Ever since the Shu Han Dynasty entered the Zhuge Liang era, Zhuge Liang has been working hard and dedicated to realize the last wish of the late lord Liu Bei to unify the Central Plains. After quelling the rebellion in Nanzhong and restoring the national power of the Shu Han Dynasty, starting from the sixth year of Jianxing (AD 228), Zhuge Liang organized five consecutive Northern Expeditions in the next six years, leaving a large number of footprints in the Guanlong area. He also left many popular and wonderful stories.
According to "Three Kingdoms", Zhuge Liang launched the Fourth Northern Expedition in the spring of the ninth year of Jianxing (AD 231). At that time, Cao Wei's general Cao Zhen was seriously ill and was unable to command the army. Emperor Ming of Wei Cao Rui appointed Sima Yi as the supreme commander of the northwest battlefield, and the generals in Guanzhong sent troops to fight. During this Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi faced off in Lucheng, southeast of Shanggui County (now Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province). Sima Yi ordered the city to stand firm and refused to fight, but was ridiculed by his subordinates. In desperation, Sima Yi had no choice but to lead his troops into battle, but suffered a disastrous defeat and suffered heavy casualties. From then on, Sima Yi became more determined in his tactical plan of defending according to danger and never engaged in a strategic decisive battle with the Northern Expedition. Although Zhuge Liang racked his brains, he could not induce Sima Yi to fight. In this way, the two sides remained in a stalemate in the Shanggui area for several months.
?However, the brief tranquility of the Shanggui battlefield was broken by a sudden incident. Li Yan, the hussar general of the Shu Han Dynasty who was guarding Hanzhong, ordered Zhuge Liang's entire army to retreat under the guise of Liu Chan's will to cover up his fault in supervising the supply of grain and grass. Although Zhuge Liang had doubts about the order to retreat, he did not dare to disobey the emperor's order, so he had to end the confrontation and lead his troops to retreat to Hanzhong. In order to ensure a smooth retreat, Zhuge Liang set up an ambush at Mumen Road on the way back to block the Wei army's pursuit. Zhuge Liang only found out the whole story after he returned to Hanzhong. He petitioned his former leader Liu Chan to impeach Li Yan, and Li Yan was immediately dismissed from office.
After learning about the retreat of the Shu army, Sima Yi, who had always been cautious in using troops, went out of his way and issued an order to pursue. The famous general Zhang He, who was Cao Wei's cavalry general at the time, gave advice. Zhang He believes that Zhuge Liang did not lose on the battlefield, and his retreat process was orderly. He must have made careful arrangements in advance to prevent being chased by Cao's army. If you launch a hasty pursuit without knowing the enemy's situation, you will definitely suffer failure.
However, not only was Zhang He's suggestion not adopted by Sima Yi, Sima Yi instead ordered Zhang He, who was firmly opposed to the pursuit, to lead the pursuit. As a result, the Wei army was ambushed when they pursued to Mumen Road, and Cao Wei's famous general Zhang He also died in this battle.
Later generations criticized Sima Yi's decision a lot. Was it a mistake on his part or intentional? This question has become a puzzling mystery to this day, but the result is very clear, that is, the famous Cao Wei general Zhang He died on Mumen Road. So, where exactly is the wooden doorway? Why did Zhuge Liang choose Mumen Road as the battlefield to ambush Cao Jun's pursuers?
?According to the "Shui Jing Zhu" written by Li Daoyuan, a geographer of the Northern Wei Dynasty, "Mumen Road" is a road that starts from Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, and ends in Longnan City, Gansu Province today. An ancient road in Changdao Town, Xihe County. It was also the main road from Tianshui back to Hanzhong via Qishan in ancient times. The road goes west along the river from Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, passes through Tielu Township in Qinzhou District, then goes south, crosses the Qinling Mountains and enters the valley area of ??the Maoshui River, a tributary of the Western Han River, and then passes through Yangjiasi Temple in Qinzhou District, Tianshui City Town, Caoba Township to Dengjia Shangmo in Yanguan Town, Li County, Longnan City, Gansu Province. At Dengjia Shangmo, it turns southwest and travels along the West Han River, passing through Yanguan Town and Qishanbao to its final destination, Changdao Town. This entire winding ancient road is called the Wooden Door Road.
?The burial place of Zhang He, the famous Cao Wei general, is located in the "Mumen Valley" on the first half of the road. It was precisely because Zhang He died here that this ancient road became known to future generations.
So, where is the location of Mumen Valley? According to the "Shui Jing Zhu", before the Nangou River and Jinshui River, the tributaries of the Yuhe River, merged into the Yuishui River, there were four streams flowing into the two rivers, namely the rocky stream (today's Luzi River in Qinzhou District, Shui City). ditch), Mumen Valley Water (Pucha Valley in Qinzhou District, Shui City today), Luocheng Stream (Weijia Valley in Qinzhou District, Shui City today), Valley Water (Pingyu Valley in Qinzhou District, Shui City today). From this we can know that the approximate location of Mumen Valley is in the Puchagou area of ??Mudan Town, Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province today.
?According to the "Xihe County Chronicle" of the Qing Dynasty, there is a place called Mumenli more than a hundred miles northeast of the county. It was here that Zhang He, the famous general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, suffered Killed by an arrow in an ambush. However, due to the long history and vague historical records, Zhang He's specific burial place is still not clear. It was not until the 1980s that local archaeological workers unearthed a large number of cultural relics in Mudan Town, Qinzhou District, some of which were armor, weapons, bows and arrows from the Three Kingdoms period. After on-the-spot investigation, textual research and analysis by relevant scholars, they finally reached a consensus that the specific location of Mumen Valley and Zhang He's burial is today's Mumen Village area of ??Mudan Town, Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province. The place is more than 60 kilometers away from the urban area of ??Tianshui City, and its approximate location is consistent with the records in "Shui Jing Zhu" and "Xihe County Chronicles".
The terrain of Mumen Valley is relatively complex, with the two ends open and the middle narrow. There are Maoniudunliang and Wangjialiang Mountains on the left and right, and the Mumen Ancient Road passes through the mountains. The total length of the valley is about one kilometer, and the narrowest point is about fifty meters. The area is like a natural pass and is an excellent place for an ambush. According to "Three Kingdoms", after Zhang He led his troops to pursue Mumen Valley, the Shu army that had ambushed earlier launched a surprise attack. The Shu army used strong bows and fired thousands of arrows. Zhang He was unable to dodge and was hit in the leg by an arrow, where he was eventually killed.
?Although time has passed and the topography of the area has also undergone major changes, some traces of the past can still be found. To this day, there are still caves of varying sizes on the mountains and hills on both sides of Mumen Valley. According to local villagers, these caves were the "Hidden Soldier Cave" used by Zhuge Liang when he set up an ambush. Today, Mumen Village has become a local tourist attraction. There are also memorial buildings such as Wuhou Temple and Zhang He's Tomb in the surrounding area, as well as villages such as Zhangjiaping named after Zhang He.
Reference books: "Three Kingdoms", "Shui Jing Zhu", "Xihe County Chronicle", "Tianshui City Cultural Relics Chronicle" Wooden Gate (1) Tianshui City (1) Shui Jing Zhu (1)