360 years ago, the first military showdown in the history of China and the West ushered in.
In addition to the results we all know, Zheng successfully defeated the Dutch to regain Taiwan. There are still many details to ponder in this showdown.
For example, Zheng Chenggong's army had 25,000 people, and the Dutch only had more than 2,000 people, and at the beginning Zheng Chenggong was like a bamboo, but why was it dragged into a war of attrition in the later stages, and it took 9 months to win? Or even if it wasn't for the weather to help, could it still be defeated?
Below, let's do a detailed review.
In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), the Dutch East India Company defeated the Spanish army and occupied Taiwan.
In the second year of Longwu (1646, the third year of Qing Shunzhi), Zheng Chenggong's father Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing army.
Although his father became a traitor, Zheng Chenggong was resolute not to surrender.
He led about twenty people to the Confucius Temple to sacrifice Confucius, burned the Confucian clothes, said that he broke with his father and threw pens from Rong, and began to rebel against the Qing.
In the thirteenth year of the Yong calendar (the sixteenth year of Shunzhi, 1659), Zheng successfully carried out the Northern Expedition. Successively took a number of cities and pools, pointing directly to Nanjing. The people of Jiangnan cheered: I haven't seen Daming's clothes for a long time!
Unfortunately, later, he was caught in the strategy of slowing down the army, missed the fighter, and the Northern Expedition failed miserably.
At this time, a man named He Bin, who turned out to be a Dutch translator, defected to Zheng Chenggong and presented a map of Taiwan due to a debt dispute.
So Zheng Chenggong decided to close the stage.
The Dutch, too, received the wind and were very nervous and sent emissaries to inquire about the news.
Zheng Chenggong, who has been familiar with "Sun Tzu's Art of War" since childhood, knows well the truth that soldiers are not tired of deception, and he wrote a letter saying that he did not have the idea of attacking Taiwan and let the other party relax.
Due to the weakness of the Dutch defenders, Penghu was soon occupied.
On the twenty-seventh day, when Zheng Chenggong led his fleet to Taiwan, he was suddenly hit by a storm and forced to turn back to Penghu.
Because He Bin exaggerated his words and said that he could take Taiwan in a few days, Zheng Chenggong did not bring enough grain and grass, and the whole army was about to run out of grain.
Zheng Chenggong, who had no way back, had to brave the storm to march forward.
On 2 April, the convoy arrived outside Luermen Harbor in thick fog.
The Dutch, believing that the Chinese fleet would attack from the front, had set up their cannons. However, Zheng Jun's fleet avoided the dutch defenses and took the opportunity of the noon tide to sail from the north channel with narrow passage and shallow water level into Luermen Port.
The Dutch army was horrified by the sudden appearance of Zheng Chenggong's fleet in front of them, and exclaimed that the divine soldiers had descended from heaven.
On May 1, the Dutch took the initiative to attack from land and sea. The Dutch general Ba Ghost Boy did not take Zheng Chenggong seriously. He believed that the Chinese were cowards, could not stand the smell of gunpowder and the sound of gunfire, and would flee as soon as a few soldiers were shot. Lead 250 soldiers to meet the battle.
This iron army, composed of strong soldiers, wearing heavy armor all over the body, only exposing the eyes, ears, nose and mouth, the swords and arrows can not pierce, holding a large knife, pulling a line behind when charging, who if they retreat to the line and immediately behead, so they are brave and fierce.
Dutch coach Akira later recalled:
In the face of such an iron army, the Dutch army was defeated, and the ghost boy also received a box lunch.
In the naval battle, the Dutch capital ship Hector, with its flexible mobile guns, sank a number of Zheng Chenggong's warships, but at this time, the Hector ignited its own powder magazine due to the careless operation of the crew, causing the explosion to sink.
With such a pig teammate, how can you not be defeated? In the panic, a Dutch ship escaped and prepared to go to Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia), and the Dutch headquarters reported that Zheng Jun was about to chase it, but was stopped by Zheng Chenggong.
