It doesn't matter if you don't know the intelligence of the island country, after all, it's not a war with the Tokugawa shogunate, as long as you take adequate defensive measures, you won't be afraid of anything.

Gao Junshan was worried that his son Erbao would not attack the Dutch enough, so he sent him a telegram, which was forwarded to Zheng Chenggong at the same time.

The message reads as follows:

Knowing that you have marched on Taiwan, I command that you must resolutely, completely, and cleanly destroy the Dutch on the island! The Dutch were not allowed to take away a single cent of their property, and all the property on the island belonged to the Huaxia Kingdom.

After receiving the telegram, the Gao Cheng Army, which was stationed in Naha, Ryukyu Province, also sent a telegram to Zheng Chenggong, the content of which was similar to that of Gao Junshan's telegram.

Zheng Chenggong had returned to Quanzhou a few days earlier, and now he was leading the First Fleet of 200 warships and nearly 10,000 horses to advance towards Kinmen in the vast ocean.

At this time, he was in the command cabin of "Wuchang No. 1", and after reading the two telegrams, he handed them to the adjutant Zhou Wenbin.

After reading the telegram, Zhou Wenbin said: "Commander, the telegram is too timely, it will greatly boost the morale of the soldiers and strengthen our determination to seize the island." ”

Zheng Chenggong said to Zhou Wenbin: "I often hear the second prince say that the emperor has long wanted to recover Taiwan, but he has no chance, and now we have created conditions for the emperor, and the emperor has high expectations for us. ”

"The last general will go all out!"

"Commander, we have arrived at Kinmen." The captain reported to Zheng Chenggong.

Zheng Chenggong ordered: "Dock, go to the island!" ”

As a result, the "Wuchang No. 1" sounded its horn, slowed down and turned, and slowly leaned towards Kinmen Island.

At this moment, the beach on the north shore of Kinmen suddenly became lively, with 200 warships moored on the shore, and 10,000 soldiers stepping on the soft sand, all of them went ashore.

The "Wuchang No. 1" was the last warship to dock, and it did not really moor to the shore, but anchored far away in the deep sea area.

The sailors were putting the huge iron anchor under the water at the stern of the boat, and the sound of the iron chain rubbing reached Zheng Zhilong's private room, and he knew that the ship was dropping.

Zhou Wenbin came to ask: "Commander, are you going ashore?" ”

Zheng Chenggong said: "All of you go ashore, we will hold a pledge meeting here." ”

A boatman rowed five troop transports over to pick up the people on board.

Zheng Chenggong took the last boat and went to the beach, and he saw his people in a mess on the beach, a pile here, a pile there, only the Marine battalion, lined up in a neat line waiting for instructions.

In this attack on Taiwan, he divided his troops with Brigade Commander Li of the Marine Brigade, with Brigade Commander Li leading a marine battalion and he leading a marine battalion.

Standing on a high slope on the coast, he loudly ordered the troops to assemble.

After the team was assembled, they drove into the inspection division of Kinmen.

This was originally the Zheng family's logistics base, and there were tens of thousands of residents on the island.

The next day, Zheng Chenggong held a solemn pledge meeting on Kinmen Island, at which Gao Junshan's call was read out to boost morale.

Then they slaughtered pigs and sheep, and carried out the activities of "sacrificing to the sky", "ceremonizing the earth", and "sacrificing the river", and then the fleet concentrated in Liaoluo Bay in Kinmen, and due to the direction of the wind, the fleet could only wait for the wind here.

On 20 April, the east wind rose, and 200 warships of the First Fleet rode eastward and began to cross the Taiwan Strait.

The journey was smooth, and after a day's sailing, the fleet reached the Penghu Islands.

"Wuchang No. 1" began to slow down, and adjutant Zhou Wenbin ran upstairs and entered Zheng Chenggong's private room to report: "Commander, now the wind and waves are very strong, we have arrived in Penghu, are you here to take shelter from the wind and waves?" ”

Zheng Chenggong didn't say anything, he walked out of the private room, stood on the back deck, and used a telescope to observe the wind direction on the sea.

