Chapter - 47 (47) (1/2)

Thousand li sail and mast going outside the country, nine firmaments wind and rain going through the city.

Looking up, Wei Xiaobao saw more than a dozen huge battleships, with their sails fully opened to ride the wind, sailing fast toward the island. Wei Xiaobao knew something was amiss; he pulled the string, but was unable to get the hook off, on the contrary, the hook went deeper into the back of his neck that it hurt. Immediately he moved his feet and dashed away, dragging the fishing pole behind him. He thought it must be that young fellow Zheng Keshuang coming with his troops to settle the debt. Settling debt was originally very good, but before the debtor dropped in, he sent several cannon blasts first in torrential rush, certainly it was not a good omen.

Before he even reached his house, Peng Canjiang [administrator/colonel] had already rushed over, flustered and exasperated. ”Wei … Wei Jueye … things … things look bad, Taiwan warships have arrived,” he said.

”How do you know they are Taiwan's warships?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

Peng Canjiang replied, ”Lowly officer just … just now used the telescope [orig. 'thousand li lens'] to took, the ship's … stern … no, no, the ship's bow is painted with a sun and a moon; that is Taiwan's Zheng … rebel Zheng's insignia. If one ship carries five hundred troops and generals, two ships one thousand, thirteen ships means seven or eight thousands …”

Wei Xiaobao took the telescope from his hand and looked at the incoming ships. When he counted, there were indeed thirteen big ships. Looking at the bow, he also vaguely saw the painting of a sun and a moon insignia. ”Quickly lead the troops for defense, guard along the shore,” he barked his order, ”When the enemy come ashore on skiffs, release the arrows!”

Peng Canjiang repeatedly complied and rushed away. Hearing the commotion, Su Quan and the others came out. They heard the incoming ships fired their cannon again, 'Boom, boom boom!'

”Ah Ke Meizi,” the Princess said, ”When you go to Taiwan, are you going to take Hutou along or not?”

Ah Ke stomped her feet in anger. ”You … what joke are you playing?” she said.

Wei Xiaobao was even angrier; he cursed, ”Let the Princess strap her stinky Shuangshuang go to Taiwan …”

”Hey,” Su Quan suddenly exclaimed, ”When the shells fall into the sea, why isn't there any splash of water?”

They heard 'boom, boom' again, twice, smoke came out of the cannon's mouth, but nothing hit the shore, nothing hit the sea either. Wei Xiaobao was stumped, but then he burst out laughing, ”Those are gun salute; they are not here to give us trouble.”

”Peaceful measures before using force!” the Princess said.

”Where is that girl Shuangshuang?” Wei Xiaobao angrily said, ”Quickly come out, laozi is going to spank her butt.”

The Princess was upset, ”Without rhyme or reason, why do you want to beat your daughter?” she said.

The ships were getting near. From the telescope he saw clearly that the flag rising above the ship was unexpectedly the Great Qing's Yellow Dragon banner; it was not Taiwan's sun and moon flag at all. Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised, he handed the telescope over to Su Quan and said, ”You look, it's really strange.”

Su Quan looked for a moment and then she smiled and said, ”They are the Great Qing's Navy, not Taiwan's.”

Wei Xiaobao received the telescope back and looked again; he said with a laugh, ”That's right! They are definitely the Great Qing's Navy. Aiya! What is it? It damn hurts!” Turning his head around, turned out Wei Hutou, who was carried in Ah Ke's arms, was grabbing the fishing rod and pulled it hard; the fishhook was still attached to Wei Xiaobao's neck, naturally when he pulled it Wei Xiaobao yelped in pain.

Stifling her laughter, hastily Ah Ke gently took the hook off. ”I am sorry,” she said with a laugh, ”Please don't be angry.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Good son, still very young, yet already have Jiang Taigong's

[25] trick. Amazing!”

”Humph!” the Princess snorted, ”Partial (biased) ghost!”

They saw Peng Canjiang ran back and called out, ”Wei Jueye, the ships actually raised Great Qing's flag, I am afraid it's a trick.”

”That's right!” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”As soon as they send men on a skiff to come ashore, we'll interrogate them clearly first and talk later.” Peng Canjiang received the order and left.

The Princess said, ”It must be that kid Zheng Keshuang in disguise, raising the Great Qing's flag. Obviously those are Taiwan's ships!”

”Very good, very good!” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Princess, lately you look so beautiful.”

The Princess was taken aback; hearing her husband's praise, she could not help feeling happy. ”I am still the same,” she said with a smile, ”What do you mean 'beautiful'?”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Your lips are red, your face white, your eyebrows curve like Chang'e [the lady in the moon in Chinese mythology] descending from the moon. When Zheng Keshuang sees you I am sure he will be very happy.”

”Pei!” the Princess spat.

Shortly afterwards, the ships arrived near the shore. They dropped anchor, and six or seven sailors rowed a skiff toward the shore. Peng Canjiang ordered his troops to bend their bows with the arrows aimed at the skiff. When the skiff was near, someone picked up a megaphone [lit. speech cylinder, I don't know the ancient name of this contraption] and put it on his mouth. ”Imperial edict arrives!” he called out, ”Navy Tidu Shi Junmen [lit. 'military gate'] delivering the decree to Wei Jueye.”

Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. ”Damn it,” he swore, ”What strange trick that fellow Shi Lang is playing? Why would he ride Taiwan's ships to deliver a decree?”

Su Quan said, ”I am guessing he came across Taiwan ships on the ocean, attacked them and was victorious, he seized the Taiwan's ships away.”

”Must be that,” Wei Xiaobao agreed, ”Quan Jiejie can prophesy with supernatural accuracy.”

The Princess was still not convinced, she whispered, ”My guess is Shi Lang surrendered to Taiwan, Zheng Keshuang sent him off to deliver a fake imperial decree.”

Wei Xiaobao's heart was happy, he did not bother to scold her; he pinched her bottom and slapped her before hurriedly went to the beach to receive the imperial decree.

The man in the skiff was indeed Shi Lang. He stood on the sandy beach and announced the imperial decree in loud voice. Turned out Kangxi sent Shi Lang to attack Taiwan. In the battle of Penghu [Pescadores Islands, Taiwan], the Zheng Navy suffered a crushing defeat. Shi Lang pursued the retreating enemy into Taiwan. The Ming Dynasty's Yanping Jun Wang Zheng Keshuang surrendered without even a fight, and thus Taiwan became the Great Qing's territory.

Kangxi evaluated everybody's merit and bestowed reward accordingly. Based on the merit that in the past Shi Lang stayed in Beijing without doing anything, and it was Wei Xiaobao who sponsored and recommended him for service, Wei Xiaobao was promoted to be Second-class Marquis of Tong Chi, he was simultaneously bestowed the title Tai Zi Tai Bao [tutor to the crown prince]. His oldest son, Wei Hutou was promoted to be First-class Qing Che Du Wei [lit. light carriage military rank

[26]].

