Why is it said that Song Jiang's expedition to Huazhou is the first military myth in "Water Margin"?

"Water Margin" is one of the four classic Chinese classics. It has been loved by countless readers since its publication hundreds of years ago. As a classic handed down from generation to generation, "Water Margin" has been highly praised by literati and scholars of all ages and remains at the pinnacle of Chinese classical literature. However, if we read "Water Margin" carefully, we will find that there are many errors and loopholes in it, and many of them are low-level errors and loopholes. To be honest, in terms of geographical location inspection, the author Shi Naian seems a bit careless. It was also because of his sloppiness that "Water Margin" made a lot of jokes.

For example, in the episode "Havoc in Huazhou City", Shi Naian made a geographical mistake that really made readers dumbfounded. Lu Zhishen missed Shi Jin and went to Huazhou alone to look for him. As a result, he was arrested and imprisoned by the governor of Huazhou He because of the injustice. In order to rescue Lu Zhishen, Song Jiang dispatched 7,000 troops, marched north along the Yellow River, and made a big fuss in Huazhou City, creating the first miracle since the beginning of human war. It is also the biggest myth in "Water Margin", and is more mythical than Gongsun Sheng's call for wind and rain. , which is more mythical than the boundless power of Zhenren Luo. Of course, it is even more unbelievable!

Liangshan’s two large-scale military operations, the first was when one or two hundred people disguised themselves and went to Jiangzhou to rob the execution ground, and then more than a thousand people returned to Liangshan in five batches. Although it was a 6,000-mile round trip, the main enemies of the Song Dynasty at that time were the Liao and Jin, and the main military forces were deployed along the Yellow River. The defense in the south of the Yangtze River was relatively lax, and Chao Gai and Song Jiang did not lead many men and horses. There's a chance they'll get away with it. What is unbelievable is that during the three-thousand-mile march, no one was on horseback but on foot. It only took a few days to set a record for the fastest rapid march in history, covering hundreds of miles in one day. The reason why such a miracle or joke happened is because Shi Naian didn't know how far it was from Liangshan to Jiangzhou.

The second time, 7,000 men and horses started from Liangshan and went up the Yellow River, to Fenglingdu Laotongguan and then upstream the Weihe River to the foot of Huashan Mountain. In fact, this military operation is simply impossible to achieve. The situation in the late Northern Song Dynasty was that on both sides of the Yellow River, the Song army and the Liao and Jin armies were waiting in tight formations, and the defenses were very tight. Not to mention how many state capitals we have to pass through along the way, whether we can allow this group of people to travel freely, it is not an easy task just to pass through the most heavily fortified "Gyeonggi area" in the north of Kaifeng. What's more, since ancient times, so many military strategists have been unable to cross the natural dangers of Tongguan. How could the defender allow a large team of seven people to pass unimpeded? I'm afraid that before they reach Kaifeng, they will have been eaten by various armies. Not to mention the logistical supply of food and fodder for 7,000 people, how to solve it? In addition, these 7,000 men and horses are a reinforcement force, and they can only walk around the city and have no time to attack the city. To take a step back, even if we were lucky enough to take advantage of a loophole in the defense army's journey to the west, we might not be so lucky on our way back east after victory.

If the Liangshan heroes were as uninhabited in the Song Dynasty as described in the novel, would Song Jiang still be loyal, serve the court, and only fight against corrupt officials instead of the emperor? I'm afraid he would have led an army into the palace and replaced him as the emperor. Besides, this military operation mainly relied on strategy to win. The 7,000 troops were basically of no use, and it was like a wasted trip.

Here, Shi Naian made a geographical mistake. In the first chapter of "Water Margin", he said: Shaohua Mountain is in Huayin County, Huazhou; but in the chapter "Havoc in Huazhou City", he said that Taihua Mountain is in Huazhou. In fact, Shi Naian just said it was reversed.

Huashan Mountain, also known as Mount Taihua, is one of the five mountains we are familiar with. It is located in the south of Huayin County, bordering the Yellow River to the north and the Qinling Mountains to the south. Because "looking from a distance it looks like a flower" and the ancient Chinese characters "hua" and "hua" are connected, it is named "Huashan".

Shaohua Mountain is located seven kilometers southeast of Huazhou City. The main peak is 1,664.4 meters above sea level. It faces Taihua Mountain in the east, so it is called Shaohua Mountain. Taihua Mountain and Shaohua Mountain, collectively known as "Erhua", are both famous Taoist mountains in China.

Because Shi Naian got the geographical locations of Taihua Mountain and Shaohua Mountain wrong, the narrative of the "Havoc in Huazhou City" was also messed up accordingly. For example, if Song Jiang and others wanted to intercept Su Taiwei, they should not be at the foot of Shaohua Mountain near Huazhou, but at the foot of Taihua Mountain near Huayin County. Besides, Shaohua Mountain is a very steep mountain. It is impossible to use it as a mountain village, let alone to ride up and down on horseback.

In addition to this geographical error, there are many similar errors in the novel. We might as well give another example. For example, when Shi Jin went to Yan'an Mansion to find his master Wang Jin, it was an aimless pursuit. The most convenient route from Huayin County to Yan'an Prefecture is to go north along the Luohe River. The two places are four to five hundred miles apart. If there are no delays on the way, you can reach Yan'an Prefecture in a few days. But Shi Jin did not reach Yan'an Prefecture, but went to Weizhou. Weizhou is to the west of Huayin County. From Huayin County to Weizhou, one must first go west along the Wei River, and then go northwest along the Jing River, a journey of nearly a thousand miles. Comparing the map, we will find that Huayin, Weizhou and Yan'an form a triangle. From Huayin County to Yan'an Prefecture, it is never possible to pass through Weizhou.

The reason why there are so many geographical common sense errors in "Water Margin" is that the author Shi Naian lacks geographical places, and the second is because Shi Naian does not have a map in his hand and cannot verify it, so he can only write nonsense One pass. Of course, these common-sense geographical errors do not affect the literary achievements of "Water Margin". We can laugh at them when reading.