The Northern Wei Dynasty was the capital of the Xianbei tuoba in present-day Inner Mongolia and Linger County, and later moved the capital to Pingcheng (present-day Datong) and then to Luoyang.
At that time, the Northern Wei Dynasty attached great importance to frontier guards and army building, stipulating that all men of the Xianbei ethnic group must perform military service and enter the "army roster" until their deaths. As soon as there is a war, it will come.
In order to consolidate its border defenses, the Northern Wei Set up six important military towns along the Yinshan Mountains, which were (from west to east): Woye Town (in present-day Bayannaoer City), Huaishuo Town (in present-day Guyang County), Wuchuan Town (in present-day Wuchuan County), Fumu Town (in present-day Siziwang Banner), Rouxuan Town (in present-day Chayouhou Banner), and Huaihuang Town (in present-day Zhangbei County).
The DaqingShan in the middle of the Yinshan Mountains was called "Black Mountain" in ancient times, and these six towns were concentrated in Montenegro. The Ruoran tribe in the northern foothills of montenegro often invaded the frontiers of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and from 424 to 429 AD, the Northern Wei sent troops to attack the Ruoran tribe 13 times.
The legend of Mulan's military service occurred in this historical period, and the folk compiled it into the "Mulan Poem" and included it in the Northern Wei Lefu, which has been passed down to this day.
Where is Mulan's hometown? Why join the military? Where are the routes, stays and barracks of the army? The answer to these three questions can be found in the "Mulan Poem", when Mulan signed up for the army, he rode on horseback and crossed the Yellow River to reach the barracks.
"When grandpa goes, he stays by the Yellow River in the twilight, and he doesn't hear grandpa calling a woman, but he hears the splash of the Yellow River's water." Mulan's hometown is only a day's horse journey from the Yellow River, about the south bank of the Yellow River in Shanxi Hequ or Shaanxi Yulin and Fugu, passing through the Ordos region, a one-day horse journey to the bank of the Yellow River. If Mulan's hometown is in the Hequ area, it will pass through the ten mile long beach, Xuejiawan, Wujiayao, Dalu and other places in the present-day Jungar Banner. If Mulan's hometown is in Yulin and Fugu areas, it will pass through Dongsheng, Shulinzhao and other places.
From the examination of the place names left behind today, there is a place name in Wujiayao Village called "Mulan Bay", so it is very likely that Mulan's hometown Hequ area is high.
Dan resigned from the Yellow River, stayed at the head of the Black Mountain, did not hear the voice of the grandmother calling the woman, but heard the sound of Yanshan Hu riding and chirping. The next day, it was also a one-day horse journey from the Yellow River, passing through Shuanghe Town, Helinshengle Town, Hoshi Huimin District, Bakouzi Village, Xincheng District, Haoqinying, Halaqin and other places to reach the forward position "Black Mountain Head".
At that time, in order to resist the invasion of the Ruoran tribe, the Northern Wei court built the Great Wall along the Yin Mountains in northern Xinjiang (from Chicheng in the east to Wuyuan in the west, with a total length of about 1,000 kilometers).
Why did Mulan join the army for her father? There are also explanations in the poem.
"Last night I saw the military post, the Khan big point soldiers, the military book twelve volumes, the volume has the name of the grandfather, the grandfather has no eldest son, Mulan has no eldest brother." Willing to be the city of Kurama, henceforth for the grandfather. "It turned out that the Northern Wei Dynasty practiced a military system for all ethnic groups, and all men of the Xianbei ethnic group must register for military service in the "military book" when they reach adulthood, and when they encounter war, they will go to the front, even if they are seventy or eighty years old, they cannot prevaricate, and each household must produce a ding. Moreover, Mulan's father Hua Arc was once a general who won every battle and would undoubtedly go to the front line. The "Khan's Great Soldiers" in the poem refers to the leader of the Ruoran tribe who rebelled against the situation.
Because of this system, Hua Arc trained Mulan to learn martial arts from a young age (Mulan sister is thin and weak, Mulan brother is young) to practice a good martial art, and only then did she have the story of Hua Mulan serving in the army for her father.
Why do people think that Mulan is a native of Henan, and Mulan joined the army to fight with Turkic tribes?
Because the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty was moved to Luoyang, and the Performance Artist Chang Xiangyu sang, the audience caused misunderstanding. The Ruoran tribe was mistaken for the Turkic tribes that confronted the Sui and Tang Dynasties and the Khitan tribes that confronted the Northern Song Dynasty, and named the Rouran Khan "Tulizi", and the costumes used the costumes of Xiao Tianzuo, Xiao Tianyou, and Empress Xiao in "The Female General of Yangmen".
The Great Wall of the Northern Wei Dynasty was reinforced by virtue of the Great Wall of Zhao, so it is said that as the general Mulan who was responsible for the communication and transmission of orders, "Wanli went to Rongji, Guan Shan Du Ruofei, Shuo Qi passed on the golden garnet, the cold light illuminated the iron coat, the general died in a hundred battles, and the heroes returned in ten years", her footprints traveled all over the military six towns on the Black Mountain, and the White Daoling (now north of Usutu Village) where green trees were hidden, apricots and Li Zhengfang, flowers and birds were spoken, and General Mulan was the master of frequent visits.
Author: Wang Jizhou
Photo: He Weiguo
Source: Huimin District Literary Association