Since ancient times, there have been more than 400 recorded wars in Xuzhou. The earliest time occurred in 2 1 century BC, that is, Peng Boshou explored the Xihe River; The latest campaign, Huaihai Campaign, was carried out from1October 6 1948 165438+ to1October 9 1949 65438+. On average, there will be a battle in Xuzhou every ten years or so. Even in peacetime, Xuzhou is heavily guarded and has set up a fairly high-level military command organ. Therefore, it is worthy of the name to list Xuzhou as a battleground for China military strategists. So, why do military strategists fight for Xuzhou?
Geographical location-military strategic location
People in the Eastern Jin Dynasty believed that "the gain and loss of Pengcheng is related to the rise and fall of the North and the South." Marshal Zhu De said: "Xuzhou is an ancient battlefield for decisive battles in history." The views of ancient and modern military strategists are essentially the same, that is, the battle of Xuzhou is often a decisive battle related to the rise and fall of the enemy and the enemy, rather than a general battle that has nothing to do with life and death. However, Xuzhou's time as a national capital is only a short moment compared with the war history of more than 4,000 years. Why does its gain and loss play a decisive role in the whole country? This is because Xuzhou's geographical position has important strategic significance in the military.
Known as the "key to the north" and "important town in the south" in history, Xuzhou is "neither south nor north, neither too big nor too small" in the words of Xuzhou people. In the eyes of southern military strategists, the occupation of Xuzhou is equivalent to getting a key to open the north gate; In the eyes of northern military strategists, taking Xuzhou is equivalent to occupying the bridgehead that marched south.
Xuzhou is located at11623'-11943' and 34 45'-35 3' north latitude. It borders the Yellow Sea in the east, the Central Plains in the west, Lunan Mountains in the north and Jianghuai Plain in the south. It is like a giant, standing on the commanding heights, eyeing up, and can supervise the four provinces of Sulu, Henan and Anhui. As a result, it is unstoppable to advance to the east, west, north and south. Figuratively speaking, Xuzhou is the "waist eye" in the east of China and the "throat" in the north and south of China, both of which belong to key positions and are suitable for the decisive battle between the two armies.
Huang Xing, the leader of the Revolution of 1911, once commented on Xuzhou's strategic position: "The south can't do this, there is no plan to help the east, the north can't do this, and there is no way to see Jiangdong. It is a place where winners and losers struggle. "
Three important wars in modern times can illustrate this point. During the Revolution of 1911, the new army attacked Nanking from Wuchang, but the Qing government did not cross Taiwan Province and blocked the North-South peace talks. Sun Yat-sen ordered three armies to attack Xuzhou and then March north. On the second day after the revolutionary army recovered Xuzhou (191February 2 12), the Qing emperor abdicated and the north and south were unified. During the Northern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army, there were many fierce battles with warlords in Xuzhou. Chiang Kai-shek came to Xu twice, taking this as the base camp, and fought the warlords Sun and Zhang Zongchang in Xuzhou City, and finally won, thus unifying China.
In the War of Liberation, the People's Liberation Army fought three major battles, but the Huaihai Campaign centered on Xuzhou was the decisive battle. After the defeat of Chiang Kai-shek's army, the defeat was like a mountain, which eventually led to the collapse of his regime.
Convenient transportation-rapid transportation of troops
To fight a war, especially a big war, it is necessary to mobilize troops, and the soldiers are expensive and fast, and the military deployment should be completed in the shortest time and at the fastest speed. In addition to the transfer of troops, there is also the common sense that "the soldiers and horses have not moved, and the food and grass go first." Under this condition, traffic conditions become a key. If anyone occupies Xuzhou, there will be no difficulty in transporting soldiers, weapons and food.
Xuzhou has had smooth waterways since ancient times. Before the Southern Song Dynasty, the north and east of Xuzhou City were surrounded by Surabaya, and the west was flowing with Bianshui. From Surabaya to the north, you can pass Jinxiang, Qufu and Dingtao; From Bianshui to the west, it can reach Kaifeng and Luoyang; Go south along Surabaya to Huaiyin. These cities that can be reached from Xuzhou were very important at that time, and some of them were still battlegrounds for military strategists.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yellow River burst, disappeared and flowed. After the Yuan Dynasty, Surabaya was incorporated into the water system of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Wharf was built in Xuzhou in Ming Dynasty, and more than1.20,000 grain ships went north via Xuzhou every year. The Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all established their capitals in Beijing, but their grain was taken from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. If this water artery is blocked, Beijing will be hungry and cold and the capital will be in danger. Xuzhou is the only place where this water artery passes. Therefore, Xuzhou has the reputation of "thoroughfare of five provinces", with Shandong, Hebei, Tianjin and Beijing in the north and Zhejiang in the south. Xuzhou Beiguan archway was a big wharf in ancient times, and the archway and drum tower were important symbols of the wharf. Qian Fan has been competing here for hundreds of years.
