Chapter 40: Chapter Forty‑One

A few yamen officials also ran off quickly, and the others, including the soldiers, cautiously tried to get close to Bai Lang—truly a fierce general who can wield a 64‑jin iron halberd is probably only seen once; if this man isn't bragging and actually demonstrates it on the training ground, no one else would dare speak, and a personal guard or household servant would be no problem. He might even become a local guerrilla or the commander's personal guard.

In these times, anyone with a little sense knows that the Ming is perilous, most likely doomed, beset by internal and external troubles. Internally, bandits ravage the land; externally, the Jianlu repeatedly break through and plunder. The current emperor is short‑sighted and eager for quick results; how many prime ministers have been replaced in recent years? How many ministers have been beheaded in prison? Even the wise, when comparing him to the former emperor, think the former was better at carpentry… The more the emperor works, the more doomed he becomes.

The old man further reminisced about the Wanli Emperor's reign, when the four seas were peaceful and the world prosperous; how could the Ming have fallen to this state in just a few years? Now is the time for the strong to rise—if one is skilled with bow and horse and can cut off heads, there is a future—so Bai Lang has a future…

The yamen officials here are also shrewd; a fierce man like this could not be a Mountain Bandit—what bandits would use such a general to capture a city? Recently, nearby bandits were wiped out in a campaign, and many bandit leaders were taken to the Capital's Lingchi Execution Site. Moreover, in Shandong, fearing another Tartar incursion is more realistic; wasn't Jinan devastated by Tartars two years ago… When bandits meet Tartars they run as far as they can, because they will either be killed or simply taken away as bannermen.

Bai Lang eventually understood this; he just didn't expect that two Purple Gold Halberds would make him a respectable family, and indeed, on reflection, it was so. Soon the yamen official bought fine clothes to clothe Bai Lang, and also invited him to the city's best bathhouse to wash and change. Afterwards he heard that the Prefect also wanted to see him, and naturally the city's Commander as well.

Fortunately this is a sizable city, so clothes of that size could be bought. After washing, Bai Lang dressed, strapped the polished Purple Gold Halberd to his back with a leather belt, and went to see the Grand Lord. Bai Lang entered the official hall, merely gave a nod, and the officials inside, along with the few in military attire, took the opportunity to size up Bai Lang.

"What a fine warrior!" a senior officer—perhaps the second‑in‑command, while the third‑in‑command also raised a toast—said, and several Grand Lords stroked their beards and smiled, "Bai the Warrior wishes to enlist and seek a future, offering his literary and martial skills to the imperial house, good!" They immediately awarded him ten taels of patterned silver, and placed him under the city's Commander for service.

Seeing Bai Lang was just a side note; the main matter was the senior military‑civil officials discussing pacifying the region, especially the nearby bandit problem. After receiving a word from the Prefect, Bai Lang was escorted out of the hall by a servant to the Junying to register his name. It was a form of monitoring, keeping him in the camp was better than letting him roam the city.

The camp, following the Commander's orders, actually gave Bai Lang a brand‑new padded jacket, but no armor, only an iron helmet, and of course no horse. No bow or arrows, but they gave him a single Yanling knife—Bai Lang examined it and thought it was honestly supplied, not a kickback, and the knife was truly usable. He didn't take a spear, and that was all. "Serving in the Ming is hard; they only issue a winter set, no replacements…" Bai Lang muttered a few words, but the barracks assigned to him was a single room, which was fairly decent.

The Commander returned to the camp and summoned Bai Lang; after a few comforting words, he offered Bai Lang a position as a guard personal soldier—but at first he could not keep him by his side, assigning him as a vanguard. "So he's a household servant, just not yet a trusted aide. Better to call him a forward‑line vanguard. As I wish."

The next day Bai Lang still expected a muster, but none came; he pulled a soldier aside and learned that the schedule was a muster every five days and drills every ten days—already quite diligent… So Bai Lang had to train on his own, since the routine never stopped. A circle of soldiers gathered, cheering as Bai Lang practiced his martial arts. Some called it showmanship, but is there any showmanship that wields a 64‑jin Purple Gold Halberd? Moreover, Bai Lang truly wielded twin iron halberds, each move stirring the wind, looking ferociously brutal.

The Commander watched from outside and praised, "Truly a hammer‑halberd general unsurpassable." Everyone grew rather fearful of Bai Lang; such a man's arm strength must be thousands of jin, how could ordinary folk compare? It was as if a legendary fierce general from a story had appeared, and they could follow him to collect heads.

The officials' discussion was indeed to eradicate the nearby bandits, but before they could finish preparations, bad news arrived— the Tartars broke through again, splitting into several columns, and the slave chieftain Aba Tai led one column toward Shandong. At this point Bai Lang had only been in the army for two months, yet he had gathered dozens of soldiers. "Defend the city!" was the Prefect's decree, and the Commander agreed; an open field battle against Qing troops? The Ming's forces likely no longer had such courage, only a city defense could resist.

Before Bai Lang arrived, there had just been a great defeat at Songshan, the elite of the Nine Borders were all lost here, followed by a crushing loss at Zhuxian Town, and the bandits like Li Zicheng became unstoppable; now the situation is utterly rotten. Bai Lang said he was willing to lead troops out of the city to strike a flank, but a steadfast defense of the city was impossible. When rebuffed, Bai Lang took another step back, "I will lead a few men to scout the Qing troops, to warn the defending army."

Bai Lang repeatedly begged for battle, and the Prefect encouraged him, but others thought Bai Lang might be looking for an escape, so they blocked him. Bai Lang gave a wry smile, "Fine, then I'll kill the enemy on the city walls." He was confident in his martial prowess. It was simple: Bai Lang found that apparently no one in the world had cultivated Internal Force, or at least no one seemed to practice such brute cultivation—he couldn't be sure that no one had ever trained internal arts, but most likely none had.

"If you use horse power, then a heavy sword or long blade could pierce a golden bell shield, but killing me would still be difficult. So let the city walls become the Qing troops' grave." Prefect Deng, a somewhat capable official, said this, but the city's Prince Lu… Bai Lang heard he refused to fund morale‑boosting, "What a pig!"

The Qing troops faced no resistance outside the city and immediately surrounded it. From the city wall, Bai Lang saw the Qing troops below, clad in padded armor, looking fierce, and they were driving away large numbers of looting civilians. The defending garrison's morale was low, yet no one was willing to surrender the city; however, when the Qing troops assaulted the gates, it wasn't long before several gates and the walls were in crisis.

"Never thought it would be so useless," Bai Lang muttered. At that moment he was only wearing chainmail; seeing the Qing troops already on the wall, he charged forward alone. The soldiers behind him were frozen, only a handful followed. The Qing soldiers who had scaled the wall were robust, wearing double armor, and as soon as they entered they scattered the nearby defenders. Those Qing troops, along with a few more who followed, were about to cut down the gate, but the man at the front became a hollowed‑out figure…