Forty-year-old Wang Guangjun gave up his pursuit of livelihood, and with his half-life obsession with Li Zicheng, he drove a 2026 pure electric BYD Titanium 7EV, starting from Heyang, Weinan, and embarked on a self-driving journey across the five provinces of Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei, Shanxi, and Hebei.
He followed the footsteps of Li Zicheng's "dormant → rise → peak prosperity → defeat", from the mottled stone walls of Chuangwang Village in Shangnan, to the remains of the beacon fire at the ancient battlefield in Chengcheng, to the afterglow of Dashun at the Bell Tower in Xi'an. He visited historical sites, listened to folk anecdotes, compared historical materials and novels, and had a dialogue with centuries-old history in the mountains and rivers. During the journey, he witnessed the tenacity and passion of the rebels, lamented the legends and regrets of the heroes, and also understood the profound connotation of "those who win the hearts of the people win the world" from the fireworks and folk customs along the way. From the simple worship of heroes to the rational thinking about history, this journey spanning thousands of miles is not only a distant resonance with King Chuang, but also a period of self-precipitation and growth over a period of forty years.
This book uses self-driving travel notes as a carrier, combining historical records and lyrical prose, connecting history and the present. Amid the ruins of mountains and rivers and the fireworks of the world, it looks back at the events of the late Ming Dynasty and tells a story about pursuit, awe and growth.
