The storyline of "Three Heroes vs. Lu Bu" is exciting, and the background of this desperate struggle is pregnant with countless magical and bizarre historical mysteries. As the location of the ancient battlefield, Tiger Prison Pass not only witnesses the smoke of war with swords and swords, but also contains the wonders and mysteries of nature. The vicissitudes of time, Sidi still retains the traces of the eventful years, waiting for us to uncover the mystery one by one. What happened here? What kind of historical anecdote is hidden in this pass?
1. The origin and evolution of the ancient battlefield of Tiger Prison Pass
Since ancient times, the Tiger Prison Pass is a dangerous place, standing in the mountains on the south bank of the Yellow River, just like a sharp sword out of the sheath, guarding the eastern key point leading to Luoyang. The location is steep, surrounded by mountains, but the only entrance and exit is blocked by a ravine cut by the river, forming a natural pass.
Dating back to the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Mu of Zhou at that time raised tigers in this place, so it was named "Tiger Prison". In the Warring States Period, in order to defend against external troubles, the Qin State built a fortress in this choke point, named "Tiger Prison Pass". Since then, this pass has been repeatedly attacked and changed hands over the long years, witnessing countless wars and smoke.
Entering the Three Kingdoms period, the importance of the Tiger Pass became more prominent. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao united the princes to crusade against Dong Zhuo, who was the first to ascend. At that time, Dong Zhuo's general Lu Bu occupied the Tiger Prison Pass, and the main army was stationed in the pass, forming an impregnable defensive line. In order to seize the commanding heights of Tiger Pass, Cao Cao personally supervised the army and fought fiercely with Lü Bu around the small city for several months, and the two sides fell into a bloody stalemate.
At this moment of crisis, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, three heroes who were born recklessly and experienced vicissitudes, joined Cao Cao's command. The three of them are strong in martial arts and brave, and although they are prisoners, they are valued by Cao Cao and entrusted with important tasks. Thus, a wonderful battle began.
2. Geological wonders and geomorphological characteristics of Bishan Mountain
Pishan is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, and Hugaoguan is located in the hinterland of the middle section of the Loess Plateau. The geological wonders and unique geomorphological environment here are closely related to the flow of the Yellow River and climate change.
Since the Quaternary period 2.6 million years ago, with the advent of the cold ice age, the strong monsoon in the northwest has continuously blown up the fine sand particles in the Yellow River Basin, blowing these dust and sand towards the North China Plain. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the dust gradually condenses into a thick layer of yellow sediment, which can accumulate up to hundreds of meters thick, forming a vast Loess Plateau.
During the long process of loess sedimentation, the climate is not static. Occasionally, there are brief periods of warmth, when rainfall increases, favoring vegetation growth. As a result, in these paleosoil layers, traces of the green of the past will be retained, forming layers of ochre-red calcareous nodules. These calcareous nodules are hard and powerful, making them ideal materials for future generations to dig holes in the loess to live.
The layer of Malan loess at the top of the mountain, which is tens of meters thick, was formed during the later ice age. At that time, the north had just thawed, and the Yellow River carried a large amount of sediment to the east, and due to the gentle terrain, the river slowed down, and the sediment began to be deposited in large quantities. At the same time, the northwest monsoon also blows this dust and sand to the south bank of the Yellow River, making it the area with the highest concentration of loess in Malan.
Due to the loose texture of Malan loess, coupled with the erosion and erosion of the water flow in the later period, the ravines on the mountain are vertical and horizontal, and the landform is steep and uphill. The Yellow River, which circles in the mountains, has been diverted again and again over hundreds of millions of years, forming the intricate gully terrain of today. This unique geological landscape adds more mystery to the ancient battlefield of Tiger Prison Pass.
3. The legendary story of the three British battles against Lu Bu originates
Although there is no conclusive confirmation in the official historical records of the Battle of Tiger Prison Pass during the Three Kingdoms period, it has gradually been endowed with extremely rich imagination and legend in the writings of later generations of folk and literati.
The earliest testable deeds about the "Three Heroes Fighting Lu Bu" come from the poem "Recruiting Hermits" by Tao Yuanming, a great poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The poem wrote: "In the past, in the Tiger Prison Pass, Liu Guan Zhang said goodbye to Qigong. These concise words laid the groundwork for the interpretation of this legend by later generations.
Entering the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, wars and chaos were frequent, and the folk literati praised the heroes even more. In "Wen Zan", Lu Ji revealed the description of Guan Yu's storylines such as "crying and slashing horses" and "warm wine slashing Huaxiong". It can be seen that the folklore about the Battle of Tiger Prison Pass has been widely spread at that time.
