A peasant soldier named Li Zicheng had…

A peasant soldier named Li Zicheng had mutinied with his fellow soldiers in western Shaanxi early in the 1630s after the government had failed to ship much-needed supplies there.

Captured by a Ming general in 1634, he had been released only on the terms that he return to service.

The agreement had ended when a local magistrate had thirty-six of his fellow rebels executed; Li's troops had retaliated by killing the officials and since continue to lead a rebellion based in Rongyang, central Henan province.