These two men are both heroes of the age. If they had appeared in different dynasties, they should have been able to achieve great things. Unfortunately, history has destined this era to be a bit more lively.

  This is an elimination match, and only those who persist until the end can gain victory.

  According to Kuai Zi's theory of eating sugarcane, let's introduce a weaker one first:

  Zhang Shicheng, male, born in 1321, occupation: private salt trader, from Taizhou. Here we need to mention the industry of private salt trading which existed for a long time during the feudal era. Salt was a state-controlled commodity and could not be sold without permission, but seawater was just there, so many people saw this as a way to get rich.

  According to economic theory, monopoly inevitably leads to the degeneration and bureaucratization of industries, and ancient salt industry is no exception. Ordinary people can buy private salt that is much better than official salt at a price that is only one-third of the official price. In order to strictly control the interests of this industry, successive feudal governments, whether they were Han, Wei, Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui and Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Song and Yuan, regardless of their methods of governing the country being Taoist, Confucian or Legalist, all followed the theory of Han Feizi in dealing with this issue.

  This theory holds that ordinary people know that going to the river to pick up gold will result in the death penalty, but they still do it because of a mentality of trying their luck, so the punishment should be increased.

  The punishment for selling private salt was also increasingly severe. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, selling one dan (about 100 catties) of private salt would result in the death penalty. Everyone knows that Cheng Yaojin was a private salt seller. Looking at his appearance, he should not have sold only 100 catties of private salt. He was able to be released from prison through a general amnesty, which is indeed puzzling.

  So Zhang Shicheng's character should be clear, first of all, he should be a man who is not afraid to die, if he is afraid of death, he cannot do this. In addition, he should be a relatively wealthy person, with money, he can make many friends. Finally, he must have a deep hatred for the Yuan Dynasty's rule, because this government does not allow him to sell private salt and has executed many of his friends.

  In the 13th year of Zhizheng (1353 AD), Zhang Shicheng launched a rebellion in Taizhou. As a private salt smuggler, most of his rebel brothers were also engaged in this trade. He did not belong to the Red Turban Army, which was mainly composed of poor peasants, and this laid the groundwork for his long-term conflict with Zhu Yuanzhang.

  As one of the many rebels at that time, Zhang Shicheng's historical status was determined by a hard-won campaign.