Zheng Chenggong’s achievements

Zheng Chenggong was born in Senrihama, Hirado, Kawauchiura, Kyushu, Japan, on July 14, the fourth year of Ming Dynasty (August 27, 1624/the first year of Kanei, Japan). His father, Zheng Zhilong, was the leader of maritime merchants and pirates. He had great power on the southeastern coast of China and the waters of Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Zheng Chenggong lived with his mother in Hirado until he was six years old. It was not until his father Zheng Zhilong was recruited and appointed as an official by the Ming Dynasty that Zheng Chenggong was taken back to Shijingjin, Nan'an County, Quanzhou Prefecture (formerly Anping Town, Jinjiang County, Fujian Province, now Anhai Town) to live and study. It is now the site of Chenggong Primary School. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1638), Zheng Chenggong passed the scholar examination and passed the examination to become one of the twenty "Linshan students" in Nan'an County. In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen (1641), he married the niece of Dong Yangxian, the minister of the Ministry of Rites of Jinshi in Hui'an, Quanzhou, Fujian. In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), Zheng Chenggong entered the Nanjing Imperial College in order to pursue further studies, and became a disciple of Qian Qianyi, a famous scholar from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In order to encourage Zheng Chenggong, Qian Qianyi nicknamed him "Damu". In the same year, Li Zicheng defeated Yanjing, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself in Meishan, and the Ming Empire was destroyed; then Wu Sangui led the Qing army into the pass, defeated Li Zicheng and entered Beijing. The surviving ministers of the Ming Dynasty supported the Fu Wang Zhu Yousong in Nanjing and ascended the throne. The following year (1645), the name was changed to "Hongguang". In May of the first year of Hongguang (1645), Prince Duduo of Yu of the Qing Dynasty led his army southward and defeated Yangzhou and Nanjing. Shi Kefa and others died for their country, and Emperor Hongguang was captured and killed. The Hongguang regime fell.

Longwu period

After the overthrow of the Hongguang Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty in 1645, brothers Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui supported Tang King Zhu Yujian in Fuzhou and proclaimed themselves emperor. The month was changed to "Longwu". Later in the same year, Zhu Yihai, King of Lu, also called the Jianguo in Shaoxing, and changed the next year to "the first year of the Lujianguo". Although the two regimes of Longwu and Lujianguo were both "determined to restore", they were contradictory and conflicting with each other, and each went his own way. In the first year of Longwu (1645), Zheng Chenggong was appreciated by Emperor Longwu, who granted him the title of Zhongxiao Bo and the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Camp. He was given a national surname, changed his name to "Shenggong", and became the consort. Zheng Hongkui's son Zheng Zhaoji was also granted a national surname by Emperor Longwu. This is the reason why people call Zheng Chenggong the "Master of the country"; Zheng Zhaoji is called "the master of the country" because he is young. From the second year of Longwu (1646), Zheng Chenggong began to lead the army. He was ordered to go in and out of Fujian and Jiangxi to fight against the Qing troops many times, and he was highly regarded by Emperor Longwu. However, Zheng Zhilong, who really held the military and political power, had no intention of fighting the Qing army with all his strength. He even ordered the Xianxia Pass guard Shi Fu (also known as Shi Tianfu, Shi Lang's uncle) to withdraw his troops to Fuzhou when the Qing army marched south to Fujian. This move resulted in the Qing army encountering almost no resistance when they invaded northern Fujian. The second minister, Hong Chengchou, was a fellow villager of Zheng Zhilong. Under the inducement of his promise to give the princes of the three provinces, Zheng Zhilong decided to take his other sons north to surrender to the Qing army, regardless of the opposition of Zheng Chenggong, Zheng Hongkui and others. Zheng Chenggong failed to dissuade his father, so he had to leave Kinmen with some of his soldiers. Zheng Zhilong originally thought that after surrendering to the Qing army, he would not only keep his family business, but also get a promotion. Unexpectedly, the Qing army general Bolo broke the promise and not only took Zheng Zhilong and his disciples to Yanjing, but also sent troops to attack Nan'an, the hometown of the Zheng family in southern Fujian. Zheng Chenggong's mother, the Tagawa family, had moved from Japan to settle in Nan'an at that time, but unfortunately she encountered this disaster and hanged herself during the war. When Zheng Chenggong learned that his mother had died, he strengthened his determination to fight against the Japanese invaders. In August of the second year of Longwu, the Qing army captured Pucheng and Xiapu. Emperor Longwu fled to Jiangxi, but was captured by the Qing army in Tingzhou. After that, he went on an unyielding hunger strike and died.

