Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"General, apart from King Ma Luo, the leaders of all the tribes in Tainan and Taichung have arrived at Chengtian Prefecture (Chihkan City)," Minister of War Sheng Wu respectfully reported to Chen Yonghua, the General Commander of Dongning. When Zheng Jing went on his expedition, he appointed his eldest son, Zheng Kezang, as regent. However, because Zheng Kezang was young (ten years old), he was instructed by Chen Yonghua in all matters and was also allowed to marry Chen Yonghua's youngest daughter. In reality, the military and political power of Dongning was in the hands of Chen Yonghua, the General Commander of Dongning.

Upon hearing that Ma Luo had not yet arrived, Chen Yonghua frowned slightly, but quickly composed himself and said, "Please invite all the leaders to the Governor-General's Office." This Governor-General, just forty years old, was a man of great ambition and strategic vision. When Zheng Chenggong appointed him to assist his son Zheng Jing, he had said, "Mr. Chen is a renowned scholar of our time. I have left him to assist you; you should treat him with the respect due to a teacher." Therefore, Zheng Jing consulted him on every important military and national matter. During his tenure as Governor-General of Dongning, he vigorously promoted education, organized military settlements, salt production through brine extraction, sugar refining, implemented the Baojia system (a system of mutual responsibility among the indigenous peoples), and pacified the indigenous peoples, governing the entire Taiwan region with remarkable efficiency. To gain the acceptance of Dongning's rule among the Taiwanese indigenous peoples, he ordered the establishment of "primary schools" in each of the indigenous communities, and specifically stipulated that all indigenous children "who study in village schools will be exempt from corvée labor." This policy won the favor of many tribes in Tainan and Taichung, and many leaders developed close personal relationships with him. Now that the Weiguo army has landed, Dongning is short of troops. He wanted to recruit the indigenous troops to assist in the defense, so he invited the leaders of various tribes in Tainan and Taichung to discuss the matter.

The leaders of the six tribes and thirty-eight clans, including the Rukai leader Xiben, the Tsou leader Gelale, the Tao (Yame) leader Mahila, the Taroko leader Dayin, the Laaruwa leader Daheshi, and the Kanakana rich leader Maikazhao, entered the General Governor's Mansion. Chen Yonghua greeted them warmly one by one and politely ordered tea to be served.

"The governor must have summoned us for important business. If there is anything our tribe needs to do, we will not refuse!" said Gelale, the chief of the Tsou people. Legend has it that the god Hammer created the Tsou people with maple leaves and then created the plains people with the leaves of the cypress. The Tsou people, who live in the area around Alishan (located in Chiayi), are sincere and straightforward. Gelale and Chen Yonghua are good friends, and after guessing his old friend's intention, he immediately expressed his support.

After hearing this, Chen Yonghua glanced at him gratefully, then cupped his hands to the crowd and pleaded, "The Wei army has landed in Taiwan, and Dongning's forces are insufficient. I would like to ask you all to send troops to help! I will surely repay you in the future!"

“Our tribe is willing to send 1,800 warriors,” Gelale said first.

Upon hearing this, the leaders of various tribes quickly followed suit, each contributing between one thousand and two thousand troops, soon amassing over ten thousand soldiers. Chen Yonghua then ordered Yang De of Zhaoyi Town to lead five thousand Zheng soldiers and nearly nine thousand indigenous troops to deploy defenses around Sun Moon Lake and Yushe Mountain (located in Nantou County); ordered Huang Liangji of Jianwei Central Town to lead five thousand Zheng naval troops and one thousand two hundred Tao naval troops to patrol the port west of Dongning; ordered Hong Lei, Minister of Personnel, and Chen Shengwu, Minister of War, to lead five thousand troops to garrison Anping Town west of Dongning; and conscripted all men aged fourteen to sixty from Chengtian Prefecture, Tianxing Prefecture, and Wannian Prefecture to guard Dongning City, thus gathering another fifteen thousand "garrison troops." The number of troops seemed considerable, but their combat effectiveness was truly uncertain. Chen Yonghua, as the commander-in-chief of Dongning, remained calm and composed, directing the defense deployment. Under his command, the morale of the army and the people of Dongning quickly stabilized, and preparations for defense proceeded in an orderly manner.
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In the hold of the largest warship in Penghu Harbor, Prince Zheng Jing of Yanping sat upright listening to his subordinates' report. Judging from the results, all units were ready to retreat.

