Not only did Zhu Zhongzhi, the "Seventeenth Emperor of the Great Ming" in Shanxi, fail to understand, but Zhu Zhongji, the "Seventeenth Emperor of the Great Ming" in Jiangsu, also failed to understand.
Everyone was a rebel who had raised an army to revolt. The only difference was the timing. As for other aspects like valuing the common people, lightly imposing taxes, training troops, and emphasizing firearms, Zhu Zhongji felt he hadn't done poorly.
Why were his troops unable to defeat Zhu Zhongru's forces?
If there was any difference between Zhu Zhongzhi and himself, "brothers," and that "cheap brother" Zhu Zhongru, it would be the Farmers' Association.
Jiangsu, under his rule, and Shanxi, under Zhu Zhongzhi's governance, had no Farmers' Associations. However, both Zhu Zhongru, who occupied Shandong and Henan, and Zhu Sanshun, who responded to Zhu Zhongru in Yan'an Prefecture, had Farmers' Associations in their territories.
And this was what confused Zhu Zhongji the most.
Farmers' Associations, even if they existed in every village, what could they do besides speaking up for the common folk, helping the government collect taxes, and replacing the Baojia system of the Tartar Qing? What else could they do?
Could they expect the members of the Farmers' Association to help fight?
This was ridiculous. Those in the Farmers' Association were still common folk. It was fine if they were to farm, but could they pick up swords and firearms and fight to the death on the battlefield?
But the facts were clear, and Zhu Zhongji had no choice but to believe them.
What was even more serious was that regardless of whether Zhu Zhongru and his ministers understood, Zhu Zhongru's army continued to advance steadily, taking a village today and a county tomorrow.
It was possible that they would reach Fengyang at any moment.
Therefore, Zhu Zhongji and his ministers were faced with only two paths.
Either they would continue to fight Zhu Zhongru to the bitter end, or they would surrender early.
Frankly, Zhu Zhongji had considered fighting Zhu Zhongru to the death. After all, Zhu Zhongru was too arrogant. Besides deploying troops against Jiangsu, he was also advancing towards Shanxi simultaneously. This type of warfare on two fronts tested logistics and war potential to the utmost. Zhu Zhongru only occupied the two provinces of Shandong and Henan, so the chances of winning were not very high.
Moreover, he was not the only rebel in Jiangsu. His forces were the largest and most famous. If he were defeated by Zhu Zhongru's army, Zhu Zhongru's next targets would inevitably be the two rebel factions in Suzhou and Jiangning.
Therefore, although he was certainly no match for Zhu Zhongru, he could find the rebel factions in Jiangning and Suzhou to help. After all, they all understood the principle of "lips and teeth" (mutual dependence). It might not be impossible to persuade them.
If he could also contact Zhu Zhongzhi of Shanxi, then the winning odds would definitely be on his side.
But as the saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes."
Before Zhu Zhongji could send people to contact the other two self-proclaimed Emperors of the Great Ming in Jiangning Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture, the Emperor of the Great Ming in Suzhou Prefecture, Zhu Zhongfeng, took the lead and sent someone to seek help.
The reason Zhu Zhongfeng sent someone was that Lin Shuangwen, a rebel who occupied the Ryukyu Islands and Fujian, had also raised the banner of the Great Ming dynasty and was heading directly towards Songjiang Prefecture from the sea.
Of course, if it were merely because Lin Shuangwen was attacking Songjiang Prefecture, then Emperor Zhu Zhongfeng of the Great Ming, who occupied Suzhou Prefecture, would not have sent someone to contact another Emperor of the Great Ming, Zhu Zhongji.
After all, there were countless Emperors of the Great Ming now, and Zhu Zhongfeng and Zhu Zhongji were the closest of these "Emperors of the Great Ming." To say they disliked each other was putting it mildly; in reality, both wished the other would die quickly.
What truly caused Zhu Zhongfeng to send someone to contact Zhu Zhongji for help was that Lin Shuangwen was raising the banner of rebellion against the traitor Zhu Zhongru of Shandong.
Moreover, Lin Shuangwen was indeed capable. Not only was he good at naval warfare, but he was also skilled in land warfare. Even the firearm equipment in Lin Shuangwen's hands was slightly superior to that of Zhu Zhongfeng.
If he were merely unable to defeat Lin Shuangwen, it would be nothing. What truly made Zhu Zhongfeng so frustrated that he wanted to die was that the common people and local gentry under his command were all eager to guide Lin Shuangwen.
Zhu Zhongji was immediately dumbfounded.
Well, I haven't sent anyone to ask for your help yet, Zhu Zhongfeng, and you're sending someone to ask for help first?
How could he fight like this?
Originally, Zhu Zhongji thought that even if he couldn't defeat Zhu Zhongru, the top rebel leader, he could at least contact Zhu Zhongfeng, who was entrenched in Suzhou Prefecture, and another Emperor of the Great Ming who occupied Jiangning Prefecture. With the combined strength of the three, even if they couldn't defeat Zhu Zhongru, they could at least ensure their own safety.
But now, the situation he faced was similar to that of Zhu Zhongzhi in Shanxi. Zhu Zhongzhi was caught between Zhu Zhongru and Zhu Sanshun. Their three rebel groups were essentially caught between Zhu Zhongru and Lin Shuangwen's armies.
What worried Zhu Zhongji even more was that Zhu Zhongfeng said that the common people and local gentry under his command were vying to guide Lin Shuangwen. Would the common people and local gentry under his command be the same?
And the reality was as Zhu Zhongji had predicted.
The common people and the local gentry in Fengyang Prefecture were also vying to guide Zhu Zhongru's army.
The common people were not foolish. Jiangsu and Shandong were neighboring provinces. Even if the news traveled slowly, two years was enough time for it to spread from Shandong to Jiangsu.
