The deliberations inside the palace at Bianliang had no bearing on what was happening elsewhere.
After the painting was displayed, the scene shifted. A rectangular metal plaque, inlaid with gold and silver, appeared on the screen.
A pair of hands entered the frame, carefully lifting it with silk cloth, slowly turning it over to show every detail.
The small metal card had a reddish copper base. One side featured an image etched in silver wire. The lines flowed across the warm copper surface, outlining towering buildings alive with celebration, crowded streets packed with people, and the brilliant spectacle of iron flowers bursting like silver trees. Lantern lights still drifted in the sky above.
When the card was flipped over, the other side revealed gilded characters. At the top were two neat words, "Wen Mang." Below them, in bold, sweeping strokes, read: "Three Qins in Celebration, Welcoming and Seeing Off Through the Night."
The signatures below were densely packed.
Han Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Pang Tong, Fa Zheng, Lu Su, Jian Yong, Ma Chao…
At the very end, another line in smaller characters read: "On behalf of Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, Xu Shu, and Huang Zhong, with distant respect."
It was obvious. Like the red-gold congratulatory card previously signed "Emperor Li Shimin," this small metal plaque was also a greeting card.
[Moved to tears. Truly moved to tears. For once, the signatures are not illiterate scribbles.
Just for that alone, this card deserves to be UP's Gift of the Year.
This evaluation has absolutely nothing to do with the silver-inlay-on-copper and gilded-text craftsmanship. Heaven is my witness.
Also, these signatures are way too complicated. Lu Su is even here. So where is my beloved Lord of Sun Sinwan?]
[Server Chat Log]
[QingFeng: Are you craving the Lord of Sun Sinwan, or are you just trying to farm achievements with him? Disgusting.
MoChen: But honestly, this lineup really is complicated. Feels a bit biased toward scholars over generals. Why not grab a couple of warriors from Wei?
If it were up to me, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Xu Huang, Pang De would all be solid picks. If that does not work, the younger generation like Deng Ai or Guo Huai are also good prospects. Pull them in, boost the tech tree, grind some stats, and then walk out to smack Cao Aman.
BloodFeng: That said, this lineup is not bad either. The Five Tiger Generals are already complete. Two years should be enough to flatten the realm. No need to insist on the Five Good Generals.
Honestly, best to finish things within two years. Otherwise Pang Tong, Fa Zheng, Lu Su… wow, not a single long-lived one among them.
ShadowXia: Deng Ai really is excellent though. Too bad recruiting him requires taking Xincai, and that place is hard to hold.
Actually, Deng Ai is pretty far away anyway. Let us talk about this card instead. It is really beautiful.
No kidding. Copper base, silver inlay artwork, gilded calligraphy. If this were dug out of a tomb, it would qualify as a national treasure.
A national treasure indeed, since it might reveal a hidden chapter of Three Kingdoms history… sigh, if only that were true.
Luo Guanzhong: Adaptation is not random invention. Fiction is not nonsense.
Forgot the beginning, forgot the middle, forgot the ending. Anyway, double win.]
Inside the general's residence in Han Chang'an, Lu Su found himself at a loss for what expression to wear.
Even though things had ended badly with Marquis Sun, he had still labored for him for over a decade. It was hard to speak decisively one way or another.
Fortunately, no one present seemed to notice the mention of Sun Quan. Zhang Fei was the first to shout,
"The way these future folk talk really makes my blood boil!"
Pang Tong shot him a sideways glance. "You actually understood that, Yide?"
As for the talk of short lifespans, Pang Tong did not care in the slightest.
The Pang Tong known to later generations was the Fallen Phoenix who died by a stray arrow in Yi Province. But the Pang Tong of Great Han now ranged freely across Hanzhong and Yongliang, entering and leaving battle formations with elite guards and heavy shields at his side. Fear was not on the menu.
After teasing Zhang Fei, Pang Tong turned his attention to a name that the future generation had emphasized. He thought for a moment and said,
"This Deng Ai. Had I known of him earlier, I should have searched for him in Nanyang."
As a native of Jing Province, Pang Tong was well acquainted with the local clans of Jing and the Central Plains. To his knowledge, there had been no Deng clan in Xincai of Runan.
Speaking of the Deng clan, the foremost was the Deng of Nanyang. Back in the Spring and Autumn period, Chu destroyed the state of Deng, and Deng Kuang led his clan to migrate to Nanyang. Later, during Emperor Guangwu's reign, Deng Yu emerged as one of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai, and the Nanyang Deng clan flourished even further.
After Cao Cao's defeat at Red Cliffs and his retreat north, he forcibly relocated the elite populations of Jing Province. The Deng clan of Nanyang was moved north as well, scattering across Runan. That aligned perfectly with the idea that Deng Ai would need to be recruited from Xincai in Runan.
