Chapter 58 Section 3 Landing at Heliao Port

On the first day of March in the fifteenth year of Yongli (the eighteenth year of Shunzhi, 1661 AD), Zheng Chenggong decided to order his son Zheng Jing to stay in Xiamen and lead the army to the east after he was ready for battle.Before departure, Zheng Chenggong held a grand "sacrifice to the river" swearing-in ceremony in Kinmen.In addition to civil and military officers and soldiers, ordinary people also bring the old and the young to visit and bid farewell to their relatives.On the 23rd (April 21st in the Gregorian calendar), Zheng Chenggong led an army of 25,000 people (some say more than 40,000) and more than 100 warships (some say 300) and set off from Liaoluo Bay, Kinmen, but the sails were blocking out the sun. , the flags are like clouds.Hundreds of ships, filed head to tail, marched mightily to the southeast.The next day, when the army reached the sea of ​​Penghu, a violent storm suddenly hit.Zheng Chenggong ordered the ships to suspend their advance.But for a week, the storm got bigger and bigger, and there was no sign of killing it.Some generals suggested continuing to berth, but in order to regain the country as soon as possible, Zheng Chenggong made a decisive decision and decided to break through the stormy waves. According to the scheduled plan, on the evening of the 30th (April 28 in the Gregorian calendar), he ordered the army to set off from Penghu in the rain. At dawn, the sail arrived outside Luermen Port, waiting for the tide to move in with the wind.

Taiwan's coastline is very long, and there are many places where it can land. Zheng Chenggong chose Luermen to land in Taiwan after careful consideration.Luermen is located near Chikan City and Taiwan City. Once you enter Luermen, you can control Chikan City and its port, and block the enemy's way out to sea.However, the situation in Luermen is very dangerous, and there are only two shipping routes from the sea outside Luermen to the port: one is the southern channel between Yikunshen and Beixianwei Island.This channel has a wide mouth and deep water, but it is defended by enemy ships, and the Dutch have placed heavy artillery on the city of Taiwan to control the channel. It will take a lot of money to pass through.The other is the Luermen Channel in the northern part of Weidao, the northern channel.This waterway is only a mile wide, twists and turns, and the water is shallow with sand and gravel. It was a waterway that the Dutch colonists neglected to guard against.Through this channel, you can land at Heliao Port in the north of Chikanlou.Zheng Chenggong decided to break in from the northern channel. The reason why he made such a decision was that he knew that the Dutch army was not fortified here, and that he had He Tingbin and other people who were familiar with the route as guides and had a good grasp of the tide situation there.

At noon on the first day of April, the tide in Luermen rose sharply.Zheng Chenggong "secretly ordered He Tingbin to sit on the bow and return according to the picture" (Jiang Risheng's "Taiwan Wai Ji" Volume 11), so that warships of all sizes passed Luermen smoothly and entered the inland sea, and the ships were distributed among the Taijiang River. superior.The Dutch invaders were helpless at Zheng Jun's unexpected actions and exclaimed "Soldiers descend from the sky".That night, Zheng Jun broke through the obstruction of the Dutch plywood boats and the firepower of the Chikanlou fort on the sea. It took less than two hours to land on the coast at Heliao Port, about 10 miles northwest of Chikan, and cut off the Chikan Tower. The connection between the Chilou and Taiwan City, and set up a camp, preparing to attack the Chikanlou from the side.People of all ethnic groups in Taiwan came one after another after hearing the news, "Men and women make a pot of milk, and those who greet them will block their way." (Yang Ying's "Congzheng Shilu") scrambling to use various means of transportation to help Zheng's army land, showing the people of Taiwan's ardent hope and enthusiasm for the recovery of Taiwan by the motherland's army.