Finished expressing his gratitude, Wei Xiaobao stood and stared blankly; it never occurred to him that finally Taiwan was pacified by Shi Lang.

Each time he and Zheng Keshuang met each other, they always hated each other, his Shifu Chen Jinnan was harmed by him, which drove his hatred deep to the bones; but Taiwan was subdued, it means not a cun of land was left of the Great Ming's world. He could not help feeling depressed.

He was still very young, and never went to school, all those talks about Manchu and Han differences; he had never really cared about the animosity between countries and races. However, he had been with Tian Di Hui for a long time, usually when he attended their meeting, he heard the brothers talked about it a lot, automatically he developed the feeling that Manchu people occupying our Han people's rivers and mountains was completely inappropriate. This moment as he heard that Shi Lang had captured Zheng Keshuang and brought him to Beijing, he did not feel happy at all. He also thought about his Shifu exhausting his heart and strength throughout his life, hoping to restore the Great Ming's world; even if this great undertaking was unsuccessful, at least he wanted to preserve a piece of land belonging to the Great Ming overseas. Who would have thought that not long after his Shifu was murdered, Zheng Keshuang had already surrendered? If in the underworld Shifu knew about it, he would definitely weep bitter tears.

Wei Xiaobao recalled that the reason his Shifu was killed that day was because he had just had a hard fight with Shi Lang; his spirit was hard-pressed, his physique weary. Otherwise, Zheng Keshuang would not have been successful in plotting against him from his back. Looking at Shi Lang's joyfully satisfied expression, he could not stop anger from rising in his chest. ”Shi Daren has rendered great merit,” he said, ”I am sure you are promoted to be a high-ranking official.”

”Congratulations, congratulations!” Wei Xiaobao said, while in his heart he said, ”Originally I was First-class Earl of Tong Chi; with one rank promotion I became Third-class Marquis of Tong Chi. The young Emperor promoted me two ranks in succession, turns out it is so that my rank will still be higher than Shi Lang, to avoid everybody became third-class marquis, which won't feel very good.” But thinking about Shi Lang went to battle and pacified Taiwan, what an exciting view it was, while he was bored to death on this barren island. His jealousy grew into anger, he could not help hating Shi Lang even more that his teeth itched.

Shi Lang paid his respect, and then he said respectfully, ”His Majesty summoned lowly officer and spoke warmly to me, he encouraged me a lot, and finally said, 'Shi Lang, this time you render great merit, do you know who has been supporting you for promotion? Previously you stayed in Beijing, nobody paid you any attention; who has given you guarantee and recommendation?' Lowly officer replied, 'Reporting to Your Majesty, that would be Wei Jueye who guaranteed me and presented a memorial to the throne for my promotion, plus Your Majesty's grace.' His Majesty said, 'You did not forget your origin; that's good. I want you to promptly go to Tong Chi Island to announce imperial decree to Wei Xiaobao, with my grace his nobility rank will increase, he has the capacity to judge a person's qualities and thus has rendered meritorious service for the imperial court.' For this reason lowly officer rushed over here.”

Wei Xiaobao sighed. He thought, ”Each and everyone of the people I recommended rendered meritorious service, only I alone am imprisoned on this uninhabited island without able to move a single step. The young Emperor repeatedly raises my official ranking and titular honors, while in fact even if I become the King of Tong Chi, what so amazing about it?” He said, ”Shi Daren, you sailed on these Taiwan battleship to come here, and gave me quite a fright; I thought it was Taiwan's Navy coming to attack us. Who would have thought that it was you showing off your military strength?”

Shi Lang hastily saluted and apologized. ”I do not dare, I do not dare,” he said, ”Lowly officer received the imperial edict, I was impatient to see Jueye, Taiwan's battleships were made well, they are able to sail a lot faster; for this reason I rode Taiwan ships to hurry over here.”

”So Taiwan's battleships can travel faster,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Because of the insignia of the sun and the moon on the ship I previously thought in my heart that perhaps Shi Daren wanted to set himself up as a king in Taiwan; I was quite worried.”

Shi Lang was shocked; he busily said, ”Lowly officer is extremely muddleheaded, Daren's direction is right. It was due to lowly officer's negligence that I have not removed Taiwan battleships' emblems.”

Actually, it was not because of his negligence, but because he had pacified Taiwan, he was extremely proud of himself; as he rode the captured Taiwan's battleship north to Tianjin, and then south to Tong Chi Island, he intentionally did not remove the Taiwan insignia on the bow of the ships, so that people would see it and point fingers at it, and talk about the origin of the battleships. In short, it was to flaunt his outstanding military service. Unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao spoke up about his suspicion that Shi Lang wanted to set himself up to be King in Taiwan. It was indeed the biggest taboo for a court official; he could not stop cold sweats from covering his back, thinking that the young Emperor had always shown absolute special favor toward this youngster. Shi Lang went to a bloody battle to subdue Taiwan, this youngster comfortably lived on this island doing nothing, yet his meritorious service was still greater than Shi Lang's. He was granted the title Second-class Marquis, while Shi Lang himself was only Third-class Marquis. If Wei Xiaobao returned to Beijing and spoke several sentences of complaint in front of the Emperor, Shi Lang would be in a very deep trouble.

With this fear in mind, Shi Lang's high and mighty manner that he bore when he first went ashore subsided. He ordered several officers who came with him to step forward and pay their respect. Among these people was someone with whom Wei Xiaobao had already met, it was Lin Xingzhu, the Ditang School's martial art expert who came with Chen Jinnan at Liuzhou. Wei Xiaobao was startled, ”He was Taiwan's high-ranking military officer,” he mused, ”How did he become Shi Lang's subordinate?” When Lin Xingzhu reported his own name and rank, Wei Xiaobao found out that he was a Dusi [Vice Brigade Commander/Major] in the Navy.

As Lin Xingzhu went ashore and saw Wei Xiaobao, he was also puzzled and doubtful, ”He is Chen Junshi's [military strategist] young disciple, how did he become imperial court's high-ranking official? Even Shi Tidu is very respectful to him?”

Shi Lang pointed to Lin Xingzhu and another man called Hong Chao, a Navy Shoubei [captain], and said, ”Lin Dusi and Hong Shoubei originally served in Taiwan's military. Following Zheng Keshuang Jueye and Liu Gaoxuan Daren's lead, they returned and surrender to the imperial court. These two gentlemen are very familiar with maritime matters, thus this time lowly officer brought them along and have them take care of Taiwan's fleet.”

”Oh,” Wei Xiaobao muttered, ”I see.” Looking at Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao, he saw that both lowered their heads with ashamed expression on their faces.

