◇ 文|本刊記者 陳科龍 圖| 游 宇

“一方遺址一段歷史，千年皇帝萬年土司。”為追尋那隱匿在深山的土司城，跟隨歲月的腳步，我們在石柱縣悅崍鎮(zhèn)新城村邂逅了一座古橋。

青石古橋凝結(jié)著絲絲墨綠青苔，橋頭上斷裂的石碑上碑文雖已風(fēng)化模糊，落款的“大清”二字卻足以激起好奇之心，牽引我們打探一段塵封的歷史。

“An ancient site rewrites the vicissitudes of history.”With the expectation of pleasure from visiting Tusi ancient city in mountainous regions, we came across an old bridge in Xincheng Village, Yuelai Town, Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County.

The stone-bridge was covered by dark green moss, and the inscription on the broken tablet at bridgehead was blurred by weathering. Yet the word “Da Qing” raised much more curiosity for us to explore the myth of history.

一座古橋連著一座古城An Ancient Bridge Leads to an Ancient City

聽著潺潺的流水聲，踏著青石板，誰曾料到這古橋竟是數(shù)百年前土司留下的驛道。沿著古橋放眼望去，是一片生氣盎然的開闊田野。這片身處青山綠水環(huán)繞間的地方，便是“古城壩”。

“古城”在哪里？村民馬茲昌帶我們在一壟壟田疇里找尋古城的記憶。

古城壩東側(cè)的鳳凰山腳下，沿著24級石梯拾階而上，便到了馬氏宗祠大門前的小院，兩棵古柏樹分立大門兩側(cè)，挺拔蒼翠。已是古稀之年的馬茲昌從小生長在這里，也弄不清古樹的真實年歲。

“要說馬氏宗祠的故事，就得從南宋的馬定虎將軍說起?！笔h文史愛好者秦文洲是悅崍人，知道不少掌故?！鞍蛧龊?，巴人后裔散落在九溪十八峒，也就是如今的渝鄂湘黔交界地帶。由于生產(chǎn)力低下，加之生活困頓，他們常常起兵，于是鎮(zhèn)守、羈縻、土司等政策應(yīng)運(yùn)而生?！?/p>

南宋初年，西南苗人叛亂。建炎三年（1129年），宋高宗派陜西扶風(fēng)郡武將馬定虎將軍自中原率兵經(jīng)湖北建始入川，前往九溪十八峒平定苗亂。馬定虎將軍平定苗亂后，朝廷嘉獎其為石柱安撫司，并由其子孫世襲其職，節(jié)制九溪十八峒。

傳說在平亂后，馬將軍帶領(lǐng)千軍萬馬路過古城壩，他的戰(zhàn)馬突然仰天長嘯臥地不走，馬定虎將軍于是將此處作為石柱安撫司的治所，并在此修筑衙署。

Listening to the sound of flowing water and stepping on the flagstone, hardly could we have ever expected the bridge to be the post of transporting supplies and informing military situations centuries ago.Looking over the bridge, there was an exuberant open field, and the place surrounded by green mountains and clear water was branded as“Ancient City Dam (Guchengba)”.

Where was the “Ancient City”? Villager Ma Zichang brought us to pursue the memory of this city in the ridges of farmlands.

At the foot of Phoenix Mountain on the east side of the Guchengba, along the stone ladder with 24 stages, we came to the courtyard in front of Ma’s Ancestral Hall, with two straight and verdant cypresses separated the front door. Ma aged 70 grew up here yet he could not tell the exact age of the tree.

“The story of Ma’s Ancestral Hall dated back to General Ma Dinghu in Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).” An enthusiast of literature and history named Qin Wenzhou recounted numerous examples of anecdotes. “After the extinction of Ba State, their descendants scattered in Jiuxishibadong, the boundary of Chongqing Municipality, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou Province. They often rose up because of low productivity and poverty, which facilitated the formation of garrison, regulation and chieftain policies.”

In the early years of Southern Song Dynasty,Hmong (Miao) in the Southwest started rebellion. In the third year of Jianyan (1129), Emperor Gaozong sent General Ma Dinghu to suppress the insurrection. He succeeded and was honored by Gaozong to be pacification commission (or Anfusi), and his descendants were permitted to enjoy inheritance rights.

