Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the audience was shocked!

The national jade seal!

What this object symbolizes is orthodoxy!
It is the supreme imperial power!!
It is destiny!!!
During the Han Dynasty, nothing could better represent the emperor's identity than the imperial seal. The emperors of all dynasties exercised their authority through the imperial seal.

Liu Bei's expression became serious, and he asked anxiously, "Zikun, this statement cannot be made on the basis of empty speculation, is there any basis for it?"

"The seals on these edicts appear to be the same as those on the edicts granted by the previous emperor, but there are many subtle differences. They are definitely not the imperial seals!"

Li Ji answered in a very affirmative tone.

Li Ji had read the imperial edict of conferring nobility countless times when he had nothing to do.

Thanks to Li Ji's good memory, he could remember almost every detail of the seal on the edict.

[Ordered by God, you will live forever]

Although the seals on the imperial edicts we have just obtained also have these eight characters, there are obvious differences in the details.

After all, the imperial seal is by no means an assembly line product, and the eight characters [Received the Mandate from Heaven, May You Live Long and Prosper] were written by calligrapher Li Si. It is impossible for ordinary people to replicate the indescribable charm contained in them.

Immediately, Li Ji looked at the surprised expressions in the room and simply picked up a pen and started writing on a blank piece of cloth.

After a moment, Li Ji drew the exact appearance of the imperial seal in his memory, then handed it to Liu Bei and said.

"This is the seal of the imperial throne in Ji's memory. My lord, you will know once you compare it."

Liu Bei took the cloth and the imperial edict and looked at them closely, and the difference between them was immediately apparent.

very similar!

But the subtleties make a huge difference!
Especially for those who often use seals in this era, it is easy to notice that there is something wrong.

Liu Bei involuntarily took a breath of cold air and felt like his head was about to explode on the spot.

"Could it be that the Imperial Seal is really lost?"

As a relative of the Han royal family, at this moment Liu Bei even felt as if his ancestral tomb had been dug up, and his ancestor's coffin was floating around the world and he didn't know how to find him.

"Nine times out of ten!"

Li Ji completely extinguished Liu Bei's last bit of hope, and then spoke.

"This can explain why Chen Gong was so slow to negotiate with the princes, and why he was willing to further weaken the authority of the imperial court and continue to promote the growth of local princes."

"Perhaps, when Lu Bu sealed off the North Palace, the Imperial Seal had already been lost. So during this time, Chen Gong not only kept digging deep inside the palace to find the Imperial Seal, but also needed time to urgently forge a replica."

"Even today, Chen Gongtai followed me into the Imperial Garden without leaving my side. I'm afraid he was worried that I had found the Imperial Seal in the palace."

After he finished speaking, most of the people present still hadn't fully digested the fact that the imperial seal was lost.

Emperor Liu Xie was originally an emperor supported by traitors to the country. His position was not right in terms of both emotion and logic. In addition, Liu Yu acknowledged that Liu Bian was the orthodox one, which made Emperor Liu Xie's situation quite embarrassing.

Now, the loss of the imperial seal makes it clear that Liu Xie’s title as emperor is just in name only.

Li Ji pondered for a moment, tapped his palm with the folding fan in his hand, and his thoughts quickly expanded. He was already considering the chain reaction that this incident would cause, and said.

"But, fake is fake after all!"

"I can see the problem with the seal on the imperial edict. As the direct descendants of the Yuan family, Yuan Benchu ​​and Yuan Gonglu have probably been exposed to imperial edicts since childhood. Such a crude seal may not be hidden from the two Yuans for long. I'm afraid they will react soon."

"The emperor lost his imperial seal and his authority was gone. Chen Gongtai knew that he could no longer use the little imperial power left in the Han Dynasty to suppress the local princes, so he could only choose to give up all the local power and intensify the conflicts among the princes."

In this way, some of the confusion that remained in Li Ji's mind could be completely connected.

It’s not that Lu Bu and Chen Gong have the courage to start over and rebuild the world, but they have no choice but to make this choice.

Otherwise, even Emperor Liu Xie, who did not even have the imperial seal, would have issued an edict to the local princes.

When it comes to imperial edicts that are unfavorable to them, local princes can perfectly shirk their responsibilities by saying it is a "fake edict" and they cannot find any fault with it at all.

It can be said that the loss of the imperial seal made Emperor Liu Xie no longer more than a rubber stamp and could only be regarded as a mascot.

Guo Jia, who quickly calmed down, pointed out the key point and said, "Where did the imperial seal go? Could it be taken to Chang'an by the remnants of Dong's gang?"

"will not!"

Li Ji was the first to deny this statement.

"The one who controls the Xiliang Army now should be Li Ru. With Li Ru's wisdom, he must know that this item is a hot potato for the Xiliang Army. If he really takes this item away, it will undoubtedly be a way to his death."

The reputation of the Xiliang Army was already a rock in the entire Han Dynasty, and besieging the Xiliang Army was almost becoming a part of political correctness.

