The opening of Wolf Warrior 2 featured Leng Feng and his three comrades escorting a fallen comrade's ashes home. A conflict arose with local thugs engaging in forced demolitions, and the four, armed only with their fists, subdued over a hundred thugs armed with clubs.
Many might consider this scene exaggerated, but the actual combat capabilities of the "camouflage green" forces might be even more astonishing than depicted in the film. In a true-to-life event, a retired reconnaissance soldier, a veteran of the Vietnam War, single-handedly defeated over twenty individuals in a street brawl, using a steel bar taken from his opponents. He emerged unscathed, only to receive a stern scolding from his wife upon returning home.
Zhu Xiaosong, habitually, adopted the practices of the "rabbit's camouflage green" forces. This imitation extended not only to organizational structure, discipline, and combat doctrines but also to incorporating the "Eighteen Hands of the Black Dragon" as mandatory training for the Menglianggu army.
Against this backdrop, a group of undisciplined and disorganized family retainers, guards, and ruffians attempting to charge the Menglianggu army, which was composed of ninety-nine percent practitioners of the "rabbit's camouflage green" doctrine, was an understatement to call it an act of throwing an egg against a rock.
A more fitting analogy would be lighting a lamp in a privy – seeking trouble.
Consequently, as the first hint of dawn appeared, these retainers, guards, and ruffians were either dead or had surrendered. Those who perished were buried by personnel arranged by the Xiaohuzhuang Farmers' Association, while the survivors were held by Zhu Erdan's army.
After a brief interrogation of these retainers and guards, Zhu Erdan and Geng Rui evidently lost their appetite for breakfast.
Old Master Hu, whose entire family had met a unified end, had not boasted. The gentry and literati from neighboring villages within a ten-mile radius indeed had various kinship ties with him. For instance, Old Man Wang of Old Wang Village was Old Master Hu's father-in-law, with even greater influence. Shen Laoye of Little Wang Village was Old Master Hu's brother-in-law, demonstrating a complex web of relationships.
Perhaps it was due to these kinship ties that these gentry and literati lacked sharp intellect, leading them to the foolish act of ordering their retainers and guards to launch a night raid on the military camp.
Even if Zhu Xiaosong had only emulated thirty percent of the "camouflage green" doctrine, it would still suffice to be considered a regular army. Using family retainers and guards for a night raid on a regular army's camp…
Feeling that his intelligence was being insulted, Zhu Erdan's expression turned grim. Gritting his teeth, he declared, "Divide the forces! Have the Farmers' Association members and these prisoners lead each company. While these gentry and literati are still reeling, strike them down directly!"
Geng Rui nodded in agreement with Zhu Erdan's proposal. "It's good to strike them down directly. The main officers of each company are all veterans who joined the uprising with the Great Chief. They can handle the Farmers' Association matters effectively."
After deliberating, they decided to split the forces of two battalions into six routes, each advancing with fierce intent towards the surrounding villages.
All the gentry and literati who participated in this dispatch of troops for the night raid were sent to accompany Old Master Hu, ensuring that his family would not be too lonely on their journey to the Yellow Springs.
Zhu Erdan and Geng Rui's actions clearly served as an excellent precedent for the surrounding villages.
Some gentry and literati, who had lost hope in the Qing court and enjoyed good reputations in the countryside, realized they could not contend with the likes of Zhu Erdan, a harbinger of ruin. After careful consideration, these individuals chose to actively support the cause. They first burned IOUs and distributed land, then responded to Zhu Erdan's call to establish Farmers' Associations. Although they sacrificed a significant portion of their assets, they managed to preserve some of their property, and their livelihoods were not significantly impacted.
Others, who still held faith in the Qing court or had notorious reputations in their localities, packed their belongings and fled early. While Laizhou was not garrisoned by the Qing's Eight Banners, escaping from Laizhou to northern Qingzhou or Zhili was exceedingly convenient, whether by land or sea.
