In the golden autumn of October, Nong Tianyi went up along the Fu River. I saw Danxia Liubi, the mountains are like bonsai, and the water bay is strange, and it is a simple pastoral style. Entering the mountains, the water is clear, clear and quiet.

It was a slight sunny day after the autumn rains. Heaven and earth open and close, and layers of mist are spread between the mountains and rivers. Nanxiang City is like a lost and regained bright pearl, inlaid on the south bank of the Fu River. It is the birthplace of the early culture of the Chu State. It is said that the era of the Nanxiang City ruins is from the Warring States period to the Han Dynasty, which can be described as a long time.

Nong Tianyi reverently walked into the ruins, only to see the remnants of the north city wall and the east city wall rammed into it, a large number of tiles and pottery pieces are scattered in the city, the pottery is mainly muddy gray pottery, and the shape of the vessel has a mustache, a bean, a bowl, a pot, a spinning wheel, etc. There is an ancient pottery well in the south of the city, there are Jinbaling tombs in the north of the city, there are tombs in the south of the city, when the nearby villagers are working, there will be gray pottery, bronze swords, copper arrows and other cultural relics coming out unintentionally. Its city was destroyed early, and its name still exists today.

People can't help but ask: what kind of ancient city is Nanxiangcheng? When did it begin, why did it come about, and why did it come about?

With these questions, Nong Tianyi consulted historical materials, and it turned out that the Fuzhang River Valley was the place where Zhou Tianzi was divided. The states of Quan, Luo, and Chu in the Fuzhang River Valley were all vassal states of Zhou Tianzi.

"Mozi Fei Conquered" records that "the former Chu Xiongli began to ask (seal) this Ju Mountain", that is, the original place of Chu was in the middle and upper reaches of the Fu River. "Ju Mountain" is Danxia Mountain. The geographical location of Nanxiang City is in the middle reaches of the Fu River and sits on Danxia Mountain, which is not just a historical coincidence.

"The road is blue, and the mountains and forests are enlightened", the ancestors of Chu began to expand their territory in the depths of Jing Mountain along the Fu River.

"Zuo Biography" mourns the sixth year of the Duke of Chu Zhao King said: "Jiang Han Sui (frustrated) Zhang, Chu Zhiwang also." It reflects the important position of Fu and Zhang Ershui in the Chu State at that time. Nanxiangcheng is an important chess piece at this central point. The southeast, northwest, and northwest are all within its sphere of influence, not far from each other, and can advance or retreat, and its geographical location is prominent. In ancient times, it was difficult to travel by land, but it was very convenient to go up and down through the waterway of the Fu River, so as to make up for the lack of land routes, and invisibly prevent the enemy from coming to attack the city.

In the autumn wind, Nong Tianyi stood on top of the ancient ruins and let out a sigh, which shows the good intentions of the builders of the ancient city: the location of the city site is as good as the stone city can be lived, the frustration river can be relied on, the ditch can be blocked, and the danger of Jingshan is more, and the large and small fertile fields formed by the impact of the frustration water are the needs of food. Around the ancient city, the mountains are not high, mostly about 100 meters, and the water system is naturally developed, and there are the North River and the South River to protect it. He found that Nanxiang City was a walled city built of earth. In the interior of the city wall, it is long from east to west, narrow from north to south, rectangular, with an area of 270,000 square meters, and is located at the mouth of the Bison Creek on the west bank of the Fu River. In that long ago, one can imagine its grandeur.

The ancient pottery well and stone mill in the south of the city fall in the city, and the city wall is towering, and it is placed in a high place to facilitate observation and observation, and has a defensive effect; Trenches, mountains, and rivers block the enemy from outside; The tombs of Jinbaling in the north of the city and the tombs in the south of the city are outside the city, and the layout inside and outside the ancient city is ingenious and orderly.

An ancient city, so many bronze swords and other weapons have been unearthed intermittently, which is enough to show that Nanxiang City is an ancient city with military significance. If it weren't for the town, or the location of the country, it would be hard to imagine that it would have reached such a scale. "If there is a kiln site, there will be water next to it", and the water source is in the Fu River. There are many ancient wells and pottery in this area, which can not only facilitate the use of water in the Gufu River, but also facilitate production and life, indicating that there are many people inside and outside the city. This area should be a kiln workshop area.

Bronze swords, bronze arrows and bronze mirrors from the Warring States period show that the smelting technology is extremely high, and there are both cold weapons and short-hit swords and shooting arrows. Bronze mirrors are daily necessities, and ordinary people should not have them in that era, and they must be owned by nobles.

Pottery, pottery wells, tiles, pottery shards, spinning wheels, etc., indicate that firing technology, agricultural civilization and handicrafts have reached a certain level. The ancient city is obviously a gathering area where the life and functions of the ancestors are relatively perfect.

Nong Tianyi took a look at the remnants of the north and east city walls, most of which were earthen walls, bordering the west bank of the Fu River, and sheltered by moats, moats and natural valleys, which could be described as impregnable.

In wartime, you can resist the enemy, rest and recuperate in your spare time, and quietly develop in the depths of Jingshan Mountain to strengthen your foundation. The geographical location of its city wall can be described as unique, and the water and land routes are smooth, echoing before and after.

