[249] Expulsion of colonists

Father Thomas followed Shi Lang to a place more than ten steps in front of the Chinese army's tent, and Shi Lang glanced at him: "You wait, I'll go in and report!" After a long while, Shi Lang came out of the tent, and he smelled of wine: "You wait here for a while." ”

Zheng Zhilong in the camp tent was drinking with several of his henchmen, because he had no scruples at all, so from time to time there were voices outside the tent, Thomas heard it and asked Shi Lang, "Is General Zheng inside?" ”

Shi Lang said: "That's the governor discussing military affairs with the generals!" Stand far away, lest you be heard. As he spoke, Shi Lang dragged Thomas out of more than ten steps

Thomas and a group of Dutch soldiers had been standing under the winter sun in Taiwan for more than an hour, and finally, Zheng Zhilong, who had eaten and drunk enough, ordered to meet the Dutch envoy.

Thomas hurriedly entered the camp tent, but on the way to the tent stood two rows of Ming soldiers armed with broadswords, and the ghost-headed broadsword with a faint cold light made Father Thomas nervous again.

Entering the big tent, Father Thomas touched his chest with one hand and pointed to Zheng Zhilong, who was sitting in the center: "Thomas, the messenger of Governor Frederick, has seen His Excellency General Zheng. ”

"Oh? Is there anything you have come for? Zheng Zhilong hiccuped

"We, Governor Frederick, think that there has been a little misunderstanding with the general, and we want to talk to the general about a ceasefire, here is a little meaning for our Governor General to the general!" With that, he handed over the gift list.

Zheng Zhilong took the gift list and looked at it, laughed and said, "Ho! It's really generous, 100,000 taels of silver, 3,000 taels of gold, and a box of jewelry and jade. Zheng Zhilong laughed: "Oh, the Governor is so polite!" ”

Thomas looked at it, it worked! He also laughed and said, "I hope this can clear up the misunderstanding between us!" ”

But Zheng Zhilong's words were changed: "I accepted the things, but to negotiate peace, we must first meet our two conditions, and if one is missing, we don't need to talk about it!" ”

"Your Excellency General, please!" Thomas said

"First, you must release all the captured Daming people back to me, and Li Denghui, Cen Zui bat, and You Cricket Stick must be handed over to us. Second, you surrender unconditionally, and General Ben guarantees that you will leave Taiwan safely! I'll give you an hour to think about it. After an hour, if there is no reply, our army will immediately attack the city! ”

In the city of Taiwan, Governor Frederick and his officers were restlessly waiting for news from Father Thomas, and they pinned all their hopes on Father Thomas.

Suddenly, the sentry at the head of the city came quickly and reported: "Father Thomas, they are back!" ”

After listening to Father Thomas's report, Governor Frederick stood up: "We cannot submit to these barbarian natives, for the honor of the soldiers, for the sake of the Netherlands, I am willing to fight to the end!" ”

"Your Excellency, this is unwise." Father Thomas hurriedly stopped him, "I have observed the weapons of the natives, they have no less cannons than us, no fewer muskets than us, and more importantly, a steady stream of reinforcements. These Oriental natives, unlike the others we have seen, are organized professional armies. We are no match for them, and don't forget, there are many civilians in the castle! ”

Most of the other officers supported Father Thomas's advice, and advocated a temporary compromise to delay as long as possible until reinforcements from Batavia arrived. In the end, the Dutch finally reached an agreement to put back all the captured Chinese natives, and handed over Li Denghui, Cen Zui bat, and You cricket sticks to the squadron. The handover ceremony took place in the field outside the city, and the tortured Chinese had always been crying and running to meet their relatives, while the traitors Li Denghui, Cen Zui Bats, and You Cricket Sticks, who had long been frightened and paralyzed, were handed over to the Ming army by the Dutch soldiers who carried him, and the Ming soldiers in charge of the handover did not even look at them, so they dragged Li Denggray, Cen Zui bats, and You Cricket sticks back to the Ming army's camp. In the camp of the Ming army, there was an atmosphere of mixed sorrow and joy, and the suffering Chinese hugged their relatives and cried. Everyone turned their hateful eyes on Li Denghui, Cen Zui bat, You Cricket Stick, especially the victims of Changmei Village and Guo Huaiyi

