The political and cultural centers of the Eastern Han Dynasty were Luoyang, the capital, and Chang 'an, the western capital. The main battlefield of the heroic struggle in the late Han Dynasty was also the north and south areas of the Yellow River from Chang 'an to Luoyang and Kaifeng. Xuchang and Luoyang, the capital city, are located in the south of the Yellow River, backed by Songshan Mountain, with Luoyang in the northwest and Xuchang in the southeast. Xuchang can reach the Yellow River directly to the north, only 200 miles; It is only more than 300 miles to the northwest via Yuzhou and Dengfeng. Choosing such a geographical location as the base area can not only keep Cao Cao Group away from the center of political and cultural struggle, but also facilitate the understanding and control of the struggle situation, and will not make Cao Cao Group in the whirlpool of the struggle of public criticism, which is extremely beneficial for Cao Cao Group to obtain political interests.
At the same time, Cao Cao's "promise" is also very beneficial economically. Xuchang area is located in the west of Zhongzhou Plain, at the junction of north subtropical zone and warm temperate zone, with mild climate, moderate rivers, moderate rainfall, various kinds of animals and plants, developed agriculture, fishery and animal husbandry, and it was indeed a land of plenty in Qin and Han Dynasties. Moreover, the transportation is convenient, with the Yellow River in the north, the vast Huanghuai Plain in the east, Jiangxia County in Nantong and Nanyang Basin in the southwest. This geographical advantage is conducive to solving the problem of grain and grass supply of Cao Cao Group. The north and south areas of the Yellow River in Chang 'an, Luoyang and Kaifeng have long been poor, economically depressed and lack of logistical support. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Migration and Cao Cao's Strategy" wrote that Cao Cao arose and played Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty, saying that "the East Capital has been abandoned for a long time, and it is difficult to transport grain. I expect that most of them are close to Luyang Palace, and I am very fortunate to have enough money, food and manpower. " Although it is an excuse, it is also a fact. Only strong economic strength can ensure the normal operation of huge political and military groups, and Xuchang area in the late Eastern Han Dynasty is one of the areas with such economic strength.
Second, militarily, the Xuchang area in the late Eastern Han Dynasty had a unique strategic advantage.
It is surrounded by mountains on three sides: Songshan Mountain in the northwest, Shiren Mountain, Baiyun Mountain and Funiu Mountain in the west, Dabie Mountain and Boshan in the south, and only an open plain in the east. In the era of cold weapons, such terrain is undoubtedly a strategic location that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. However, the military strategic significance of Cao Cao's "Du Xu" was particularly important during the warlord melee in the late Han Dynasty. In the north of Xuchang, Hebei warlord Yuan Shao is under siege, and in the east of Xuzhou, Lu Bu, Liu Bei and other strongmen are eyeing up. In the southeast, Yuan Shu occupied Huainan, in the south, Liu Biao controlled Jiangxia, in the southwest, Zhang Xiu occupied Nanyang, and many remnants of anti-Cao were scattered in Guanzhong and Luoyang. It can be said that Cao Cao Group at that time was like a big man under siege. No matter how capable he is, he will inevitably attend to one thing and lose sight of another. He chose Xuchang as the foundation of hegemony, just like the big man in the crisis finally found a stone wall behind him as a barrier, and then he could concentrate on guarding against and attacking his opponent in front of him. Relying on Xuchang, Cao Cao Group invaded the east and attacked the west, gradually unified the north, and defeated many powerful warlords one by one, which fully showed Cao Cao's extraordinary strategic vision and the great significance of "making a promise".
After Cao Cao unified the north, he quickly adjusted his strategic deployment and aimed at Jingzhou and Yangzhou in the south. After the battle between Battle of Red Cliffs and Hefei, although the pace of reunifying the whole country was frustrated, it basically controlled the vast areas north of Hanshui and Yangtze River. After Wei Shuwu's tripartite confrontation, the strategic value of Cao Wei Group's "Du Xu" became more prominent. Sitting in Xuchang, you can control Huainan, Hefei and other places in the southeast, drink horses from the Yangtze River and go straight to the hinterland of Soochow; To the south, you can cross the Dabie Mountain Pass and reach Jiangxia Plain. To the southwest, you can pass through Nanyang basin, and the front of the soldiers points to Xiangyang, an important town in the north of Jingzhou. It can also attack and control Shang Yong (now Shiyan area in Hubei Province) through Hanshui River and its tributaries, threatening Hanshu Hanzhong County. That is to say, taking Xuchang as the base camp and eyeing the banks of the Yangtze River and Hanshui River can not only directly threaten the security of Dongwu Group in the southeast, but also effectively attack the northward advance of Han Shu Group in the southwest.
Thirdly, in terms of talent strategy, Xuchang area in the late Eastern Han Dynasty has rich talent resources.
Grand goals and careful plans must be formulated and implemented by talented people. In the hegemony in the late Han Dynasty, all far-sighted politicians and military strategists knew the importance of talents, and many political and military groups attached great importance to the talent strategy. Jushou suggested that Yuan Shao "accept the talents of heroes"; Si Mahui persuaded Liu Bei to snare "statesmanship"; Zhou Yu said to Sun Quan, "Today, heroes rise together, and those who win prosper, while those who lose die." . Cao Cao is an outstanding politician who is thirsty for talents and brilliant. The History of the Three Kingdoms and the History of Emperor Wudi recorded Cao Cao's talent strategy thought of "being the wisdom of the world" and "striving for the world". That's exactly what happened. In the long-term campaign, Cao Cao repeatedly issued the order of seeking talents to recruit talents, and also expressed his hope to have more talents with the poem "The mountain is not too high and the water is not too deep" in the poem "Short Songs", showing his extraordinary vision and broad mind as a politician.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xuchang region not only had political, economic and military geographical advantages, but also was rich in talent resources, which provided conditions for Cao Wei Group to implement the talent strategy. Xuchang area is located in the Heying River Basin and the Ruhe River Basin, and it has always been a place where people are outstanding. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a large number of outstanding talents emerged in Xudu and its surrounding areas: Xun You, Chen Qun and Chen Tai were from Xudu, while Guo Jia, Xin Pi and Du were from Yingchuan (now Xuchang); There are Wen Pin, Xu You, Wargo and Deng Zhong in nearby Nanyang, Chu Xu, Coss, Cao Hong and Xia in Bozhou, Sima Yi and his son in wen county, Yuefu in Qingfeng, Mao Jie in Fengqiu, Dian Wei in Liu Chen (now Ningling) and so on. They are either counselors or war generals, and together with talents from other regions, they have become a huge talent team of Cao Wei Group. History has proved that after Cao Cao's "Du Xu", he attracted more talents to gather around him, and formulated a series of effective policies and national policies that were in line with the people's feelings, won the hearts of the people, and made important contributions to the development and hegemony of Cao Wei Group.
Gu Zuyu, a Qing Dynasty man, put it well in Historical Records and Biography of Huo Zhi: "Henan is the golden mean in the world, and Xuzhou is also the golden mean in Henan. Great rivers in the north have never flooded, and Hulao Pass in the west has been blocked by mountain streams. Cai and Huai in Nantong were defended by Huai and Han, which also formed a victory zone. Is it just that the fertile soil field and the people of Yin Fu are enough to be called the right place in heaven? " Xuchang is a "golden mean" with the best geographical location and human harmony. The success of Cao Cao Group is enough to prove this.