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 capital from Bianliang to Yanjing.

At the founding of the Song, Zhao Kuangyin established Bianliang as the capital, essentially passively inheriting the political legacy of the Five Dynasties rather than through deliberate planning.

Since the Later Liang, 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 seized power through the Chenqiao Mutiny, hastily moving the capital meant shattering the existing power balance—Bianliang’s imperial guards and bureaucratic elite had long adapted to this ruling environment; relocation could trigger severe political upheaval.

Moreover, since the Sui and Tang dynasties, China’s economic center had gradually shifted southward, making the Jiangnan region the financial core of the Central Plains regimes; Bianliang, relying on the Bian River and the Yellow River, could rapidly link Jiangnan with North China through grain transport, annually delivering millions of shi of grain and supplies to meet the capital’s enormous 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 strategically defensible, lacked a canal system as developed as Bianliang’s and could not sustain a metropolis of a million people.

Zhao Kuangyin recognized Bianliang’s lack of natural defenses and had planned to move the capital to the western capital Luoyang, even envisioning a final relocation 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 truth, Bianliang’s imperial guard forces and bureaucratic networks had become the foundation of his power.

After “releasing military power over wine,” Zhao Kuangyin urgently needed internal stability and ultimately abandoned the relocation plan.

This compromise became a pivotal turning point in the Song dynasty’s fate.

Bianliang’s geographical and military conditions exposed national defense vulnerabilities from the moment it became the capital.

Bianliang lies at the heart of the North China Plain, surrounded by open terrain with no mountains or passes to serve 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 was forced to station hundreds of thousands of imperial guards around Bianliang year-round, creating a military structure of strong center and weak periphery—this drained massive fiscal resources (military expenses consumed over 70% of the state treasury) and left frontier troops weak.

Moreover, Bianliang bordered the Yellow River and Bian River, historically plagued by floods. The Yellow River repeatedly burst its banks, inundating the city, destroying livelihoods, and directly threatening the capital’s safety. The Song court 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 governing capacity.

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

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

Thus, Bianliang was in fact unsuitable as a capital.

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

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

Northern nomadic tribes wishing to advance south must breach fortified passes like Juyong Pass and Shanhai Pass, granting Yanjing multiple layers of defense.

In contrast, when facing northern threats, 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 defenses and rapid response to frontier conflicts.

Bianliang, far from the northern frontier, had weak control over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan-Yun; the Song was forced to station large armies in Hebei and Shanxi, yet suffered low efficiency due to the distant command center.

Though distant from Jiangnan’s economic zone, Yanjing could still transport goods via the Grand Canal while maintaining strong military defense capabilities.

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

Bianliang, though convenient for economic transport, sacrificed national defense security, creating a distorted structure of “heavy economy, light defense.”

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

Why did Zhu Yuanzhang decide to move the Ming dynasty’s capital from the prosperous Nanjing to the distant Beijing?

Some might argue that Zhu Yuanzhang, having usurped the throne from his nephew Zhu Yunwen, felt uneasy residing in Nanjing and preferred returning to his familiar fiefdom of Beijing, for it was his former power base, naturally offering him greater security.

Yet to reduce Zhu Yuanzhang’s decision to this alone would vastly underestimate this historically accomplished emperor.

In truth, Zhu Yuanzhang well understood that having seized the empire, he had no reason to fear a few stubborn dissenters.

In fact, as an emperor seasoned by battle, Zhu Yuanzhang knew the Ming dynasty’s greatest threat came from the Mongol regime north of the Great Wall—those nomadic peoples of the steppes remained the empire’s enduring nightmare.

Zhu Yuanzhang chose Beijing as the Ming capital precisely because of his deep awareness of this threat—he understood that placing the capital there would more effectively resist steppe nomadic invasions.

Since ancient times, every feudal dynasty concentrated all its resources—political, economic, military, and population—within its capital region to facilitate imperial rule and administration.

From Yanjing to the frontline against steppe nomads—the Badaling Great Wall—the distance is merely one hundred and forty li.

In an era of poor transportation, this distance was ideal—it greatly facilitated troop deployment and logistical supply, enabling rapid movement of soldiers and grain.

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

Such responsiveness was a decisive advantage in warfare.

Moreover, this came at minimal cost, allowing the court to utilize resources far more efficiently.

More importantly, when steppe nomads invaded, beacon towers at Badaling, Juyong Pass, and elsewhere would ignite smoke signals. On clear days, one could see the frontline battle conditions from within Yanjing city—this real-time intelligence enabled 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 was as if he were personally leading the campaign.

This undoubtedly greatly boosted the morale of frontline troops, inspiring them to fight more fiercely.

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