In 1661 AD, Zheng Chenggong, a famous general of the Ming Dynasty, led an army of 100,000 and was defeated by the Qing army in Nanjing. He realized that the Ming Dynasty needed to expand its territory and stabilize the rear.
So, he advised Emperor Longwu to recover Taiwan. Emperor Longwu readily agreed and gave him the surname Zhu of the Ming Dynasty, promising him the glory and wealth of King Yanping. On February 1, Zheng Chenggong led civil and military officials to sacrifice to the river, and after that, he led the warship to Taiwan. So, what happened to Zheng Chenggong's battle to capture Taiwan with the Dutch?
1. First attack - a complete victory
1. Sufficient troops but dare not slack
Zheng Chenggong was defeated in the Battle of Nanjing, with less than one or two remaining 100,000 troops. In addition, it also needs to be deployed on the border to resist the Qing soldiers' forces. Zheng Chenggong can bring only 10,000 people to recover Taiwan.
At that time, there were less than ,200 people in Taiwan. There were less than ,000 people. Zheng Chenggong dared not slacken in such a huge gap in troops. Because the Dutch colonists ruled in Taiwan for forty years, it was enough for them to improve their defense system.
The Dutch built many wooden fences, trenches and forts with a castle as the center. Therefore, although the two sides have a huge gap in strength, they still need strict strategic deployment to achieve victory.
2. Looking for opportunities between the two castles
At that time, the Dutch colonists mainly built two castles in Taiwan, called Gerlandzha and Proventia respectively. Jerlandzha is the main city of the Dutch.
is also the first castle built by the Dutch in Taiwan, located in Snaketou Mountain. The entire castle is divided into two parts, the outer wall is a city wall, and there are arches around , and twelve cannons are equipped with.
There is also a wooden fence at the foot of the mountain, which is used to resist the enemy's firepower and delay time to the greatest extent. At that time, the city of Lelanzha also had its own port to supplement military supplies.
Proventia City was developed from a small shopping mall. The walls were reinforced by oyster shells and sugar water, and there were also cannons around it. To defend against Zheng Chenggong's raid, Dutch colonists dug a trench around the city wall.
However, such a complete defense system has a loophole. Because Luermen silt is severe, it is difficult to establish fortifications here, so Zheng Chenggong can take advantage of it.
3. The hard-won first victory
Zheng Chenggong and his group decided to break through the Luer Gate. One day when the tide of Luermen was rising, the army quietly crossed and stationed at the end of the northern line. The Dutch defenders discovered the Zheng army, so they sent more than 200 soldiers to attack.
Why do the Dutch believe that such a small number of troops in can attack the Zheng army with hundreds of people? In the Guo Huaiyi incident, the Dutch defeated two thousand Chinese rebels with one hundred troops, so they believed that the Zheng army was vulnerable.
However, their naive thoughts are doomed to be a failed ending. Zheng Jun arranged 200 cannons at the end of the northern line and successively outputted firepower.
The Dutch were able to fire three rows of guns, and then suddenly discovered that the rear had been blocked by Zheng's swords and gun soldiers. The Dutch soldiers were in a panic and were completely in chaos, and they fell into the trap that Zheng army had ambushed in advance.
Dutch officers ordered a retreat, Zheng's army attacked on both sides, causing the Dutch to collapse. More than 200 soldiers fled back only a few. In this battle at the end of the northern line, the Zheng army won a great victory.
2. Fighting of warships
1. The Dutch army backfired
With the first failure lesson, the Dutch decided to fight back and intercept Zheng's retreat from the sea. The Dutch sent their most excellent warships, , the Hector and the Sgrafran.
These two ships have a total of fifty cannons, which is much larger than the small warship that only had two cannons in the Zheng army. Zheng Jun knew that his warship had a great disadvantage, so he used two cannons to bombard the deck of the Dutch army. The deck was ignited and there was a riot in the Dutch army. After
, after a considerable sacrifice of Zheng's army, finally boarded the Dutch warship, and fought against the Dutch army's sword. At this time, the most surprising thing happened, and Hector's gunpowder depot was also ignited.
After a heroic explosion, the Dutch proud Hector sank like this.
2. captures the city of Proventia
0 The Dutch people are in a desperate situation. The Dutch army officer Mao Shinan Ding secretly sent his wife and children away. Unexpectedly, he encountered an ambush from Zheng Jun on the way. Mao Shinan Ding could not withstand the pressure on both sides and had to open the city to surrender.
So, the city of Proventia was occupied by the Zheng army, and the Zheng army then regained a lot of land.
3. The protracted battle of Gerlandzha
1. The situation of food shortage
Proventia was captured, and at this time only Gerlandzha was left. However, Zheng Jun faced a huge problem - food shortage.
The defense system of Gerlandzha City is more complete than that of Proventia City, and it is not easy to defeat . Zheng Chenggong knew that he had to prepare for a protracted war. At his order, the Zheng army began to cultivate farms and prepare food and grass.
is not that easy to farm in Taiwan. There are many indigenous people in Taiwan. If Zheng Jun wants to farm in , he will have conflicts with local residents.
In addition, farming requires manpower, and Zheng Jun also needs to carry out high-intensity physical labor when he is hungry. With the unremitting efforts of the Zheng army, the Zheng army wiped out the most powerful indigenous forces in the area and achieved the success of military farming.
3. Fierce fire fighting
Just as the Zheng army was stationed in the fields, Dutch reinforcements arrived in Taiwan. They planned to destroy the Zheng army's fortress first and then sneak attack the warships. The plan is good, but the actual situation is beyond expectations.
on the way to destroy the Zheng army's fortress , Dutch warships were forced to strand in Repulse Bay, and with the impact of ocean currents, the fleet was squeezed into a group. The Dutch fired, but accidentally hit his own warship.
Zheng's army pretended to retreat, which attracted the Dutch to penetrate into its ambush circle. Zheng's army rose up and killed the Dutch army without leaving any armor.
3. Success or failure is here - the last blow
The Dutch himself couldn't beat it and began to look for allies. They found the Qing Dynasty and wanted to attack the Zheng army on both sides. Unfortunately, the Qing soldiers' own war was in a tight position and asked the Dutch to help them capture Xiamen first. thus broke down.
Zheng Chenggong knew the Dutch's plan and decided to launch a general attack on them. Zheng Chenggong transferred heavy artillery from the mainland and destroyed the Dutch bastion within two hours.
Under the fierce firepower, the walls of the city of Jelanzha collapsed, and the Dutch had to declare surrender. From then on, the Zheng army recovered Taiwan and ended the 38-year colonial rule of the Dutch.
summary
Zheng Chenggong recaptured Taiwan, and the right time, place, people and people occupied the reasons. He was familiar with the combat terrain, well versed in the Dutch's combat psychology, and reasonably deployed his own army. In this way, he achieved the final victory. After the Battle of Taiwan, the Ming Dynasty owned the treasure land of Taiwan, and Zheng Chenggong also became a national hero and made great contributions to the reunification of the motherland.
References
"Biography of Zheng Chenggong"
"History of Ming Dynasty"
Text/Wenshi Wangwang
