Chapter 431: The Essence of War's Outbreak

Why did the Yellow Emperor and Chi You start fighting? How exactly did the Battle of Zhuolu break out?

When the question was raised, everyone fell silent, each lowering their heads to ponder.

In the Tang Dynasty, whether it was Li Shimin or civil ministers such as Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling, their view of the Battle of Zhuolu was that it was the ultimate exemplar of "martial achievement" and the starting point of "civil governance".

But regarding why the Battle of Zhuolu erupted, the folk and the Court offered a myriad of opinions; each had their own interpretation, making it hard to clarify.

After all, it was the first large‑scale battle in history, containing so many factors that it is difficult to explain clearly.

Du Gou frowned and said, "My father once said that the outbreak of the Battle of Zhuolu was the inevitable clash between 'order' and 'chaos', between the 'kingly way' and the 'hegemonic way'."

"It involved morality, politics, the civil‑barbarian order, and other reasons—a war of unification that could not be avoided."

"Makes sense." Chen Yan nodded slightly, offering no comment on Du Gou's answer, and continued, "Any other answers from classmates?"

Li Tai said slowly, "I tend to agree with Du Gou's answer; when the world has been united for a long time it must divide, and when it has divided for a long time it must unite. Given the tribal self‑sufficiency of the time, unification was an inevitable trend."

"Then it is not surprising that the two biggest powers at the time, the Yellow Emperor and Chi You, went to war."

He added, after a pause, "Of course, there is also a folk saying that the Yellow Emperor, because of his virtue and ability, received the Mandate of Heaven, thus qualifying and enabling him to pacify the world."

"In short, it is the Mandate of Heaven!"

The others all nodded in agreement; Li Tai's words were not improper.

Yet Chen Yan laughed, "What you say is all vague—what 'kingly way', what 'hegemonic way', what chaos, what order, and that Mandate of Heaven."

"From a certain perspective, you are not wrong; these indeed are reasons for the war's outbreak, but they are not the primary reasons."

"I have heard many explanations for the cause of the Battle of Zhuolu—some more exaggerated, some more reasonable, even some mythic about our two ancestors."

"But none has given the true answer, the most basic, also the simplest answer!"

Chen Yan pinched a piece of homemade chalk, turned around, and wrote two large characters on the small blackboard behind him.

"Tian!"

"Di?"

Li Yifu and Dai Zhide read out the characters Chen Yan had written.

"Exactly, it's farmland!"

Chen Yan smiled, "Actually, all those reasons you gave are nonsense; the fundamental cause of the Battle of Zhuolu was that the Yellow Emperor's tribe and Chi You's tribe were both experiencing growing populations, and there was not enough farmland to plant!"

"Then, naturally, they fought over farmland, or rather over survival resources."

"It has nothing to do with good or evil, with any notion of nobility or brutality; in essence it was a war sparked by the struggle for land and salt pans—two extremely vital survival resources."

When his words finished, everyone's minds buzzed.

So… the reason the Battle of Zhuolu broke out was simply because both sides ran out of farmland to plant?

This……

Everyone's expressions became complicated for a moment; they wanted to find reasons to refute Chen Yan, but they were not fools, they were top‑notch clever people, and upon careful thought they already understood that Chen Yan was most likely correct.

They had always thought of this war in lofty terms, never expecting the real cause to be so… humble and plain.

"Don't be surprised." Chen Yan's voice rang again, "Is it hard to understand that war erupts in order to have more fields to sow, to harvest more grain, to feed the ever‑growing members of one's tribe—in short, to survive?"

"History is full of such examples. How old was Han Gaozu when he first rose up? Forty or fifty, right? If he wasn't literally unable to survive, would he have chosen rebellion?"

"Even after he initially occupied Fengyi, he was once content with it, developing the idea of guarding a mere one mu three fen of land."

"Wasn't he also just trying to survive?"

Chen Yan continued, "Why is Land Annexation so harmful? Because the people have their fields taken, lose their harvest, cannot survive, and then rise in rebellion to overthrow the dynasty."

"Thus, survival! is the essence of war and its basic logic!"

"I see…" Li Tai murmured, then asked, "In that case, Mr. Chen, are all wars traceable?"

"Yes, exactly! All wars have traceable causes." Chen Yan said, "Think about it: if you are an ordinary commoner, living well, with fields and grain, a family that can eat and clothe itself, life may be plain but stable and happy."

"Would you willingly join a rebellion and go to war?"

"Of course not!" Li Tai blurted, "Isn't that foolish?"

"I'm living fine; why would I pin my head to my belt and risk my life?"

"You see, that's all there is," Chen Yan said with a faint smile.

Du Gou and Fang Yizhi and a few others seemed thoughtful, as if they had grasped something.

Chen Yan paused for a moment to let everyone digest, then asked, "Now that you understand the essence of war, let me ask you again: do you think the Tang Dynasty might currently face invasion by foreign enemies?"

"Several neighboring states of the Tang Dynasty have shown signs of submission, sending envoys to us and addressing His Majesty as 'Heavenly Khagan'."

"Then have they truly submitted?"

With those words, everyone was startled.

Chen Yan calmly said, "Regarding this question, I can give you some time to think slowly; no rush."

At this moment, the classroom fell silent.

Except for Sizi and Cheng Yang, who were listening to the story like children, everyone else fell into contemplation.

I had expected the answer to come from Du Gou, Fang Yizhi, or perhaps King Wei.

But I didn't anticipate that Gao Yang would speak first: "Anyway, I don't believe those people will truly submit; history has already given us the answer, hasn't it?"

"In the past, Han Wudi dealt a severe blow to the Xiongnu, forcing them to bow and submit. But later? Once the Central Plains dynasties become turbulent, they immediately rise again."

"And you just said that survival is the essence of war; the Tang is surrounded by many nomadic states that lack too many survival resources, how could they possibly stop invading the Tang?!"

That statement thundered through everyone's minds like a bolt of lightning, instantly pulling them out of their previous grandeur.

"Mr. Chen, you mean…?" Li Tai hurried.

Chen Yan swept his gaze over them, "It seems you understand. Indeed, the Tang appears prosperous now, but this year may be the only stable year in recent years."

"If nothing unexpected occurs, this year we rest, and next year the flames of war will be kindled again."

"Even if the surrounding foreign lands do not invade, I believe His Majesty will still take up arms proactively."

"The war of survival is inevitable!"

"Look, this is the purpose of studying history; what we need to understand is human nature and the fundamental logic of everything."

"When you truly delve into it, you'll find that everything can be answered in history; there are traces to follow!"

"......"