Raising troops to fight against the Qing Dynasty

Schematic diagram of Zheng Chenggong’s sphere of influence

After Zheng Chenggong escaped from Kinmen, he began to recruit troops from various coastal areas and incorporated Zheng Zhilong’s old troops, and even raised troops in South Australia Thousands of troops. In December of the second year of Longwu (January 1647), Zheng Chenggong swore to fight against the Qing Dynasty in Lieyu (Little Kinmen) in the name of "loyalty and filial piety. In July of the third year of Longwu (1647), Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Cai's troops attacked Haicheng but failed. In August, Chenggong and Zheng Hongkui's troops encircled Quanzhou City. Wang Jin, deputy general of Zhangzhou of the Qing army, arrived with reinforcements. Zheng's army was defeated and retreated. In the fourth year of Longwu (1648), Lu Ruoteng, governor of Zhejiang Province in the Southern Ming Dynasty, and others returned. After Zheng Chenggong accumulated strength, he attacked again and conquered Tong'an County. In May, Zheng's army besieged Quanzhou. In July, the Qing army's Jingnan general Chen Tai, Zhejiang and Fujian governor Chen Jin, Fujian admiral Zhao Guozuo and others turned to attack Tong'an. Zheng's army was defeated, and the defenders, soldiers and civilians suffered numerous casualties. Soon, reinforcements from the Qing Dynasty arrived in Quanzhou. Zheng Chenggong relieved the siege of Quanzhou and retreated to the sea in despair.

In the same year, Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren, the commander-in-chief of Jiangxi Province in the Qing Dynasty, launched an army in Jiangxi to rebel. Li Chengdong, the governor of Guangdong in the Qing Dynasty, also defected to the Yongli court, which greatly increased the momentum of the anti-Qing Dynasty and restoration of the Ming Dynasty. It is a pity that the anti-Qing forces of all parties did not have a tacit understanding with each other and acted independently, and most of them were reduced to local struggles. Soon after, the Qing Dynasty suppressed the forces of Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren in Jiangxi; Li Chengdong's army in Guangdong also perished in the third year of Yongli. In the third year of Yongli (1649), Zheng Chenggong changed the reign name of Yongli to Zhengshuo. Later, Emperor Yongli named him King Yanping, so some people also called him Zheng Yanping.

Battle of Chaozhou

Zheng Chenggong

At this time, the southern Fujian region was in chaos. In addition to the official troops of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing army, there were local tyrants and The bandits occupied the city, fought with each other, and collected money and food from the people nearby, just like a local emperor. Compared with these local forces, Zheng Chenggong had relatively complete military equipment, but because his army was too large and his territory was too small, he faced difficulties The major problem of raising food and wages. In October of the third year of Yongli, Zheng Chenggong decided to send his troops south. In addition to attacking the Qing army in southern Fujian, he also planned to conquer the cities and villages in various places along the way as a source of food. After more than a month, they captured Zhangpu, Yunxiao and other places from Jianlu, and also pacified Dahao, Xiamei and other villages. In November, Zheng's army failed to attack Zhao'an, so they decided to move to eastern Guangdong and diverted the water. Guan went to Chaozhou to conquer the uncooperative sporadic forces; by May of the following year, he conquered Chaoyang and many surrounding cottages for the first time. Although Chaozhou guard Hao Shangjiu had joined Li Chengdong in his rebellion against the Qing Dynasty in the second year of Yongli reign, he had attacked Shi Lang and Zheng Hongkui's troops. He also rejected Zheng Chenggong's request for a "coalition" and sent troops to fight against Zheng Chenggong when he attacked Xinxuzhai. The army was in trouble and there was always a rift between him and Zheng Chenggong. In June of the fourth year of Yongli, Zheng Chenggong's army arrived in Chaozhou, and he sent troops to attack Chaozhou on the grounds that Hao Shangjiu's position was "unclear". Hao Shangjiu's troops were defeated by Zheng's army and had to retreat to Chaozhou Fucheng; Jieyang, Puning, Huilai and other counties fell into the hands of Zheng's army. Soon, Jianlu invaded Guangdong again, leaving Hao Shangjiu in a situation where he was surrounded by enemies from behind and in Chaozhou. He surrendered to the Qing army in anger and led the Qing army into Chaozhou City to fight against Zheng Chenggong together. The Zheng army besieged Chaozhou City for three months. In addition to being unable to defeat the city and suffering from low morale, they also faced problems with food and salary support. They had no choice but to lift the siege of Chaozhou and return to southern Fujian in August.

