As the two armies of Zuo and Huang were at an impasse, the situation in the northern area of the Yangtze River quickly deteriorated. On the fourteenth day of April, General Shi Kefa led several thousand soldiers northwards to rescue Xuyi. On the way, Shi Kefa was informed that the garrison General of Xuyi had surrendered to the Manchus and the reinforcements from Sizhou had been completely annihilated. With this news he was forced to withdraw his army and return to Yangzhou. However, they were followed closely by over one hundred thousand Manchu soldiers led by Duoduo, the Prince of Yu, and spearheaded by Xu Dingguo, together with a number of turncoat Generals. In no time, the Manchu force captured Changtian and laid siege to Yangzhou.
With General Shi Kefa commanding a small troop of only three thousand men and their horses, how could he hold strong against a mighty army of over one hundred thousand? General Shi Kefa waited for reinforcements day and night. However, Ma Shiying, Ruan Dacheng and their servile followers were too busy celebrating the victory over Zuo Menggeng’s troops at Tongling to come to his rescue. Moreover, Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo refused to send reinforcements, claiming that they were marching south on the Emperor’s orders to intercept Zuo Menggeng’s troops that they could not take any action without permission. Shi Kefa’s hopes of receiving help were totally shattered.
On 20th of April, Duoduo, the commander-in-chief of the Manchu army issued a secret order to massacre all the inhabitants of Yangzhou, a town of over eight hundred thousand men and women. The impassioned Shi Kefa mobilized his men and the townsfolk to fight to the bitter end. Although they fought desperately, they were overwhelmingly outnumbered by the enemy and so experienced an awful defeat at the hands of the Manchu troops. The general, together with other officials and officers, died for their country on 25 April. Duoduo ordered his men to slaughter the inhabitants of Yangzhou and pillage the city for ten days. The city became a bloodbath.
When the news of the fall of Yangzhou reached the capital, the already restless inhabitants of Nanjing became even more panicky. The city was turned into turmoil. On seeing this perilous situation, Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng announced openly that they were determined to defend the capital to the death, meanwhile they were busy packing gold, silver, jewelry, valuables and expensive clothing to sneak away.
Ma Shiying put on a show of confidence for the nation’s prospects by nominating his brother-in-law, Yang Wencong as the governor of Susong and pretended that he had no intention of fleeing the city. However, on 25 May, Ma Shiying led three thousand bodyguards, carrying several hundred boxes of his valuables through the Tongji Gate. Only Ruan Dacheng knew of Ma’s plan in advance, and so taking advantage of the chaos, he too slipped out of Nanjing with several hundred boxes of his luggage. When Emperor Hongguang learned about the flight of his trusted followers, it was almost too late to leave. The emperor fled in such a hurry that he carried no treasures out of the palace. No one from the court but his empress, concubines and a few of his trusted ministers fled with him.
Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng did not get far out of town before they were surrounded and beaten with sticks and stones by thousands of common people. The three thousand bodyguards that went with the emperor and his entourage hated their masters so much that they had fled for their own lives that very night. Most of the gold, silver, jewelry and valuables that Ma and Ruan carried with them were lost. Although Ma and Ruan suffered a beating, it was too dark and people did not fully recognize who they were. If their identities had been uncovered they would certainly have been killed that same night.
By now, Nanjing was in great confusion. The residences of those treacherous court officials had become the objects of the people’s revenge. The buildings that once boasted enchanting scenery now stood there in ruins. With the palace gates wide open, the maids of honor and eunuchs fled for their lives. Li Xiangjun and the other courtesans also escaped.
The masses stormed into the prison of the imperial guards and released all the prisoners inside. Hou Fangyu, Wu Yingji and Chen Zhenhui fled the prison and parted company.
A few days later, the Manchu army was approaching the capital. When Huang Degong was informed that Nanjing was in crisis, he hurriedly dispatched General Tian Xiong and his troops to rescue the city. Before he departed, Emperor Hongguang and his eunuchs arrived at Huang’s encampment. Seeing that the fall of the Ming Dynasty was imminent and preferring to surrender without a fight, Tian Xiong colluded with Liu Liangzuo and Liu Zeqing and they surrendered to the Manchus. To please the invaders, they imprisoned the fatuous and incompetent Emperor and sent him under escort to the Manchu barracks as their gift. When Huang Degong learned that the generals had betrayed their emperor, whom he had wholeheartedly served, he was so furious and hopeless that he slew himself with his own sword.
And so it was that the short-lived imperial court in Nanjing came to a sad end.