For these gentry and literati, the assets they were leaving behind were insignificant. They believed that once the imperial court eliminated the Menglianggu rebels, their properties would eventually be returned to them.
However, the most amusing aspect was that in the entire Wei County region, not a single gentry or literati chose to contribute their assets or the so-called local militias they had recruited to stand firm against the Menglianggu rebels alongside the Laizhou Prefect.
Not a single one.
For these gentry and literati, whether the Menglianggu rebels deserved death was one matter, but actively pledging their assets and retainers to the government was an entirely different proposition.
The former, no matter how brutal, could be appeased by sacrificing most of their property to secure a smaller portion and, more importantly, the lives of their families.
In contrast, the latter, under the jurisdiction of the Laizhou Prefect, were akin to ravenous wolves that devoured without spitting out bones. Once their assets and retainers were handed over to the government, they, as so-called gentry and literati, would have no further value.
It was for this reason that the gentry and literati of Wei County either chose to flee or dispersed a significant portion of their assets to observe the situation, but none pledged allegiance to the Qing government.
This trend soon spread from Wei County to Changyi, and then extended to Pingdu, Gaomi, Jiaozhou, Yexian, and Jimo, ultimately resulting in widespread unease throughout Laizhou.
Then, an even more comical scene unfolded.
As the Menglianggu rebels steadily approached their jurisdictions, the county magistrates in various parts of Laizhou found themselves in a predicament. Those willing to remain loyal to the Qing, like the former Qingzhou Prefect Feng Zhemao, resigned themselves to the belief that "when the enemy arrives, we die." The magistrates unwilling to perish with the Qing dynasty simply resigned their posts.
For these officials, as long as they possessed money and could manage the right channels, they could serve as officials anywhere. Why remain in Laizhou Prefecture to await death? That was simply foolish.
Even in the worst-case scenario, if the Qing dynasty were to fall, would the rebels of Menglianggu not require officials to govern?
Therefore, this was not an act of abandoning one's post; it was a demonstration of foresight, a preservation of their useful selves to await the new dynasty.
Eventually, even the Laizhou Prefect himself resigned his post, leaving an empty Laizhou Prefectural Yamen for Zhu Erdan and Geng Rui.
While the departure of the county magistrates was already peculiar, the subsequent resignation of the Laizhou Prefect marked the complete collapse of the Qing officialdom in Laizhou.
This, in turn, presented Zhu Erdan and Geng Rui with a new challenge.
As previously mentioned, due to the presence of sweet potatoes, the living conditions of the people in Laizhou Prefecture were somewhat better than those in Yizhou Prefecture. Consequently, the level of support for Zhu Erdan and his followers was far less pronounced than that from the people of Yizhou.
To illustrate with a simple example: earlier, when Zhu Xiaosong led the effort to "strike the local tyrants" in Yizhou Prefecture, the more local tyrants were eliminated, the faster the scale of the Menglianggu rebels grew, quickly expanding from several hundred to several thousand men.
In Laizhou Prefecture, although Zhu Erdan consistently replicated Zhu Xiaosong's "strike the local tyrants" model, the gentry and literati fled too quickly, and the living conditions of the people were comparatively better. As a result, by the time Zhu Erdan led his troops to capture all of Laizhou, his force remained the two battalions he had brought. Laizhou Prefecture had only gained about two hundred additional men, not enough to form a third battalion.
If this were the only issue, Zhu Erdan and Geng Rui would not have been so troubled.
What truly vexed Zhu Erdan and Geng Rui were the Farmers' Associations throughout the Laizhou region and the county yamens left vacant by the departure of these officials.
Zhu Erdan was familiar with the Farmers' Associations, as was Geng Rui. Even their battalion commanders, company commanders, and squad leaders were familiar with the workings of the Farmers' Associations. They could even be transferred to the county yamens to ensure their normal operation.
The problem was that Zhu Erdan and Geng Rui were primarily focused on attacking the entire Deng-Lai region, making it impossible to reassign their battalion commanders and company commanders to the county yamens.
