Wuli bridge is connected to Anhai of Jinjiang River on one end and Shuitou of Nan'an on the other. When I stepped onto the Wuli bridge from Anhai again, stepping on the thousand year old boulders under my feet and heading towards the water head, the years seemed to be drawing closer rapidly, and soul stirring scenes were changing before my eyes.



Anhai and Shuitou, facing each other across water since ancient times, are two ends of the same road. Before the bridge was built, it was still a shallow sea. They come and go by ferry. Thousands of people have to cross the vast waves in front of them every day. A sea route in the wind and waves makes life so fragile. At first, it was a monk of Longshan Temple who proposed to build a permanent stone bridge on this shallow sea, so that this road of life would never be invaded by wind and rain and the sea tide would never be shaken.



This was between the eighth year (1138) and the twenty second year (1152) of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty. A miracle in the history of world bridges was realized in the hands of these brave Minnan men.



For 14 years, naked craftsmen, with their shoulders and hammers in their hands, have built this longest girder stone bridge in the medieval world by laying stones weighing several tons or even tens of tons on the vast sea.



Wuli bridge, Wuli bridge, in the eyes and hearts of men in Southern Fujian, is no longer an ordinary road bridge. It is not only a miracle of creation, the crystallization of wisdom, the embodiment of strength, but also a symbol of spirit.



Fivehundred years later, there will still be a group of Southern Fujian men. Naturally, there will be no shortage of descendants of these bridge builders, who cut waves, crossed the Strait, and recovered Taiwan from the Dutch at one fell swoop. After a lapse of 22 years, another group of men from southern Fujian are fighting hard and courageously to restore the unity of the island.



Walking on the Wuli bridge, I can imagine the scene when the halberds were shining in the sun, the war horses were neighing, and teams of armed soldiers trotted through the long bridge. Wuli bridge, an important town and traffic hub in Southern Fujian, witnessed these two glorious wars.



The setting sun, reflected on the vast water, pulled out two long reflections of the Wuli bridge, which seemed to be the figures of two giants. These two giants, both of whom live in Jinjiang, were once blood soaked comrades in arms and bitter enemies. However, they have remained in history forever because they have jointly done a cause to safeguard the general interests of the nation.



Zhengchenggong grew up in Anhai Town. Throughout his youth, he spent his time at the Wuli bridge, which left him too many footprints and reveries. It was also in Anhai that he announced a break with his father who had fallen to the Qing Dynasty, and then led the army through the long Wuli bridge to embark on the journey of resisting the Qing Dynasty. Shi Lang, on the other hand, turned against Zhengchenggong. In a hurry, he sneaked out of Anhai's military camp and ran for his life through the Wuli Bridge in the moonlight. Wuli bridge has become a turning point in their lives.



Now, facing this five mile long bridge, I can only sigh.



There is a standing statue of Zhengchenggong on Fuchuan mountain in Xiamen, a Confucian general. The horse riding statue on the top of Daping mountain in Quanzhou is even more heroic and magnificent. Shi Lang's statue stands on the beach of his hometown Jinjiang Longhu. Shi Lang held his sword with both hands, and his eyes were burning. He looked directly at Taiwan and Penghu. But there was a hint of melancholy in his eyes.



The statues of the two generals standing were so majestic, while the long bridge at this time seemed to be their bodies lying quietly. Military haste sometimes leads to arrogance and even regret. And if you lie still with your breath held, you can think about connecting thousands of years and considering thousands of ways.



A history of the Southern Ming Dynasty records the touching story of two young generals who knew each other and helped each other.



At that time, Zhengchenggong called on the members of the army in the name of Ming Dynasty. Among them, the two towns under the command of Shi Lang and Shi Xian have the strongest troops and become the vanguard elite of Zheng army. After working together for five years, Zhengchenggong trusted Shi Lang very much and appointed him as Zuo Xianfeng. "All military affairs must be consulted, and the military reserve, soldiers and secret affairs must be known and planned.". The relationship between the two is very similar.



