Chapter 549: Half of Bingzhou

Bai Lang arrived in Bingzhou and saw the Hu people as if he were seeing his own family, feeling infinitely familiar, so he prepared to slaughter tens of thousands of them. Bai Lang ordered the great banner raised, three hundred infantry surrounded the supply wagons in the middle, while Bai Lang led a hundred riders, shouting wildly, sweeping across the earth like a raging wind.

The white banner unfurled, its tiled head bearing a white tiger pattern fluttering in the wind; the Xiongnu and Qiang, seeing it, lost heart outright. "The tiger comes! The tiger comes!" Before Bai Lang's forces arrived, the Xiongnu and Qiang had already begun to flee. The strongest among the Xiongnu, the adult chieftains, rode their fine horses away, abandoning the old, weak, women and children; they didn't even have time to drive off more cattle and sheep.

Bai Lang surged into the fleeing Xiongnu, his long spear casually thrust, cutting down dozens from their horses. After slaying a hundred and ten, Bai Lang felt a bit bored. "Not a single one dares to turn and fight me." Bai Lang sighed, slowed his teal pheasant horse, and let the cavalry beside him pass to continue pursuing the fleeing Xiongnu.

The Xiongnu who could not flee knelt on the ground begging for mercy; Bai Lang rode his horse through, trampling many under the hooves. Though brutal, Bai Lang saw clearly: despite their pitiable old, weak, sickly state, they had looted many Han children, so killing them was of no consequence.

Bai Lang avoided women and children, but stepped on many old and weak men, casually stabbing them with his long spear… The Xiongnu wailed, "We are also children of the Han…" Bai Lang thought that the Southern Xiongnu had indeed surrendered to the Han dynasty? Yet he was not satisfied, "You also ravaged prefectures; my house has killed eleven of you, still far fewer than the number of Han boys you have slain. How can these petty barbarians dare to lament?"

The Xiongnu and Qiang withdrew from Xihe Commandery at breakneck speed; they didn't even dare to leave Meiji, fleeing straight to the bitterly cold north. Within a few weeks Bai Lang had subjugated the entire Xihe Commandery and most of Meiji, pushing the front line straight to Yanran Mountain. From then on, south of Yanran there was no royal court; the Xiongnu could not stay in the north and headed west.

Bai Lang slew just over three thousand Xiongnu, captured and subdued about sixty thousand Xiongnu and Qiang, countless cattle and sheep, and ten thousand horses. The governor of Xihe Commandery, stripped to the waist, rode out to invite Bai Lang to garrison the city; the banner of the "Governor Bai of Bingzhou" fluttered once more over Xihe Commandery. To the east lay the Xianbei; Bai Lang thought that if the chance arose he would ride out of the passes to clash with them, but the Xianbei were still serving the great Han and had not rebelled, making him reluctant to act.

After subjugating Xihe Commandery, Bai Lang exerted pressure over the entire Bingzhou. Gao Gan, who should have mustered Bingzhou troops to follow Yuan Shao southward, now dared not move, holed up along the Jin Yang–Taiyuan road, heavy forces gathered yet immobile, fearing Bai Lang would march from Xihe to sweep Bingzhou.

After all, Bai Lang is the court's Governor of Bingzhou; Gao Gan is a representative of Yuan Shao.

At this time, Wen Chou had already been beheaded by GuanYu, and it was said that GuanYu was preparing to flee; of course this is the episode in Bai Lang's memory, passing five passes and slaying six generals, looping around a massive circuit to search for his elder brother. Meanwhile LiuBei was with Yuan Shao, GuanYu went to find him, and for some reason ZhangFei did not go; ZhangFei had taken to the grasslands, perhaps enjoying himself?

In short, after a series of convoluted exchanges, Liu Xuande somehow retrieved two brothers and found ZhaoYun, and escaped to Jingzhou under the pretense of Liu Biao's name. Bai Lang also used Xihe Commandery as a rear base to campaign against Shuo Fang, Wuyuan, and Yunzong Commanderies. These commanderies were usually plagued by Hu people, with little civilian settlement beyond the county seats.

