In the seventy-first episode of Tang Guoqiang's version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Zhuge Liang's tearful and horse-snooping bridge section is impressive, especially Zhuge Liang's heartache when he angrily rebuked Ma Mo for losing the street kiosk and his unbearable heart when Ma Mo was launched out of the book, which left a deep impression on the audience. With their superb acting skills and tearful plot, the actors vividly interpret the special and complex emotions between Zhuge Liang and Ma Mo, which is very infectious. However, no matter how well it is performed, it is still a deduction, and there is still a gap between it and the real historical plot.
First of all, Ma Mo's defeat at the street kiosk is indeed a matter. There are many records about this battle in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which took place in the sixth year of Shu Jianxing (228 AD); secondly, Ma Mo was indeed beheaded after the defeat of Jieting. In order to win the victory of the Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang carefully prepared for many years, and as a result, it was wasted because of Ma Chen's negligence, to the point where it was not enough for the civilians to be indignant if they did not kill. There are two main differences between the interpretation and the historical facts. First of all, Ma Mozhen's street pavilion was not the result of Zhuge Liang's efforts to exclude public opinion; secondly, after Ma Mo's defeat, he did not take the initiative to plead guilty, but chose to abscond, during which there were ministers to cover for him. In the end, however, Ma Mo was arrested and imprisoned, convicted and beheaded. In addition, Zhuge Liang did cry after Ma Mo's death, but why did Zhuge Liang cry? Do you bemoan the talent of Ma Chen, or do you cry for your own faults? The reason for this is unknown,
So, where is the street kiosk where Ma Mo failed miserably? According to historical records, the author will make a brief introduction to the controversial place of "street kiosks". Regarding the location of street kiosks during the Three Kingdoms period, it has always been a controversial topic. From the Sui and Tang dynasties to the present, there are roughly nine theories about the location of the street pavilion, namely: Chenggu said, Nanzheng said, MianXian said, Longxian said, Xixian said, Handian said, Longshan said, Jiezi said, and Longcheng said.
Among them, the "Chenggu Theory" comes from the "Great Qing Unification Chronicle" and "Chinese Ancient and Modern Book Integration", which is specifically located in the west fifteen miles of Chenggu County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province; "Nanzheng Theory" comes from the Song Dynasty's "Taiping Huanyu Chronicle", which is specifically located in the territory of Nanzheng District, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province; and "MianXian Theory" comes from the "Sui Book". Geographical Chronicle" (geography), specifically located in the territory of Mian County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province; "Longxian Theory" comes from the Book of Tang? Geographical Chronicle" is located in the north of Longxian County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, along the eastern side of Longshan Mountain; "Xixian Theory" comes from the "History of the Five Dynasties", specifically located in the ancient city of Xixian in the southwest of present-day Tianshui City, Gansu Province.
"Handian Theory" and "Longshan Saying" are all derived from the Qing Dynasty's "One Unification Zhi", "Qin'an County Chronicle", "Qinzhou Zhi" and other historical books, specifically located in Handian Town, southeast of Zhuanglang County, Pingliang City, Gansu Province, and Longshan Town in the northwest of Zhangjiachuan County, Tianshui City, Gansu Province. Because the town of Handian in Zhuanglang County borders longshan town in Zhangjiachuan County, these two places are actually one place; "Jiezi Theory" comes from the Yuan Dynasty's "Tongjian Interpretation of Texts and Debates", which is specifically located in Jiezi Town, Maiji District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province; "Longcheng Theory" comes from historical records such as the Book of later Han, the Tongdian, the Tuzhi of Yuanhe County, and the Tongzhi of Gansu Province, specifically located in Longcheng Town, northeast of Qin'an County, Tianshui City, Gansu Province.
The above nine theories each have historical sources, and all claim that they were the defeat of the Ma Mo soldiers in that year. However, modern scholars have excluded Chenggu, Nanzheng, Mianxian, Longxian and Xixian through examination and field investigation. Among the remaining four locations, especially the historical source of "Longcheng" is the most, which is most appropriate to the location of the street pavilion in the Three Kingdoms period. Since the 1980s, local archaeologists have excavated a large number of relics and artifacts from the Three Kingdoms period. Among them, a crossbow machine with the word "Shu" was unearthed during the excavation process. Therefore, the long town of Qin'an County is the street pavilion where Ma Mo was defeated during the Three Kingdoms period, and it has become the mainstream theory now. So, is Longcheng Really where the street kiosks are located?
On this issue, some scholars have also raised questions. First of all, the crossbow machine with the Shu character can only indicate that the Shu army once stationed troops or fought in this place, and does not prove that this place is where the street kiosks are located. In addition, according to historical records, Gongsun Shu in the early Eastern Han Dynasty also claimed that the King of Shu had established a state in the Sichuan region, and his troops also entered the Longyou region many times to fight. With a crossbow machine with Shu characters, how can we be sure that it must be the Shu army in the Three Kingdoms period, not the Shu army in the early Eastern Han Dynasty?
