Wang Zeng asked.
Zhao Jun laughed and said, "Yes and no. If you look at the world map, what can you see?"
The world map shows the situation and geographical distribution of countries in later generations.
Yan Shu pondered, "You once said that the world is divided into seven continents, and China is located in East Asia within Asia. We are separated from West Asia by mountains and plateaus, which is why ancient China could only wander in the Western Regions."
"Yes."
Zhao Jun nodded and pointed to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. "The plateau is at a high altitude, prone to oxygen deprivation, and difficult to resupply. Before the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people were reluctant to explore the west, and at most they would reach the Western Regions. Once they reached the border of the Western Regions, they would be blocked by mountain ranges like the Kunlun and Tianshan Mountains, making further westward progress difficult. The grasslands to the north were too cold and unsuitable for cultivation. Therefore, in ancient society, the Han people were confined to the vast region of East Asia."
"Why is this happening?"
Shengdu asked immediately.
"Because of the characteristics of agricultural civilization."
Zhao Jun explained, "Grasslands cannot be cultivated. Agricultural civilizations are self-sufficient and lack the small, barren lands of Europe, which necessitated venturing out to sea to survive. Furthermore, ancient societies lacked productivity and technological advancement. If distances were too great, relying solely on humans and horses, the journey could take years."
"During the Han and Tang dynasties, there was a Silk Road in the Western Regions. Those merchants were middlemen from the Central Asian Arab world. They brought local specialties from faraway Western Europe to the East, and then brought exquisite porcelain, silk, and tea from the East to the West."
"Arabs became middlemen between the two places because before oil became the lifeblood of industry, the Arab world had barren land and limited resources, so they had to rely on land trade."
"But the Han people didn't have to work so hard. They had the vast plains, the means of production and the productive population needed for farming. They could farm and obtain food right where they were. They didn't have to leave the country to survive, like the people of ancient Europe and Central Asia did."
"So for thousands of years, restricted by the development of agricultural civilization, the Han people could only live in such a small circle, and it was difficult to expand outward."
"The grassland peoples were different. Wherever there was grassland, there were pastures. Therefore, after Temujin's rise to power, he was able to march all the way westward to Europe. This was because the grassland peoples were not as limited as the farming peoples."
These are the reasons recognized by later historians and sociologists.
Ancient Europe was actually very backward.
Under the feudal system, land annexation was serious and people lived in dire straits. Many Europeans had no choice but to go to sea to find a way out.
This situation lasted for hundreds of years. As European colonists gradually colonized Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, America and other places, they found a large amount of resources there and brought them back. This further stimulated the craze for going out to sea, leading to the Age of Exploration.
Although the Han people maintained a technological advantage for two thousand years, they lacked the motivation to go out to sea. In addition, ancient transportation, information, and other aspects were backward. It was already very difficult to maintain a huge empire. Empires were often accompanied by intensified internal friction, not to mention going out to sea.
Many people believe that China was surpassed by the West because it lagged behind in technology. In reality, it was the broader environment and East Asia's geographical isolation, with limited contact with the West, both on land and at sea, that led to its lag.
Otherwise, if there were no Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, no tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia, no Kunlun Mountains and Himalayas, India, Southeast Asia and Central Asia would most likely have been conquered by the Han dynasty.
Especially given the situation in the early Ming Dynasty, it was bound to catch up with the heyday of the Western great sea navigation era.
Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Wang Sui smiled and said, "You don't want us to live on the northern grasslands like the grassland people in the future, do you?"
"That's not the case."
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Today I plan to analyze the current strategic layout that the Song Dynasty should take and analyze the future path of the Song Dynasty from the map."
"you say."
Zhao Zhen listened intently and said, "Tell me what you think."
Zhao Jun said: "In the new era, the overall strategic landscape of our world will be based on three major theories. The first is Mackinder's world-island theory, the second is Mahan's sea power theory, and the third is Spykman's rimland theory."
"Mackinder's world-island theory posits that Eurasia is a world-island."
He drew a circle around the Eurasian continent on the computer screen and continued, "Then whoever controls this world island controls the entire world. This is because this world island occupies the vast majority of the world's land, resources, and population. In comparison, the Americas, Africa, and Australia outside of Eurasia are marginal areas, while the center of Eurasia is Central Asia."
"You want to occupy Central Asia in the future?"
Lu Yijian was surprised.
"Not really."
Zhao Jun shook his head. "Mackinder was British, so his way of thinking was European. Europe and Central Asia are only separated by the Mediterranean Sea, making them geographically closer. Therefore, in his world-island theory, he believed that Westerners should control Central Asia and then radiate to East Asia. If Easterners want to control Central Asia and radiate to Europe, it is difficult to achieve from a geopolitical perspective."
Everyone looked at the map. It was a flat surface, without elevations or mountain ranges marked. But Zhao Jun had briefly pointed to the Himalayas and Kunlun Mountains, discussing why communication between ancient China, Central Asia, and Europe was so difficult.
If China also followed the world island theory to conquer Central Asia, then established its capital in Central Asia and then radiated to the entire Eurasian continent, I am afraid that even if the technology of the Song Dynasty advanced for a few hundred more years, it would not be able to achieve this.
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