Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

Chapter 46 The Lifeline of the World: Ao Cang

The Southern Great Wall was a defensive fortification built by the four states of Han, Wei, Qi, and Chu for mutual defense. After Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states, the Southern Great Wall naturally became useless and was abandoned.

"The Northern Great Wall was built by the Qin, Zhao, and Yan states to defend against the northern nomadic tribes," Zhang Liang continued, explaining to Liu Ying. "After Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states, he ordered Meng Tian to rebuild the Great Wall of these three states."

"This is the Great Wall?" Liu Ying understood.

"The Great Wall of the North was built over a period of more than a hundred years by the three kingdoms of Qin, Zhao, and Yan." Zhang Liang explained in detail: "Let's start with the westernmost Qin Great Wall. In the sixth and tenth years of King Huiwen of Qin, he defeated the State of Wei and seized the Xihe and Shangjun prefectures from Wei. In the thirteenth year of King Huiwen of Qin, he ordered Zhang Yi to build the Shangjun fortress to defend against the Linhu Loufan tribes in the north."

King Huiwen of Qin was the son of Duke Xiao of Qin. He became king during his reign and was the first king of Qin. At that time, after the reforms of Shang Yang, Qin had become powerful and broke out in a great war with Wei, defeating Wei and forcing Wei to move its capital to Daliang.

After seizing the land of Wei, Qin bordered the northern nomadic tribes. To prevent these tribes from entering, King Huiwen of Qin ordered Zhang Yi to build the Shangjun Fortress.

"Later, the Qin state destroyed the Yiqu state and established the Beidi Commandery, which bordered the Xiongnu. King Zhaoxiang of Qin built the Great Wall in Beidi Commandery and stationed troops there." Zhang Liang looked at Liu Ying and said, "The Qin Great Wall was mainly built during the reigns of these two Qin kings."

"Where is Zhao Changcheng?" Liu Ying asked.

"King Wuling of Zhao destroyed the State of Zhongshan, expanding its territory by a thousand li, making the State of Zhao even stronger and becoming a powerful state in Shandong." Zhang Liang continued, "However, the State of Zhao also had more borders with the northern Hu people, so King Wuling of Zhao built the Great Wall of Zhao. It stretched from the Yin Mountains westward to the Yellow River. South of the Great Wall of Zhao, the Dai Commandery, Yanmen Commandery, and Yunzhong Commandery were established."

Liu Ying had heard of Dai Commandery, Yanmen Commandery, and Yunzhong Commandery, and suddenly realized that this was the work of King Wuling of Zhao.

"King Zhao of Yan ordered General Qin Kai to attack the Hu, thus expanding the territory of Liaodong. From then on, the territory of Yan extended deep into Liaodong." Zhang Liang further explained to Liu Ying: "As a result, Yan was threatened by the Hu people. In order to prevent the Hu people from attacking, Yan built the Yan Great Wall from Jicheng all the way to Liaodong. South of the Yan Great Wall, the commanderies of Shanggu, Yuyang, Youbeiping, Liaoxi, and Liaodong were established."

Yuyang?

Isn't this the place where Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were exiled? It turns out it was the work of the Yan state.

Liu Ying finally understood.

"Don't you think about it? The Great Wall stretches for over 40,000 li (approximately 20,000 kilometers). How many years did the Qin Dynasty exist? Even if Meng Tian were a god descended from heaven, he couldn't possibly have built a 40,000-li Great Wall in just fourteen years." Zhang Liang raised a slight sneer, mocking Liu Ying and avenging himself for calling him a sissy. "After Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states, he ordered Meng Tian to build the Straight Road, reconstruct the Great Wall, and defeat the Xiongnu in the Battle of the Ordos. If Meng Tian had been building the Great Wall instead of reconstructing it, would he have been able to manage it all?"

"Great! Excellent!" Although Zhang Liang mocked her, Liu Ying couldn't help but cheer and applaud. Zhang Liang was absolutely right.

As is well known, after Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states, he ordered Meng Tian to do three major things: build the Straight Road, rebuild the Great Wall, and defeat the Xiongnu.

The Great Wall we're referring to is the Northern Great Wall from the Warring States period, which stretches for over 40,000 li (approximately 20,000 kilometers) and winds through the mountains. Such a massive undertaking, let alone in the Qin Dynasty over 2,200 years ago, would be a major question even in modern times, if completed in just fourteen years.

The Great Walls built by the Qin, Zhao, and Yan states differed in standards, quality, and purpose. Leaving them unused would be a waste, so Qin Shi Huang ordered Meng Tian to renovate them to better suit the needs of war.

It was left to future generations as a safety barrier for the north.

In an attempt to discredit Qin Shi Huang, later generations claimed that he was the one who built the Great Wall.

