There have been so many times in history when the Yellow River fought to the death. Why didn't you decide to stop the enemy on the Yangtze River? The following is an analysis from three aspects: the importance of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, dam-breaking measures and the effect of water war.
1. Chinese civilization originated in the Yellow River Basin. The north is a political and economic center with dense population and fertile land. He who wins the Central Plains wins the world. Most of the wars of regime change took place in the Yellow River basin. Therefore, the Yellow River Basin is an important area of China, and it is also a place where various forces and foreign enemies focus on aggression.
Compared with the Yellow River Basin, the Yangtze River Basin was developed later. Historically, the South has long been vast and sparsely populated, and its economy is underdeveloped. Naturally, the Yangtze River is not as important as the Yellow River, nor is it the main place where wars take place.
2. Countermeasures The Yellow River is located in the north, with few rivers in the north. In addition, the terrain is wide and flat, which is suitable for large-scale military cluster operations. In ancient North China, infantry and cavalry were the main forces, but few naval forces conquered the Yellow River, which would cause great trouble to the northern army unfamiliar with water warfare. Moreover, there are fewer ships in the north, and it is impossible to organize effective countermeasures if the Yellow River breaks its banks.
The Yangtze river basin in the south is completely different, with dense water networks. Southerners have been familiar with water since childhood, and almost every household along the river has boats, especially many boats. Therefore, even if we decide to open the Yangtze River, it will have little impact on the war, but the enemy has changed from walking to rowing, and the enemy can cope with it freely.
3. The effect of the water war is that there are many plains in the north, and the sediment brought by the Yellow River keeps raising the riverbed, making the water surface of the Yellow River higher than the surrounding area and becoming the Tianhe River. Attacking with the Yellow River water is particularly effective in the north, and it will deal a great blow to the enemy when it is flooded in a large area.
The south is dominated by mountains and hills, so the water attack on the Yangtze River is poor, and only a few areas can be flooded. In the end, the water will still flow eastward along the mountains and rivers, and it will not have a huge blocking or killing effect on the enemy.
In a word, the Yellow River basin is more important than the Yangtze River basin in history. There are no effective measures to deal with the breach of the Yellow River, while there are many ships in the south of the Yangtze River, which has limited impact; Considering the effect of water war, the Yellow River is more suitable for water war. Therefore, in history, the Yellow River has been artificially breached many times to stop the enemy, while the Yangtze River has rarely been breached to stop the enemy.