Inside Huagai Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang could not help feeling somewhat displeased.
"Are you telling me my Son of Heaven's sword cannot even rank first?"
Zhu Biao was long accustomed to his father's inexplicable competitive streak. He immediately analyzed the matter.
"Most likely, for later generations the Imperial Heirloom Seal rarely appears in historical traces."
As if responding to Zhu Biao's words, the light screen began explaining at the same moment.
[Lightscreen]
[When people mention proclamations of denunciation, what is the first thing everyone thinks of?
Chen Lin's proclamation denouncing Cao Cao?
Luo Binwang's proclamation denouncing Wu Zetian?
When you talk about it, it feels a lot like a notice issued before two sides go to war. But in ancient times, a proclamation was actually a type of official document or announcement issued by a feudal government. Its usual function was to summon or inform, as well as to denounce or expose crimes.
Strictly speaking, what Chen Lin and Luo Binwang wrote were not standard proclamations. Historically speaking, the most famous one should still be Zhu Yuanzhang's "Proclamation to the Central Plains" issued before the Northern Expedition, said to have been drafted by Song Lian.
The eight familiar words "Expel the Hu barbarians and restore China" come from that very proclamation.
That is a bit of a digression. But if we refer to Zhu Yuanzhang's "Proclamation to the Central Plains," we can roughly summarize the function of a proclamation.
Simply put, it is the highest-level public announcement issued by the government.
The "Proclamation to Restore Han" before us is much the same. From the opening line "A proclamation to the people of the thirteen provinces of the Great Han," it is clear that it is meant to be announced to the entire realm.
In the middle section, from "Since the traitor Dong…" to "The bandit Cao has fallen," it briefly summarizes the course of the turmoil.
Finally it returns to the key phrase "The Han house is restored, and the old capital recovered."
Hmm… why does it feel like the boss wrote a proclamation while looking at the "Memorial on the Expedition"?]
In Yecheng, Kongming smiled faintly.
This proclamation had been written by his own hand. While composing it he had been filled with emotion, and could not help silently reciting the "Memorial on the Expedition," offering a measure of remembrance for the Chancellor Zhuge who had fallen beneath the stars at Wuzhang Plains.
Thus it was inevitable that this proclamation would echo the memorial, the two answering each other across time.
That later generations were able to notice this brought Kongming a trace of quiet satisfaction.
However, the image on the light screen soon skipped past the text itself. All attention was focused on the seven seals stamped at the end of the document.
[Lightscreen]
[That said, the boss's IF scenario for the Three Kingdoms is actually pretty good.
But if you ask this illiterate guy, the most thoughtful part of this proclamation is actually the seven seals stamped at the end, the so-called "Seven Seals of Qin and Han."
Starting from the First Emperor, the emperor's "Six Seals of the Imperial Carriage" became the standard seal system for the ruler.
Simply put, the emperor possessed six seals, divided into two sets: three imperial seals and three Son-of-Heaven seals.
That makes six seals. So why do we call them the Seven Seals of Qin and Han?
Because there is also the most important one, the Imperial Heirloom Seal.
Everyone already knows the legends of the Heirloom Seal during Qin and Han, so we will keep it short.
During the Three Kingdoms period, after Yuan Shu, that big fool, was defeated and destroyed, the Inspector of Jingzhou Xu Qiu took the Heirloom Seal and presented it to Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie.
After Old Cao died, Cao Pi usurped Han. When he obtained the Heirloom Seal from Liu Xie, he carved the words "Wei receives the Han's Imperial Heirloom Seal" upon the shoulder of the seal to demonstrate Heaven's mandate.
At least according to historical sources, everything up to this point has a traceable record.
But afterward, from the Disaster of Yongjia until the Sui dynasty unified China, history records at least three different Heirloom Seals.
By the time the Sui obtained one, it was already impossible to determine whether it was genuine or false.
After the turmoil at the end of Sui, the founding of Tang acquired two Heirloom Seals.
One was said to have been seized by Yuwen Huaji after he killed Yang Guang, eventually falling into the hands of Dou Jiande, who was later killed by Li Shimin.
The other was brought back to Tang by Empress Xiao. She claimed that when Yuwen Huaji killed Yang Guang he had not obtained the seal because she had hidden it.
