The Strategic Imperative: Why the Northwest Mattered

In late 1643, after capturing Xi’an and declaring the establishment of the Shun dynasty, rebel leader Li Zicheng faced a critical strategic dilemma. While the Ming dynasty’s central authority crumbled, its remaining loyalist forces in China’s northwest—stretching from Shaanxi to Gansu and Qinghai—posed a persistent threat to his rear. Li recognized that any eastward advance toward Beijing would require eliminating these Ming strongholds first. His solution: a three-pronged campaign that would showcase both his military acumen and his evolving approach to governance.

The Three Armies Move Out

Li divided his forces with precision:

1. The Northern Expedition led personally by Li Zicheng, alongside generals Li Guo and Liu Fangliang, aimed to crush Ming commander Gao Jie’s forces in Shaanxi’s rugged northern terrain.
2. The Southern Thrust under Tian Jianxiu targeted Hanzhong, securing passage to Sichuan by neutralizing Ming general Gao Ruli.
3. The Western Drive commanded by Liu Zongmin, He Jin, and Yuan Zongdi sought to pacify Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai—regions where Ming loyalists like Bai Guang’en still held sway.

This coordinated offensive revealed Li’s grasp of grand strategy, balancing speed, diplomacy, and overwhelming force.

Blood and Snow: The Battle for Yan’an and Beyond

The northern campaign unfolded with dramatic intensity. By November 1643, Li’s forces reached Yan’an, where Gao Jie—a former rebel turned Ming turncoat—panicked upon their approach. Knowing Li would show no mercy to a traitor, Gao fled across the frozen Yellow River into Shanxi, later surfacing in Jiangsu to plague the Southern Ming.

Li’s homecoming to Mizhi County carried profound symbolism. Years earlier, the Ming had desecrated his ancestral graves in retaliation for his rebellion. Now, as ruler, Li exhibited restraint—executing only one local collaborator while ceremonially reburying his ancestors. His renaming of Yan’an to “Heavenly Protector Prefecture” (天保府) signaled a new era.

The siege of Yulin, however, proved brutal. This Ming garrison, staffed by generations of military families, refused initial surrender offers. After two weeks of vicious urban combat, Li’s forces prevailed, executing holdouts like You Shiwei. The victory demonstrated Li’s willingness to combine diplomacy (initial silver bribes) with uncompromising force when needed.

The Western Front: Ice, Betrayal, and Tragedy

While Tian Jianxiu’s southern campaign saw swift success—with Gao Ruli captured fleeing to Sichuan—the western theater witnessed both triumph and heartbreak.

At Guyuan, Ming general Bai Guang’en surrendered after negotiations, joining Li’s ranks. Remarkably, Li even pardoned Chen Yongfu, the Ming officer who had once shot him in the eye during the Kaifeng siege. “In war, each serves his master,” Li declared, breaking an arrow as a pledge of forgiveness—a masterstroke of political theater that encouraged further defections.

But the campaign turned tragic in Gansu. After brilliant victories at Lanzhou and Ganzhou—where troops scaled city walls using snowdrifts as makeshift ladders—commander He Jin fell victim to a Tu (Mongol) chieftain’s ambush near Xining in early 1644. His death galvanized his troops, who later avenged him by crushing the Tu rebels.

The Cultural Reckoning: Rebels as Rulers

Li’s northwest campaign revealed his transition from rebel to administrator:

– Symbolic Gestures: The Mizhi homecoming and ancestral reburial rituals lent legitimacy to his rule.
– Pragmatic Governance: Appointing surrendered Ming officers like Chen Zhilong as Ningxia governor stabilized regions.
– Economic Measures: Confiscated Ming granaries fed both troops and civilians, easing famine conditions.

Yet cracks appeared. He Jin’s execution of turncoat general Yang Qi—who had betrayed the Ming Prince of Su—alienated potential allies. The incident highlighted the tension between revolutionary justice and practical statecraft.

The Legacy: A Foundation for Empire—Briefly Held

By spring 1644, Li had achieved his objective: a secured northwest freed his main army to cross the Yellow River and sack Beijing in April. But the very speed of his victory sowed disaster.

– Overextension: Resources poured into the Beijing campaign left the northwest vulnerable.
– Unresolved Ethnic Tensions: Tu and Hui Muslim leaders, superficially pacified, would later resist Qing forces less adept than He Jin at managing minority relations.
– Strategic Myopia?: Some historians argue Li underestimated Manchu threats from the northeast, believing the northwest his true rear guard.

When the Shun regime collapsed in 1645, these conquered territories became battlegrounds between Qing forces and Ming loyalists—a chaotic epilogue to Li’s ambitious consolidation.

Modern Echoes: The Northwest in Chinese Memory

Today, Li’s campaign features prominently in regional folklore:

– Shaanxi Ballads celebrate He Jin’s snowy siege tactics at Ganzhou.
– Debates Continue: Was Li’s pardon of Chen Yongfu magnanimity or desperation for Ming defectors?
– Archaeological Traces: Mizhi’s reconstructed Li family gravesite draws both tourists and scholars examining rebel legitimacy rituals.

The campaign endures as a case study in revolutionary warfare—how to conquer territory, but also how quickly those gains can unravel without deeper institutional transformation. Li secured his rear, but not his dynasty’s future.