Hence Pang Tong's sigh. Nanyang had now been reclaimed by Lord Guan, but the Deng clan had been forcibly moved away five years earlier. Deng Ai and his family were likely among them.
"If he is a worthy man, then we will work together eventually," Zhuge Liang said calmly.
He was not worried. The imperial examinations were already showing results. Once Cao's forces were eliminated and the examinations expanded further, Deng Ai would surely stand out if he truly had talent.
Thinking of Deng Ai naturally led Zhuge Liang to think of young Jiang Wei. If Deng Ai were truly recruited one day, what would it be like for the two of them to meet?
The thought left him quietly anticipating the future.
While Zhuge Liang was still lost in thought, Liu Bei hesitated slightly at the future generation's talk of a "dream team."
"Zhuge Liang, that Zhang Junyi…"
To say Liu Bei had no thoughts about Zhang He would be false. His ability to adapt on the battlefield and his steady yet flexible command were qualities Liu Bei had long taken note of.
He was not a supreme general who could topple states alone, but he more than deserved the title of a fine commander.
And yet Cao Cao had simply left him there, neither exchanging him as a prisoner nor ransoming him for grain or wealth. Liu Bei had even considered sending a secret envoy to ask Cao Pi how many jin of cane sugar it would take to redeem Zhang Junyi's wife and children.
Zhuge Liang could only smile wryly.
"If my lord has time, it would be good to visit him now and then, lest Zhang Junyi grow restless.
As for the rest… once we pass Tong Pass to the west, there will surely be changes."
After the brief discussion, everyone looked back up at the Light Screen. Seeing how the future descendant carefully padded the card with silk, yet still could not bear to part with it, Zhang Fei laughed heartily.
"As long as they like it, that is good enough."
The recent New Year had been the most memorable of Zhang Fei's life. Adequate food and warm shelter, surplus grain in the granaries, and celebrations filling the main streets.
It was then that the strategist suggested making a greeting card in imitation of the future, signed jointly by everyone. Aside from those stationed far away in Jing and Yi, every name on that card had been written by hand.
On the Light Screen, the descendant flipped the card over several more times before reluctantly placing it into a box and sealing it away.
The final item on display was a set of bottles. Through the transparent glass, a brownish-yellow liquid could be seen inside.
"This is… oil?" Zhuge Liang guessed from its appearance.
[This one is even simpler. Sesame oil. Or more precisely, traditionally pressed sesame oil.
Rich flavor, clear color, not that different from what you find on the market today.
The only thing worth noting is the raised marking on the bottle: Left Treasury Bureau, Zhenguan Year Five.
The Left and Right Treasury Bureaus of the Tang, along with the markets of the Two Capitals, were under the Court of Imperial Finances. They managed trade, stabilized prices, and oversaw the state treasury.
So anything with this mark counts as imperial supply. That said, this transparent glass bottle really does not look Tang at all. It looks more like something from a discount shop.]
[Server Chat Log]
[HanYu: Discount shop killed me. Too real.
CloudJiang: Last time the big shots sent wheat and salt. This time oil. Next time rice and flour and the illiterate one will basically be enjoying state-subsidized holidays.
PingLagXia: Why sesame oil though? Shouldn't Tang-era oil be… never mind, I do not actually know.
PixelWulin: This is actually normal. Across Han, Tang, and Song, the most common oil was sesame oil. Song records even say, "Among oils that can be eaten and burned, sesame is supreme."
Sesame came to China via the Western Regions during the Han, so it was also called hu-ma.
SwordPing: Wait, soybeans are native, right? Why not soybean oil?
PixelWulin: Ancient techniques, mostly. Even in the Qing, records say that from the same amount of raw material, rapeseed yielded eighty jin of oil, while soybeans barely squeezed out twenty-two. The difference was massive. Without modern processing, soybean oil quality was terrible. Song people complained it smelled bad and was only good for frying tofu. Yuan records even say it tasted bad and could poison you if eaten too much. It cannot compare to sesame at all.
Climate matters too. Sesame grows almost anywhere, so when the north dominated, sesame was favored. In the Southern Song, as southern development matured, rapeseed replaced sesame as the main oil crop.
Since we are on this topic, one more thing. In Ming and Qing times, improved processing boosted soybeans, and peanuts arrived. Easy to press, easy to grow, high yield. Sesame fully lost its role as an oil crop.
Where did peanuts come from again?
The Americas. Blessed land of the Americas. Time travelers know this. Control sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, and you control the key to ending famine.
Frequent time travel, really? But even with breeding barriers, the Americas are still an absurdly good place.]
Inside Ganlu Hall, silence reigned. Everyone watched Li Shimin standing before the map, trying to recall the future names of various regions.
