The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 101 Suspicion

As Zhou Lun had predicted, Gao Yingxiang accepted the wedding invitation but only sent a gift.

Zhao Sheng and Wang Er did the same; they observed the proper etiquette, but didn't actually go. After all, their relationship with Li Wanqing wasn't as close as Zhou Lun's, and besides, as leaders, they couldn't leave their posts.

A few days later, Zhou Lun left Fugu with his entourage and headed for Gushan Fort.

Gushan Fort was originally the site of the local garrison.

There were many such "forts" throughout the Ming Dynasty. They were originally military facilities set up as garrison outposts, among which the most famous was Tumu Fort.

Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen met his end at Tumu Fortress, which caused the greatest upheaval since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. It broke the tripartite balance of power between the emperor, nobles, and civil officials that Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang had created, marking the beginning of the decline of the noble group and the control of the civil official group over the government.

Time flies, and in just two hundred years, the original military facilities have fallen into disrepair.

Although Gushan Fort is still a garrison town, it has long since evolved into a small town.

Aside from the core area, the surrounding area is not much different from ordinary towns. In addition, with the desertion of military households in recent decades, Gushan Fort has become nothing more than a name.

However, this place remains a crucial location in southern Fugu. Li Wanqing's garrison here can control the main roads leading to Fugu and ensure the safety of Fugu in the north. This was the reason why Gao Yingxiang made this arrangement in the first place.

Apart from Li Wanqing, Zhao Sheng, Wang Er, and even Liu Zhe were in the same situation, with their respective garrisons all centered around Fugu.

Zhou Lun had visited Gushan Fort several times, but mostly he had only passed through. Apart from staying overnight at Gushan Fort on his way back from Shenmu last time, he had not stayed long.

He was quite familiar with the situation here, and it wasn't unfamiliar to him. The group traveled south for less than two days before arriving at Gushan Fort. Before even entering the city, they encountered Wang Tieniu, who had come to greet them upon hearing the news.

"Brother Lun!"

Upon seeing Zhou Lun, Wang Tieniu beamed. Zhou Lun was also extremely pleased to see him. Among his brothers, aside from Li Wanqing, Wang Tieniu and Zhou Lun were the closest. Zhou Lun liked this simple-minded and honest young man very much, and the two got along very well.

"Where's our eldest brother? Is he in the fort?"

"Yes, my brother has been busy these days, he's getting married soon." Wang Tieniu chuckled and said, "Knowing you were coming, my brother specially sent me to pick you up. Come on, come on, your brother is waiting for you at the fort."

As he spoke, Wang Tieniu gestured for Zhou Lun and his group to leave.

Upon entering the city, they walked straight in and soon arrived at the core area of ​​Gushan Fortress. Although the surrounding towns were also called Gushan Fortress, the core area was the true Gushan Fortress. After Li Wanqing set up camp here, he made it his residence and had his men tidy it up thoroughly. In the past six months, it had taken on quite a appearance.

Upon entering the village gate, Zhou Lun immediately spotted Li Wanqing standing there. Li Wanqing looked exactly the same, his familiar figure smiling as he looked at him. Seeing Zhou Lun, he quickly came forward to greet him.

Zhou Lun hurried forward to greet him, and upon reaching him, he bowed to Li Wanqing, saying, "Brother!"

"You're here!" Li Wanqing chuckled, sizing up Zhou Lun and patting him on the arm. "We're brothers, no need for all this formalities. By the way, why isn't your wife here?"

"Your sister-in-law hasn't been feeling well these days and it's inconvenient for her to come. Please don't blame her, elder brother," Zhou Lun said with a smile.

Li Wanqing raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, and said, "Could it be that your sister-in-law is pregnant? That's wonderful news! When did this happen?"

"Hehe, it happened just a few days ago. It's been too short a time, I haven't had a chance to tell my elder brother yet."

"Hahaha! Good news, good news!" Li Wanqing laughed, his expression full of joy.

His brother's wife was pregnant—what a joyous occasion! And he himself was about to get married. For Han Chinese, carrying on the family line is paramount; what could be better than having offspring?

"Come on, let's go inside and talk."

Li Wanqing warmly pulled Zhou Lun's hand and led him inside. Zhou Lun's face was also full of joy. Today, Li Wanqing felt the same as before, and his attitude towards him was still the same as always, which reminded him of the days when he spent every day with Li Wanqing.

The two arrived at their destination quickly. Zhou Lun instructed Hao Yaoqi, who had accompanied him, to hand over the gifts he had brought to Wang Tieniu, and then led his men to settle in.

Wang Tieniu and Hao Yaoqi were old acquaintances, and the two knew each other very well. Wang Tieniu immediately smiled and agreed, beckoning Hao Yaoqi and the others to follow him. Hao Yaoqi subconsciously glanced at Zhou Lun, and seeing Zhou Lun nod slightly, he followed Wang Tieniu.

