During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the feudal rule represented by the Zhu Ming Dynasty was on the verge of extreme decay.The corruption of the government has directly affected the lives of farmers at the grassroots level. Coupled with successive years of natural disasters, there has been no harvest.Instead of appropriating funds for relief, the imperial court intensified the collection of taxes, forcing farmers to abandon their fields and raise the banner of rebellion to attack the decaying Ming Dynasty.However, what the ruling class represents is the entangled reactionary forces in the upper strata of society, and they themselves have been unable to escape the social crisis.Since the Wanli period, peasants from all over the country raised the flag of rebellion many times to attack the decadent Ming Dynasty.From the later period of Wanli to the reign of Tianqi, the sky of the whole of China has been covered with dark clouds, and there is a faint sound of thunder from time to time.Those small and medium-scale regional peasant uprisings were like bursts of glaring lightning, not only uncovering the darkness covering the earth, but also more powerfully heralding that a large-scale storm was coming.

In the seventh year of the Apocalypse, a peasant uprising broke out in Chengcheng County, Shaanxi, which officially opened the prelude to the peasant war in the late Ming Dynasty. Chengcheng was a very poor county at that time, and most of its territory was valleys.The land is barren and there are few fertile fields.Many local farmers fled because they could not afford the heavy taxes imposed by the government, leaving large tracts of land uncultivated.However, there are still many farmers from other counties who migrated to reclaim the land.After the apocalypse, due to the increasing oppression of the government and the successive years of natural disasters, the loss of population has increased again.Under such circumstances, the Ming government not only did not try to provide relief, but even further forced money to pay for food.The peasants with all their marrow and blood were driven to nowhere, and felt that it would be better to raise their poles to survive than to die under the stick.

On February 25th, Zhang Douyao, the magistrate of Chengcheng County, was sitting in the courtroom to collect taxes and grains. Most of the farmers who came to pay grains were empty-handed.Zhang Douyao was furious, and immediately circled the peasants by force, saying: "Paying taxes is the most basic obligation of peasants, but now you come here empty-handed, are you making fun of me?" A farmer stood up and said, "Don't be angry, my lord. You don't know. In recent years, natural disasters have continued, the land has been severely drought, and there has been no harvest. We have problems with food and clothing. How can we have food for you?"

Zhang Douyao immediately scolded him with a stern face: "This has nothing to do with the official. If there is no food tax, it is a violation of the military order. According to the Ming Dynasty's laws, those who violate the tax payment will be executed!" The farmer still wanted to argue, but several yamen servants had pulled him out, beat him and kicked him, and sent him to prison. Zhang Douyao turned around and asked other farmers: "I set a precedent to warn you that the consequences of resisting taxes are a death penalty. If anyone refuses to accept it, you can try again and see if it is your stubbornness or the strict law!"

There is a villager in Chengcheng named Wang Er, who has practiced martial arts since he was a child. He is tall and strong, and can carry a millstone and walk for several miles without being out of breath.Wang Er is also a well-known figure in the city. With his martial arts skills, he fought for many poor villagers.After a long time, the villagers came to Wang Er for consultation whenever they encountered problems, and Wang Er was also willing to help.In fact, he has been full of complaints about this kind of life for a long time, and the complaints are the complaints. Once the peasants are really called to rebel, they may be killed as soon as they come out. He suppressed this thought in his heart. He was waiting for an opportunity. Now that opportunity has surfaced.

Wang Er was feeling bored in the house, when he suddenly heard a bustling noise from outside.Wang Er was about to open the door to see in doubt, when a crying sound suddenly sounded from outside the door.The voice cried out: "Hero Wang, you have to make the decision for us, we can't live through this day, if this continues, it's not good to die..." Wang Er heard clearly and knew something must have happened.Opening the door, I saw a dozen or so villagers kneeling in the yard.Wang Er was a little flustered, and hurriedly said: "Why are you folks doing this, get up quickly."

