Chapter 282: Future

Bai Lang spurred his horse forward, roaring like thunder; the Wagang troops before him broke into a chaotic mass, scattering like birds and beasts. Bai Lang's horse was swift, and his Internal Force surged and poured directly into the warhorse's body beneath the girth; the horse let out a roar unlike any horse's neigh, truly like a thunder‑calling leopard pounding the ground with extremely heavy hoofbeats, almost leaping into the air. When it struck the ground, the hoof crushed a Wagang soldier's skull as if it were a burst bladder, and the other front hoof directly stepped a fleeing soldier from head to under the girth, flattening the man into two pieces.

Bai Lang, taking advantage of the momentum, swung his twin iron halberds, instantly cutting all Wagang village soldiers within seven chi. Those who were cut died relatively quickly, but those who were close and got hit by the shafts suffered terribly; their bodies were smashed at the spot where the shaft struck, collapsing inward, unable to die for a while, the wounds rotting, pain unbearable, and they could not live. Fortunately the agony did not last long; soon the county troops arrived and cut off their heads, and then they were liberated.

Bai Lang, on his horse, combined slashing, stabbing, and hoof trampling; in the blink of an eye he opened a blood‑stained alley, and the Wagang village commander did not escape. Bai Lang swept his hand, and with his left long halberd he cleaved the commander from the shoulder, the half of man and horse slowly sliding down. Bai Lang killed effortlessly, his front and rear forces became disjointed, flinging his own cavalry and infantry two or three li away, while about twenty percent of the surviving Wagang soldiers managed to slip into the woods to escape; the rest became corpses along the way.

Bai Lang still felt a smoldering fire in his chest: "Zhang Sutu, the peerless national scholar, ended up dying as miserably as the Marquis of Huaiyin! Shi Zhi Xuan! Wait for it! I recall that Old Wang is a monk in Chengdu, right? Damn, if I ever get a chance to go to Chengdu—though I don't remember the monastic name of that Old Wang monk—just slaughter every monk over thirty in Chengdu and that's it!" Bai Lang completely misremembered; the monk that Shi Zhi Xuan had transformed into actually resides in Chang'an, not Chengdu… Poor Chengdu monks are about to face an unwarranted disaster.

Even though his fury rose to the heavens, Bai Lang did not continue the pursuit. After annihilating the thousand‑plus Wagang troops, he ordered that their heads be stacked on the Capital View at the county border, and erected a stone tablet titled "Hill of Li Mi's Head". He waited for the day when Li Mi would be beheaded so that his skull could be added there. As for Xu Shiji, forget it; that is the future heroic Lord Li Ji, the one from the former Goguryeo. Regarding Cheng Yaojin, the chaotic demon king claims to have lived over a hundred years, but he still cannot be deprived of his fortune.

However, Li Mi and the like must die; as for the other bandits who entered the Wagang village, Bai Lang doesn't recall how many heroic Tang figures there were, so he simply killed all of them except those few.

After pondering for a while, Bai Lang, still mounted, merely sighed. He now holds the position of Commandant of Xingyang County, and for the time being it is truly difficult for him to avenge Zhang Sutu's grievance, "Even the corpse cannot be reclaimed. The priority is to first guard Xingyang County so that Ambassador Zhang's hard work does not go to waste." Bai Lang knows he has his hands full.

Returning to the city, Bai Lang saw a panicked atmosphere; the news of Ambassador Zhang's death in battle had already spread throughout the city. It was also something Bai Lang had overlooked; he should have sealed off the information. "It doesn't matter; sooner or later we'll have to face it," he said, no longer caring—he didn't even mention closing the city gates. A man like Bai Lang, a fierce general, has never feared a siege; honestly, he isn't the type to defend a city.

If anyone truly dared to attack Xingyang City, his habit would certainly be to sally forth, striking the enemy's spearhead head‑on, slashing the enemy's great general within the formation, and trampling through thousands of troops until none remained. Bai Lang is absolutely confident in his own martial skill; otherwise he could not have reached this level. Even if he were a wandering swordsman selling his techniques, he would still boast of how authentic his skill is, let alone being an Innate Expert. However, insufficient manpower is Bai Lang's greatest weakness as a county magistrate, yet he has no intention of expanding the army.

"My lord, I am merely a commander of a thousand men, and even that is a stretch. If a few thousand more showed up, I think I'd rather raise a banner and sell my head," Wei Zhenzhen asked, and Bai Lang replied. In fact, he said the same to the interim county magistrate, the middle‑aged civil official. "If the Wagang village attacks, we would simply repel them; if General Pei cooperates to annihilate the Wagang village, that's also possible. If other bandits enter Xingyang County, we would just cut them down outright."

The county troops number only seven hundred; if the goal is merely to steady the hearts of Xingyang's citizens, that is sufficient—so long as no one lays siege, these men are enough. Bai Lang has no intention of defending the city, so he dispatched scouting cavalry and led three hundred county troops out of the city to patrol the entire Xingyang County, aiming to detect any bandits preparing to strike Xingyang in advance and then crush them—these days even building a Capital View cannot frighten people; those who are meant to come will still come.

The vast majority of these are merely small bands of a few hundred thieves, planning to loot a stash and leave—unable to take towns, but content to rob villages or earthen enclosures. The most powerful force within Xingyang County is actually not the Sui government but the Zheng family—an aristocratic clan of high standing. Though not as prominent as the four great clans, they are not far behind. The Zhengs of Xingyang and the Cui family of Qinghe represent the world's top‑tier clans—not like the four great clans that rose to power through force.

In fact, these four great clans are looked down upon by the high‑born families…

The Zheng family of Xingyang is now hinting that they must firmly stabilize Xingyang County—much of the arable land here belongs to them, and the Zhengs do not wish for constant raids. Those aspiring rebels might hold the Zhengs in higher regard because they need Zheng officials to gain fame—although since the wars, the prestige of these clans has waned, the centuries of accumulation still means they have the largest number and proportion of talent among the aristocracy.

These hundreds‑strong ragged thieves don't consider such matters; they act like a respectable fourth‑rank bandit, living day by day with robbery as their creed. So when Bai Lang goes out, he moves like a tiger patrolling the mountains—upon encountering such petty thieves he slaughters them as cleanly as cutting a melon. Since his future plan involves collecting martial arts manuals, Bai Lang still needs the position of Commandant of Xingyang County to climb higher.

As for defecting to Li Shimin? Bai Lang says he doesn't intend to for now—this man's personal character is probably even worse than Yang Guang's; although he knows how to employ talent, he may not suit Bai Lang's temperament—compatibility is very important. However, with Liu Ji and Zhu Ba Ba, Bai Lang thinks fighting the world alongside them would be fine, though ruling the world is another matter. And Li Er, at least, can both fight and sit on the throne; this fellow treats his meritorious subjects fairly well, generally not discarding them after they've served.

Bai Lang roamed outside for half a month, having slain over a thousand people and thus intimidating a batch of bandits, before returning to Xingyang City; upon arrival he found several envoys waiting for him…