"Ao… Ya… Ou…" he muttered, his fingers tracing west to east across the map.
"Africa… and yet it is not as good as the Americas?"
He remembered that after learning of corn, he and his ministers had speculated that the Americas lay on the opposite side of the world from Huaxia.
To reach them, one might go east past Liaodong, or else cross the Eastern Sea with ships far larger than any that existed now.
In idle moments, Li Shimin had even wondered whether the immortal isles sought by the First Emperor, the legendary Penglai, might actually be the Americas.
Unfortunately, despite ordering the Hundred Cavalry Bureau to investigate, no real news had come back. Only a few monks and Daoists trying to scam money.
On the other hand, the Elements of Geometry had already drawn the attention of Western merchants, who were probing discreetly to negotiate a price and carry it back west.
Even if it took two years, Li Shimin considered that perfectly acceptable.
Setting the thought aside, he turned back with a smile toward Du Ruhui.
"Just as Kemin said, there is indeed something to be gained."
This gift of sesame oil had been Du Ruhui's idea.
After using the iron wok, the Tang chancellor had been unable to forget it. His next concern was cooking oil.
Thus, he had taken sesame oil from the treasury yesterday and gifted it today. The result spoke for itself.
Du Ruhui clasped his hands and smiled.
"The greatest matters under heaven are nothing more than the food in the people's pots."
Fang Xuanling was already thinking ahead.
"A crop that came with sesame and can be used for oil…"
"It would be rapeseed," Zhangsun Wuji said firmly.
Seeing Fang Xuanling's slight confusion, he added, "Also called hu-cai."
Fang Xuanling understood at once, pulling the nearly forgotten crop from his memory.
Zhangsun Wuji's face still carried a trace of displeasure, residue from hearing Xu Jingzong's evaluation earlier.
After all, Wang Mang aside, no one forgot His Majesty's disdain for Sima Yi, nor the endless jokes future generations made about Jin's founding emperor and the Luo River.
In such a context, comparing someone to Sima Yi was nothing short of vicious.
Fang Xuanling could already imagine that once the meeting ended, Zhangsun Wuji would likely storm straight to Xu Jingzong's residence.
Should he follow to prevent things from escalating? Fang Xuanling pondered, though his expression remained perfectly calm.
"Lord Zhangsun is truly learned."
Zhangsun Wuji's expression softened slightly.
"It is nothing. Last year I planted crops from across the realm on my estate, hoping to assist His Majesty. Hu-cai was among them. If you need it, Xuanling…"
"That would be excellent," Fang Xuanling accepted without ceremony.
He then considered that oil research required both cultivation and pressing. The tasks were not difficult, but numerous.
Perhaps it would be best to enlist some students from the National Academy. Fang Xuanling gradually made up his mind.
Seeing that His Majesty still lingered reluctantly by the map, Fang Xuanling finally advised,
"Your Majesty, the Americas may be far beyond reach. For now, it would be better to plant hu-cai first."
After one last look, Li Shimin finally turned away. Seeing that the Light Screen had faded and was asking whether to replay, he smiled.
"As for replays, Kemin and Xuanling may decide as they see fit."
…
"Replays can be discussed later!"
In the palace at Bianliang, Zhao Kuangyin made his decision, ignoring Zhao Pu's reluctant gaze.
Zhao Pu could only comply, suppressing his regret as he wrote, stroke by stroke on the stone table, "No replay necessary."
As the strange phenomenon above the hall gradually dissipated, so too did the light in Zhao Guangyi's eyes.
Sensing that his fate was finally reaching its verdict, the Prince of Jin began to tremble uncontrollably.
"I am Your Majesty's own brother…"
"I know."
"When the Empress Dowager was still alive…"
"Close that filthy mouth of yours."
Zhao Guangyi rolled over, pressing himself flat against the floor, and finally spoke his fear in earnest.
"Brother, I do not wish…"
With a sigh, Zhao Kuangyin shook his head and gestured aside. A perceptive eunuch immediately opened the palace doors.
In the distance, among the three figures held under guard by the Imperial Army, one dressed as a eunuch dropped to his knees at once, kowtowing furiously as his shrill apologies rang out.
Another, a scholar, stood pale-faced, legs shaking but still upright.
Seeing the emperor emerge unharmed, a third figure dressed oddly charged straight toward the guards, only to be struck down instantly and pinned to the ground to prevent any desperate act.
Zhao Kuangyin remained composed. With one hand, he dragged his good brother out of the hall.
As he walked, he spoke gently.
"Why would I kill you and invite condemnation from the world? We are brothers. We should support each other."
"Since you are mad, I will care for you and never abandon you, to serve as a model of brotherly harmony for all under heaven."
It was those words, "brotherly harmony," that finally broke Zhao Guangyi. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.