Xuzhou is known as the "northern town" and "southern town". In the words of Xuzhou people, the city they live in is "neither south nor north, neither too big nor too small". In the eyes of southern military strategists, the occupation of Xuzhou is equivalent to taking a key and opening the north gate. In the eyes of the northern army, taking Xuzhou is equivalent to taking the bridgehead of the southern expedition.
Xuzhou has a smooth waterway since ancient times. Before the Southern Song Dynasty, Xuzhou was near Surabaya in the east and Bianshui in the west. From Surabaya to the north, you can pass Jinxiang, Qufu and Dingtao; From Bianshui to the west, it can reach Luoyang Kaifeng; Go south along Surabaya and you can reach Huaiyin. These cities that entered from Xuzhou were very important at that time, and some of them were still battlegrounds for military strategists.
Since Qin Dynasty, there have been more than 50 peasant uprisings in Xuzhou. The first goal of their uprising was Xuzhou. Since the founding of New China, Xuzhou has identified 8,000 revolutionary martyrs. Xuzhou coal mine and iron mine are rich in mineral deposits, iron ore and coal. In the Han Dynasty, there were iron officials established by the emperor in Xuzhou, and in the Song Dynasty, there were founding supervisors and Baofeng supervisors, who were responsible for the mining and smelting of iron. This is one of the signs of Xuzhou's military strength. Whoever owns Xuzhou will have important resources to make weapons. Isn't it more certain to win the war by using coal to make iron and iron to make weapons?
There are many mountains in Xuzhou, and there is a moat outside the city, which forms a natural barrier geographically and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Such an excellent place, of course, is rare for everyone.