The emperors in the late years of Ming
Dynasty were fatuous and incompetent, and power gradually slipped into the hands
of eunuchs. Bureaucrats and landlords forcibly occupied large tracts of fertile
land, leaving many farmers landless. Taxes and natural disasters, which officials
did little to relieve, added to the burdens on the farmers, and eventually, in 1627,
a large-scale of farmer uprising broke out in the area of what is now northern Shaanxi
province. The unrest spread throughout the country. The strongest of the rebel farmer
armies was led by Gao Yingxiang. After Gao's death, his army was divided into two
main parts: one was led by Zhang Xianzhong, and the other by Li Zicheng.
Li Zicheng (1606 - 1645) was born in Mizhi, Shaanxi province. In 1630, he joined
the uprising, rising rapidly to become a general under Gao Yingxiang. With the death
of Gao, he took command of the rebel forces in present-day Henan province. Li Zicheng
won the support of the people in this disaster-stricken area by a policy of land
reform and abolition of agricultural taxes. Li's army grew rapidly to becme a million-strong
force. Wherever Li Zhicheng's army went, it distributed the property of the landlords
among the people. In 1644, Li Zicheng established Dashun Dynasty in Xi'an. In the
same year, he marched on to Beijing. As the rebels entered the capital, Emperor
Chongzhen, the last Ming emperor, committed suicide by hanging himself on Coal Hill
(today's Jingshan), just behind Forbidden City.
Li Zicheng enforced strict military discipline, punished officials guilty of crimes
and corruption. The regime controlled a vast area from the south of Great Wall to
the north of Huaihe River.
Meanwhile, Dorgon, the prince regent of Qing Dynasty, which had been set up in 1636
by the united Manchu tribes of northeast China, hurriedly led an army southward.
Breaking through the stragic Shanhai Pass, Dorgon made the general Wu Sangui surrender.
Li Zicheng was forced to withdraw from Beijing. In 1645, Li Zicheng was killed in
the battle at Mount Jiugong, in today's Hubei province.
Reference data
Qing Army Pours Through Shanhai Pass
In 1616, Nurhachi, leader of Jurchen tribes, established Jin regime, call Late Jin
in history. In 1626, Huangtaiji succeeded to the throne. In 1635, he changed the
name of Jurchen to Manchu; the next year, he changed the title of the regime to
Qing, and proclaimed himself emperor. In 1644, Qing army attacked Shanhai Pass.
Wu Sangui, the general garrisoning the pass, submitted to Qing army. In October,
Emperor Shunzhi of Qing Dynasty mvoed the capital from Shengjing (today's Shenyang)
to Beijing, and commenced to reign over the whole of China.
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