Chapter 724: Almost There

Bai Lang got an office and still liked to boast, and of course he knew the proper weight but didn't shout outside, "I see the present emperor is far inferior to the old lord of the Martial Temple. The Martial Temple lord still harbors the ambition to restore the He‑Tao plowing fields and sweep the caves, whereas the present emperor has no such intention. To call him a guard dog is already a compliment." Bai Xu Shi simply thought he was farting and wasn't worried—these days a Ming civil official cursing the emperor behind the scenes isn't considered a matter.

When this man left Datong, the Mongols would beat drums and gongs to send him off—these past two years the magistrate of Datong has crossed the border four times, each time seizing thousands of cattle, sheep and horses; if the people hadn't run fast, their heads might have been chopped off by hundreds. In our army there are also Innate Experts serving as patrons, but we truly do not want our patrons to be harmed by such affairs.

This Bai Lang's fierce reputation is outstanding, and his cultivated martial skills are known by everyone among the Innate Experts—his body trained in rigorous kung‑fu combined with peerless punching and palm techniques, so hard it's almost unbreakable, making him hardly a foe anyone wishes to face. Now that he's leaving, of course they want to give him a warm send‑off—some even intend to present a sum of ceremonial silver, hoping that this White Jade Pillar won't come back to Xuan‑Da in the future.

This civil official is harsher than a general when it comes to beating the grass and the valley. "Nonsense, this is the tradition of us civil officials—mounting a horse to be a general, dismounting to be a prime minister, that's how it should be." Bai Lang said the same while drinking farewell wine with his colleagues.

The Nanjing Grand Minister of the Imperial Stables is one of the treasury bags of the present Ming court, officially under the Ministry of War, but after Bai Lang took office his style was to not manage affairs—mostly a transitional role, the real administrators are the emperor and the confidants of the Grand Councilors, even the Nanjing Guard Eunuch sticks a hand in there.

After Bai Lang took office he cared for nothing—Nanjing can raise a hammer‑horse, isn't that just silver collected from horse administration? Bai Lang's appointment certainly required him to inspect the treasury silver; the Imperial Stables' storeroom holds more official silver than the Grand Granary's Ministry of Revenue silver, reportedly at its peak exceeding ten million taels. Even now it's at least several million taels, all of which the court is tightly using.

Of course a large portion of that goes to the emperor's quest for Daoist cultivation; among the inner court's Taoist priests there are masters, yet Emperor Jiajing still cannot become Daoist—these high‑level Taoists haven't even achieved Innate Expert themselves, and the Daoist self‑cultivation techniques stored in the palace the emperor cannot master, so he must resort to taking alchemical pills.

Bai Lang doesn't manage affairs, yet he also doesn't stroll along the Qinhuai River; this great master has suddenly become calm. Nowadays the Demon Sect is shattered, the White Lotus Sect's arrangements beyond the frontier have been almost uprooted, and the southern Demon Sect doesn't want to rebel—Shandong wants to, Jiangnan doesn't. The gangs here are all business, essentially gambling, prostitution, and monopolistic trade on the underworld.

Behind these gangs are people, many following the path of Guard Eunuchs, and Bai Lang doesn't extend a hand among them, yet no one dares to disregard this non‑managing Grand Minister of the Imperial Stables. In the jianghu Bai Lang's reputation is huge; the nickname "White Tiger Star Lord Bai Lang" has long been spoken aloud.

"As the Grand Minister of the Imperial Stables, I, the old master, find myself unable to move—cannot go to Zhejiang and Fujian to slay the wokou." By then the wokou were almost pacified; Qi Jiguang's troops' exchange with the wokou was extremely lopsided, and Yu Dayou, who once sparred with Bai Lang, now hardly interacts with him, suggesting this old general isn't as good at dealing with people as Qi Jiguang.

Bai Lang's junior brothers from Mount Hua also began to set out, and several ran to Bai Lang seeking appointments. "That's easy, I can recommend you to be county clerks without any problem; if your martial skill and wit are sufficient, even the Ministry of Justice is fine." Bai Lang indeed has a big face—he certainly has prestige, being a third‑rank senior official Grand Minister of the Imperial Stables, recommending a few constables is nothing.

The junior sister married a Juren from Xi'an Prefecture; Bai Lang didn't have time to attend the wedding banquet, but sent a congratulatory gift. Master Yue is merely the outspoken Juren head of the academy in Huayin County; any Juren with a brain would treat Yue Lingshan well—she also has a third senior brother who is a high‑ranking court official.

Linghu Chong finally has news—he's sailing large circles at sea with the ever‑younger Feng Qingyang. The latest report said that this fellow finally lived up to Bai Lang's worries and went to Japan with Feng Qingyang… Japan is now a complete mess, a chaotic Warring States period they'll be bragging about for centuries to come.

Dongfang Bubai remains missing to this day, no one knows where he went. Bai Lang thinks he may have gone straight to Europe—though it's unclear whether by sea or land, anyway Bai Lang believes nothing can stop this Innate Expert.

"Emperor Jiajing's days are few; I think several Grand Councilors are about to tear their faces off—young councilors may be dragged out for beheading, and the stern councilors should be rolling home now." Regarding the so‑called "suffer the people a little, I'll take the blame" for grabbing money, Bai Lang sneers, yet he has no economic theory to improve it.

He didn't even think of improving it; in the end the matter can boost commodity economy development, "Anyway I didn't come into this world to farm; I see this world of laughing proudly has already become a mess, the path is all crooked." Indeed, Lin Pingzhi and his family's escort agency—let's not discuss whether the Ming had escort agencies; Lin Pingzhi now is an adult official inside Fuzhou, his family's escort agency has long been spun out, buying city shops and out‑of‑city land as a landlord with money.

Because this kid's martial skill truly fails, he can't earn a living, so he simply becomes a powerful landlord; his father's reputation from escorting still lets his family do some business, far better than 90% of the Ming populace—this was specifically inquired by Bai Lang, who has a contemporary official in Fuzhou; a casual letter revealed it. That contemporary even thought the Lin family had old ties with Bai Lang, and thus gave them extra official favor.

Qi Jiguang is about to go to Xuan‑Da, and he even came to Nanjing to find Bai Lang, eagerly awaiting the day Bai Lang becomes Governor‑General of Xuan‑Da—following the usual progression, within five years Bai Lang will likely sit in that position; if war breaks out like the repeated conflicts of our side, he might sit there even sooner. Of course, if Bai Lang says he wants to transfer from civil to military rank, he could now become the Commander‑in‑Chief of Xuan‑Fu… certainly a second‑rank military officer, perhaps even gaining a title, and the Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince would be no problem.

Bai Lang, in any case, cannot enter the Grand Council, nor does he wish to; even the Minister of War on either side is reluctant, so being his second‑rank Governor‑General of Xuan‑Da is best. After all, the nine‑border theory says one day he could become a count. During the Jiajing years he could probably reach this post; if not, by the Wanli year it would be absolutely fine.