Chapter 45

Emperor Chongzhen's approving look was only natural, because Bai Lang made a very impressive sight. First of all, he was a young officer, and young officers always stirred people's enthusiasm. Chongzhen liked young men like him, too—Bai Lang looked eighteen or nineteen, with handsome, sharp features and a spirited air. His face hadn't fully matured yet and still had a youthful softness, but he already showed a hint of the bearing Xu Jinjiang had in his youth. The two really did look alike.

He was certainly cut from a fine mold. The moment Emperor Chongzhen saw Bai Lang, he believed every word of the battle report. "Indeed, a young hero of Great Ming. How old are you this year, my good man—nineteen?" Bai Lang didn't reveal that his true age was only sixteen. The emperor then asked about his pair of Polished Purple Gold Maces. Their names had been recorded in the battle report, after all. "Could you really wield a single mace weighing eighty-eight catties? What a pity the Eastern Tartars took it. What weapon do you use now?"

Bai Lang didn't perform the full three prostrations and nine kowtows. Normally, one didn't have to grovel before the emperor of Great Ming. Bai Lang didn't care much for such empty formalities anyway. A man's knees were worth their weight in gold—that principle applied in one's heart, not to inconsequential etiquette. He merely bowed slightly, which was only natural: Emperor Chongzhen was much shorter than Bai Lang, and Bai Lang's imposing bearing made him look even taller beside Chongzhen, who seemed to have become a little old man. "Your Majesty, this subordinate has had a Guan King's Saber made, and uses it now."

Emperor Chongzhen grew interested. "Oh? You have unmatched strength, my good man. Can you wield a Guan Saber as well?" He ordered the eunuchs to fetch Bai Lang's saber and have him demonstrate his martial skills outside the hall. Two burly palace guards carried in Bai Lang's new weapon. Emperor Chongzhen walked over to inspect it. "The shaft is hollow iron tubing, too? How heavy is this saber?" A eunuch beside him answered, "This Azure Dragon Crescent Blade weighs eighty-two catties, the same as the one used by Lord Guan."

At the emperor's signal, Bai Lang stepped forward and seized the saber with one hand, then began his demonstration in front of the hall. The palace guards and the Imperial Stud's eunuch troops both practiced martial arts in their spare time, so they could tell at a glance what Bai Lang was good at. "General Bai seems to have limited skill with the Guan Saber. But judging by his hand movements and footwork, his unarmed combat must be exceptional." Emperor Chongzhen watched, dazzled, and asked how skilled Bai Lang was. Those men didn't dare hide the truth—the key point was that Bai Lang hadn't greased their palms—so they answered honestly.

"General Bai's strength, however, is truly rare beneath heaven. We can practice with Guan Sabers of this weight, but none of us can swing one so effortlessly. With martial skills like his, he'd be more than capable on the battlefield." It was amusing to hear men who had never been to war comment on the skills Bai Lang had just demonstrated.

Emperor Chongzhen was as quick-tempered as ever. When he heard that Bai Lang was only so-so with the Guan Saber, his face grew long, and his impression of Bai Lang seemed to sour at once. But the praise that followed rekindled his interest. By then, Bai Lang had finished a set of Guan Saber techniques he had seen and studied. He wasn't even out of breath or flushed as he handed the saber back to the palace guards and stood aside, waiting for the emperor to speak. Emperor Chongzhen composed himself, praised Bai Lang a few more times, and awarded him some silver. "As you go forth to suppress the rebels, you must work together in earnest." At that, Emperor Chongzhen seemed on the verge of tears, and Governor Deng hurried to comfort him.

Bai Lang didn't particularly care either way. In his view, Emperor Chongzhen himself was responsible for half of the mess the realm had become. "Fickle, reckless, and indecisive"—that was Bai Lang's assessment of him. His grief and desperation now would accomplish nothing, and Great Ming was almost beyond saving. But now I'm here. Let's see if an unparalleled warrior can turn things around. Hahahaha! Bai Lang laughed to himself.

On the surface, though, he still had to look grief-stricken. If the emperor was so upset, his subjects naturally had to wear the same expression.

Prefect Deng had suddenly become a governor-general, his rank jumping several grades at once. He was appointed Governor-General of Three Provinces this time, not Governor-General of Five Provinces. The emperor had assigned two governor-generals to deal with the rebels. Governor Deng had no troops of his own, however. Emperor Chongzhen kept a tight grip on the Imperial Guards and hadn't assigned him a single soldier. At most, he had the hundred or so guards he'd brought from Shandong—now the Governor-General's Guard. With that, he was expected to gather the military commanders scattered across the three provinces and somehow lead them in suppressing the rebels.

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't even spare much silver for Governor Deng. This looks doomed. No money, no men, and still expected to fight? I'll just have to lead the elite troops straight through their lines and cut down their leaders, Bai Lang grumbled to himself. As for the peasant army, even now that it had begun to organize itself, Bai Lang still thought it had the character of a roving bandit force. He figured he could still defeat it in battle. Bai Lang was now Governor Deng's strongest card—the biggest card he could actually control. No one knew whether the military commanders, such as the Four Garrisons of Northern Anhui, would listen to the governor-general, even though they had plenty of troops.

The dynasty was in its final days, an era when whoever had troops held power. The old civil-official playbook probably wouldn't work anymore. At least, as a newly appointed governor-general, Deng could still request weapons and equipment for his men from the Ministry of War. There were only a hundred or so of them, so the Ministry of War could spare them that much consideration. Besides, if it refused Governor Deng, it would have to answer to the emperor. So Bai Lang received another set each of fine cotton armor, mountain-pattern armor, and mail, along with two exquisitely crafted Snowflake-like Wild Goose Feather Sabers. The Guan Saber had been made with great care, too, since even the emperor wanted to inspect it.

The military situation was urgent, so Governor Deng soon took his Governor-General's Honor Guard and left the capital after taking his leave of the emperor, heading for the front to suppress the rebels. This time the battlefield was Henan. Governor Deng was going to reinforce Sun Chuanting's army. Li Chuang was preparing to fight Governor-General of Shaanxi and Minister of War Sun Chuanting in Henan, but Governor Deng had already gathered some troops and encountered part of Li Chuang's forces. This time, Bai Lang wore two layers of armor, wielded a great saber, and rode at the front as they charged into the enemy lines.

The logistics were far better this time than during the battle at Yanzhou. After all, there were fewer men. Governor Deng first made sure his own trusted troops were supplied, then the Ming Army units he had gathered from along the route—which were mostly useless. The decisive battle was supposed to be between Governor Sun and Li Chuang, and neither side took Governor Deng very seriously. He had gathered just over three thousand men but claimed to command an army of fifty thousand to bolster their courage. Everyone knew the truth.

Bai Lang's horse was another tall northwestern warhorse, one that had fought the Tartars alongside him. It now wore half a suit of horse armor, protecting its neck and front half as it carried Bai Lang at a gallop toward the peasant army ahead. Some twenty cavalrymen from the Governor-General's Guard followed behind. They had all witnessed Bai Lang's bravery, and they had more courage fighting the peasant army than the Tartars, so they charged alongside him.