Chapter 511: Battle at the Yellow Turbans

Liu Dai, the Administrator of Rencheng, stood atop the city gate, observing the heroes who had come to enlist. Bai Lang's physique was robust, and his appearance was exceptionally imposing—in the eyes of his contemporaries, he possessed the look of a first-class warrior. His eyebrows were as thick as those of a tiger with white-spotted forehead, and his beard was like iron bristles. Yet, his features were upright and heroic; even Governor Liu could not help but praise him. Our Great Han has always judged people by their appearance; those who look good are fit to be officials.

Bai Lang was a case in point. Standing eight feet five inches tall, his imposing and heroic appearance made even the junior officer in charge of the recruitment list treat him with great deference. The recruitment notice required the brave men to lift stone locks and demonstrate their martial arts. Without a word, Bai Lang simply grabbed a bucket-sized stone lock weighing over two hundred catties with one hand and tossed it five or six zhang into the air. Then, amidst the gasps of the crowd, he caught the falling lock and placed it gently on the ground—and he did this again and again, finishing with his right hand and then repeating it with his left...

"A fine warrior!" Liu Dai was overjoyed. He saw that Bai Lang's background, as written, was that of a commoner from Wu Commandery who had traveled to Jizhou to visit friends, where he befriended local chivalrous men, and now, seeing the nation in trouble, had come to enlist. Liu Dai then tested Bai Lang's mounted martial arts and archery; the verdict of "skilled in archery and horsemanship" was certain. Moreover, among the thousand-plus warriors in the training ground, Bai Lang's strength surpassed them all, earning him the title of "a warrior who can stand against ten thousand."

If one were to boast, one could even claim he was the bravest in all of Yanzhou. Governor Liu hurried down, and Bai Lang, seeing this official of two thousand shi, bowed in greeting. "What weapon does the brave Bai use?" Liu Dai was worried about the state of the nation; otherwise, in times of peace, he would not have treated a mere martial artist with such intimacy. After all, this is the Eastern Han, where the classics are the true path. "My family is poor; I only have two iron maces weighing thirty-six catties. However, I am proficient with both sword and spear, and I ask that the Governor grant me a weapon."

The Rencheng armory was thrown open, and the blacksmith forged a heavy iron spear—the blade was three feet long and five inches wide, sharpened on both sides and extremely keen. With the shaft and the counterweight at the back, it weighed sixty-four catties. The length of this iron spear was not exaggerated, being just one zhang. At this length, it was suitable for both mounted and foot combat. As Bai Lang danced with it, it looked like a thousand streaks of snow, and he seemed to be enveloped in a white sphere.

Next, naturally, came the armoring and mounting. The Han system required commoners to train daily, especially these sons of good families and chivalrous men; once armed and given a little training, they were barely usable as soldiers. "Inherited from the Qin, as long as they are equipped with low- and mid-level officers, this is an army." Bai Lang understood why it was said that "the Han perished due to its strength"; these volunteer soldiers alone were far more formidable than those of the Great Ming.

The volunteers were formed into an army and incorporated into the commandery troops, totaling twelve hundred men including the volunteers. Bai Lang was appointed as a Tunzhang (Squad Leader), though he commanded a hundred cavalrymen who were the elite of the volunteers—these were men from small landlord families who provided their own horses. At the order, the army set out, first to be placed under the command of Huangfu Song, the Left General of the Household. Bai Lang's way of governing the army remained the same, as rough as "General Li"...

The volunteers were primarily controlled by the military and civil officials sent from the commandery. Bai Lang, aside from rewards and punishments, concerned himself with nothing—this made Governor Liu Dai feel that he possessed the style of the ancients. No one knew yet what Liu Dai's military level was, but since he found Bai Lang pleasing to the eye, Bai Lang's life was quite comfortable. Once they reached Huangfu Song's army, Bai Lang was no longer so conspicuous—those were the central standing army of the Great Han, the elite Sanhe cavalry. Compared to them, the commandery troops were not worth mentioning, let alone the volunteers.

Yet, when fighting the Yellow Turbans, Bai Lang saw that these fellows were flashy but didn't seem very capable in a fight. Bai Lang did not ride his horse; he stood in front of his own formation, fully armored, watching the battle. There were quite a few strong fighters among the Yellow Turbans, who fought back and forth with the Han cavalry, even beheading several of them. The first battle was unfavorable, and Huangfu Song could only close the gates and refuse to fight—anyway, Bai Lang was only a Tunzhang, not even qualified to get close to Huangfu Song, so he was happy to watch from the sidelines.

"If it weren't for the Emperor and his ministers messing things up, how could the world have become like this? If we're talking about sympathy, I sympathize more with the Yellow Turbans." Bai Lang said this to his subordinates in the camp. These subordinates all agreed, and no one went to report him. The next day, the Yellow Turbans continued to challenge, and this time it was the commandery troops' turn to fight, with Bai Lang among them. According to the orders from above, he honestly led his horse forward and backward—saving the horse's energy, as he did not ride before the battle began.

The enemy cavalry commander was indeed formidable; it was said his surname was Zuo. This man had already defeated over ten cavalry commanders of the commandery troops, and the eighteen-foot snake spear in his hand seemed invincible. Bai Lang watched him defeat another cavalry commander, so Bai Lang flipped onto his horse, grabbed the iron spear that a junior was carrying for him, and charged forward. As the bells on the harness rang, Bai Lang passed him, and the tip of his spear lifted the two-hundred-catty man.

Bai Lang lifted the man with one hand and gripped the shaft of the snake spear with the other. As he turned his horse, he gave his iron spear a shake, and the Yellow Turban cavalry commander was thrown to the ground—his chest and back had been pierced, and he died on the spot. The chivalrous men under Bai Lang cut off his head and shouted that the one who killed the enemy leader was Bai Lang of the Rencheng volunteers. As the crowd clamored, morale soared, and Bai Lang turned his horse again, this time with a hundred cavalrymen charging behind him.

Bai Lang had done this charging business many times, and this time was no different. His Qi surged, and suddenly his whole body seemed to be burning. As he swung his long spear, there was a faint sound of thunder—yet, despite such momentum, crashing into the formation only resulted in him cutting down several people with a single swing. When he cut through both man and armor, Bai Lang felt from the tactile feedback that the intensity of this world was indeed extremely high; the bodies of these people were almost like those of Innate Experts—though if these cannon fodder were taken to his world, they would just revert to ordinary people.

However, Bai Lang's charge was brave enough to create a dent in the enemy's cavalry formation. "It is time to learn how to charge in this world," Bai Lang muttered. Then, his iron spear danced left and right, breaking the formation directly. As the volunteer cavalry behind him swarmed in, the enemy's vanguard collapsed. Bai Lang, having tested his skills, returned after breaking the formation, and the Yellow Turbans sounded the retreat.

This was considered a victory for the Han army, but Bai Lang was rewarded with a basin of gold, and Huangfu Song personally received him. Bai Lang dealt with Huangfu Song casually; he was polite enough, but he declined all of Huangfu Song's proposals—such as transferring him to the central army... Bai Lang simply said that since he had joined Governor Liu's command, he would naturally fight under Governor Liu.

The next day, they fought again. This time, the generals on both sides could erupt with "firelight" from their bodies, and the combat power they displayed directly jumped to a higher level—linking with the troops behind them. Bai Lang also discovered this: a general's performance was related to the morale of his unit; once the general was killed, the morale would immediately drop and eventually collapse. And these generals who erupted with power were each at a level similar to his own—"Everyone is at the same level, but the combat power is vastly different." It was true that they had surpassed ordinary soldiers. ===== CHAPTER 512 =====