In the northwest of Ji'an City, Jilin Province, about 2.5 kilometers away from the city, stands a small mountain with an altitude of 676 meters, called Marudu Mountain. There is a stone tablet erected on the mountain, on which is written the words "National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, Marudu Mountain City, promulgated by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on February 23, 1982, and established by the People's Government of Ji'an County".

So, what kind of ancient city is the so-called "Maruto Mountain Castle", and who founded it and in what era? Nowadays, there are still three remnants of the ground remains on the Marudu Mountain: one is under the east side of the hillside, 96.5 meters long from north to south, 80 meters wide from east to west, and three layers deep, according to expert research, it is a palace; the second is on the high hill in the south of the palace, built with stones, and is a lookout; the third is 15 meters north of the Wangbei, where the remnants of the soldier's residence remain.

According to historical records, we can imagine that in the fifth year of Cao Wei's reign (244), 1,800 years ago, a large army drove to the foot of Marudu Mountain. The soldiers of the ancient city hurriedly ran out of their dwellings and climbed to the lookout, and they trembled with the banners of the enemy army that covered the sky and the sun, but at this moment, the ancient city had only a few thousand remnants of the defeated soldiers, and they were completely unable to go out of the city to fight.

It looked like the castle was about to fall soon - the palace was in chaos, and men and women were busy sorting their belongings, packing up their packages, and preparing to abandon the city and flee. One of the men named Weigong couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh: "Could it be that the heavens are going to destroy our Goguryeo?!" ”

A few days later, the owner of the ancient city and the royal palace of Goguryeo finally sneaked down to the Maruku Mountains and fled eastward in disarray. Maruto Mountain Castle, the first but not the last time, fell......

1. Goguryeo was not a peninsular kingdom

Goguryeo, also written as Gao Ju Li, Ju Li, the word "sentence" is read here as "hook", just like one of the five tyrants of the Spring and Autumn Period, Yue Wang Goujian can also be written as "sentence practice". It is an ancient kingdom in the northeastern region of our country, which was established shortly after BC and perished in 668 AD, and existed for a long time of about 700 years.

Now, both North and South Korea claim that Goguryeo is the ancient country of the peninsula and their ancestors, which is irresponsible and absurd. For example, in 230 AD, Sun Quan, the emperor of Eastern Wu, sent the generals Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhi to the sea to find Xianshan and found "Yizhou", which was later the island of Taiwan. But we can't say the other way around: "China has been part of Taiwan since ancient times." In the same way, we can say: "The northern part of the Korean Peninsula was once under the jurisdiction of the ancient Goguryeo Kingdom. But it can't be reversed: "Goguryeo is the ancient kingdom of the Korean Peninsula." ”

Whether in terms of ethnic composition, territorial boundaries, or historical evolution, Goguryeo is truly an ancient kingdom within China.

First of all, let's talk about the ethnic component, the "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" says that its country is "Fuyu other species", regardless of language and customs, it is similar to Fuyu, and it is also mentioned that Goguryeo's "other species" established the "small water" country, which seems to be related to the Hui people. Fuyu and Hui are the general names of many ethnic groups with similar customs in Northeast China in ancient times, Fuyu is in the north, the activity area is from Jilin to Heilongjiang, the activity area is in the south, and the activity area is on both sides of the Yalu River. Judging from this, Goguryeo should be a multi-ethnic country dominated by the Fuyu ethnic group and compatible with some of the Hao ethnic groups.

At that time, the historical ethnic groups in the northern part of the peninsula were Korean, Jinban, and Hyo-chan, and in the south, the so-called Samhan (Mahan, Benhan, and Jinhan), which had nothing to do with the main ethnic group of Goguryeo, the Fuyu.

Let's talk about territorial territory. It is true that during the heyday of Goguryeo, the southern tip of the territory reached the Han River valley, but the ruling center in the early and early years of the founding of the country has always been in the northeast of our country. The first capital of Goguryeo was the "domestic city", that is, today's Ji'an City, Jilin Province, and the second capital was the Marudu Fortress on the Marudu Mountain near Ji'an, which was originally known as Yunayan Fortress.

