The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 112 The Unspeakable Secret

Li Zicheng's prediction was correct.

After he secretly had people spread his reputation as a "trailblazer" everywhere, Gao Yingxiang not only did not stop or reprimand him, but tacitly approved of this fact.

At this point, Li Zicheng was completely relieved.

With the title of "Breakthrough General," and as this bandit nickname gradually spread, he clearly felt that the other leaders in the rebel army treated him with more warmth.

Especially Gao Yingxiang's two confidants, Huang Long and Liu Zhe, whose initial casualness turned into a degree of respect. It seems that he had made the right move.

The title has been set, and this step has been taken, but it is far from enough.

After all, Li Zicheng's foundation in the rebel army was not deep, and his troops had been assembled for a very short time. In terms of strength, he was at the bottom among the leaders.

Leaving aside Zhou Lun, the two factions of Wang Er and Zhao Sheng, which were established after Li Wanqing left, each possessed considerable military strength and territory.

He still has a long way to go to secure his position as the second-in-command of this rebel army. He needs to expand his strength as quickly as possible. But expanding strength isn't easy; he's only been here a short time, and he hasn't yet achieved any significant merit. These things will have to be addressed gradually.

Just as Li Zicheng was pondering this, Gao Yingxiang suddenly called him over.

He was filled with anxiety, thinking that his little actions had displeased Gao Yingxiang and that he would be reprimanded. But to his surprise, he received wonderful news—Gao Yingxiang was going to entrust him with the task of forming the cavalry.

In other words, Gao Yingxiang gave most of the hundreds of horses he had painstakingly bought from Mongolia to Li Zicheng, so that he could quickly build an elite cavalry force based on them.

This news was like a pie falling directly onto his head, filling him with immense excitement.

Not long ago, when he learned that Gao Yigong had become the commander of Zhou Lun's cavalry and had dozens of riders under his command, he was extremely envious.

As someone who had served in the border army, he understood the importance of cavalry better than anyone else; he knew all too well how crucial the combat effectiveness of a capable cavalry force was.

Unfortunately, he arrived far too late. The troops he commanded were painstakingly cobbled together by Gao Yingxiang, and they hadn't even established a firm foothold yet. Gao Yingxiang's cavalry formation wouldn't even be his turn; it would most likely fall to Huang Long or Liu Zhe.

To everyone's surprise, Gao Yingxiang entrusted him with this important task, and when they met, he made no mention of his past boasting about his title as a "rebel general." Li Zicheng was overjoyed and felt that he understood Gao Yingxiang's intentions.

It seems his judgment was correct; Gao Yingxiang really did intend to make him his successor, otherwise why would he value him so much?

"Uncle, rest assured, your nephew will definitely train this cavalry to be invincible on the battlefield!" Li Zicheng said to Gao Yingxiang, clasping his hands in a fist salute. This attitude greatly pleased Gao Yingxiang.

"Well said!" Gao Yingxiang nodded, then solemnly reminded him, "Cavalry is no small matter; once trained, it will be of great use in the future. Zicheng, you'd better take this seriously! Don't you call yourself a 'daredevil general'? Let your uncle see just how much of a 'daredevil' you really are."

Li Zicheng's face flushed slightly, and he was completely relieved.

Gao Yingxiang's words were tantamount to tacit approval and encouragement, which made him extremely excited.

"yes!"

He answered loudly, straightening his chest as he did so. This was a rare opportunity, and he was determined to perform well and let Gao Yingxiang know his abilities.

"By the way, Zicheng, there's something else good news your uncle is about to tell you," Gao Yingxiang said with a smile.

"Good news?" Li Zicheng was taken aback.

Gao Yingxiang nodded, pointed at him, and said, "Uncle knows you are single now. Your eldest sister and brother-in-law have passed away long ago, and you have no brothers. As the saying goes, of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no descendants. Let bygones be bygones, but now that it's your uncle's turn, both personally and professionally, I must think about and make arrangements for you."

"Your uncle has arranged a marriage for you. The woman comes from a military family; her father is Xing Shouren, a centurion in Baode County. After our troops crossed the sea to the east, Xing Shouren killed the magistrate of Baode and came to join us. He has now joined the righteous army and is allowed to continue stationing himself in Baode. Xing Shouren has a daughter, sixteen years old, who is not only beautiful but also well-educated and knowledgeable about military affairs. Your uncle met her recently, and she seems like a good match for you. If you are willing, your uncle will arrange for her to marry you today. What do you say?"

At this point, Gao Yingxiang laughed again: "With a wife, the two of you can live a good life together. If you have a son or daughter in the future, it will fulfill the wishes of my deceased sister and brother-in-law, and comfort their spirits in heaven. Besides, you know that your uncle has no children, and as he gets older, he thinks about having descendants. If you can have more children, that would be even better..."

