Besides the Ming Dynasty, which other dynasties unified China from south to north?

Some people say that, except for Zhu Yuanzhang, it feels like this dynasty was unified from north to south, but I don’t think so.

Our country is divided into north and south with the Huaihe River and Qinling Mountains as boundaries. Therefore, if we talk about unifying China from south to north, in addition to Zhu Yuanzhang, of course there is the Han Dynasty.

Let’s talk about the Han Dynasty first. Although Chu has three households, if Qin is destroyed, Chu will definitely die. Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, Liu Bang, Xiang Yu and others actually rose up in the south and overthrew the Qin Dynasty.

After Xiang Yu enfeoffed the eighteen princes, Liu Bang was unwilling to surrender to the land of Bashu, so he left Chencang from Hanzhong, and then divided his forces with Han Xin. Liu Bang restrained Xiang Yu's army horizontally, while Han Xin went north to defeat the other princes. The two finally met near Huaibei and defeated Xiang Yu at Gaixia.

If we analyze it geographically, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebelled in Daze Township, Xiang Yu rebelled in Wuzhong, and Liu Bang rebelled in Peixian County. As far as the Qin Dynasty is concerned, although its territory has reached southward to today's Guangdong and Guangxi area, but most of the area south of the Yangtze River is still a barren land. The economic and cultural center at that time was still in the Wei River and Yellow River basins. Therefore, the place where Chen Sheng, Xiang Yu, and Liu Bang rebelled was actually in the south of the Qin Dynasty.

Let’s look at the period of the Chu-Han War. Liu Bang’s division left Hanzhong. Where was Hanzhong? The south of the Qinling Mountains belongs to the south, while Gaixia, where the two sides fought decisively, is north of the Huaihe River and belongs to the north. Therefore, Liu Bang's unification of the world actually reached from the south to the north.

As far as the Qin and Han Dynasties are concerned, a group of Chu people overthrew the Qin Dynasty from south to north. Then, the Chu people had internal strife. Liu Bang, who was located in the south, went all the way north and east, and finally defeated Xiang Yu in the north. Therefore, I believe that both the overthrow of the Qin Dynasty and the establishment of the Han Dynasty unified the Central Plains from south to north.

As for the Ming Dynasty, not to mention, Zhu Yuanzhang’s hometown was in Zhongli, Haozhou, on the south bank of the Huaihe River. Later, he used Jiqing Road (today’s Nanjing) as his base to conquer Chen Youliang in the west and Zhang Shicheng in the east. He raised his troops in the Northern Expedition and overthrew the Yuan Dynasty. If the Northern Expedition route of the Han Dynasty is not obvious yet, it is very clear here with Zhu Yuanzhang.

At this point, it seems that the establishment of the two dynasties is inexplicably connected. Both were peasant uprisings, and both unified China from south to north. What is the reason for this?

This is related to the development history of our country. Most of the political, cultural and economic centers in ancient times were from the Yellow River Basin to the Wei River Basin. Later generations say that the Han and Ming dynasties were the most upright, because unlike other dynasties, which were mostly usurped by nobles, they were peasant uprisings in the true sense.

Since the political and economic center is in the north, it is destined that most of the nobles live in the north. Therefore, if they rebel, they will definitely rebel in the north, such as Li Yuan and his son, Zhao Kuangyin brothers, etc.

As for other nomadic peoples, they already live north of the Great Wall. If they want to annex the Central Plains, they can only fight from north to south.

On the other hand, Liu Bang, Xiang Yu, Zhu Yuanzhang and others, as civilians, were not qualified to settle in the wealthy hinterland of the Central Plains. However, what is surprising is that they all happened to live near the Huai River on the north-south dividing line. Perhaps it is this special geographical environment that allows them to understand the political dynamics of the north in a timely manner, while also avoiding the eyes of the northern royal family and establishing their own base smoothly. This may be the so-called right time and right place.

If we look back at the location of the peasant uprising, it is not a coincidence. From Dazexiang, who fired the first shot to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, to Gaixia, who ended the struggle between Chu and Han, to Zhongli, where Zhu Yuanzhang made his fortune, they are all so close. Even Pei County, where Liu Bang rebelled, was almost in Surabaya County.

According to "Historical Records", in the 28th year of the First Emperor of Qin, the First Emperor returned, passed through Pengcheng, fasted and prayed at the temple, and wanted to leave Zhouding Surabaya. Thousands of people were left without water and asked for it, but they couldn't get it.

Qin Shihuang once organized his predecessors to salvage Zhou Ding in Sishui County, but failed, and then three Chu families came out here. It is truly a vast world filled with wonders and wonders.