Therefore, Zhu Erdan quite righteously wrote a letter to Zhu Xiaosong, requesting him to send some personnel from Menglianggu to the Laizhou region so that these individuals could establish the county yamens in Laizhou.
At this very moment, Zhu Xiaosong was busy digging wells in the Yizhou region.
Although Zhu Xiaosong had established the policy of extensively employing Jurchen captives and purchasing a large number of Kunlun slaves from the outset, Kunlun slaves were not commonplace during the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, Zhu Xiaosong had specifically stipulated that only castrated Kunlun slaves would be accepted.
Given this premise, even if the Tiandihui could immediately contact Western slave traders, it would still take a considerable amount of time to await the arrival of the first batch of Kunlun slaves.
Before then, Zhu Xiaosong could only rely on the Jurchen prisoners he had in hand.
It was clear that these Jurchen prisoners were needed for both mining and the dangerous work of well-digging, resulting in demand far exceeding supply. This made the Jurchen captives very precious, necessitating their economical use.
Thus, both out of necessity and to foster complete integration between the Menglianggu army and the people of Yizhou, Zhu Xiaosong personally descended the mountain, leading the Menglianggu army and the people in digging wells.
Of course, Zhu Xiaosong and his team handled the safer initial stages, while the most dangerous tasks, such as the finishing work, were completed by the Jurchens.
Even so, Zhu Xiaosong's workload remained immense.
During the day, he either visited the arsenal at Baizhang Cliff or led the army and the people in digging wells. During his rest time at night, he had to organize the army and Farmers' Association personnel for study in the first half of the night, and after the study, he had to rush to write teaching materials.
Of the twelve hours in a day, only the three hours from the latter half of the night until dawn were Zhu Xiaosong's rest time.
Upon receiving the letter requesting support from Zhu Erdan, Zhu Xiaosong, who already felt busier than a production team's donkey, immediately experienced the feeling of being on the verge of tears.
The liberation of the Laizhou region was indeed a positive development, expanding their strategic depth. Once the Dengzhou region was also fully liberated, the Menglianggu forces would no longer have to worry about large-scale encirclement and suppression by the Jurchens.
However, what truly troubled Zhu Xiaosong was the persistent shortage of manpower.
There was a shortage of master craftsmen at the Baizhang Cliff arsenal, a shortage of troops that met Zhu Xiaosong's expectations, and an even greater shortage of laborers such as Jurchen and Kunlun slaves.
Now, to make matters worse, there was a shortage of administrative personnel. Although it was said that the Central Plains organizations never lacked people who wanted to be officials, Zhu Xiaosong did not look favorably upon certain individuals who desired official positions.
Most importantly, finding a few individuals to fill the vacant positions in the county yamens was not a problem, but rectifying the shortage of personnel in the Farmers' Associations throughout the Laizhou region presented a significant challenge.
After all, each village had its own Farmers' Association. A single county might have dozens or even a hundred villages. When extended to the entire Laizhou Prefecture or even Dengzhou Prefecture, there could be thousands of villages.
If each village required one person to help establish its Farmers' Association, where would Zhu Xiaosong find thousands of personnel?
Therefore, Zhu Xiaosong was deeply troubled, so much so that he wanted to tear out his hair.
In Zhu Xiaosong's view, by the time Zhu Erdan and Geng Rui gradually captured the entire Laizhou Prefecture, it would be autumn of the forty-ninth or fiftieth year of Qianlong's reign, a period sufficient for the Laizhou region to cultivate a complete Farmers' Association system.
However, Zhu Xiaosong had not anticipated that the gentry, literati, and officials in the Laizhou region would be so peculiar.
PS: I need to go to the hospital for IV drips during the day for the next few days, so I can only write in the afternoon and evening. And my hands are not dexterous, so I will ensure one update per day for these few days.
Further PS: Upon hearing that a group of authors planned to report to the police collectively, Lord Six disbanded his "leek" group overnight. However, the group was disbanded in the morning and rebuilt again in the afternoon, so this matter is not over.