Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1025 [Divine Talisman Emperor]

Luoyang, the imperial city.

Zhu Ming ate preserved fruit with tea and asked casually, "Which destiny treasure do you think is real? There is no one else here, just say what you think."

Hu Anguo said: "The imperial treasures of the Song and Liao countries are probably all fake."

"Why?" Zhu Ming asked with a smile.

Hu Anguo said: "According to official history, the imperial seal was destroyed when the last emperor of the Tang Dynasty burned himself to death. The imperial seal of the Liao Dynasty suddenly appeared during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, and it was said that it was presented by Shi Jingtang. If it was presented by Shi Jingtang, why didn't they take it out earlier? Why did they hide it for decades? The imperial seal of the early Song Dynasty is even more fake. It was fabricated by Zhang Dun and Cai Jing under the order of Emperor Zhezong."

Zhu Ming laughed: "Hu Qing is very good and is willing to tell the truth."

The Song Dynasty's imperial seal is now kept in the Ming Dynasty Palace.

Once we get the Liao Dynasty's imperial seal, then everything will be complete.

So Hu Anguo said: "Although it is fake, it is a good thing to find it. The two imperial seals represent the Song and Liao dynasties respectively. Now they are both under the Ming Dynasty, which just shows that the country is unified and China is rebuilt! We can take the opportunity to change the reign title. Guitong, Hetong, Yuantong, Hefu, etc. are all OK."

Zhu Ming shook his head and said:
"The two imperial seals from the Song and Liao dynasties can be placed together in the Luoyang Imperial Palace, but I will not regard them as imperial treasures, but... trophies! As for the real imperial seal, Qin Shihuang could make it himself, so why can't I?"

"You can issue an imperial edict to announce it to the world, and at the same time let the Ming Monthly Newspaper explain the whole story. Make it clear that the imperial seal of Qin Shihuang was burned in the fire along with the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The imperial seals of the Song and Liao dynasties were all forged."

"Now that the Song and Liao imperial seals have all been returned to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has the responsibility and the power to forge another imperial seal."

"The new imperial seal does not need to be carved from a single jade stone. It can be made from jade from the Western Regions, gold from Tibet, silver from Goryeo, copper from Dali, pearls from Heishui, gold pearls from South China Sea, and gemstones from the West...Smelt gold, silver, and copper, carve a coiled dragon as the seal button, use pearls from the East and gold as dragon beads, and use gemstones of various colors as dragon scales."

"This is called the Four Seas coming together, the Six Directions blending into one!"

"Once the new imperial seal is carved, we will change the era name to: Divine Talisman."

Fu is a sign that the emperor has received the mandate, and can also refer to the imperial seal.

For example, when Song Zhezong got a royal seal, he immediately changed the reign title to "Yuanfu".

Hu Anguo was greatly shocked and said excitedly: "Your Majesty has a broad mind, and I am not even a fraction of that."

Zhu Ming's intention of changing the reign title to "Shenfu" is obvious, that is, the Chinese legal system, which was handed down from Qin Shihuang, had been cut off by the end of the Tang Dynasty. Song and Liao each privately carved the imperial seal, and after the Ming Dynasty put both of them away, it was natural that it should remake the imperial seal to complete and take charge of the Chinese legal system.

Moreover, things from all corners of the world were gathered in China and combined into a seal. This imperial seal symbolizes the unity of the four corners of the world.

This seal is born sacred and can be called a divine talisman.

As the emperor who created and first wielded it, Zhu Ming should naturally be called the "Divine Talisman Emperor" by later generations.

The source of those jade seal materials is naturally China’s core territory!

……

A month later, the Liao Dynasty's jade seal and its three discoverers arrived at the Luoyang Palace at the fastest speed.

Zhu Ming played with the jade seals of the Song and Liao dynasties and found that they were actually made in a very similar way.

There are also slight differences, such as the cracks on the horns.

There are cracks everywhere, but they are different. It is difficult to control the direction of this thing.

It is estimated that a minister of the Northern Song Dynasty had seen the Liao Dynasty's jade seal and imitated it directly after returning. It is even possible that the Liao Dynasty emperor took out the jade seal to show off to the Song Dynasty envoys to demonstrate the orthodox status of the Liao Dynasty.

Zhu Ming played with the two seals alternately and asked the three discoverers, "Come over here and see which one you found?"

Wang Chongdu and others walked over cautiously and stood there not daring to reach out to touch it. After looking at it for a long time from a close distance, they still couldn't tell it apart.

Zhu Ming smiled and said, "One is from the former Song Dynasty, and the other is from the Liao Dynasty. Which one do you think is true?"

The three were dumbfounded. They thought they had found a treasure, but they didn't expect there was already one in the palace.

Li Bin bravely asked, "Your Majesty, is the one we found a fake?"

Zhu Ming laughed: "Don't be afraid, it's all true."

It would be strange if it were true. It is probably all fake, forged by the Song and Liao dynasties themselves.

Wang Chongdu still wanted to be granted a title of nobility with this thing, but now he dared not have any extravagant demands. He would be satisfied with just a few silver dollars as a reward.

Zhu Ming asked, "Do you like treasure hunting? I heard that you spent seven or eight years searching for the jade seal in the river."

Wang Chongdu replied righteously: "I heard that the imperial seal was in the Sanggan River, so I vowed to find this treasure for the emperor of Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty is destined by heaven, and you should possess the treasure!"

Zhu Ming nodded in approval: "Well said. What reward do you want?"

Wang Chongdu replied: "I am very lucky to be able to share your majesty's worries. I dare not ask for any reward."

