Chapter 727: Everyday

Bai Lang entered Datong, and this time his aura was even more overbearing—now he is the Datong Governor, with the Datong Prefect and Datong County Magistrate beneath him; the pitiful one is the County Magistrate, who hasn't yet been promoted or transferred. The last time Bai Lang fully exercised the tradition, he made the County Magistrate spin in circles; this time he will likely press one level upon another, forcing both the Prefect and the Magistrate to spin around handling his aftermath. Seeing the dead faces of the Prefect and the Magistrate, Bai Lang knew they were likely to wish for death over life.

It can be certain that Bai Lang will cut straight to the military fields and conscripted lands within his jurisdiction as Governor, even if the local garrison's commanders are ineffective—when he was Prefect his manpower was already scarce; now, with a third‑rank Governor in hand, he will probably execute soldiers under military law. Civil officials can sometimes be harsher than generals, and Bai Lang is a typical example. He does not expect these people to refrain from shedding soldiers' blood, nor that they will remain unscathed, but they must get through it.

As for what "getting through" means? That's Bai Lang's own free judgment.

Having met the officials of Datong, Bai Lang, now in office, unsurprisingly, while demanding Datong to raise troops, also rode to inspect the military households under his command, and naturally also inspected civilian lands—especially the private lands owned by distinguished gentry and officials, even those of their relatives. Moreover, this Datong Governor is clearly unreasonable, killing at a whim, and even setting fires when he kills; his first gubernatorial edict was to refuse any loans exceeding ten percent and to forbid interest from compounding.

For this, he beheaded many people, wielding his Innate Expert status as suppression: "I! Bai Lang White Jade Pillar! My authority in the Datong Prefecture is limitless! Whoever I want dead shall die!" Within a month of taking office, the training ground saw many heads chopped, and in the countryside numerous gentry were wiped out entirely by "Mountain Bandits" and "Tartar" raiders. The low‑born mud‑foot soldiers, however, were not killed much; instead they became entries on the Datong Prefecture's tax rolls.

The Datong Prefect and Datong County Magistrate were miserable, but the money and grain collected after autumn this year might increase considerably, which made them rather pleased—everyone knows that the one committing these atrocities is Governor Bai, not these two low‑ranking officials. Bai Lang's troop selection also bore fruit: a standard camp of six hundred men, including one hundred cavalry, the rest infantry. Some were even the personal guards he had when he previously served as Datong Prefect.

The army was formed for only a month when Bai Lang again led them out of the pass to roam the steppe. The white banner unfurled, and Bai Lang personally led the cavalry in a charge; a small detachment of Mongol horsemen collapsed with a single blow, and of course the news of Bai Lang's return to Datong spread across the steppe. It is said that King Shunyi swung his sword fiercely, hacking down several pillars. Bai Lang's light‑troop raid was excessively ferocious, causing the regular iron cavalry to retreat northward by several hundred li, and they dared not stay within Ban Sheng City.

If Bai Lang were to storm into Ban Sheng City, that would be trouble for us—the urban street fighting would make an Innate Expert seem godlike.

Thus, within less than three months of taking office, the border risk was eliminated; King Shunyi retreated hundreds of li, and could no longer break through the passes to reach BJ City within ten days. Bai Lang made the senior officials of the cabinet and the emperor exhale a long sigh of relief, naturally believing that as long as he is at the Nine Borders, the Ming Dynasty's frontier is as steady as Mount Tai. These people probably never imagined using Bai Lang as a spearhead, letting a famed general like Qi Jiguang command a massive army to push out, at least to recapture the River Bend.

As for a far‑expedition to the remote lands, straight to Wolf's Den Mountain and ascending the Vast Sea, no one in the court—from the emperor to the cabinet—seems to possess such ambition. Bai Lang, however, has once fought his way to Yanran Mountain and the North Sea, even pushing westward into the Western Regions until the Inner Sea. In the ancient battle at the Inner Sea, the Kyrgyz dared not advance eastward for over a thousand years, and the capital's watchtower built then still stood a millennium later, showcasing the martial prowess of Han generals.

The soldiers under Bai Lang's banner largely lack such lofty ambitions; back in the late Han and Three Kingdoms era, the troops he led even yearned for Bai Lang to lead them on a ten‑thousand‑li expedition, and Bai Lang indeed led them across the Mongolian plateau, crushing the Xianbei in the northeast and defeating the Xiongnu to the north. Even soldiers from the Tang era could have followed him on a thousand‑li campaign against the Turks, but the Ming troops are truly not ready for that, at least for now.

It still requires at least six months to a year of ample food and provisions, plus a year of abundant wine, meat, and grain to nourish them, coupled with strict training; only then could one forge a "Tang‑style army" that at least obeys orders. As for taking the initiative to achieve glory, to brandish one's fame across distant lands and earn a marquisate, that is probably beyond what Ming households can produce… it would require the sons of good families from the Six Prefectures, who bring their own saddles, weapons, and even food to the army.

Bai Lang still carries multiple commendation plaques—none of which accuse him of poor battlefield performance, for it is known that this peerless war hero leads troops out to the grasslands every few days, so that cannot be used as a reason. Those who impeach him are the law‑breaking, rapacious officials who plunder the people. Especially those who misuse military orders to slaughter the "innocent"; these commendation plaques must still be written bashfully, publicly praising his achievements—otherwise they fear their own heads might be taken.

If this Innate Expert truly acts on a whim, won't those who wrote the commendation plaques be in trouble?

In fact, Bai Lang doesn't care about the plaques; how could they affect him? As long as he remains a civil official and only has a standard camp under his command, he could serve as the Nine Borders Governor repeatedly, accumulating merits and titles without arousing the emperor's suspicion—he is a civil official, and the Ming Dynasty has never had a civil official rebel. Even if Bai Lang were a governor, he could not lead frontier generals to revolt while the Ming Dynasty still functions normally, let alone orchestrate a rebellion in such a manner.

In every posting, he almost always makes the local gentry "angry with heaven and resentful of people"; are there such rebellious itinerant officials? Bai Lang's actions are what reassure Emperor Jiajing the most; this emperor is so cunning, he obviously knows that tribute submissions and the seizure of military lands have been a chronic problem for the Ming for many years, yet you ask him to set things right? Sorry, Emperor Jiajing has not had enough, and he does not wish to slip and drown like his cousin did. The senior ministers of the cabinet also do not want to end up disgraced and dead, so this matter cannot be moved.

And now there is a 'headstrong youngster' committing such acts in his jurisdiction, yet this person has great military merit and is an Innate Expert; such a background cannot be swayed by public opinion that ordinary civil officials might face—after all, neither the former Yuan nor the later Qing ever discussed "public opinion" with these people... In any case, Bai Lang's deeds are exactly what Emperor Jiajing and the senior ministers enjoy seeing.

This matter was done by Bai Lang; the man's arrogance leaves them with few options, the emperor's Daoist pursuits are not well understood, and all responsibility falls on Bai Lang, right? A typical official might die without a burial place; Bai Lang at most could reprimand him, demote him, or let him idle in his hometown for a few years before reinstating him. It's very useful, just be careful not to send this fellow to the senior officials' hometowns, lest he refuses to show respect and it looks bad.