Since ancient times, the transportation requirements of a capital city had always been an important factor in choosing one. During the Warring States Period of Hua Xia, the three capitals of the Qin Country, Yong, Liyang, and Xianyang, were all lined up on the north bank of the Wei River. The main reason was that there was a flat road north of the Wei River that led to the more developed Jin Country. The road south of the Wei River did not have such good conditions.
In the future, the imperial capital of Hua Xia was the same. The reason why the imperial capital could become an imperial capital was because it was a transportation hub that connected the northeast plains, Mongol highlands, and Shanxi highlands. It was the hub that connected the north of the mid plains to these three important locations, and it had a really important strategic location.
In ancient times when technology was less advanced, using rivers for water transportation was the most convenient way of transportation. It was also the method with the highest volume of transportation. However, due to the limitations of the current conditions, it was difficult for many small countries to choose a location close to the main river. Therefore, in order to facilitate the transportation of goods, the imperial court would often use a large amount of manpower and resources to dig canals to make up for the lack of natural transportation capacity.
For example, during the Warring States Period, the second year after the Wei Country King Weihui moved the capital to Daliang, he moved the people to dig a ditch to connect the main water path between the Yellow River and Huai River. The same year that the tyrant Emperor Yang built the east capital Luoyang, he dug the Tongji Canal and the Grand Canal to allow ships to enter the water at Luoyang, enter the Yellow River and Huai River, and even reach Jiangnan.
The fourth reason for choosing a capital city was that it had to be surrounded by mountains and water to make it easy to defend. To ensure the safety of the capital city and not be easily taken over by the enemy, the dynasties all wanted the capital city to be located in a dangerous area. The reason why Xi An became the oldest ancient capital was because it was surrounded by mountains and water, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.
Not only that, but it was also best that the area around the capital city had to be protected as a last resort. The ancient capitals that were built near Chang An, Xi Zhou's Feng and Gao, Qin's Xianyang, Western Han, Northern Dynasties, Sui, and Tang's Chang An, did not cross the Ba River. As the main threat of these dynasties came from the east, the Ba River that flowed from north to south was undoubtedly a natural barrier. The Sui Dynasty built the east capital Luoyang, facing Yi Que in the south, Mang Mountain in the north, Yu River in the east, Jianhe River in the west, and Luo River in the west. Obviously, they had considered the need for defense when choosing the location.
If they did not have the geographical advantage of being surrounded by mountains and rivers, they could only station a large number of troops around the capital and rely on the Great Wall of Flesh. This would greatly increase the capital's demand for food and resources from outside.
The reason why Taizu of the early Northern Song planned to move the capital to Luoyang or Chang 'an, in his own words, was because he wanted to seize the victory of the mountains and rivers and get rid of the redundant troops. Following the story of the Zhou and Han dynasties, he wanted to bring peace to the world. He was worried that setting the capital at Kaifeng and stationing a large number of troops would greatly increase the burden of transporting grain to the people. In less than a hundred years, the power of the people under heaven would be exhausted. This kind of worry could not be said to be without reason.
Fifth, the economy of the region must be developed. Since the capital city was the most populous city in the country, it consumed a huge amount of food and daily necessities. In ancient times, long-distance transportation was so inconvenient. If the area where the capital city was located was economically developed, it could reduce its dependence on other places.
Therefore, ancient capitals were often located in economically developed areas. Before the middle of the Tang dynasty, the center of the Hua Xia region's economy was in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in the north. Hence, the capital city of the unified dynasty was set in Chang An and Luoyang. As the center of the economy shifted south, it forced the capital city to move east and south. First, it moved to Kaifeng near Jianghuai, and then it moved to Nanjing near Jiangnan.
In terms of the overall economic structure of Hua Xia, the capital city needed to be located close to the most developed region in the country. In terms of a second-grade region, the capital city should be located in a more developed region. During the Warring States Period, the Qin Country moved the capital from Liyang to Xianyang. The main reason was that Liyang was located in a region filled with salt and alkali and had not been developed for a long time. As such, the economy was backward. On the other hand, Xianyang had a dense population and was developed early. Zhongnan Mountain was rich in resources and had an endless supply. Later, the Ming and Qing Dynasties capital Beiping, although it was not the center of the economy, was located in a more developed region in the north. At the very least, the surrounding cities could not be compared to Beiping.