Capture Xiamen

In the fourth year of Yongli (1650), the troops of Zheng Cai and Zheng Lian, uncles of Zheng Chenggong's clan (one said clan brother), took over Xiamen. After Zheng Chenggong returned to southern Fujian, in order to expand his strength, he used Zheng Lian's excuse to expropriate Xiamen and make the people miserable; he adopted Shi Lang's advice and used tricks to capture Xiamen. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in the fourth year of Yongli, Zheng Chenggong took advantage of Zheng Cai's departure from Xiamen and went to Xiamen to visit Zheng Lian. Zheng Lian was carelessly undefended and was assassinated to death. Soon, Zheng Cai learned of Zheng Lian's death and did not dare to go against Zheng Chenggong. He returned to Xiamen and handed over all his military power. Zheng Chenggong since then took over most of Zheng Cai and Zheng Lian's troops, and actually gained control of Xiamen and Kinmen. as a base. The fall of Xiamen In November of the fourth year of Yongli, the Qing army Pingnan and Jingnan kings led tens of thousands of cavalry to invade Guangzhou. Zheng Chenggong followed the Yongli Emperor's order to go south to the Qinwang, and ordered his uncle Zheng Zhiwan to stay in Xiamen. In December, Zheng Chenggong arrived in Jieyang, Guangdong, and joined forces with Zheng Hongkui. After discussion, the two decided that Zheng Chenggong would continue to lead the army south to Qinwang, while Zheng Hongkui would move to Xiamen to assist in the defense. In the same year, King Lu, accompanied by Zeng Ying and others from the cabinet, came to Xiamen to seek refuge with Zheng Chenggong

Zheng Chenggong was placed in Kinmen. In the first month of the fifth year of Yongli (1651), Zheng Chenggong arrived in Nan'ao. On February 25, Zheng's fleet encountered a storm near Yanzhou Port. Zheng Chenggong's main ship almost disintegrated and capsized, and almost all the equipment on board, including the tripod and stove, were lost; according to records, even food could not be prepared on board at that time. , Zheng Chenggong himself also went hungry for two meals. It wasn't until the storm subsided in the afternoon of the next day that Zheng Chenggong's main and auxiliary ships were able to return to the shore to rendezvous with the fleet. This was the biggest danger Zheng Chenggong himself encountered at sea. Afterwards, Zheng Chenggong also rewarded the two pilots of the Chinese navy ship. In March, Zheng Jun arrived at Guangdong Daxing Institute. On the other hand, Zhang Xuesheng, the governor of Fujian in the Qing Dynasty, learned that Zheng Chenggong's main army had gone to Guangdong and that Xiamen's defense was loose, and there seemed to be an opportunity to take advantage of it. He ordered Ma Degong, Wang Bangjun and others to take advantage of the situation to attack Xiamen. Ma Degong took Zheng Zhibao hostage in Nan'an and ordered him to hand over the ship to ferry the Qing army to Xiamen, and successfully defeated the Zheng army on the sea. In the face of the Qing army's attack, Zheng Zhiwan, who was in charge of Xiamen's defense, was timid before fighting. He only carried his belongings to his private boat and fled. This allowed the Qing army to easily break through Xiamen and plunder the Zheng family's savings and equipment.

