The Great Wall and Ancient National Defense

The Great Wall, also known as the Great Wall of Wan Li, is a very long wall defensive building, or a defensive building similar to the wall in form and defensive nature. It is an ancient military defense project in China. The name of the Great Wall began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The history of building the Great Wall can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the famous allusion "the bonfire plays princes" took place in Haojiang (now Xi 'an), the capital city. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, countries competed for hegemony and defended each other, and the construction of the Great Wall entered its first climax, but the construction length at this time was relatively short. After Qin destroyed the six countries and unified the world, Qin Shihuang connected and repaired the Great Wall of the Warring States Period, which was called the Great Wall of Wan Li. The Ming Dynasty was the last dynasty to overhaul the Great Wall, and most of the Great Wall seen by people today was built at this time.

Great Wall resources are mainly distributed in Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Henan, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang and other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. According to the results of the national Great Wall resources survey conducted by cultural relics and surveying and mapping departments, the total length of the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty was 885 1.8km, and that in Qin and Han Dynasties and its early period was more than 1 1,000km, and the total length was more than 2 1 1,000km.

The Great Wall is not just a single wall, but a complete defense engineering system composed of various fortifications such as the wall, watchtower, Guancheng, Dunbao, Yingcheng, Weifang and Zhencheng beacon tower. This national defense engineering system is commanded and controlled by military command systems at all levels.

The city wall is the main part of the city wall, with an average height of 7.8 meters, and some sections are as high as 14 meters. Where the mountain is steep, the building is low, and the flat place is high; The key places are higher, and the general places are lower. The wall body is the main part of defending the enemy, with a relatively wide total thickness, a foundation width of 6.5 meters and an average floor width of 5.8 meters on the wall, so as to ensure that the two wagons run in parallel. The wall is composed of an outer eave wall and an inner eave wall, filled with soil and gravel.

The cornice wall refers to the side of the skin wall facing the city. There are obvious points when building, which are generally 125% of the wall height. The separation of the wall can increase the width of the lower part of the wall, enhance the stability of the wall, strengthen its defensive performance, and make the outer wall magnificent. The inner cornice wall refers to the inner side of the outer skin wall, which is generally constructed as a vertical wall without obvious points. As for the thickness of the outer cornice wall, it is generally based on the wall thickness at the "crib". The thickness here is generally one and a half bricks wide, and it gets thicker as it goes down. Bricklaying method is mainly flat masonry.

The Great Wall is the main part of this defense project. It is built on steep mountains or plains, and it is built according to the needs of topography and defense function. All places built on plains or main roads are very tall and strong, but they are relatively low and narrow in steep mountainous areas, in order to save manpower and cost. Even in some steep places, the methods of "dangerous mountain wall" and "splitting mountain wall" are conveniently adopted. In Juyongguan, Badaling and Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu and other regions, the Great Wall is general. On the top of the city wall, there is a building wall on the inside, more than one meter high, to prevent patrol soldiers from falling. Outside is the crib wall, about 2 meters high. The upper part of the stack wall is provided with a lookout, and the lower part is provided with a shooting hole and a rolling stone hole, which are used for observing the enemy situation and shooting rolling stones. On the top of some important city walls, there are layers of barriers to resist the enemies who climb the city walls in case. In the middle of Ming Dynasty, when the famous anti-Japanese star Qi Jiguang was transferred to Yuji Town as the company commander, the fortifications of the Great Wall were greatly improved, and enemy towers or platforms were set at the top of the wall to accommodate patrol soldiers and store weapons, food and socks, which greatly strengthened the defensive function of the Great Wall.

The structural content of the wall depends on the local climate conditions. Generally speaking, the Wan Li Great Wall has the following construction methods:

1. version of rammed earth wall; 2. Adobe masonry wall; 3. Brick wall; 4. Masonry wall; 5. Mixed masonry; 6. Strip stone; 7. Clay connecting brick.

Bricks, stones and masonry are used to build city walls. When the slope of the terrain is small, bricklaying or masonry is parallel to the terrain, and when the local potential slope is large, the wall is built by horizontal descent method.

Beacon and smoke

There are a large number of beacon towers as information transmission systems in the Great Wall system, which is the oldest but effective way of information transmission. There are two kinds of signals in ancient frontier defense alarm. In case of enemy situation, smoke is called "bonfire" during the day and fire is called "whistle" at night. Taiwan Province and Taiwan Province are connected to transmit information. Burning smoke during the day and raising fire at night is because the sun is very strong during the day, the fire is not easy to see, and the smoke is more eye-catching; Smoke is not obvious at night, and fire can be seen far away. This is a very scientific method. In order to report the number of invading enemy soldiers, it is also distinguished by the number of smoke and fire. In the Ming Dynasty, the number of cigarettes and torches increased with the gunfire, so as to enhance the alarm effect and make the military situation spread thousands of miles away quickly. According to the system of the Ming Dynasty, give a cigarette and fire a gun, which means that the enemy is about 100 people. Put two smoke bombs and two cannons to attack about 500 people; /kloc-more than 0/000 people held three cigarettes and fired three shots.

