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Text | Linchuan
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introduction
The name Zheng Chenggong is not unfamiliar in our history books. He was the spokesperson of the Ming Dynasty and contributed to the development of trade in East and Southeast Asia. As a "recruiting general", he used Xiamen as his base camp, making the Mingzheng Group a barrier to protect the maritime security of the Chinese nation.
However, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong raised the banner of "anti-Qing and restoration of the Ming Dynasty". When he started his army in 1646, only more than 90 people were willing to follow him.
However, before successfully recovering Taiwan in 1660, the Ming and Zheng clique was able to launch a war of up to 100,000 people in the two northern expeditions to the Yangtze River, reaching the peak of its strength.
(Zheng Chenggong)
However, in 1661, Zheng Chenggong was exhausted for many years, his health was not as good as before, and his failure to completely conquer Manila became his heart disease, and the fierce general closed his eyes unwillingly and died with hatred.
(Zheng Jing)
After that, can Zheng Jing take on the heavy responsibility of inheriting his father's great cause? How is the development of agriculture and commerce in Taiwan under his rule? How did he deal with the Qing Dynasty, which wanted to unify Taiwan? How did Taiwan finally return to the unified Chinese territory?
At first, the Zheng clique split into two parts, with the eldest son Zheng Jing occupying Xiamen and Zheng Chenggong's younger brother Zheng Zheng occupying Taiwan. However, Zheng Jing was not willing to be sidelined by power and decided to rely on the power of the Qing dynasty.
First, the final victory was won in the civil war, and the foundation was not firmly retreated to Taiwan
At first, the Zheng clique split into two parts, with the eldest son Zheng Jing occupying Xiamen and Zheng Chenggong's younger brother Zheng Zheng occupying Taiwan. However, Zheng Jing was not willing to be sidelined by power and decided to rely on the power of the Qing dynasty.
In 1662, Zheng Jing consulted with the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty and proposed to emulate the Korean tribute. However, the Kangxi Emperor believed that Taiwan was originally part of China, and agreed to this request, that is, to allow Zheng Jing to support the army and establish a new state. He therefore strongly disagreed.
(Kangxi Emperor)
Taking advantage of the truce with the Qing dynasty, Zheng Jing attacked Taiwan in November, eliminating his opponents in one fell swoop and becoming the true leader of the Zheng clique. This civil war for power ended with Zheng Zheng under house arrest.
At this time, Zheng Jing was not at ease, and his new prestige was insufficient, and his rule was shaky. The Dutch who have been expelled from Taiwan are still watching, waiting for the right moment to one day make a comeback.
The Netherlands chose to temporarily cooperate with the Qing Dynasty to attack Xiamen. No matter how heroic Zheng Jun was, he could not withstand such an offensive, and could only retreat to Tongshan.
Facing the Qing Dynasty, who once again sent people to appease, Zheng Jing said angrily: "Let me cut my hair and land on the shore and surrender, even if I die, I will not do such a thing!" ”
(Dutch Army)
In 1664, Zheng Jing realized that Xiamen was over, and many generals were unwilling to fight again, abandoning Zheng Jing and defecting to the Qing dynasty. Zheng Jing made a difficult decision: retreat to Taiwan!
At this time, the Qing Dynasty sent Fujian naval divisions to attack Taiwan twice, but they were unable to attack Taiwan smoothly due to unpredictable weather. Many ministers began to think that this matter was thankless and hoped that Kangxi would not focus on the capture of Taiwan.
Kangxi adopted these suggestions, reduced the army, and adopted a policy of appeasement against Taiwan's Ming and Zheng clique. This gave Zheng Jing the opportunity to recuperate.
(Zheng successfully regained Taiwan)
2. Actively develop Taiwan's economy and prosper maritime trade
In Taiwan, Zheng Jing was not idle, he decided to be humiliated and realize the dream of world rule in Taiwan first. Zheng Jing knows very well the truth that people are good at duty. After retreating to Taiwan, he appointed Chen Yonghua as the general political affairs and Liu Guoxuan in charge of the military.
Taiwan is fertile and rich in species. Chan realised that overseas trade was a rare business opportunity. Therefore, he actively developed agriculture and overseas trade. People were called upon to cultivate sugar cane in order to achieve self-sufficiency, and at the same time trade with foreign countries and replenish the national treasury.