The leader is a butcher who sells meat in the village. Although he is a butcher, he hasn’t killed animals for a long time. The villagers can’t even afford a full meal. How can they afford to raise animals, let alone eat meat? .The butcher wiped his tears and said: "Hero Wang, Zhang Douyao forced the grain to pay taxes, and some villagers stood up and argued, and they were put in prison and were about to be executed. You know, Hero Wang, that the villagers have even solved their own food and clothing problems. No, there is no food left for the imperial court! You must help the villagers vent their anger." The butcher pointed to the crying woman next to him and said, "Her family has five or six people, and her husband alone bears the responsibility. , now her husband's life or death is uncertain, he is being held in a big prison, and he will be questioned and executed at any time, so their family will really be unable to live." As soon as the butcher finished speaking, the woman broke down in tears.

At this time, Wang Er's heart was already filled with anger, he never expected that the government would squeeze the villagers to such an extent.That decision began to stir in his mind, he called the butcher and a few strong villagers into the room, and let the other villagers go back first. After closing the door, Wang Er said in a deep voice: "Thanks to the people who trust me so much, in fact, I have always had a plan in my heart, but I feel that the time is not ripe, so I dare not make a decision lightly." He turned around and said: "The people present Everyone in the village should be able to speak, today I will tell you this decision, I hope you can give me your opinion."

"We don't have any opinions, just tell us if you have any plans," said the butcher. Wang Er was silent for a moment and said: "The corruption of the Ming court has reached an irreversible point. The peasants are in dire straits. They ignore them and even try to exploit them in different ways. Farmers in many places have raised the banner of uprising But they all ended in failure. I have been thinking that if we do what they did, it is very likely that we will repeat the same mistakes. So I decided..." He paused, looked at the crowd and continued: "Decided to wait for a chance, Zhang Douyao's use of force to collect taxes has already made the peasants grieve, and they wished to tear him to pieces, we can use this to mobilize the peasants' emotions."

Someone asked: "How to drive?" Wang Er said: "The Ming court is no longer able to seek happiness for the people of the world. This is an indisputable fact. But if the peasants were to fight against the powerful Ming court, it would definitely cause boos. Comparing the two, It’s the difference between heaven and earth. So I’ve been thinking, if we want to get through this step, we must find a breakthrough. Zhang Douyao just created an opportunity for us to get in. Our superficial slogan is ‘Down with Zhang Douyao’, it’s true The purpose is to overthrow the Ming court. This is like a hurdle, if the peasants jump over this hurdle, those so-called worries should be wiped away. This is the most critical point in the victory or defeat of the uprising."

