In fact, in the ancient context, a gentleman often corresponds to a "villain", while here, it obviously corresponds to a "person", so it is more appropriate to interpret it as a "noble" or a "scholar".

These three sentences seem to say: with the support of ordinary people, you will become the son of heaven (the world); With the support of scholar-officials, they will become princes (dominating one side); With the support of the governors, they became literati at most (relegated to the second place). Three sentences are progressive logical relations.