As for the refugees collected from Zhejiang, the General Staff suggested setting up a transit center in Taiwan. 【Read full text】
The refugees first arrived in Taiwan, were "hoarded" in camps in Taiwan for a period of time, and then transferred back to Lingao. Some people can stay in Taiwan directly, open up Taiwanese land, and form a second colony.
Of course, the situation in Taiwan is more complicated. There are many forces above, including the Dutch, Spanish and Zheng Zhilong, who all have their own territory: the Dutch control the officials, Zheng Zhilong occupies Beigang, and the Spanish occupy the chicken coop (Keelung). Generally speaking, from From Taipei to Tainan, it stretches along the coastline toward the mainland. Taiwan's indigenous people, Malay immigrants, and Japanese also have a small influence in the local area.
However, these forces are small in scale and occupy a small territory. The influence of the Dutch, Spaniards and Zheng Zhilong is only based on one or two castle support points and occupies a very small surrounding territory. In addition to trade, it also collected tribute from the Sam people and indigenous peoples of Fujian.
The proportion of the latter is small. Except for Zheng Zhilong's efforts to organize local immigrants to engage in agricultural development, the main purpose of Europeans occupying these places was to serve as trading strongholds and collect local soil—mainly deer skins from Taiwan.
Judging from the strength of Chuanzhong's navy and army, it would be easy to eliminate these forces. According to historical data: the Spanish's total garrison strength in the chicken coop was only 90 Europeans, plus one or two auxiliary troops recruited from the Philippines. The Dutch were still building the city of Geranje from 1631 to 1632.
The total European garrison did not exceed 400 men. Its sphere of influence reaches its limit 30 kilometers outside the castle. In 1630, he was almost forced to leave by the Taiwanese indigenous Mujialiushe. It was not until 11635, when the East India Company increased its troops on a large scale, that it began to attack the surrounding aboriginal villages on a large scale and expand its area of control.
Therefore, the threat of these forces on land is very small, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are vulnerable.
Sending an infantry battalion to reinforce a small amount of artillery would be enough to sweep across the island. But the situation at sea is more complicated. The Dutch were now a trading partner, and with limited maritime power in East Asia, they would not risk angering the Senate by taking hostile action. The Spanish could only be considered a "presence" in the waters near Taiwan.
The only obstacle is Zheng Zhilong. The coast of Fujian is his main area of activity. The navy's transport fleet passed through this area and even landed on Taiwan Island to build a transit base. This matter absolutely cannot be hidden from him. If he wants to intervene, he will have to move against the motive. It's a big obstacle.
If it is through the Taiwan Strait. Considering the Harmony's tonnage, armament and escort warships' combat power, Zheng Zhilong could hardly pose any threat unless he launched a large-scale naval battle.
In the Navy's deduction on the map, those who played Zheng Zhilong's side were rarely able to capture the passage of the transport fleet in the Taiwan Strait. In other words, given the level of communication and navigation at the time, even if Zheng Zhilong deliberately wanted to start a fight, he might not be able to capture the fighter plane.
However, if you want to dock on the main island of Taiwan, you will inevitably have to enter and exit Taiwan's coastal harbors, and Zheng Zhilong will have many combat opportunities. This needs to be taken into consideration.
Everyone believes that it is necessary to open a base in Taiwan - from the perspective of opening value, Taiwan is higher than Hainan. However, there are different opinions on where to choose as a transit base. There are many places included in the selection, including Jilong, Tainan, Huālian, Kaohsiung, etc.
The chicken coops and fresh water occupied by the Spanish were rejected first. Although there are rich mineral resources near Jilong, including the famous Keelung Coal Mine and Jinguashi Gold and Copper Mine, mining is very difficult and the geographical environment is extremely harsh. A lot of manpower and material resources need to be invested in rectification.
People’s records at that time were not very positive about this place: “chicken coops (keeang) and fresh water (tanooei
It’s not a good anchorage, 1 plus the people nearby are so vicious that we can’t interact with them 2.” “Don’t you hear about the evil of chicken coops and fresh water and soil? People get sick immediately when they arrive, and they often die from illness. When all the servants and servants heard about the dispatch of chicken coops and fresh water, they all lamented that it was like sending troops to an extinct territory: the navy troops were more garrisoned in the spring and autumn, and they were lucky to survive. That healthy boy was serving as a servant and the king was so embarrassed. "
Chicken coops and fresh water are both located in northern Taiwan. This is the area with the richest precipitation on the island. The annual precipitation is more than 3,000 mm. In a normal year it rains in Taipei for half the year. Areas with excessive rainfall are good for plant and microbial growth1 but not good for humans. Therefore, Fujian people during the Ming and Qing Dynasties called Taipei a place of miasma, and the mortality rate of immigrants there was very high. If the transit foundation is located here, the mortality rate can be imagined.
There was another major earthquake in Taiwan in 1694. It was so powerful that a 30-square-kilometer Taipei Lake was created in the Taipei Basin. No matter from which angle you look at it, the Taipei area is not a place that travelers should set foot in.