Once inside, Li Wanqing invited Zhou Lun to sit down, but instead of having tea served, he brewed some hot water himself.

Watching this scene, Zhou Lun felt a pang of emotion. It was just like this when he lived at Li Wanqing's house; the two brothers were inseparable, as casually as family. Time had flown by, and now they were both leaders of the rebel army. But with their rising status, they had unknowingly grown quite distant. Now, Li Wanqing's actions reminded Zhou Lun of those past feelings, and a sense of closeness returned to him.

"Let me do it, brother."

"Sit down, sit down. You've been walking all this way. Take a break. I'll take care of this little thing." Li Wanqing smiled and gestured to Zhou Lun, then brewed a pot of tea for himself. He placed one of the cups in front of Zhou Lun and pointed to the tea, saying, "Try this tea."

Zhou Lun picked up the tea, and even before taking a sip, he was greeted by its enticing aroma. He took a small sip and couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent tea!"

"Good tea, isn't it?" Li Wanqing pointed at the tea and said with a smile, "Your sister-in-law's family just sent it over. Such good tea is rare in Shaanxi. I specially saved some for you to take back with you when you leave."

"Then thank you, brother." Zhou Lun nodded with a smile.

Zhou Lun appeared to be indifferent to the short sentence, but he couldn't help but ponder it carefully.

Li Wanqing said the tea was a gift from his fiancée's family, which seemed reasonable enough. However, Zhou Lun was always meticulous, and unlike Li Wanqing, he was very perceptive.

Li Wanqing was just a farmer who had never seen anything good in his life, even after becoming the leader of the rebel army.

But Zhou Lun is different! Before coming to this era, he was a successful man with extensive knowledge of tea. In addition, after achieving financial freedom, he traveled frequently, visiting countless places across the country. If we're talking about quality tea, he probably drank better tea than even the emperor.

Zhou Lun could tell at a glance that the tea Li Wanqing gave him was definitely not ordinary tea.

It's neither produced in Sichuan nor is it a tea from the north; it's definitely a fine tea from the Jiangnan region.

This kind of fine tea is extraordinary and very valuable. Ordinary people simply cannot afford it. Usually, only the powerful and wealthy can enjoy it.

According to Zhou Lun's information, the He family, to which Li Wanqing was to marry, was merely a military household of a hundred households. Although they owned a considerable amount of land, over three hundred mu, this was Shaanxi, not Jiangnan. How could three hundred mu of land in Shaanxi compare to the prosperous Jiangnan region?

Moreover, Shaanxi has suffered from severe drought for the past two years, with many areas receiving only a few rain showers throughout the year, leading to near-total crop failure. Even landlords are struggling. No matter how well-off the He family is, how could a mere hundred-household household in the area possibly obtain such fine tea?

This made Zhou Lun ponder deeply. Furthermore, ever since Li Zhong delivered the wedding invitation, Zhou Lun had harbored suspicions about Li Wanqing's marriage. And now, after sipping this tea, these suspicions only intensified.

"Your family is quite impressive," Zhou Lun said with a smile, taking another sip of his tea. "Such fine tea is indeed rare; it's not easy to get your hands on tea like this."

"Hehe, your sister-in-law's family is a prominent one in the area, and your uncle is a businessman, so it's natural that they can get their hands on some good tea." Compared to Zhou Lun's suspicions, Li Wanqing didn't think too much about it. After all, he didn't know much about these things; he only knew that the tea was good, but he didn't know anything else.

"I heard from Zhong'er that your sister-in-law's family is a local centurion?" Zhou Lun asked, putting down his teacup.

"right!"

Li Wanqing nodded and immediately told Zhou Lun about his future daughter-in-law's family background in a frank manner.

He told Zhou Lun that the He family was indeed a centurion in Gushan Fort. Gushan Fort had previously served as a military stronghold, and there were several centurion posts around it, with the He family being one of them.

However, that was a long time ago. After the Jiajing era, the military household system fell into disuse, and many military households deserted, causing the original centurions to gradually decline. Furthermore, with changing circumstances, the garrison centurions slowly transformed from military households into local landlords, while the remaining military households became their tenants. Therefore, by now, the centurion where the He family lived was practically defunct, existing only as a hereditary centurion, and was virtually no different from ordinary farmers.

Since Li Wanqing moved his troops to Gushanbao, he has carried out reorganization of the surrounding area.

At the time, the He family was one of the major local families that actively cooperated with Li Wanqing, and the relationship between the two sides was quite good.

As time went by, and given the many practical things Li Wanqing had done in the Gushanbao area, the local people gradually accepted his presence. Only after news arrived recently that the rebel army had been pacified did the local people finally feel completely at ease. It was around this time that the He family intentionally took a closer approach to Li Wanqing, which led to them proactively proposing the marriage.