Page 76 - An Overview of Penghu

can assume that the Chinese did not notice Taiwan until the eunuch Wang San-bao was banished there during
the reign of Emperor Xuande of Ming. It was an era in which pirates based themselves in Penghu and continued to
harass China. The Chinese were bedeviled by Japanese and Chinese pirates, as well as the arrogant Europeans.
Unfortunately, the government at that time was weak and unruly; it even had to offer pirate Zheng Zhi-long a
position in the government to control him. Although General Tan He, Yu Zi-gao, and Shi De-zheng had come to
Taiwan briefly, they did not stay long, showing that the government still had no intention to develop the Island by
then.

The development of Taiwan did not begin until Koxinga defeated the Dutch and took their place. Koxinga was
one of the remaining generals of the Ming government. Basing themselves in Xiamen, Koxinga's army crossed
blades with the Qing government several times in Jiangnan. After a debacle in the War of Jinling (known as Nanjing
now), Koxinga turned to Taiwan, hoping to start anew. On February 1, 1662, he led 40,000 soldiers and 350
warships to Penghu first and stationed his army in Niangmagong (known as Magong now). After ordering Chen
Guang, Lin Fu, and Zhang Zai to defend the Island and praying to the gods on February 7th to strengthen the morale
among his soldiers, he advanced to Taiwan on the next day and attacked the Chikan Fortress guarded by the Dutch.
After months, the Dutch finally surrendered and gave up their fortress in November.

After Koxinga passed away, his eldest son, Zheng Jing, intended to conquer Taiwan. He sent General Zhou
Quan-bin and Counsel Chen Yong-hua to Penghu in March 1665 to examine its geology, with Feng Xi-fan as their
guard. They concluded that Penghu should be heavily guarded as it served as the entrance leading to Taiwan. If
Penghu was invaded, it would be difficult to defend Taiwan. After Taiwan was under his control, Zheng followed his
plan and renamed Tianxing County and Wannian County into Taiwan South Road and Taiwan North Road. At the
same time, a military office was set up in Penghu, and Magong Port was guarded by an army for the first time, with
two Yandun Cannons installed at its flanks (in Jinguitou and Shangshetou). Zheng ordered Xue Jin-si, Dai Jie, and
Lin Sheng to defend the place, asking them to rotate every four months.

Regarding Taiwan, the Qing government was divided into two factions: one championing a takeover and the
other advocating assimilation. Shi Lang was one of those who favored a takeover. He led an army to attack Taiwan
in 1576, but his effort was in vain as a typhoon forced his army back to China. His failure boosted the proposal of
assimilation by Yao Qi-sheng; the Qing government decided that it would not invade Taiwan again, as it was only
“an isolated land that could not benefit the empire.”

In 1667, Kong Yuan-zhang failed to persuade Zheng Jing to surrender. Xinghua County Governor Mu Tian-
yan and Commander Ji Shuan made another attempt in February two years later without success. Their failure
boosted the faction favoring an invasion. Meanwhile, Zheng Jing invaded Quanzhou and Xiamen, and regained his
momentum. He only retreated to Taiwan in 1675 after being pushed back by the large army of Liu Shou-ang and
died of illness later. After his death, the officers and civilians fell out; people in Taiwan started losing faith in their
rulers. Hearing this news, the government decided to invade Taiwan again. In June 1684, Shi Lang led 20,000
soldiers and attacked Penghu first. General Liu Guo-xuan of Zheng's camp headed to Penghu with 20,000 soldiers
and ordered generals, including Lin Sheng, Qiu Hui, Jiang Sheng, Chen Qi, Wang Ming-long, and Wu Qian, to
defend Keelung Island. He also ordered his men to build 15 extra forts: one in Penghu, one in Matsu, one on Taiyu
Isle, one in Fengguiwei, one on Sijiao Isle, four along mountains in the East and West, four in the southwest trench
and Xiyutou, and one at Niuxin Bay. Also, to prevent the Qing army from invading via the coastlines, he ordered
soldiers to place barriers and cannon stones along the coastlines, spanning across more than 30 miles. Warships
were also lined up close together to strengthen the defense.

Admiral Shi Lang published the names of generals and soldiers on each warship, rewarding and punishing
them accordingly in the hope of boosting the army's morale. He dispatched Lan Li and Zeng Cheng's ships for the
first wave of attack. However, the two ships were separated by turbulence incurred by rising tides. Seeing the
chance, Liu Guo-xuan attacked the Qing ships and defeated them immediately. Although Shi Lang himself sailed to
the battlefield for backup, he and Lan Li were badly injured and had to retreat.

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