"With the right to act cheaply granted by the governor of Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces and An Guogong, I sentenced Li Dengshen, Cen Zui bat, and You Cricket stick to be executed at Ling Chi! Do you have any objections? Zheng Zhilong loudly pronounced the sentence on the three traitors of Li Denghui, Cen Zui bat, and You Cricket Stick

"No~~Kill well~~"

"Good kill~~"

Liu Xiang, one of Zheng Zhilong's former sworn brothers, once helped the Dutch beat him, so Zheng Zhilong also hated Li Denghui, Cen Zui bat, and You Cricket Stick who took refuge in the red-haired ghosts. In the end, Zheng Zhilong decided that Li Denghui, Cen Zui bat, and You Cricket stick would be executed in Ling Chi.

In the midst of the applause of the people and the screams of Li Dengshen, Cen Zui bat, and You Cricket Stick, Zheng Zhilong also announced that he would give a pension of 100 taels to each of the people who were killed bravely and unyieldingly (from the confiscation of the property of Li Dengshen, Cen Zui Bat, and You Cricket Stick), 50 taels of compensation for each of the other victims, and at the same time, a bonus of 10 taels of silver would be given to each of the soldiers of the whole army.

Suddenly, the people in the camp of the Ming army outside the city of Taiwan shouted Long live the Ming Dynasty, and the cheers were thunderous. The Dutch in the city of Taiwan, when they saw it, had mixed feelings in their hearts

The next day, the two sides began to negotiate, and the Dutch side sent a negotiation team headed by Father Thomas, while the Ming army side was headed by He Bin, the former Dutch general, and the members were some middle and lower-ranking officers. From the very beginning, the Dutch side demanded that the Ming army lift the siege of Chichi and re-supply water to Chichi, and for this reason, the Netherlands was willing to spend a huge amount of money to buy water. However, it was categorically rejected by the Ming army, and the conditions put forward by the Ming army were also the bottom line, that is: the Dutch army must surrender unconditionally, and all property should be confiscated by the Ming army and leave Taiwan immediately. Dutch civilians who surrendered could be released, but soldiers, officers, and missionaries had to negotiate between the Han government and the Dutch United East India Company to decide their fate. The Ming army's tough stance and harsh conditions made the negotiations break up unhappily.

On the 15th, the city of Akachi, which had been cut off from water, announced its surrender. In this way, the Ming army removed the nail without a single shot, and the follow-up troops of the Ming army were also landing in a steady stream. The city of Taiwan, which learned of Chichi's surrender, fell into a panic, and now they have no foreign aid, leaving them alone to fight.

On the morning of the 16th, more than two hundred cannons raised their heads amid the muffled sound of trumpets. Zheng Zhilong sent someone to issue an ultimatum to the Dutch governor, if the Dutch did not surrender at the moment, the Ming army would launch an attack on the city of Taiwan.

Governor Frederick and his subordinates negotiated repeatedly on the terms of the Chinese, and finally decided: fight to the end and wait for the Dutch naval support in the East Indies.