Sixth, the mountains and rivers had to be beautiful and pleasant. Ancient emperors were satisfied. Apart from drinking sweet wine, they also had to indulge in sensual pleasures. Only then did they not live in vain. Not only did they build a large number of palaces, pavilions, ditches, and ponds in the city, but they also built Li Palace Residences and Forbidden Gardens outside the city.
Hua Xia's famous tourist attractions, the Huaqing Lake at the foot of Xi An's Mount Li, Hangzhou's West Lake, and the western suburbs of Beijing were all places where emperors indulged in pleasure.
Due to this reason, when the rulers chose the location of the capital city, they often requested that the capital city and its nearby mountains and rivers were beautiful. It was said that the reason why Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty chose Hangzhou was because he wanted the beautiful mountains and rivers around West Lake. It was even said that Lin 'an, the capital of Gaozong, was just greedy for the prosperity of West Lake.
These were the basis for the ancient emperors to choose their capital city. Of course, there might be other reasons, but these were definitely the conditions that must be considered when choosing a capital city.
According to the analysis of these conditions, Rahman the First chose to choose Moldova as the capital city. It was considered a good location. After all, it was close to the Guadalquivir River. It would be convenient for transportation. The water for the people and the defense of the capital city would be guaranteed. The scenery should be good too. Therefore, there was no better location than Moldova.
The port of Gibraltar was just around the corner. Ang Lee and his fleet would soon enter the port of Gibraltar. However, because the port of Gibraltar was still some distance away from the capital city of Spain, Ang Lee would have to leave for Moldova after resting in Gibraltar for a few days.
Traveling to Moldova could be done either by land or by water. Players could choose between the two routes. The land route was shorter, only about five to six hundred miles away from Moldova. On the other hand, taking the water route would require players to head west first. After that, they would have to travel upstream from the mouth of the Guadalquivir River to reach the capital of Spain, Moldova. The distance of the water route was about two thousand miles away from Moldova. However, since they only needed to take a boat to reach Moldova, it was much easier to travel by water. On the other hand, if they were to travel by land, the consumption of resources would be greatly increased. After all, there were so many vehicles in the fleet.
Therefore, if Ang Lee wanted to go to Moldova, he would definitely choose to go by water. He would not go by land just to get to Moldova.
However, because Gibraltar was a place that Ang Lee had his eyes on, he would have to stay there for a few more days. Some of the soldiers and ships would have to stay in Gibraltar to control this important port.
The fleet entered the port very quickly. Many people gathered at the port to welcome Ang Lee's arrival. The highest officials of the local area were also there, including Rahman's confidants. However, Rahman himself did not go to Gibraltar because he was not feeling well. He stayed in the capital city of Moldova.
Ang Lee did not care about that. After all, Ang Lee was not abroad yet. He did not need the king to welcome him personally. Especially when he was at the border port, it was even more unnecessary. It was already good enough for the king to welcome him personally when he went to the capital city.
This time, the person who welcomed him at the port was also one of Rahman's confidants. However, his status and rank were much higher than the previous one who boarded the ship. The power he had was also incomparable to the previous one.
Any ruler would have many kinds of confidants. Some of them were very powerful and had great power. Some of them were very ordinary guards or even just a chef.
After the fleet docked, Ang Lee shook hands with Azimu who came to greet him for a while. Then, Azimu was stunned when he saw the fleet of the Tang dynasty coming ashore one after another. He was so shocked that he could not speak. In his life, he had never seen these iron lumps. The shock in his heart was indescribable.
Azimu could be regarded as a general who was skilled in archery and horse riding. He was quite confident in the combat effectiveness of his warhorse. However, when he saw the armored fleet of the Tang Empire, he was completely shocked. He was not a fool. At a casual glance, he could tell that the combat effectiveness of these armored chariots was far superior to that of the heavy cavalry. In fact, there was no comparison at all. The difference in size was too big.
Although he had already known that the Tang dynasty had armored chariots that moved faster than warhorses and could not be hurt by swords and spears, he was still shocked when he saw them with his own eyes.
