"Yiyou Yangzhou City Watch Record" is a historical documentary document written by Dai Mingshi, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty. It records the entire process of Yangzhou City (1645, the year of Yiyou) resisting the Qing invasion during the Nanming regime in the late Ming Dynasty. This book is written in a narrative style, with Shi Kefa and other Ming Dynasty defenders resisting the Qing attack as the core. It details the complete historical scenes from the deployment of Yangzhou City, the Qing army's siege, fierce confrontations to the final city destruction and the heroic sacrifice of the defenders. It is an important historical material for studying the defense of Yangzhou, Shi Kefa's spirit of loyalty, and local struggles during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The book first describes the strategic deployment of the Southern Ming Dynasty before the Qing troops went south and the overall defense situation in Jiangbei, as well as the preparation process such as Shi Kefa being ordered to garrison Yangzhou, summoning the garrison, and fortifying the defense. As the Qing army approached the city, a tug-of-war took place between the two sides. The defenders used artillery fire to injure the Qing army and repelled the offensive many times. However, the strength was greatly disparity, and the Qing army gradually gained the upper hand. Although the defenders defended tenaciously, the reinforcements did not arrive in time. The food and grass in the city gradually decreased, and morale consumption increased. It was finally difficult to support the city due to the disadvantages of weapons and numbers.
In the final stage of the city's destruction, Shi Kefa personally went to the city to fight against the enemy, and finally chose to commit suicide to show his loyalty to the country. His generals, civil and military officers also died. Shi Kefa's last words and stories of loyalty have become allusions passed down by later generations, reflecting the value orientation of "loyal ministers are unyielding and defend their territory to the death". Although some of the narratives in the book are controversial in history, as a first-hand or near-first-hand historical record, it provides important side historical materials for understanding the details of the Yangzhou Defense War and the loyalty and martyrdom of the scholars.
This work is of great value for studying the Jianghuai defense line in the late Ming Dynasty, the Southern Ming Dynasty's anti-Qing policy, local garrison battles, and the Qing army's southern expedition strategy. It can also help modern readers more intuitively experience the heroes and war atmosphere in this key battle of Yangzhou. It is a historical document that cannot be ignored in modern Chinese history.
