Chapter 47 The Imperial Seal

On the road to Luoyang, the autumn grass turns yellow.

Liu Liang spurred his horse forward at full speed, followed by Zhao Yun and five hundred elite cavalry.

The procession stretched out in a single line, the horses' hooves pounding the fallen leaves and startling the crows foraging by the roadside.

As Liu Liang gazed at the black dots fluttering up, his thoughts drifted to that world he could never return to, thousands of miles away.

Air conditioning, hot pot, hot shower.

And that smart toilet...

Liu Liang shifted his position on the horse, hastily adjusting his posture.

This body has gradually become accustomed to the jolting on horseback, to the coarse military rations, and to rubbing the blood off its hands with sand.

But there are some things you can never get used to.

For example, before squatting down, you should first find two flat stones.

"We have to go back for this reason."

Liu Liang muttered something under his breath.

Zhao Yun, who was standing to the side and behind, heard this and asked, "What did you say, brother?"

Liu Liang waved his hand: "It's nothing, just thinking about some old times."

Bringing his thoughts back, Liu Liang began to consider the true purpose of his trip.

To welcome the emperor?

That was said to Liu Bei.

Liu Zishan didn't have such lofty ambitions, nor did he want Liu Bei to have such lofty ambitions.

If Liu Bei were to welcome the emperor, he would truly become "Imperial Uncle Liu," with legitimacy and unstoppable power.

By then, he, the "traitorous godfather," would have completely gone astray.

Therefore, the emperor must "firmly" let Cao Cao make this move.

If Cao Cao makes a good, steady, and successful exit that makes the world feel "this is how it should be," then his mission can be considered to be on track.

But having an emperor alone is not enough.

The title of emperor is a name, a banner.

But there needs to be something to "bolster courage" under the flagpole.

The Imperial Seal of the State is that genuine item.

Liu Liang shifted his position on the horse again, this time not because of pain, but because of excitement.

The Imperial Seal of the State.

The object that was carved from the He Shi Bi jade.

The eight characters "Received the mandate from Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous" have been engraved on it for over a thousand years, passed down from Qin Shi Huang to the Han Dynasty, from the Han Dynasty to the Xin Dynasty, and from the Xin Dynasty back to the Han Dynasty.

Whoever obtains it holds the key to "destiny".

In the original story, this thing was picked up by Sun Jian, who then died. Sun Ce used it to exchange for three thousand soldiers, and it eventually fell into the hands of Yuan Shu, who then declared himself emperor and died as well.

An ominous object.

But it is also priceless.

Liu Liang licked his lips.

In his previous life, he ran an antique shop and handled at least eighty or one hundred "Imperial Seals of the State".

Of course, it's all fake.

There are white marble carvings, Shoushan stone carvings, resin castings, and even a handmade replica made by a university professor using old jade material. The craftsmanship was so good that even he almost mistook it for a genuine piece.

But no one has ever seen the real thing.

I've had the chance to meet him in this lifetime.

It's not just about seeing them.

Liu Liang unconsciously rubbed his hands on the saddle a couple of times.

He wanted it.

I not only want it, I also want to keep it.

Keep it for yourself.

Once that thought popped into my head, it grew wildly like weeds, impossible to suppress.

Having completed the mission, he returned to reality, clutching the Imperial Seal of the State in his hand.

Really.

Liu Liang, who runs an antique shop, will never have to do anything for the rest of his life.

Lock this thing in a safe, and take it out to touch it every night before bed. That would make my life worthwhile.

What if I ever run out of money...

Pshaw, what do you mean you're short of money? Can you even sell this thing? Would you dare to sell it?

Not for sale, keep it.

To be passed down as a family heirloom?

As Liu Liang pondered this, he chuckled.

Zhao Yun urged his horse forward again: "Brother?"

"It's nothing." Liu Liang cleared his throat. This time he really was fine; he just wanted to laugh.

After laughing, he started to think about serious matters.

Where is the Imperial Seal of the State?

