704 years ago today, on August 23, 1321 (July 30, 1321 lunar calendar), Zhang Shicheng, the leader of the peasant uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, was born. Zhang Shicheng (1321-1367), one of the leaders of the Rebel Army and one of the local separatist forces at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Dongtai Baiju Chang (later Dongtai precipitated Dafeng County, now belongs to Zhangjiadun, Dafeng Township, Dafeng City), nicknamed Jiusi, was born a salt seller, and was of the Han nationality. Among the leaders of the anti-Yuan uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a saying that " (Chen) Youming was the most powerful, and (Zhang) Shicheng was the richest". He was buried in Xietang, Wuxian County after his In the first year of Yuan Yingzong's reign (August 23, 1321 AD), on the 30th day of the seventh lunar month, Zhang Shicheng was born in a poor family of "pavilion people" in Baiju Farm, Xingdongtai. Zhang Shicheng's original name was 94, and he was born as a salt transporter. Due to the oppression of salt officials, in the thirteenth year (1353), he and his younger brother Zhang Shiyi, Zhang Shide, Zhang Shixin and salt seller Li Bosheng raised an army against the Yuan, and soon he captured Taizhou, Xinghua, Gaoyou and other important towns in Jiangbei. In the first month of the fourteenth year (1354), he founded the country in Gaoyou, called the Great Zhou, and called himself the King of Cheng, with Tianyou as the era name. In September of the 14th year of Zhengzheng (1354), the right prime minister of Yuan Taishi led a heavy army to attack Gaoyou southward. In November, he defeated Zhang Shicheng's army outside the city, and Shicheng retreated to the city to defend. In December, the Yuan army captured the outer city. In a critical moment, Emperor Yuan Shundi listened to the slander and relieved him of the right to withdraw from the army. He changed generals in battle, and the Yuan army was scattered. The Shicheng army took the opportunity to counterattack and defeated the Yuan army. In the 16th year of Zhengzheng (1355), Zhang Shicheng continued to develop southward, invading Pingjiang Road (now Suzhou City) and changing Pingjiang Road to Longping Mansion. In the 17th year of Zhengzheng (1357), Pingzhang, Daxi, and Mu You sent Yang Wanzhi to attack Zhang Shicheng. Zhang Shicheng surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty due to the situation of being attacked by the Yuan army and Fang Guozhen, and was named a captain. In the 18th year of Zhengzheng (1358), he adopted a strategy of differentiation and joined forces with Dachi Tiemu You to attack Yang Wanzhe, and Yang Wanzhe committed suicide. Zhang Shicheng was arrogant and lewd, taking the opportunity of Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang's war, his power continued to expand, and he had a separatist strength from Xuzhou in the north to Shaoxing in the south, supporting hundreds of thousands of troops; and he had transported more than 100,000 stones of grain to Dadu (Beijing) many times. In March of the 23rd year (1363), Lu Zhen was dispatched to attack Liu Futong's department of the Red Scarf Army in Anfeng, forcing Liu Futong and Han Liner to join Zhu Yuanzhang. In September, Zhang Shicheng called himself King Wu, and took his younger brother Zhang Shixin as prime minister. He joined the army with Huang Jingfu, Cai Yanwen, and Ye Dexin, and no longer submitted to the Yuan Dynasty; the following year, Zhu Yuanzhang was also called "King Wu"; Luo Guanzhong, the author of the famous novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", also served in Zhang Shicheng's office. Zhang Shicheng and Zhu Yuanzhang's forces were constantly at war, and Zhang's ministry was conveniently located near the sea with fishing salt. There were times when Japanese pirate forces secretly supported it. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the implementation of the "sea ban policy" was not unscrupulous (including the later rebellion case of General Lan Yu). Zhu Yuanzhang weakened Zhang Shicheng step by step by "first taking Tongtai prefectures and counties, cutting Shicheng's elbow wings, and then taking western Zhejiang" [2]; after Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated Chen Youming, in the 25th year (1366) Zhu Yuanzhang began to attack Zhang Shicheng's forces, Zhang Shicheng's brother Zhang Shide You defeated the Ming army (Ming army general Xu Da used to say: "Only fear Zhang Shide"), but the horse of Shide went crazy, was captured by Xu Da's striker Zhao Desheng, and died of hunger strike in Jinling. Shicheng's strength was greatly lost; in the 26th year (1367), Pingjiang, where Zhang Shicheng lived, was surrounded in December; in September, Pingjiang City was breached, Zhang Shicheng was captured, and then escorted to Yingtian (now Nanjing), hanged himself, and was rescued by the ministry Come down. On the boat escorted to Yingtian, the history of the Ming Dynasty recorded him "To Jinling, he actually hanged himself to death, forty-seven years old. He was buried in a coffin." On the 30th day of the seventh lunar month, Zhang Shicheng was born in a poor family of "Tingmin" in Baiju Field, Xingdongtai. Subsequently, his three younger brothers, Shiyi, Shide and Shixin, were also born one after another. Taizhou, known as Hailing in ancient times, is located in the throat of northern Jiangsu. Due to the developed local salt industry, it was one of the main sources of salt tax in China in the past dynasties. In the first year of the Southern Tang Dynasty (937 AD), the rulers upgraded Hailing from a county to a state, named Taizhou, which means peace and stability. Taizhou has been one of the main salt producers on the southeast coast since ancient times. In the Yuan Dynasty, there were 36 salt farms in Binhai, Taizhou, which belonged to the two Huai salt transportation departments. Zhang Shicheng's Baiju farm was one of them. