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In [[1644]], Li led hundreds of thousands of rebels across northern China, gathering much popular support along the way by accusing the Ming of corruption and promising to bring greater prosperity to these rural areas, even as he ransacked and burned villages. Many warriors who his forces defeated then joined up, adding to his forces. As his forces approached Beijing, rebel allies arranged to have the gates to the city opened; Li's men thus were able to enter the city with a minimum of resistance. It is said that the [[Chongzhen Emperor]] rang a bell to call his ministers to him, but when none came, he walked to a hill in the Imperial Gardens, and hanged himself from a tree.
In [[1644]], Li led hundreds of thousands of rebels across northern China, gathering much popular support along the way by accusing the Ming of corruption and promising to bring greater prosperity to these rural areas, even as he ransacked and burned villages. Many warriors who his forces defeated then joined up, adding to his forces. As his forces approached Beijing, rebel allies arranged to have the gates to the city opened; Li's men thus were able to enter the city with a minimum of resistance. It is said that the [[Chongzhen Emperor]] rang a bell to call his ministers to him, but when none came, he walked to a hill in the Imperial Gardens, and hanged himself from a tree.
Li's men entered the city in April 1644, and began ransacking it, looting and destroying homes, capturing and ransoming officials' relatives, and demanding "protection money" from others. He sent a detachment against [[Wu Sangui]], Ming commander of the defense of the northeast, the last notable Ming threat to his rule, but Wu fought them off.
On June 3, 1644, Li claimed imperial rank, but left the city the following day with most if not all of his men, carrying their vast loot to the west. Two days after that, [[Manchu]] forces led by the [[Qing Dynasty|Qing]] regent [[Dorgon]] and assisted by Wu Sangui entered Beijing, placing Dorgon's six-year-old nephew on the throne and declaring him the [[Shunzhi Emperor]], claiming for themselves the title of Emperor as the legitimate dynasty now ruling over China.
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==References==
==References==
*Jonathan Spence, ''The Search for Modern China'', Second Edition, W.W. Norton & Co. (1999), 21-25.
*Jonathan Spence, ''The Search for Modern China'', Second Edition, W.W. Norton & Co. (1999), 21-25, 33.
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Criminals, Bandits, and Pirates]]
[[Category:Criminals, Bandits, and Pirates]]
