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Any and all Qin Dynasty projects were dwarfed by massive walls erected along the northern borders, the first version of the Great Wall of China.
Running well north of the contemporary walls, built in later dynasties, this particular project involved the reinforcement and connection of existing defensive networks; at the same time, internal walls previously used by Warring States in their own wars were destroyed.
The Great Wall was seen as key to the empire’s policy of containment of northern nomadic tribes. However, this northern policy later backfired in every sense: the removal of internal walls made it easier for future northern nomads to wreak havoc in the region as soon as they could get across the first line of defense, while poorly-planned aggression against those same nomads concentrated their efforts on hitting back at the hated Chinese.
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