In the turbulent years of the Republic of China, Yaojiagou in Bayuyuan, Baoji County, Shaanxi Province, walked out of a terrifying bandit king - Wang Haishan. He embarked on the road of bandits at the age of 13, and was killed by a gun at the age of 31, but his short 18-year career as a bandit is like a legend with ups and downs. From a poor peasant boy to a bully who dominates one side, Wang Haishan's life trajectory is full of drama. With his extraordinary courage and means, he became the biggest bandit leader in the local area before the age of 20, and even made the county magistrate bow down to him. However, the young "King of the Mountain" finally escaped justice and was killed in 1934.
Wang Haishan's original name was Wang Xi Province, and his nickname was Fat Baby. The name was completely inappropriate for his size, as he had been a skinny man from birth to death.
The ancestors of the Wang family have been farmers for generations, facing the loess with their backs to the sky, and their lives are tight. Wang Haishan was born in such a poor family, and fate did not favor him much from the beginning.
He lost his mother at a young age, and his father was illiterate and knew nothing but farming. When Wang Haishan was 7 or 8 years old, God played a big joke on them again, and that year there was a great drought, and there was no harvest in the field.
In order to survive, his wretched father can only wander around with a few children to beg for food. They finally settled in the town of Yu, and survived by begging for some leftovers every day.
The group had no house to live in and had to sleep in the open air on the streets. When the weather is warm, it's good to say, but when the cold winter wax moon comes, they will become a living "cold bird". When the cold was unbearable, they went into the hot stove used to set up a cauldron in front of the small restaurant to keep warm.
When they crawled out the next morning, they were all gray-headed, like "black ghosts" drilled out of the coal kiln. Wang Haishan's Lao Tzu saw that it was not a way to go on like this, and the babies would starve to death and freeze to death sooner or later, so they wanted to work as long-term workers for large families.
But when they found Chen Village from Yuzhen and Yangping from Chen Village, no one was willing to use them. Seeing that there was no way to live, the old man was ruthless and gave Wang Haishan to a sister-in-law of his own family to feed.
In this way, Wang Haishan has a place to live, although he doesn't eat well, he finally has something to eat. He has not been heard from since, and he doesn't know whether he is dead or alive.
This period of wandering and begging left an indelible shadow on Wang Haishan's soul. He was not less looked down upon when he was begging for food, and it was even more common for him to be beaten and scolded. These experiences planted the seeds of hatred in his heart and planted the groundwork for his future ruthlessness.
When Wang Haishan was 13 years old, he happened to see several gun-wielding "knife men" escorting a wealthy man past his aunt's house. The spears behind the swordsmen lit up in his eyes, and he suddenly had a thought: if only he had a gun, then no one would dare to look down on him.
With this idea, Wang Haishan decided to take a shortcut - to become a bandit. Why not become a soldier? Because he looked down on being a soldier from the bottom of his bones, he thought that "being a soldier and eating the emperor's food" was useless for a lifetime, and it was far less comfortable than being the king of the mountain.
He likes to listen to a blind old man in the village talk about the ancients, from which he heard the stories of Song Jiang, Huang Chao, and Li Zicheng. In his opinion, drinking wine in a big bowl, eating meat in a big bowl, and dividing money in a big scale are the ultimate goals of life. But he forgot one thing, these people didn't end well in the end, and they were just imposing for a while.
Wang Haishan pondered all day long about finding a mountain to be a bandit, but he had neither a way nor a relationship. A hairy boy who has not dried up and wants to find a big brother to follow, it is a pipe dream.
Just when he was at a loss, the opportunity came to his door. Bayu has a bad boy named Wang Liuwa, and he and his younger brother Wang Qiwa used to be bandits. After the brothers got insight, they decided to leave their original gang and go it alone. They got a few guns and secretly gathered a gang of scoundrels, preparing to set up another mountain.