But after the last emperor of Tang burned himself together with the Heirloom Seal, whether real or fake, the seal disappeared entirely into history.
What remains are only legends recorded in the historical books.
Because the Six Seals system already existed, emperors of Qin and Han rarely needed to use the Heirloom Seal in ordinary documents.
The seal functioned almost as a ceremonial object of the highest order.
As a result, after its disappearance we have never been able to find a single authentic imprint of the Heirloom Seal.
The Seven Seals of Qin and Han made by the boss here can only be called an unreachable dream for archaeologists.
But if the restoration of Han truly succeeds, stamping seven seals would not be excessive, right?]
The barrage of comments from later generations followed.
[Server Chat Log]
[VoidNerd: Of course it would not be excessive. The third rise of Shu-Han is basically a rebirth, almost like founding a new dynasty.
But Han dynasty documents were not yet widely written on paper, right? Even if the Heirloom Seal was used, how would you stamp it on bamboo slips?
WarOnWifi: In Qin and Han practice, bamboo slips were rolled up, placed in a case, and tied with a cord. The case had a special recessed area to hold the knot. After tying it, clay would be applied over the knot and the seal stamped on the clay.
AlgoKid: Don't underestimate the ancients' awareness of secrecy, brother.
BanDrafted: This is also one reason Han seals are so small.
BeeNeeder: For reference, look at the clay seal impression of the "Seal of the Commandant of Yangling" currently in the Xi'an Museum. Qin and Han official seals actually had many uses.
PingBrake: Cao Pi really loved ruining things. Why carve words on the Heirloom Seal? Didn't he also say dynasties are not eternal? Hypocrite.
MarchIfpaid: Be thankful the seal didn't fall into Qianlong's hands.
If it had, Qianlong would probably say the quality of the jade was poor and declare it fake.]
Zhu Yuanzhang smacked his lips.
His earlier trace of dissatisfaction had already vanished. After all, seeing how much later generations longed for the Imperial Heirloom Seal gave him a certain sense of shared sentiment.
Although obtaining the seal would not truly change anything, it would undoubtedly make the legitimacy of the Ming's Mandate of Heaven more persuasive.
Some people who still retained feelings toward the Hu Yuan might find it easier to change sides.
Perhaps.
The faint disappointment on Zhu Yuanzhang's face was noticed by Zhu Biao.
"If Father feels concerned, I can ask the scholars to examine ancient records and read the old accounts. Perhaps we may discover clues leading to the genuine seal."
The Ming emperor was slightly tempted.
But in the end he shook his head.
"To obtain such an object would be fortunate. But to exhaust the people and waste wealth searching for it would be to mistake the root for the branch."
He paused before continuing.
"After all, even if Jieli had obtained this object, could that petty barbarian truly have swallowed the great Tang?"
In Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin wore an unmistakable sneer as he spoke with his son.
His tone was largely indifferent.
"What if it is real? What if it is false?"
"The hearts of the people determine where Heaven's mandate lies."
"If a single piece of jade could decide the Mandate of Heaven, then the one who replaced Han should have been Yuan Shu, not Cao Pi."
"The Qin dynasty created this seal, yet it perished after only two generations."
"And in the end of Tang, a descendant of my house could only burn himself together with the seal."
"What Mandate of Heaven is there in that?"
Even while sneering, Li Shimin's tone carried a rare hint of melancholy.
Li Chengqian seemed to gain some understanding.
In Yecheng, Liu Xie had already been told beforehand by Liu Bei about the general outline of future events after his own time, so the matter did not move him too deeply.
Even so, he still shook his head.
"Cao Pi usurping Han…"
He had met Cao Zihuan before.
At that time he had only seen a refined and talented man of letters. Never had he imagined that he would become the enemy responsible for destroying the dynasty.
Still less had he imagined that the Imperial Heirloom Seal he saw every day would later divide into three and undergo such a turbulent fate.
By contrast, the woman beside him, Fu Shou, seemed rather unimpressed.
"Later generations sigh at Yuan Shu's foolishness," she said.
"But judging by the matter of the seal, how many Yuan Shu-like people have there truly been?"