In the fifth year of King Shenliang of Zhou (316 BC), King Huiwen of Qin was faced with an important choice. At that time, the civil strife in the Bashu region provided him with an important opportunity.
He had always hoped to include the Bashu region in his territory, but at the same time he was worried about the hardships of Shu and a possible Korean invasion.
At this critical juncture, Zhang Yi, the minister of Qin, suggested a direct attack on Korea, while the general Sima Cuo advocated dividing his troops to destroy Shu.
Sima mistakenly believed that although the Qin state was weak, if it could successfully seize the Bashu region, it would not only expand its territory, but also obtain the wealth of Bashu, thus making the Qin state stronger.
What's more, Bashu can attack the state of Chu through waterways: "If you get Shu, you will get Chu, and if Chu dies, the world will be together!" ”
King Huiwen of Qin finally followed Sima Cuo's advice and sent Sima Cuo and Du Weimo to dig the Golden Bull Road, conquering Shu and Ba successively, and successfully obtained the entire Sichuan Basin, which was later known as the Land of Abundance.
This decision not only laid the economic and military foundation for the Qin Empire to unify the world in the future, but also allowed Qin Shi Huang to realize the grand ambition of "king the world".
In ancient Chinese history, Shu Dao was known as an insurmountable natural barrier. In Li Bai's poem "The Difficulty of Shu Dao", he lamented the danger of Shu Dao: "Oh, the danger is high!" The difficulty of Shu Road is difficult to go to the blue sky! ”
So, what is Shu Dao? Broadly speaking, all roads leading to the Sichuan region can be called Shu Road; But in a narrow sense, the ancient Shu Road refers to the road connecting the Guanzhong Plain of Shaanxi, the Hanzhong Basin and the Sichuan Basin.
For those politicians in ancient China who aspired to dominate the world, in order to unify China, they must occupy the land of Bashu, and in order to occupy the land of Bashu, they must first open the Shu Road.
The Shu Road is divided into two parts: one is the road from the Chang'an area of the Guanzhong Plain to cross the Qinling Mountains into the Hanzhong Basin, starting from Guanzhong and ending at Hanzhong; The second is the road from the Hanzhong Basin to the Sichuan Basin over Bashan.
The main composition of Shu Road can be summarized into seven roads of "North Four South Three", including Meridian Road, Fu Luo Road, Bao Slope Road, Chencang Road, Jinniu Road, Micang Road and Yangba Road.
In addition, there is also the Qishan Road of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition and the Yinping Road of Deng Ai's destruction of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period.
As an important transportation artery in history, the Shu Road connects the Guanzhong Plain, the Hanzhong Basin and the Sichuan Basin, and has an important impact on China's military geography.
Through this schematic diagram of the ancient Shu Road, we can clearly see this impact.
The situation map of the ancient Shu Road has a profound impact on the cause of the ancient king. Control of the Guanzhong Plain, the Hanzhong Basin, and the Sichuan Basin meant that it was possible to enter the Central Plains, enter Jingxiang, and defend itself.
Ming plank road, dark Chen Cang is Liu Bang in 206 BC a Shu Dao conspiracy, he pretended to repair the meridian road plank road, but in fact secretly attacked the Guanzhong area from Chen Cang Road, successfully defeated Zhang Han, forced landing Sima Xin, Dong Peng, and finally captured the entire Guanzhong Plain area.
This conspiracy laid a solid strategic foundation for Liu Bang to finally defeat Xiang Yu and win the world.
More than 400 years later, Liu Bang's descendant, Liu Bei, fought Cao Cao in the Hanzhong region in the 23rd year of Emperor Jian'an of the Han Dynasty (218), which was the Battle of Hanzhong, which lasted for two years.
Liu Bei occupied most of Jingzhou and Yizhou after the Battle of Chibi, and the Three Kingdoms had basically taken shape, but before Cao Cao defeated Zhang Lu, captured the Hanzhong region, and prepared to attack Liu Bei through Shu Dao.
This battle was the decisive battle between Liu Bei and Cao Cao for the Hanzhong region, and in the end Liu Bei successfully held Hanzhong and ensured the safety of Shu Dao.
With the loss of the Hanzhong Basin, Liu Bei's Sichuan hinterland opened widely, not only losing the natural barrier of Yizhou, but also losing the major strategic base for attacking the Guanzhong Plain and then chasing the Central Plains.
Yang Hong, who was engaged in the Shu department, emphasized the importance of Hanzhong to Shu: "Hanzhong is the throat of Yizhou, the key to survival, if Hanzhong is lost, there will be no Shu State." ”
Shu County is too law-abiding to point out that conquering Hanzhong can subvert the enemy and respect the royal family; China can encroach on Yongliang and expand its territory; The next can stabilize the key points and be a long-lasting solution.
In general, to conquer Hanzhong, you can attack and retreat, and you can use the natural barriers of Qinling and Bashan to achieve princely hegemony.
Therefore, in the twenty-third year of Emperor Jian'an of the Han Dynasty (218), Liu Bei sent troops from Yizhou to Hanzhong, and finally supervised the army to kill Xiahou Yuan, captured Hanzhong, and later sent troops to the Northern Expedition for Zhuge Liang, seizing an important strategic base.
Zhuge Liang's five Northern Expeditions are the key points that cannot jump out of the Shu Road, and in the five Northern Expeditions, three are through the Qishan Road, and the other two are out of the Chencang Road and out of the Bao Slope Road, all of which take the Shu Road as the main passage.
