Linxia Prefecture is located in the southwest of Gansu Province, in the transition zone between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Loess Plateau, bounded by Huangshui and Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, to the north, to the east by the Tao river and Dingxi City in Gansu Province, and to the west by Haidong City in Qinghai Province. The Yellow River, Taohe River and Huangshui river meet here, and the famous Liujiaxia Reservoir is in the territory of Linxia Prefecture. After the Yellow River leaves the Liujiaxia Reservoir, it receives the Tao River and Huangshui, and then flows to Lanzhou.
Linxia City, is the capital of Linxia Prefecture, Linxia is named because of its close proximity to the Great Xia River, a first-class tributary of the Yellow River, which runs through the city from southwest to northeast and joins the Yellow River. Linxia's geographical location is very important, not only is it an important town on the southern line of the ancient Silk Road, but also a place where soldiers must fight, known as "Hehuangxiong Town".
Linxia ancient name Hezhou, is an ancient city with a history of more than 2,000 years, that is, the rare History of the Northern Song Dynasty Xi River opened to recover the River State. During the Qin and Han dynasties, wei and Jin dynasties, Linxia was a famous military town in the northwest, and had a more peculiar name- "枹汉" (枹) (枹) pronounced "Fu"), which was the seat of governance of the provincial-level Hezhou.
The Hehuang area is strategically located, connecting the western region in the west, Qinlong in the east, Ganliang in the north, sichuan and Tibet in the south, and has a very important strategic position in the history of our country. "Hehuang" refers to the Yellow River and Huangshui, and Hezhou (Linxia) is also an important part of the Hehuang area. If the Central Plains could control Hezhou, it could attack Liangzhou from the west, and retreat could prevent forces in the west or on the plateau from attacking Guanzhong.
The Sui and Tang dynasties fixed the capital chang'an, Tubo was always the main enemy of the Tang Dynasty on the western front, and Hezhou was an important strategic gateway between Chang'an (Xi'an) and Tubo. The Tang Dynasty held Hezhou, which could hold both Hexi and Chang'an, and could also play a deterrent role in Tubo.
The Silk Road is not only the Hexi Corridor, but actually three lines: the northern line, the central line, and the southern line. The southern line, also known as Qiangzhong Road or Huangzhong Road, starts from Chang'an, goes west through Tianshui and Longxi to Hezhou, then crosses Huangshui from Hezhou and goes north to Zhangye in Liangzhou. In the early Tang Dynasty, due to the threat of Turkic forces, from the western region to Chang'an, generally did not dare to take the northern line, will choose a safer southern line.
In addition, the famous Tang Dynasty ancient road between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo left Chang'an, passing through Tianshui and Lintao to Hezhou, and then from Hezhou south to The City of Lhasa (present-day Lhasa, Tibet). Hezhou is located at the intersection of the Silk Road and the Tang Dynasty Ancient Road, guarding two important passages, and its importance is self-evident.
After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty was too busy to take care of itself, and Tubo took the opportunity to expand eastward, taking away the Hehuang region, and Hezhou also fell into tubo's hands. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Western Xia controlled Hexi, and the Northern Song Dynasty did not control Hezhou and other places, and could not threaten the Western Xia from the flanks. In 1068, Wang Shao proposed to take Hezhou and other places to further solve the Western Xia problem. At that time, Song Shenzong was on the throne, and Wang Anshi also strongly supported Wang Shao.
In 1073, the Northern Song Dynasty, after paying huge human, material and financial resources, after fierce and bitter battles, finally recovered the Hezhou and other prefectures that the Central Plains Dynasty had lost since the Anshi Rebellion, and expanded the land for 2,000 miles, known in history as "the opening of the Xi River".
The opening of the Xi River reversed the strategic disadvantage of the Northern Song Dynasty to the Western Xia, and made the Western Xia suffer from the enemy. Unfortunately, after Wang Anshi stepped down, the conservative Sima Guang denied everything he had done, believing that the cost of maintaining the Hehuang area was too high, and stopped the opening of the Xihe River. All the efforts were in vain, and the six states of Xihe lost their essence.
During the Ming Dynasty, Hezhou was very important, and Pai Zheng Erpindu commanded such a high-ranking military attaché to sit in the town to ensure that Hezhou was unharmed. The great talent Xie Jin also wrote a poem "Climbing the Town Side Tower", "Long Shu Qin Yun Wanli Qiu, Thinking of Relatives Alone on the Town Side Tower." For several years, I didn't see the geese in the south, and it was really the end of the river state. ”