Present situation of litchi ancient road
In Jigong Village at the junction of Ma 'an Township and Yingbei Township, the ancient litchi road passes by the cliff, and a long guardrail is built on the cliff, which is called the "horse-blocking wall". It is said that it was built to prevent horses from falling off the cliff. The enclosed wall here is also well preserved. The deep arc grooves on the left horse-blocking wall and the right stone wall are said to have been used to buckle the door bars in those years, which are called door bar grooves.
From Jigongzhai to Zhutonggou to Huamiliang Yamen Yingpan, there are several complete horse drinking troughs on the roadside. The so-called horse drinking trough is to cut a rectangular trough on the big stone slab of the ancient road to fill the horse with horse food. One of the horse drinking troughs is 60 cm long, 50 cm wide and 20 cm deep; A round hole with a diameter of 20 cm and a depth of 25 cm was cut 80 cm away from the square groove, which was used to nail a stake and tie a horse.
Zhutonggou, just listening to the name makes people jumpy. There are mountains on both sides. In the early years, the ancient cypress was dense, and a deep stone road at the bottom of the ditch extended into the distance, which was as easy to enter as a bamboo tube. Bandits used to haunt here. According to the legend of the local old people, a long time ago, the caravan that paid tribute to the imperial court passed Zhutonggou and was robbed by bandits. The emperor sent officers and men to destroy them. There was a fierce battle here, and the corpses were everywhere. The stone road in Zhutonggou was red with blood. People built a Liyuan Temple in the ditch (the so-called Liyuan Temple, originally a litchi temple, was later mistaken for Liyuan Temple) in order to ensure that the Bodhisattva could get out of the ditch safely. The ruins of the ruined temple still exist, and the pear bodhisattva was stolen a few years ago. I heard that once upon a time, a player made up a play based on this. Nursery rhymes say, "Let's go to Jigong Village. Are there any pears there?" If you enter the bamboo ditch, the pear will be lost; After crossing the rice beam, the pear will be stable. "
There is a place called Yamenping under Huamiliang. Legend has it that it is a yamen specially set up to manage the work of escorting litchi, and the wall is faintly discernible. There is an ancient grave behind, which people still call the immortal grave. It is said that a yamen official took a fancy to this geomantic treasure-house shaped like a "yellow snake to drive away rats" and buried it there after his death. The Tumen Gate at the pass opposite Yamen Yingpan is an important checkpoint on Litchi Road. Just a few years ago, when the road was being built, the thick and high stone gate was destroyed.
The ancient litchi road crosses Yingbeixiang Street, takes Goujiahe River, crosses Jiashiyanggou, descends Zimakan, and reaches Longwang Bridge. At that time, people here were like flowing water in Ma Rulong, with many hotels parked along the way. These hotels were called kilns. Litchi comes through here, toilet paper comes through here, cotton comes through here, and salt comes through here. According to Gou, who is nearly 90 years old in Longwangqiao, before liberation, almost one or two hundred people rested in his yard every night. In the past, sometimes there were too many merchants to stay in the house, so they tied their horses to the Woods next to the yard and warmed their feet in the open space. The old man also said that the shops along the way were like this. At that time, litchi road was very prosperous!
Zimakan, there is also a touching story about litchi. Legend has it that the groom who transported litchi rode to the front of the mountain and saw the Yaner River rising in front of him, and the white waves flooded the stone piers for people to pass. People and horses can't get through, and litchi can't be delivered to the palace on time, so it will be beheaded. The groom thought, go in and die, go out and die. Might as well die on this stone wall. The groom was about to hit the stone wall, but when he saw his tall horse turn from white to purple, he bowed down obediently. Look at his eyes, it is obvious that he is going to ride by himself. The groom stepped on the purple horse's back, and the purple horse suddenly stood up. The hind foot slammed on the stone wall, flew over Yaner River and Banma Beach, and rested on the officialdom four or five kilometers away. The purple horse became a white horse again. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor sympathized with the groom's fate and sent Tianma down to save his life. Two deep horseshoe prints were left on the stone wall forever. In order to thank the jade emperor for his kindness, the working people built a view of the jade emperor in Jiashiyanggou, which is still preserved today.
Litchi Road is the crystallization of love between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty and Yang Guifei, and it is the witness of history. It is convenient and firm to open the road on every mountain and bridge when encountering water. Goujiahe stone bridge is very distinctive and is called "Sibao Bridge". The pier is made of stone strips, and there are deep grooves between the stone strips. When the stone pieces are inserted, the pier will not shake, which is a kind of safety. There is a wedge-shaped head on the pier, and the bridge slab is embedded in it, so that the bridge slab will not be washed away by water, which is the second insurance; There are thick crossbars under the bridge slab, so the bridge can bear heavy pressure, which is the three risks; There is a 8-shaped wedge between the bridge slab and the bridge slab. Installing a 8-shaped stone to fix the bridge slab is the four risks. The construction of the "Four Guarantees" stone bridge fully shows the wisdom of the ancient working people, and the power of imperial power and love can be imagined.