It turned out that Zheng Chenggong thought that it was now a headwind period, and it would take at least a few months for this ship to reach Batavia, and it had been more than half a year since it came and gone, and when Taiwan had already taken it, what could I do?
Seeing the great Dutch, they began to hold out. And they relied on the "Renaissance Castle" of Zeelandia City, which also gave Zheng Chenggong a headache.
The great thing about this "Renaissance castle" in the city of Zeelandia is that a huge fortress protrudes from each of the four corners. Regardless of whether enemy fire comes from above, below, left, right, or even from the rear, protruding fortresses can fire from the rear of the attacking force.
Zheng Chenggong had never seen such a castle before, and ordered a strong attack, resulting in heavy casualties.
Zheng Chenggong then ordered his soldiers to reclaim the fields, solve the food problem, and then trap the Dutch in the city.
Although the Dutch in the city hoarded a large amount of food and water, but there was no corresponding vitamin supply, the supply of alcohol also made many soldiers make trouble every three to five, coupled with the city's sewage system is not perfect, the smell is stinking, and people are afraid.
On Zheng Chenggong's side, it is difficult to produce grain in a short period of time, coupled with disease, water and soil, and more soldiers die of illness and starvation than in battle.
In addition, Zheng Chenggong's army clashed with the local natives when they were opening up the wasteland, and the army of the indigenous leader "Big Belly King" killed more than 1,000 Zheng troops in a single clash.
In this war of attrition, the tempers of both sides are getting more and more grumpy. Zheng Jun crucified the captured spies on a cross, and the Dutch dissected a captive alive.
During this period, the two sides constantly fought a war of words, attacking the heart, and luring the other soldiers to surrender. Soldiers on both sides mutinied. One of the junior officers, Rodis, surrendered to Zheng Chenggong, who was a key figure in the later attack on the castle.
Remember the fleeing Dutch ship in front of you? Zheng Chenggong did not think that it could sail against the wind, and two months later he brought in rescue troops from Batavia.
At this time, most of Zheng Chenggong's army was in Outer Tuntian, with only more than 2,000 troops around him. If the Dutch fleet had attacked quickly at this time and taken the island as a base, he would have suffered the enemy on his stomach.
The Dutch in the city began to cheer. But the bad weather soon made the Dutch laugh.
The Dutch fleet had to wait for the high tide to enter the inland sea, and just as it was waiting for the high tide, the Dutch fleet lost the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
The battlefield is changing rapidly, the soldiers are fast, and an accidental factor may change the situation of the war.
Zheng Chenggong had plenty of time to deal with the sea fleet, mobilized more than 40 warships, and defeated the Dutch rescue fleet.
Seeing that the reinforcements were wiped out, the morale of the Dutch people in the city was extremely low.
Commanding heights on the hill, with all the cannons fired, the city of Zeelandia could be breached.
Zheng Chenggong first pretended to attack the main castle to attract firepower, and then fired 1700 artillery shells at the small bunker, directly breaching the small bunker.
The Dutch army in the small bunker planted gunpowder during the retreat, and Zheng Chenggong was supposed to inspect it himself, but was later dissuaded by Rhodis and escaped the disaster.
Zheng Chenggong, who occupied the hill, soon built a fort and a bunker, condescending and victorious.
The Dutch coach saw that the situation was gone, raised a white flag and surrendered.
Zheng's successful reconquest of Taiwan was the first major military showdown between China and the West. The difference in weapon technology between the two sides is not too much, and Zheng Chenggong's army also has warships loaded with artillery and well-trained musket teams, but there is no technology to sail against the wind.
This battle is not just about recovering Taiwan. Westerners were shocked by the military strength of the country's surname Ye, and for 200 years they did not dare to invade the country by force, until the Opium War, the West had more advanced ironclad warships, surpassing China in technology, and ended these 200 years of peace.
Shortly after Zheng Chenggong closed the taiwan, he heard that Luzon, today's Philippines, had slaughtered the Chinese, and in a fit of rage, he led the fleet to attack. Unfortunately, an illness took his life at the age of 37.