The entire Menglianggu was like a colossal, intricately designed machine. Once Zhu Jinsong, the linchpin of the Menglianggu anti-Qing faction, issued directives to receive and resettle the people of Zhili and to annihilate the warlord Chen Tailai and the Eight Trigrams Sect, the entire Menglianggu anti-Qing faction began to operate at frenetic pace.
The first to spring into action was Menglianggu's propaganda apparatus.
Zhu Jinsong first published an article in the Menglianggu Newspaper, emphasizing the importance of the common people. Immediately thereafter, he denounced Chen Tailai and the Eight Trigrams Sect's Professor Hou Shang'an as two treacherous warlords who disregarded the lives of the people. To grant the people of Shandong a happy and peaceful existence, Menglianggu was about to launch a campaign against Chen Tailai and Hou Shang'an.
Concurrently, Zhu Jinsong also announced that another major army of Menglianggu would march north to reclaim Wuding Prefecture, Dongchang Prefecture, and Linqing Prefecture, which had been under the control of the Qing dynasty for over a century.
Following closely was the entire Menglianggu military system.
The Second Army, led by Zhu Erdan and Geng Rui, marched directly north to Wudingzhou. Liu Ergou and Geng Er, leading the Third and Fourth Divisions, headed southwest toward Yanzhou Prefecture, west of Jinan Prefecture.
Of course, Zhu Jinsong's plan was not necessarily flawless. As Mr. Lu Xun once said, even the wisest person can make a mistake in a thousand considerations.
Zhu Jinsong, who was usually as meticulous as a strategist planning every move, had miscalculated this time.
When the article denouncing Chen Tailai and Hou Shang'an as warlords who disregarded the lives of the people reached Chen Tailai, he, the Governor-General of Jinan River Affairs, was left with only the small territory of the Jinan River Affairs Governor-General's Yamen.
This was not because Chen Tailai wished to emulate Qianlong's strategy of shrinking back, nor was it due to the ineffectiveness of the local gentry and corrupt scholars under Chen Tailai. Rather, the number of these local gentry and scholars was simply insufficient compared to the populace within Chen Tailai's jurisdiction.
As for the so-called "million canal workers" under Chen Tailai's command...
The term "million canal workers" might have been more fitting when speaking to the Qing court, as many officials still preyed on these workers. The Qing court had to proceed with caution when considering any changes to canal transport.
However, what relevance did the term "million canal workers" have to Zhu Jinsong?
Ultimately, among these "million canal workers," only the leaders such as the Canal Gang leader, helmsmen, and hall masters were aligned with Chen Tailai. The essence of the remaining canal workers was still that of ordinary people.
When these million canal workers learned about the living conditions of the people under Zhu Jinsong's rule, and compared it to the conditions of the people under Chen Tailai, how would these so-called million canal workers choose?
After all, the Canal Gang was so vast, and there was only one position for the Canal Gang leader. The number of helmsmen and hall masters was also limited. No one could be sure they would eventually become a leader or helmsman.
If one could secure their own land and live a comfortable life with their family, who would want to continue being a so-called canal worker? That would be sheer madness.
Logically speaking, with the local gentry having been dealt with by the populace, and the million canal workers preparing to welcome the royal army, the troops under Chen Tailai should have been reliable, especially since they were all from Chen Tailai's home region.
However, reality proved to be so absurd.
While the local gentry under Chen Tailai were still preparing to resist the Menglianggu army, the so-called Jinan Guard under Chen Tailai had long since laid down their arms.
Of course, it could not be said that Chen Tailai's Jinan Guard had surrendered prematurely. These soldiers waited until Zhu Jinsong's army arrived in Jinan, and after the Jinan Guard had neatly arranged their weapons and equipment, they then knelt and surrendered.
They conducted themselves even more impeccably than the Green Standard Army soldiers of my Qing dynasty.
Then, Chen Tailai surrendered.
After all, Chen Tailai himself was a man who feared death. The reason he raised the banner of rebellion against the Qing was not due to any bravery on his part, but rather because he knew he would be made a scapegoat and his family would be implicated, and only then did he raise the flag of rebellion. Essentially, it was a move to survive by facing death.
Subsequently, Chen Tailai died, dying with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
This was because Chen Tailai had originally believed he would not die.
In Chen Tailai's opinion, since Zhu Jinsong, a paramount rebel leader, possessed the ambition to engulf Shandong, he should, whether to win the hearts of the people of Jinan or to make an example of his magnanimity, accept his surrender. After all, Chen Tailai was the first official to respond to his call to rebellion.