Beacon and smoke

Beacon towers can be divided into four groups according to their positions and functions: Beacon towers located in the depths of the desert are the forefront of early warning signals, and beacon towers set along both sides of the Great Wall transmit information along the route. A series of beacon towers from the Great Wall to the capital contacted the central government of the dynasty, and a number of beacon towers contacted local governments and garrison troops near the location of the Great Wall.

Beacon towers were built before the Great Wall, but since the appearance of the Great Wall, beacon towers along the Great Wall have been closely integrated with the Great Wall and become an important part of the Great Wall defense system, and some of them have been built on the Great Wall. In Han Dynasty, beacon towers were called beacon towers and pavilions. In Tang and Song Dynasties, the word "beacon tower" was also extended to beacon towers. In the Ming dynasty, it was generally called a smoke pier or pier (the pier in the northwest of Ming dynasty has the function of preventing the enemy, and the small one only has the function of watching, not lighting a bonfire). Beacon towers are generally about 10 Li apart, and some are about 5 Li apart in the Ming Dynasty.

The layout of the beacon tower is also very important. The key is to arrange it in a dangerous mountain or a place where the peaks turn around, and the three adjacent beacon towers must be within the other party's field of vision, so as to check and transmit the news at any time. In addition to transmitting military information, the beacon also protects the safety of diplomatic envoys, provides accommodation, supplies horses and other services. Some sections of the Great Wall only have towers and pavilions, but no walls. [ 1]

castle

Castles are divided into acropolis, garrison or dry lake fort and fort, which are arranged in the Great Wall and sometimes outside the wall according to the requirements of defense system and military system.

The First Great Wall of Wan Li-Zhenbeitai

The distance between Wei and Suocheng is about 100 Li, the circumference of Acropolis is 6-9 Li, and that of Qianhu Suocheng is 4-5 Li. Brick walls are built with horse-faced turrets, and gates are built with urns. Some also built a Moon City or Wing City, facing the urn gate, to strengthen the control of the city gate. There are offices, barracks, houses and temples in the city. The distance between Weifang and Suocheng and the Great Wall is near or far, depending on the place with moderate position, gentle terrain and easy reclamation in the Great Wall.

Fort city or frontier fortress, the distance is about 10, and the circumference of the city is 1-3. Brick wall wrapping, opening 1-2 gate, and building the gate of the urn. There are garrison barracks, schools and temples in the city, and the distance from the frontier fortress to the Great Wall is generally less than 10. In case of alarm, you can quickly board the city.

Guancheng

Jiayuguan is the first pass in the world.

Guancheng is the most concentrated defensive stronghold on the defense line of Wan Li Great Wall. The position of Guancheng is very important, because it is chosen on a favorable defensive terrain, and it receives the effect of resisting powerful invaders with very few troops. In ancient times, it was called "one person guards it, and ten thousand people can't force it", which vividly explained the importance of Guancheng.

Guancheng along the Great Wall is large and small, with a large number. Take Guancheng, the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, as an example. There are nearly a thousand places, large and small. There are many small passes near some Daguancheng. For example, there are more than a dozen Xiaoguancheng near Shanhaiguan, which together constitute the defense engineering architecture system of the Great Wall of Wan Li.

The Great Wall Pass includes Jiayuguan, Shanhaiguan, Juyongguan, Yumenguan, Jingxingguan, Niangziguan, Yanmenguan, Piantouguan, Pingxingguan, Gubeikou, xifengkou, Yulin Sai, Huangyaguan, Waqiaoguan, Hushan Great Wall, Wuyiguan, Niuzhuang City, fenshuiguan, Ningyuan City, Yangguan and Niuzhuang City. Dushikou, Zhangjiakou, Mashikou, Yangfangbaoguan, Shuikouguan, Zijingguan, Xuanhua City, Santunying, Sandaoguan, damao mountain, Yiyuankou, Jielingkou, Chongyukou, Xuliukou, Lengkouguan, Baiyangyuguan, Qingshan Pass, tiemenguan, Panjiakou, Longjingguan, Hongshankou, Shangguan and Changyukou. Lupiguan, Hefangkou, Lianhuachiguan, Huanghua Chengguan, Daokouguan, Jiukonglou, Sihai Yekou, Juyansai Old Town, Gill Sai, Gaoquesai, Datong, Shahukou, Weilubaokou, Jinsuo Pass, Huangzeguan, Huangyuguan,

Jiayuguan

Beiloukou, Ning Wuguan, Limin Fort, Deshengkou, Zhenhongbao, Pingyuan Fort, Xinping Fort, Baoping Fort, Huamen Fort, Wayaokou, Zhenning Fort, Zhenkou Fort, Shoukou Fort, Zhenbian Fort, Zhenchuan Fort, Hongci Fort, Zhenqiang Fort, Refusal to Door Fort and Fuma Fort. Zuhubaokou, Jiangjunhuibao, Yajiaoshan, Laoyingbao, Hongmenkou, Laoniuwanbao, Yangfangkou, Baicaoguan, Guangwucheng, Beiloukou, Langya, Longquan, Guguan, Hedulingkou, Malingguan, Zhiguolingkou, Junjiguan and Wuqi Qin Changcheng.