It was said that General Ma led hordes of troops and horses passing through Guchengba after the chaos. Suddenly, his horse stopped and yelled to the sky.This unusual phenomenon made General Ma feel it destined to make the place as government workplace.

祠堂里的馬氏記憶Memories of Ma in Ancestral Hall

傳說歸傳說，如今看來，馬定虎將軍把安撫司衙署設(shè)在古城壩并非心血來潮，而是體現(xiàn)了一位將軍對于“扎營”的軍事素養(yǎng)。

安撫司的主要職責(zé)是養(yǎng)兵，以預(yù)防和節(jié)制溪峒蠻亂。古城壩外圍三面環(huán)水，一面靠山，四周群峰環(huán)抱，易守難攻。古城壩內(nèi)地勢平坦，稻田千畝，修城駐兵也不愁糧草。此外，這里到縣城南賓不出百里，并有川鄂湘古道相通，易于統(tǒng)率軍旅。

站在馬氏宗祠的小院，聽著馬氏土司的故事，讓人恍惚間有穿越之感。這座建于乾隆五十三年的馬氏宗祠，距今已有230年歷史，如今依然能在祠堂內(nèi)外尋見馬氏后人憑吊先祖的記憶。

“以前這里還有個內(nèi)外八字的大朝門，可惜后來被人拆了。”自稱土司后裔的馬茲昌招手叫我們到小院的右側(cè)，張開手臂比劃著以前朝門的位置和形狀，“朝門外的24步梯子原來也是在右邊，大概20年前被整體搬到了現(xiàn)在的位置?！睆睦像R口中得知，與朝門一同消失的，還有兩棵古柏樹間一堵高約一丈五的院墻，上面繪有一輪大太陽。

馬氏宗祠的大門上還刻有栩栩如生的征戰(zhàn)石浮雕，是石柱土司馬千乘夫人秦良玉血戰(zhàn)渾河的悲壯畫面。大門兩旁是一副石刻楹聯(lián)：“世系傳之漢朝將軍門第，苗裔遺于石柱巨族人家。”說的是，作為漢朝伏波將軍馬援之后，馬氏土司逐漸定居石柱，延續(xù)至今。

門楹下表面是一幅石刻的太極陰陽魚，大門附近還可見引導(dǎo)內(nèi)院流水的排水設(shè)施。環(huán)繞馬氏宗祠外墻，石頭柱基上雕刻著各種花草紋飾。

進(jìn)入大門便是天井，過天井上七步石梯是供堂，以前供奉有馬氏祖先的牌位，如今卻已不見蹤影。右?guī)績?nèi)，一塊《馬氏源流碑記》和兩塊殘缺不全的碑刻并排鑲嵌在墻壁上。

透過蒼勁的筆法，隱約可從石碑上的589個楷體小字中，尋見石柱土司馬氏的來龍去脈，亦能感受當(dāng)年馬氏保境安民、平蠻征夷的光輝歷史。

Legend was legend. General Ma built Anfusi Department in Guchengba representing a general’s cultivated manner in “choosing military base” instead of prompting by a sudden impulse.

The main responsibility for Anfusi was to maintain and train armies for the defense of chaos in Xidong (areas where southwestern minority people lived). Guchengba, embraced on three sides by green hills and one side by a range of hills, was easy to hold but hard to attack. Inside of Guchengba, plain terrain and extending paddy fields saved the worries of army provisions when building the city and stationing troops. Besides, connected with Sichuan,Hubei and Hunan province, Guchengba was not far away from Nanbin County, making it much easier to control military troops.

A sense of time travel welled up in our heart when standing in the courtyard of Ma’s Ancestral Hall while listening to Tusi’s stories. Built in the 53th year of Emperor Qianlong, the Hall had a history of 230 years. Today, we could still find the traces of mourning Ma’s ancestors.

“There was a magnificent splayed gate, yet it was relentlessly torn down.” Ma, who claimed to be a descendant of Tusi, called us to the right side of the courtyard, trying to reproduce former grandeur of the gate. “The 24-step ladder outside the gate was also on the right and later moved to the present position." It was known from Ma that, together with the gate, the courtyard wall with a bright sunshine on it between two ancient trees also vanished.

