Chapter 61 Section 14 Zhang Xianzhong, a young man from northern Shaanxi

Although Zhang Xianzhong, the famous leader of the Peasant Army in the late Ming Dynasty, was famous, we actually know very little about him.Historians have spent all their pen and ink on Zhang's "cruel and easy to kill". Regarding other deeds, there is very little to be found. What we can know for sure is that he was born in the thirty-fourth year of Wanli (AD 1606), which was the time when the Wanli emperor's passive sabotage became more and more extreme, and the demise of the Ming Dynasty had already been foreshadowed at this time.At this time, Europe, after the Renaissance and the Religious Revolution, was on the eve of brushing shoulders with China and surpassing China.

In that year, apart from the birth of the later leader of the peasant uprising, nothing else of great importance happened in the world.If you search hard, you can also list a few events that can barely be regarded as major events: Shakespeare in England wrote the classic "Macbeth" in that year; In this year, Europeans first discovered Australia when they went east to find gold and spices; it was also in this year that the recipe for chocolate drinks became popular in the West. Zhang Xianzhong is a native of Yan'an. On the Loess Plateau, he is a young man from northern Shaanxi who is wrapped in a white sheep belly towel, has a dark face, red cheeks, and a smile showing a mouthful of white teeth.He should be able to sing a few lines of Xintianyou, but it's hard to say how good he is.

Of course he was born in poverty.My ancestors are military members, that is, professional soldiers. At that time, soldiers were looked down upon as lowly professions. "A good man does not serve as a soldier, and a good iron does not make nails." In his father's generation, he finally escaped and became a peddler who traveled around the village to sell some needles and thread.During the slack season, my mother wove kang mats and went to the market to sell them to subsidize the family.I should have suffered from hunger, cold, hardship, and bullying by the children of the landlord's family since I was a child.These are safe guesses.

It is said that like Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong was forced to twist his neck by his parents and sent him to a private school for two years. Helpless nature and books are not close, can not sit still.In the two years in the private school, he fought countless fights with his classmates, but he didn't remember a few big characters. His parents had no choice but to let him herd his sheep and hang out with the middle-aged and young children in the village all day long. In Dingbian, northern Shaanxi, the folk customs are aggressive, and people like to dance with knives and sticks in their spare time, not only for self-defense, but also for entertainment.Zhang Xianzhong is quite talented in this way, and he practiced it with dedication.His nature is straightforward and bold.

"He is tall and strong, his voice is like thunder, and his face is yellowish." His friend nicknamed him "Yellow Tiger". Unofficial history said that he was "so cunning in conspiracy" and "long-term, benefiting rogues".Soon he was invincible all over the neighborhood and eight villages, and became a "famous" figure among young people. The cultural life in the countryside is poor, and when I have nothing to do, I can only gather a few friends who are also brave and ruthless, and go to the small tavern in the town. Bragging, "teach me some guns and sticks", talk about "the activities of heroes in the world", "show off the affairs of many heroes in my chest".Bring half a catty of leftover wine back, steal a chicken or a few handfuls of broad beans along the way, find someone to gamble for the night, and go home the next day to be scolded by my mother, all of which are part of the title.