As far as historical evolution is concerned, let's first sort out the state of the people and states in the Northeast region and the Korean Peninsula before the fall of Marudu Castle before the third century AD.

2. From the beginning of the construction to the initial crisis

The glorious Hongshan culture has been produced in western Liaoning, which is one of the main sources of Chinese civilization, and the famous Longshan culture has been produced in Shandong for a thousand years. We can imagine that the ancient inhabitants of these two regions crossed the narrow Bohai Bay by boat, intermingling, influencing and infiltrating each other, and radiating their cultures in all directions – including the Korean Peninsula, of course.

The oldest country on the peninsula is the Minzi Joseon, which is said to have been founded when Prince Jizi fled to the Korean Peninsula at the time of the fall of the Shang Dynasty. There are still different theories in the academic circles on this matter, and it is generally believed that Jizi first fled to Liaoxi to establish a state, and then was constantly attacked and suppressed by the Yan State divided by the Zhou Dynasty, and migrated all the way, and finally went to the Datong River basin in the north of the peninsula. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, sealed his fellow villager Lu Juan in Yandi, and later Lu Juan was destroyed by the Han army because of collusion with the Xiongnu, and his general Wei Man led his troops to flee to North Korea, and soon after he destroyed Jizi Joseon, established Wei Joseon, and declared himself a vassal to the Han Dynasty.

The northeastern frontier of the Qin Dynasty and the early Western Han Dynasty was only as far as the Liaodong Peninsula, and the vast northeast region was dotted with many ethnic groups collectively known as Fuyu (in the west) and Sushen (in the east), in addition to the Wofu people in the northeast of the Korean Peninsula. According to the Book of Han, there were two small states in the northern part of the peninsula called Zhenban and Chen, both of whom were vassals to the Han and sent people to ask for help because they were harassed by the Wei dynasty. Therefore, in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he sent troops to attack Korea many times, and in the third year of Yuanfeng (108 BC), he conquered the capital of North Korea, Weicheng (near today's Pyongyang), and set up four counties of Zhenban, Lintun, Lelang and Xuansu in his hometown (later merged into Lelang and Xuansu counties), which basically included the southern part of today's Jilin Province and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.

One hundred years later, Goguryeo was founded. Wang Mang once ordered Goguryeo to assist in the attack on the Xiongnu, but when he refused, he sent troops to attack and won a great victory, so he demoted Goguryeo to Xia Guyeo (Wang Mang liked to change the name of others). It is said that at this time, in the title system of the new dynasty, Goguryeo belonged to the marquis, and it was not until the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty that they were once again called vassals, and Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiuyi was happy and promoted him to become a kingdom.

With the gradual weakening of the Han Dynasty, Goguryeo began to expand abroad, and during the reign of Emperor Han and Emperor An, a king named Gong of Goguryeo annexed seventy percent of the land of Lelang and Xuansu counties, and invaded Liaodong County even westward. After Dong Zhuo appointed Gongsun Du as the Taishou of Liaodong, a local warlord like Gongsun Du, whose abilities and ambitions were comparable to those of the regular administrators of the Han Dynasty in non-remote areas, soon gained the upper hand in the battle with Goguryeo.

In the second year of Emperor Jian'an of the Han Dynasty (197), the two grandsons of the palace, Baqi and Yiyimo, competed for the throne, and after the defeat of Baqi, they fled to Liaodong and attached themselves to Gongsun Kang, the son of Gongsun Du, so Gongsun Kang sent troops to the east, broke through the domestic city, and burned and plundered - Goguryeo finally ushered in the first major crisis after the founding of the People's Republic of China two hundred years ago......

3. The great achievements of Biqiu Jian

The domestic city was built on flat ground, and the Marudu city was built on the mountain, and the two cities were less than 3 kilometers apart, relying on each other, like horns, and this kind of composite king was a very special existence in the history of the city's construction. We don't know what happened to the city when Gongsun Kang's army broke through the domestic city? However, judging from the subsequent situation in which Goguryeo made Maruku the capital, it is likely that the city of Marudu did not fall due to its dangerous terrain, or that although it fell for a time, it was not as seriously damaged as the domestic castle.

