An Lushan raised troops in Youzhou in the fourteenth year of Tianbao, and the Anshi Rebellion broke out, and the rebels attacked Taiyuan all the way, and the other way went south to the Hebei Plain under An Lushan's personal command, captured the eastern capital Luoyang, and then captured Chang'an. Although the Tang army had previously recaptured Chang'an, the situation was still precarious for the Tang court, and in order to more effectively resist the An Shi rebels, the Tang court decided to set up Fang Town in the key area, and divided the three clan towns of Hedong, Zelu and Hezhong in the original Hedong area. At the same time, the An Shi rebels and the Tang army engaged in a tug-of-war in the Hedong region.
Hedong region as the forefront of the war with the Anshi rebels, geographical location is extremely important, and Hedong as the birthplace of the Tang Dynasty, not only has profound political significance but also has an important military position, once the place is lost, the Anshi rebels can march westward from Hedong and Henan, Chang'an will fall into a state of pinch.
Mr. Treide also pointed out: "The initial victory phase of the rebels from December 755 to June 756 ended with the blockage of the rebel offensive at Wangguan and the uprising of the Qin Wang army in Hebei, where the rebels rear. From July 756 to November 757, the rebel dominance and its military power and territorial control were at its peak. It can be seen that in the second year of Zhide , the Anshi rebel forces were at their peak, and the effective strategy that the Tang court could think of to solve the urgent need was to set up Fang Town in the place of rush, and the Hedong area, as the forward position of the war with the Anshi rebels, the first thing to bear was to add Fang Town, so the establishment of Hezhong Town should be in the second year of Zhide Town.
As for the subsequent appointment of Zhao Yu, Wang Yu, and Cui Yu as the envoys of the three prefectures of Pu Tongge or the envoys of the three prefectures of Pu Tongjie, it was precisely to strengthen the defense of the Guanzhong region, among which the post of Pu Tongzi Sanzhou Jiedu Envoy also had the role of defending against collisions with the eastern gate.
Whether there is a defensive envoy or a jiedu envoy in the river, its official name has the word "in the river" or there is no such word, and the place of the square town in the river area should be in this period. With the defensive envoy as the chief and the jiedu envoy as the chief, but the difference in rank, can be regarded as a square town.
Geography and transportation
The geographical scope of the Hezhong region was constantly changing during the Tang Dynasty, and by the time De Erzai first established the town of Jie, it had jurisdiction over the seven prefectures of Pu, Jiang, Ci, Zhu, Jin, Tong, and Ge, spanning three provinces; In the second year of the Qian Dynasty, only the three prefectures of Pu, Tong, and Captivity were still straddling the three provinces, but the scope of jurisdiction was greatly reduced; At the beginning of Tang Dezong's reign, when Li Huaiguang's Shuofang army was stationed in Hezhong, the same prefecture was annexed to the Tang court, and there were only six prefectures. After that, the number of prefectures varied, and in the first year of Guangqi, it was renamed the National Defense Army, and the office of Ranzhi was always in Puzhou.
Geographical overview
Although the jurisdiction of Hezhong Town changed considerably, one thing remained constant: its core area was always in the southwest of present-day Shanxi Province, centered on Puzhou, so its geographical overview should be based on this. Its geographical characteristics are that the Yellow River is used as a barrier in the west and south, and the Zhongtiao Mountain is located to the south, "its mountain is narrow and far away, hence the name." Also known as Boshan Mountain, also known as Lei Shou Mountain. Its main peak is Snowflake Mountain, 1994 meters above sea level, and is bordered by Wangwu Mountain and Wuling Mountain at the northeast end.
The strategic location of the Hezhong region is largely due to the Zhongtiao Mountain, which overlooks southern Jinnan to the north and the Central Plains to the south, which is not only a barrier between Luoyang and Wangguan, but also guards Chang'an and the northwest region. There are both basins and mountainous areas in the river, and the Fenshui flows from the north to the southwest, running through its territory, in addition, there are rivers such as Yanshui, Shuishui, Suishui, and Guduishui, so agriculture is relatively developed.
During the Tang Dynasty, the east of the river to Guanzhong had to cross the Yellow River, and its ferry ports mainly included Pujin and Longmen, the former having a pontoon bridge across the Yellow River, so it was the most convenient, and these two Jindu were in the territory of the Hezhong region. The so-called "Nantong juice and Luo" refers to crossing several steep canyons in the Zhongtiao Mountains, and then crossing the Yellow River, reaching Luoyang and Muzhou in the Central Plains; "North Blocking Jinyang" means that it can block the way from Taiyuan to Guanzhong Province.