Ever since Zheng Chenggong [Koxinga] established government on the Island, Taiwan has had trading relations with Japan, Lu Song, Siam, An Nan, and other places; it was very prosperous. Shi Lang pacified Taiwan, he obtained a lot of foreign treasures and rare objects, but he himself did not take any, he presented everything to the imperial court. Kangxi told him to take some as a gift to Wei Xiaobao. Other than that, Shi Lang also brought some gifts of his own, but mostly were Taiwan's local products, such as bamboo trunk, grass woven mat, and so on, mostly coarse and plain items.

Seeing the gifts, Wei Xiaobao was getting more angry; he thought, ”Zhang Dage, Zhao Er Ge, Wang San Ge, Sun Si Ge pacified Wu Sangui, they sent me such lucrative gifts; you, on the other hand, present me with these beggars' rotten things. I wonder if you still have any regards toward me?”

That evening Wei Xiaobao held a banquet to entertain the guests; he had Shi Lang sat on the seat of honor. There were four high-ranking Navy officers, as well as Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao, two people. After the wine made three rounds, Wei Xiaobao asked, ”Lin Dusi, originally Taiwan's Yanping Jun Wang was Zheng Jing, Zheng Wangye, how did it become that fellow Zheng Keshuang? I heard he is Zheng Wangye's second son, according to reason, he should not be the Wangye, should he?”

Hearing that his Shifu's daughter was murdered, Wei Xiaobao remembered Shifu, his heart ached. Slapping the table, he cursed, ”Damn it, that kid Zheng Keshuang is stupid and a muddle-head, what kind of fart Wangye can he be?”

”Yes,” Lin Xingzhu said, ”Er Gongzi ascended the throne, he bestowed his father-in-law Feng Xifan the title Tidu [local commander], all government affairs were handled by him. This man is unfair, he is very selfish. Whenever someone had the guts to speak several sentences about fairness, he would kill those people. Thus the hundreds of civil and military officials dared to be angry but did not dare to speak up. Da Gongzi and Madame Chen's ghosts frequently appeared, finally in the fourth month Dong Guotai was scared to death by the ghosts.”

”Delighted, delighted!” Wei Xiaobao said, ”When this Dong Guotai arrived in the nether world, Guoxing Ye [Koxinga] won't possible let her get away with it.”

”Nobody says otherwise,” Lin Xingzhu agreed, ”Dong Guotai was scared to death by the ghosts, as soon as this matter was known, everybody was delighted. The entire Taiwan, from north to south, everybody released firecrackers for three days; they said it was to chase away the ghosts, but actually it was to celebrate this old revered grandmother's death!”

”Interesting, interesting!” Wei Xiaobao repeatedly exclaimed.

Shi Lang said, ”The ghost story is not necessarily true. Presumeably after murdering her oldest grandson and hounding his oldest granddaughter-in-law, Dong Guotai's heart was disturbed. The elderly suspected there were ghosts in the dark, hence day and night she saw ghosts.”

”Evil spirits really exist,” Wei Xiaobao said seriously, ”Especially the people who died of persecution or died because others wronged them. After they become ghosts, they would definitely seek revenge. Shi Daren, this time you pacified Taiwan, you killed a lot of people. I am sure there are not a few ghosts on these Taiwan's battleships; it would be best if Shi Daren is careful.”

Shi Lang's countenance slightly changed, but immediately he laughed and said, ”Going into battle in a war, inevitably we will have to kill people. If all the enemy troops and generals who died in battle became ghosts who seek revenge, all military officers will not die a good death.”

Wei Xiaobao shook his head, ”That is not necessarily the case,” he said, ”Shi Daren was originally a great general under Taiwan's Guoxing Ye's command, you returned and excessively killed Taiwan's troops and generals. The dead people's wronged ghosts are naturally dissatisfied. This is clearly different from other generals.”

Shi Lang did not say anything, in his heart he was enraged. He was a Fujian's Jinjiang [county] native, from among Taiwan's Zheng Wang's troops, eight out of ten were Fujian people; there were especially a lot of Minnan [south Fujian] people. After he pacified Taiwan, he had heard not a few rumors and hearsays, cursing him as a traitor to Han, as well as a traitor to Min [short name for Fujian]. There was even an anonymous literary work in the form of a poem scolding him and satirizing him. In the deepest part of his heart he was actually ashamed; only Wei Xiaobao was the first person who openly mocked him on his face.

Helpless against Wei Xiaobao, he vented his anger toward Lin Xingzhu. He glowered at him while saying in his heart, ”As soon as we leave this island, laozi will deal with you really good.”

”Shi Daren,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”Your luck is really good; if Chen Junshi was not murdered, he would have defended Zheng Keshang in Taiwan; Dong Guotai, Zheng Keshuang, and the others could not possibly seize the throne. With Chen Junshi in command, from top to bottom the troops and the people defended Taiwan wholeheartedly, you may not necessarily be able to succeed.”

Shi Lang was silent; he thought that his own ability was definitely far inferior to Chen Jinnan's; if this person did not die, naturally the situation was substantially different.

Hong Chao suddenly interrupted, ”Wei Jueye is right. All the people, troops and generals of Taiwan also said the same thing. Everybody hated Zheng Keshuang for murdering his loyal minister; he is the damaged Great Wall, indeed he is Guoxing Ye's unworthy grandson.”

Shi Lang angrily said, ”Hong Shoubei, since you have surrendered to the Great Qing, how could you dare to speak this kind of treason and heresy?”

Hong Chao hastily stood up and said, ”Lowly officer is muddleheaded, Daren please forgive my offence.”

”Hong Laoxiong [old brother],” Wei Xiaobao said, ”You are speaking honestly; even if His Majesty heard it with his own ears, he would not possibly blame you. Sit down and drink some wine.”

”Yes,” Hong Chao replied. Trembling with fear, he sat down. He picked up the winecup with both hands, but his hands were trembling so hard that more than half of the wine spilled out the cup.

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Chen Junshi was murdered by Zheng Keshuang, everybody in Taiwan knew about it, didn't they?”

”Yes,” Hong Chao replied, ”When Zheng Keshuang returned to Taiwan, he … he said that Chen Junshi … was … was …” He cast a glance to Shi Lang, did not dare to continue.

Wei Xiaobao said, ”As long as you are telling the truth, nobody will blame you.”

”Yes, yes,” Hong Chao said, ”Zheng Keshuang and Feng Xifan, two people, along with several bodyguards were drifting on the sea in a skiff, they came across a fishing boat who rescued them and brought them back to Taiwan. Zheng Keshuang said that Chen Junshi was killed by General Shi. When Zheng Wangye heard about it, he wept bitterly for several days. Later on after Zheng Keshuang usurped the throne, he personally announced in public that he had killed Chen Junshi with his own hands; he even bragged that his martial art skill was so amazing. A lot of Chen Junshi's subordinates did not want accept it; they inquired of him what crime has Chen Junshi committed. But they were all arrested by Feng Xifan and executed.”