And the final shape of this legendary story is due to the Ming Dynasty novelist Luo Guanzhong's masterpiece "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". In this long chapter of the novel, the Battle of Tiger Prison Pass is written into the most exciting episode, and the plot of "Three Heroes vs. Lu Bu" is colorful and vivid.
According to the book, Cao Cao personally supervised the army to attack the Tiger Prison Pass, in order to eliminate Lü Bu's henchmanship. And Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, who had just joined Cao Ying, were humiliated, but they were entrusted with important tasks. So the three of them were not afraid of danger, defeated the strong enemy, and finally turned the tide and defeated Lu Bu's army.
The whole storyline is ups and downs and fascinating, especially the heroic image of Liu Guanzhang and the three people who are not timid in danger and brave generals, all of which are shocking. Guan Yu's plots such as "crying and killing horses" and "warm wine and killing Huaxiong" are even more well-known. Such a strong picture, combined with the unique geographical environment of Tiger Pass, adds infinite imagination and magical charm to this ancient battlefield.
Fourth, the paradise of rare animals and plants
The area around Tiger Pass not only has unique geological and geomorphological wonders, but also is a natural treasure house full of vitality. Thanks to the special geographical environment here, a large number of rare animal and plant populations have been bred, constituting an ecological oasis like a paradise.
The climate here is arid and rainfall is scarce, but it just meets the survival needs of many desert creatures. In the middle of the mountains, there are many strange-shaped karst caves. These natural caves are sheltered from the wind and cool, and have become a paradise for many burrowing animals. Among them is the world's rare Chinese bamboo rat, a small mammal that looks like a rat but is actually a locust-eating animal that is now home to the last few hundred wild populations in the world.
In addition, on the vast loess plateau at the top of the mountain, there is a large area of rare vegetation. Due to the altitude and the special composition of the soil, it is covered with a large number of plants that like dry and little rain. These include the extremely rare wild almond and orchid whisk, all of which were once endangered.
The Yellow River has been diverted and washed and cut many times here, which has built a natural barrier for many animals. For example, in the area of Longmen Mountain on the south bank of the Yellow River, a primitive secondary forest has been isolated. In this lush forest, there are still tens of thousands of ancient tree species, such as ephedra trees and wild apple trees, which are national first-class protected plants.
The forest is inhabited by many large wild animals, such as black bears, wild boars, etc., constituting an extremely precious and mysterious corner of animal habitat.
Such an excellent ecological environment, coupled with the natural isolation effect of high mountains and steep roads and closed environment, has created so many rare animals and plants to thrive here. The entire Tiger Prison Pass area seems to have become a secluded paradise away from the hustle and bustle of the world.
5. The scouring effect of the Yellow River flood on the ancient city
Tiger Prison Pass has been an important military fortress since ancient times, the rise and fall of successive dynasties, and the ruins of the ancient city have all witnessed the continuous wars here. However, the years are merciless, and only the torrent of nature is surging, erasing the prosperity here again and again.
Since ancient times, the mother river of the Yellow River has been the lifeblood of the Chinese nation. But she also became violent and ferocious at times. According to historical records, since the Spring and Autumn Period, the lower reaches of the Yellow River have been diverted 26 times in the area of Hugao Pass. Every change in the river will have a huge impact on the military defense system here.
Dating back to the Tang Dynasty, the main stream of the Yellow River at that time once moved northward, from today's Yellow River through the Tiger Pass. In those years, there was a majestic and majestic pass city here, called Tiger Prison Pass City. Unfortunately, the city only survived for a few hundred years before it was washed away by the flood. Today, on the top of the mountain, you can still see the remains of the foundation site of the city wall.
Later in the Song Dynasty, as the lower reaches of the Yellow River gradually moved southward, the defense system around Hugao Pass was also transferred southward. At that time, in the area of Luoning County, Shaanxi Province, a magnificent Longmen Pass City was built. This huge military fortress located on the banks of the Yellow River once became the last strong barrier of the defense line in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River.
However, in the year 1048 AD, a sudden catastrophic flood completely changed the fate of Longmen Guanchengchi. At that time, the water level of the Yellow River soared several zhang, and the rolling torrent broke down the defense line of Longmen Pass and leveled this cloudy pass. At this point, the defense system of the entire Tiger Pass area completely collapsed.
For thousands of years, the prosperous times have changed, and the city passes that stood in the Tiger Prison Pass have all fallen victim to the flooding of the Yellow River, and have since been completely erased. Now even if you come to the scene in person, you can only vaguely see some ruins, and there are only regrets and vicissitudes of life.