Under such circumstances, if the Xiliang army dared to steal the imperial seal, it would be like shouting on the world channel: Come and fight me if you are a real man! Whoever defeats me and takes back the imperial seal will be the one who is destined to succeed!
Not to mention whether the allied princes would turn green with envy on the spot and continue to march westward to attack the Sanfu area.

At least Liu Yan and Liu Biao would definitely come out in full force when they learned that the imperial seal was in the Three Auxiliary Regions. Liu Xie's accession to the throne was not legitimate, and the imperial seal fell into the hands of some Han royal family members who had long harbored ambitions. It was almost like the four words "heaven's will" were written on him - it was the will of heaven!
"If the imperial seal was not taken away by the Western Liang army and is not in the hands of the emperor, where would it be?" Guo Jia asked with some confusion.

Li Ji narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly.

"If my guess is correct, it is neither in the hands of the Xiliang Army nor in the hands of the current emperor, so it is very likely in the hands of Sun Wentai."

"Hmm? Why is it in Sun Wentai's hands?"

Liu Bei asked in great surprise, and the others also looked very confused.

"It's simple. Apart from Lu Bu's Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, Sun Wentai was the only one among the allied princes who regularly delivered food into the palace." Li Ji replied.

Li Ji didn't know whether this could be considered a kind of historical revision, or whether Sun Jian was destined to have some connection with the imperial seal.

But the reason why Li Ji was so sure was that after eliminating all impossible answers, the only answer fell on Sun Jian.

"Sun Wentai is a loyal and righteous man, how could he do such a thing as hiding the imperial seal?"

Liu Bei frowned slightly, somewhat unconvinced that Sun Jian would do such a thing.

Li Ji thought for a moment and said, "Whether it is or not, the lord invites Sun Wentai to the mansion to test it out, and he will have the answer..."

After a pause, Li Ji continued.

"Furthermore, once this imperial seal is leaked, in the troubled times, who knows how many people will claim to be kings and how many will claim to be emperors. It will be a disaster rather than a blessing for Sun Wentai himself."

Liu Bei nodded and responded.

"Zikun is right. I will invite Sun Wentai to my house for a chat. If Sun Wentai really got this item by accident, I should persuade him to return it to Your Majesty for both public and private reasons."

……

at the same time.

In the mansion where Sun Jian lived, Sun Jian, who had returned with the imperial edict granted by the emperor at the court meeting, was spreading out the edict on the table, and then carefully taking out the square object wrapped in layers of cloth from the secret compartment.

As Sun Jian opened the wrapped cloth layer by layer, what was revealed was a jade seal that was five inches in diameter, with five intersecting dragons on the top, revealing its ancient and majestic appearance.

Looking at the imperial seal in front of him, Sun Jian swallowed subconsciously, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

Immediately, Sun Jian held up the jade seal with both hands, gently stamped it on a piece of blank cloth, and stamped it: "I am appointed by Heaven, and I wish you a long and prosperous life!"

Looking at those eight big characters, Sun Jian's whole body was shaking with excitement. Then he tremblingly picked up the seal on the edict he brought back for comparison.

Compared with the authentic seal of the imperial court, the seal on the edict appears so crude and unbearable, totally lacking in the ancient charm.

"Really...it really is the Imperial Seal!"

Even though he had guessed it countless times in his mind, Sun Jian, who had never actually seen the imperial seal, was finally completely confirmed.

If you receive orders from Heaven, you will live a long and prosperous life!
At this moment, these eight words were echoing in Sun Jian's mind.

Destiny is mine!

Destiny lies with me!

I am a descendant of Sun Wu, and a descendant of the State of Chu. In the past, Liu Bang defeated the Overlord of Chu and seized the world. Today is not the time for me to take back the world for the people of Chu!
The more Sun Jian thought about it, the more excited he became, and even his breathing became noticeably heavier.

Suddenly, the door that Sun Jian had closed was suddenly pushed open. Sun Jian subconsciously picked up the cloth and covered the imperial seal with it. He pulled out the sword at his waist and shouted.

"Who?"

"My lord, it's me."

The person who appeared in front of Sun Jian was Zu Mao.

This made Sun Jian's expression relax a lot instantly.

As one of Sun Jian's most loyal generals, it was Zu Mao who found the imperial seal in the palace granary and then handed it to Sun Jian.

However, Sun Jian still spoke with a hint of displeasure. "Darong, didn't I ask you to wait outside the door? Why are you barging in without reason?"

"My lord, Uncle Liu sent someone to deliver a message, asking you to go to Uncle Liu's mansion to discuss important matters." Zu Mao replied respectfully.

"Liu Xuande?"

Sun Jian murmured something, his heart subconsciously tightened, and he instinctively made a gesture to protect the imperial seal.

The sense of guilt that arose spontaneously made Sun Jian feel resistant and alert.

However, after Sun Jian pondered for a while, he felt that only four loyal generals under his command knew that Zu Mao had obtained the imperial seal.

Moreover, under Zu Mao's suggestion, all other people who might have witnessed the imperial seal, even his personal soldiers, were dealt with by Sun Jian, and no one else would know about it. (End of this chapter)