Secondly, according to the Book of Han? According to the Geographical Chronicle, although Luoyang (the ancient name of Qin'an County at the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period) was an important town in the Longyou region, it was far from Longshan and was not an important pass throat. If Ma Mo had stationed troops here, he would naturally lose the significance of blocking Cao Wei's army beyond the Long right battlefield. From this point of view, the statement that Longcheng is a street kiosk is also not very secure.
So, where exactly is the location of the kiosk? According to the Book of Jin, after Zhuge Liang led his army into Longyou, Emperor Ming of Wei ordered Zhang Gao to lead his troops along the Qianshui River through Kui County (隃麋县, in present-day Qianyang County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province) and enter Hanyang Commandery (汉陽郡) in the Longyou region via Longdi Dao and Longshan Mountain. Longdi Road is a passage opened up during the Spring and Autumn Period, one of the four official roads that passed through Longshan in ancient times, named after Longdi Mountain in the southern section of Longshan.
According to the Notes on the Water Classics, the Longdi Road traveled west along Weishui from Chang'an to Meiyang County (present-day Wugong County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province), Qishan County (present-day Qishan County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province), Yong County (present-day Fengxiang County, Shaanxi Province), Kui County,汧 County (present-day Long county, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province), Dazhenguan (present-day Longxian County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, also known as Longguan), after crossing Longshan Mountain, Jinjiequan County, Qingshui County (present-day Qingshui County, Tianshui City, Gansu Province), Shangyi County (present-day Tianshui City, Gansu Province), Ji County (present-day Gangu County, Tianshui City, Gansu Province), Later, along the Weishui River, it went northwest through Nan'an to Longxi.
There is one noteworthy place in the counties that longdi road passes through, that is, "Jiequan County". Since the county was abolished during the Eastern Han Dynasty, there are two theories about the county in later generations, one is that the ancient city of Jiequan is in the area of Longshan Town in the northwest of Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County, and the other is that the ancient city of Jiequan is in the area of Handian Town in the southeast of Zhuanglang County. This is also the position of the street kiosk in the Qing Dynasty historical materials. However, at the end of the last century, the local county volunteer office, cultural center and archaeology-related staff conducted many field investigations and excavations on the Longdi Road and the surrounding areas between Longxian and Qingshui County, and finally came to a conclusion through comparative research on several Han Dynasty relics found, believing that the ancient city of Jiequan should be located in the territory of Gongmen Town in the east of today's Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County. The author deduces from relevant historical materials and documentary records that this is the street kiosk where Ma Mo was defeated during the Three Kingdoms period. There are three main reasons:
(1) According to the Notes on the Water Classics, there is only one main road from Jiequan to Chang'an, and from Jiequan to the west, two branch roads are divided, one that leads directly to Ji County (around today's Gangu County in Shuishi) and the other to Pingxiang County (present-day Tongwei County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province). That is to say, after Wei Jun arrived at jiequan ancient city, there were many roads to choose from. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, after the Shu army entered the Longyou battlefield, its troops had been dispersed to several counties such as Anding, Longxi, Nan'an, and Tianshui, and the troops led by Zhang Gao were the most elite mobile units of the Cao Wei clique at that time. If Ma Mo had not been stationed in the ancient city of Jiequan, Zhang Hao would not have had to enter Longyou and first find Ma Mo for a decisive battle.
(2) Gongmen Town still preserves a large number of Han Dynasty relics. The town's Shangchengzi, built by the mountains and rivers, south of the Phoenix Mountain, north of Fanshui, about 600 meters long from east to west, about 550 meters from north to south, half relying on the mountain danger, the other half to curb the ditch river, Longdi Road just passed through the city, is to curb the Longdi Road through the throat of Longshan. On the mountain stream between Shangchengzi and Dazhenguan, there are still some remnants of ancient beacon towers. Judging from the weapons, armor and cultural relics of various dynasties excavated in recent years, this place has been a place of contention for soldiers in the Guanlong area since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Such an important pass was also the best place to prevent the Wei army from entering the Long right battlefield.
(3) The topography, landform, and location of the place are similar to those in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "(Ma) obstructed the South Mountain, and did not go down to the stronghold of the city... The statement that "Zhang" and "Jiequan Ruined City is sixty miles northeast of (Longcheng)" in the Taiping Huanyu Chronicle are basically consistent with the description. In summary, the author believes that the location of the street pavilion in the Three Kingdoms period was in the territory of Gongmen Town in the Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous Region of Tianshui City, Gansu Province.
References: "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Book of Jin", "Unification Chronicle of the Great Qing Dynasty", "Integration of Ancient and Modern Chinese Books", "Taiping Huanyu Chronicle", "Sui Book", "Book of Tang", "History of the Five Dynasties", "Chronicle of Qin'an County", "Chronicle of Qinzhou", "Book of Han", "Notes on the Water Classic", "Book of later Han", "Tongdian", "Tuzhi of Yuanhe County", "Tongzhi of Gansu Province"