In 1681, the Kangxi Emperor heeded the advice of Li Guangdi, a scholar, appointed Shi Lang as the governor of Fujian, and began training the army in preparation for the reconquest of Taiwan. At the same time, the Fujian Governor Yamen was established, and the Governors Yao Qisheng and Shi Lang were ordered to jointly take charge of the recovery of Taiwan. Although Yao Qisheng also participated in this operation, his main purpose was to supervise Shi Lang, who had surrendered from the Zheng family.
Zheng Chenggong died a year after the reconquest of Taiwan, and was succeeded by his son Zheng Jing. However, the Qing dynasty's repeated recruitments were rejected by Zheng Jing. Later, Zheng Jing died of illness, and his son Zheng Kecheng succeeded him. At this time, the Qing Dynasty's policy changed from Zhao'an to offensive.
In the process of recovering Taiwan, Shi Lang adopted the strategy of "suppressing and appeasement", that is, focusing on military strikes, supplemented by political appeasement, economic blockade and other means. He led the Fujian Navy Division to attack Penghu three times in an attempt to eliminate the Zheng clique and achieve unification. However, due to the sudden onset of a storm at sea, all three attacks were unsuccessful.
Although the Kangxi Emperor trusted Shi Lang enough, a dispute arose between Yao Qisheng and Shi Lang. The quarrel between the two was not about whether Taiwan should be recovered, but about the timing of the attack. They had argued repeatedly between the seasons of late autumn and early spring.
After the failure of his first attack on Penghu, Shi Lang suggested to the Kangxi Emperor that "the risk is too great, the situation is critical, and the timing is unfavorable, I suggest that we intensify the attack." The Kangxi Emperor agreed to his proposal and ordered another attack on Taiwan.
On the 22nd day of a leap month in 1683, the 22nd year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Shi Lang led more than 20,000 Fujian sailors and more than 200 warships to launch the third attack on Penghu.
General Liu Guoxuan led 20,000 men and 200 warships to defend. Because of the many winds in June and the unfavorable naval battle, Liu Guoxuan thought that Shi Lang was just bluffing, so he was defenseless.
When the Qing army led by Shi Lang suddenly appeared, Liu Guoxuan was very panicked and hurried to fight. Shi Lang assigned 50 warships on the left and right to attack Zheng Jun, and he led 56 warships to advance from the middle. After the capture of Penghu, the Zheng dynasty was unable to resist the Qing army and could only surrender, ending 22 years of rule in Taiwan, which became Qing territory.
After a fierce battle, Zheng Jun was completely defeated. Zheng led his men to surrender and went to Taiwan to meet the Kangxi Emperor.
The Kangxi Emperor showed great tolerance to Zheng Kecheng and his subordinates, assigning them official positions and rewarding them with houses, land, and gold and silver treasures. At the same time, the Kangxi Emperor abolished the Yamen, the governor of Taiwan, and changed Taiwan into a prefecture in Fujian Province, establishing Taiwanese prefectures, counties, and officials at all levels.
In order to celebrate the reconquest of Taiwan, the Kangxi Emperor also ordered the writing of the book "Records of Pacifying Taiwan" to record the history of the battle. The book is now preserved in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
After the Qing Dynasty occupied Taiwan, they disputed how to govern Taiwan. The Kangxi Emperor believed that Taiwan's strategic location was very important and could not be abandoned and must be guarded.
Therefore, in 1684, the Qing Dynasty established a prefecture and three counties in Taiwan, and sent 8,000 soldiers to garrison Taiwan, while also set up guards in the Penghu Islands, sending 2,000 soldiers.
These soldiers were directly subordinate to Fujian Province. In this way, Taiwan and the mainland were unified, and Taiwan's administrative structure was the same as that of the rest of the mainland.