June 16, 1645 · Jiangsu (Southern Ming capital) Theater
June 16, 1645
After the horror of Yangzhou, resistance in the lower Yangtze collapsed. The Southern Ming court at Nanjing — China's traditional secondary capital — descended into factional paralysis. The Hongguang Emperor, installed barely a year earlier, proved weak and indecisive. When Qing forces approached, the Ming garrison mutinied, the emperor fled, and the city surrendered without a fight. The Hongguang Emperor was captured shortly afterward and later executed in Beijing.
Commanders