The relationship between the Qing bureaucracy and the common people was like a wondrous, eternal Mobius strip – the officials did not trust the populace, and the populace, in turn, did not trust the officials.
Under normal circumstances, even if oppressed by the government, the common folk would largely choose to endure, driven by the mentality of not quarreling with officials. However, having tasted the freedom of standing tall, and with Zhu Xiaosong, a timely benefactor always eager to help, arriving to assist, the people were no longer willing to tolerate it.
Therefore, when Ming Xing sent people to forcefully conscript young men from various villages, they were met not with the docile sheep they were accustomed to, but with wolves baring their fangs.
Shao Bing had once said, a single wolf cannot defeat a lion, but a pack of wolves can be invincible!
When Qing soldiers spread out to conscript, the young men from each village would gather under the command of the peasant associations to resist; when the conscription was concentrated, these villages would use signals like lighting fires and felling trees to call for reinforcements from nearby villages.
The entire Mengyin region had devolved into utter chaos.
What further plunged Ming Xing, the Shandong Provincial Governor, into despair was that his two thousand Manchu bannermen, coupled with two thousand routed soldiers, and Chen Tailai's more than one thousand routed soldiers, had all been thoroughly demoralized. Despite their overwhelming numerical advantage, they would miraculously scatter and flee in disarray when facing the common people.
Ming Xing, clutching the meager chicken leg in his hand, could not fathom what had gone wrong.
Indeed, the most recent attempt at forced conscription had failed again. The greatest spoils were a few chickens, and the cost was the loss of two more river patrol soldiers under Chen Tailai's command.
Ming Xing casually tossed the chicken leg aside, sighed, and instructed Chen Tailai, Wu Zude, and others, "Let's return to Yanzhou Prefecture first."
However, Chen Tailai paid no heed to Ming Xing. While Wu Zude and the others bowed in agreement, Chen Tailai thoughtfully looked at the routed soldiers scrambling for chicken bones on the ground.
Seeing Chen Tailai's silence, Ming Xing felt a flicker of annoyance and reprimanded, "Chen Tailai! This Governor is speaking to you!"
Chen Tailai, instead of showing the abject apology Ming Xing expected, looked at the chicken wing in his hand, then at the routed soldiers, and chuckled, "I just feel that we are quite similar to them."
"As long as His Majesty throws a couple of mealy bones from his mouth, we will scramble like starving dogs, fighting each other to the death while His Majesty laughs heartily."
"But we never once considered why we must snatch discarded scraps with no meat and no flavor. Why can't we have meat?"
Ming Xing's heart constricted. He wanted to fly into a rage but, given the current situation, dared not push Chen Tailai too hard. He merely furrowed his brows and reprimanded, "What nonsense are you spouting! We servants naturally compete for the bones thrown by our masters. Do you aspire to eat meat?"
Chen Tailai nodded earnestly and looked at Ming Xing, saying, "Governor, you are His Majesty's servant, so you must vie for the bones thrown by His Majesty, wagging your tail as you gnaw. But I, Chen Tailai, am not His Majesty's servant! I can't even become one if I wanted to!"
Ming Xing was furious but forced himself to suppress his anger. He said sternly, "If you wish to become His Majesty's servant, then after we quell Zhu Ni, this Governor will personally vouch for you and help you raise your banner. How about that?"
Chen Tailai did not answer Ming Xing's question directly but shook his head and said, "Lately, I've been pondering, why can't we eliminate Zhu Xiaosong when we have swords and guns? And even if we can't eliminate Zhu Xiaosong, why are we being chased away by those country bumpkins when we're just trying to conscript men?"
"Then, I understood."
"The reason why the traitor Zhu Xiaosong cannot be eliminated is because those country bumpkins are on his side. If we want to eliminate him, those bumpkins will tip off Zhu Ni in advance, so before we even find a trace of Zhu Ni, he has already escaped."
"As for those country bumpkins, the reason they are on Zhu Ni's side is because Zhu Ni killed officials, distributed grain, and neither forced those bumpkins to rebel with him nor robbed them of a single thread or needle from their homes."
"Instead, look at us, the soldiers. We conscript men, we rob their chickens. And when we rob, we only get a few, making us worse than rebels."
Having said this, Chen Tailai took a deep breath and said, "Before, I wanted to be loyal to the king and serve the country, but later, I realized that this is not how it works!"
"Wu Zude sent you silver, so he remains unharmed even with a rebel like Zhu Ni in his jurisdiction. Yan Xiangqing also sent you silver, so he continues to be a prefect even with peasant associations in his jurisdiction."
"And I? Because I didn't send you silver, my river patrol soldiers are to be sent to their deaths?"
Chen Tailai became more enraged as he spoke, and in the end, he pointed at Ming Xing and cursed, "Damn your mother! You say you'll help me raise my banner, do you think I don't know this is a delaying tactic? A Tatar, after a couple of days of schooling, thinks he truly understands warfare?"
"Therefore, you don't need to help me raise my banner. Even if I raise it, I'll still be a slave. As a slave, I must be subservient. It's better to be like those country bumpkins in the peasant associations; at least they can hold their heads high and stand tall."
Ming Xing was enraged. He stood up abruptly, pointing at Chen Tailai and shouting, "You have immense audacity! You are rebelling!"