Due to the sudden incident, Mrs. Dong and Zheng Chenggong's eldest son Zheng Jing only had time to take the ancestral tablet to the sea and escape. After the Qing army succeeded in the sneak attack by luck, they had no intention of staying in Xiamen to fight the decisive battle with the Zheng army, so they returned to the inland with loads of loot. At this time, Zheng Hongkui, who rushed to Xiamen for support, happened to encounter the returning Ma Degong troops on the sea and surrounded them. However, Ma Degong threatened to kill his mother and brother (Zheng Zhilong), so he had no choice but to let Ma Degong go. Soon, Zheng Chenggong learned the news of the attack on Xiamen in Guangdong. Originally, he insisted on continuing to go south to serve the king, but in the end, because his soldiers longed for home and heard cries everywhere, he had no choice but to return to Xiamen. After regaining Xiamen, Zheng Chenggong investigated the responsibility and beheaded his uncle Zheng Zhiwan who had fled. Zheng Hongkui, who had let Ma Degong go, surrendered his military power and retired to Baisha, no longer interfering in political affairs. In May of the fifth year of Yongli, General Shi Lang under Zheng Hongkui executed Zeng De, Zheng Chenggong's subordinate. This offended Zheng Chenggong and made Zheng Chenggong decide to kill Shi Lang's family. Although Shi Lang escaped with the help of his friends, his father and brother were executed by Zheng Chenggong, and he forged a deep hatred with them ever since. After Shi Lang fled Xiamen, he decided to surrender to the Qing Dynasty again.

The Battles of Zhangzhou and Haicheng

In the second half of the fifth year of Yongli (1651), Zheng Jun fought in Xiaoyingling, Haicheng (now Longhai City) and other places in southern Fujian , won the battles of Cizao, Qianshan and Xiaoyingling, and conquered Pinghe, Zhangpu, Zhao'an, Nanjing and other places. At the end of the year, people including Dingxi Marquis Zhang Mingzhen and others came to join Zheng Chenggong, which made Zheng Jun's momentum even stronger. In January of the sixth year of Yongli (1652), Haicheng guard He Wenxing surrendered to Zheng Chenggong. In February, the Zheng army attacked Changtai, and the Qing Dynasty sent Chen Jin to lead an army to rescue; the two armies started a battle at Jiangdong Bridge. Relying on his familiarity with the terrain of southern Fujian, Zheng Chenggong arranged many ambushes near Jiangdong Bridge, defeated Chen Jin, annihilated most of the Qing troops, and won the Battle of Jiangdong Bridge. Soon Changtai was captured. After conquering Changtai, Zheng Chenggong gathered an army to attack Zhangzhou Fucheng and surrounded it layer by layer. In April, in order to relieve the siege of Zhangzhou, the Qing Dynasty raised a hundred ships to invade Xiamen and attack Zheng Chenggong, who was bound to save it. Zheng Chenggong then sent Chen Hui, Zhou Rui and others to lead more than a hundred warships to attack, and defeated the Qing army in Chongwu, winning the Battle of Chongwu. Zheng's army won a great victory at sea, so the pressure on Zhangzhou City did not decrease slightly; however, the Zhangzhou defenders were also very tenacious, making the siege of the city last for more than half a year. After a few months, the water and food in Zhangzhou City were exhausted, and countless soldiers and people died of starvation. It is said that at that time, the soldiers and civilians in the city competed with each other for food. Even those who had food at home did not dare to cook it, because if they were found to be lighting up the smoke, their homes would be robbed. There were even legends of cannibalism happening. In September of the sixth year of Yongli, the Qing general Gushan Ezhen (dutong) Jin Li led an army of ten thousand people to Fujian and entered Quanzhou Prefecture. Only then did Zheng Chenggong order the lifting of the siege of Zhangzhou to wait for the enemy. Zheng Chenggong deployed his troops in Jiangdong, intending to ambush Jin Li's army in the same way he defeated Chen Jin, but Jin Li Gushan saw through it, and the two armies started a melee. After the Zheng army failed in the battle, they had no choice but to retreat to ensure the safety of Haicheng and Xiamen. In April of the seventh year of Yongli (1653), Jin Li invaded Haicheng and launched a fierce battle with Zheng Chenggong. Under the fierce artillery fire of the Qing army, Zheng Chenggong's troops suffered heavy losses, and many of his generals died in battle. Seeing that the morale of the troops was low, Zheng Chenggong went to the front of the battle line to shout in person, but also narrowly escaped shelling. In May, Zheng Chenggong detected that the Qing army was short of gunpowder, money and food, so he lured the enemy into a decisive battle. Taking advantage of the Qing army's large-scale crossing of the river, he used fire to attack Jin Li and won the battle of Haicheng. Haicheng was safe.

