As one of the important towns in the Three Kingdoms, Jieting has the function of gaining and losing Longyou and ensuring the security of Guanzhong. It is a battleground for Shu and Wei, and it is also a controversial historical place name. There are many different answers to where the street pavilion is:
Or think that Jieting is the ancient town of Jiequange, 60 miles northeast of Longcheng, Qin 'an County, Gansu Province. Or the street pavilion was in Xixian County during the Three Kingdoms period, which is the street pavilion town in Tianshui City, Gansu Province today; Some people even say that Jieting is the Jieting Mountain in West County, Hanchuan County, Sui Dynasty, located in Mianxian County, Shaanxi Province today.
According to the research results of modern people, the last one is completely wrong. It can be seen from Mr. Chen Kewei's textual research on the street pavilion that the street pavilion is located in the ancient town of Tianshui, Gansu Province today, but this statement is very suspicious.
According to Mr. Chen's research, Jieting is located in Jieting Town, Tianshui City, Gansu Province. There is an ancient road leading to Guanzhong to the east of this place and to the south of Weishui. The reinforcements led by Zhang Tai came from Xijie Pavilion, and Ma Su's army also wanted to advance eastward along Nanshan, seize Longshan and block the passage of Wei Jun's western aid. This is the so-called "Chencang-Longshan-Shangtuo Avenue".
If there is indeed an ancient road leading to Guanzhong area in the south of Wei River to the east of Jieting Town, then the above statement in Jieting Kao is obviously reasonable. The problem is that there is no such ancient road in the south of Weishui, east of Jieting town, which is the key point of my doubt about Jieting test.
The distribution of ancient and modern roads is bound to be influenced and restricted by topography, especially in ancient society without modern production conditions. Today, the northern part of Narcissus County, east of Jieting Town and south of Weishui is the red gully area of Huangtuling at the northern foot of Qinling Mountains. Most of them are covered with thick loess, with undulating surface and ravines. The altitude is between 1 100 meters and 2000 meters.
Qinling Mountain is an east-west mountain range, which originates from large and small rivers on the northern slope of Qinling Mountain, flows into Weishui from south to north, and is washed into deep valleys. These high mountains and deep valleys seriously hinder the local traffic between east and west. Don't say 1000 years ago during the Three Kingdoms period. Even today, there is no highway from Jieting Town to Guanzhong south of Weishui. The Baoji-Tianshui section of Longhai Railway, which is now built along the Weihe River Valley, is also a dangerous road over mountains and valleys. In addition, every rainy season, rocks will collapse, so railway transportation has to be interrupted. Even today, it was impassable here in ancient times.
As for the southern area of Tianshui County in the southeast of Jieting Town, it is the North Qinling Mountains. The mountains in this area are steep, with an altitude of 1000 meters to more than 2300 meters. The eastern mountainous area of Tianshui county is Xiaolongshan forest area, and today the population density here is relatively small. In ancient times, it was a forest area without a city, and there was no road to Guanzhong in the east.
Now the road from Dongquan in the east of Tianshui County to Liqiao in the southeast of the county is also from Liqiao to the south, bypassing Liangdang in Gansu Province and Fengxian in Shaanxi Province, and then generally leading to Guanzhong area along the baoji-chengdu railway Line. This highway does not directly lead to Baoji City from the east of Tianshui County. This is because it is influenced and restricted by mountains and rivers. This also shows that in ancient times, there was no direct road to Guanzhong in the south of Weihe River east of Jieting Town.
The above argument shows that the "Chen Lun-Longshan-Shangluan Avenue" from Jieting Town to the east along Weishui or Qinling does not actually exist. In that case, Mrs. Zhang's army of western aid arrived in Tianshui area without this road, and the vanguard troops led by Ma Su would not occupy Longshan by this road, blocking the passage of Wei Jun's western aid. In this way, the street pavilion called Jieting Town in the street pavilion exam lost its strategic importance.
Because Jieting Town is not on the main road of Zhang Bu's reinforcements, Zhang Tai and Ma Su's troops may not meet here, and the two armies will not fight fiercely because of this. Even if the two armies meet and have a fierce battle, the defeat of Jieting will never lead to the serious consequences of Zhuge Liang's total failure of Qishan.
In addition, the so-called "Chen Lun-Longshan-Shangluan Avenue" is not only infeasible in mountains and rivers, but also unfounded in ancient literature. Many historical records prove that the ancient road connecting Guanzhong and Longyou did not pass through the Qinling Mountains in Tianshui County, south of Weishui, but crossed the Longshan Mountain and the southern section of Liupanshan Mountain, north of Weishui. Moreover, this road connecting today's Guanzhong and Tianshui areas and crossing Longshan has become a channel for Qin people to communicate in the early Spring and Autumn Period.
It can be seen that the statement that Jieting Kao is Jieting Town in Tianshui, Gansu Province is suspicious.
To determine the specific location of the street pavilion, there is a crucial question: when Zhuge Liang left Qishan for the first time, where did Zhang Tai's western expedition reinforcements arrive in Longyou? According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Tai's army went to Longyou from Guanzhong via Longshan.
Judging from the analysis of Governor Longxi of Wei, if the Shu army can cut off Longshan, the channel of Wei's western aid, then in January, officials in Longxi will surrender without attack. Because the Shu army failed to cut off the Longshan passage, Wei Jun went to Gansu, and Zhuge Liang failed and left.
It can be seen that Longshan Road was a vital place for Wei and Shu at that time. Both sides of the war know the stakes, especially Zhuge Liang, who is resourceful and proficient in the art of war. As Wei Jun arrived in Longyou via Longshan, Zhuge Liang ordered Ma Su to March into the Longshan area north of Weishui, which became an inevitable military action. Because only in this way can we block the passage of Wei Jun's western aid and seize Longyou counties.