Huālian has also received support from many people. Huālian’s advantage is that it is extremely safe. It is located in the eastern part of Taiwan and is separated from the rest of Taiwan Island by mountains. The surrounding terrain is steep, and most areas are not suitable for ships to dock. Most of the coast is very steep coastal terrain, and only the river mouth has terrain for boat parking. As long as a base is established at the mouth of the river, it will be impossible to land from other places. Historically, before the highway was opened to traffic in 1932, Huālian could only be connected to other parts of Taiwan by shipping, and it was known as Taiwan's "land outlying island". Throughout the 17th century, except for the Spanish who went to Huālian to mine placer gold in 1622, no one was interested in this place.
Huālian is rich in mineral resources, of which three types can be mined immediately by travelers: silicate serpentine asbestos, marble, and limestone. Huālian will be Taiwan's most important cement producer until the 21st century. We can make high-grade cement and supply it locally to Taiwan. There is also a small amount of iron ore in the local area, and the reserves are not large, but it is easy to mine. In addition, many of Huālian's serpentine mines are accompanied by iron ore, magnetite and pot magnesium. The surface of Huālian should have been more or less scattered except for coal mines at that time, which was very suitable for small-scale groups like Lingao to carry out mining.
In terms of fresh water resources, Huālian has three relatively large rivers and many impact plains that are not small in size. There is also certain potential for farming.
But in the end, too much rain in Huālian made this place unselected. Excessive rain makes the local environment unsuitable for large-scale migration. During the Japanese invasion of Taiwan, they planned to immigrate to Huālian to establish an agricultural reclamation area, but ultimately failed due to climate and disease.
The last ones to be considered are the Pingtung and Kaohsiung areas. This place is on the Tainan Plain, which is relatively suitable for living and agricultural cultivation on Taiwan Island. Kaohsiung has a port. Although the port at that time was not renovated and could not berth large ships, it could still berth sailing ships of less than 1,000 tons.
Pingtung and Kaohsiung are mountainous areas to the south, and Dutch influence is to the north. There is currently a commercial agreement between the Dutch and the Senate, and the two parties maintain a "peaceful" commercial cooperation relationship. The Dutch do not have the strength and dare not risk offending large suppliers by attacking the transit bases in Pingtung and Kaohsiung. The Dutchman can also play a role in isolating Zheng Zhilong. Moreover, given Zheng Zhilong's current busy fighting situation along the coast of Fujian, he may not have time to deal with "border thieves".
"We transport immigrants from Zhejiang to Pingtung, Kaohsiung. Not only can we have a suitable place for quarantine and purification, but some people can also start agriculture on the spot. The Chianan Plain is the best agricultural production area in Taiwan, regardless of sunshine, rain or land. They are all top-notch. We can completely intensify development in the form of large-scale farms, which will provide a much better production environment than the small-scale farmer economy here in Hainan. It will be a leap forward for our agricultural production. Yes. This will greatly improve the situation in which our food basically depends on imports." Luo Feng said at the end of his speech in which he emphasized the benefits of using Kaohsiung as a base.
"What if Zheng Zhilong is going to be detrimental to us? His hometown is in Fujian." Someone raised an objection. Zheng Zhilong regarded Fujian as his home base. He also had an official status and his power should not be underestimated.
"We don't need to be afraid of his sailing fleet. At the end of 1631, after our 854 modifications and the first batch of 901 were completed, our fleet was like a god in the Taiwan Strait. Deploying the steam engine fleet forward to Kaohsiung will have a negative impact on the fleet passing through the Taiwan Strait. Our ships conduct regional escort." Navy staff officer Li Di said, "Our navy has full sea control around Hainan Island and up to Hong Kong Island.
The steam engine fleet stationed in Kaohsiung can deter various forces along the coasts of Fujian and Zhejiang from taking rash actions. Ensure the safety of traveling to Jeju Island in the north and Hong Kong Island in the south. "
The specific measure is to form two detachments. The Taiwanese squadron, with 854 and 4 901 as its core, is stationed in Kaohsiung and is responsible for monitoring the coasts of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong. The focus is to ensure "free navigation" in the Taiwan Strait. Escort the transport fleet through. The Denglai detachment, with three 901 ships as its core, is stationed on Jeju Island and can carry out intervention missions on the Shandong coast and the Bohai Bay area at any time.
In addition to hybrid warships, the detachment also incorporated several modified large-tonnage sailing warships. The warships of the two detachments adopted a partitioned escort method. The transport fleet sailed in groups during the voyage, and each transport ship was equipped with sufficient self-defense firepower.
These seven steam-powered warships are expected to operate in this sea area until the beginning of 1633. By this time, the second batch of 901 ships built in Lingao has been put into active service, and the previous batch of warships can be replaced and returned to Lingao for maintenance.
These two detachments will be based in Kaohsiung. The port facilities and reserve materials that provide logistical support for steam engines and sailing hybrid warships are much more complex than those for sailing warships, so ships heading north to pick up refugees will not have to worry about empty tonnage. In addition to the supplies needed to transport refugees, the supplies needed to open sub-bases in Kaohsiung and Jeju Island are also enough to fill the cabin. ! .
