Taiwan’s Brief and Often Forgotten Kingdom of Dongning – S2-E17

Koxinga's eldest son, Zheng Jing, -- the ruler of the short-lived Kingdom of Dongning (東寧王國 1661-1683) -- almost lost his head in his late teens. Daddy Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) twice ordered his execution for fooling around with a wet nurse. But Zheng Jing survived and soon after became ruler-warlord upon Koxinga's sudden death. Koxinga (鄭成功) and his armies had defeated the Dutch in modern-day Tainan, but their goal wasn't Taiwan. They wanted to use Formosa as a base from which to retake China and restore the Ming Dynasty, which had been toppled by northern foreigners -- the Manchus -- who established the Qing Dynasty. When Koxinga's son Zheng Jing (鄭經) came to power, however, he and some of his generals set themselves a different goal -- conquering the Spanish Philippines!! (What??)