The annexation of Taiwan was a major political event that took place in China during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty. Anti-Qing revolts were basically subdued in China by the early reign of Emperor Kangxi, with Zheng Jing, the eldest son of Zheng Chenggong, being the only warlord who ruled Taiwan and claimed loyalty to the Ming dynasty. In 1667 (the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi), the Qing government considered the unification of Taiwan. Seeing the conditions were not yet ripe, it stopped short of the plan and tried instead to offer amnesty and enlistment to the Zheng regime. At the same time, all marine activities were strictly banned off the eastern coast to cut off the regime’s contacts with the mainland. In the thirteenth year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Zheng Jing took the opportunity of the Revolt of the Three Feudatories to invade Fujian. With collaboration from Geng Jingzhong, he seized Quanzhou and Zhangzhou in Fujian, as well as Chaozhou, Huizhou, and some other towns in Guangdong. With Geng surrendering to the Qing government and the Qing army closing in, Zheng withdrew to Taiwan. He died of illness in the first month of the twenty-first year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, and left the throne to Zheng Keshuang, his eldest son. Now that the Revolt of the Three Feudatories was put down after eight years of efforts, the Qing court gained the favorable position to unify Taiwan. A final decision was made, and Shi Lang, then Grand Minister of the Imperial Household Department, was appointed commander of the Fujian Fleet to orchestrate preparations in Fujian for the undertaking. After extensive preparation, Shi Lang commanded a fleet of more than two hundred warships carrying over twenty thousand soldiers out of Tongshan, Fujian, and they headed for Penghu. Liu Guoxuan, the Zheng family’s leading naval commander, rushed to meet the challenge. A fierce battled followed. Having lost more than two hundred warships and over twelve thousand troops, the defeated Liu fled back to Taiwan. The loss of Penghu to the Qing army greatly frightened Zheng Keshuang. Shi Lang took the opportunity to summon Zheng to surrender. The Taiwan ruler sent a delegation headed by Zheng Pingying to Fujian to negotiate the terms. Differing widely from each other on the terms, the parties gave up the talks. To relieve Zheng Keshuang of his misgivings, Emperor Kangxi promised to pardon him for all his past acts of disobedience and defiance, so long as he would offer to surrender. Zheng then sent his representative to Penghu to meet Shi Lang and hand in his surrender. One month later, Shi Lang led the Qing troops into Taiwan. The Qing government then established Taiwan as a prefecture of Fujian Province, appointed a regional commander to take overall charge of local governance, and stationed a regional vice commander in Penghu to garrison the island, bringing Taiwan under its unified rule.
