Taking the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty as the background, it describes in detail the historical process of Li Zicheng's growth from an ordinary peasant uprising leader to a key figure in overthrowing the rule of the Ming Dynasty. The novel begins with Li Zicheng's call for an uprising by the hungry people in the third year of Chongzhen (1630), and continues until he captures Beijing, establishes the Dashun regime, and later fights with the Qing army and Wu Sangui, until his final defeat and death.