There is a scoundrel named Kang Zhankui who has a good relationship with Wang Haishan, and when he heard that Wang Liuwa was going to recruit troops, he took Wang Haishan to defect. In this way, Wang Haishan followed Wang Liuwa and officially embarked on the road of bandits.
From then on, this group of people began to rob houses and houses, oppress the good, and make the people in the Bayu area miserable. It was at this time that Wang Haishan changed his name to Wang Haishan.
Although young, Wang Haishan quickly adapted to the life of bandits. He killed people and set fires without blinking his eyes, and his hands were soon covered with blood. If you compare it with Qin Wuyang, who killed people at the age of 13 during the Warring States Period, it is not far behind.
After a long time, Wang Haishan began to blush at the status of Wang Liuwa's brothers. Together with his cousin Wang Zhenghai, his brother Kang Zhankui and others, he decided to get rid of the Wang Liuwa brothers. They found the right time and killed the Wang brothers in one fell swoop. This time, Wang Haishan has become the new boss, and if anyone disobeys him, he will immediately be taken off his heart.
Wang Haishan seems to have been born to be a big brother. Since taking over the "business" of the Wang brothers, he has expanded his people and territory several times in less than half a year by virtue of his personal charm and extraordinary courage. At this time, Wang Haishan was not yet 20 years old.
The young man is a hero, covering the sky with one hand
Since Wang Haishan became the leader of the bandits, he has been like a wild horse that has escaped the reins, rampaging and lawlessness in the Baoji area. His fame soon spread throughout the Guanzhong region, and he became the most feared bandit king in the region.
Wang Haishan, who is less than 20 years old, has become a hegemon. There are more and more bandits under him, and his territory is expanding more and more.
Wang Haishan's power has developed so rapidly, not only because of his ruthless methods, but more importantly, because he knows how to win people's hearts. He often treats his subordinates with both grace and power.
He will reward him with merit; If he made a mistake, he did not hesitate to punish him severely. This management style made his subordinates both respectful and fearful, and they were willing to die for him.
Wang Haishan also knows how to make friends with powerful people and win over local officials. He often gave gifts to local officials, and even the county magistrate treated him with great courtesy.
This kind of collusion between officials and bandits made Wang Haishan's power even more unbreakable. With the protection of the government, he can do evil with impunity.
Wang Haishan's gang is not just as simple as robbing homes and houses. They also intervened in local casinos, tobacco houses and other underground industries to make huge profits.
It is even rumored that Wang Haishan also secretly controls some legal businesses, such as grain stores and pawnshops. These businesses became a conduit for him to launder money and provided him with a steady source of income.
With the expansion of his power, Wang Haishan's ambitions also grew. He was no longer satisfied with only being the king and hegemon in the Baoji area, and began to extend his tentacles to the surrounding areas.
He led his subordinates to frequent haunts in Xianyang, Weinan and other places, and even made expeditions to Gansu. Everywhere he went, he burned, killed, looted, and did all kinds of evil.
Wang Haishan's brutal behavior has aroused more people's attention and fear. The local people hated and feared him, but they were helpless.
Even some local officials began to feel uneasy about Wang Haishan's power, but because of his great strength and extensive connections, they did not dare to act rashly.
In the face of the growing Wang Haishan, the government began to adopt a policy of gentleness. They tried to incorporate Wang Haishan into a local armed force through Zhao'an.
This proposal is like pie in the sky for Wang Haishan. He accepted Zhao'an on the surface, but in fact, he took the opportunity to expand his power and influence.
With a legal identity, Wang Haishan is even more unscrupulous. Under the banner of suppressing bandits, he actually took the opportunity to eradicate dissidents and eliminate other bandit forces.
This practice made him the only big bandit in the Baoji area for a short time. Other small bandits either defected to him or were exterminated by him.
However, the expansion of power made Wang Haishan gradually lose his mind. He began to become more brutal and greedy, even sparing even his own cronies.
