In "Water Margin", the heroes of Liangshan conquered Tian Hu, Song Jiang and Lu Junyi divided their troops and marched separately, and Song Jiang arrived at Huguan eastward.
Huguan is a dangerous terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, but the morale of the defenders is low and the management is chaotic. Song Jiang's army won the two encounters, and Tang Bin, the defender of Huguan, surrendered to Song Jiang and sacrificed the city.
The prototype of the Huguan described in "Water Margin" should be the real Huguan in history.
Historically, Huguan is located in Hukou Village, southeast of Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, which is an important military location, named after the narrow passage that resembles Hukou because of its terrain sandwiched between two peaks and formed in the middle. As an important pass in ancient times, Huguan has been equipped with defensive facilities since the Han Dynasty.
1. Ancient origin: The name of Huguan comes from its special topography, and the pass formed between the two mountains is shaped like a pot, hence the name. According to the "Notes on the Book of Water", Huguan County was set up here as early as the Han Dynasty, indicating that it had certain political and military significance in ancient times.
2. Han to Jin Dynasty: Huguan County was set up in the Han Dynasty, and at the end of the Jin Dynasty, Huguan County was abolished.
3. Northern Wei Dynasty: In the thirteenth year of Taihe of the Northern Wei Dynasty (489 AD), Huguan County was re-established in the dangerous place of Yangtou Mountain in Yangjiban, which shows that Huguan once again became an important administrative and defensive unit in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
4. Tang Dynasty: In the fourth year of Tang Wude (621 AD), Huguan County was re-established by separating land from Shangdang County, and its seat of governance is the county seat of today's Huguan County.
5. Song Dynasty and beyond: In the Song Dynasty, the Huguan described in "Water Margin" was under this historical background. Although the plot in the novel is fictional, Huguan's status as a military fortress may have remained in the Song dynasty.
6. Modern and modern: In the subsequent historical development, the administrative division of Huguan County has undergone many adjustments, until modern times, Huguan is a county under Changzhi City, Shanxi Province.