Complex sentence: In an effort to win peasant support, Kun cancelled all taxes in rural areas, which in fact hurt the government as the peasants took the view that any government that would not collect taxes was by definition a weak government.
Split into simpler sentences: In an effort to win peasant support, Kun cancelled all taxes in rural areas. This hurt the government as the peasants took the view that any government that would not collect taxes was by definition a weak government.