Yes, Gongsun Kang's army invaded Goguryeo and captured the city, but it did not take the opportunity to completely annex this ancient kingdom, because shortly thereafter, the Yuan clan in Hebei perished, and the brothers Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang fled to Liaodong to ask Gongsun Kang for help, and then Cao Cao's army followed...... Perhaps it was to counter the strong pressure from the southwest that Gongsun Kang was forced to withdraw his troops from Goguryeo. As for the down-and-out prince Baqi, he moved to Liaodong with 30,000 Goguryeo households.

The situation of confrontation and fighting between the two sides seems to have returned to square one, with the Gongsun clan still separating Liaodong, Goguryeo dominating both sides of the Yalu River, and both sides submitting to the Han Dynasty and the subsequent Cao Wei. After the death of Gongsun Kang, he passed on the throne to his younger brother Gongsun Gong, and later his son Gongsun Yuan usurped the throne and seized power. After the death of Goguryeo Iyimo, he passed the throne of king to his son, the palace.

We also remember that there was a king in Goguryeo whose name was Gong, and it is said that he opened his eyes immediately after birth, which was considered an unlucky calling. And this new king, like his ancestors, was also born with open eyes, and the similar meaning in Goguryeo is "bit", so he is called the palace of the king, that is, the person of the elephant palace. This palace bow horse is skilled, superior in force, and very ambitious.

In the second year of Emperor Jing of Wei Ming (238), Sima Yi was ordered to conquer Liaodong and destroyed the Gongsun clan, and it is said that the palace also sent a force of several thousand people to assist in attacking his old enemy. After the end of the war, Goguryeo's power continued to penetrate westward and began to invade Cao Wei's territory, so Wei Youzhou Assassin Shi and Duliao general Biqiu Jian personally led 10,000 infantry cavalry through Xuansu County to conquer in 244.

The palace personally marched, led 20,000 soldiers and horses to meet each other, and the two sides fought fiercely on the bank of boiling water. This so-called boiling water, which is generally believed to be the largest tributary of the Hunjiang River, is the Fuer River, and the main body is in today's Xinbin Manchu Autonomous County, Liaoning Province, where it is said that the first king of Goguryeo, Jumeng, started his business. As a result of the battle, the Goguryeo army was defeated, and Biqiu Jian took advantage of the victory to pursue and storm the capital of Maru—this is the scene imagined by the history at the beginning of this article.

It is recorded in the "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" that Goguryeo once had a virtuous minister named Pei who came to the palace and advised him many times, asking him not to use military force, let alone fight against the Central Plains Dynasty, but unfortunately the palace did not listen to it at all. Disappointed, he died on a hunger strike, and sighed, "Behold this magnificent royal capital is about to grow with weeds." When the Wei army broke through the city of Marudu, Weigong fled east with his wife and children, and Biqiu Jian entered the city, and after hearing about this, he strictly ordered the soldiers not to destroy the tomb and not to cut down the trees on the tomb, and all the wives and children who were caught were released.

Perhaps it was because the advance was relatively hasty, so Biqiu Jian did not pursue the palace, and quickly retreated back. Weigong may have returned to the capital of Marudu for a time, but at the end of the second year, the Wei army attacked again, and he fled again. This time, Biqiu Jian completely destroyed the city of Marudu, and carved a stone tree tablet to record his exploits, and also sent Xuanwu to guard the palace of Wang Qiqi. It is said that Wang Ji chased more than 1,000 miles through Wofu until he reached the southern border of Sushen (which is supposed to refer to the northeastern border of present-day Korea, close to the sea).

He was not captured by the Wei army, and it is said that he fled to Maigou, which is near the city of Hounyeong in Hamgyong Province, North Korea, and lived for more than two years before finally dying. This time, the Central Plains Dynasty completely annexed the southern territory of Goguryeo, and also subdued the Wofu tribes, pushing the territory across the Yalu River to the Han River Valley, expanding the jurisdiction of Lelang County, and adding Obibang County.

