How did the ancient thieves in Jiangyang come from?

The term "jianghu" originally refers to the three rivers and five lakes, especially the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake. The rivers and lakes commonly known as the underworld were probably formed in the Song Dynasty. Jianghu refers to the natural environment. It is probably not accidental that the latter meaning evolved. Those rebellious refugees, whether for self-protection or survival, began to organize their own forces to fight against the national order, thereby creating a Jianghu society outside the dynastic management system. The formation of this kind of culturally symbolic rivers and lakes is closely related to the rivers and lakes in physical geography. Gu said: There are river thieves on the river and lake thieves by the lake. Taifu Lu Simian also noticed that the rate of thieves in ancient times was much higher than that of Shanze. Chen She started from Daze. Ze Zhong, an outlaw in Huan Chu; was called a thief in Tingbu; Peng Yue often fished in Juye; Liu Bang hid in Mangdang Mountain; Chen Youliang was the son of a fisherman in Mianyang; the history is speckled, the so-called bandits in the rivers and lakes, Jiang Yang's words It is probably derived from this kind of water bandit. Regional rivers and lakes create heroic rivers and lakes, and the fastest way is to gather righteous Liangshan heroes in a lake. The Water Margin not only created heroes, but also created the Water Margin that will be passed down to future generations.

Beyond Water Margin, Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake, and Taihu Lake are all known as the Southeast Great Dip. Dongting Lake is located between two lakes in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Its waters were the most extensive during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Jiangling flows down, half of the land is connected with Zeguo, and it is called Zeguo in history. The scholarly character of the Ming Dynasty lasted from 0755 to 79000: Dongting was flooded and stretched for 800 miles, and there were thieves and thieves. Ancient times: Between the Han and Ming dynasties, the lake was wide and reedy, and thieves hid there. In Jiaxu, hundreds of miles up and down the Fengmen River in Hanchuan, thieves appeared and robbed merchant ships. Jingmen is governed in four directions, with lakes and mountains in half, like Shayang, which is known as the source of thieves.

The most influential bandit activities in the Dongting Lake area were the Zhongxiang Uprising and Yang Yao Uprising in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the following four years, Zhong Xiang claimed to be King of Chu and led the uprising. Based on the geographical advantages of Dongting Lake, he came into contact with religious activities and advocated the equalization of wealth, which spread to the nineteen counties around the lake. After Zhong Xiang's death, Yang Yao began to build more than 70 water towns on the crisscrossing terrain of Dongting Lake. In addition, numerous large-scale vehicles and ships were built, and the loyalists suffered heavy losses on many occasions, including the famous Shipai victory. There is a poem that says: In Liao'er Valley, there are thousands of warships in front and behind; in Shuihu Village, there are hundreds of heroes on the left and right. It seems to be a true portrayal of Yang Yao's navy using water forts and boats to conduct water operations. Regardless of whether Yang Yao's uprising is related to the Libingshu of the prefectures and counties of the world, in terms of form, the two have many similarities: they both rely on the vast 800-mile mist, land attacks lead to lakes, water attacks lead to landings, and the mobility of the team and flexibility are greatly improved, forming a unique guerrilla model of water gatherings.

Poyang Lake in ancient times was also a place where thieves gathered. Poyang Lake is located in the southern part of the Jiujiang alluvial fan. It is like a huge water bag below the lake mouth, suspended in the plain area surrounded by mountains on three sides in Jiangxi. Its changes are similar to those of Dongting Lake. Although it is not the Daze of the Qin and Han Dynasties, it is still a lake landscape with dense water networks. When Qin died, he and Lishan gathered in the waters of Jiujiang and were known as the Poyang Lake Bandits. After the Tang Dynasty, the lake area became larger and larger, and bandits became more and more serious. According to the Water Margin, Huang Zhang: Poyang encounters three rivers, the waves are strong, and the pirate ships return, which is a trouble for Zhang Yu's counties.