However, what Chen Tailai never expected was that his practices of "returning everything in full" and "dividing profits at a 70-30 split" with the local gentry in Jinan had already plunged the people of Jinan into misery. It was the people of Jinan who wanted him dead.
To put it bluntly, the reason the Menglianggu army was able to advance rapidly to the Jinan River Affairs Governor-General's Yamen was not only due to the inherent suppression aura of the Menglianggu army over Chen Tailai's forces, which were based on river patrols, but also significantly attributed to the people of Jinan assisting the Menglianggu army with their shoulders and wheelbarrows in transporting supplies.
Similar to Chen Tailai was my Qing dynasty's Wuding Prefecture. The prefect of Wuding Prefecture had originally intended to serve the Qing dynasty faithfully. However, when my Qing dynasty, under Qianlong's directive, retreated to Zhili, no one even remembered where the prefect of Wuding Prefecture stood.
Abandoned by his masters, the prefect of Wuding Prefecture had initially considered surrendering to Menglianggu. But upon recalling that only a very small number of surrendered officials had managed to keep their heads, while the rest were generally executed, the prefect of Wuding Prefecture, in a fit of pique, simply fled, abandoning the entire Wuding Prefecture.
With the prefect's departure, the remaining officials in Wuding Prefecture naturally scattered like leaves in the wind. After all, everyone knew their reputation and standing among the populace. Rather than staying in Wuding Prefecture to await death, it was better to flee along with the prefect.
From the moment Zhu Jinsong decided to eliminate Chen Tailai and the Eight Trigrams Sect until Zhu Erdan reclaimed Wuding Prefecture and Liu Ergou and Geng Er dealt with Chen Tailai, only half a month had passed. The entire Shandong province, except for Caozhou Prefecture, remained in the hands of the Eight Trigrams Sect.
This was not due to the prowess of the Eight Trigrams Sect's army, but rather because the Eight Trigrams Sect had been preaching in Caozhou Prefecture for many years, and a considerable number of the rural populace were willing to believe in the Eight Trigrams Sect. Liu Ergou and Geng Er encountered resistance from the common people when campaigning against the Eight Trigrams Sect.
This touched upon a fundamental issue.
If it were a straightforward confrontation between two armies, the entire Eight Trigrams Sect combined would not be enough to match the Third Division or the Fourth Division. The problem lay with the common people who had been deceived and misled by the Eight Trigrams Sect.
If it were my Qing dynasty, they might have simply attacked these common people as well. However, the Menglianggu army was not like the Qing army; it was, as Zhu Jinsong stated, an army derived from the people. If they were to act like the Qing soldiers and attack the common people, could they still claim to be an army of the people?
Therefore, Liu Ergou and Geng Er were in a quandary.
The campaign against the Eight Trigrams Sect, a rebellion characterized by extreme amateurism in military matters, was being hampered by the even more amateurish populace. Where could one possibly find logic in this?
While Liu Ergou and Geng Er were fretting over the Eight Trigrams Sect believers in Caozhou Prefecture, Zhu Jinsong received a memorial for his enthronement sent by representatives of the Yan Sheng Gong Kong Xianpei of my Qing dynasty.
In the memorial, Duke Yan Sheng stated: Zhu Jinsong, the great leader, is endowed with both literary and martial virtues, benefiting all sentient beings, rescuing the multitude from their precipice, and saving the people from hardship. He has driven out the Tatar barbarians and pushed them north, restoring the attire of our Huaxia civilization. He is truly appointed by Heaven and born for the times. Now, my Yan Sheng Gong's Mansion, on behalf of all Confucian scholars, respectfully proposes that the great leader of Menglianggu, Zhu Jinsong, be honored as the King of Lu. We hope that the great leader Zhu will not decline this honor and will continue to strive for the unification of the world.
Upon receiving this memorial from the Yan Sheng Gong's Mansion, there were two differing opinions within the Menglianggu rebel group.
One faction, represented by Zhu Erdan, comprised the martial arts societies. Most of these individuals had followed Zhu Jinsong in rebelling against officials since Ningyang County. They unanimously agreed that accepting the memorial to be crowned King of Lu was acceptable, but declining it would also have no bearing, as their leader's ascension to emperor would not be affected regardless of the Yan Sheng Gong's Mansion's memorial.