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the government was corrupt and the fiscal revenue could not make ends meet. In order to make up for the expanding government expenses and military expenditures, the rulers issued a large number of salt inducements and continuously raised the price of salt. The salt industry became the most important source of income for the state finance. According to historical records, from the 13th year of Yuan to the 13th year of Yuan (AD 1276) to the second year of Yanyou of Yuan Renzong (AD 1315), the price of salt rose sixteen times. Although the price of salt continued to rise, the salt people in the southeast coast still had no way to live. Taizhou is located on the southeast coast. Every summer, it will be hit by typhoons and the tide will flow backwards. The sea water receded, and the original thousand-tilted fertile fields were turned into saline-alkali land, and the local farmers were miserable. There was no harvest of crops, so the people near the salt farm could only carry salt on the official salt boat, relying on the little money earned by the coolies to support their families. "The vast sea of repulsive brine has dried up, there is no firewood at the bottom of the stove to accumulate brine, there is no way to borrow money to make a living, and five of the ten villages have fled." A local song "Salt Ding Sigh" vividly depicts the difficult situation of the salt people. In order to support their families, Zhang Shicheng has been with the villagers since the age of ten, "carrying salt on the official salt boat" of the Baiju Farm, relying on the meager income earned from selling coolies to subsidize their families. According to historical records, when he was a teenager, Zhang Shicheng "had little physical strength and was a hero". Not only was he physically strong, but he was also a man of justice and wealth. Although his family was often too poor to open the pot, whenever the villagers encountered difficulties, he always opened the purse generously and responded to requests. Gradually, Zhang Shicheng established a high prestige among the local salt people. Due to the meager income from transporting salt to the officials, Zhang Shicheng and a few brave fellow villagers started a business of selling illegal salt. While transporting salt to the government, they carried some salt with them and sold it to the rich local households. Since the Zhou Dynasty, the production and operation of salt has been monopolized by the government. It is recorded in the "Zhou Li ¡¤ Tianguan": "The salt people hold the decree of salt, and supply Pepsi with salt." Because the monopoly of salt is related to national security, the rulers of successive dynasties have severely cracked down on the private selling of salt. In the Yuan Dynasty, the relevant laws were more comprehensive. According to the "Yuan History Criminal Law Chronicle Three Food Goods", the punishment for illegal salt dealers in the Yuan Dynasty was "seventy sticks, two years of imprisonment, half of the property is not official, and half of the property is not paid to the plaintiff for the reward." The wealthy households in the White Ju Farm often threatened to report to the government, not only not to give Zhang Shicheng salt money, but also to beat or scold him. Due to their low status and the fact that selling salt illegally is illegal, Zhang Shicheng and others had to swallow their anger. In order to check the illegal salt dealers, the Yuan court set up salt police in all salt farms. There was a local salt police officer named Qiu Yi in Baiju Farm, who was responsible for supervising the work of the salt people and arresting the illegal salt dealers. This Qiu Yi not only often deducted the labor income of the salt people in Baiju Farm, but also the salt people paid tribute to him every month. If there was any omission, they would beat or scold the salt people. Zhang Shicheng and the salt people were intimidated by his lewd power and could only hold back their anger. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, armed uprisings against the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty sprang up everywhere. In the eighth year of Zhengzheng, Fang Guozhen, the leader of the peasant uprising, launched an uprising in Taizhou; in the eleventh year of Zhengzheng, Liu Futong led the Red Scarf Army uprising in Yingzhou; Guo Zixing and Sun Deya of Haozhou responded later. The struggle of the peasant rebels in various places against the rule of the Yuan Dynasty was victorious, which encouraged Zhang Shicheng. In the first month of the thirteenth year of Emperor Shun's reign (1353), Zhang Shicheng secretly contacted seventeen daring salt people and actively prepared for an armed uprising. In order to prevent the secret from being leaked, Zhang Shicheng and the others chose the location of the uprising in the grass weir field near Baiju Field. One night, 18 hot-blooded salt people joined forces in the arctic palace of the caoyan farm, grabbed the poles used to pick salt, and quietly entered the home of Qiu Yi, a salt police officer, in the cold wind, killing the bully who usually harmed the villagers. Afterwards, 18 people rushed into the homes of rich local families, opened warehouses, distributed food and money to the local people, and then burned the houses clean. Zhang Shicheng and others greatly encouraged the salt people near the caoyan farm, and they responded to Zhang Shicheng's call to join the anti-Yuan uprising army. In less than a month, the salt people uprising army led by Zhang Shicheng reached tens of thousands of people and became one of the main forces of the anti-Yuan uprising army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.