The ancient military stronghold of Sangmu Pass

The ancient military stronghold of Sangmu Pass

Located 7 kilometers east of Suiyang County, Sangmu Pass was an important ancient route connecting Bozhou to Zheng'an and linking to Sichuan. Towering hundreds of zhang high, the pass features cliffs on both sides that rise like celestial ladders, with a narrow path in between that offers a breathtaking view — so steep and narrow that it was said “one man could hold the pass against ten thousand.” The *Ming History* referred to it as a “military stronghold,” making it a fiercely contested site.

In the 25th year of the Ming Wanli era (1597 AD), Yang Yinglong, the Xuanwei Commander of Bozhou, rebelled. The Ming Dynasty dispatched an army of 240,000 troops, appointing the Governor-General of Sichuan and Huguang, Li Hualong, as commander-in-chief, and launched a two-pronged attack on Bozhou. The southern Sichuan forces, led by General Ma Qiancheng, advanced into Bozhou via Nanchuan and Daozhen. His wife, Qin Liangyu, “personally commanded 500 elite soldiers, carrying their own provisions,” and when they reached Sangmu Pass in Suiyang, the defending Bozhou troops held the high ground and fired “poison arrows” (toxic projectiles), fighting to the death against the imperial army. Qin Liangyu joined forces with troops from Youyang and divided her forces into left, center, and right columns to assault the pass. After intense fighting, she finally captured Sangmu Pass, making a significant contribution to the southern Sichuan army’s campaign to pacify Bozhou during the Ming Dynasty. This battle was recorded in the *Ming History*.

During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi eras of the Qing Dynasty, peasant uprisings were rampant across the country, and Sangmu Pass once again became shrouded in the smoke of war. To strengthen defenses and prevent rebel forces from capturing the county seat, in the 8th year of Xianfeng (1858), Jiang Binglin, the magistrate of Suiyang County, not only added crenellations (small walls atop the city wall) along the ancient city walls but also constructed a stone wall at the entrance of Sangmu Pass. The center of the stone wall featured a gate with a lintel made of a three-meter-long slab of stone, inscribed with the four large characters “Suizheng Suoyue” (Key to Sui and Zheng) in intaglio. However, this “key” failed to lock away the unfolding drama of class conflict and warfare. In April of the 2nd year of Tongzhi (1863), Li Fucheng, a general under Shi Dakai of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, led over 10,000 rebel troops into Suiyang County, captured Sangmu Pass, and advanced to Wangcao. At the Duotou River, they engaged in an eight-day fierce battle with Qing forces led by Lao Chongguang, the “Imperially Commissioned Governor of Military Affairs in Guizhou,” resulting in heavy casualties among the Qing troops at “Cearerock Ridge” and other strategic points, before the rebels broke through and proceeded to Sichuan via Zheng'an.

In the 3rd year of Tongzhi, Wu Yuanbiao, the Bazu Commander of Meitan, rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, captured Suiyang County, and declared himself “Commandant and Grand Marshal.” Liu Yuezhao, the Sichuan Provincial Administration Commissioner, was ordered to lead 40,000 government troops to suppress Wu Yuanbiao. The vanguard, led by Li Jiafu, arrived early at Wangcao via southern Sichuan. The Bazu Commander of Suiyang, Liao Zhenru, led several hundred local militia as guides and set up a supply post at Sangmu Pass. Li Jiafu then advanced with the vanguard, right wing, and rear guard camps to station at Sangmu Pass, marking the beginning of the offensive on Suiyang County. Subsequently, Liu Yuezhao led the main force into Suiyang and built earthen embankments from Huangtukan to Qiangongyan to flood the city, forcing Wu Yuanbiao to accept the imperial amnesty.

In the early years after liberation, banditry was rampant, and the smoke of war rose again over Sangmu Pass. On January 18, 1950, Wang Baochen, a People's Liberation Army instructor, led a work team to the Sangmu Township Office under Sangmu Pass to take over the puppet regime. The puppet township head, Tan Ximin, colluded with over 40 bandits to attack the office. During the team’s breakout, Instructor Wang Baochen and work team member Chu Mingyi were killed under Sangmu Pass. In March 1950, 12 soldiers from the rifle grenade squad of the machine-gun artillery company, 136th Regiment, 16th PLA Division, under the leadership of Jia Yuming, the regiment’s logistics administrator, went to Hejiaba Township to mobilize the public for grain support for the Southwest Front. “Commander Wang Shaoqing of the 3rd Detachment of the Sichuan-Guizhou-Hunan-Hubei Salvation 9th Column,” a bandit leader, gathered 240 bandits to ambush inside and on both sides of Sangmu Pass. When the PLA troops approached within 30 meters of the pass, the bandits opened heavy fire. The PLA bravely fought back, using rifle grenades to suppress the bandits’ aggression. Later, when Captain Guo Dude led reinforcements and charged toward the pass, the enemy fled in panic. During this battle, due to being initially outnumbered, soldiers Kong Xiangke and Gong Xingxiu of the rifle grenade squad sacrificed their lives heroically. For the liberation of the people, their blood was shed beneath Sangmu Pass...

Sixty-five years have passed, 408 years have passed, yet the stone gate inscribed with “Key to Sui and Zheng” remains unaware of the tremendous changes in the world, still standing in the glow of the setting sun, guarding this timeless fortress.

As a military relic and ancient battlefield tourism resource, Sangmu Pass remains relatively unknown. In reality, visiting the military ruins at Sangmu Pass, paying tribute to the ancient battleground, and commemorating the martyrs who sacrificed for the liberation of Suiyang, while also enjoying the landscape where “tall trees reach the sky and green hills trail white ribbons,” makes it an ideal destination for sightseeing and adventure tourism.