The Collapse of the Ming and the Birth of the Lu Regent State

When Beijing fell to rebel forces in 1644 and the Chongzhen Emperor took his own life, the Ming dynasty’s fate seemed sealed. Yet across southern China, Ming loyalists refused to accept the new Qing regime. One such resistance effort emerged in Zhejiang under Zhu Yihai, a distant Ming imperial relative who became known as the Lu Regent. Proclaimed in 1645, this short-lived regime represented one of several Ming restoration attempts during the chaotic Southern Ming period.

Unlike other Ming loyalist movements that focused on grand campaigns, the Lu Regent State adopted a pragmatic strategy: consolidate control over eastern Zhejiang, use the Qiantang River as a natural barrier, and launch targeted strikes against Qing positions. This approach reflected both the fractured nature of Ming resistance and the desperate military realities facing Zhu Yihai’s government.

The Qiantang River Campaigns: A Gamble for Survival

The Lu Regent State’s most ambitious military actions unfolded along the Qiantang River in late 1645. Generals Fang Anguo and Wang Zhiren spearheaded daring cross-river assaults, briefly recapturing Fuyang and Yuqian before setting their sights on Hangzhou—the regional Qing stronghold.

August 1645 saw the first major offensive against Hangzhou fail, but by November, Zhu Yihai had reorganized his forces. In a dramatic ceremony, he elevated Fang Anguo to Duke of Yue and Wang Zhiren to Duke of Xing, personally overseeing troop inspections at Xixing where each soldier received silver incentives for the coming battle.

The December 24 assault marked the Lu Regent State’s defining moment. Some 20,000 troops crossed at three points near Zhuqiao, Fancun, and Six Harmonies Pagoda, advancing to the hills surrounding Hangzhou. Qing forces under Governor Zhang Cunren counterattacked with devastating efficiency. The Ming loyalists suffered catastrophic losses—eleven deputy generals and forty-eight mid-ranking officers captured—in a defeat that shattered their offensive capabilities.

Why the Hangzhou Campaign Failed

Contemporary observers like scholar Zha Jizuo identified multiple weaknesses in the Lu Regent State’s military structure. In his memorial to Zhu Yihai, he criticized the army’s lack of discipline, rampant infighting among commanders, and soaring supply costs that alienated the local population. Most damning was his observation that the leadership maintained a false facade of confidence while the military situation deteriorated.

The Qing’s superior coordination proved decisive. Their three-pronged counterattack under commanders like Zhu Malar and Ji Xiha demonstrated professional military organization that outclassed the Ming loyalists’ patchwork forces. Additionally, the Lu Regent State’s reliance on silver incentives—rather than systemic logistical support—created unsustainable conditions for prolonged warfare.

Cultural Echoes and Historical Memory

The Lu Regent State’s struggle left an uneven mark on historical records. While Qing archives meticulously documented their victories, Ming loyalist chroniclers showed surprising gaps. Huang Zongxi, who served as a military official in Zhu Yihai’s government, conspicuously omitted the Hangzhou campaign from his accounts—an omission later replicated in Wen Ruilin’s influential Nanjiang Yishi.

This selective memory reflects the complex legacy of Southern Ming resistance. Some scholars may have avoided documenting failures to preserve the image of Ming loyalism; others perhaps sought to distance themselves from a doomed cause after the Qing consolidation. Only through comparing Qing military reports with scattered Ming accounts can we reconstruct events like the December 1645 campaign.

The Lu Regent State’s Legacy in Chinese History

Though short-lived, the Lu Regent State exemplified the decentralized nature of late Ming resistance. Its focus on regional defense rather than grand campaigns contrasted with the more famous Yongli regime in the southwest. The Qiantang River campaigns also demonstrated how geography shaped Ming loyalist strategy—using waterways as defensive barriers while attempting limited counteroffensives.

Modern historians increasingly view the Lu Regent State as a case study in the challenges of coalition warfare. Zhu Yihai’s inability to fully control generals like Fang Anguo foreshadowed the factionalism that plagued Southern Ming resistance efforts. Yet the bravery of common soldiers—crossing the Qiantang under fire for a silver coin and fading hope—remains a poignant reminder of the human cost of dynastic transition.

The regime’s ultimate failure marked another step in the Qing consolidation of Jiangnan, but its brief resistance preserved Ming loyalist aspirations during a critical period. Today, as scholars reassess the Ming-Qing transition, the Lu Regent State emerges not as a footnote, but as a revealing chapter in China’s seventeenth-century transformation.