A Brief Account of the Defense of Yangzhou in the Yiyou Year is a historical document written by the Qing scholar Dai Mingshi. It records the defense of Yangzhou against the Qing invasion during the Southern Ming period in 1645, the Yiyou year. Written as a chronological account, it centers on Shi Kefa and the Ming defenders' resistance to the Qing attack. It details the entire course of events, from preparations to defend Yangzhou and the Qing siege, through fierce fighting, to the city's eventual fall and the defenders' heroic deaths. It is an important source for studying the Defense of Yangzhou, Shi Kefa's loyalty and righteousness, and local resistance during the transition from Ming to Qing.
The book first describes the Southern Ming court's strategic preparations before the Qing armies advanced south, the overall situation along the Jiangbei defenses, and the preparations made by Shi Kefa after he was ordered to garrison Yangzhou, including assembling the defenders and fortifying the city. When the Qing army arrived at the walls, the two sides fought a series of back-and-forth engagements. The defenders returned fire with cannons, wounding Qing soldiers, and repelled several assaults, but the balance of power was overwhelmingly unequal, and the Qing army gradually gained the advantage. The defenders fought stubbornly, but reinforcements failed to arrive in time. Supplies dwindled, morale steadily eroded, and with inferior weapons and numbers, they could not hold out indefinitely.
In the final stages of the siege, Shi Kefa personally mounted the walls to fight the enemy. In the end, he chose to take his own life rather than surrender, demonstrating his loyalty. His generals and both civil and military officials also died in the battle. Shi Kefa's final words and stories of his loyalty became famous in later generations, reflecting the ideal that a loyal minister would never yield and would die defending his land. Although some accounts in the book are historically disputed, as a firsthand or near-contemporary record, it provides important supplementary evidence for understanding the details of the Defense of Yangzhou and the loyal spirit of its scholars.
This work is valuable for studying the Jianghuai defensive line in the late Ming, the Southern Ming court's policies for resisting the Qing, the fighting of local garrisons, and the Qing army's southern campaigns. It also helps modern readers vividly imagine the heroes and atmosphere of war surrounding this pivotal battle at Yangzhou, making it an indispensable historical document.
