The Return

The Great Ming's military merit system has always prioritized enemy heads, and currently, the heads of Jian Lu are considered the most valuable. Bai Lang, alone on his horse, cut down enemies like mowing grass. Thousands of eyes on and off the city walls watched clearly. Such an unparalleled, ferocious general could not have his merits embezzled; it was normal to receive a small share. Bai Lang himself didn't care about this; he wasn't a Ming military official and his troop-leading ability was practically zero. If he had his own troops, their only purpose would likely be to help him collect heads.

After returning to the city, Bai Lang had the General and the Prefect Lord write their battle reports, while he himself searched the Qing soldiers he had killed and dragged back for spoils. He wasn't particularly interested in silver or valuables. He also didn't care that the soldiers who helped drag the corpses had already secretly searched them for money, risking their lives. He was looking for suitable armor. He wasn't very skilled with bows and arrows, but he considered the one-stone bows used by the White Armored soldiers to be weak, snapping them easily with a pull.

Bai Lang was acutely aware of how strong he was in this world. He was currently recalling the feeling of his internal energy circulation and force control during his recent slaughter. "Only when killing is the best opportunity for adjustment," Bai Lang mused as he searched for spoils, subtly using his internal energy to flex his muscles. He felt his martial arts with his twin maces had become much smoother and more fluid.

Sixty-four jin single-handed weapons weren't unheard of, but they were for training strength and honing skills, not for battlefield use. If Bai Lang wielded such a weapon on the battlefield, he would undoubtedly be the strongest, most ferocious general of the age—a fact even the civilian Prefect Deng was well aware of. "This..." Prefect Deng's battle report wasn't for the General to collude over; it was for him to read—this was the official conclusion, and the military men shouldn't say too much.

However, these esteemed gentlemen still praised him, "Truly, the Evil Lai of this generation, the Hegemon King's bravery is likely no more than this." The General nodded in agreement—in fact, everyone was satisfied. Holding the city was the primary merit, and they had also repelled the true Tartar army, beheading over a hundred, which was already a remarkable feat. It was not a problem for everyone present, regardless of their civilian or military status, to be promoted by one or two ranks. It was even possible for them to be promoted beyond their rank.

"A hundred heads, how many times has this been achieved since the Eastern Barbarian conflict? Likely less than five." The General also sighed, "If Bai Zhuangshi's beheading merit from this single battle were calculated, he could probably even become a Garrison Commander or Battalion Commander—from a commoner to a fifth-rank official of the court in one battle." Everyone nodded, thinking they needed to protect him well, lest he become too prominent and be envied.

As for who would be jealous? Ah, there probably would be.

Bai Lang was also quite pleased because he had found what he wanted—fine cotton armor worn by the Tartars, intact and unstained by blood. There was also a suit of iron armor that fit him well and could be used after some repairs. "It would be best if I could get a suit of mountain pattern armor, but alas, there isn't one." Even though some people had secretly pocketed the silver from the corpses, Bai Lang still collected over a hundred taels of silver. As for other valuables, he wasn't interested and distributed them all to the Ming soldiers who dared to pursue outside the city and help him drag the corpses.

The Qing army was also in a difficult position. Failing to achieve any merit under the walls of Yanzhou had dealt a blow to their morale, especially encountering such a monster. A large number of Bayala and Ge Bu Xian Chao Ha soldiers had died, which was what pained the Qing officers the most. Under Bai Lang, none of them were injured; they were all killed, and they couldn't even retrieve the bodies. "Everyone, let's discuss how this warrior among the Ming should be handled?" Even Abahai had to convene his generals for a discussion.

As long as they had normal military sense, they would realize a problem: what if Bai Lang, wearing double armor and with multiple horses, launched a night raid on them? The Qing army had no warriors who could stand against such a ferocious general in direct combat. If he were to raid their camp, it would undoubtedly be a nightmare. The result of their discussion was to send out scouts far and wide; once Bai Lang was encountered, they were to report back immediately. They also estimated that the Yanzhou city would likely not allow such a fierce general to leave freely.

The discussion eventually returned to Bai Lang's bravery. "The twin maces used by such a fierce general are at least as thick as a duck's egg. Wielding these dozens of jin iron rods with one hand to charge into battle, perhaps even Aobai couldn't do it! And this hard qigong, impervious to blades and spears, it must be hard qigong!" Bai Lang had actually guessed wrong; this world did have martial arts and internal energy, but there were very few who had achieved mastery—none among the Ming soldiers he had encountered so far.

However, that was only in Yanzhou city; other places might have such martial arts masters. Bai Lang attributed his divine strength to his martial arts training in his previous world. Perhaps in this world, those with profound martial arts could also achieve such strength—though he hadn't seen it on the battlefield.

Now that Shandong was invaded by Qing soldiers, it would be difficult to submit the merit reports amidst the chaos. So, they had to wait until the situation became clearer, at least to understand the Qing army's movements. Bai Lang directly volunteered, "I am willing to go and scout the Tartars' movements. I don't need many, just three to five men willing to accompany me. If their movements are discovered, they can return to report." However, the officials in the city felt it was inappropriate—it was better to keep such a brave general close by. What if the Qing soldiers launched a surprise attack after he left?

Although the court's rewards had not yet arrived, Prefect Deng and the others in the city had already recommended Bai Lang for the position of Battalion Commander and assigned him several Centurions. Before Bai Lang could even ask if there was mountain pattern armor in the city, Prefect Deng and the General had already gone to the armory to find a suit. Coincidentally, there was indeed a suit of mountain pattern armor there, though it looked like it needed repairs due to age. They immediately had a military craftsman repair it. Wealthy households and influential people in the city also vied to keep Bai Lang, even inviting him to dine.

"Just a rough calculation, if I accepted every invitation, I'd have someone covering my three meals a day for a month, and I'd probably have received five or six delicate young ladies," Bai Lang chuckled. However, he was fine with dinner invitations; as for the young ladies, he'd pass. Although it wasn't stated that the Golden Bell Shield required practicing virginity, Bai Lang was only seventeen years old, and he felt he wasn't yet at an age to indulge.

Moreover, these young ladies didn't quite suit his taste—the current aesthetic favored petite, flat-chested, and thin figures. However, Bai Lang thought that larger breasts and buttocks were more attractive, and short people were uninteresting.