The importance of the Qishan Road in Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition Zhuge Liang made five Northern Expeditions, and the Qishan Road was always his main marching route. The characteristics of the Qishan Road made it strategically important in Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition.
First of all, the Qishan Road has a flat road, which is conducive to the transportation of grain and grass, and provides sufficient logistical support for the army. Secondly, compared with other Shu roads, the Qishan Road is safer, reducing the risk of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition.
In addition, if the dispatch of troops from Qishan Road goes well, it can also cut off the connection between the Guanzhong region and the Hexi Corridor, cut off Cao Wei's right-hand man, open up territory for Shu Han, and obtain important strategic resources such as land and population.
Therefore, the Qishan Road played a key role in Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition.
Ma Tan lost the street pavilion, which led to the failure of Shu Han's first Northern Expedition, so Zhuge Liang beheaded Ma Tan to show justice.
Wei Yan proposed a conspiracy plan for the Meridian Valley, but Zhuge Liang rejected it because of the rugged and dangerous road.
Zhuge Liang was cautious all his life, foresaw the danger of the Meridian Dao, and finally did not adopt the Meridian Valley strategy. In real history, in order to ensure the success of the Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang always insisted on practicing justice and refusing to take risks.
Although the Meridian Valley conspiracy has the proposition of the Shu general Wei Yan, in the actual cases in history, it is wise for Zhuge Liang not to choose the Meridian Dao as a Shu Dao attack.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Zhen, the great Sima of Wei, tried to attack Shu Han through the Meridian Road, but as a result, heavy rain and severed plank roads made the army walk slowly, and finally withdrew.
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Huan Wen sent Sima Xun to attack Chang'an from the Meridian Road of the Han Dynasty, but was eventually defeated by the Former Qin army.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, King Gao Yingxiang led an army from Hanzhong to attack Xi'an along the Meridian Road, but was eventually ambushed and defeated by Sun Chuanting's army.
The above historical events all showed that the Meridian Road was dangerous and not suitable for rash use, so Zhuge Liang finally decided to send troops to the Guanzhong area through the relatively close Bao Slope Road.
In general, after the failure of the first four Northern Expeditions, Zhuge Liang wisely chose the Baochuan Road as the route to enter the Guanzhong region.
Zhuge Liang died of illness in Wuzhangyuan, but his style and talent are still respected by future generations. Jiang Wei, who succeeded Zhuge Liang, also tried to make meritorious contributions to Shu Han, but also failed.
In the face of Shu Han, Cao Wei finally made a move, sending Zhong Hui, Deng Ai, and Zhuge Xu to lead an army of 180,000 to attack Shu Han from multiple directions. Zhonghui's army successively seized various fortresses in the Hanzhong region and broke through Yangpingguan, a key pass of the Jinniu Road that entered the Sichuan Basin.
Under such circumstances, Jiang Wei, the general of Shu Han, and others retreated and refused to defend the Jianmen Pass, blocking Cao Wei's army. However, Deng Ai, the general of Cao Wei, led an army of 30,000 to cross the uninhabited mountains and intestines of Gansu and Sichuan for more than 700 miles, digging mountain passages all the way to build bridges and pavilions.
With food almost exhausted, Deng Ai's army eventually miraculously crossed out of the inaccessible Yinping Road, entered the Sichuan Basin, bypassed Jiang Wei, and entered Jiangyou and Mianzhu, forcing Liu Chan (Adou) to surrender at Chengdu.
In this battle, Cao Wei won a comprehensive victory, but Deng Ai's magical crossing and wisdom and courage also won him the name of "ghost talent".
Historically, Shu Dao has always been a military strategic place, which is related to the rise and fall of the country. Before the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Guanzhong region had always been the political center of China, so the development of the road was mainly centered on the Guanzhong Plain and radiated outward.
In the Sui and Tang dynasties, with the unprecedented development of national strength, Shu Road also achieved comprehensive development due to its direct connection to the Guanzhong region. During the Tang Dynasty, Shu Road set up many post stations and postal points, and became a traffic artery.
Among them, the famous Lychee Road, in the Tang Xuanzong period, quickly sent the lychees in Chongqing to Chang'an, and this history was also recorded by Du Mu's poem "A Ride on the Red Dust Concubine Smiles, No One Knows It's a Lychee".
After five dynasties and ten kingdoms, Shu Dao still has important military strategic value. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the wealth of the Sichuan region was transported north through the Shu Road, supporting the Song army's war with the Western Xia.
After the fall of the Song Dynasty, Wu Jue held on to the monk Yuan, defeated the 100,000 army of Jin Wushu with thousands of remnants, kept the Shu Pass into the Qinling Mountains, and temporarily stopped the Jin army's plan to eliminate the Southern Song Dynasty along the Yangtze River waterway and Jingxiang and other places.
The Southern Song Dynasty army relied on the natural dangers of the Shu Road in the Qinling Mountains and Bashan to stubbornly resist the Jurchens and Mongols for more than 100 years, reflecting the indomitable heroic spirit of the Chinese nation.
This was further reflected in 1997 when Chongqing was designated as a municipality.
Now, with the opening of the Xicheng high-speed railway, the 509-kilometer-long line will fully connect the Guanzhong Plain, the Hanzhong Basin and the Sichuan Basin, with a running speed of up to 250 kilometers, making the Shu Road through the Qinling Mountains and Bashan difficult to become a high-speed smooth road.