4. From prosperity to perdition

Half of the country was destroyed, the kingdom was destroyed, and the king's death in a foreign land did not bring the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo to a ruin. Soon, Biqiu Jian was transferred to the southern front to serve as the assassin of Yuzhou, and in the Huainan rebellion in 255, he was beheaded by Sima Shi. As a result, Goguryeo made a comeback, and the northeastern counties that had lost their strong generals were attacked again. After Cao Wei, the Western Jin Dynasty was briefly unified, and the Goguryeo people took advantage of the Wuhu Rebellion to return to the city of Marudu again—probably at the beginning of the fourth century, less than 70 years after the destruction of the city by Biqiujian.

In 313 AD, that is, the same year that Liu Cong, the king of the Xiongnu, killed Sima Chi, the Huai Emperor of the Jin Dynasty, and Sima Ye, the last emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty, ascended the throne in Chang'an, King Michuan of Goguryeo (also known as the King of Haoyang and King Haoyu) annexed the last county of the Central Plains regime on the Korean Peninsula - Lelang County. The power of the Central Plains regime in the northeast was forced to shrink back to the eastern Liaodong region.

King Mikawa's name was Otofu or Otofuli, and he died in 331 A.D. Unexpectedly, just eleven years later, the Former Yan army under the leadership of King Murong Hao attacked under the city of Marudu, excavated the tomb of this king, and took away his body. In 367, just three years before the former Yan was destroyed by the former Qin, the Yan army invaded Goguryeo again and breached the city of Marudu.

After the destruction of Qianyan, soon, the more fierce and ferocious Northern Wei army arrived. In 427 AD, in order to avoid the threat of the Northern Wei Dynasty and consolidate his power on the peninsula, Goguryeo's long-lived king Gao Lian was forced to leave the city of Marudu, which had experienced more than 200 years of ups and downs, and moved south to the vicinity of present-day Pyongyang, North Korea. From then on, the center of Goguryeo's rule gradually shifted southward, and only then did it move from the northeast of our country to the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.

Shortly before that, the Samhan and other ethnic groups in the southern part of the peninsula began to enter the national stage, establishing a kingdom or city-state alliance of Baekje, Silla, Gaya, etc. Goguryeo was oppressed in the north by the Jin Ya, Khitan and other tribes and the Northern Wei Dynasty, so it focused on expanding to the south, and soon divided the peninsula with Baekje and Silla, forming the "Former Three Kingdoms Era" in Korean history.

Unfortunately, if Goguryeo had been deferential to the Central Plains Dynasty and had gone all out to manage the south, it would have been possible to unify the Korean Peninsula with its strength at that time, but the political mistakes of successive generations of kings led to many attacks by Emperor Yang of Sui and Emperor Taizong of Tang. The Goguryeo people resisted stubbornly and struggled to win these battles, but the victory only made the rulers more arrogant. Finally, in the middle of the seventh century, the Tang Dynasty united with Silla to attack Goguryeo and Baekje, and in the fifth year of Emperor Gojong's reign (660), Baekje perished, and in the third year of Qianfeng (667), Goguryeo fell.

However, the Tang Dynasty was unable to firmly control the Korean Peninsula, and Silla soon unified the area south of the Taedong River. In the 10th century, Silla split and entered the "Post-Three Kingdoms period", which was finally unified by Wang Jian, the general of the Thai feudal state, who claimed to have inherited the orthodoxy of Goguryeo, so he named the country Goryeo, which was not directly related to the long-extinct Goguryeo.

However, the Chinese were deceived, and many historians in ancient times thought that Goguryeo and Goryeo were indeed in the same lineage, so when tracing Goguryeo, they often replaced it with the name "Goryeo", which caused confusion in understanding, and also became a major evidence that the peninsular countries revered Goguryeo as their ancestor and said that Goguryeo was the ancient kingdom of Korea. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the academic circles were also confused, and it was not until the 80s of the last century that the chaos was gradually put in order.

On February 23, 1982, the State Council approved the ruins of Marudu Mountain City in Ji'an City as an ancient building of the Han and Wei dynasties and was listed as the second batch of national key cultural relics protection units; On June 25, 2002, the ruins of the domestic city were merged with the ruins of the Marudu Mountain City, and they were listed as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units; In July 2004, the two cities were inscribed on the World Heritage List.