In 2012, authoritative data released by the State Administration of Culture and Tourism showed that the total length of the Great Wall during the Qin and Han dynasties exceeded 21,000 kilometers, or more than 40,000 li. It was impossible to build it in the short fourteen years of the Qin Dynasty.

After explaining the Great Wall, Zhang Liang went on to explain the deployment.

First, a small number of troops should be dispatched to defend the eight passes of Luoyang. As long as these eight passes are held, Xiang Yu will be unable to bypass them and launch a surprise attack on Luoyang.

Secondly, personnel were immediately dispatched to repair the Great Wall of Han.

Third, we must strengthen military preparedness and combat readiness.

On the way, Liu Bang followed Liu Ying's advice and rectified military discipline, but it was not enough and there were still many problems. He took advantage of this time to start working on them.

"I have a question," Liu Ying said, raising a crucial issue once the generals had no further objections. "During the retreat, although we gathered many defeated soldiers, they were unarmed. We now have over 70,000 troops, nearly 60,000 of whom are unarmed. What should we do with them?"

"Ying'er, don't worry, we have plenty of weapons and equipment," Liu Bang said confidently.

"What should we do with the remaining grain and fodder?" Liu Ying asked again.

"It's a piece of cake. Just watch as your father conjures up countless grains with a wave of his hand." Liu Bang said smugly.

Liu Ying rolled her eyes.

~~~~~~~

In the mountains and forests of Jingyi.

Liu Ying rode his horse and followed Liu Bang and his entourage. He opened his eyes wide and saw a giant dragon winding and stretching into the distance.

This is the Great Wall of South Korea.

It truly lives up to its name as the Great Wall, with walls, beacon towers, and even roads.

The city walls are high and thick, varying depending on the terrain. The wall height is generally seven or eight meters, sometimes higher. The width is five or six meters.

The materials used were locally sourced; some were made of bricks, some were rammed, and some were stacked with stones.

In short, convenience is key; use whatever is available locally.

Beneath the Great Wall, there were also convenient roads to facilitate the passage of the army.

Without convenient roads, it would be impossible to mobilize troops in a timely manner for effective reinforcement.

At certain intervals, there are also castles used for garrisoning troops and storing provisions and weapons.

Of course, beacon towers were indispensable.

"It's been repaired really well," Liu Ying exclaimed.

"This was built under the supervision of my grandfather," Zhang Liang said with great pride.

"Your grandfather?" Liu Ying was very surprised when she first heard this.

"Zhang Liang was born into nobility. His great-grandfather served as prime minister to three kings of Han, and his father served as prime minister to two kings of Han. The father and son together served as prime ministers of Han for five generations, making them the most prestigious noble family in Han." Liu Bang sang a song of praise for Zhang Liang.

"Doesn't the master have three hundred servants?" Liu Ying knew that later generations often said that Zhang Liang's family was wealthy and had three hundred servants.

"Three hundred servants? How dare you mention that in front of Zifang?" Liu Bang smirked, clearly disdainful.

Later generations described Zhang Liang's background as coming from a wealthy family with three hundred servants, based on the account in the "Records of the Grand Historian: The Hereditary House of Liu Hou". However, this isn't the key point. The key point is that Zhang Liang's grandfather, Zhang Kai, served as prime minister to three kings of Han, and his father, Zhang Ping, served as prime minister to two kings of Han. Five generations of ministers of Han between father and son—one can imagine how powerful and influential his family was.

Therefore, how dare the three hundred servants mention it in front of Zhang Liang?

Three hundred servants—that's not even a fraction of Zhang Liang's family's wealth.

After inspecting the area, a repair plan was finally proposed: in addition to repairing the Han Great Wall, the original roads should also be destroyed, because the Han state was located in the east, and the Great Wall was built to defend against the Qin state, while the roads were on the east side. If the roads were not destroyed, Xiang Yu could launch a large-scale attack along them.

We also need to rebuild roads in the west to facilitate the rapid troop movement.

Apart from that, there are no major changes.

The restoration work was entrusted to Lü Ze for oversight, with Lü Shizhi providing assistance.

With the efforts of the two brothers, the common people who had migrated to Xingyang mobilized, took tools, and entered the hills and forests to begin repairing the Great Wall. Although it had been abandoned by Qin Shi Huang, fortunately, the period of abandonment was not long, so repairing it was not too difficult.

The project is progressing smoothly.

"Ying'er, come on, I'll take you to a good place." Liu Bang wanted Liu Ying to come with him.

"Where to?" Liu Ying asked.

"Didn't you say you had no weapons, no supplies? Watch as your father conjures up countless weapons and mountains of supplies with a wave of his hand." Liu Bang boasted loudly.