Xiaozhaizi

Xiaozhaizi

Xiaozhaizi is a small hill located at the border between Shuitianping Village and Shangliang Yangtan Village. Originally named Tianzhu Mountain, in the early 20th century during the White Lotus Rebellion, the village head Shang Xiantai led the villagers to build a fortified stronghold on Tianzhu Mountain for self-defense and refuge. The villagers rolled straw mats into cylinders, painted them black, and placed them on the stronghold. From a distance, they looked like cannons. Soon, the "White Lotus rebels" discovered the stronghold and brought people to lay siege to it, but they did not dare to attack recklessly. Instead, they set up camp at "Jinyinping" and surrounded the stronghold tightly for 48 days without daring to launch an assault. Due to the prolonged siege, food supplies inside the stronghold began to run low, making survival difficult. To drive the besiegers away sooner, someone came up with a clever plan: under the cover of night, they sent people down the back mountain to Yangtan River to catch many fresh fish, which were then hung prominently at the gate of the stronghold the next day. They also sent some of the fresh fish as a gift to the rebel leaders, as a token of appreciation for their hard work. The rebel leader thought, “If they still have fish, they must have plenty of supplies — this is not a place they’ll be trapped in for long.” With no other choice, the rebels eventually gave up and left. The people in the stronghold were thus saved. Later, the place became commonly known as Xiaozhaizi.