Chapter 847: Chapter Forty-One

The few yamen runners also ran off quickly, and the rest of the people, including those soldiers, also cautiously tried to get on good terms with Bai Lang—a fierce general who could truly use a sixty-four-jin iron mace was likely a rare sight. If this man wasn't bragging, and his demonstration on the drill ground was true, then, to say nothing else, becoming a personal guard or a retainer would be no problem at all. Perhaps he might even become a personal guard for the local guerrilla general or the commander-in-chief.

In this current world, anyone with a bit of sense knew that the Great Ming was in danger; it was highly probable that it was doomed, with internal troubles and external threats. Internally, roving bandits ravaged the four directions; externally, the Jianlu Tartars repeatedly broke through the passes to plunder. The current Sage of the Great Ming was also one who sought quick success and instant benefits. How many chief ministers had been replaced over these years? How many officials had been beheaded or imprisoned? Smart people compared him to the late emperor and felt that the late emperor was better at being a carpenter... The more diligent this emperor was, the more doomed the empire became.

The elderly missed the Wanli Emperor's years even more, when the world was at peace and prosperous. How had the Great Ming reached this state in just these few years? The present was also a time when strong men could get ahead. As long as one was skilled in archery and horsemanship, could fight, and could cut off heads, there was a future—so Bai Lang had a future...

The yamen runners here could also be considered sharp-witted; such a fierce man would never be a mountain bandit or a roving rebel—what kind of mountain bandit or roving rebel would use such a fierce general to take a city? And recently, the nearby roving bandits and mountain bandits had just been wiped out, and quite a few bandit leaders had been captured and sent to the capital for death by slow slicing. Moreover, in Shandong, the fear of the Tartars breaking through the pass again to plunder was probably more realistic; hadn't this Jinan been ravaged by the Tartars two years ago... When roving bandits met the Tartars, they would run as far as they could, because they would either be killed or simply plundered and taken away as bondservants.

Bai Lang had also almost figured this point out. He just hadn't expected that two purple-gold maces would turn him into a person of clean background; thinking about it from both sides, it was indeed the case. Soon, the yamen runner bought some fine clothes for Bai Lang to put on, and at the same time invited him to the best bathhouse in the city to wash up and change. Afterwards, he heard that the Zhifu Lao Ye also wanted to see him, and the city's commander-in-chief naturally did as well.

Fortunately, this was considered a large city, so clothes of such a size could still be bought. After Bai Lang finished washing and dressing, he used a leather belt to strap the water-polished purple-gold maces to his back, and just like that, he went to see the Great Official. Bai Lang stepped into the official hall and merely gave a salute. The few officials inside and the several people wearing military officer uniforms also took this opportunity to size Bai Lang up.

"What a sturdy warrior!" It seemed to be the second-in-command or perhaps the third-in-command military officer who first cheered. The few Great Officials also stroked their beards and smiled. "Warrior Bai wishes to join the army to fight for a future, selling his literary and martial arts to the imperial family. Good!" Right then, they also rewarded him with ten taels of silver, and he was to be used under the command of the city's commander-in-chief.

Seeing Bai Lang was just an interlude; the main thing was for the military and political officials to discuss matters of pacifying the region, especially the nearby bandit troubles. And Bai Lang, after receiving a word from the Prefect, was led out of the official hall by a servant to go to the military camp to register his name. This could also be considered surveillance; letting him stay in the military camp was better than letting him wander around the city.

The camp had also received orders from the commander-in-chief and really did give Bai Lang a whole set of brand-new padded jackets, though they didn't give him armor, only an iron helmet, and naturally, no horse was provided. There was no bow and arrow, but he was given a goose-quill saber—Bai Lang drew it out to look and felt that they still had a conscience and hadn't taken a kickback; this saber could really be used. Bai Lang didn't want a spear, and other than that, there was nothing else. "Being a soldier in this Great Ming is quite bitter; they only issue one set of winter clothes, and there isn't even a spare..." Bai Lang muttered a few words, but the barracks room given to him was for him to live in alone, which was not bad.

