In the peasant revolt at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng was a representative figure. However, Li Zicheng's origins are inseparable from the assistance of a strategist, who is Li Yan. Li Yan, as Li Zicheng's military division, assisted Li Zicheng all the way to capture the Beijing Division, and the Dashun Dynasty seemed to have succeeded. However, Li Zicheng was not Liu Bei, and later Li Yan was killed by Li Zicheng because of his suspicions, and eventually buried Dashun.
Who is Li Yan, and what contributions does he make to Li Zicheng?
According to historical records, at first Li Zicheng was only a general under Gao Yingxiang, after Gao Yingxiang's death, Li Zicheng took over Gao Yingxiang's position, but Li Zicheng led his rebel army to break through for more than ten years and did not make any name, until 1639, Li Zicheng encountered a real time and place.
In this year, Li Zicheng rushed out of Shaanxi with his men and horses to the Central Plains, and Zhang Xianzhong made a lot of noise in Hubei, and the Ming army had to send heavy troops to suppress it, so there was no time to take care of Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng took advantage of this opportunity to gradually develop and grow in the Central Plains, and in Bo'ai County, Henan, Li Zicheng and Li Yan met, and the two met and hated each other late, so Li Yan decided to assist Li Zicheng. Since then, Li Zicheng has also had his own military division.
The first suggestion That Li Yan gave to Li Zicheng was the "equal field and no grain" that has been recorded in history, which means that after Li Zicheng, everyone can get the land, and they do not have to pay grain. This slogan is too tempting, so that Li Zicheng's strength continues to grow. Not only that, the children's song that we are familiar with now, "Open the gate to meet the king, and the king will not pay for the grain" is from Li Yan's handwriting. With the assistance of Li Yan, Li Zicheng had gathered hundreds of thousands of troops in just a few years, and he had long been unaware of the previous rabble-rousers who could attack large cities such as Kaifeng.
However, after Li Zicheng invaded the Beijing Division, he was blinded by the victory, no longer heeded Li Yan's advice, and began to condone his men to plunder in the Beijing Division, losing the hearts of the people.
In particular, after Li Zicheng's subordinates plundered Chen Yuanyuan, they completely pushed Wu Sangui to the Qing army. Of course, Li Zicheng's peasant army could not defeat Wu Sangui's elite and Eight Banner Army, so he had to withdraw from the Beijing Division in ashes.
Even in this situation, Li Yan still pointed out a clear path for Li Zicheng, that is, to unite with the Southern Ming and gain a foothold by relying on the Yangtze River Graben. However, Li Zicheng suspected that Li Yan was plotting against him and actually put Li Yan to death. Soon, Li Zicheng's army vanished, and he was supposed to be the one closest to victory.