The butcher nodded and said: "I understand. You are worried that the folks are afraid of the strength of the Ming court and dare not openly confront the court. Using the Zhang Douyao incident, you can skillfully break free from the ropes that bind the folks. After defeating Zhang Douyao After that, I will use my vigor to fight against the imperial court." "Because there have been many peasant uprisings before, but they all ended in failure, so they must think that the result of confronting the court is self-destruction. The only way to dispel the fear of the peasants is to put the target Keep it short, and then proceed step by step, and unconsciously generate the idea of ​​​​resisting the imperial court." Wang Er said. Wang Er's words caught everyone's eyes. They were all hot-blooded men. Wang Er's analysis of the situation made every sentence reasonable, and none of the people present raised any objections. It was almost noon, and the bright sunlight squeezed in through the gaps in the windows, and the scattered light formed a bright pattern in the room, as if foreshadowing something.Wang Er straightened up and said, "There was a rumor in ancient times that a village was looted by water bandits. The villagers were terrified of the menacing water bandits. Although the water bandits were small in number, they were all ruthless characters. At that time, someone stood up and said to the villagers: I have been to the lair of the water pirates. The people there are not as many as us, and the men who plant the crops are not as strong. So the villagers don’t have to be afraid, as long as we have the confidence to win , it was a breeze to take back all the looted properties by boat. The villagers were moved by this man's words, and they stood up one after another, eager to try. As a result, the water bandits were defeated, and all the looted properties were returned. Take it back. In fact, what I want to tell you is that if you have the idea of ​​an uprising, you should have the determination to revolt. The villagers can’t figure it out, we can follow the example of this story to guide them to figure it out. The water bandits are not like that People said they were so incompetent, and what he said was to give the villagers a Pill of Bisheng before they set off. Now we give the villagers the same Pill of Bisheng, and take Zhang Douyao, who is provoking trouble." Wang Er's words couldn't be more clear, and everyone kept nodding their heads while listening. With such a way of strengthening confidence first, it has indeed avoided many difficult problems. The next day, Wang Er called the peasants to raise the flag of rebellion on the mountain, imitating Zhang Jiao's "Heaven is dead, Huang Tian should stand" and called on the peasants to revolt.The peasants were in high spirits and elected Wang Er as the leader.Wang Er ordered everyone's faces to be blackened with ink, and shouted: "Zhang Douyao exploited the peasants for life and death. Get rid of all corrupt officials!" He then shouted: "Who dares to kill Zhang Zhixian." Everyone replied in unison: "I dare to kill!" The voice almost resounded throughout the mountains. Immediately, Wang Er led hundreds of farmers down from the mountain and went straight to the Chengcheng county government office. The mighty uprising team surrounded the county government, and the gatekeeper was so frightened that he ran to the inner hall to inform Zhang Douyao, who was so frightened that he hid.Wang Er took the lead in breaking in, hacked several yamen servants to death, and the rest of the yamen servants fled in all directions.Wang Er grabbed a yamen servant and asked, "Where's Zhang Douyao?" The yamen servant was so "blurred" that he couldn't speak, and pointed towards the inner hall with trembling hands. Wang Er led the crowd into the inner hall, searched out Zhang Douyao who was hiding, and dragged him into the court. Sitting on the high hall, Wang Erduan patted Xingmu hard and shouted: "Who is kneeling under the stage?" Zhang Douyao was so frightened that his soul almost went out of his body, and it took a long time before he said in a trembling voice: "My official is Zhang Douyao, the county magistrate of Chengcheng." "What a magistrate of Chengcheng County, Zhang Douyao, are you convicted?" "I advise you to stop and let me go. I will definitely not pursue it and report it to the court. If you insist on making trouble like this, it will be a matter of time before you are punished by the court!" Zhang Douyao tried his best to calm his fear, thinking Shock Wang Er with words. "Bah! Don't play with me, you corrupt official who deceives you, we worked so hard to get a little food, but it's all in your pocket, and the court doesn't know. You know the food What is it? That’s our fate! Today’s disasters continue for years, the fields are drought-stricken, and the crops are not harvested. We don’t even have the most basic meal, but you spend a lot of time. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want an official like you, now we are here to replace you. Heaven will do what is right, and we will eradicate you, a corrupt official, for the imperial court!" "You are spitting blood, you want to rebel!" Zhang Douyao shouted. "Yes, rebellion, rebellion for the lives of the people, rebellion for the sake of not starving to death for all poor people. Do you think such a rebellion is worth it!" Wang Erchao shouted. "It's worth it, kill this dog official who exploits the people, kill him!" The shouts of the crowd resounded through the courtroom, and their emotions were aroused. Wang Er waved his hand, and everyone understood, some took knives, some took sticks and hoes, and surrounded Zhang Douyao. Wang Er hung Zhang Douyao's body on the flagpole on the street to show the public. Many people came to watch and shouted Wang Er's name. When the court heard about this, it immediately sent the governor and troops to suppress it.In order to avoid being implicated, the Wang family moved to live in Jiangjiahe.At this time, the rising rebels all over the country also raised their flags one after another, and farmers and hungry soldiers from all over the country responded one after another. A prairie fire that swept across the country was ignited like this.