As Ming Xing's words fell, an eerie silence descended upon the scene, followed by a clanging sound. Several Manchu bannermen not far behind Ming Xing drew their swords, intending to surround and apprehend Chen Tailai.
Chen Tailai was unfazed. He curled his fingers and put them in his mouth, whistling sharply. Then, drawing his sword, he laughed heartily and said, "That's right, I am rebelling! So what if I'm rebelling!"
As Chen Tailai spoke, his personal guards exchanged glances and each drew their swords, positioning themselves on either side of Chen Tailai.
Seeing the atmosphere becoming increasingly tense, with the potential for a fatal confrontation, Wu Zude quickly approached Ming Xing and said with a fawning smile, "Governor Chen must be drunk and speaking nonsense. Your Excellency must not take him seriously."
After speaking, Wu Zude turned to Chen Tailai and said, "Governor Chen, even if you don't think for yourself, you should think of your parents and children. Why are you spouting such nonsense after drinking a little cat's urine? Hurry up and apologize to His Excellency! His Excellency is magnanimous and will surely not hold it against you!"
Ming Xing let out a cold snort and averted his gaze elsewhere. The meaning was clear: as long as you, Chen Tailai, admit to speaking nonsense due to drunkenness, this Governor will pretend none of this ever happened.
However, Chen Tailai showed no gratitude. Instead, he laughed and said, "If I didn't have over a thousand soldiers under me, and if Ming Xing only had two thousand Manchu bannermen, he wouldn't be willing to overlook it!"
After speaking, Chen Tailai looked at Wu Zude and the others and loudly declared, "Now, Shan County has rebelled, and Mengyin has rebelled too. The Great Qing's destiny is drawing to a close. If you are willing to continue serving the Tatars as dogs, then do so! But don't drag me down!"
Ming Xing could no longer suppress his fury. He pointed at Chen Tailai and cursed him twice for rebelling! After cursing, Ming Xing ordered the Manchu bannermen, "Take him down!"
Chen Tailai remained fearless. Instead, he drew his saber and charged directly at Ming Xing – Ming Xing was the backbone of the two thousand bannermen; if Ming Xing died, the two thousand bannermen would be insignificant. As for his own personal guards and the routed river patrol soldiers, they were all recruited from his hometown. Their choice was obvious!
Ming Xing was terrified. He wanted to pull Wu Zude and the others to shield him, but Wu Zude and the others, sensing danger, had already prepared to flee the moment Ming Xing ordered the bannermen to apprehend Chen Tailai. Now, seeing Ming Xing attempting to use them as scapegoats, Wu Zude and the others decided to go all out. While running, they shouted that Chen Tailai had rebelled and Ming Xing had died a martyr.
This made matters even more chaotic.
The Manchu bannermen around Ming Xing knew Ming Xing was alive, but others did not. Consequently, some bannermen wanted to protect Ming Xing, while others wanted to apprehend Chen Tailai. Even more, many fled with Wu Zude and the others.
In contrast, Chen Tailai's personal guards, all his fellow townsmen who had benefited greatly from his patronage, fiercely protected Chen Tailai as he charged towards Ming Xing, forcing Ming Xing's personal guards and bannermen to retreat steadily.
As the saying goes in warfare: defeat is like a mountain collapsing.
Although it is said that warfare is fought by logistics, this statement is from a strategic perspective. On a tactical level, warfare is a contest of who has stronger combat will and who fears death less. The one with stronger will and less fear of death wins; the one with weaker will and cowardice loses.
The victor lives, the vanquished dies.
This is why one should despise the enemy strategically but take them seriously tactically.
Now, it was clearly Chen Tailai and his river patrol soldiers who were more fearless, while Ming Xing's side was relatively chaotic, forcing Ming Xing, the Shandong Provincial Governor, to flee with the escort of a few personal guards.
As for the remaining Manchu bannermen… their fates were their own. Ming Xing could no longer concern himself with them.
On the other hand, Chen Tailai, having repelled Ming Xing, was invigorated. He gathered his personal guards and the river patrol soldiers and exclaimed, "We have today killed the Tatars, committing a grave offense punishable by death for treason. If any of you do not wish to die, then follow me and continue to rebel!"
A personal guard of Chen Tailai looked up at him and said, "Master, your brothers follow you. You have always treated your brothers well. If you lead us to rebel, your brothers will have no complaints!"
After speaking, the guard turned his gaze to the other personal guards and river patrol soldiers and shouted, "The Governor has always treated us well, but the Tatars do not treat us as human beings! Now that the Governor is leading us to rebel against the Qing, we will surely follow the Governor. What do you say?"
Chen Tailai observed that most of the respondents were his personal guards, while the river patrol soldiers seemed hesitant. He then laughed and said, "You all just fought against the Tatars. They are nothing special!"
Saying this, Chen Tai Lai added with a veiled threat, "Do not forget, you have just killed many soldiers of the Green Standard Army and slain several officials. This is already treason!"
"Brothers, that traitor Zhu occupied Mengyin to rebel against the Qing. The Shandong Provincial Governor personally led troops but could not quell Zhu Ni. Do you think he can quell us? Therefore, let us go all out and fight our way back to Jining to rebel against the Qing and restore the Ming!"
"As long as you brothers follow me back, I will absolutely not treat you poorly! After we fight our way back to Jining, I will appoint myself as the Governor of Jining Prefecture of the Great Ming, and all of you will receive rewards!"