Wei Xiaobao banged the wine cup in his hand heavily on the table. ”F*ck his granny!” he cursed. Suddenly he roared in laughter and said, ”Usually we swear at people's granny, but this man's granny is indeed rather not worthwhile. Only f*cking Zheng Keshuang's granny is really 'made by Heaven and arranged by Earth', 'ding three pays twenty four' [don't know what it is]; nothing is more fitting than this.”

When Shi Lang heard these few sentences, his heart was quite happy. Because he offended Zheng Chenggong his entire family was executed; it was all because of Dong Guotai's provocation. He said, ”What Wei Jueye said is very true, we can f*ck his granny. Guoxing Ye was a hero and a warrior, everything in him was good, only he took a wrong wife.”

Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, ”Other people can f*ck Zheng Keshuang's granny, in this world only General Shi alone must not f*ck her. General Shi's glory, riches and honor came from this old revered grandmother. Although your parents, wife and child were all murdered by her, in return you get Navy Tidu, Third-class Marquis of Jing Hai. You are better off doing this business deal.”

Immediately Shi Lang's countenance turned deep red; in his heart he cursed, ”Laozi wants to f*ck your, Wei Xiaobao's, granny.” Supressing his anger, he picked up the winecup with both hands and took a big mouthful. But his breathing was adversed, as soon as the wine entered his throat, he suddenly broke into violent coughing.

Wei Xiaobao mused, ”Looking at your face, in your heart naturally you want to f*ck my granny in a big way; too bad I don't know who my dad is, I don't know who my granny is even more. You want to f*ck my granny, you will definitely f*ck the wrong person. In your heart most likely you still want to be my laozi [old man], in that case my granny will be your ma. You want to f*ck my granny, won't that mean you are at sixes and sevens with your own Niang, a complete confusion?” He looked at Shi Lang with an amused look.

A navy Fujiang [deputy general] surnamed Lu was also sitting on their table, he was afraid these two people would vent their feeling toward each other; he said, ”Wei Jueye, this time Shi Junmen pacified Taiwan, the success was entirely due to his sweat and blood in disregarding everything. Shi Junmen received the imperial order, from the fourth of the sixth month he commanded more than six hundred warships, and more than sixty thousand sergeants on the expedition to Taiwan. On the ocean we went against the wind, and it took eleven days for us to reach Penghu. We fought Taiwan troops under the command of Liu Guoxuan in big battle, so fierce that the sky darkened and the earth black, the sun and the moon gave forth no more of its light, even Shi Junmen was very concerned …”

Wei Xiaobao noticed that both Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao hung their heads with an angry look on their faces; he presumed these two were also fighting at the battle of Penghu, and he knew naturally in this battle Shi Lang was victorious, hence he did not want to hear Lu Fujiang telling him the story of Shi Lang's proud past achievemens. He asked, ”General Shi, that day when Guoxing Ye took Taiwan, he was also attacking from Penghu, wasn't he?”

”Exactly,” Shi Lang replied.

Wei Xiaobao said, ”At that time you were under Guoxing Ye's command, I wonder how did the battle go?”

Shi Lang said, ”The red-haired demons did not dispatch troops to defend Penghu.”

Wei Xiaobao asked Lin Xingzhu, ”In those days Guoxing Ye crossed the ocean attacking east, I heard Lin Dage led cane-shield troops to chop the demons' legs; I wonder how did you do that?”

Lin Xingzhu thought, ”About the cane-shield troops chopping the demons' legs, I have already told you the story. And now you are asking me again, naturally it is because you don't want to listen to the stinking history about Shi Lang subduing Taiwan, but want to listen to Guoxing Ye and Chen Junshi's heroic deeds instead. I must not talk about my own deeds too much, because if Shi Lang harbors a grudge in his heart, he would definitely deal with me. I'd better hold him up in good light.” Thereupon he said, ”Twice has Shi Junmen attacked Taiwan, his meritorious service is indeed very big. In those days Guoxing Ye assembled all the generals to dicuss whether or not they should cross the ocean and attack to the east. A lot of generals said that Taiwan's natural barrier is difficult to attack, the wind and waves on the sea is very big, red-haired demons' guns were difficult to deal with; this mission is indeed dangerous. But Chen Junshi and General Shi made a supreme effort to endorse it, and in the end they set up great merits.” Hearing this, Shi Lang's face showed a pleased expression.

Lin Xingzhu continued, ”It was Yongli's fifteenth year second month …”

Shi Lang said, ”Lin Dusi, the former Ming's era name must not be mentioned anymore; it was the Great Qing Shunzhi's eighteenth year.”

”Yes, yes,” Lin Xingzhu said, ”On the second month that year, Guoxing Ye moved his camp to Jinmen City. On the first day of the third month the entire force made a vow and offered sacrifice to the sea. For the first ten days afterwards, Guoxing Ye and Chen Junshi assembled the troops under their command into Right Martial Guards, Left and Right Tiger Guards, Valiant Cavalry Camp, Left Vanguard, Center Attacking Force, Rear Guard Camp, Front and Rear Communication Team, Auxilliary Destroyer Rear Camp, into the navy ships and gathered them at Liaoluo Bay to wait for the wind. At that time the troops' hearts were anxious, a lot of people were afraid to go out to sea, Guoxing Ye and Chen Junshi, General Shi, separately went to the camps to encourage the hearts of the troops. We waited until noon of the twenty-third day before the sky was clear, the wind and the waves ceased to blow; thereupon the great force moved out. By the afternoon of the twenty-fourth we arrived at Penghu. But after we reached Penghu, the gale returned, the wind and the waves on the sea were growing, for several days we were unable to set sail. There was no food on all the islands of Penghu, there was food shortage in the troops, we had to live on eating sweet potatoes; the hearts of the troops started to panic. By the thirtieth, we simply could not wait anymore. Guoxing Ye gave his order to set off, regardless of big wind big waves, we must go into battle. That day in the middle of the night, after the first watch, Guoxing Ye's central command's warship flew the command banner and fired the cannon three times, the metal drums were sounded, the battleships raised their sails toward the east. At that time black clouds covered the whole sky, the great waves on the sea looked like small hills pouncing on the bow of the ships. Strong wind, heavy rain, everybody was soaked to the bones. Guoxing Ye stood on the bow, with a sword in his hand; he shouted, 'Display utter loyalty to defend our country, not afraid of the wind and the waves!' Tens of thousands troops echoed in chorus, 'Display utter loyalty to defend our country, not afraid of the wind and the waves!' The yelling was so loud that the sound of the gale and the billows were nearly drown.”

Wei Xiaobao said to Shi Lang, ”At that time naturally General Shi also shouted like that?”

Shi Lang replied, ”That time lowly officer received the order to defend Xiamen, I did not go to Taiwan.”