Taiyuan is the political center and military important place of Hedong, the so-called Longxing land of the Tang Dynasty, there is a Tang generation, in order to connect with the Tang court, it must pass through Pujin and Longmen, because the Yellow River turns south from present-day Inner Mongolia, all the way down, north of these two ferry ports The river bank is steep, the water is turbulent, there is no geographical conditions suitable for being a ferry, and the river can only be crossed from these two ferries.
Because Hezhong is located between the western capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an, and the eastern capital Luoyang, the strategic position is very important, so the Tang Dynasty classified Puzhou and Guanzhong Tongzhou, Huazhou and Qi Prefecture as one of the "four auxiliaries" of Jinhui, and also classified Jiangzhou in the river as one of the "six xiong" prefectures in the world. When the Tang Dynasty resisted the enemies from the east, the strategic position of the Hezhong region became more prominent, and the important pass was Pujin Pass, which was listed as Shangguan by the Tang government. The rest of the levels are the middle and lower levels. Anyone who enters Guanzhong from Hebei and Hedong to the west must pass through this pass. Therefore, Yan Gengwang said: It is "the first key to the west of Hedong and Hebei land roads into Guanzhong." ”
Whether from a military or socio-economic point of view, Pujin Pass has an important position. It is generally believed that Yuguan is a barrier to the east of the Guan, which mainly refers to its defense of the road from Chang'an to Luoyang, and if viewed from the perspective of defending the entire eastern enemy, Pujin Pass has the same military significance as Yuguan.
In addition, the grain produced in the Hezhong region is also of great significance to the Jingshi Chang'an, and as early as the Sui Dynasty, "the Guandong and the grain of Fen, and Jin were given to the Jingshi Division". This trend continued until the Tang Dynasty. The pool salt produced in the river not only supplied the needs of the Jingshi Division, but also supplied the entire northern region, and occupied a very important position in the social and economic life during this period.
Kamatsu Ferry and Kamatsu Bridge
The reason why the Hezhong region occupied an important strategic position during the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the Zhongtiao Mountain, Pujin Pass was also an important factor. It is located on the east bank of the Yellow River west of Puzhou, also known as Linjin Pass. Pujin Pass is not only a dangerous pass, but also an ancient ferry port in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, called Pujin Du, and the ferry port has a bridge, called Pujin Bridge.
After the Tang Dynasty established the capital Chang'an, it was a necessary place to pass through the eastern and northern regions, and Gu Zuyu pointed out the importance of the geographical location of Pujin Pass, that is, Pujin Du. Because Pujindu connected present-day Shaanxi and Shanxi, it was "Hengqin and Jin". During the first year of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Hezhong Prefecture was established in Puzhou, and Pujindu was outside the west gate of the capital. The Tang Dynasty's Guanxiao Avenue was centered on Chang'an, with four east, west, south and north, one of which "north to Taiyuan, all with shops for business travel." "This is the road that passes through Kamatsuto. This road not only leads to Taiyuan, but also carries traffic with the Hebei region, and if the Hezhong region is the hub connecting the northwest, the Central Plains, and North China, the Pujin Bridge is the keyhole of this key area.
As a transportation point, many dynasties in history have built pontoon bridges here, which began in the Spring and Autumn period of Lu Zhao's first year, and is the longest bridge in the history of mainland bridge construction. The bridge connects Chaoyi County on the west bank of the Yellow River with Hedong County on the east bank. Regarding Chaoyi, Mr. Mao Yisheng pointed out in his famous book "The Technical History of Ancient Bridges in China": "On the Yellow River, during the Warring States period, the Qin State built pontoon bridges in Pujin several times in order to attack the Han, Zhao and Wei states in an attempt to complete the great cause of reunification. During the Later Wei dynasty, Gao Huan, the king of Qi Xianwu, built a bridge in Pujin to attack Western Wei. "It can be seen that bridges not only play an important role in the development of economic and cultural exchanges, but also have a close relationship with the military. If we want to better develop the transportation industry, we must build more roads and build better bridges.
