Chapter 108 Section 2 Zheng Chenggong's plan

The decision to go to war with the Dutch was not easy. In the twelfth year of Yongli in the Southern Ming Dynasty (AD 1658), Zheng Chenggong suffered a disastrous defeat in the battle against the Manchurians.On the mainland, the area he controlled rapidly shrunk, only a few isolated coastal cities such as Kinmen and Xiamen were still in his hands.Obviously, these few thin isolated cities could not support Zheng Chenggong's grand anti-Qing concept. His eyes fell on the island of Taiwan. At that time, the image of Taiwan Island was vague and mysterious when viewed from mainland China.In the impression of the people of the Ming Dynasty, this huge island hanging overseas was shrouded in poisonous miasma.People who have been to this island have come back and described that, apart from the savages with broken teeth and tattoos, there are huge and ferocious beasts, and the subtropical primitive jungle beyond the horizon.

Based on this understanding, the Ming Dynasty government never brought this huge island into the attention, but allowed the "red-haired barbarians"--they always called the Dutch--to occupy it.The short-sighted civil officials of the Ming Dynasty almost agreed that this deserted island had no value. In January of the 15th year of Yongli in the Southern Ming Dynasty (AD 1661), at a secret military meeting, Zheng Chenggong first proposed a plan to recover Taiwan. According to the memories of Zheng Chenggong's subordinates, most of the subordinates who attended the meeting did not agree with Zheng Chenggong's proposal.

They strongly demanded to stick to their hometown on the mainland, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.They think that this undeveloped land of Caolai is "poor in geomantic omen and diseased in soil and water".Even if you get it, it won't be of much use.What's more, the Dutch with strong ships and powerful guns have been operating in Taiwan for decades. "The fort is powerful and the waterway is dangerous." Han Chinese have always disliked the sea.They love the mainland not only because their ancestral graves, relatives, friends and family property are all in the mainland, but also because it is also a country of culture they are familiar with.In their view, the ocean is a dead end, a strange place full of dangers, and it is always the last choice.Some people cite history and predict that leaving the mainland will inevitably encounter disaster.

Indeed, since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the sea has been an ominous burial place for the remnants of the regime.Under the close pursuit of the Mongols, the monarchs and ministers of the Southern Song Dynasty were desperate and had to flee into the sea, and finally the entire army was wiped out.Lu Xiufu committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea with the young emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty who was only seven years old on his shoulders, drawing a hasty end to the Southern Song Dynasty with the vortex left on the sea.At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Fang Guozhen, the separatist of Zhejiang, was defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang and chose to lead his people into the sea. Under Zhu Yuanzhang's relentless pursuit, he lost all his warships, supplies and subordinates, and finally had to surrender on his knees.

Zheng Chenggong didn't think so.He told his subordinates that the sea is full of dangers, but also full of opportunities. "Grass has not yet been developed" means hardship and great potential.In Zheng Chenggong's eyes, Taiwan will be the backing for his comeback and a strong fortress for him to continue to fight against the Qing Dynasty. He analyzed Taiwan's advantages to his subordinates in this way: There are thousands of hectares of pastoral land, thousands of miles of fertile fields, and hundreds of thousands of taxes.Shipbuilding and utensils are the best of our people.Nearly it is occupied by the Hongyi, and there are no more than a thousand barbarians in the city, who can be easily attacked.I want to conquer Taiwan, consider it the fundamental land, settle down the generals' families, and then conquer the east and west, without worrying about internal concerns, and can gather lessons. ([clear]

Yang Ying's "Records of the First Kings") As for the Dutch with "strong boats and powerful guns", Zheng Chenggong said that they are mortals after all.If these Dutch riflemen had a taste of Chinese bows and arrows, they might not be so arrogant.