Return of the Great Ming

The several yamen runners also quickly ran off. The rest of the people, including the soldiers, cautiously tried to get on Bai Lang's good side. A fierce general who could truly wield a sixty-four-jin iron mace was a rare sight. If this person wasn't bragging and had truly demonstrated it on the training grounds, then even if he couldn't guarantee anything else, he could certainly get a personal guard or a household retainer. He might even become a personal guard for a local guerrilla commander or a general.

In this day and age, anyone with a bit of sense knew that Great Ming was in danger, likely doomed, facing internal and external threats. Internally, rebels ravaged the land, and externally, Jian Lu repeatedly breached the passes to plunder. The current emperor of Great Ming was impatient and sought quick success. How many Grand Secretaries had changed over the years? How many ministers had been beheaded and imprisoned? Wise men compared him to the late emperor and felt the late emperor was better off as a carpenter. The more diligent this emperor was, the more doomed the empire became.

The old men even more fondly recalled the years of Emperor Wanli, when the world was peaceful and prosperous. How had Great Ming fallen to this state in just a few short years? This was a time when strong men could rise. As long as one was skilled in archery and horsemanship, could fight, and could take heads, they had a future—which meant Bai Lang had a future.

The yamen runners and others here were also sharp-witted. Such a fierce warrior could never be a mountain bandit or a rebel. What kind of mountain bandit or rebel would use such a formidable fighter to try and capture a city? And recently, the nearby rebels and bandits had just been suppressed, with many rebel leaders captured and sent to the capital for dismemberment. Moreover, in Shandong, it was more realistic to worry about the Tartars breaching the passes again to plunder. Hadn't Jinan been ravaged by the Tartars two years ago? Rebels would flee as far as possible from the Tartars because they would be killed or simply plundered and made into bondservants.

Bai Lang had also figured this out. He just hadn't expected that two Purple Gold Maces would allow him to become a respectable citizen. Thinking about it, it did make sense. Soon, the yamen runner bought fine clothes for Bai Lang and helped him put them on. At the same time, he invited him to the best bathhouse in the city to wash up and change. Afterward, he heard that the Prefect Lord also wanted to meet him, as did the city's General, naturally.

Fortunately, this was considered a large city, and clothes of his size could still be found. After Bai Lang finished bathing and dressing, he strapped the Polished Purple Gold Mace to his back with a leather belt and went to meet the esteemed officials. Bai Lang stepped into the government office and simply bowed. Several officials inside, along with those in military attire, took this opportunity to size up Bai Lang.

"What a true hero!" A military officer, seemingly the second or third in command, exclaimed first. The esteemed officials also stroked their beards and smiled. "Warrior Bai wishes to join the army and seek a future, selling his martial arts skills to the imperial family. Excellent!" He was then rewarded with ten taels of silver and assigned to serve under the city's General.

Meeting Bai Lang was just a minor event. The main focus was the discussion among the civil and military officials regarding pacifying the region, especially the nearby banditry. Bai Lang, after receiving a word from the Prefect Lord, was led out of the government office by a servant and headed to the military camp to register his name. This was also a form of supervision; it was better to keep him in the military camp than let him wander the city.

The camp had received orders from the General and truly provided Bai Lang with a complete set of new padded jackets, but no armor. He was only given an iron helmet, and naturally, no horse. There were no bows and arrows, but he was given a Wild Goose Feather Saber. Bai Lang drew it out and felt it was quite conscientious, not a shoddy product. The saber was indeed usable. Bai Lang did not take a spear. Other than that, there was nothing else. "Joining the army in Great Ming is quite tough; they only give one set of winter clothes, with no replacements," Bai Lang muttered a few times. However, the barracks assigned to him were for his sole use, which was quite good.

