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As the author had mentioned before, toward the end of the Ming Dynasty famine and drought wreaked havoc on the destitute peasants of western and northern China. Particular regions that suffer the worst of nature's wrath were Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces. From these areas, many notorious peasant bandits would start their bids for empires, the two notorious ones being Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng.

Originally a trader, Zhang Xianzhong led peasant rebel groups against the government at an early age. After a series of defeats at the hands of local government forces, eventually Zhang Xianzhong succeeded in establishing his personal fief "Da Xi Guo" (meaning the great western state in Chinese) in the western Chinese province of Sichuan. In 1644, he settled down as the despot of Sichuan, busying himself with arresting and murdering pretended or real enemies in his kingdom. Thus, he alienated his subjects as quickly as he had won their hearts over. In a little over a year, the abused people of Sichuan would welcome the Manchu invaders and end Zhang's career and reign of terror.

Far more serious were the peasant bandits known as the Chuang Zei ("chuang" means to dash, and "zei" means bandit). Li Zicheng, who gave himself the title of the Chuang Wang (which means the Dashing King), led and subsequently coined the particular name to the Chuang bandits. Li Zicheng's career was similar to that of the murderous and politically inept Zhang Xianzhong, but this supposedly humble and frugal bandit leader would soon find himself playing an important role in determining the fate of China. Originally a soldier, Li Zicheng led a rebellion in the province of Henan, where the poor and discontent peasants provided the manpower for his new order. Although it is not known that Li Zicheng was well educated, he was quick to learn and value the advice of the few intellectuals and former government officials that joined his side. Understanding what the peasants want at the time, Li Zicheng induced the peasants to join his cause by promising land reforms and tax reliefs. Cities that quickly surrender to his forces were mercifully spared, while resistive cities were usually plundered and pillaged (a practice that was used by the Mongols before and by the Manchus later on). With only the two options of siding with the apathetic Ming government and face death or defect to Li Zicheng's side and live, most villages and cities chose the latter path.

The rebellion of the late Ming Dynasty have several important aspects that contrast it from other rebellions, such as the Chinese Revolutions of the 20th century. Unlike the 20th Chinese Revolutions, the peasant rebellion of the 1600s took regional and few national characteristics. This is because even though areas such as Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi were devastated by natural disasters, other provinces (notably the ones along the coast and the capital area) hardly suffered from natural disasters. As a matter of fact, while the peasants of the west turn to banditry and rebellion, the creation of a wealthy merchant class was taking shape in the lower Yangzi (Chang Jiang) and coastal provinces. The national logistic system was immense during the Ming Dynasty, but by the 1600s it was mostly concerned with transferring the South's wealth to the capital Jingcheng (2), and not so much to the alleviation of the economic pains of the western provinces. In addition, the rank and file of the rebellion consisted of mostly peasants, because the gentry and intellectuals continue to support the Ming government and oppose the 'peasant bandits' even at the dynasty's death throes. As a comparison, while the revolutionaries of the 19th and 20th centuries were popularized by popular culture, the rebels of the 16th century were often demonized in fictions and histories.