The commander-in-chief returned to the camp and also summoned Bai Lang. After offering a few words of comfort, he proposed letting Bai Lang serve as a personal guard—though it was impossible to let him stay by his side at first, he would serve as a vanguard. "So, a retainer, but not yet a trusted one. It's better to say he's a vanguard for breaking through lines. But it's just as I wish."

The next day, Bai Lang was still waiting for roll call, but he didn't expect that there wouldn't be any. He pulled over a soldier to ask and only then learned that roll call was every five days and training was every ten days—this was already considered quite diligent... Bai Lang had no choice but to practice martial arts himself; anyway, this was something he did every day without stopping. Then, a circle of soldiers gathered around, watching Bai Lang practice his martial arts and cheering one after another. Some people wanted to say it was just for show, but were there any "for show" moves that used sixty-four-jin purple-gold maces? Moreover, Bai Lang was truly holding the twin iron maces, and every move and stance stirred up wind, looking extremely fierce.

The commander-in-chief was also watching from outside and exclaimed, "Truly a general of hammer and mace who cannot be resisted by force." Everyone was also quite afraid of Bai Lang; such a person's arm strength was probably thousands of jin, how could ordinary people compare? This was almost like the appearance of a fierce general from storytelling and performances; it would be good to follow behind him to collect heads.

The officials' discussion was indeed about going to wipe out the nearby bandits, but before they were ready, bad news arrived—the Tartars had broken through the pass again, dividing their forces into several routes, and among them, the slave chieftain Abatai was leading one route toward Shandong. At this time, Bai Lang had joined the army for less than two months, but he had gathered dozens of small soldiers around him. "Defend the city!" This was the Prefect's decision, and the commander-in-chief saw it the same way. Field battle against the Qing soldiers? The Great Ming soldiers probably no longer had such courage; it seemed only by defending the city could they resist.

Who let Bai Lang come here just after the great defeat at Songshan, where the elite of the Nine Frontiers were lost, followed by the great defeat at Zhuxian Town, where Li Zicheng and other bandits could no longer be controlled, and now the situation had completely rotted. Bai Lang also said he was willing to lead the army out of the city to act as a pincer, as defending the city to the death was absolutely not feasible. However, he was rebuked and retreated, so Bai Lang took another step back, "I am willing to lead a few people to scout far for the Qing soldiers, to act as a warning for the defending army."

Bai Lang requested to fight again and again, and the Prefect was impressed, but others felt that Bai Lang might be seeing that the situation was not good and was preparing to run away, so they stopped him again. Bai Lang also smiled bitterly, "Very well, then I will kill the enemy on the city wall." He was confident in his own martial strength. Because it was simple, Bai Lang discovered that no one in this world seemed to have practiced internal force? Or rather, there seemed to be no one who practiced this kind of hard-body kung fu—he couldn't be sure there was definitely no one practicing internal kung fu, but most likely there wasn't.

"If they use the power of horses, then heavy swords and long sabers should be able to break my Golden Bell Shield, but wanting to kill me is probably still difficult. Since that's the case, let the city wall become the graveyard for the Qing soldiers." This Prefect Deng was also an official with some ability, but the Prince Lu in the city... Bai Lang heard that he refused to spend money to boost morale, "Is he really a pig?"

The Qing soldiers were unimpeded outside the city and directly surrounded it. Bai Lang looked from the city wall; the Qing soldiers below were also wearing cotton armor and looked quite fierce, and they even drove a large number of plundered commoners. The morale of the defending army in the city was low, but no one was willing to surrender and offer the city. However, when the Qing soldiers attacked the city gate, almost before long, these few city gates and the city wall were in danger.

"I didn't think they would be so useless." Bai Lang muttered a sentence. At this time, he was only wearing mail armor, and seeing the Qing soldiers already climbing the city wall, he directly rushed over alone. The soldiers behind him were also stunned, and only a few followed him. The climbing Qing soldiers were sturdy, wearing double armor, and as soon as they got on the wall, they had already scattered the nearby defending soldiers. This Qing soldier, along with the several who climbed up afterwards, was about to kill their way down to open the gate, but the person at the head became a concave shape... ===== CHAPTER 848 =====