The Rise of Peasant Rebellions in Late Ming China

The 1630s marked a turbulent period in Ming Dynasty history, as widespread peasant uprisings challenged the weakening imperial authority. Among these rebel leaders, Li Zicheng emerged as a formidable force, his military campaigns demonstrating both strategic brilliance and the growing vulnerability of Ming rule. This period of rebellion must be understood within the context of several compounding crises: severe famine across northern China, excessive taxation to fund military campaigns against the Manchus, and widespread corruption among local officials.

By 1636, Li Zicheng had established himself as a major rebel commander, operating alongside other leaders like “Passing Star” (Zhang Tianlin) and “Confounding Star” in the northwestern provinces. Their forces represented not just military opposition but a popular uprising against a failing system – one that could no longer protect or provide for its subjects. The Ming government, led by the increasingly desperate Chongzhen Emperor, found itself fighting on multiple fronts: against peasant rebels in the interior and the rising Manchu threat from the northeast.

Strategic Maneuvers Across the Yellow River

In the ninth year of Chongzhen’s reign (1636), Li Zicheng’s forces achieved significant territorial gains, capturing Mizhi and Suide in northern Shaanxi. Their initial plan to cross the Yellow River into Shanxi province demonstrated strategic ambition – a move that could have threatened the Ming heartland. However, Wu Shen, the capable Shanxi governor, had anticipated this move and fortified all major river crossings along the eastern frontier.

Faced with these strengthened defenses, Li Zicheng demonstrated the flexibility that characterized his leadership. Rather than wasting resources on a fortified position, he pivoted westward, redirecting his campaign into Ningxia and Gansu. This decision proved significant, allowing his forces to avoid direct confrontation with prepared Ming troops while gaining valuable experience in mobile warfare across northwestern China.

The Prolonged Conflict in Gansu’s Mountain Passes

Sun Chuanting, the Ming governor of Shaanxi, provided crucial documentation of these campaigns in his memorials to the throne. His reports from 1637 describe an eight-month stalemate between government forces and rebel armies in the mountainous regions around Jiezhou and Chengxian in southern Gansu. This prolonged engagement marked a turning point in the rebels’ capabilities – what Sun described as “their momentum and reputation growing unlike before.”

The mountainous terrain of southern Gansu played to the rebels’ strengths, allowing them to engage in guerrilla tactics against the less mobile government forces. These months of continuous conflict served as a proving ground for Li Zicheng’s leadership and the cohesion of his multi-faction rebel alliance. By surviving this extended campaign against professional Ming troops, the rebels gained both confidence and valuable military experience.

The Ambitious March on Hanzhong

In September 1637, Li Zicheng’s coalition embarked on one of their most ambitious campaigns yet. Over a dozen rebel armies, numbering in the tens of thousands, marched from the Qinzhou region toward Hanzhong – a strategically vital Ming stronghold in southern Shaanxi. Contemporary accounts describe an astonishing sight: rebel columns stretching forty li (about 13 miles) wide, taking two full days to pass any given point.

The Ming response demonstrated their growing concern. General Cao Bianjiao was dispatched to reinforce Hanzhong’s defenses, arriving secretly under cover of darkness at the prefectural seat of Nanzheng County. When rebel forces attacked on September 26, they fell into Cao’s carefully laid trap. Believing they faced only local garrison troops, the rebels advanced confidently until government forces unleashed a devastating ambush from the city walls. The sudden barrage of arrows, stones, and gunfire, accompanied by thunderous drums and a forest of banners, shattered the rebel assault.

This defeat at Hanzhong forced another strategic reassessment. Rather than retreating northward, Li Zicheng made the bold decision to push south into Sichuan – a rich but less heavily defended province that could provide both resources and recruitment opportunities.

The Lightning Campaign Through Sichuan

The autumn of 1637 saw one of the most remarkable rebel campaigns of the late Ming period. After capturing Ningqiang (the strategic gateway between Shaanxi and Sichuan) in October, Li Zicheng’s forces swept through Sichuan with astonishing speed. They overcame the natural defenses of the Qinling Mountains, taking the Seven Turns Pass and Chaotian Pass before occupying Guangyuan county.

What followed was a masterclass in mobile warfare. Within a single month, rebel forces captured an astonishing thirty-eight counties and cities across northern Sichuan. The list reads like a roll call of Sichuan’s heartland: Zhaohua, Jintang, Jianzhou, Shifang, Pengxian, Pixian, Xindu, Xichong, Suining, Zitong, Mianzhou, Xinfan, Wenjiang, Jiangyou, Zhangming, Luojang, Deyang, and Hanzhou. Ming officials fled before the rebel advance, their defensive preparations proving utterly inadequate.

The campaign’s high point came with the death of Sichuan’s commander-in-chief Hou Liangzhu, ambushed and killed at Baiqingba near Zitong county. By early November, three rebel columns converged on Chengdu, the provincial capital, where they “displayed their military power in the suburbs” – a direct challenge to Ming authority in Sichuan’s most important city.

Ming Response and Strategic Withdrawal

The rebel successes sent shockwaves through the Ming court. Emperor Chongzhen, furious at his officials’ incompetence, dismissed Sichuan governor Wang Weizhang and posthumously stripped Hou Liangzhu of rank, while censuring regional inspector Chen Tingmo. New leadership was appointed, with Fu Zonglong taking over as Sichuan governor and the formidable Hong Chengchou ordered to lead reinforcements into the province.

Facing this coordinated Ming response, Li Zicheng demonstrated his strategic acumen once more. Recognizing that Sichuan’s geography now worked against him – with government forces concentrating along the Chengdu-Langzhong line and the difficult terrain of western Sichuan offering little opportunity for expansion – he orchestrated a brilliant withdrawal in early 1638. Rebel forces split into multiple columns that slipped past Ming defenses, returning north to Shaanxi and Gansu.

Legacy of the Northwestern Campaigns

These campaigns of 1636-1638 reveal several important aspects of the late Ming peasant rebellions. First, they demonstrate the rebels’ growing military sophistication – their ability to conduct coordinated operations across vast distances and adapt to changing circumstances. Second, they highlight the Ming government’s weakening grip on its western provinces, where local defenses repeatedly proved inadequate against determined rebel forces.

Most importantly, these campaigns established Li Zicheng as one of the rebellion’s preeminent leaders. His ability to maintain cohesion among diverse rebel groups, make strategic decisions under pressure, and learn from both victories and defeats would serve him well in the coming years. Within a decade, he would lead his army to Beijing itself, bringing down the Ming dynasty – though his ultimate success would prove tragically brief.

The Sichuan campaign in particular stands as a remarkable military achievement, demonstrating how rebel forces could exploit Ming weaknesses and maneuver through difficult terrain. While ultimately not resulting in permanent territorial gains, it significantly weakened Ming prestige and military resources in the northwest, contributing to the dynasty’s eventual collapse. These events remind us that the fall of the Ming was not simply a story of Manchu conquest from without, but equally one of internal disintegration and popular rebellion.