It is rumored that Wang Haishan killed his right-hand man in order to monopolize a beautiful woman. This behavior caused his subordinates to become suspicious and resentful of him.
Despite this, Wang Haishan still goes his own way. He continued to expand his influence and even began to interfere in local affairs.
Once, because he was dissatisfied with a certain decision of the county magistrate, he actually led people to storm the county office and humiliated the county magistrate in public. This behavior completely angered the local government.
Just when Wang Haishan thought that he was invincible in the world, the wheel of fate quietly turned. What he did attracted the attention of higher echelons.
The central government decided to completely exterminate Wang Haishan, the bandit leader who was the one who caused the trouble. A large-scale encirclement and suppression operation against Wang Haishan quietly unfolded.
The people rebelled and left, and the trees fell and scattered
Wang Haishan's bandit career is like a whirlwind, coming and going quickly. Although his power was once in full swing, he could not escape the fate of destruction after all.
In 1934, the Nationalist Government decided to carry out a large-scale crackdown on bandit forces in the Baoji area. The main target of this operation was the infamous Wang Haishan.
The government mobilized a large number of elite troops and also sent planes for reconnaissance and bombing. An encirclement and suppression operation of this scale was unprecedented in Shaanxi at that time.
In the face of such a powerful enemy, Wang Haishan began to feel unprecedented pressure. He rallied his men to discuss what to do, only to find that his former cronies had become absent-minded one by one.
It turned out that the government had already secretly sent people to buy off some of Wang Haishan's henchmen. Seduced by money and promises of forgiveness, these people decide to betray their boss.
While Wang Haishan was still struggling to figure out how to deal with it, several of his right-hand men had secretly provided the government with his whereabouts and plans.
Government forces quickly locked down Wang's hideout. Late one night, thousands of soldiers quietly surrounded Wang Haishan's base camp.
When the gunshots rang out, Wang Haishan realized that something was wrong. He hastily organized his men to fight back, but soon found himself surrounded.
What made Wang Haishan even more desperate was that he found that many of his subordinates had chosen to defect at this critical moment. The bandits who had once obeyed him turned their guns on him at this moment.
Only then did Wang Haishan realize that he had already betrayed his relatives. His brutal actions not only offended the people, but also sent chills down the hearts of his own men.
In this case, Wang Haishan knew that he had no chance of winning. He decided to take the last few loyal men with him and escape for his life.
Wang Haishan led a small team of men and horses to flee into the mountains at night. However, they had barely gone before they were ambushed by government forces.
In the rain of bullets, Wang Haishan's men fell one after another. In the end, only he and two cronies were still struggling to support themselves.
At this moment, a bullet hit Wang Haishan's leg. He fell to the ground and could no longer escape. Seeing that the situation was not good, the two cronies also left him and ran away.
The news of Wang Haishan's capture soon spread throughout Baoji. Those people who had been oppressed by him came to see the tragic situation of this former "mountain king".
Government forces escorted Wang Haishan back to the county seat for a public trial. On the way to escort him, many people scolded him, and some even threw stones at him.
Wang Haishan was imprisoned in the county jail. Those officials who had been bribed by him also avoided it at this time, for fear of being implicated.
In prison, Wang Haishan finally had time to look back on his short and absurd life. He remembered the skinny boy who was begging on the streets, and how he had come to this point of no return.
The trial soon began. In court, one bloody case after another was revealed, and one crime after another was listed. Wang Haishan was speechless in the face of these accusations.
In the end, the court pronounced the sentence against Wang Haishan: the death penalty. This once invincible bandit king came to the end of his life in this way.
On August 15, 1934, Wang Haishan was escorted to the execution ground. In the last moments of his life, he finally showed a trace of remorse.
The gunshots rang out, and Wang Haishan's life came to an abrupt end. News of his death soon spread throughout Shaanxi, and the people applauded.
Wang Haishan's death marked the end of a turbulent era in the Baoji region. With his downfall, the rest of the bandits were quickly wiped out.