The land transportation in ancient Xuzhou was also very convenient, and one of its signs was that there were post stations passing through the territory. The post station is a place where people who delivered government documents in ancient times used to change horses, rest and stay in the middle. Guoli Town, Tongshan County, Xuzhou City, was called Guo Li Post Station in ancient times. Since the post station has been set up, the road will naturally be well built.
Since modern times, Xuzhou has become one of the railway transportation hubs in China. The Jin-Pu Railway, which runs through the north and south, and the Longhai Railway, which runs through the east and west, meet here, making it possible to transport troops and grain on a larger scale and more quickly.
Waterway, land and railway have woven a dense net in Xuzhou. Once a war breaks out, military strategists will regard it as a smooth road. After the occupation of Xuzhou, you can dispatch troops and attack from all sides; Inevitably, the sun will rise in the morning and the night will come.
Adequate things and people-it's easy to recruit soldiers and collect food.
Xuzhou, located at the junction of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui, is the largest city and regional central city in Huaihai Economic Zone. In the long history of thousands of years, there has been a long period of prosperity and development. Because of its rich resources and moderate climate, it is said that "the land is suitable for grain, the mountains are suitable for forests, the beaches are suitable for fruits, and the water is suitable for fish" and "Kyushu is rich in resources". Food and grass are not a problem when heavy troops are stationed in the war. Xuzhou has always had a relatively high population density and sufficient soldiers. Besides, Xuzhou people advocate martial arts and are brave and good at fighting. Since Qin Dynasty, there have been more than 50 peasant uprising wars in Xuzhou. The primary goal of their uprising is Xuzhou city. In the 11th year of the Yuan Dynasty, at the beginning of the uprising in Li Er, Xiaoxian County, Zheng Zheng, they secretly planned, raided the officers and men guarding the city, occupied Xuzhou overnight, and raised the flag to recruit soldiers at dawn. Just 10 days, there are 65438+ ten thousand people. While guarding the city, he sent troops to attack Xuzhou counties. Since the founding of New China, as many as 8,000 revolutionary martyrs have been confirmed in Xuzhou.
Coal mines and iron mines are abundant mineral deposits, iron mines and coal mines in Xuzhou. In the Han Dynasty, there were iron officials set up by the emperor in Xuzhou, and in the Song Dynasty, there were state supervisors and Baofeng supervisors, who were in charge of mining and ironmaking respectively. This is one of the signs of Xuzhou's military strength. Whoever owns Xuzhou will have important resources to make weapons. Isn't it better to use local materials, use coal to make iron, and use iron to make weapons when fighting?
Surrounded by water and mountains-an important place for tactical attack and defense
Xuzhou is surrounded by mountains and waters. Su Shi wrote in his "Flying Crane Pavilion" that year: "Pengcheng Mountain, hills and hills are four in one". Xuzhou is also the intersection of ancient Bianshui and Surabaya, and the Yellow River and the Grand Canal pass through the city. This kind of terrain, Chen Wu once said in the Song Dynasty: "The land of Pengcheng is a battleground for military strategists."
Although Xuzhou belongs to the Huanghuai Plain, the Lunan Mountains extend here, so the territory is hilly and surrounded by mountains, just like a kettle. These mountains are like the natural barriers of Xuzhou in the cold weapon era, which are easy to defend but difficult to attack. They can be described as one person guarding it, and ten thousand people can't force it. The rivers outside Xuzhou also have natural defensive functions.
In this case, the hills around Xuzhou became a place of fierce fighting. The western armies of Chu and Han fought at the foot of Jiuli Mountain. When Judy attacked Xuzhou in the Ming Dynasty, she also ambushed Jiulishan. Therefore, there is a sentence in the water margin that "the nine-mile mountain battlefield, the shepherd boy picks up the old sword and gun" During the Northern Expedition, even Yunlong Mountain, not far from the city, was set up by Chiang Kai-shek.