”I see,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”What a pity, what a pity!”

Lu Fujiang said, ”When Zheng Wangye arrived at Penghu, he did not encounter strong wind and big waves, but Shi Junmen's bloody battle; now that was 'startling the heart moving the soul'. Liu Guoxuan assembled the Navy at Penghu's Niu Xin [ox heart] Bay, Ji Long [chickeen coop] Islet, and built earthen rampart for twenty li along the coast, each section of the rampart was reinforced with a cannon. When the Great Qing Navy arrived, the cannon on the shore were fired simultaneously; there were also rockets, mortars, it was desperately serious …”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Lu Fujiang, I'll say your gut is more or less the same as mine.”

”I do not dare,” Lu Fujiang said, ”How can lowly officer be compared to Jueye?”

”You can't be compared with me?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

”Naturally I can't,” Lu Fujiang replied.

”That's strange,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”I always thought I am as meek as a mouse; it's considered very disappointing. Turns out you are even more useless than I am, ha ha … that's strange, that's strange.” Lu Fujiang face swollen red; he did not dare to make any noise.

Wei Xiaobao asked Lin Xingzhu, ”After Guoxing Ye took the troops to sea, and then what happened?”

Lin Xingzhu said, ”The battleships sailed in the gale and big waves for four hours; by the third watch of the night [11pm – 1am] suddenly the breeze was still, the waves were quiet, the black cloud dissipated. A moment later, the wind turned into tail wind instead; the joyous cry of the troops thundered, everybody said Laotian [God/Heaven] was blessing them, the victory was guaranteed. Early morning on the first day of the following month, the battleships finally reached outside Lu Er Men [deer ear gate]. Using the bamboo pole to gauge the water, unexpectedly it was high sand shallow water; there was no way we could sail forward. Guoxing Ye was very anxious, he set up an incense burner table, to pray to the Heaven. Not too long afterwards, suddenly the tide arose, all battleships overflowed into the Lu Er Men. The red-haired troops on the shore opened fire to bombard us. Over there the red-haired demons had built two cities, one was called 're lan zhe cheng' [Fort Zeelandia], the other was called 'pu luo min zhe cheng'

[27] …”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”The devils' place names are so weird; what 're lai che' [hot covering], 'leng lai che' [cold covering], 'na mo bo luo mi duo Guanshiyin Pu zhe' [namo paramita Guanyin Bodhisattva]?”

Lin Xingzhu smiled and continued his story, ”At that time Guoxing Ye used the telescope to look, he saw the red-haired demons' main force had two big warships, two battle cruisers, plus several hundreds small battleships and small boats. Thereupon he passed on an order, sending the Front Communication Team's Commander Chen Ze to lead a fleet of ships to land on Lu Er Men Island, to guard North Shanwei to prevent other red-haired fleet from giving their assistance.

Battle cry ensued; the surface of the sea was filled with gun smoke and flames. After fighting for more than two hours, there was a loud explosion; one of the red-haired demons' main battleships was sunk by our troops. It was only later that I found out that it was the 'bei ke de ya' [not sure, Becker or Baker something?], the red-haired demons' Navy elite ship. The other ship, Maria, suffered serious damage; it escaped eastwards toward the ocean and its whereabouts was unknown. Two red-haired demons' ships also retreated. At that time the brothers under Chen Ze's command encountered red-haired demon troops, they all strived to be the first to fight; although the red-haired demons' firearms were formidable, seeing our troops rushed in and killed the enemy courageously, they were so scared that they lost the will to fight, and retreated back into the city. Our troops landed at Chikan [Fort Provintia], and stormed toward 'pu luo min zhe cheng'.”

(Author's note: When Zheng Chenggong attacked Taiwan, from Penghu he landed in the vicinity of modern day Tainan. At that time the Holland's massive military force was also stationed in Tainan region.)

Wei Xiaobao poured a cup of wine and handed it over to Lin Xingzhu with both hand. ”Lin Dage,” he said, ”You fought well. I toast you a cup.”

Lin Xingzhu stood up to receive it; he expressed his thanks, and after drinking it up he continued, ”After our troops landed at Provintia, local Chinese people swarmed out to welcome us, a lot of people were so happy that they cried. They said, 'This time our liberator has finally arrived.' Wei Jueye, Guoxing Ye's esteemed father, Zheng Taishi [imperial tutor] was originally doing business without capital on the ocean, Taiwan was his, the Senior's lair. Later on the Senior brought his subordinate brothers back to the Central Plains. Hence Taiwan was separately occupied by Holland demons and Spain demons; Holland demons in the south, Spain demons in the north. Two demons fought each other, the Spain demons were defeated, and entire Taiwan fell under Holland demons' grip. Our Chinese people on the island were mistreated and killed to death by the Holland's red-haired demons. There was a brother, former subordinate of Zheng Taishi, called Guo Huaiyi; he was a warrior. He remained on the island and did not leave. Seeing Chinese people were bullied very badly by the red-haired demons, he assembled the brothers in secret, notified Chinese people everywhere that on the fifteenth of the eight month, the Mid-Autumn Festival, they were to move together to kill all the red-haired demons on the island. Unexpectedly there was a traitor, called Puzai, who went as far as to inform the red-haired demons …”

Wei Xiaobao slapped the table and cursed, ”His granny, Chinese people's affair was spoiled by a traitor.”

”That's right,” Lin Xingzhu said, ”When Guo Huaiyi Dage saw that Puzai ran away, he knew the situation had turned worse. Immediately he led more than sixteen-thousand Chinese to attack 'pu luo min zhe cheng', destroying and setting the red-haired demons' government buildings and shops on fire. The red-haired demons deployed a large army to counterattack, their guns were formidable. Our Chinese people, other than several fiery-dragon spears, were only using broadswords, iron spears, hoes, wooden sticks, and similar types of weapons. In Provintia they fought for fifteen days straight. Guo Huaiyi Dage was unfortunate and was killed by the red-haired demon's gun …”

”Aiya, that's bad,” Wei Xiaobao exclaimed.

”It was,” Lin Xingzhu said, ”Guo Huaiyi Dage died, the snake was without a head; the Chinese people were defeated and driven out of the city. On the bank of the Great Lake the bloody battle continued for seven days and seven nights. The number of Chinese people killed on the bank of Great Lake totalled more than four thousand; women and girls also rather die than submit, more than five hundred of them were killed. The rest were captured by the red-haired demons, women were forced to be barracks' prostitute, the men were either pulled to death by five horses running separate directions, or branded to slow death by branding irons …”

Wei Xiaobao was enraged; he cried out, ”Red-haired demons are this cruel, they are more vicious than the Great Qing troops' massacre of our people in Yangzhou!”

Shi Lang and Lu Fujiang looked at each other in dismay; they could only smile wryly. They both thought, ”The way this youngster talk is really without any regard of the gravity of things.”

