The Fourth Fifth Chapter

It was perfectly normal for Emperor Chongzhen to show admiration, as Bai Lang truly cut an impressive figure. First and foremost, he was a young general, and young generals always ignited people's enthusiasm. Chongzhen also favored such young men—Bai Lang looked to be around eighteen or nineteen, with sharp, heroic features and full of spirit. Although his face hadn't fully matured and still held a youthful innocence, he already showed the nascent demeanor of a young Xu Jinjiang—the two truly looked alike.

This was undoubtedly a fine mold. Upon seeing Bai Lang, Emperor Chongzhen believed the words in the battle report with absolute certainty. "As expected, a young hero of our Great Ming! Your Excellency is nineteen this year?" Bai Lang did not reveal his true age of sixteen. Then, the Emperor inquired about Bai Lang's pair of Polished Purple Gold Maces; their names were indeed written in the battle report. "Your Excellency's single mace weighed sixty-four catties? A pity it fell into the hands of the Eastern Barbarians. What weapon do you use now?"

Bai Lang did not perform the full kowtow—under normal circumstances, one did not need to grovel before the Emperor of Great Ming. Though Bai Lang himself didn't care much for such formalism, a man's knees are made of gold in his heart, not for trivial rituals. He merely bowed slightly. This was normal, as Emperor Chongzhen was shorter than Bai Lang. Furthermore, with Bai Lang's imposing presence, he appeared much taller and more robust than Chongzhen, who seemed like a little old man. "Reporting to Your Majesty, this subordinate is currently forging a Guan King's Saber."

Emperor Chongzhen became interested. "Oh? Your Excellency possesses peerless divine strength, and you can wield such a Guan Saber?" He then ordered a eunuch to fetch Bai Lang's Guan Saber and have Bai Lang demonstrate his martial arts outside the hall. Two burly generals carried Bai Lang's new weapon. Emperor Chongzhen walked over to inspect it. "The hilt is also made of hollow iron tubing? How much does this Guan Saber weigh?" A eunuch answered the Emperor's question, "This Azure Dragon Crescent Blade weighs eighty-two catties, no different from the one used by Lord Guan."

After receiving the Emperor's signal, Bai Lang stepped forward and grasped the Guan Saber with one hand. He then began his demonstration outside the hall. These burly generals and the eunuch guards of the Imperial Stables, who practiced martial arts daily, could naturally discern Bai Lang's foundation at a glance. "General Bai's martial arts with this Guan Saber seem somewhat limited. However, judging by his hand movements and footwork, his unarmed martial arts are likely superb." Emperor Chongzhen, his vision blurred, asked about Bai Lang's martial arts. Those men dared not conceal the truth—the key was that Bai Lang hadn't bribed them, so they spoke honestly.

"However, General Bai's strength is indeed unparalleled. We can practice with Guan Sabers of this weight daily, but none can wield it so lightly. Such martial prowess on the battlefield would be more than sufficient." It was interesting that those who had never fought on the battlefield could comment on the martial arts Bai Lang was currently displaying.

Emperor Chongzhen was indeed impatient. When he heard that Bai Lang's Guan Saber skills were average, his face had already begun to lengthen, and his impression of Bai Lang seemed to have fallen considerably. Then, upon hearing the latter part, his interest was rekindled. At this moment, Bai Lang finished a set of Guan Saber techniques he had seen and contemplated. He returned the Guan Saber to the burly generals, his breath steady and face uncolored, and stood aside awaiting the Emperor's words. Emperor Chongzhen composed himself and still offered Bai Lang a few words of praise and a reward of silver. "On your mission to suppress the rebels, you must cooperate with all sincerity." At this point, Emperor Chongzhen seemed on the verge of tears. Governor-General Deng immediately went to comfort the Emperor.

Bai Lang was indifferent to this. In his opinion, the world had become this way, and Emperor Chongzhen bore half the responsibility—"fickle and untrustworthy, impatient and indecisive" was Bai Lang's assessment of Chongzhen. His current sorrow and urgency would lead to nothing, and the Great Ming was now almost beyond saving. "Of course, now I am here. Let's see if a peerless fierce general can turn the tide, hahahahaha." He chuckled inwardly.

However, on the surface, he had to feign grief. If the Emperor was so saddened, his subjects naturally had to put on a similar display.

Although Prefect Deng had transformed into a Governor-General, his rank had increased by several levels. He took charge as the Governor-General of Three Provinces—this time, he was not given the Five Provinces. The Emperor divided the task of suppressing the rebels between two Governor-Generals. However, Governor-General Deng had few troops. Emperor Chongzhen kept a tight grip on the Imperial Guards and did not allocate a single soldier to him. At most, he had the hundred-odd guards Deng had brought from Shandong—now the Governor-General's Guard. He was then expected to rally the various military commanders from the three provinces and attempt to command them to suppress the rebels.

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't even spare much money for Governor-General Deng. "I think this situation is dire. Fighting without money or men? I can only lead elite troops for a direct assault and decapitation." Bai Lang muttered inwardly. Regarding the peasant army, even though they were becoming more organized now, Bai Lang still felt they hadn't shed their bandit nature and could likely be defeated in one battle. Bai Lang was now Governor-General Deng's biggest card—the most significant hand he could control. While commanders like the Four Garrisons of Northern Anhui had many soldiers, who knew if they would obey this Governor-General?

This was the twilight of the dynasty; it was an era where having troops meant having power. The old ways of civil officials likely wouldn't work anymore. As a newly appointed Governor-General, he could still request weapons and equipment from the Ministry of War for his subordinates. For a hundred-odd men, the Ministry of War had to show some respect, and if not for the Governor-General, they would have to for the Emperor. Thus, Bai Lang obtained another set of top-quality cotton armor, mountain pattern armor, and chain mail, as well as two finely crafted Snowflake-like Wild Goose Feather Sabers. As for the Guan Saber, even the Emperor had wanted to see it, so it was also crafted with great care.

The military situation was urgent, so Governor-General Deng, along with the Governor-General's Honor Guard, quickly took leave of the capital and headed to the front lines to suppress the rebels. Henan—this was the battlefield for this campaign. Governor-General Deng was going to assist Sun Chuanting's army. Currently, Li Chuang was in the Henan region preparing to fight against Sun Chuanting, the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Minister of War. However, Governor-General Deng had preemptively gathered some troops and encountered a portion of Li Chuang's forces. This time, Bai Lang was clad in double armor, wielding a great saber, and leading the charge on horseback.

The logistical support this time was much better than during the Battle of Yanzhou; there were fewer people, after all. Governor-General Deng first satisfied his trusted soldiers, and then the Ming troops he gathered along the way—which were basically trash. The decisive battle should have been between Governor-General Sun and Li Chuang. Neither of them considered Governor-General Deng to be of great importance. Governor-General Deng had gathered just over three thousand men in total, calling them fifty thousand to bolster their courage; everyone knew the truth.

Bai Lang's horse this time was also a large horse from the northwest, one that had fought against the Tartars with him. The horse was now equipped with half a suit of armor, protecting its neck and front half, and it vigorously carried Bai Lang as he charged towards the approaching peasant army. Behind him followed only about twenty cavalrymen from the Governor-General's Guard. These men had witnessed Bai Lang's valor and were bolder fighting the peasant army than the Tartars, so they charged alongside Bai Lang.