Zhengchenggong was in his twenties, and Shi Lang was three years older than him, but less than thirty years old. The town generals are all young people. Young generals are prone to quarrel. Zheng Chenggong and Shi Lang finally have a fierce conflict. Zhengchenggong ordered Shi Lang to be arrested. Shi Lang was cornered and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. The two men had a big quarrel because of their private grudges.



In 1661 A.D., Zhengchenggong led 20000 soldiers and men to set out from liaoluo Bay, Jinmen. After fierce battle, they seized Taiwan from the Dutch. This battle has written the most brilliant page of Zhengchenggong's military career. However, Zhengchenggong died of overwork in the second year after recovering Taiwan. Zheng Jing, his son, led his people to continue to fight against the Qing government and became the largest separatist power in the southeast.



Shi Lang, a talented man, was put in important position in the Qing army, from the deputy general to the commander-in-chief to the commander of the Navy. 21 years later, Shi Lang is 62 years old. He is still ambitious and ready for war to recover Taiwan. At that time, the Qing court disagreed on whether to recover Taiwan by force. Many courtiers said, "the sea is perilous, the wind and waves are unpredictable, and the victory of the long drive is difficult to count." Only Shi Lang is steadfast in his determination to claim the importance of Taiwan. If Shi Lang's initial proposal to attack Taiwan was more or less vindictive, now he has forgotten his personal gratitude and resentment. Because of this, the proposal to restore Taiwan was approved by Emperor Kangxi. Under the recommendation of the great scholar liguangdi, he finally put on his war robe and waited for the time to march into Taiwan and Penghu. In the 22nd year of Kangxi's reign (1683), Shi Lang set sail from Tongshan (Dongshan) and defeated Liu GuoXuan's army in Penghu. During this battle, Zheng's warships were lost and "all the elite were covered".



After the Qing army captured Penghu, someone said to Shi Lang, "the Duke and the Zheng family are enemies for three generations. Now there are fish in the Zheng family's cauldron and birds in the cage. Why not put out the injustice before the snow?" Shi Lang replied, "I am a country on this trip and a people's ear at the bottom. If he comes back with a piece of jade, he will be pardoned immediately. There will be no hardship for my father, father and children! What's wrong with him?" He also solemnly declared: "never take revenge! If the Taiwanese people do not kill, that is, if the Zheng family is willing to surrender, I will not kill them. Today's affairs, your affairs, do I dare to take personal grudges?"



Shi langyao's strategy of fighting in Penghu without taking Taiwan in a hurry paved the way for the peaceful recovery of Taiwan.



When the Penghu army was defeated, the Zheng clique panicked and was in chaos. During this period, Shi Lang continued to carry out political offensives. He issued the "appeasement and sincerity demonstration" and specially sent people to Taiwan to post notices, clearly expressing his sincerity for the peaceful settlement of the Taiwan issue. Under the pressure of the soldiers, Zheng Keyi sent people to Shi Lang's army to ask for the surrender of Na Tu.



On August 13, Shi Lang led the boatman to Taiwan's deer gate. The Taiwanese people "welcomed the boatman with kettles and followed him.".



The most unexpected thing for Taiwan's army and people was that Shi Lang did not cherish the past and evil, and did not remember his personal hatred. He personally led his generals to sacrifice to Zhengchenggong temple.



On August 22, Shi Lang offered a memorial service to Zhengchenggong temple. The whole memorial service is in a gentle tone, affectionate and meaningful, which shows his consistent attitude towards Zheng Chenggong and his open-minded mind. Perhaps it is precisely because of this sacrifice and this sacrifice that many people have changed their previous views on Shi Lang.



The afterglow of the setting sun plated a layer of warm color on the stone bridge, and then melted into the vast water. The two long and curved bridge shadows were like two wandering dragons nodding and whispering. I think of these two powerful men in Southern Fujian and a touching scene in Chinese history. Under the light of their swords, a rough Strait became a smooth path. For a moment, I felt that they themselves were two invisible long bridges. (huangwenshan)