Lin Xingzhu said, ”It was Yongli's sixth year, the eighth month …”

Hong Chao bent his fingers and counted, ”Yongli's sixth year, that is the Great Qing Shunzhi's seventh … eighth … ninth … Shunzhi's ninth year.”

”Is that right?” Lin Xingzhu said, ”Anyway, ever since that great massacre, the Chinese people of Taiwan and the red-haired demons cannot exist together. As soon as there is the tiniest reason, the red-haired demons would kill Chinese people randomly. Therefore, when they saw Guoxing Ye's main forces, it was as if the Emperor Bodhisattva Savior has arrived. Men, women, young and old, everybody shared with us their grievance. That very evening, the red-haired demon governor knew defeat was imminent; he took his anger out on the Chinese people, he killed the Chinese who lived in Kun Shen; no matter young or old, he gathered them together and killed altogether more than five hundred people. The next day Guoxing Ye dispatched the troops to attack 'pu luo min zhe cheng'. Chen Junshi came up with a strategy, we trained the rattan shield troops to roll around on the ground to chop the demon troops' leg; and thus 'pu luo min zhe cheng' fell.”

”That is Laoxiong's great merit,” Wei Xiaobao said.

”It was all due to Chen Junshi's brilliant scheme,” Lin Xingzhu replied, ”Lowly officer did not have any merit.” He continued, ”Immediately afterwards Guoxing Ye deployed the troops to attack Fort Zeelandia, where the red-haired demon governor was stationed. The artillery barrage from the top of the city wall was very fierce, our troops suffered heavy casualties. But General Ma Xin and General Liu Guoxuan courageously attacked Yi Kun Shen. Seeing too many brothers died, Guoxing Ye built earthen rampart outside the city, surrounding Fort Zeelandia all around, and installed cannon on the rampart, pounding the city walls with artillery barrage. Before long our second Navy's Left Attacking Force, Front Attacking Force, Wisdom Force, Valiant Troops, Amphibious Force, Palace Hall Troops, all ships have also arrived; our power rose up. While dispatching the troops to clear up the wild area for farming, Guoxing Ye also intensified the besieging of the city. Besieged until the fifth month, suddenly the red-haired demons' reinforcement from Batavia arrived. The red-haired demons from the city came out to attack. There were big battles on land and sea, our troops dauntlessly rushed in and killed the enemy, the sea water was dyed red with blood.”

Wei Xiaobao slapped the table and exclaimed, ”Fierce, fierce!” Turning to Shi Lang he said, ”Too bad at that time General Shi was in Xiamen; otherwise, you could keep up with these several big battles, and killed several hundreds of those damn red-haired demons, and then you can really be considered a hero.” Shi Lang stayed silent.

Wei Xiaobao asked Hong Chao, ”Hong Dage, at that time which group were you in?”

Hong Chao replied, ”At that time lowly officer was under Liu Guoxuan, General Liu's command; along with Chen Ze, General Chen's navy we besieged the red-haired demons' reinforcement, in a big battle at the North Shanwei region. The red-haired demons' warships were huge, their guns very sharp; when the bullets from our firearms reached the red-haired demons' big warship, they all bounced back from the armor plating, we could not harm the ship. Seeing we could not withstand the enemy, the Front Communication Team's Lin Jinshen, General Lin personally led two-hundred-men suicide team, with their bodies covered in gunpowder they braved death by jumping into the red-haired demons' big warship to damage and explode the cannon on the ship. Seeing us attacking violently with no fear of death at all, the red-haired demons' were thrown into confusion. We killed a red-haired demon commander, captured two battleships, and utterly routed the red-haired demons' navy. On land Chen Junshi led the troops in great battle also seized total victory. Later on seven red-haired demons' lead bullets were dug out from Chen Junshi's body.”

”Hey,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”My Shifu did not die under the red-haired demons' guns; he died under his granny Zheng Keshuang, that kid's sword. General Shi, real men kill foreign devils, now that is amazing. Chinese people kill Chinese people, even if he killed a lot, he cannot be considered a hero. Do you agree?”

”Humph,” Shi Lang snorted, but did not say anything.

Lin Xingzhu said, ”The red-haired demons suffered defeat after defeat, they wanted to burn our troops' provision, but each time Chen Junshi always saw through their plan, they were never able to steal our chicken or nibble our grain. The red-haired demon governor was trapped in an isolated city, he had his hands bound and was unable to do anything about it. He sent people across the sea to contact the Great Qing's Fujian and Zhejiang Zongdu [governor-general] Li Lutai, to ask him to send troops and rescued them. That Li Daren was an interesting fellow; he sent a letter asking the red-haired demons to come to Fujian first to crush Guoxing Ye's garrisons in Jinmen and Xiamen regions, and then the Great Qing troops would come to Taiwan and launch converging attack from inside and outside. At that time the red-haired demons were powerless to defend themselves; they were like a turtle shrinking its head inside Fort Zeelandia, how could they send troops to Jinmen, Xiamen?”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”The red-haired demons speak like a fart; all along they didn't want to attack Jinmen, Xiamen, did they? When Great Qing speak, we always keep our words; didn't we eventually send troops to attack Taiwan? We're only twenty, thirty years late; it's not a big deal! When General Shi led the troops to attack Taiwan, I wonder if there were red-haired demons with whom you coordinate inside and outside offensives.”

Shi Lang could not endure patiently anymore; he stood up abruptly and said, ”Wei Jueye, Xiongdi and you are ministers of the same palace hall, both of us are Great Qing officials; why do you always speak cold words and make sarcastic comments, always mocking Xiongdi?”

”Eh? That's strange,” Wei Xiaobao exclaimed in surprise, ”When did I ever mock General Shi? General Shi did not have any illicit relations with foreign country, that's great. But if you do have an illicit relations with foreign country, I'll say there's still time. General Shi holds massive military power in your hands, red-haired demons, Spaniard demons, Portuguese demons, Luocha demons, will be very happy to make friends with you.”

Shi Lang shivered in his heart, ”Not good!” he mused, ”If this little demon made an accusation in front of His Majesty, framing me of having illicit relations with foreign country, my entire life would be destroyed in his hands.” Just now his temper flared, he spoke rudely; he could not help feeling remorse. Hastily he forced a laugh and said, ”Xiongdi has drank several cups too much, and has offended quite a bit, Wei Jueye please forgive me.”

When Wei Xiaobao saw that he was angry, originally he was rather scared, but then he saw that Shi Lang changed his attitude and offered an apology, he knew that Shi Lang was afraid of him. Thereupon he laughed and said, ”If General Shi seriously wants to establish yourself as a king in Taiwan, it would be better for you to kill Xiongdi first to silence me, so that I would not report it to His Majesty. But if you are just making a loud of noise and throwing a fit, although Xiongdi's gut is small, I am not afraid.”