Soon, Taiwan became a trade center not inferior to the mainland, Japan, Siam and other places came to trade with Taiwan, and many towns became the prototype of modern cities.
In terms of ideology and culture, Zheng Jing adopted Chen Yonghua's suggestions to build schools, build temples, and vigorously develop the imperial examination system to recruit talents.
(Zheng Jing)
In addition, he ordered the towns to practice martial arts in their leisure time, recruit sergeants to supplement their army, and look for talents who were both civil and military.
The Qing Dynasty decided to implement a policy of border relocation. They forced coastal people to leave the coastal areas and blocked trade between the two sides. The Qing dynasty believed that this would prevent Taiwan from receiving sufficient supplies when it lacked supplies. However, this move has serious flaws, and the coastal economy and people's living standards have rapidly declined.
Zheng Jing did not panic, the right road did not work, he bribed the coastal generals and carried out trade through smuggling.
Thanks to the efforts of Zheng Jinghe officials at all levels, Taiwan has become rich, its treasury has been full, and the quality of its armed forces has also been improved. In the face of his achievements in Taiwan, Zheng Jing was a little fluttery, and he thought that this was a good opportunity to attack the mainland in the west and "oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty."
(Shi Lang)
However, Geng Jingzhong, who occupied Fujian, did not cooperate sincerely, and the leaders of several anti-Qing forces also had their own selfish intentions, and the cooperation broke down but was defeated by the Qing army, and Zheng Jing had to retire to Xiamen again, and later returned to Taiwan.
This failure made Zheng Jing slumped from then on, and he was depressed and began to paralyze himself with lust. In 1681, Zheng Jing died at the age of 40.
Third, Zheng Jing died early and the dragons were leaderless, and the Qing Dynasty recovered Taiwan in one fell swoop
The untimely death once again caused a crisis of rule within the Ming and Zheng clique, and Zheng Jing's son, Zheng Kezang, was hanged after being deposed, and Shi Lang, the former commander-in-chief of the Fujian Naval Division, saw this opportunity and decided to attack Taiwan.
In 1682, Shi Lang had 20,000 elite soldiers and 300 large and small warships. Taiwan, on the other hand, can only temporarily change merchant ships into warships, and barely find more than 20,000 people to resist, which shows the huge disparity in forces.
(Qing Dynasty Army)
Shi Lang was extremely familiar with naval operations, and Liu Guoxuan could only barely resist, and miscalculated the timing of the Qing army's attack. He originally thought that the weather at sea in the Taiwan Strait in June was extremely bad, and Shi Lang could not launch an attack at this time.
However, on June 16, the expected storm did not come, but the first to arrive was Shi Lang's army, and the two sides fought fiercely. Liu Guoxuan was defeated and retreated, and the island of Taiwan was also in chaos.
After deliberating, everyone thought that there was no chance of a comeback, and after learning about it, Zhu Shugui, the former king of Jing, thought that as a clan relative of the Ming Dynasty, if he surrendered and died, he would face the ancestors and Liezong, and committed suicide after making a desperate poem.
In desperation, Liu Guoxuan also chose to surrender, and Kangxi appointed him as the commander-in-chief of Tianjin. During his term of office, Liu Guoxuan was a merit for clean officials, building water conservancy, and benefiting the people.
(Statue of Liu Guoxuan)
The infighting that began after Zheng Chenggong's death has doomed the future development of Zheng Group to a fateful future. The collapse of the Zheng Group also heralded the beginning of the loss of China's overseas dominance. The future closed-door policy, in the long run. China's development will obviously do more harm than good.
However, from a historical point of view, the failure of the Zheng Group is inevitable, and the unification of the country is the trend of the times and the will of the people. Since then, Taiwan has been annexed to the Qing Dynasty, and China has once again completed the great cause of reunification.
It can also be seen from this that Taiwan has been China's territory since ancient times, and although it is divided and merged, there is a consensus on both sides of the strait, that is, reunification. Any force that attempts to split the country will be defeated.
Resources
CHEN Shimei. The origin of Qing Dynasty maps[J].Northerners, 2014.