The other faction, represented by Zeng Cheng, consisted of the non-military system. These were mostly scholars or officials with good reputations who had joined Menglianggu later. They believed that while Zhu Jinsong's path to emperorship would not be obstructed without the memorial from the Yan Sheng Gong's Mansion, its presence would significantly accelerate his ascension. Therefore, they believed the memorial should be accepted, and Zhu Jinsong should first assume the title of King of Lu.
After hearing the opinions of all the prominent figures, Zhu Jinsong produced a painting he had prepared long ago. He scrutinized it back and forth several times before reluctantly handing the portrait to Ke Zhiming, instructing, "Let everyone take a look."
The first to see the portrait was Zhu Erdan.
"Pfft!"
As soon as he saw the image of Confucius on the portrait, Zhu Erdan couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter.
However, upon seeing the few small characters at the bottom left of the portrait, Zhu Erdan looked at Zhu Jinsong and said, "Brother?"
Zhu Jinsong nodded slightly and said, "It matters not."
Zhu Erdan grunted and passed the portrait to Zeng Cheng.
Unlike Zhu Erdan, who couldn't help but laugh heartily upon seeing the portrait, Zeng Cheng felt as though he was on the verge of madness upon his first glance.
The portrait depicted Confucius, the Great Paragon of Sagely Perfection. The image of Confucius on the portrait was no different from the commonly circulated portraits of Confucius.
The problem was that Confucius's head in the portrait was bald, with a queue hanging from the back of his head. His attire had been changed to a 'magua' (a Chinese-style jacket), and he was holding a memorial with the words "Memorial for Enthronement" written on it.
The upper right corner of the portrait bore the inscription "Great Paragon of Sagely Perfection of the Qing Dynasty." To the lower left of the inscription was a subheading: "As Guan Zhong of old, I too shall have my hair unbound and my robes crossed from left to right!" At the lower left corner of the portrait were several densely packed lines of small text.
"In the third year of Qi Fu Chang's reign, Kong Fan served as Yan Sheng Gong for the Qi Fu regime.
In the third year of Jin Tianguan's reign, Kong Fan again served as Yan Sheng Gong for the Jin Dynasty.
In the first year of Yuan Yuanzhen's reign, Kong Zhi served as Yan Sheng Gong for the Yuan Dynasty.
In the seventeenth year of Ming Hongwu's reign, Kong Ne served as Yan Sheng Gong for the Great Ming Dynasty.
In the fifth year of Qing Shunzhi's reign, Kong Xingxie served as Yan Sheng Gong for the Qing Dynasty.
I ask, Kong Fan, having first served as Yan Sheng Gong for the Qi Fu regime and then for the Jin Dynasty, did the Song Emperor at that time mistreat the Yan Sheng Gong's Mansion? When Kong Zhi served as Yan Sheng Gong for the Yuan Dynasty, was he loyal to the Jin Dynasty? When Kong Ne served as Yan Sheng Gong for the Great Ming Dynasty, did he ever think of the Yuan Dynasty? In the fifth year of Shunzhi, when Kong Xingxie served as Yan Sheng Gong for my Qing Dynasty, did he ever think of the Great Ming?
The Yan Sheng Gong's Mansion, having received imperial favor for generations, surrendered to the Jin, then to the Yuan, and then to the Qing. If the Master were to know this from the underworld, he would surely say: 'Alas! I too shall have my hair unbound and my robes crossed from left to right!'
Zhu, though untalented, as a descendant of the Central Plains Miao, a descendant of the Hongwu Emperor of the Great Ming, and the fifth-generation grandson of Emperor Chongzhen, would never dare to accept the proposal of the Yan Sheng Gong's Mansion, whose ways are characterized by unbound hair and left-crossing robes."
Zeng Cheng's hand holding the portrait trembled.
He was astonished not only by the image of Confucius and the inscription on the painting but also by the small characters in the lower right corner of the painting.
This was not merely a rejection of the Yan Sheng Gong's Mansion's proposal; it was an utter humiliation of the Yan Sheng Gong's Mansion, coupled with a demand for the current Yan Sheng Gong, Kong Xianpei, to die!
If this portrait and the small text on it were eventually known to the world, it would be one thing. But what if Kong Xianpei died, and the content of this portrait was never revealed? Then the image of Zhu Jinsong, the great leader, would be completely ruined!
Moreover, was the last line of small text true or false?
ps: Second update provided, seeking votes!