Shortly after Li Zicheng stayed in the Forbidden City, he led hundreds of troops to Shanhaiguan to pacify Wu Sangui, the company commander of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty. As a result, Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, led the Qing army into Shanhaiguan and defeated Li Zicheng. After that, the Qing army went south and eventually unified China.
Many people feel sorry for this period of history, thinking that Li Zicheng worked hard for more than ten years of revolutionary work, but finally let Manchu pick ready-made peaches. So suppose that the Qing army didn't enter the customs at that time, and Li Can Zicheng sat on the ground and unified China?
First of all, we should have a group of capable talents around us in order to gain a firm foothold and unify China. For example, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was also born in the mud, but he was surrounded by a large group of outstanding generals and counselors. Wu, Chang Yuchun, Sheng Feng; Wen Li Shanchang, Liu Ji, Song Lian. These people are all great talents who can be independent. On the other hand, the number one general in Li Zicheng is General Zong Min of Liu Quan. This man is brave and good at fighting, but he is far from being a real general. As for other military commanders, even Liu Zongmin is worse.
Li Zicheng is surrounded by three important advisers: Niu Jinxing, Yan Li and Song Xiance. Among them, Niu Jinxing and Yan Li both have academic qualifications, while Song Xianchu is a charlatan. Of the three, Yan Li has the strongest ability and is the "official second generation". But because the "three views" are different and enviable, he was framed and killed by Niu Jinxing. As for Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance, with their ability, it is no problem to give advice to the rebels and fight some beautiful guerrilla warfare, but it is absolutely impossible to make the whole state machine work normally in their hands.
So judging from the talent pool, Li Zicheng's team is a bit low. If you want to win the world, it is difficult to achieve it by these people alone.
Secondly, the geographical position occupied by Li Zicheng troops is not ideal. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, disasters in the north continued, and the people were miserable, so they stood up and rebelled. This situation was a great advantage for Li Zicheng to overthrow the Ming Dynasty, because there were many rebels and his army had a steady stream of soldiers. However, once the Ming Dynasty was overthrown, this original advantage became a disadvantage. Because most of the places he occupied were backcountry, he could not provide enough financial resources and food and grass support for his army for a long time.
Worse than this, the territory occupied by Li Zicheng is in the middle of various forces and is attacked on three sides. The north is eyeing the Eight Banners Army of the Qing Dynasty; There are millions of soldiers and horses in the south, and the Nanming court; In the southwest, Zhang forces, who are rebels with Li Zicheng, are also involved. Assuming that the Eight Banners Army of the Qing Dynasty does not enter the customs, the threat from the north can be lifted. But neither the Ming court nor the Zhang forces in the southwest are fuel-efficient lamps. Nanming ruled half of the south, including Jiangnan, the land of fish and rice. Zhang's troops occupy Sichuan, and with geographical advantages, they can advance and attack, retreat and defend. With the strength of Li Zicheng's army, it is very difficult to defeat either of these two forces.
So through the above analysis, with Li Zicheng's military strength at that time, the possibility of reunifying China is still very slim. If the Qing army doesn't enter Shanhaiguan, the biggest possibility for China is to form a three-legged situation as in the Three Kingdoms period, or a situation of five dynasties and ten countries. As for who will eventually break this pattern and establish a new unified dynasty, nature is the strongest among them.