Chapter 79

At this time Bai Lang still felt that not breaking through the fourth level was fine; those women he couldn't handle, and that naturally also counted as doing right by them—「At most I'll leave in ten years; if I kept a bunch of wives and concubines that would also be trouble...... Better not to provoke them from the start。」 Bai Lang felt he was a rare good person, and yet he could still think of others.

「I guess this is just being timid...... 」 Bai Lang, while thinking this, also imitated the salute of the nearby senior officers and nobles, performing it properly; he was still very conspicuous—young and tall, his appearance likewise—and the Chongzhen Emperor above could clearly see Bai Lang standing ahead.

At this moment, how could the impatient emperor not look at Bai Lang and be satisfied? After the three kneelings and nine kowtows at the great court assembly, the walking ceremony followed, while the officiating Ministry of Rites officials loudly proclaimed the edict conferring honors on Bai Lang. 「I really was just a little shy of snagging a title. 」 Bai Lang thought, as for the three kneelings and nine kowtows, he had no particular thoughts—going to whatever temple to worship whatever Buddha, modern people do that.

However, having a title is actually nothing much; for a military officer, gaining a title makes one a noble, and nobles nowadays are basically useless good-for-nothings. Bai Lang, hearing someone read his own edict of ennoblement, felt quite pleased, 「It was not in vain that on the battlefield I fought this battle. 」 Indeed, fame and honor are only won on horseback; truly a hero among men! Studying like a scholar for ten years in cold windows is truly not as good as ten years of tempering one's bones and muscles on the battlefield, fighting for fame with swords and spears! Only then does one not fail a man's lifelong aspiration!

Bai Lang naturally showed a self-satisfied and proud expression on his face, that pride of having won fame amidst thousands of troops, Bai Lang's mouth curled into a self-satisfied smile, completely lacking the traditional scholar-official's humility and harmony, his whole person seemed to be glowing, and that air of ambitious satisfaction was something everyone could feel.

「Youth really is good! 」 the senior premier, the "Old Adult," really muttered a sentence, and the Chongzhen Emperor's mood was not bad either, he felt that this young Grand Protector of the Heir Apparent before him was truly a meritorious subject of the Ming Dynasty. It's just that there's something at the end of this edict that Bai Lang found somewhat ironic—namely, the reward established according to the founding ancestor's ancestral statutes: 「Reward fifty taels of silver」......

Having completely crushed Li Zicheng's army, forcing Li Zicheng to disappear, the reward for basically pacifying the Roving Bandits rebellion was just this much..... Saying fifty taels of silver out loud is truly shameful—compared to the Northern Song's Cao Bin and Cao Shimì, who destroyed the Southern Tang and received a reward of two hundred thousand coins, this is even more shameful——although when calculated everyone's share is about the same, the things given by those above are equally meager......

After the great court assembly ended, Bai Lang was also summoned by the emperor together with the senior officials of the cabinet; since the Roving Bandits have largely been pacified, the primary task now is to stabilize the localities; otherwise, the bandits will keep coming endlessly. Get rid of one Li Chuang king, and another Zhao Chuang king will appear; continuing like this would really make the Ming Dynasty a pill. In this regard, it's not Bai Lang's turn to speak; he can only stand aside and listen, and when it comes to his topics, they are basically just a few words of praise, and nothing else will be assigned to him. 「Is this what it means to be supported? 」 Bai Lang thought.

Anyway, it's not his turn to manage, and Bai Lang doesn't want to manage—just thinking about this matter gives him a headache; better let the people responsible handle it themselves. He's nothing more than a martial man who takes rewards and cuts people down. 「Good thing I remember that after Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng became a force and were then crushed and annihilated, a lot of people died...... Thinking like this, in the Little Ice Age, the people in the disaster-stricken areas of the north probably ought to have died off completely? The survivors should be able to get by...... 」 Bai Lang was thinking of the knowledge he had gained from studying history and reading web novels.

In the late Ming Little Ice Age, grain production in the north sharply declined on a large scale. To solve this problem, either one must have efficient administrative capacity to transport southern grain to the northern disaster areas and distribute it fairly, or one must self-annihilate the population; once the death toll reaches a certain level, the problem is also solved...... The Ming Dynasty could absolutely not achieve the first, so it could only do the second. From this perspective, the so-called pacification and appeasement is actually utterly useless......

Bai Lang was thinking about this problem to himself, but for a moment he didn't notice that everyone's conversation had turned to him. Fortunately he quickly reacted, and the emperor also said with a beaming smile: 「Sun Aiqing gave Bai Aiqing this courtesy name, which is also good! White Yuzhu, truly the Ming Dynasty's heaven‑supporting white jade pillar, the purple‑gold beam spanning the sea! And Sun Aiqing and Deng Aiqing, for this pacification of the Roving Bandits, take the chief merit! 」

The remaining discussion likewise had no need for Bai Lang, but the emperor had the eunuch bring Bai Lang to see the crown prince, which was a great favor. The crown prince was only five or six years younger than Bai Lang, and for being able to see the dynasty's youngest official and the Grand Protector of the Heir Apparent, the crown prince was also very curious.

However, this prince of the Zhu family also received a good education; when facing Bai Lang, although curious, he completely did not lose propriety, nor did he come up and ask, 「Junior Protector Bai, you must feel great cutting people down, right? Tell me so I can also be happy. 」 Although Bai Lang indeed wanted to chat nonsense with the crown prince like that, it seems the crown prince at first was just speaking conventionally with him.

But in the end, the crown prince still couldn't help saying, 「Junior Protector Bai, charging into battle, cutting down generals and seizing flags, your martial skill must be formidable, right? I heard the father emperor say that Junior Protector Bai is impervious to swords and spears? 」 Bai Lang laughed heartily, 「What the crown prince said is correct; I, your humble servant, have indeed cultivated a divine skill. Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield practiced externally, and though I have a slight deficiency, I have indeed cultivated imperviousness to swords and spears. 」

However, in front of the crown prince, Bai Lang is not good at demonstrating martial arts; fortunately, the Forbidden City itself possesses an aura that suppresses, Bai Lang's killing intent here is not very obvious, the tiger's might, when restrained, did not frighten the crown prince; and since he serves as an official in the Ming Dynasty, as his sovereign, it is naturally able to counterbalance Bai Lang's tiger might in terms of position—when he is on your side, one fears that this person's tiger might is not strong enough.....

The crown prince listened to Bai Lang's lengthy talk; Bai Lang voluntarily talked about his own battlefield achievements, the crown prince listened with great interest, however, under the eunuch's hint, he still regretfully followed protocol to comfort Bai Lang a bit and then left. Bai Lang also sighed, 「Truly, this is not enjoyable! 」 As for the Ming emperor, aside from a few exceptions, he spends his whole life just going around in the Forbidden City, at most making a trip out when offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors, and even then only around Capital (Jingcheng) (Capital (Jingcheng) (Jingcheng)).

Where else could one find a martial officer like Bai Lang, who could theoretically go anywhere under heaven? Speaking of which, since Bai Lang appointed himself as Left Deputy Commander of the Heir Apparent's Guard, he has had no actual post, and seems to have just been kept in Capital (Jingcheng) (Capital (Jingcheng) (Jingcheng)) like this. 「This courtyard is not bad! 」 The residence granted to him within the city indeed befits a Ming Dynasty Heir Apparent's Guard, and Bai Lang feels that being able to settle down and seriously cultivate martial arts is also good. 「The way of literature and martial arts is one of tension and relaxation; you can't rely solely on beheading people on the battlefield to cultivate. 」