[Koxinga's tomb in his hometown 南安Nan-an, Hokkien, relocated in 1699 from Tainan Ju-a-vei台南洲仔尾 after a petition to the Qing Court by Koxinga's grandson 鄭克塽Cheng Ke-shuang]We will never know exactly what had happened to the rattan-shield soldiers藤牌兵 from Taiwan. Official records did not provide any clue. In fact, Chinese historians who tow the official lines often hide/alter the facts in order to glorify the victors. In the present case, the victorious were 施琅Shi-lang [the 明鄭Ming-Cheng turncoat] and the Qing Emperors [Kang-xi康熙 in particular]. However, given the episodic reports of the fighting 藤牌兵 in mainland China and reading between the lines of available historical documents, it is clear that a sizable number of Ming-Cheng soldiers were indeed forced to leave Taiwan.
In statements attributed to 施琅, there apparently had been some discussion over how to handle the defeated Ming-Cheng soldiers, i.e, the POWs. :
First the problems of relocating the soldiers were raised:
“若行移駐，其間有眷口者不少，無眷口者亦多，遠涉長途，不堪艱瘁，逃匿生患，所不能無。又沿途搬運，百姓有策應人夫之苦，經過郡縣，官吏有備給口糧之費，所到地方有撥動民房之擾；開懇耕作，有應給牛種農具之資，又是一番苦累…”
"if we were to relocate them, a large number of them have families and also a significant number without. To travel long distances, it'll be not only too difficult for them but they will also hide and escape. Wherever they traveled through, the locals must provide manpower support and they will need to be fed by local officials. They will also require lodging along the way. And eventually, they will also need farming cattle and equipment - another source of a big problem..."
It would seem that all POWs would be allowed to stay in Taiwan for logistical reasons. However, that apparently did not happen. The main concern remained the threat of armed uprising. It was finally decided as a general principle that
“系外省者，分發外省各府縣原籍安插；系本省者，即交各府縣原籍安插”；“願歸農者，則聽其歸農；願逐伍者，則暫撥在從征各鎮營農伍。”
"The non-Hokkienese are to be sent back to the province/county/city where they came from and the Hokkienese are to be returned to their hometowns - to be further assigned"; "those who are willing to become farmers, let them be farmers; and those who wish to stay in the military, they will tend to farmlands temporarily wherever they are stationed."
Very generous terms, indeed. The reality, however, is quite different:
In Vol 8 of Tung-hua-lu by Chiang Liang-chi, it stated that in Kang-xi Year 22 (1683):
清·蔣良騏《東華錄·卷八·康熙二十二年癸亥》載：
On the 29th Day of the 8th Month:
“（八月）戊辰（二十九日）：
Hokkien Admiral Shi-lang reported to the Qing Court:
福建水師提督施琅奏：
'On the 11th Day of the 8th Month, I led the troops and departed from Peng-hu. On the 13th Day, we entered Lu-er-men and arrived in Taiwan. On the 18th, Cheng Ke-shuang and his underlings, all have their heads shaven, received the royal edict, cheered enthusiastically, and expressed their gratitude by kowtowing in submission in the direction of the royal court. '
'臣於八月十一日，率領官兵自澎湖進發；十三日，入鹿耳門，至台灣。十八日，鄭克塽及文武官俱已薙發；宣讀敕詔，鄭克塽等歡呼踴躍，望闕叩頭謝恩。
All 6 (5?) sons of Koxinga, the 9 sons of Cheng Jing, and their subordinates plus the Ming heir totaling 17 are escorted to the ships which sailed to the mainland under the charge of local officials Su Bai et al.
所有鄭成功之子偽輔政公鄭聰等六人，鄭錦之子鄭克塽及其弟偽恭謹侯鄭克壆等九人，偽武平侯劉國軒、偽忠誠伯馮錫範等子弟，及明裔朱桓等十七人，並續順公下官兵家口、海澄公家口，俱撥船配載，官兵陸續護送，移入內地；並移諮侍郎蘇拜及督、撫，聽其安插。
The rest of the civil and military officials and their families are ordered to mobilize; soldiers who want to become farmers or continue to serve in the military are allowed to do so. As to the capture men and women from Jiang-su, Ze-jiang, Fokkien, and Canton, I have already extended Your Majesty's kindness and ordered them all to go back to where they came from.
其餘偽文武各官家口，見在趣令起行；兵丁有願入伍及歸農者，聽其自便。至於江、浙、閩、粵各省被獲男婦，臣仰體皇仁，已悉令回籍。”
How many men and women? 200,000 is a good estimate, i.e., the whole population of the 明鄭 Kingdom minus those who went into hiding. And how were the orders carried out? It now appears that 施琅's statement above regarding the difficulties of relocating the POWs was actually a description of what had already happened, not an idle speculation at all. And the freedom of choice, to be a farmer or remain as a soldier? Would the Qing allow the tens of thousands of Ming-Cheng soldiers to roam free in Taiwan??
In the same Vol 8 of Chiang's book, it was recorded:
清·蔣良騏《東華錄·卷八·康熙二十二年癸亥（1683年）》載：
On the 13th Day of the 12th Month:
“十二月甲辰（十三日）：
'Su-bai et al had first requested that Cheng Ke-shuang and his associated be ordered to Beijing. The 1,600 military officers and 400 civil officials be reviewed on their intention to go home or to accept a new appointment. and the 40,000+ soldiers be allowed to choose to be farmers or to re-enlist.
'先是，侍郎蘇拜等奏：'鄭克塽、劉國軒、馮錫範、明裔朱桓等，俱令赴京；其武職一千六百有奇、文職四百有奇，或願回籍、或願授職，應聽部察例議敘。兵四萬餘人，願入伍、歸農，各聽其便。
The royal order was for Cheng Ke-shuang and family and his close subordinates and their families be summoned to Beijing. The rest of the Ming-Cheng officials and the Ming heir be banished to several nearby provinces [Shantung, Shan-xi, and He-nan] to perform pioneering farming. And the rest as requested.
上命：'鄭克塽家口親族及劉國軒、馮錫範本身家口，俱令遣發來京。其偽官並明裔朱桓等，俱於附近各省安插墾荒。餘如議。
And Cheng and his two closest advisers were held hostage in Beijing, and as a reward for their "sincere" capitulation, were given [empty] military titles and allotted some houses and lands.'
至是，鄭克塽等至京。上念其納土歸誠，授鄭克塽公銜，劉國軒、馮錫范伯銜，俱隸上三旗；仍令該部撥給房屋、田地。'
For the fiercely loyal Ming-Cheng soldiers, most would have chosen to follow their leaders into farming. In a way, this was the most unkind punishment: for sea-faring men to till the land. Some had joined the Manchurian army, often to die in the first line of offense.
In 1685-6, 黃元驥, a Shantung local mandarin originally from Hokkien, could not bear to see the suffering of these transplanted "farmers", had built some accommodations for them and lost his job as a result. 黃 did not realize the Qing's hidden agenda - for the Ming-Cheng soldiers to helplessly die off.
In Kang-xi Year 46 (1707), on the 27th Day of the 8th Month, Cheng Ke-shuang died at age 37. His surviving family was deprived of most of the means of support and eventually faded away from the pages of history.
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