1. 控扼
1. 隋炀帝主持开凿了南北运河，联接起中原和江南地区，而扬州恰好处于运河与长江交汇处，成控扼之势。
The Emperor presided over the north-south canal dug, joins from the Central Plains and south of the Yangtze River, Yangzhou happens in the Canal and the Yangtze River Interchange, as the trend of the control briefly.
2. 8世纪安史之乱后，衰落的唐朝，已无力控制包括西域在内的西北地区。吐蕃、西夏等相继崛起，控扼丝路东段孔道，使中西交通受阻。
After the An Lushan and Shi Siming rebellion in the 8th century, the declining Tang Dynasty lost its control over the northwest China, including the Western Regions, but the land route here was not totally replaced by the Silk Road of the Sea.