Chapter 325: Moving the Capital

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With the north slightly stabilized, Zhao Yu made a decision no one anticipated—moving the capital.

That is, he would relocate the Song dynasty's capital from Dongjing Bianliang to Yanjing.

At the founding of the Song, Zhao Kuangyin established Dongjing Bianliang as the capital, essentially a passive inheritance of the Five Dynasties' political legacy, not the result of active planning.

Since the Later Liang, Dongjing Bianliang had served as the capital of four of the Five Dynasties (excluding the Later Tang). After decades of development, it had formed a relatively complete administrative system, transportation network, and material reserve. For Zhao Kuangyin, who had just seized power through the Chenqiao Mutiny, hastily relocating the capital meant shattering the existing power balance—Dongjing Bianliang and its surrounding imperial guard commanders and bureaucratic factions had long adapted to this ruling environment; relocation could trigger intense political upheaval.

Moreover, since the Sui and Tang dynasties, China's economic center had gradually shifted southward, making the Jiangnan region the financial hub of central plain dynasties. Dongjing Bianliang, relying on the Bianhe and the Yellow River, could rapidly connect Jiangnan with North China via grain transport, annually delivering millions of shi of grain and supplies to meet the capital's massive demands.

In contrast, Chang'an had lost its economic viability due to the decline of the Guanzhong Plain and the difficulty of grain transport; Luoyang, though geographically defensible, lacked the canal system's completeness of Dongjing Bianliang and could not sustain a metropolis of a million people.

Zhao Kuangyin, aware of Dongjing Bianliang's lack of natural defenses, had planned to relocate the capital to the western capital Luoyang, even envisioning a final move to Chang'an, but faced opposition from a faction led by his brother Zhao Guangyi.

Zhao Guangyi promoted the argument that "virtue matters more than terrain," but in reality, Dongjing Bianliang's imperial guard forces and bureaucratic networks had become his power base.

After the "Cup of Wine to Dismiss the Military Powers," Zhao Kuangyin urgently needed to stabilize internal rule and ultimately abandoned the relocation plan.

This compromise became a pivotal turning point affecting the Song dynasty's fate.

Dongjing Bianliang's geographic and military conditions exposed national defense vulnerabilities from the moment it became the capital.

Dongjing Bianliang lies at the heart of the North China Plain, surrounded by flat terrain with no mountains, rivers, or passes as natural barriers.

Once northern nomadic tribes breached the Yellow River line, they could reach the city walls within days.

To compensate for this flaw, the Song dynasty was forced to station hundreds of thousands of imperial guards around Dongjing Bianliang year-round, creating a military structure of strong center and weak branches—this consumed vast fiscal resources (military expenses accounted for over 70% of the state treasury) and left frontier troops weak.

Moreover, Dongjing Bianliang bordered the Yellow River and Bianhe, historically plagued by floods. The Yellow River had breached its banks multiple times, inundating the city, destroying livelihoods, and directly threatening the capital's safety. The Song Chaoting annually invested enormous manpower and resources to manage the rivers, yet could never eliminate the threat; this "struggle with water" continuously drained the Song's governance resources.

As a capital, Dongjing Bianliang lacked an outer buffer zone. Once the frontier was in crisis, enemy forces could advance directly, threatening the center. This "capital-as-frontline" structure left the Northern Song dynasty repeatedly on the defensive in wars against the Liao and Jin.

During the Jingkang Humiliation, the Jin army captured Dongjing Bianliang in just one year after advancing from the Yan-Yun region—this flaw erupted in full.

Thus, Dongjing Bianliang was in fact unsuitable as a capital.

Yanjing, having served as the capital of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, differed from Dongjing Bianliang primarily in strategic positioning and national defense function.

Yanjing is backed by the Yanshan Mountains to the north, bordered by Mount Taixing to the west, and protected by the Yongdinghe to the south, forming a military stronghold of "back to mountains, facing water."

If northern nomadic tribes wished to advance south, they must breach critical passes such as Juyong Pass and Shanhai Pass, providing Yanjing with multiple layers of buffer.

In contrast, when facing northern threats, Dongjing Bianliang had virtually no natural defenses and relied solely on artificial fortifications and heavy garrisons.

Yanjing lies at the agricultural-pastoral frontier, serving as both the frontline against steppe peoples and the hub for controlling Northeast China and the Mongolian Plateau. Establishing the capital here allows direct coordination of northern border defense and rapid response to frontier conflicts.

Dongjing Bianliang, far from the northern frontier, had weak control over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun; the Song dynasty constantly deployed large armies in Hebei and Shanxi, yet inefficiency persisted due to the distant command center.

Though Yanjing is distant from the Jiangnan economic zone, it still achieves material transport via the Grand Canal while retaining military defense capabilities.

—Yanjing also has Jizhou Port, which can develop maritime transport.

Dongjing Bianliang, though convenient for economic transport, sacrifices national defense security, forming a distorted structure of "heavy economy, light defense."

This difference was especially evident in historical confrontations between Song and Liao, and Song and Jin—the Liao used Yanjing as its southern capital, controlling Yan-Yun while intimidating the Song dynasty; the Song, centered on Dongjing Bianliang, remained perpetually on the defensive.

Why did Zhu Di decide to move the Great Ming's capital from the prosperous Nanjing to the distant Beijing?

Some might think Zhu Di, having usurped the throne from his nephew Zhu Yunwen, felt uneasy residing in Nanjing and preferred returning to his familiar fiefdom of Beijing, for Beijing was his former power base, naturally granting him greater peace of mind.

Yet to reduce Zhu Di's decision to this alone would be to vastly underestimate this historically accomplished emperor.

In truth, Zhu Di knew well that now that he held the Jiangshan, how could he fear the disturbances of a few stubborn elements?

In fact, as an emperor seasoned in battle, Zhu Di understood that the Great Ming's greatest threat came from the Mongol regime north of the Great Wall—those nomadic peoples of the grasslands remained the dynasty's persistent nightmare.

Zhu Di chose Beijing as the Great Ming's capital precisely because of his deep awareness of this threat; he understood that locating the capital here would more effectively resist incursions by steppe nomads.

Since ancient times, any feudal dynasty has concentrated all its resources—political, economic, military, population—within its capital region to facilitate the emperor's rule and administration.

From Yanjing to the frontline against steppe nomads—the Badaling Great Wall—the distance is merely 140 li.

In an era of poor transportation, this distance is exceptionally advantageous. It greatly facilitates troop deployment and logistical supply; whether moving soldiers or grain, everything can be accomplished swiftly.

Imagine: cavalry units departing from Yanjing, galloping hard, reach Badaling Great Wall in less than half a day.

Such response speed is undeniably a major advantage in war.

Moreover, this comes at extremely low cost, enabling the court to utilize resources far more efficiently.

More importantly, when steppe nomads invade, beacon towers at Badaling, Juyong Pass, and elsewhere ignite smoke signals. On clear days, one can see the frontline battle conditions from within Yanjing. This real-time intelligence allows the court to mobilize maximum resources and organize counterattacks in the shortest possible time.

With the emperor stationed in Yanjing so close to the frontline, it is tantamount to personally leading the campaign.

This undoubtedly greatly boosts the morale of frontline troops, making them fight more fiercely.

In contrast, choosing Kaifeng, Luoyang, Chang'an, or Nanjing as the capital would be vastly inferior.