Azimu's subordinates were also shocked. Everyone was dumbstruck by these iron turtles that could move on their own.
Ang Lee had seen such a scene countless times. Everywhere he went, as long as these equipment were revealed, it would attract such exaggerated attention. Every time he saw these ignorant country bumpkins, Ang Lee and his soldiers would feel very proud.
"General Azimu, you haven't seen these armored chariots before, right? It doesn't matter. We have a chance today. Let's go up and have a look! "
Ang Lee said very politely. He then asked one of the chariots to stop by the roadside and let Azimu have a look.
Azimu said excitedly, "Thank you, Assistant Minister Li. It's amazing that such a big iron lump can move so fast."
After saying that, he walked toward the armored chariot.
Li An smiled and pulled out a scimitar from the waist of an Arab soldier. Then, before anyone could react, he swung the scimitar at the armored artillery vehicle.
"Clang …"
Due to the excessive force, the blade collided violently with the armored chariot. Not only did a lot of sparks burst out, but it also made a loud noise at the same time, startling the people around.
Of course, Azimu was also startled. However, he soon understood that this was Ang Lee's performance to show the armored chariot's defensive power, so he immediately relaxed.
However, when he saw that the scimitar in Li An's hand had already been bent, he was still very shocked. The elite soldiers under his command all had the best weapons, but in the face of these iron lumps, they really had no place to use them. The scimitar was bent after just one slash.
Azimu quickly looked at the armored chariot of the Tang dynasty and found that there was a shallow cut where the blade had been slashed. The depth was almost negligible.
Obviously, the scimitar did not cause any serious damage to the armored chariot, but the scimitar itself was broken by the armored chariot. If these armored chariots attacked his soldiers, his soldiers would not be able to fight back.
"Azimu, do you want to try the hardness of our Tang dynasty's armored chariot?"
Ang Lee handed the scimitar to Azimu and said with a smile.
Azimu took the scimitar with a smile and said, "No need. I've seen it just now. Haha!"
After that, he handed the scimitar to the soldier behind him, and then tapped the armored chariot with his finger to feel the thickness of the armored chariot.
The reason why he did not try to cut it himself was naturally because he believed that he could not cut it open. If he used too much force, he might even break the scimitar, which would be embarrassing for him.
In addition, the armored chariots of the Tang dynasty were all painted. After Ang Lee's slash, another ugly scar had been left. If he did not know what was good for him and slashed a few more times, he would leave a few more scars on the armored chariot, which would not be good.
By tapping it a few times with his finger, he could feel the thickness of the armored chariot, and at the same time, he would not damage the new paint on the armored chariot, which was more polite.
"The sound is deep and vigorous. It seems that the armor is very thick. It's not something that can be damaged by a blade! It's really a good thing. "
Azimu's face was full of envy. He was very shocked and frightened that the army of the Tang dynasty could be equipped with such powerful weapons. Such a powerful army was not something that he could fight against. Even if he gathered all the troops under his command, he would not be a match for the armored army of the Tang dynasty in front of him.
"This is just average. The Tang dynasty has more powerful weapons. Let's go in and have a look. "
Ang Lee said generously.
After all, there was no possibility of stealing. No one could learn the manufacturing technology of the armored chariot of the Tang Empire. They could not get over the engine alone, and they could not build rubber tires.
"Thank you, Assistant Minister Li. How do I get in?"
Azimu was very happy. He walked around the armored chariot. Although he found a position that looked like a door, the door was closed, so he could not enter.
Ang Lee said, "Open all the doors and windows."
His subordinates immediately opened the main cabin door at the rear, the emergency entrance at the top, and the driver's entrance at the front left. Suddenly, the internal structure of the armored chariot was exposed to everyone.
Azimu and his subordinates were stunned when they saw the complicated structure of the chariot. They could not imagine such a complicated structure. They could not believe that there was such a complicated mechanical structure in the world.
Because the driver's cabin door and the emergency entrance at the top were relatively small, only the big cabin door at the rear was the most suitable for people to enter and exit.
Ang Lee waved his hand to signal the soldiers except the driver to get off the chariot. Then, he personally led these guys to the armored chariot.
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