Bai Lang's reputation spread throughout Bingzhou; he led a hundred riders, killing any Hu they encountered, cutting down thousands of enemy troops head‑on. From March to July he fought over a hundred battles, all victorious, pacifying three commanderies and slaying tens of thousands of Hu, many of them Xianbei. He seized over a hundred thousand Xianbei old and weak, forcing them to farm under Han names and customs. He also pacified Shang Commandery, whose surrender was said to be a piece of cake.

Gao Shun expanded his infantry to over thirty thousand, while Bai Lang's cavalry grew to ten thousand, divided into ten divisions under his command. "Alas, I have no great generals or famous ministers, not even a man capable of governing a commandery," he lamented. Most Bingzhou figures reside in Shang Commandery. Apart from Taiyuan and Shang Commanderies, the other commanderies are poor and have long suffered Hu raids. Some commanderies have populations as low as ten thousand.

Bai Lang occupied half of Bingzhou, commanding fewer than one hundred thousand Han, while the Hu numbered three to five hundred thousand… The Inspector Gao Gan of Bingzhou had already been preoccupied with Hu plundering and could not control the whole province; now that Bai Lang has seized half, he has no recourse at all.

Gao Gan still commanded a hundred thousand Bingzhou troops, yet he dared not act against Bai Lang's mere forty‑plus thousand soldiers. Meanwhile Bai Lang eyes Yanmen, Dingxiang, Taiyuan, and Shang with intent to sweep them directly. Gao Gan urgently reported to Yuan Shao, who also did not know what to do. Yuan Shao's four‑province army was locked in standoff with CaoCao, making it impossible to dispatch forces to quell Bai Lang.

Guo Tu then offered a plan: "White Jade Pillar runs amok, lacking foresight. We could send someone to speak to him, offering half the province and accusing CaoCao of oppressing the emperor, perhaps even lure him to battle CaoCao." Yuan Shao approved and sent envoys to approach Bai Lang. Bai Lang received a handwritten letter from Yuan Shao and, hearing the envoy's slanders against CaoCao, laughed heartily. "Shao and Cao are like jackals on the same hill, both thieves who ignore the Han throne, merely not yet plotting usurpation. I'll just watch the outcome this time; after you all decide the victor, we'll speak again."

Bai Lang also tempered his grandeur, ordering each division to return to its home city; Bingzhou's grain stores were insufficient, and massing them in one place would mean certain death. Now he forces the Hu to farm under Han customs and names, perhaps a harvest later will bring a surprise? Those who refuse have already been killed…

Bingzhou's lands cannot simply grow grain. Fortunately, alfalfa has already spread from the Western Regions, so Bai Lang ordered the Hu to plant alfalfa first to feed cattle, horses, and sheep; the plant serves as fodder and also fertilizes fields. In places like Bingzhou they must grow oats, which are good both as food and as livestock feed.

Bai Lang spent about a year in Bingzhou, while CaoCao and Yuan Shao faced off for a full year. That year Bai Lang harvested abundantly, and his ambitions stirred. The news of the little tyrant Sun Ce's death arrived months earlier, and CaoCao seized the chance to eliminate the southern threat; Yuan Shao then mustered a seven‑hundred‑thousand army to press toward Guandu, hoping to crush CaoCao in one swift blow.

Thus Bai Lang raised troops and horses, preparing to seize all of Bingzhou. At this time Bai Lang's forces included several fierce generals, though perhaps only Gao Shun possessed true great‑general talent. Bai Lang truly had no strategists; merely gathering all the commandery governors was already a feat, and many counties still relied on his troops for administration.

He could only govern according to Han law; Bai Lang's talent for managing the people was merely to stand by, and his burdens were light, with only so many troops to sustain. Over the past year many refugees poured into Bingzhou; now under Bai Lang there are four to five hundred thousand inhabitants, thirty thousand of whom are Hu, a figure Bai Lang has calculated precisely. The remaining Hu have either fled or been killed.

The Xianbei had been surprised by Bai Lang several times this year; Bai Lang led a few hundred riders in relentless pursuit, cutting down ten thousand and driving the Xianbei out to Liaodong. He has already encircled Yanmen from the north, ready to storm Yanmen Commandery as the Xianbei once did.