The General summoned Bai Lang back to the camp. After a few words of comfort, he proposed that Bai Lang serve as a personal guard. However, he wouldn't be kept by his side initially but would serve as a vanguard. "It's like a household retainer, but not yet a trusted confidant. It's more like a vanguard for breaking through enemy lines. But it suits my intentions."

The next day, Bai Lang was waiting to report for duty, but to his surprise, he didn't have to. He pulled over a soldier and asked, only to find out that they only reported for duty every five days and trained every ten days—this was considered quite diligent. Bai Lang had no choice but to practice his martial arts himself, as he did every day without fail. Soon, a circle of soldiers gathered, watching Bai Lang practice his martial arts and cheering him on. Some called it fancy moves, but who would use fancy moves with a sixty-four-jin Purple Gold Mace? Moreover, Bai Lang truly held the double iron maces, and each move stirred up gusts of wind, making him look incredibly ferocious.

The General was also watching from outside and exclaimed, "Truly an unstoppable hammer and mace general." Everyone also felt a sense of awe towards Bai Lang. The arm strength of such a person was likely thousands of jin. How could ordinary people compare? This was practically like the fierce generals from storytelling performances appearing. It would be good to follow him and take heads.

The government officials' discussions indeed involved suppressing the nearby bandits. However, before they could complete their preparations, bad news arrived—the Tartars had breached the passes again, dividing into several routes. Among them, the slave chief Abahai led one of the routes towards Shandong. At this time, Bai Lang had only been in the army for less than two months, and dozens of small soldiers had gathered around him. "Defend the city!" This was the Prefect Lord's decision, and the General also saw it that way. A field battle against Qing soldiers? The armies of Great Ming probably no longer had such courage. Defending the city seemed to be the only way to resist.

This was because, before Bai Lang arrived, the Battle of Songshan had just occurred, and the elite forces of the Nine Garrisons were annihilated. Afterward, the Battle of Zhuxian Town was lost, and rebels like Li Zicheng could no longer be contained. The situation had completely deteriorated by now. Bai Lang also said he was willing to lead troops out of the city to form a pincer formation, stating that a desperate defense of the city was not viable. However, he was rebuffed. Bai Lang then took a step back, "I am willing to lead a few men to scout the Qing soldiers and act as a warning for the defenders."

Bai Lang repeatedly requested to fight. The Prefect Lord was indeed supportive, but others felt Bai Lang might be seeing an opportunity to escape and flee, so they stopped him. Bai Lang gave a wry smile, "Very well, I will fight the enemy on the city walls." He was confident in his martial prowess. The reason was simple: Bai Lang discovered that it seemed no one in this world had cultivated internal energy? Or perhaps, there were no practitioners of hard qigong—he couldn't be sure there were absolutely no internal energy cultivators, but it was highly likely there weren't.

"With the power of a horse, even a heavy sword or long saber should be able to break through someone's Golden Bell Shield, but killing me would still be difficult. If that's the case, then let the city walls become the tomb of the Qing soldiers." This Prefect Deng was a capable official, but the Prince Lu in the city... Bai Lang heard that he refused to contribute money to boost morale. "Is he truly a pig?"

The Qing soldiers advanced into the city without any resistance and surrounded it. Bai Lang looked down from the city walls. The Qing soldiers below wore padded armor and looked quite fierce. They also drove large numbers of plundered civilians before them. The morale of the defending troops inside the city was low, but no one was willing to surrender the city. However, as soon as the Qing soldiers attacked the city gates, the situation at several gates and on the city walls became critical in less than a short time.

"I didn't expect them to be so useless," Bai Lang muttered. At this moment, he was only wearing chain mail. Seeing the Qing soldiers climbing the city walls, he rushed forward alone. The soldiers behind him were stunned, and only a few followed him. The Qing soldiers climbing the wall were sturdy and wore double armor. As soon as they reached the wall, they had already scattered the nearby defenders. These Qing soldiers, along with several others who followed them, were about to charge down to open the gates, but the leader among them was suddenly forced into a concave shape.