However, Wang Haishan's story does not end with his death. In the years that followed, people often talked about the young bandit king.
Some people say that he is an out-and-out demon, while others call him a hero. In any case, the name Wang Haishan has been forever engraved in the history of Baoji.
A generation of heroes, lingering sounds
Wang Haishan's death is not the end of the story, but a new beginning. His legendary experience was widely spread among the people and became a hot topic after dinner.
As time passed, the legend about Wang Haishan became more and more divine. Some people say that he did not actually die, but fled abroad and lived a rich life.
Others claim to have seen him in a deep mountain forest, saying that he was doing penance there to atone for his crimes. Although these rumors are absurd, they also reflect Wang Haishan's influence among the people.
Wang Haishan's story was even put on the stage. Some local opera troupes have choreographed operas featuring him as the protagonist and toured the countryside.
These dramas often portray Wang Haishan as a righteous man in the green forest, specializing in robbing the rich and helping the poor. Although it is far from the historical truth, it is deeply loved by the common people.
Interestingly, the legend of Wang Haishan also influenced local folklore. In some villages in Baoji, people will hold an exorcism ritual on a specific day, which is said to prevent Wang Haishan's ghost from haunting him.
Although this custom may seem superstitious, it has become a unique cultural phenomenon in the region. It not only reflects people's fear of Wang Haishan, but also reflects the creativity of folk culture.
With the founding of the People's Republic of China, the official evaluation of Wang Haishan also changed. He was characterized as a representative of the reactionary forces, a product of the old society.
In some places, Wang Haishan is used as a negative teaching material in history education to warn people not to embark on the road of crime. To a certain extent, this official attitude has influenced people's perception of Wang Haishan.
However, even in this context, the legend of Wang Haishan still exists tenaciously among the people. The older generation would tell the story of Wang Haishan to the children at night, both as a pastime and as a moral education.
Interestingly, with the changes of the times, Wang Haishan's image has gradually been beautified among the people. People talk more about his resourcefulness and bravery and less about his brutality.
In the 80s of the 20th century, with the deepening of reform and opening up, people's attitudes towards history became more open and pluralistic. At this time, research on Wang Haishan also began to rise.
Some scholars began to collect and sort out historical materials about Wang Haishan in an attempt to restore the true appearance of this legendary figure. They visited local elderly people and consulted archives in an attempt to unravel the mystery of Wang Haishan.
These research results have been published one after another, which has attracted wide attention from the society. People began to look at Wang Haishan as a historical figure with a more rational and objective attitude.
At the same time, Wang Haishan's story was also put on the screen. Some films and TV series have created dramatic works based on him.
Although these film and television works have artistically processed history to a certain extent, they have further expanded Wang Haishan's influence. Through these works, more people learned about this legendary bandit of Baoji.
After entering the 21st century, Wang Haishan's story has taken a new development. Some local governments have started to develop it as a cultural resource in an attempt to promote tourism.
In Baoji, some tourist attractions with the theme of Wang Haishan have appeared. Visitors can visit his former lair, experience the life of bandits, and learn about that history.
While this approach has sparked some controversy, it also reflects a more open and pluralistic attitude towards history. Wang Haishan has changed from a simple villain to a complex historical symbol.
Interestingly, with the popularity of the Internet, Wang Haishan's story has a new channel for dissemination on the Internet. Some online novels and short videos have used him as material to create various versions of stories.
Although most of these works are detached from historical reality, they reflect a new interpretation of the character of Wang Haishan in a contemporary context. He has become a cultural symbol that can be deconstructed and reconstructed at will.
Today, nearly a century has passed since Wang Haishan's time. However, his story is still circulating, and his image is still evolving.
This bandit leader from humble beginnings has long since transcended his own historical significance and become an important part of a local culture.
The legend of Wang Haishan may continue to evolve over time, but the mark he left in the history of Baoji will always exist.