven-tenths of the land. The mountains are distributed in the center of Japan in a ridge shape, dividing Japan's land into the west and the east."

"The plains in Japan are mainly distributed in the coastal areas downstream of rivers. They are mostly alluvial plains and are small in scale. The larger plains include the Ishikari Plain, the Echigo Plain, the Nobi Plain, the Tokachi Plain, etc. The largest plain is the Kanto Plain. , which is Japan’s most important essence and nourishing place.”

"It is precisely because of this geographical environment that Japan, as an overall geographical unit, can be easily unified into a whole country, just like China, Mongolia, and Korea."

"But it is precisely because it can be divided into four parts according to the islands, and the main islands can be divided into east and west parts according to the mountains, and there are many rivers and alluvial plains, so it is destined that Japan will easily fall into pieces."

Jiang Xinghuo paused and said with a smile: "So you see, Japan is naturally a country suitable for division, and the way to provoke them to divide is also very simple."

"The first major point has been covered. We understand how China and the three surrounding countries are determined by geography to become independent geographical units, and how the small parts of the large geographical units affect this country."

"The second biggest point, this is the method I just mentioned, that is, how the geographical environment determines the spiritual characteristics of a country."