Gao Yingxiang seems to have become addicted to matchmaking. He previously acted as a matchmaker for Zhou Lun, betrothing Gao Guiying to him; now he is considering marriage for his nephew Li Zicheng.

However, Li Zicheng was indeed short of a wife. His previous wife, Han Jin'er, was killed by him because she had an affair, and he never remarried after that.

Now he's in his twenties, and there are very few men his age who aren't married; some even have several children.

Therefore, it is only natural for him to consider his nephew's feelings and take the initiative to help him find a marriage partner.

However, Li Zicheng sensed something in the unspoken meaning: Gao Yingxiang not only proposed marriage but also mentioned that he had no children and urged him to get married soon and have more sons. Could this be a warning to him that he planned to have his son change his surname to Gao so that he could continue Gao Yingxiang's family line?

In this way, even though he was a nephew, his future son would become Gao Yingxiang's grandson, and Gao Yingxiang would have a real descendant.

It's understandable that Li Zicheng, as a "rebel general," would become the successor because of his son. Even if Gao Yingxiang succeeded in his campaign and ascended the throne, and then appointed Li Zicheng's son as crown prince, he couldn't very well seize the throne from his own son, could he?

Regardless of the outcome, it doesn't seem to be bad for Li Zicheng at the moment, especially since Gao Yingxiang's hints are enough for him to understand.

Without hesitation, Li Zicheng agreed immediately, beaming and nodding repeatedly, saying that his uncle was very thoughtful. Since he had made the decision and thought Xing was suitable, how could he refuse? This marriage was exactly what he wanted.

Seeing that Li Zicheng was so obedient and sensible, Gao Yingxiang was very satisfied. He smiled and told him to go back and prepare as soon as possible. He would send someone to inform Xing Shouren to send the girl to Hequ and personally arrange their wedding when she arrived.

After expressing his gratitude profusely, Li Zicheng left happily.

But once he left the county government office and stepped outside, the joy on his face vanished instantly. His expression turned slightly grim, and he was deep in thought, repeatedly pondering Gao Yingxiang's words, secretly lamenting his predicament.

Family members know their own affairs best.

A few years ago, if Gao Yingxiang had taken the initiative to act as matchmaker, he would have been overjoyed. But now, to be honest, he has no intention of getting married at all.

It wasn't that Li Zicheng had any ambition, but rather that he was now "willing but unable" to achieve his goals.

This all started with the incident of killing his wife.

His ex-wife, Han Jin'er, was promiscuous and had an affair. He rushed home that night and caught her in bed with her. In a fit of rage, Li Zicheng killed the entire couple.

Although he didn't suffer much after the murder, and was quickly released because of the legitimate reason, he was fined some money.

However, because Li Zicheng had a job at the post station at that time, he didn't care about fines or anything like that. As long as he had this job, he could still pay back the money he borrowed with his salary and extra income.

But things changed later. Suddenly, the emperor "optimized" his post as a courier, and he lost his job and income. He had no savings to begin with, and now he couldn't even afford to eat, let alone pay off his debts.

When the scholar who lent him the money saw that things were not going well, he came to Li Zicheng's door to demand repayment. Where would Li Zicheng get the money to repay the debt? The scholar directly used his connections to have him arrested.

Furthermore, because Li Zicheng had no money to repay while in prison, the scholar Wen, in a fit of anger, knew that the money he had lent out had gone down the drain. In order to vent his anger, he ordered the yamen runners to torture him severely and resort to many other despicable means.

This is why Li Zicheng suffered so much in prison, and even had his health ruined.

After being rescued, he sadly discovered that his "second brother" was no longer working. Although his "second brother" was still there, it had become a silver-plated spearhead, beautiful but useless.

This situation infuriated Li Zicheng, which led to his reckless act of storming the man's house and killing him.

After killing someone and fleeing his hometown, he took his brothers to Gansu to join the border army. During that time in the army, he tried several times in private but was still powerless.

In despair, Li Zicheng knew that he could no longer be considered a true "man".

Without a capable "second brother," how could he possibly have offspring? Even if he had several stunningly beautiful women by his side, he would still be powerless to help.

He had thought he would never get married again, but Gao Yingxiang's words today brought out his biggest secret.

He knew perfectly well that even if he married a new wife, what difference would it make? He was impotent and could never get a woman pregnant, let alone have children.

But this absolutely cannot be told to Gao Yingxiang. Once Gao Yingxiang knows the truth, wouldn't all his previous schemes have come to naught? He wants to rise above others and even become Gao Yingxiang's rightful heir, so this marriage must be arranged no matter what.

As for what to do in the future, how to get along with this wife, and how to explain the issue of future offspring?

Li Zicheng couldn't come up with a good solution after thinking it over and over, so he could only take it one step at a time and try to overcome the immediate difficulties first.

Let's talk about the future when it comes. Lost in thought, he returned to the camp, remaining silent even as his nephew Li Guo greeted him.

He went straight into the house, closed the door, lay down on the bed, stared blankly at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.