Legend of the Name Huangshi Village
After Zhang Liang retired to Zhangjiajie, he devoted himself to alchemy and immortality cultivation. One day, villagers from the foot of the slope reported: the governor of Wuling Commandery had received a secret decree from Empress Lü to arrest him. Enraged, Zhang Liang took his alchemy gourd, led his disciples and villagers, carried provisions, drove pigs, sheep, and oxen, and headed straight for the highest and largest peak of Qingyan Mountain to set up camp, establish defenses, forge weapons, and swear...
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Huangshizhai
After Zhang Liang retired to Zhangjiajie, he devoted himself to alchemy and Daoist cultivation. Suddenly one day, villagers from the foot of the slope reported: the Prefect of Wuling Commandery had received a secret edict from Empress Lü and was coming to arrest him. Hearing this, Zhang Liang was furious. He took his alchemy gourd, led his disciples and the mountain people, carried provisions, drove pigs, sheep, and oxen, and headed straight for the highest and largest peak of Qingyan Mountain. There they set up camp, established checkpoints, forged swords and arrows, and vowed to fight the Prefect of Wuling Commandery to the death.
Within a few days, sure enough, the Prefect of Wuling Commandery led three thousand troops to surround the mountain stronghold. Zhang Liang defended by relying on the terrain, strictly guarding the checkpoints, rolling down boulders and shooting flying arrows, beating back the Prefect's troops so they dared not approach. They besieged for forty-nine days, yet still could not break through the gates or capture Zhang Liang. The Prefect grew impatient, cut down trees, spread dry grass, and launched a fire attack. But the cliffs were too high, and the flames could not reach the top. The Prefect then ordered the mountain surrounded and besieged, for a full three months, hoping to starve Zhang Liang and his men to death on the mountain.
This tactic was indeed formidable. The grain carried up the mountain was eaten up, the pigs, oxen, and sheep were all slaughtered, the warhorses were killed too, and still it was not enough. They had no choice but to gather the bones of the pigs, oxen, and sheep, burn them in fire, grind them into powder, and mix with water to eat. In the end, even the bones were eaten up, and some collapsed on the ground from hunger, unable to rise.
In this moment of extreme crisis, Zhang Liang thought of Old Man Huangshi who had given him the military texts—only he could send a teacher to break the siege. So he lit incense, candles, and spirit money, knelt on both knees, and bowed to heaven, beseeching his master. After bowing three times, a wisp of white smoke suddenly rose from the ground, and from the smoke emerged a white-bearded old man. He was seen holding a whisk, lightly brushing it a few times in the air, then slowly shrank back into the white smoke. When the white smoke dispersed, the old man was gone.
Zhang Liang, still kneeling on the ground, was staring blankly, unable to understand the meaning, when suddenly someone ran up joyfully to report: three carp had leaped out of the Heavenly Pool, each weighing over a hundred jin! Zhang Liang was quite puzzled—we draw water and wash here every day, how could we never have seen these hundred-jin carp? He hurried over to look, and indeed saw three large carp being carried ashore by everyone. His disciples, their eyes dim with hunger, said with endless joy: "Master, the brothers have all collapsed from hunger. Let's cook these three carp and eat them!"
Zhang Liang pondered for a moment, then shook his head and waved his hand, saying: "No!"
The brothers, astonished, opened their eyes wide and asked: "What, these fish can't be eaten?"
Zhang Liang gave no explanation, but ordered: "Throw all three fish off the cliff!"
The brothers, starving to the point of death, would have loved to bite into raw fish. When Zhang Liang shouted to throw them off the cliff, no one understood why he would do this, but none dared disobey. They lifted the three live, fresh carp and staggered toward the cliff, throwing them down one after another.
The fresh fish landed below the rocks, startling the besieging soldiers, who rushed to report to the Prefect. The Prefect came to look, and it was like a blown-up pig's bladder pricked with an awl—it deflated with a hiss. His face turned ashen, his whole body went limp, and listlessly he waved his hand and said: "Stop the siege, withdraw..."
The soldiers asked in astonishment: "Why stop the siege?"
The governor said in disappointment, "There are still live carp weighing a hundred jin on the stockade. Can they starve the people out?"
The governor's troops withdrew. Zhang Liang said happily, "You don't know—it was my master, Old Man Huang Shi, who bestowed the heavenly fish to save me!"
Only then did his brothers suddenly understand, and they deeply admired Zhang Liang's great wisdom and strategy. Later, to commemorate his master Old Man Huang Shi, Zhang Liang named this nameless mountain stockade Huangshi Stockade.