In the last years of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the time span was quite long, and the locations were also all over the Central Plains. It mainly tells the tragic story of an uprising general named Li Zicheng, who once led the rebel army to defeat the Ming army, but in the end could not survive for a year in the hands of the Qing army.
Li Zicheng, a pig farmer in a small village in northern Shaanxi, went out of his hometown to explore the rivers and lakes, and in the chaotic times, he joined the rebel army led by Zhang Xianzhong. Zhang Xianzhong's rise affected the entire southwest region and soon attracted attention.
However, Zhang Xianzhong, under the opposition of Cheng Fuyao, Li Zicheng and other generals, was too authoritarian and betrayed his relatives. Soon after, he fell into the hands of the official army, and Li Zicheng succeeded his rebel army and called himself the "King of Chuang".
Li Zicheng inherited the legacy of Zhang Xianzhong's rebel army and set his sights on the rulers of the Ming Dynasty. He had about a few hundred thousand horses, and he called himself the "King of Onishi", so he launched an attack on the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming authorities rebelled, and soon a large-scale war began. However, the Ming army was repeatedly defeated in the battle with Li Zicheng, and for a time the official army was defeated in the Central Plains, and the important Ming towns in Xuzhou, Nanjing and other places fell one after another. Various legends and legends were also spread among the people, deifying the generals and masking their internal strife and turmoil.
However, as time passed, the rebel army under the leadership of Li Zicheng also began to have internal contradictions and divisions. Because of the power struggle, some generals began to fight among themselves and took an independent stance towards Li Zicheng.
At the same time, the Qing Dynasty vigorously swept up, and while they gradually ruled the Central Plains, they constantly attacked Li Zicheng's strongholds. The Qing army was stronger and more organized. Several attacks on Li Zicheng made the rebel army tired of coping, and the supply of life began to be cut off and reduced, and Li Zicheng's front began to shrink.
Death and illness greatly weakened Li Zicheng's army, and the soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted and demoralized. At this critical juncture, Li Zicheng faces a difficult choice: whether to stay the course or seek a peaceful solution.
However, Li Zicheng has always had a contradictory voice in his heart. He thought he had enough strength and perseverance to continue to resist the Qing army's attack, but in fact, he ignored the Qing Dynasty's military strength and ruling ability.
Under the attack of the Qing army, Li Zicheng's power was gradually weakened, and his strongholds became fewer and fewer. Having lost large swaths of territory, Li Zicheng's popularity and adherents across the country gradually diminished.
The Qing army eventually forced Li Zicheng to retreat to Lantian in Shaanxi, while the Qing army continued to attack him. Li Zicheng felt increasingly isolated and helpless, and finally realized that he had fallen into an irreparable situation.
Although he once defeated the Ming army and overthrew the Ming Dynasty, he could not turn the situation around and persevered to the end. He began to think about his mistakes. He was overconfident and ignored the Qing Dynasty's great strength and organizational capabilities as a great power. Nor was he able to unite the forces within the rebel army and create a truly united force.
Eventually, in desperate resistance to the Qing army, Li Zicheng's army was completely routed, and he himself was captured. This general, who once terrified the Ming army, only lasted less than a year in the hands of the Qing Dynasty.