The Iron-Clad Xiangyang

The iron-clad Xiangyang—the most tenacious military fortress in Chinese history 1. Geographical advantage: a natural military fortress A natural line of defense surrounded by mountains and rivers The Han River passes through the city, forming a water system barrier of "one river and three rivers (Han River, Tangbai River, Xiaoqing River, and Xiangshui River)" It leans on the remnants of Jingshan Mountains such as Xian Mountain and Hutoushan Mountain in the southwest, and faces the natural chasm of the Han River in the northeast. The city wall has a circumference of about 7.3 Kilometers, an average height of 8.5 Meters, and the widest part of the moat is 250 meters (the widest in the world). The strategic position of the north-south hub Located at the southern end of Nanyang Basin, it controls the middle reaches of Han River It connects to the Central Plains in the north, Jianghan in the south, Sichuan and Shaanxi in the west, and Jianghuai in the east. Since ancient times, it has been the "thorough of seven provinces" and a battleground for military strategists. 2. Thousand-year war history: six famous offensive and defensive battles 1. Guan Yu flooded seven armies during the Three Kingdoms period 2. The Battle of Xiangyang in the Southern Song Dynasty 3. Huanxuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty attacked Xiangyang 5. Li Zicheng attacked Xiangyang in the late Ming Dynasty 6. The Zaoyi Battle of the Anti-Japanese War 3. Three-dimensional defense network 1. Navy base 2. City defense project 3. Peripheral strongholds 4. Secret techniques for defending the city 5. Joint amphibious defense 6. Tunnel system 7. Grain and grass reserves 4. Cultural Symbolism literary classics The artistic sublimation of Guo Jing guarding Xiangyang in Jin Yong's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" Du Fu's military image of "passing through Wu Gorge from Ba Gorge, then descending to Xiangyang to Luoyang" "Xiangyang Model" becomes a research model for military defense system Military strategist comments: Meng Gong, a famous general in the Southern Song Dynasty, said: "Xiangfan is the west gate of the country and cannot be abandoned."