The waves on the picture are turbulent, and the raging wind rolls up huge waves, some of which are as high as three feet.

Zheng Chenggong put down the binoculars and scolded: "Stuff your mother, this ghost weather!" Ordered all the troops to immediately sail into the harbor to take shelter from the wind and waves. ”

Zhou Wenbin got the order, so he turned around and went to convey it.

The "Wuchang No. 1" ship also slowly approached Penghu Island, because such waves did not pose much threat to the "Wuchang No. 1," and the "Wuchang No. 1" only anchored nearby and did not dock.

Other ships docked, and the soldiers went to the island to escape the wind and waves.

The next day, when the wind and waves were a little lighter, Zheng Chenggong ordered the captain to go around Penghu Island, and he carefully observed the terrain and thought that a force should be stationed here.

Therefore, he sent his generals Lin Xishan and Wu Fang to garrison here, and he said to Lin Xishan: "Penghu Island is our strategic point, and if you defend Penghu Island well, we will have the initiative on the battlefield, and we can attack and retreat here and defend it. ”

Lin Xishan and Wu Fang accepted the task and led more than fifty ships, which were stationed here.

Zheng Chenggong left behind the more than fifty ships and continued to the east.

The weather still did not improve much, although it is only 50 nautical miles from Penghu to Taiwan, it is difficult to reach it in a day when sailing in this weather.

The bad weather really blocked Zheng Chenggong's way, and when their fleet reached the sea of Citrus Island, a storm suddenly blew.

Zheng Chenggong had no choice but to order a return to Penghu.

If it is stationed in Penghu indefinitely to wait for the wind, it will not only affect the morale of the troops, but more importantly, it will not be able to sail into Luermen Port on the scheduled date.

According to Zheng Chenggong's prior investigation, in order to enter Luermen smoothly, it is necessary to take advantage of the tide on the first and sixteenth days of each month, and if the opportunity is missed, it must be postponed for half a month.

It is now the 23rd, and tomorrow is the first day of the lunar calendar, in this case, Zheng Chenggong made a decision and decided to force the crossing.

One of his subordinates objected: "Commander, the weather is bad, so we should not rush into the army, and we will not be able to delay the battle against Taiwan if we wait for half a month." ”

General Zhu Ayao stepped forward and said, "I'm not afraid if you're afraid of death, Commander, please give me this arduous task." ”

Zhu Ayao is a native of Haishan Town, Raoping County, and one of Zheng Chenggong's eight brave generals.

Zheng Chenggong said decisively: "The ice is strong and crossable, the will of heaven is there, the brave wins when they meet on the narrow road, without a fight, won't the soldiers sit here and suffer from cold and hunger?" ”

The opposing minister retreated without a word.

So, Zheng Chenggong ordered to immediately lift the anchor and start the ship.

In the face of such a storm, it has little impact on the Wuchang-class battleship, and when sailing in such a storm, I just feel the turbulence of the hull.

On the night of the 23rd, with the "Wuchang No. 1" opening the way in front, more than 150 warships braved the storm and followed closely behind, and began to forcibly cross the strait.

Zheng Chenggong was on the "Wuchang No. 1" battleship, there was no danger of his life, but his heart was tied to the officers and soldiers behind, the storm was very strong, he did not dare to take refuge in the comfort nest, but braved the wind and rain to personally play signal lights on the rear deck to guide the direction of the warship behind.

The soldiers risked their lives, fought the storm in the wind and waves for half the night, and sailed to the outside of Luermen Harbor at dawn on April 24, without any damage to the warship, and successfully completed the intensity task.

Only by knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent can one not be defeated. After the intensity was successful, Zheng Chenggong immediately sent more than a dozen spies to take small boats to quietly climb from Luermen to the end of the northern line to reconnoiter the terrain, and sent a squad of the marine battalion to dive into the inland sea of the Taijiang River to reconnoiter the situation of the Dutch army.