Negotiating peace with the Qing Dynasty

After the Qing army was defeated twice, in August of the seventh year of Yongli, he sent envoys to negotiate peace with Zheng Chenggong. Zheng Chenggong saw that the army was exhausted after years of fighting and wanted to take this opportunity to raise food and pay for some rest, so he agreed to negotiate with the Qing Dynasty. The Qing government planned to confer Zheng Chenggong the title of Duke of Haicheng and promised to give a prefecture (Quanzhou Prefecture) a place to place soldiers and generals; such conditions were not accepted by Zheng Chenggong. In the eighth year of Yongli reign (1654), Dingxi Hou Zhang Mingzhen saw that the Qing army had concentrated its forces in Fujian, and the defense of Zhejiang and Jiangsu areas was bound to be empty. So he asked Zheng Chenggong for help and led a hundred warships northward to capture the Jiangnan area. Zhang Mingzhen's Northern Expedition invaded the Yangtze River and reached Jinshan Temple, threatening the city of Nanjing. However, due to insufficient support, they had to return. In February, the Qing government sent envoys to Zheng Chenggong again, promising to grant land to Xinghua, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, and Chaozhou. Zheng Chenggong refused again on the grounds that "there are many troops and horses, and there are not enough places in several provinces". In August, the Qing Dynasty sent envoys to discuss the matter; Zheng Chenggong's brothers Zheng Du and Zheng Yin were also among the envoys.