Thinking about the lives they were living in Jiangsu, and then thinking about the lives the people in Shandong were living, it was obvious how the common people would choose.
Of course, the local gentry of Fengyang Prefecture were not foolish either. Before guiding Zhu Zhongru's army, these local gentry of Fengyang Prefecture had all chosen to divide their land among the common people and distribute some of their wealth.
These local gentry understood clearly: by distributing some of their wealth, their families could retain some of it. Even if the land was lost now, there would be opportunities to get it back later. But if they truly went to die with Zhu Zhongji, then everything would be lost.
At this point, Zhu Zhongji was completely desperate.
Fighting? He couldn't fight.
Let alone the fact that the common people and local gentry under his command were vying to guide Zhu Zhongru's army, a large portion of his firearms also came from Zhu Zhongru.
Now that the war had started, Zhu Zhongru, who had no martial ethics, directly cut off his firearm supply.
After losing the firearm supply, his firearms were no better than fire pokers, and some even worse.
To put it bluntly, he, the Emperor of the Great Ming, no longer had the capital to continue fighting Zhu Zhongru.
As for running...
Where could he, the Emperor of the Great Ming, run to?
In his desperation, Zhu Zhongji gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, making the same choice as the local gentry under his command.
Surrender.
In the letter of surrender, Zhu Zhongji no longer dared to use the name Zhu Zhongji. Instead, he used his original name, Yu Xingguo.
In the letter of surrender, Yu Xingguo stated that his reason for raising an army to revolt against the Qing was entirely at the call of Zhu Zhongru, and that his impersonation of a fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Chongzhen was to rally more people across the land to revolt against the Qing and drive out the Tartars as soon as possible.
Now that Zhu Zhongru, the genuine fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Chongzhen, had appeared, he, the imposter, naturally no longer dared to use such a title. Therefore, he honestly surrendered and requested forgiveness from Zhu Zhongru, the genuine Emperor of the Great Ming, hoping that Your Excellency would show leniency considering his active participation in the revolt against the Qing.
With the surrender of Zhu Zhongji, the strongest of the three Emperors of the Great Ming in Jiangsu, the remaining Zhu Zhongfeng and another "fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Chongzhen" naturally would not hold out any longer.
These two Emperors of the Great Ming also sent letters of surrender to Zhu Zhongru.
The sudden surrender of the three Emperors of the Great Ming in Jiangsu left Zhu Zhongru, the genuine Emperor of the Great Ming, completely bewildered.
I haven't even exerted my strength, and you've already fallen?
In fact, not only did the three Emperors of the Great Ming in Jiangsu send letters of surrender one after another, but Zhu Zhongzhi of Shanxi was also contemplating whether to send a letter of surrender to Zhu Zhongru.
The reason was the same as for the three Emperors of the Great Ming in Jiangsu: the army of Zhu Zhongzhi, the Shanxi version of the Emperor of the Great Ming, had been repeatedly defeated. Seeing that they were losing a village today and a county tomorrow, it was estimated that they would be beaten to Taiyuan at any moment.
Zhu Zhongzhi did not want to hold on any longer.
For these so-called Emperors of the Great Ming, surrendering to Zhu Zhongru, the top rebel leader, was not surrendering to our Great Qing. As long as they could save their lives and property, there was nothing shameful about it.
Then it was Zhu Zhongru, the top rebel leader, who began to have a headache.
Suddenly gaining the territories of Shanxi and Jiangsu. This also put considerable pressure on the Great Ming court of Zhu Zhongru.
If nothing else, just establishing Farmers' Associations in every village and appointing officials in every prefecture, county, and district led to a shortage of manpower in the Great Ming court of Zhu Zhongru once again.
Fortunately, before Zhu Zhongru, the top rebel leader, declared himself Emperor, the entire Menglianggu Rebel Group had been tirelessly cultivating personnel. Therefore, even after suddenly taking over the territories of Jiangsu and Shanxi, the manpower was still barely enough.
However, the Great Ming court of Zhu Zhongru also lost its ability to expand outwards in a short period.
Of course, if it were merely unable to expand outwards in a short period, then Zhu Zhongru, the top rebel leader, would not have been so troubled. What truly gave Zhu Zhongru a headache was that this series of changes served as a warning bell for other rebels throughout the land.
To put it bluntly, the reason why rebel groups as famous as Zhu Zhongzhi, Zhu Zhongji, and Zhu Zhongfeng had been defeated so quickly was not only due to the common people but also due to Zhu Zhongru's sudden cutoff of their firearm supply.
This made the rebels of all sizes throughout the land vigilant.
Could Zhu Zhongru, who could cut off the firearm supply to Zhu Zhongji, Zhu Zhongfeng, and Zhu Zhongzhi, also cut off his own firearm supply?
And after losing the firearm supply, what would be the difference between their flintlock rifles, matchlock muskets, and fire pokers?
To avoid repeating the mistakes of Zhu Zhongji, Zhu Zhongzhi, and the others, rebels of all sizes throughout the land also began to figure out how to manufacture firearms themselves.
Of course, the research and manufacturing of firearms were not things that could be accomplished in a day or two. Especially for rifled flintlock guns, if there were no steam-powered lathes for rifling, then one could only rely on experienced craftsmen to rifle them one by one, and the efficiency could be imagined.
However, regardless of anything else, the fact that rebels of all sizes throughout the land were paying attention to the research and manufacturing of firearms was definitely not good news for Zhu Zhongru.
However, Zhu Zhongru couldn't afford to worry about those rebels of all sizes for now.
In addition to Zhu Sanshun's imminent return to Jinan Prefecture, Ke Zhiming also brought several pieces of news that made Zhu Zhongru feel pleasantly surprised.