: When the spring stems, the fish is on the land, so it is better to forget about the rivers and lakes. This artistic statement seems inappropriate to use here, but bandits and Jianghu are indeed closely related. According to research by Wang Rigen and others, there are four main sources of bandits on the rivers and lakes: fishermen who make a living on the water, residents along the river, fishermen and soldiers along the river during the flood season, salt farmers, and various types of bandits, which can be roughly divided into semi-professional bandits and professional bandits. After all, the number of professional bandits is limited, but the phenomenon of dual identities of fishermen and bandits exists in large numbers. In the sixth year of Yongzheng's reign, Mai Zhu, governor of Huguang, told the story of water bandits in Jiangxia County: river crossing barges, river rowing boats, and Mao Peng boats in Jiangzhong Province. These boats are poor and rogue, either in the villages on the river or lake, or mixed around. Their origins are unknown, and they are not bound by the Toothless Ports. Late at night, in the name of fishing, he was about to take a boat to stop a robbery. Because of its fishing, it is inconvenient to fish during the flood season. There are many robberies in the countryside, and thieves have no nest but boats. If I belong to Bajibao in Jiangxia County, the area is known as bandits, so they are all from nearby villages. Most of them make a living by fishing. Their family has a boating thatched cottage. They are called bandits and are difficult to trace.

As the old saying goes, nine out of ten boatmen are thieves. They are both common people and thieves. They fish in Hong Kong during the day, rob in Hong Kong at night, or use their wealth and unique geographical environment to wait for opportunities to commit crimes. This statement seems to be suspected of industry discrimination, but it may reveal the truth. There is only an immoral society, but there are no immoral people. Jianghu society outside the dynastic management system has its own internal order at work. The fishermen are involved and governed by the rules of the river and lake, and have no common sense at all. Maybe this is the reason why people can't help themselves in the world.

The reason why bandits are willing to settle in rivers and lakes is closely related to the complexity of the water environment of rivers and lakes. The lake is vast and extends in all directions, with ports and tributaries crisscrossing it, and sandbars and reeds crisscrossing it. Many geographical landscapes such as rivers, lakes, mountains, islands, islands, and swamps are often connected together to form a landscape structure with dense water networks. In addition, the weather is uncertain, the tides ebb and flow, and the shoals and reefs are distributed in a regular pattern. Only those who have stayed in this water for a long time can master it. This is really a big trap for the government and businessmen, the rich and the rich. Taking advantage of such unique geographical conditions, bandits on the rivers and lakes often sailed in one boat, elegantly and willfully, with mixed streams and harbors, making it difficult to decide whether to escape.

Yang Guoan once concluded that bandits in the arena are characterized by mobility, concealment, and dispersion. Taking advantage of the risks in the arena, they risked their lives to save their lives, just like playing hide-and-seek with the government, winning the essence of guerrilla warfare.

There are numerous land and water transportation networks in the rivers and lakes. Convenient transportation and sufficient material supply are another important reason for the many dramas and thefts in the rivers and lakes. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, the economic center of gravity has shifted to the southeast. Salt and grain are important interests of the country, the southeast is the destiny of the dynasty's wealth, and the water transportation system forms a wealth network. The wealth and water transportation in the southeast may have been an important background for the proliferation of bandits in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, canals, and lakes after the Song Dynasty. Bandits regard the world as profitable. In addition to rich fishery products and rich agriculture, bulk commodities such as salt and grain connected to the canal are also coveted by bandits. Since ancient times, there have been few serious lake bandits in closed plateau lakes in the interior. The reason is probably that they do not have abundant sources of profit and convenient transportation.

Of course, many scholars believe that during the historical period, the population increased, land was lost, and a large number of immigrants poured into the rivers and lakes, so they had no choice but to abandon Lei, flee, and become thieves. Difficulties in making a living

The above is about how the ancient thieves in Jiangyang came to be. Dear story, friends who like it, please continue to pay attention to Eternal Events, and welcome to leave comments.