Zheng Chenggong said that "the Qing Dynasty has no sincerity" and said, "I have not received an imperial edict, but my father is glorious in the court." He once again rejected the conditions proposed by the Qing Dynasty. In the eighth year of Yongli reign, Li Dingguo, King of Xining in the Southern Ming Dynasty, contacted Zheng Chenggong, hoping to jointly attack Guangdong from the east and west, so that the Ming Dynasty's forces would be able to merge; if they could further advance north along the Yangtze River and attack the provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu, the great cause of revival would be possible. Zheng Chenggong sent Lin Cha and Zhou Rui to supervise the army to march westward, but for some reason the appointment with Li Dingguo was delayed. As a result, Li Dingguo fought alone. Although he conquered Zhaoqing, he was defeated outside Guangzhou and returned. Li Dingguo originally had great expectations for joining forces with Zheng Chenggong for the Northern Expedition, and even arranged for Li and Zheng to marry to consolidate their alliance. However, due to Zheng Chenggong's repeated mistakes during his military career, Li Dingguo missed important events. Li Dingguo was quite disappointed. In November of the eighth year of Yongli Dynasty, Liu Guoxuan, the Qing army's assistant defender of Zhangzhou, surrendered to Zheng Chenggong and led Zheng's army into Zhangzhou's capital city. Seeing that the situation was over, Zhang Shiyao, the main town of Zhangzhou, and all the following officials surrendered to Zheng's army. In December, Zheng's army divided its forces and attacked, capturing Tong'an, Nan'an, Hui'an, Anxi, Yongchun, and Dehua counties, and the army entered Xinghua. Set up six officials and change the center left to Siming Prefecture in the ninth year of Yongli (1655). Because Emperor Yongli and Zheng Chenggong were far apart in power, Emperor Yongli specifically allowed Zheng Chenggong to set up six officials and official functions such as inspection, acceptance and trial. At the same time, he is allowed to appoint official positions, including military attaches up to the first rank, and civilians up to six ministries. Every time Zheng Chenggong paid homage to an official, he would invite Zhu Shugui and the Ming Dynasty clan to watch the ceremony to show respect for the system. Zheng Chenggong also changed the name of Xiamen (then known as Zhongzuo Suo) to Siming Prefecture and built a martial arts pavilion so that Zheng Chenggong could personally supervise the training of officers and soldiers. In September of the same year, General Dingyuan of the Qing army and Prince Jidu of Prince Zheng led an army of 30,000 into Fujian. Together with the Qing troops stationed in Fujian, they prepared to attack Xiamen. Zheng Chenggong decided to abandon the occupied towns of Zhang and Quan, and demolished the city walls so that the Qing army had nothing to station, thereby consolidating the defenses of Jin and Xia. At the same time, they also dispatched generals to lead their naval divisions to attack in two directions, one going north to Zhejiang and one going south to Guangdong, making it difficult for the Qing army to take care of both the head and tail. Zheng's army in the north was victorious in consecutive battles and invaded Zhoushan; although Zheng's army in the south once captured Jieyang, it was defeated by Qing reinforcements and suffered heavy casualties. In April of the following year, Jidu mobilized various naval forces to attack Xiamen, and was severely beaten by the Zheng army in the Weitou sea area. The Qing army was defeated and returned. Zheng Jun won the battle of Quanzhou. In December of the tenth year of Yongli (1656), Zheng Chenggong's troops won another victory in the Battle of Huguoling in northeastern Fujian. When the Southern Expeditionary Fleet returned to Xiamen, Zheng Chenggong decided to punish Su Mao, Huang Wu, and Du Hui for defeat. However, after the generals knelt down to plead for mercy, Zheng Chenggong decided to behead Su Mao and Huang and Du. To redeem one's sins. Later, Zheng Chenggong ordered Huang Wu to guard Haicheng, and specifically asked Huang Wu to do his best to make meritorious deeds. However, Huang Wu knew that Zheng Chenggong had always been strict in running the army, and was afraid that he would die if he made another mistake, so he discussed it with his deputy Su Ming. , decided to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and offer Haicheng County. Haicheng is a strong fortress that Zheng Chenggong invested a lot of manpower and material resources into over the years. Huang Wu's surrender undoubtedly dealt a big blow to Zheng Chenggong. More than ten years after he launched his army, Zheng Chenggong’s strongholds were still mainly coastal islands such as Xiamen and Kinmen. However, Zheng Chenggong completely controlled the sea power. On the one hand, he established extensive commercial bases (Shanwu Merchants) deep inland and opened up sources of goods to trade with foreigners to accumulate funds; on the other hand, he used this to recruit soldiers (including Japanese, white, black and other foreign mercenaries) and It imported armor, cannons, swords and other weapons to prepare military strength and armaments; it also developed Hongmen, an intelligence organization based on commercial strongholds in the interior. In 1950, Xiamen City renamed the urban area Siming District to commemorate the national hero Zheng Chenggong.

