Chapter 14 Section 6 Developed Beacon Communication in Han Dynasty

Military communications in the Han Dynasty usually consisted of beacon communications and postal communications. The Han Dynasty had developed beacon communication facilities.In recent years, archaeologists have discovered many beacon towers, pavilion barriers and Great Wall ruins in the northern part of the Han Dynasty in Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia. These facilities are distributed for more than 20,000 miles, forming a solid northern city defense.Jian Bozan, a famous historian in our country, said: "In the Han Dynasty, along the entire line of the Great Wall to the west of the Lop Nur Desert and directly to the foot of the Krukutge Mountains, fortress beacon towers were set up, which are the so-called pavilion barriers in the Han Dynasty, in order to look out for the enemy and convey beacon signals The use of it." "Looking at each other for thousands of miles, a strong line of defense has been built in the northwest of China."Along the Silk Road in the past, we can still see the ruins of these military facilities in those days: towering beacon towers, and there are often ruins of small towns where frontier guards lived nearby, forming magnificent pictures.

The so-called "Feng" and "Sui" are both communication signs that ignite combustibles and emit bright light.During the Han Dynasty, it was generally said that "a flint is set up in five miles, a stew is set in ten miles, a fortress is set in thirty miles, and a city is built in a hundred miles. The beacon is the most basic unit of a series of military facilities. These beacons are often located near water sources. , A place with a high terrain and easy to look out. How to use the beacon fire to report the enemy's situation?The Han Dynasty had strict regulations on this.Generally speaking, a beacon refers to placing a beacon pole on an earthen platform more than five feet high, similar to an orange for drawing water.The beacon pole is wrapped with textiles, put down on weekdays, and raised immediately in case of enemy situation, called "watch", usually white, easy to see.If you can't see it at night, it is lit as a torch, which is called "Feng".Generally, there are always some accumulated wages for setting off fireworks at any time beside the beacon tower.

In the existing Han bamboo slips, we can roughly understand the signal of the beacon fire at that time.If it is found that one or more enemies have violated the fortress, a bundle of salaries will be burned and two beacon fires will be raised.If it is found that an enemy army of more than 10 people is invading, in addition to raising fire, the beacon must also be raised high.If 500 or 1,000 enemies come to attack, in addition to burning salaries, three beacons need to be raised.These pre-agreed signals can enable the army to quickly and accurately know the enemy's situation and make necessary preparations.

In addition to the above provisions, there are some other provisions.For example, it is stipulated that when the enemy enters the fortress and raises the beacon fire, all the officials in charge of the border pavilions must be in place, and the number of enemy attacks and the location where they have arrived must be reported to the superior captain's mansion in a timely manner.In case of heavy wind and heavy rain, and the setting off of fireworks fails, a fast horse must be dispatched in time to "pass on the platform urgently, and people will gallop on horseback" to report to the superior.If the enemy's situation is extremely critical, or the enemy has captured the beacon tower barrier, and the pavilion cannot raise the fire on time, the adjacent pavilion should be ignited, and the beacon towers below should be notified in turn.Some Han bamboo slips also reflect that there are police at the border, and the officials in frontier counties are also responsible for organizing the transfer of people, driving livestock, and escape from danger.

According to historical records, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing fought against the Xiongnu, using the beacon fire as the command to march, they could send the signal from Hexi to Liaodong in one day and night, as far as thousands of miles away.At that time, people used poems to describe the rapid transmission of information at that time, saying: "Waiting to ride to Ganquan, the beacon fire leads to Chang'an."Ganquan is located in today's northern Shaanxi, about 300 kilometers away from Chang'an, the capital of Han Dynasty, and the beacon communication can be quickly reached, which shows that the efficiency of military communication at that time was extremely high.

There is a saying in China: "A military order falls like a mountain."During the Han Dynasty, the beacon fire alarm on the border was undoubtedly the supreme order for the officers and soldiers stationed. "Historical Records Sima Xiangru Biography" records: At that time, "the scholars of the border counties, hearing the beacon fire (fan fan), all shot their bows and galloped, and the Dutch soldiers walked away, sweating, for fear of being behind. Touching the white blade , take the lead, don't look back, and don't turn around."Jia Yi, a famous official during the reign of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty, described the soldiers on the frontier at that time, when the enemy's situation was serious, they stayed up day and night, and the officers were all dressed in armor, ready to go at any time ("Han Shu·Jia Yi Biography").Zhao Chongguo, a famous general in the Western Han Dynasty, spoke very highly of these beacon systems, and believed that "the beacon fire is lucky" is a good way to "wait for work with leisure" ("Hanshu·Zhao Chongguo Biography").There is a Han bamboo slip unearthed in Juyan that vividly describes how the Han army avoided losses due to the timely beacon signal: "At five o'clock in the morning...the soldiers at Linmu Sui raised the signal flag and lit the fire. A signal pyre. The enemy later retreated to the northwest without causing any losses" ("Jiandu Research and Translation Collection", according to the translation of the British scholar Lu Weiyi).

The military communication of Fenghuo was also widely used in the mainland at that time.It is recorded in the notebook novels that Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty sent general Liu Shang to attack Wuxi Yi, and the three brothers Tian, ​​the leader of the Yi, guarded a city each, and they jointly named it Fenghuo.One day, the youngest caught a white turtle, so he held up a beacon to invite the two elder brothers to a banquet and had a delicious meal together.When Liu Shang's soldiers came to ask for it, the third child raised the beacon fire again, and the two elder brothers thought it was still a trivial matter, so they didn't rush to rescue him.The third child fought alone and was finally defeated.This example shows that other dynasties also had people like the "Princes of Fenghuo Opera", and they all ended up ruined.

While beacon fires were widely used as military communications in the Han Dynasty, general postal post military communications were also very important and often complemented each other.The messengers between military organizations are generally served by garrison soldiers.They are sometimes used as a supplement to the beacon communication: when it is rainy and wet that day and the beacon cannot be lit for a while, the army can immediately send flying cavalry or fast runners to deliver information to the brother fortress.A rule of beacon towers left in the Han Dynasty, "The Treaty of Beacon Fire Products on the Fortress", mentioned: When the Huns entered the fortress, it was windy or rainy, and those who did not burn the beacon fire urgently passed on the call, and people galloped and galloped.That's what I said above.