Initial Uprising
Li Zitong was from Donghai Commandery (東海, roughly modern Lianyungang, Jiangsu). He was said to be poor in his youth, and supported himself by fishing and hunting. While living in the country, whenever he saw youngster bearing heavy burdens, he would bear the burdens for them. He said also said to be generous with the little he had, but vindictive, repaying every single slight. In or sometime before 615, with agrarian rebels rising against Sui Dynasty rule, Li joined the rebel leader Zuo Caixiang (左才相), then at Changbai Mountain (長白山, in modern Binzhou, Shandong, not the mountain range in modern Manchuria and North Korea). At that time, the agrarian rebel leaders tended to be cruel, but Li was considered kind and tolerant, and therefore many people joined him. Within half a year, he gathered 10,000 men. Zuo began to be jealous and suspicious of him, and Li took his men and left in 615, heading south and crossing the Huai River to join another rebel leader, Du Fuwei. Soon thereafter, for reasons unknown, Li wanted to kill Du and set an ambush for him, but while Du was wounded, he was not killed. Li was then defeated by the Sui general Lai Zheng (來整), and he fled to Hailing (海陵, in modern Taizhou, Jiangsu), gathering 20,000 men and claiming the title of general.
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