The gate of the Hall was also carved with lifelike expedition sculpture, which showed Qin Liangyu,wife of Shizhu Tusi Ma Qiancheng, engaged in the battle of Hun River, solemn and stirring. It was said that since Eastern Han dynasty, General Ma Yuan,also known by his official title General Fubo, Ma’s Tusi continued to settle down here. Until now, we were very lucky to catch a glimpse of it.

The lower surface of the gate was a stonecarved yin-yang fish. Near the gate were facilities used to drain off water in inner courtyard. On the outer wall of the Hall was stone plinth carved with various flowers and patterns.

Entering the gate, we arrived at the courtyard.After crossing the yard, along the 7-step stone ladder, we came to the Hall. Previously there were memorial tablets to worship Ma’s ancestors, but now it is gone. Inside the right wing, two broken tablets and one complete tablet inscribed Ma's origin were inlaid abreast in the wall.

Through the vigorous and bold handwriting,589 Chinese characters on the stone tablet were still faintly visible, from where we could figure out Ma’s origin and could feel Ma’s glorious history of resisting invasion and safeguarding state sovereignty.

地名里的土司古城Tusi Ancient City: Name and History

閑聊間隙，馬茲昌從兜里掏出一桿自制的竹柄煙斗，點(diǎn)燃煙斗里的煙葉并深吸了兩口，不無遺憾地說，“可惜古城沒了。”

古城什么時候被毀如今無人知曉，《石柱縣志》上僅有明朝土司馬克用將衙署從古城壩搬遷至南賓鎮(zhèn)獅子壩的記載。想來，應(yīng)該是明朝以后的事了。

離開馬氏宗祠，馬茲昌帶我們穿過一條田間小路，來到了古城壩的一處高地。這個如今叫樓腳莊院的地方，身后是百米高的石崖，三面有護(hù)城河守護(hù)，是馬定虎將軍當(dāng)年設(shè)立土司衙署的遺址。

每一段歷史總會留下痕跡，一如我們在田野間看到的不少石墩、地基石、斷壁殘垣和考古遺址。除卻這些，土司城還以地名的形式昭告世人它的存在。

秦文洲告訴我們，土司衙署東邊200米的地方叫“倉樓上”，再往東100米的地方叫“大樓上”，衙署前方約500米的那塊大平壩叫“旗豎榜”。這些地名都和土司城有關(guān)，“倉樓上”以前是儲備糧倉的地方，“大樓上”是以前的官軍營房，而“旗豎榜”則就是插旗的地方，是士兵操練演習(xí)的場所。

“進(jìn)古城壩還有一個叫‘下店子’的地方?！薄跋碌曜印本褪亲÷玫甑囊馑?，外來人員可不是想進(jìn)城就能進(jìn)的，都是住在城外的“店子”里，等待召見。

離開古城壩時，古橋在水中的倒影彌散開來，想到腳下的這座石橋也曾被800多年前的馬定虎將軍踩過，便覺得生出一股格外的豪氣。

During our chat, Ma Zichang took out a selfmade bamboo stalk pipe from his pocket. He lit the tobacco leaf in his pipe and inhaled deeply while lamenting for the loss.

It was unknown when the ancient city was destroyed. Yet Shizhu County Annals recorded Tusi Ma Keyong in Ming Dynasty relocated his workplace from Guchengba to Shiziba, Nanbin Town, hence the destruction might date back to the fall of Ming Dynasty.

After leaving the Hall, Ma took us through a field path and came to a highland of Guchengba. This manor was the site of General Ma Dinghu who set his Tusi workplace at the edge of a precipitous cliff with moats on other three sides.

There would always be traces of history, as we saw many stone piers, cornerstones, broken walls and archaeological sites in these fields. In addition to these traces, Tusi City also proclaimed its existence as a place name.

Qin Wenzhou told us that 200 meters to the east of Tusi office was a warehouse for grain reservation,called "Cangloushang". Another 100 meters was"Daloushang" where troops and officials worked and lived. Roughly 500 meters ahead of government office was “Shuqibang”, a place used to insert flags and practice military tactics.

Inside Guchengba, there was a place called Xiadianzi, which means staying in a hotel. Outsiders were not allowed to enter Guchengba, if any, they had to live outside waiting for the call.

When we left Guchengba, the reflection of ancient bridge in the river dispersed. At this moment, I felt so proud when I thought that General Ma Dinghu had also walked on the stone bridge more than 800 years ago.