The original text says that when Sun Jian entered Luoyang, he swept away the ancestral temples and fished out the body of a palace maid from a well. She had a brocade pouch around her neck containing the imperial seal.

Now Sun Jian has fled Sishui Pass ahead of schedule, suffering heavy losses and failing to enter Luoyang.

The imperial seal should still be in that well.

As for which well it was...

Liu Liang went over that passage in his mind several times.

"Chengnan Zhenguan Well".

Zhenguan was the official office in charge of bricks, tiles, and ceramics.

A well near the Zhen official residence in the south of Luoyang.

The scope is not large, but it's not small either.

If you send five hundred riders in, they can turn the place upside down and surely find it.

What happens after you find it?

Liu Liang tightened the reins, slowing the horse down.

This is the key.

We must not make a fuss about it.

If the news of the Imperial Seal of the State were to leak out, the eighteen feudal lords could immediately turn against each other.

Yuan Shao would claim it as his, Yuan Shu would claim it as his, and Cao Cao, though he wouldn't say it, would also be thinking about it.

It's questionable whether Liu Liang and Zhao Yun's five hundred cavalrymen can even leave Luoyang alive.

So you have to take it secretly.

What happens after you take it?

Make a copy.

Liu Liang recalled the items in his bundle: a small piece of fine Lantian jade pebble, which he had brought from Zhuojun; a bag of fine sand, which he had ground along the way; a small bottle of vinegar, which he used to age the jade; and a carving knife with an extremely thin blade.

These are his signature skills, and he always carries them with him.

At the time, I was just thinking, what if it works?

Now it seems that this "what if" scenario is about to come true.

Liu Liang mentally went through the process of replicating the product.

The jade material must be similar in texture and color, and the carving style must imitate the Qin seal script. The position, spacing, and depth of the eight characters must all be in accordance with the records.

Then, to age the surface, use fine sand to remove knife marks, mix vinegar and soil to make a paste, apply it, and then wipe it off, repeating this process several times to allow the grime of years to seep into the cracks.

The key is that it can't be too perfect.

Genuine items that have been passed down for thousands of years will inevitably have bumps, wear and tear, and cracks.

Too new and too complete, and it looks fake.

As an antique shop owner, he's a professional at making fakes.

Back in the day, in order to deal with the old men who came to "appraise treasures," he studied a lot of tricks of counterfeiting.

Later, an experienced craftsman taught him that to make a fake, you need to make it seven parts real and three parts old; if it looks too real, no one will believe it.

Now this skill should be used on real products.

Liu Liang chuckled again.

Five hundred riders continued westward, their hooves thundering and dust billowing.

Luoyang is not far away.

As Liu Liang gazed at the faint outline of the city walls on the horizon, a question suddenly occurred to him:

What if there's nothing in that well?

What if the imperial seal has already been taken by someone else?

What if Sun Jian didn't enter Luoyang, but someone else did?

Liu Liang shook his head with a wry smile, trying to shake off those thoughts.

Thinking about it so much is useless.

We'll talk about it when we get there.

Taking it one step at a time is the survival rule he has learned over the years.

If you plan too far ahead, you'll easily get yourself into trouble.

Calculating in too much detail can easily lead to overlooking variables.

It's better to take this step steadily first, and the next step will naturally emerge.

Such was the Imperial Seal of the State.

The same applies to assisting Cao Cao in becoming emperor.

Liu Liang mentally calculated the score for Cao Cao.

Welcoming the emperor is the first step.

Next came stabilizing the old ministers in the court, cleaning up the mess left by Dong Zhuo, dealing with Yuan Shao's covetous gaze in Hebei, gathering the scattered troops in Luoyang and Chang'an, and so on...

He'll be busy enough.

Now that we're done with the work, it's time to think about the "next step".

At that time, Liu Zishan's replica of the Imperial Seal of the State was delivered.

Ahead, the outline of Luoyang's city walls became increasingly clear.

The setting sun, like blood, painted that patch of broken walls and ruins.

Zhao Yun spurred his horse forward and said softly, "Brother, we've arrived in Luoyang."