Chapter 80: Still Can't Think of a Name Update

Bai Lang thus calmly cultivated; his salary, according to Ming regulations, was not high, and he indeed had no side income—though he had become a Prince's Junior Guard, he received no land grant, and the lands of the military households across the realm were basically gone, and in those sparsely populated places there was no unclaimed land to award him.

Perhaps that is why he was not granted a title? Yet the Chongzhen Emperor was also stingy, the silver earned by risking one's life was not handed out generously, but Bai Lang did not mind—he still plundered some gold and silver, and even if he did not collect them personally, the bandits he killed yielded him at least a hundred catties of silver.

If it were only for food and drink, this amount would actually sustain Bai Lang for several years, but what troubled him was that he also had to support a whole staff in the Prince's Junior Guard's residence… Bai Lang thought the palace's grant of this mansion was truly pointless; he felt a courtyard house in the Capital (Jingcheng) would suffice, and he could take care of himself without needing others to serve him.

But he had to mind the court's propriety, so he could only reside in such a large mansion, with seventy or eighty household servants and roughly the same number of maids… Bai Lang also thought that without making some money he wouldn't manage. "There is a way to bring in money… that is to take wives; a few wives entering the house can bring in a fortune."

Bai Lang chuckled while pondering this, noting that a number of noble military families were willing to form marital ties with him, each bringing substantial dowries; thinking of this, Bai Lang also recalled how officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War had nearly driven his elders bald with their schemes. "They even forged a genealogy for me, fabricating a whole line of ancestors; apparently someone even wrote to Jiangnan to have a contemporary arrange a White‑surname landowner there for us… If it weren't that Bai Qi is actually named Gongsun Qi, perhaps even the clan would exist…"

He still needed to find a way to act, at least to get some money from the bodies he had slain—so after spending all his silver, Bai Lang, utterly penniless, went to the Cabinet and requested an audience with the Emperor. It had been a month since he became a Prince's Junior Guard, and honestly he had not expected money to disappear so quickly in the Capital (Jingcheng)—though he possessed a modern intellect, Bai Lang truly did not realize that maintaining a large retinue of servants cost so much, covering food, lodging, and even monthly stipends… The crucial point was that the state did not reimburse any of it.

Before the senior officials of the Cabinet, Bai Lang bluntly said he wanted to go to Liaodong to cut people down; if they would not let him, the state should grant him silver, or at least disperse his servants, for he could manage on his own. The Cabinet elders could only laugh helplessly and reply, "We'll consider your request; it seems a peerless warrior like Prince's Junior Guard Bai is better suited to the front lines cutting enemies."

In fact, everyone thought that sending him alone to the Liaodong front would achieve little; he had no troops, and the military families in Liaoxi had already been dissolved. Even if he had his own army it would be fine, but a lone general—what could he do? When he appeared before the Chongzhen Emperor, Bai Lang again requested to go to the Liaodong front, and the Emperor seemed quite willing, but the Cabinet ministers appeared unwilling to approve.

Anyway, Bai Lang went to the Cabinet several times a day, saying that if no solution was found, the Ming would have its first Prince's Junior Guard to die of poverty. Pressed into a corner, the Cabinet could only say let Prince's Junior Guard Bai go to Liaodong; after all, having him in the Capital (Jingcheng) makes little difference, and such a fierce general is wasted in the city… Moreover, the Tartars might not break through to the Capital (Jingcheng) again.

Bai Lang's journey to Liaodong was also carefree; he had no personal guard or maid, so the Ministry of War assigned two junior officials to escort him. Bai Lang was even too lazy to arrange the Prince's Junior Guard's ceremonial escort—when told this would damage the court's dignity, Bai Lang replied, "Will you give me money? I have none; I'm suffering, I simply cannot afford the court's dignified expenses. Perhaps, old fellow, you could lend me a brain so I can claim some military merit?"

In short, after everyone set off, Bai Lang's travel to Liaodong was swift—there were no bandits on the road, and naturally no assassins. "I suppose it's simply that the jianghu folk are unaware, and even if they knew, daring to stand up for the bandits that are already being pacified would be impossible," Bai Lang thought, and at that moment he stood before the world's foremost gate.

Bai Lang's identification papers and official robes were on the packhorse; three men drove six horses onto the road, which should have been a great fat sheep—but since Bai Lang appeared, no one dared to rob the road. A crowd of Liaoxi military families opened the gate from afar to welcome him—Left Commander, Prince's Junior Guard, General Jianwei were not unusual, there were many similar titles, but his age and battle record were remarkable, and he even boasted of being the "Heaven‑supporting White Jade Pillar" and "the reincarnation of Xiang Yu with the ferocity of a tiger"; such a fierce general was even rarer.

Everyone wanted to meet him, and several families even hoped to arrange marriage with this fierce general—such a general without a powerful lineage or his own army is almost like a son‑in‑law who comes to the house. When they approached, they all shouted, "Truly a fine man!" Bai Lang said nothing else; the appearance of this peerless warrior was evident.

He was tall and robust, which in the north counted as imposing; the Liaoxi commanders, who had long fought the Jurchen Tartars, thought he was not short among them—Bai Lang estimated his height at 1.84 m, of course a self‑assessment, because he felt he had grown a bit. He weighed about 180 jin; a massive, split‑open beard and flaming eyebrows turned his already heroic visage into one of unparalleled ferocity. Indeed, he possessed the handsome looks befitting a Junior Guard.

The most crucial thing was the white‑tiger aura; when one's eyes swam, they would see Bai Lang as a towering beast. Almost everyone present were veteran generals—though they lacked the courage for open battle against the Jurchen, they had fought many sieges, and Bai Lang's aura swept through them, prompting a shout, "What a fierce man!"

They sensed a whiff of blood, not literal but the feeling was there—this fellow before them certainly killed indiscriminately. Moreover, his disdain for human life was unmistakable… Yet, paradoxically, he lacked arrogance and was actually very easy‑going.

As soon as Bai Lang reached Liaodong, he struck it rich; the generals all treated him to banquets, and these commanders were very straightforward, handing over money on the spot. Bai Lang felt genuinely pleased, so he sent most of the money to his Capital (Jingcheng) residence, declaring it would cover his daily expenses for the next three years, divided equally among each of them.

As for the daughters of those families, Bai Lang could only laugh awkwardly.

He immediately moved his Liaoxi residence into the isolated Ningyuan Fortress, ignoring the advice of the generals, and after settling his family, he promptly donned his mountain‑pattern armor, mounted his warhorse, and brandished his weapon, shouting, "Hey, Lord Pingxi, open the gate; I'm heading to the Later Jin to fetch some heads for cash! If it's convenient, send a few men to guide me and collect the heads." Bai Lang's words left Wu Sangui, who was over ten years his senior, stunned; was this something a Prince's Junior Guard, General Jianwei, and Left Commander should say?