During the first year of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, in order to strengthen the rule of the north, while improving the status of Hezhong Province, it was decided to rebuild the Pujin Bridge. Although the bed of the Yellow River here is wide, the water flow is gentle, suitable for building bridges, and most of the bridges built in previous dynasties are bamboo cable bridges, which are easy to damage. After the completion of the Kamatsu Bridge, land and water transportation on both sides of the river became busier.
Traffic conditions
The seat of Hezhong Town is Puzhou, which is the hub of the Hezhong region, including the entire Hedong Province prefecture, and Chang'an, Beijing. From Taiyuan to the south, along the Fenshui River Valley, through Fenzhou Yijie Xiu Yi Lingshi Yi Huoyi Hongdong One Jinzhou and Jiangzhou, turn west to Hejin Longmen, cross the Yellow River, and enter Guanzhong; Or from Jiangzhou southwest to Puzhou, which is the main trunk route from Hedong Road to Chang'an. There are two roads to Chang'an from here, the waterway is from the river into Wei'an, along the west direction of Weishui, and take a boat directly to Chang'an.
This is the best passage from the river to Chang'an, and the Hedong states transport grain and bulk trade commodities, mostly through this waterway. The land route is to cross the Pujin Bridge, enter Guanzhong, pass through Chaoyi Tongzhou and Bang Yibang Yiyang and Gaoling Jingyang, and enter Chang'an through Zhongwei Bridge; Or in Gaoling via the Dongwei Bridge, along the Jing and Dusao roads to the west into Chang'an.
To the south of the river, it is necessary to pass through the Nakajo Mountain located to the southeast, specifically through the two roads of Yusaka and Shirojing. After arriving in Anyi and Xia County, there is no danger to Puzhou. Conversely, after crossing the Yellow River from Puzhou through Dayangjin to Shaanzhou, you can follow the Jingxiao and Dusao roads to Luoyang, and then go east to Juice.
The traffic road between Hezhong and Shangdang needs to cross Wuling Mountain, and the specific direction is: from Puzhou to the northeast, through Anyi Yiwen Xi and Jiangzhou to Linfen, and then turn east, through Shenshan County, over Wuling Mountain, to Ji's County, and then through Changzi County, you can reach Luzhou. When Emperor Wuzong Huichang used troops to quell Zelu's rebellion in three years, but Li Yanzuo's advance was slow, Emperor Wuzong ordered Shi Xiong to replace Li Yanzuo as an envoy, and it can be seen that this road can reach Luzhou. From Luzhou through the Taihang Tongzhi Cave Trail through Linxian County, you can reach Xiangzhou in Hebei Province. You can also go south from Luzhou, pass through Gaoping, Zezhou, and Huaizhou, reach Mengzhou, and enter Luoyang.
There is also a road connecting the river with the central prefectures of Hebei, the specific direction is: from Puzhou to Taiyuan, turn east, pass through Yuci, Shouyang, Niangziguan, cross the well trail, reach Shiyi, and then reach Zhenzhou. This road was used more frequently when the Tang army fought against the Anshi rebels in Hebei, such as in February of the fifteenth year of Tianbao, "Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi went east out of Jinglong, fought with the thief general Shi Siming, broke through, and advanced more than ten counties", not only the Tang Dynasty, in fact, successive dynasties used this road as the main road in and out of Hebei.
The river can also be connected with the outside of Saiwai, still from Puzhou to Taiyuan, then north, through Yangqu, over Shiling Pass, Xinzhou, Shuozhou, Yunzhou, and then north through the Great Wall, to reach Shan Yudufu, and then to the north and south of the desert. Since ancient times, the northern ethnic minorities have invaded the Central Plains, and the Central Plains Dynasty has gone north to fight with troops, and this road is one of the routes often taken. This road is also the road often taken by the Tang dynasty's northern ethnic minority regimes to envoy the Tang Dynasty and enter and exit Chang'an, so it is also of great significance in diplomacy.
It is precisely because the Hezhong region has such convenient transportation conditions, its roads can be described as extending in all directions, coupled with the dangerous situation and abundant products, so during the Tang Dynasty, Prime Minister Yuan Zai recommended the construction of the capital in Hezhong Province, this paragraph makes the superior geographical location of the Hezhong region very clear, and also shows that the Tang Dynasty attaches great importance to the Hezhong region, and gives a high evaluation from the political, military and geographical perspectives.