The Battle of the Yangtze River and Nanjing

In the twelfth year of Yongli (1658), Zheng Chenggong led a navy and army of 170,000 to join forces with Zhang Huangyan in eastern Zhejiang and decided to launch a large-scale northern expedition. Before the army entered the Yangtze River, it encountered a hurricane in the Yangshan Sea and suffered heavy losses, so it had to temporarily retreat to Xiamen. The following year, Zheng Chenggong once again led the army in the Northern Expedition. Together with Zhang Huangyan's troops, they successfully entered the Yangtze River and conquered Zhenjiang and Guazhou one after another. They successively won the battles of Dinghaiguan, Guazhou and Zhenjiang, and surrounded Nanjing. Zhang Huangyan's troops also recovered more than ten prefectures and counties in the Wuhu area, and Jiangdong was shaken for a while. Later, because Zheng Chenggong succeeded in the Qing army's plan to slow down the troops, he was accidentally attacked by the Qing army. As a result, the Zheng army was defeated and lost many generals, including Gan Hui, Wan Li, Lin Sheng, Chen Kui, Zhang Ying and other generals who died in the battle. After Zheng Chenggong was defeated, he tried to capture Chongming County as a base for another attack on the Yangtze River, but was unable to capture it for a long time and had to retreat to Xiamen. The Battle of Nanjing can be said to be the most important battle in Zheng Chenggong's career, but it prospered first and then declined, ending in a major defeat, which dealt a fatal setback to Zheng Chenggong's anti-Qing cause.

In the 14th year of Yongli's reign, he annihilated more than 40,000 naval troops led by the Qing general Dasu at Haimen Port in Fujian (now Longhaidong), won the Battle of Xiamen, and regained his prestige.

Recovering and building the treasure island of Taiwan

Restoration model of Relanzha City

After the failure of the Northern Expedition to Nanjing, Zheng Chenggong’s troops were severely weakened and faced the problem of insufficient military rations. question. In order to solve the logistical problems of the army, Zheng Chenggong decided to go to Taiwan. In the fifteenth year of Yongli's reign (1661), Zheng Chenggong personally led 25,000 soldiers and hundreds of warships, setting out from Liaoluo Bay in Kinmen, passing through Penghu, and marching towards Taiwan. The Netherlands had two major defensive fortresses in Taiwan, one was Fort Zeelandia (today's Anping Castle in Tainan City) in Dazhuang, and the other was Prominzia City in Chikan, inland of the Taijiang River. On the first day of April (April 30, 1661), Zheng's army entered the Taijiang Inland Sea via the Lu'ermen Sea Channel and landed at Heliao Port (near Kaiyuan Temple in today's North District, Tainan City), intending to capture the weakly defended Polominzha City first. (Provinta, today’s Chikan Tower, Tainan). Zheng Jun then launched a naval battle with Dutch warships in the waters of the Taijiang River, sank the Dutch warship Hector, and gained control of the inland waters of the Taijiang River. At the same time, he defeated the Dutch army in the northern end of the line, and surrounded the city of Prominence with superior force. Soon, on April 5 (May 4, 1661), the defenders of Prominzha City were forced to surrender. On May 2, Zheng Chenggong changed the Chikan area to Mingjing, the eastern capital, and established one prefecture and two counties. The prefecture was Chengtian Prefecture, Tianxing County, and Wannian County. Illustrations from the book "The Forgotten Formosa"