Shi Lang's countenance turned deathly pale. Leaving his seat he bowed deeply with cupped fist and said, ”Wei Jueye, a person of great moral stature does not remember the offenses committed by one of low moral stature; lowly officer was preposterous, I am willing to accept punishment. But establishing myself as a king in Taiwan or having illicit relations with foreign country, lowly officer absolutely never has this intention. Lowly officer single-mindedly exerting myself for His Majesty, following his order with loyalty, definitely not double-minded.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Please sit down, please sit down. We will wait and see.” Turning his head toward Lin Xingzhu he said, ”Your story is more interesting than Mr. Storyteller. This episode, Guoxing Ye fought a bloody battle in Taiwan, the red-haired demons pissed in their pants in terror. And then what happened?”

”By that time,” Lin Xingzhu continued, ”The news that Guoxing Ye led a large army to attack Taiwan had reached the inland. Huang Wu, Huang Daren immediately submitted a proposal to the imperial court, he submitted what was called 'Five Plans to Fortify Defenses and Raze the Fields in Pacifying the Ocean'.”

”Who is that Huang Wu?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

Lin Xingzhu cast a glance toward Shi Lang, he coughed several times, but did not immediately reply. Shi Lang said, ”This Huang Daren was originally also a subordinate of Guoxing Ye, his rank was a Zongbing [regional commander]. After he submitted to the imperial court, his political career took off smoothly. By the time of his death, his title was First-class Duke of Hai Deng [hai – ocean, deng – settling of liquid; maybe a place's name.].”

”Hey,” Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, ”Turns out he was also a trai …” in the end he forcibly swallowed the last syllable 'tor'.

Shi Lang's countenance turned red; he mused, ”You curse me as a traitor, I'll say you are a fake Manchu; we are no better or worse than the other.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”What kind of clever scheme did this Huang Wu use to pat His Majesty's bottom that in a short while he was bestowed the title Duke? His skill is really not small! This trick we may want to polish and refine, and try to emulate.”

”This Huang Wu,” Lin Xingzhu said, ”In those days Guoxing Ye sent him to guard Hai Deng, but he surrendered Hai Deng to the imperial court. The officers and soldiers who were unwilling to surrender, he killed them all. At that time the imperial court was at a loss on how to deal with Guoxing Ye, suddenly there was this general in command of the troops from the other side who wanted to surrender along with the entire city; naturally the imperial court was overjoyed. Hence the reason he received such a preferential treatment.”

”So that's how it is,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”What plan did he propose?”

Lin Xingzhu sighed and said, ”This Huang Daren really did a lot of harm to the common people. His 'Five Plans to Pacify the Ocean', number one was to move all common people from the coastal area inland, so that those Jinmen, Xiamen, as well as Taiwan, would not get any material assistance. Number two was to burn down all ships and boats in the coast; henceforth not a cun of wood was allowed to go out to sea. Number three was to kill Guoxing Ye's father, Zheng Taishi. Number four was to excavate the tomb of Guoxing Ye's ancestors, to damage his fengshui [geomancy]. Number five was to relocate the officers and men, former subordinates of Guoxing Ye who had surrendered inland to open up land for farming in various provinces, to avoid future misfortune.”

”Hey,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”This fellow's plans are indeed very malicious.”

”Aren't they?” Lin Xingzhu said, ”At that time Emperor Shunzhi had just passed away, His Majesty had just ascended the throne, his age was young, Oboi arrogated all powers. That treacherous bandit Oboi saw Huang Wu's 'Five Plans to Pacify the Ocean' and agreed that it made a lot of sense, he issued an order from Liaodong all the way to Zhili, Jiangsi, Zhejiang, Fujian, as well as Guangdong, nobody was allowed to live within thirty li from the coast, all vessels were to be burned down. In those days common people lived in the coastal area by the thousands and tens of thousands, none was not forced out from their homes and wandering about, a lot of them did not survive.”

Shi Lang spoke up, ”Huang Wu's scheme went indeed a bit too far. It was not until the current ruler took office, Wei Daren took down Oboi, that the sea ban was lifted. But the common people in seven coastal provinces have already suffered harmful effects. At that time the imperial court issued strict order, common people who violated the ban were arrested and immediately beheaded. A lot of people could not survive, they went to the seaside to catch fish; I don't know how many were killed. At that time Zheng Taishi was also killed. Oboi sent the Minister of War Shangshu Sunahai on a special mission to Quanzhou's [prefecture] Nan An Xian [South An County] in Fujian to dig out Zheng family's ancestral tomb.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Oboi claimed to be a warrior, but he committed such a senseless act; if he really have skills, he should challenge Guoxing Ye with real swords, real spears. By relocating the coastal population inland, isn't it clear that he was afraid? His Majesty cherishes common people, if Huang Wu's plans were presented to His Majesty, he would definitely have his head chopped.”

”Exactly,” Shi Lang said, ”Huang Wu died early, it could be considered his luck.”

Lin Xingzhu said, ”When the news of Zheng Taishi's death reached Taiwan, Guoxing Ye was afraid it might shake the troops' heart, so he said it was a lie and that they must not be gullible. But according to his personal guards, Guoxing Ye often cried bitterly in the middle of the night. Guoxing Ye also confided with Chen Junshi and several other generals that Huang Wu's plot was indeed sinister. Fortunately they had gone on a punitive expedition to the east to Taiwan; otherwise, tens of thousands soldiers could not have a foothold in Jinmen and Xiamen. By then we have held our siege for a long time, several times the red-haired troops wanted to break the siege, each time they were beaten back into the city. Hence Guoxing Ye issued an order that before the New Year we must attack and bring Fort Zeelandia down.” Turning toward Hong Chao he said, ”We attacked on the twenty-third of the eleventh month, didn't we?”

”Yes,” Hong Chao replied, ”That day the wind was strong, with heavy rain. Our troops fired the cannon from all the earthen ramparts at the same time, damaging the corner of the city wall, the fortifications on the east and west of the city were also broken. The red-haired demons desperately rushed out, but after several hundreds of them died, they were driven back into the city. Thereupon the red-haired governor raised a white flag to surrender. At that time the Chinese people in Taiwan wanted to take revenge by killing the red-haired demons clean. Guoxing Ye enlightened the people that our China is a country with etiquette, the enemy surrendered must not be killed. He allowed the red-haired governor to write a letter of surrender with fourteen sections before he led the ruined army, defeated generals boarded the ships and left Taiwan to flee to Batavia. The red-haired demons occupied Taiwan since the Ming Dynasty's Tian Qi's fourth year, for a total of 38 years, until that year, the Yongli's fifteenth year … which was the Great Qing's Shunzhi's eighteenth year, eleventh month, twenty-ninth day, when Taiwan returned to be China's territory.”