At the end of the day, Zheng Zhilong ordered a general attack. The first to speak, of course, was the cannon in the Ming army, and more than two hundred cannons roared at the same time, as if to vent the heavy resentment that had been accumulated in their hearts for a long time. Dense shells continued to pour on the city of Taiwan, and the entire city was shrouded in fireworks. The Ming North Sea Fleet led by Gu San Mazi and Gan Hui also used their naval guns to launch a fierce artillery bombardment of Taiwan City from the sea. The bombardment lasted for a quarter of an hour, and considering that the bore of some cannons was overheated, it was easy to cause explosion, so Zheng Zhilong ordered the bombardment to be suspended to see how effective the shelling was. The effect of the bombardment should be said to be very ideal, the whole Taiwan city does not seem to have too many places, there is thick smoke everywhere, and several sections of the southern city wall have also been collapsed by the heavy artillery fire of the Ming army. However, the Dutch soldiers still resisted stubbornly with the remaining fortifications, and had no intention of surrendering.

At this time, Deng Youyang, one of the old eight battalions in Dengzhou, suggested that he should dig a trench and quickly assault the city, then dig and loosen the foundation of the wall of Taiwan City, bury hundreds of catties of explosives, collapse the city wall, and then conquer Taiwan City in one fell swoop.

Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed and said with a smile: "It's not a loss that I read the new art of war in the Nanjing Martial Arts Hall. So Zheng Zhilong immediately ordered the attack to be suspended, and all troops immediately prepared digging tools. The Dutch, bewildered by a heavy bombardment of the city, did not understand what the Chinese meant, and spent an afternoon in anxiety. As night fell, the Ming army, which had long been rested, immediately began to dig tunnels with the help of the people.

Outside the city of Taiwan is a wilderness, which is just right for the requirements of the earthwork industry, which can make the Ming army suddenly appear under the nose of the enemy overnight. The order of earthwork work is from front to back, from point to line, front to front and then left and right, first to establish a firing position, and then to build a communication trench, and to cover it in a focused way, so that a large number of men and horses of the Ming army are under the ground in the movement of the enemy, and many casualties will be avoided.

The Ming army was already equipped with professional work, plus the help of the local people. In the early morning of the next day, the Dutch soldiers defending the city were stunned by the scene in front of them, and let out a panicked scream, marking the silence of the morning, startling the Dutch on the city wall, and many people asked each other: "Did the Chinese rush in?" ”

Governor Frederick and his generals rushed to the city with knives and guns to ask what had happened. A soldier on duty pointed ahead and said in a trembling voice: "Look there, Lord Governor!" ”

Governor Frederick looked in the direction of his finger and gasped: "My God! "At dusk the day before, I saw that there was still a plain for miles in the field outside the city, and now the tunnels crisscrossed and covered like spider webs were laid in front of the Dutch. They were frightened by the criss-crossing tunnels and did not know how to resist the Chinese attack.

"Let's surrender! That's how we can live! Otherwise, these natives will kill us! "Someone said what everyone wanted.

"Yes, yes! Let's surrender quickly! Many people echoed the voice, after all, their own lives are more precious, and suddenly the voices of the voice of surrender rose higher and higher, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Governor Frederick, who understood that even if he did not announce his surrender, these people would surrender. He sighed, "Surrender!" O delayed Formosa! ”

Many people cheered, and immediately threw the Dutch flag hanging at the head of the city from the city, and hung the white shirts and others high. Soon the Ming army took over the city. More than 2,000 Dutch soldiers and civilians under Governor Frederick were taken prisoner by the Ming army.

In the First World War in Taiwan, 2,643 Dutch were captured, and one warship, 64 cannons, and 1,300 guns were captured. In addition, 2,870,000 taels of silver, 167,000 taels of gold, and countless jewels and jade were seized from merchants and colonial authorities. It should be said that it was a great victory, the losses of the Ming army were only 23 small boats, 3 large ships, 143 naval soldiers, and the army soldiers suffered no casualties except for 121 casualties in the battle against Taiwan City! This cannot but be said to be a miracle, in addition to Zheng Zhilong's correct command, the main role played here was the powerful artillery of the Ming army. In addition to the consumption of cannons and shells, the whole battle process basically did not consume much, and this battle was later included in the textbook of Emperor Daming and became a classic example!

Zheng Zhilong has always been proud of it in his later years