After taking the city of Plominja as a stronghold, the Zheng army immediately besieged the city of Relanja by sea and land. Considering that it was not easy to arrange food and pay for the 20,000-strong army, Zheng Chenggong did not plan for a protracted war. He put pressure on the city of Jelandja from the beginning, trying to coerce the Dutch army to surrender. After the Dutch Chief Minister Frederik Coyett rejected his surrender request, Zheng Chenggong once ordered a storming of the city of Jelandje. However, he encountered extremely stubborn resistance from the Dutch army, and Zheng's army suffered heavy losses. Due to the inability to attack by force and the shortage of food for the army, Zheng Chenggong was forced to change his strategy and sent most of his troops to farm fields in the north and south to collect money and food. In order to relieve the army's urgent need of food shortage, Zheng Chenggong changed to a long-term siege strategy for the city of Relanja. In July of the fifteenth year of Yongli (1661), the reinforcements dispatched by the Dutch East India Company from Batavia arrived in Dazhang. In addition to more than 600 soldiers and 11 warships, the reinforcements also brought the city of Gerlandia to the city. Get lots of supplies and gunpowder. At that time, Zheng Chenggong's military strength was still dispersed across Taiwan to carry out tasks. The number of troops stationed in Daguan and Puluminzhacheng towns was estimated to be less than 3,000, which rekindled the Dutch army's hope of counterattack. In mid-July, the Dutch reinforcements anchored offshore were hit by strong winds and were forced to leave the coast of Dazhuang and go to Penghu to escape the wind and rain. Among them, the Dutch warship Urck unfortunately ran aground, and all the people on board were captured by Zheng's army. This incident gave the Zheng Army a temporary opportunity to prepare. By the time the Dutch warships returned to the Taiyuan Sea area in August, the Zheng Army had completed preparations for combat although it was unable to mobilize most of its troops. In mid-August, the Dutch and Zhengzhou armies engaged in a fierce naval battle in the inland waters of the Taijiang River. The Zheng army won a complete victory, sinking a Dutch warship and seizing several ships. Since then, the Dutch army has lost the ability to take the initiative. In December of the 15th year of Yongli, Hans Jeuriaen Rade, a German-Dutch noncommissioned officer, defected. With the help of the information he provided, Zheng Chenggong bombarded and destroyed the Utrecht bunker in the city of Relandja, thus ending the destruction of the city of Relandje. It’s a foregone conclusion. On December 8 (January 28, 1662), the Dutch chief executive wrote a letter to Zheng Chenggong, expressing his agreement to "peace talks." After several negotiations, the Dutch finally surrendered to Zheng Chenggong and withdrew from Taiwan on December 20, the 15th year of Yongli (February 9, 1662). Zheng Chenggong ordered the reclamation of Taiwan, extending from Kavalan (Yilan) in the north to Langqiao (Hengchun) in the south. Later, due to the resistance of the Papora people of the Dadu Pingpu tribe and the Langqiao people, Slow down the expansion; Zheng Chenggong's actual ruling area was from Erlin (now Erlin Town, Changhua County) to Qieteng (Jiadong Township, Pingtung County). After Aixinjueluo Xuanye became the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Huang Wu proposed the "Five Strategies to Ping thieves" to the leader Ao Bai, which included a 20-year border relocation order to cut off Zheng Chenggong's economic and trade for 20 miles from Shandong to Guangdong. financial resources; destroy coastal ships and not allow them to enter the water; at the same time, kill the father of success, Zheng Zhilong, at the place where Ning Guta migrated (one theory is that he killed him at Chaishikou, Yanjing, which is now the west entrance of Fuxue Hutong, the execution ground since the Arc Period); dig The ancestral graves of the Zheng family; the officers and soldiers moved to surrender and reclaimed the wasteland.

Zheng Chenggong heard bad news one after another. In addition, the soldiers in Taiwan were unaccustomed to the local environment and people were panicking. His son Zheng Jing had an affair with a wet nurse in Penghu. As a result, Zheng Chenggong was forced to do so internally and externally. In May of the 16th year of Yongli's reign (June 23, 1662), Zheng Chenggong became seriously ill. He died. Before his death, he shouted: "I have no face to see the late emperor underground." He scratched his face and died. He was only 39 years old. He was originally buried in Zhouzaiwei, a suburb of Tainan (now part of Yongkang City). In 1699, the ancestral tomb of Nan'an was moved and buried. Zheng Chenggong's son Zheng Jing continued to run Taiwan and changed the eastern capital to Dongning. According to Chen Yonghua's suggestion, the central official system of the Ming Dynasty was transplanted, and the Zhengshuo of the deceased Yongli Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty was still enshrined. Later, because Shi Lang surrendered to conquer Penghu Island, his grandson Zheng Keshuang surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in 1683. In order to prevent the Taiwanese people from resisting, all the Zheng family's tombs in Taiwan were exhumed and moved inland by the Qing Dynasty. In April 1684, Taiwan was officially included in the territory of the Qing Dynasty, under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province, with the establishment of Taiwan Prefecture, which administered Taiwan County, Fengshan County and Zhuluo County. In total, the Zheng regime only lasted in Taiwan for a short twenty years. However, due to Because of its special background, historians in Taiwan, China, and Japan have paid close attention to it and put forward various interesting viewpoints.