Research On The Military Geography Of The Ordos Plateau From The Northern Dynasty To The Beginning Of The Sui Dynasty

The Ordos Plateau was the key area for the conflict between nomadic civilization and farming civilization in Middle Ages.Ethnic composition was complex,and the tribes sometimes revolted.Nomadic people from the north could also attack Guanzhong and Hedong through this way.From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty,the Central Plains took a series of measures to consolidate its rule in this area.This paper idiscusses the military geography of Ordos Plateau from the Northern Dynasty to the early Sui Dynasty,consisting of military institutions,military engineering,administrative systems,military traffic and supply systems.At the beginning of occupation of the area,the Northern Wei Dynasty faced the threat from Hsia state's remnants in the west and its control over the local tribes was not strong enough.In response to this situation,the Northern Wei established several military towns and let army garrison in vital areas.The military towns were the highest military and administrative unit responsible for jimiing and controlling the local tribes.In the later dynasty,the Northern Wei imitated Han system and set up several state administrative called zhou.However,the military management system based on the military posts didn't change.The Northern Wei Dynasty opened up several military traffic lines and the Yellow River waterway opened up by Diao Yong was the most important.In terms of supply system,the Hexi Ranch established by Taiwu Emperor and tondens in Bogulv Town and Tongwa Town were important.The Northern Wei Dynasty had a strong national strength and set up six towns in the south of the Yinshan Mountains in order to make a pressure on the northern steppes.Because of this,the Ordos Plateau was seldom affected by foreign enemies before the great chaos in the last years of the Northern Wei Dynasty.The military system mainly aimed at controlling local tribe.The rule was not deep but stable.The strategic situation of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasty was really different from that of the Northern Wei Dynasty.The ruling order in the Ordos Plateau was destroyed because of war in last period of the Northern Wei Dynasty.Although the Xiwei Dynasty wiped out local forces like Cao Ni and recaptured Xiazhou from the Eastern Wei Dynasty and established its rule on the Ordos Plateau basically,it was unable to regain control of the northern part of the plateau.Jihu had become the biggest obstacle to the Guanzhong regime's control of this region.The Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties established a series of new military towns and states commanded by Zongguan Fus of Xiazhou,Yanzhou and Lingzhou in the Ordos Plateau in order to strengthen local military control and ensure the security of Guanzhong.Yanzhou Zongguan Fu across the Yellow River aimed to cut off the connection between the Northern Qi Dynasty and Jihu,so its strategic position was particularly important.During the Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties,the number of states and counties in the Ordos Plateau increased significantly.It was a symbol of deeper Han-ification that the administrative system of the Central Plains became more perfect.In term of military engineering,Guanzhong regime changed the way of the Northern Wei Dynasty to only use the old castles and built series of military castles in the east of plateau and Yanhe basin in order to deal with threats from the north and the east.A series of changes also took place in transportation route and supply system because of the different strategic situation.For example,the position of pasture was obviously moved southward because of the failure of control over the northern Ordos Plateau.By the late Northern Wei Dynasty,the Guanzhong regime basically suppressed the Jihu and established a relatively stable rule in the region.As the national strength increased,the Northern Zhou Dynasty set up Yongfeng Town in Hetao area,showing the trend to enter the Yinshan Mountains,but at the end of the Northern Zhou Dynasty,the Guanzhong regime's sphere of influence could not really cross the Yellow River.In the early Sui Dynasty,Emperor Wen seized the moment of Turkic's small decline and made a series of military and administrative adjustments in the Ordos Plateau,which laid a solid foundation for unification and management in the north.Among these measures,the construction of the Great Wall in Sui Dynasty was the most crucial.From the Northern Dynasty to the early Sui Dynasty,Ordos became the region which Northern Wei,the Western Wei,the Northern Zhou,and Sui focused on because of its strategic position.From the Northern Wei to the early Sui Dynasty,the Central Plains Dynasties' sphere of influence in this area had experienced a process of contraction and extension.The land witnessed the political and military contest among different regimes,and also witnessed the conflict and integration among the ethnic groups.It played an important role in the political situation of the North at that time.