From the Ming Dynasty's anonymous "King of Destruction"

It is difficult for the poor to survive now. Open the door early and worship the king, and discipline is happy. Slaughter cattle and sheep, prepare wine slurry, open the gate to meet the king, and the king will not receive food when he comes. Eat his mother, love his mother, food is not enough to break the king. No bad jobs, no food, everyone has a good time.

The rapid development of the rebels in Li Zicheng mainly depends on this slogan: Open the city gate to welcome the King, who will not accept food when he comes. This inflammatory political slogan is very useful to the bottom people. They not only welcomed King Chuang very much, but also directly joined the team of King Chuang.

In history, whenever there was a peasant uprising, it must have destroyed the political order at that time. Li Zicheng refused to accept the political proposition of grain, seized the pain point at that time, completely subverted the most important political foundation of the Ming Dynasty, and made farmers and tenant farmers actively support it. Moreover, he hoped that this grass-roots force in Li Zicheng could replace the Ming Dynasty and rebuild social order.

Although Li Zicheng's political slogans have won over a considerable number of people at the bottom, as a military force, it definitely needs wealth to maintain it. Since farmers can't be moved, they definitely need other sources of income. The rebels in Li Zicheng chose the work of bandits.

It is unrealistic to rob farmers, not only because they have no money at all, but also because the rebels have chosen the middle class. These people have not only accumulated a lot of wealth, but more importantly, they have deep contradictions with proletarians. Starting from the middle class can not only solve the income problem, but also cater to the expectation of the proletariat to kill the rich and help the poor.

When the territory laid by Li Zicheng is getting bigger and bigger, this robber-style wealth plundering method won't work. Although the middle class has a lot of wealth, the number is limited, and this plunder not only aroused the middle class's disapproval and resistance, but also made Qin's remake. They chose to flee with money, leaving Li Zicheng with nothing but poverty and economic collapse.

At the suggestion of strategist Niu Jinxing and Yan Li, Li Zicheng redistributed the landlord's fields, allowing farmers not to pay taxes for three years, and then pay taxes according to regulations after three years. At this time, the Li Zicheng Rebel Army has already had a little basic appearance of the regime.