“My lord, our army has assembled and is ready to return to reinforce Dongning. However, if we do not make preparations in advance, we may be pursued by the Imperial Guards,” said Marquis Liu Guoxuan of Wuping, expressing his concern.

"I have already planned this. Before retreating, we must defeat the guards of Huayu and take Longmen Port. Then you and Zheng Ming will stay in Penghu, and the rest of the troops will follow me back to Dongning," Zheng Jing said confidently.

He first ordered his men to spread the news that he was going to retreat to Dongning, and then voluntarily abandoned the two large islands of Bazhaoyu and Nandayu. Upon hearing that the main force of Zheng's army had retreated to Dongning, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Mandulatu, laughed heartily, "This must be because the Zheng family heard the news that His Highness Prince Qin had landed in Taiwan and retreated in a panic! Admiral Li can lead the navy to pursue them!"

“Lord Luntai, Zheng Jing has always been cunning; we must be wary of his ambush,” Fujian Admiral Li Yingming replied with some concern.

"Upon hearing that our army has landed in Taiwan, the enemy's morale will surely be thrown into chaos. Already cornered, they have no ability to set up an ambush. We must pursue them immediately!" Mandulatu said nonchalantly, glaring at Li Yingming with a fierce look, as if to say: You dare disobey my orders? He was merely a commander, while the other was a first-class duke; how could Li Yingming dare to argue further? He had no choice but to obey. In the early morning of May 6th, 1673, Li Yingming led 13,000 naval troops and 260 warships in pursuit of the retreating Zheng army. By the morning of May 7th, they finally caught up with the rear guard of Zheng's army, led by Lin Sheng, the Right Guard, and his deputy Lin Wanhou, near Tseung Kwan O. Upon engaging in battle, the Zheng army suffered a "major defeat," with more than ten warships sunk.

It seemed that Zheng Jun's morale had indeed been shattered by the landing of Prince Qin's army in Taiwan. Li Yingming was overjoyed and launched a fierce attack. Lin Sheng led his troops in a retreating battle, pursuing them to the waters near Ganju Island, where they were suddenly ambushed from all sides. Zheng's generals Liu Guoxuan, Wu Shu, He You, and Jiang Sheng each led their troops in a four-sided attack. The guards were thrown into chaos; General Zhou Biao and Deputy General Xu Shangchao were killed in battle, nearly half of their warships caught fire and sank, and countless others drowned. Li Yingming realized he had fallen into a trap and fought his way out of the encirclement, but his men had suffered more than half their losses.

They pursued until evening, at which point Zheng Jingfang ordered a halt to the pursuit and a tally of the results.

"My lord, the traitor Su Kan has been captured by this humble general!" He You, a member of the Left Guard, rushed over to report the victory.

Upon hearing Su Kan's name, Zheng Jing gritted his teeth in hatred. He had trusted this man and ordered him to guard Zhangpu. But Su Kan, fearing the strength of the Wei army, surrendered without firing a single arrow. And to make matters worse, he even led the Wei army to reinforce Penghu. If it weren't for Su Kan, Zheng Jing would have annihilated the entire Wei army in Penghu long ago!
"Men, tie Su Kan to a stone and throw him into the sea!" The words from the Prince of Yanping were as cold as iron. After venting his anger, Zheng Jing let out a long sigh, "Pass on my military orders: Liu Guoxuan and Zheng Ming will remain to guard Ganju Island, while the rest of the troops will follow me to pursue the defeated Wei army and annihilate this enemy navy."

Encouraged by the victory, Zheng Jun's morale soared, and all the teams raised their sails and bravely charged forward, catching up with Wei Jun again on May 9 in the waters near Wengang.

"My life is over!" Li Yingming sighed to the heavens as he watched the enemy fleet closing in.

"General, look over there!" His attendant suddenly pointed north and shouted excitedly.

Looking in that direction, Li Yingming saw a large fleet of ships standing tall to the north, with the fishing rod and angling flag of the Kingdom of David flying prominently on the ships.

"It's the King of Qin! His Highness the King of Qin's navy!" Overjoyed at this narrow escape, Admiral Li cried out, "Zheng Jing, even if you are a peerless hero, so what? This is the will of Heaven! The will of Heaven!" (End of Chapter)