Zhu Ming said: "Although it is not the Qin Shihuang's imperial seal, it belongs to the Liao Kingdom after all. It is a great achievement to reunite the Song and Liao countries. The title of nobility is related to military and national affairs and cannot be granted casually. You have no military or political achievements, so you can only be granted the title of baron." Although it did not meet their expectations, the three were still very happy and quickly knelt down to express their gratitude.

Zhu Ming asked them to stand up and asked, "If you have any other requests, just tell me."

Li Bin said, "Your Majesty, I have read Arabian Nights and have always wanted to travel around the world. Can I be a naval officer and sail with the soldiers?"

Zhu Ming smiled: "You two want to go out to sea too?"

Gao Wenbao said: "I have parents, wife and children at home, so it is not appropriate for me to travel far. I just want to get some capital to do business."

Wang Chongdu observed the emperor's expression, secretly guessed what he was thinking, and said, "I am willing to go to sea, too."

Zhu Ming said to Wang Chongdu and Li Bin: "You will go to the navy for half a year to learn basic navigation knowledge. After half a year, I will give you a ship and some manpower. You can explore the surrounding oceans first, and then go further and further after you have enough experience. You need to write a logbook, draw a nautical chart, explore unknown islands, and do maritime trade business by the way."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Bin was overjoyed.

Wang Chongdu didn't understand what was going on and asked, "Your Majesty, is this all you are going to do?"

Zhu Ming said, "It's very dangerous to go out to sea, and your mission is very important. Taoist Master Xue Daoguang has explored the South China Sea and the waters near Japan before, so you can practice with the nautical charts he left behind. Once you have more sailing experience, you may be able to go east and cross the vast ocean to a new world."

"New world? Is it the overseas immortal palace?" Wang Chongdu became more and more confused the more he listened.

Zhu Ming asked the eunuch to bring the globe.

This globe is a semi-finished product. The land is only from Japan to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, only parts of the east coast of Africa are marked, and the islands in the South Pacific are not completely marked.

The rest is ocean.

Zhu Ming asked: "Do you know that the earth is round?"

The three of them shook their heads at the same time.

Zhu Ming said, "The earth is a sphere, called the globe, which revolves around the sun. This knowledge is learned by all the scholars who are taking the imperial examinations, and you should also learn it before you officially go out to sea. This thing in my hand is a globe, and all the countries and islands that have been discovered are marked on the globe. The blue part is the ocean, you can take a closer look."

The three of them immediately gathered around and looked at the globe again and again.

Zhu Ming pointed to the area where Australia is located and said, "With such a large sea area, how could there not be a piece of land? I guess there may be a continent there, or at least one or several large islands."

Then he pointed to North and South America and said, "It's even wider here. Isn't there any land? Maybe there are many countries there."

The three of them nodded repeatedly, thinking that what the emperor said made sense.

Zhu Ming asked again: "Do you know that Zhang Qian was sent as an envoy to the Western Regions?"

“I know.” All three of them were educated.

Zhu Ming said: "During the Western Han Dynasty, the Western Regions were like a vast ocean, and to China it was a fog. Zhang Qian cleared the fog and brought back many crops, which gave Emperor Wu of Han the news of the celestial horse. You are the Zhang Qian of the Ming Dynasty, dispelling the fog on the ocean!"

Wang Chongdu immediately bowed and said: "I will not fail in this mission!"

Li Bin also quickly expressed his opinion.

Gao Wenbao's blood boiled with excitement: "Your Majesty, I want to go to sea too."

Zhu Ming did not agree immediately, but asked: "Do you know why I don't let many people who are proficient in navigation go to explore the sea?"

The three shook their heads.

Zhu Ming said: "Exploring the sea is very hard. You may drift on the sea for months or even years. You have persisted for seven or eight years in order to salvage the jade seal and have not given up. You have also taken the initiative to go overseas to explore various countries. That is why I think you are capable of this task. Think carefully, you may die in the sea."

Gao Wenbao knelt down and said, "I will not refuse to serve Your Majesty even if it means my death!"

Zhu Ming said: "If you have wives, children and parents, you can take them to Zhejiang to settle down, and you can reunite with your family after returning."

Under the arrangement of the Ministry of Rites, all three received the title of baron and then went to Zhoushan Naval Academy. If their families were willing to move, the court would arrange for them to settle in the coastal areas of Zhejiang.

Next, Emperor Zhu issued some strange orders.

He sent envoys to various places, asking Tubo to offer gold, Dali to offer copper, Western Liao to offer jade, Annan to offer ivory, the various tribes in Mobei to offer wolf teeth, and the vassal states in Nanyang to offer gold beads, tortoise shells and gemstones...

There are also tasks in China. The Andong Protectorate needs to offer Dongzhu, the Korean Governor-General's Office needs to offer local silver, Hunan needs to offer turquoise, Sichuan needs to offer ox horns, Jiangxi needs to offer Japanese lead...

It has a bit of the flavor of Emperor Huizong of Song's "Flower and Stone Gang", but only a little bit of each item is needed.

Only Hu Anguo understood that Emperor Zhu wanted to create a new imperial seal.

Various metals will be melted together to become the dragon-shaped seal button of the jade seal. Gems of various colors will be cut and inlaid into dragon scales. Gold beads and oriental pearls will be dragon beads. Wolf teeth, ivory, ox horns, and tortoise shells will probably also be cut and inlaid on the dragon.

That will be the Ming Dynasty’s national treasure - the magic talisman!
(End of this chapter)