The burial place of the ancient tomb group is concentrated in the aristocracy, the tomb group has a certain scale, and a large number of bronzes, coins and other valuables have been unearthed, which is not comparable to the tombs of the ordinary people. It is inferred from the burial customs that it is likely to be the tomb of important people such as vassal states or early nobles of Chu.

Ancient bricks can be seen everywhere in Nanxiangcheng, each weighing more than a dozen catties. Historically, this was not an important pass after the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and these ancient bricks were obviously used for the construction of ancient city walls, otherwise there was no need to use such bulky ancient bricks. There are still 72 stories of flower streets in the local folk, the most famous of which is a "Hongqi Street", which goes straight from the cemetery to Hongqikan.

Zhu Rong is the ancestor of the Chu people, is in charge of fire, fire is a red symbol, the red flag is the symbol of fire, admired by the Chu people. To this end, we specially surveyed the large area of land behind the cemetery: surrounded by mountains on three sides, there are many hills and hills around, the mountains are gentle, and most of them are about 100 meters, the area is wide, and the flat exhibition of a happy land shows the prosperity of the flower street and the sacred traces of fire in those years.

Looking back at history, Chu, also known as Jing and Jing Chu, was a vassal state in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in Chinese history, and the monarch was surnamed Mi, Xiong. The Chu tribe, which first arose in the land of Gujing Mountain, was destroyed in the Qin State. Chu was founded by the Sanmiao people in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and it participated in the wars of King Wu of Zhou in the early Zhou Dynasty. The state of Chu called itself Danyang, the land of Chu, and gradually changed from a small vassal country to a powerful country in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Because it was located in southern China, there were frequent wars between the Chu state and the Chinese princes of the Central Plains. Through the war, King Chuzhuang became one of the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period.

Nong Tianyi believes that the state of Chu has successively annexed forty-five weaker vassal states, but Chu is not the only one who is depressed. Assuming that Linfu was a waiting country in ancient times, the land of Nanxiang City was the area where the ancient Linfu Houguo was located, and it was Chu's "southern township of the country", so it is easy to understand why Chu did not cut down the Houguo of Linfu.

Nong Tianyi had a bold idea, can it be inferred that the country of Linfu is the birthplace of the state of Chu.

In Jingshan, ancient folk legends are everywhere: Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of Chinese humanities, once cast Jiuding, repaired the village, and sacrificed in Jingshan, the wife of the Yellow Emperor and the inventor of silkworm raising technology, the ancestor had planted mulberry and raised silkworms in Jingshan, and the legend of Dayu casting Yong Zhong in Jingshan area was circulated, and the story of Bian and Deyu offering jade was widely praised by the locals.

Not only that, Nanxiang City is also related to tea. According to legend, there was a person named Pan Ming in Nanxiang City, Nanyi County, who once built a study at the foot of the East Mountain in Nanxiang City, and named it "Dongxuan". In the spring of that year, Pan Ming and his friends met in "Dongxuan".

One day, he found that there was a tea tree that was different in the stone barren garden, so he transplanted it to the tea garden in Dongxuan, managed it day and night, carefully cultivated, and multiplied year by year.

After careful making, the tea leaves are fragrant and mellow after drinking. Subsequently, Pan Ming was summoned to Beijing, met the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, gave him this tea, the waiter tasted extraordinary, and then transferred it to the inner court, the emperor praised it after drinking, and asked the history of tea in Nanxiangcheng, so the tea is yellow and elegant, light as goose feathers, the taste and fragrance are beautiful, just like the "swan", and the name is given "swan yellow".

Later, after the careful cultivation of tea farmers, each leaf of "Swan Yellow" glows green in the sun, competing for the sun, which is the emotional exchange between "Swan Yellow" and tea farmers.

"Swan Yellow" is the place where jade mining takes place in Bian and Jingshan. The villagers told Nong Tianyi that the next Huali is the "Heshi Bridge".

Nong Tianyi immediately went, and sure enough, there was an ancient bridge hidden in the thorn bush, and the blue bricks on the bridge were built into an arch shape, and only clear water was seen flowing slowly under the bridge. "Heshi Bridge", as the name suggests, stands the bridge to commemorate the Chu State Bian and Deyu offering jade.

In the south of Nanxiang City, there is a Ba Wang Palace, only 4 miles away from the ruins of Nanxiang City, which should be the religious sacrifice place of the ancients; There is an ancient place name of the white tiger head in the north of the city, and "tiger" is the totem symbol of the Ba people. Through historical information, Nong Tianyi determined that these ancient relics were all based on a radius of about ten miles from Nanxiang City, with obvious birthmarks of the activities of the ancestors of the ancient city.

The state of Chu surrendered to Zhou for a long period of time, and "Zuo Chuan: The Twelfth Year of Zhao Gong" recorded: "In the past, I was the first king of Xiongyi, and I was set up in Jingshan, and the road was blue, and I was reckless everywhere. Trekking through the mountains and forests, to serve the Son of Heaven. ”

"In Jingshan", that is, the area of Nanxiangcheng in Nanyi County. The small states around Chu: Luo, Lurong, Cai, Quan, Dan, Kui, etc., were all destroyed by Chu. These small countries are all located in a radius of about 100 kilometers with Nanxiangcheng as the center.