Therefore, it can be established, so the street pavilion where Zhang Tai and Ma Su fought fiercely can only be located somewhere in Longshan area, rather than south of Weishui as mentioned in Jieting Kao, which excludes the possibility that the street pavilion is located in Jieting Town, Tianshui, Gansu.
As mentioned earlier, when Zhuge Liang first left Qishan, the western reinforcements of Wei entered Longyou from Longshan. But there are several passages in Gulong Mountain. Which channel did Wei's reinforcements arrive in Longyou? At this point, we can find some clues from the trend of Wei reinforcements when Zhuge Liang came to Qishan again.
The reflection Zhang Taichuan said:
"Zhuge Liang returned to Qishan, saying that the general went to Lueyang in the west, and the light still protected Qishan. Tai chased the wooden door and fought the Ming soldiers ..."
This shows that when Zhuge Liang came to Qishan again, Sima Yi and Zhang Tai's reinforcements went from Chang 'an to Qianyang, Shaanxi, and then "traveled for two days" to Hanyang, Longyou, and the army also passed through Lueyang (now Longcheng Town, Qin 'an County, Gansu Province). If there is really a "Chencang-Longshan-Shangguan Avenue" to the south of Weishui, then Sima Yi and Zhang Tai should advance to Chencang (now east of Baoji City, Shaanxi Province) and then go west along Nanshan to Shangguan.
But why did Sima Yi and Zhang Tai sneak into the former Shui Gu north of Weishui? Moreover, Mrs. Zhang also marched into Longcheng Town, Qin 'an County, Gansu Province, far from Weishui. What is the explanation?
According to the marching route mentioned in Jieting Kaoli, it is impossible to explain. In my opinion, the westward route of Sima Yi and Zhang Tai's reinforcements is: from Chang 'an to the west along Wei River, then to the northwest along Qianshui Valley, then to the northwest, across Longshan, via Lueyang, and then to Hanyang. This once again shows that "Chencang-Longshan-Shangluan Avenue" does not exist, and it also shows that it is difficult to establish a street pavilion in Tianshui Street Pavilion Town.
In short, the above statement shows that when Zhuge Liang came to Qishan again, Zhang Tai and other reinforcements entered Longyou through Longshan Road east of Lueyang. This road was the old road of "cutting mountains to clear the way, from Xu Fan to Hui Jing to Lueyang" in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In this case, it is reasonable to think that when Zhuge Liang first left Qishan, Zhang's western expedition reinforcements also entered Longyou through this road. The reason for this is the following：
First, although there are several Gulongshan roads, from Chang 'an to Tianshui, Jitou Road and Wating Road are all in the Dalongshan area in the north, which is far away. Although Xiaolongshan Road in the south where Longguan is located is the shortest one, it is a "high-risk rock barrier, impassable path" and is not suitable for the army to pass.
Therefore, in contrast, Longshan Road, located east of Lueyang between the big and small Longshan Mountains, is a relatively short road. Zhuge Liang will come to Qishan again, and Sima Yi thinks that two days in Hanyang is enough, which is proof.
Second, Longshan spans eastern Gansu and western Shaanxi, just blocking the way of Guanzhong and Tianshui. Longshan is a north-south mountain range, and the rivers originating from its east and west slopes are divided into east and west parts respectively, without crossing its rivers. Therefore, if the ancients want to pass through Longshan, they must use the terrain, or choose a longer valley, or use the valley with water on the east and west slopes as a passage.
In the Longshan area east of Lueyang, there is a Qianshui River Valley on the east slope and a Lueyangchuan River Valley on the west slope (that is, Wuying River which flows through Sol Zhang and Qin 'an counties in Gansu today). These two valleys are relatively close, which is advantageous as a channel in topography. Moreover, this road was artificially dug in the early Eastern Han Dynasty and has been used as a military passage. Therefore, Mrs. Zhang is bound to take advantage of this road, which is relatively fast and suitable for the army to pass. When Zhuge Liang came to Qishan again, Zhang Taijing proved this.
3. Lueyang belongs to Tianshui County in the Western Han Dynasty, Hanyang County in the Eastern Han Dynasty and Guangwei County in Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms. At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when Lueyang was captured by Laihe, Xiao Wei "realized its public encirclement". Gongsun Shu also sent him to help Li Yu attack Yang, and he couldn't stay for a month. "The fierce competition between the two sides shows the military importance of Lueyang.
Based on the above reasons, it can be considered that when Zhuge Liang first left Qishan, Zhang Tai's western expedition reinforcements entered Longyou through Longshan Road east of Lueyang.
The above analysis shows that Wei and Shu attacked Longshan, east of Lueyang, at that time, which was a strategic military action. Zhuge Liang ordered Ma Su to invade Longshan, east of Lueyang, which could not only block the passage of Wei's western aid and support the stable counties that rebelled against Wei, but also seize the grain and grass of Lueyang on the spot, solve the problem of Shu army's failure, and lay the foundation for it to seize several counties in Longyou.
Zhang Tai's March into Longshan, east of Lueyang, was a tit-for-tat action, precisely to break the blockade of the Shu army and defend the Lueyang Valley, which was hard to return, thus expelling the Shu army from Longyou.
This offensive and defensive situation and interests determine that the two sides will inevitably have a fierce war in this region, and the outcome of this war has a decisive impact and role on the overall situation of the war. This was the case when Zhuge Liang first came out of Qishan. This shows that Jieting is located in Longshan area east of Lueyang, not in Jieting Town of Tianshui, south of Weishui.