For thousands of years, China have fought the nomadic horsemen of the Northern Steppes
We've built the Great Wall of China just to keep them out
But many may not know, during the 60s, China built a modern version of the Great Wall to defend against a possible Soviet invasion
During the 1960s and 1970s, the greatest threat to China was not the US
It was the steel torrent of the Red Army
During the Sino-Soviet split, the entire northern and western border were under threat
In Inner Mongolia, the terrain were flat desert or grassland
So manmade mountains were built forming a network of forts on the edge of the Gobi desert
Each has an extensive underground tunnel network
Armed to the teeth, they can with stand direct hits from 1000 pound bombs
In an event of a Soviet invasion, they will be the first point of contact
The mission of troops stationed there was to buy China more time
After these manmade hills forts, is the Yan Mountains and Taihang Mountains north of Beijing
The plan was to attempt a last stand, but if the Soviets broke through, then the Capital and most of Northern China was to be sacrificed
During the 1960s, a lot of industrial capacity were moved to the mountainous South and South West
It's called the Third Front project, if the Soviet broke through the Yan and Taihang mountains in the north
China will use the mountainous south to form a last ditch defense
Society changes, weapons changes, how we fight wars change
BUT geography never change, this is why China must conquer the north like Emperor Wu of Han
Or be Yongle Emperor of Ming dynasty and move your capital to the frontier city called Beijing and guard the north personally
Or you could be Emperor Kangxi of Qing dynasty, pacify the north through deft diplomacy and create vassals
Whatever the case, security of the Northern border is a matter of life and death for China
A hostile northern neighbor presents an unacceptable existential threat to China
This is why China must maintain close relations with Russia, and ensure its stability
If anything that's making Chinese leaders having sleepless nights, it's the stability of Russia
Putin has been effective maintaining stability in Russia, but he has to retire sooner or later
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