Pengjiazhai in Xin County

Pengjiazhai in Xin County

Pengjiazhai

"It has submerged the ancient roads of the mortal world and laid waste to the frontier fortress of beacon fires..." A familiar landscape flashes before my eyes...

The small village, also known as Pengjiazhai during the Qing Dynasty, is a mountain facing the southeast of Xionghewan. To the east of the small village lies Yangmaozhai, to the southeast is Magangling, an extension of the northern ridges of Baiyun Mountain, and to the southwest is a cliff, below which flows the Bailu River and the picturesque Shanshuiguan landscape. Directly south of the mountain lies Caokang'ao, and across the river lies Jinqshan.

The history of the small village is long. According to elders, since the construction of a beacon tower on the back mountain of Xionghewan, a beacon tower was also built on the small village. The terrain is high in the east and low in the west, and the beacon tower was built on the high hill to the east of the village, serving as a military outpost for controlling the Hanhuang Ancient Road through the ages at Shanshuiguan. Nowadays, about a hundred meters to the southwest, the 339 Provincial Highway from Zhouhe Township to Xionghewan in Xin County’s county road winds around from the southwest to the northeast, passing by the Bailu River.

The village has two gates, one in the south and one in the north. The southern gate, slightly to the east, is located along the descending ridge of Magang, leading to Yangmaozhai and Baiyun Mountain. To the right of the mountain ridge, following the valley southwest leads to Shanshuiguan. The northern gate leads to the mountain valley that connects to Xionghewan. The western descending ridge of the village leads to Huhé (Fuhé), the sixth villager group of Xionghe Village. Legend says that during the Later Han Dynasty, officials once collected taxes from merchants here, but the checkpoint was later moved to Huangzhou. Across the Bailu River lies the seventh villager group, Liufan, which was once the residence of the Later Han emperor. Looking west from the small village, Jinqshan resembles a massive armchair placed by the Bailu River, with Liufan Village situated right in the middle of the chair.

The village walls were built with manually chiseled mountain stones, approximately 2 meters wide and about 5 meters at their highest point. The enclosed area within the small village walls is about thirty acres, surrounded by mountain ridges on the southeast and west sides, with a mountain valley in the middle, the opening of which faces the northern gate.

Legend has it that Cao Cao recuperated here. Song Hong married here. Li Shimin was defeated by Wang Shichong here but was saved by Monk Yunning of Jinqi Temple. The famous anti-Jin general Liang Hongyu died in battle at Mazhuang, west of Gaoshanzhai to the north, while defending Shanshuiguan. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's rebel armies passed through Shanshuiguan nine times on their way to Guangzhou, and three times ravaged the territory of Guangshan County.

From the Qing Dynasty to the Republican era, the land around the small village belonged to the wealthy Peng Songchen family. The Pengs established a salt checkpoint at Shanshuiguan, controlling the salt tax trade between the Central Plains and Jingchu. As the small village was a strategic stronghold, the Pengs invested heavily to rebuild the village into a near impregnable fortress.

In October 1938, the Battle of Wuhan broke out, and the small village and Yangmaozhai became anti-Japanese positions on the Baiyun Mountain defense line. The forces of Song Xilian fought bloody battles with local civilians here for forty-eight days, turning the Bailu River red with blood and annihilating countless Japanese troops. Meanwhile, the small village was bombarded into ruins by shells fired from a mortar position on Gaoshanzhai occupied by the Japanese, and the millennia-old Xionghe ancient town was also reduced to broken walls. Only the northern watchtower of the old street still stands. According to elders, General Xiong Zuofang also led troops to assist Song Xilian’s forces in the anti-Japanese resistance.

Xionghe Village: Located 4 kilometers west of Shawo Town government, at the intersection of Provincial Highway Nanxin Ye Line and Zhousha Highway, Xionghe Village borders Yangfan Village to the east, Wangchong Village to the north, Maopu Village of Zhouhe Township to the south, and Chen Gaoshan Village to the west. The village covers an area of 15.6 square kilometers, with a total area of 11,335 mu, including 1,263 mu of arable land and 6,380 mu of forestland (nearly 4,000 mu of oil tea), making oil tea the main cash crop. There are 15 villager groups, 388 households, and 1,556 people. The village currently has 3 cadres and 35 Communist Party members.

The mountains of Xionghe Village are higher in the southeast and lower in the northwest. To the east is the southern gateway to the Central Plains... More details about Xionghe Village ++