Zhang Xianzhong
Li was an adopted son of the rebel leader Zhang Xianzhong, and appointed a general in Zhang's army with the title General Pacifier of the West (). After Zhang's death in 1646, he and other generals of Zhang's, including Sun Kewang (), held out in Guizhou, then took over Chongqing in Sichuan, then south through Zunyi to take Guiyang in Guizhou in 1647.