Lin Xingzhu said, ”Guoxing Ye issued a military order not to kill the surrendering red-haired troops, but Chinese people were unbearably angry; they continuously spat on them and threw rocks at them. Little children even made up a song to mock them. The red-haired troops with broken hands broken feet, hanging their heads dispiritedly; they did not dare to utter even a single word of demon language. After their battleship set off, they lowered their flag, and fired a gun salute, saying that it was to show their humble respect to Guoxing Ye for his kindness of not killing them.”

”Good!” Wei Xiaobao said, ”We, Chinese, have a really great power and prestige. The red-haired demons' cannon were that formidable, to conquer Taiwan was really not easy, really not easy!”

Hong Chao said, ”Guoxing Ye changed the name Fort Zeelandia to Anping Zhen [lit. safe and peaceful, zhen – small town], he changed 'pu luo min zhe cheng' into Chengtian Fu [lit. supporting heaven, fu – prefecture]; henceforth both have always been Taiwan's strategic town.”

Lu Fujiang interjected, ”When Shi Junmen took over Taiwan, the path he took was the old path taken by Guoxing Ye in the past; he went in from Lu Er Men …”

Wei Xiaobao waved his hand to stop him; he yawned big and said, ”Chinese defeating the red-haired demons and driving them out to see, that is an immensely enjoyable story. Our people defeating our people, it's approximately no more than that. General Shi, we have drank quite a bit of wine, let's adjourn now.”

Shi Lang stood up and said, ”Yes, thank you very much Jueye for the dinner, lowly officer takes my leave.”

Wei Xiaobao went back to the inner hall and told his wives how he stopped Shi Lang from talking; in short he prevented him from boasting about his outstanding military service in taking over Taiwan. His six wives found the story amusing, only Ah Ke remained silent. She thought that if she was married to Zheng Keshuang, she would have been captured and taken prisoner together with him; brought to Beijing, as a concubine of a vanquished nation, it would be difficult to escape humiliation. That day when she saw Zheng Keshuang left Tong Chi Island on a skiff, she did not care about his life or death. This moment as she heard that his country perished and he surrendered to the enemy, she did not have the slightest concern. Recalling the past events, she was amazed that she was actually crazy about his elegant manner and his appearance, knowing full well that this man was someone without any backbone, a spoiled son of rich parents without any future prospects. She realized that it was as if she was blind by being deeply attached to him. This moment as she thought back, she was still feeling deeply ashamed.

The Princess said, ”Huangdi Gege was too generous to him, that fellow Zheng Keshuang surrendered, unexpectedly he bestowed him a first-class duke title, his nobility rank is above Xiaobao's. It really upsets me.”

Wei Xiaobao waved his hand, ”Not a big deal, not a big deal. Guoxing Ye was a great hero, His Majesty was looking at Guoxing Ye's face that he bestowed his offspring the title of first-class duke. Based on Zheng Keshuang's own ability, at most he would only be bestowed the title first-class caterpillar.”

At noon the next day, Wei Xiaobao singled out Lin Xingzhu and Hong Chao, two people for a small banquet; he asked them about Shi Lang taking over Taiwan.

Turned out the Qing troops and Taiwan troops were engaged in bloody battle for several days at Penghu Islands' Niu Xin Bay and Ji Long islet. The first day Shi Lang lost, afterwards Qing's Navy reinforcement arrived, the battle raged again. Taiwan's vessels were burned and suffered heavy defeat, the number of casualties among the officers and soldiers reaching more than ten thousand men, the battleships were either sunk or burned, the total damage reaching more than three hundred boats. Liu Guoxuan led the defeated army back into Taiwan.

Shi Lang led the Navy to attack Taiwan. Lu Er Men had shallow water, battleships could not enter; they dropped anchor on the ocean for twelve days, with no strategy left to try. Suddenly thick fog filled the sky, the tide swelled, Qing warships swarmed in. In Taiwan, everybody from top to bottom was greatly alarmed; they all said, ”In the past because of the tide rose in Lu Er Men Guoxing Ye was able to enter Taiwan; and now Lu Er Men's tide rises again, the natural barrier is lost, this is the Will of Heaven that made it so, fighting again is useless.”

When Zheng Keshuang was informed that the boats of Qing troops had entered Lu Er Men, he was already thrown into panic mode, when Feng Xifan advised him to surrender, naturally he readily agreed. It's just that he was afraid Shi Lang would avenge his personal enmity and would make things difficult for Zheng Clan's offspring that he was greatly hesitant. Immediately Liu Guoxuan sent a letter to Shi Lang, saying that they were willing to surrender, but Guoxing Ye's descendants must be saved from harm, or else the entire Taiwan population, military and civilian alike, would recall fondly Guoxing Ye's kindness and righteousness, and would rather fight to the last man. Shi Lang immediately replied, guaranteeing that he would not bother about the old grievance, otherwise, let Heaven and men abandon him, and let his descendants be cut-off from the earth. Thereupon Zheng Keshuang, Feng Xifan and Liu Guoxuan led Taiwan's civil and military officials to surrender. The Ming Dynasty's imperial clan Prince Ningjing Zhu Shugui committed suicide to die for his country, his five concubines were buried alive as sacrifice together with their husband, and thus the Ming family was cut short.

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”This Ming Dynasty Emperor's descendants committed suicide to die for his country, five of his wives followed him in death. If I, Wei Xiaobao, commit suicide, I wonder from my seven wives, how many would want to accompany me? I am sure Shuang'er would, the Princess would surely apologize for not accompanying me. As for the other five, most likely they would throw dice to decide who would die and who would live. When Fang Yi throw the dice, she would definitely cheat, calling me, the dead person, a 'cattle'.”

Lin Xingzhu continued, saying that after Shi Lang led the troops to land, he indeed kept his words, he did not give the Zheng Clan offspring any trouble. He even personally went to Zheng Chenggong's Yan Ping Jun Wang ancestral shrine to offer sacrifice and cried bitterly for a moment.

Hong Chao said, ”During the sacrifice he read a memorial in which there were some sentences like this: 'From Tong'an [district, Xiamen, Fujian] Hou [marquis] entered Taiwan, only then did Taiwan soil have inhabitant. Overtaking the bestowed confidence to open land and initiate the cliff boundary, who would dare to do it? Today by the authority of the Son of Heaven Lang leads military power, subduing this land, did not decline to wipe out the country and punish the guilty, for the reason of loyalty to the imperial court as well as to fulfill the duty to avenge father and brother. Alone Lang rose through the ranks, with Ci Xing

[28] was as delighted as fish meet water, there was not the slightest bit of resentment, but it led to great violation. Lang and Ci Xing had enmity and hatred, but my feeling is still like minister and his master. The poor scholar in the midst of reed, justice will not be done. Righteousness and personal kindness, henceforth it is over.' These several sentences were on everyone's lips for a period of time.”

”What was he rambling about?” Wei Xiaobao asked.