Chapter 62: The Jade Seal

  From Luoyang to Chang'an, the road is not far, but it requires climbing mountains and crossing rivers. Along the way, we pass through Mianchi, Hangu Pass, Tongguan, and follow the Yellow River and Wei River westward for more than 600 miles. The rear team led by Long Fei are all high-ranking officials, who have never experienced such a long journey before, and they start complaining after walking just a few steps. Some old ministers of the Han Dynasty even scold Long Fei loudly, pointing at his nose. Long Fei endures all this.

  Just past the Shangshu Pingshi Zheng Gongyi, Chen Fan, Dou Wu, He Kan, Wu Chushi and other senior officials gathered together to ask Long Fei for wine and meat on the grounds of hardship on the way. When Dong Zhuo left, there was not much grain and grass left, and tens of thousands of troops returned from Hu Lao Guan. Rationing these grains may be able to hold on until Chang'an, let alone wine and meat. As for Zheng Gongyi's request, Long Fei ignored it for the first time, but unexpectedly these people became more and more entangled with more people making trouble.

  Zheng Gongyi acted as if he were a senior official of the great Han dynasty, constantly bringing up the previous emperor and ancestors to discuss matters, which made Long Fei feel annoyed. So, with a swift motion, he chopped Zheng Gongyi down to the ground in front of all the officials. Looking at the precious sword still dripping with blood in Long Fei's hand, looking at Zheng Gongyi who was lying on the ground twitching from time to time, the ministers suddenly became extremely quiet.

  "Tigers not showing their might, you think you're sick cats? Must someone die before you're satisfied?" Long Fei held up his treasured sword, eyes gleaming with ferocity: "From today on, there will only be two meals a day. Grain will be distributed by household, not by headcount. Those who bring hundreds of servants, you'll have to solve your own food problems, I don't have the obligation to support these masters for you! Also, every day we must march at least 50 miles. Anyone who causes trouble will become your example! Scram!"

  After Zheng Gongyi's death, the officials became much quieter, following the soldiers' orders every day, marching and stopping at will, with Long Fei in charge. No one dared to make trouble again, and they proceeded smoothly to Chang'an.

  On this day, just as they were about to enter the Hangu Pass, Xu Shu found Long Fei and pulled him aside, saying in a low voice: "There's news from above! Another new task has arrived!" As he spoke, he handed a bamboo slip to Long Fei. Long Fei rolled his eyes: "Read it out, I'm illiterate!"

  "It's likely that Sun Jian found the jade seal in the ruins of Luoyang and wants to take it back!" Xu Shu paused for a moment: "The Emperor is extremely dissatisfied with our assassination of Sun Jian, if we can't retrieve the jade seal this time, you and I will be the ones to suffer!"

  Upon hearing the two words "Jade Seal", Long Fei suddenly remembered. Whether it was in the Records of the Three Kingdoms or the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there were accounts of it. Sun Jian had discovered the Jade Seal in a dry well within the imperial palace and kept it hidden without reporting it. Unexpectedly, someone reported it to Yuan Shu, and as a result, they almost came to blows. "Jade Seal?" Long Fei thought for a moment before suddenly asking Xu Shu: "Isn't the Jade Seal just a piece of jade? What do we want it for? We can't even eat it!"

  Xu Shu said, "You don't need to ask more about these things. The emperor has his own reasons for doing so. Now Sun Jian and the others are still in Luoyang. If they wait until they all return to their respective fiefs, it will be even harder to deal with."

  "What do you think we should do? Do you have any good ideas?" Long Fei looked at Xu Shu.

  Xu Shou said: "Aren't you the most powerful? You single-handedly robbed the Allied Army's grain, this time as usual, enter Sun Jian's camp and find the jade seal to take it out, isn't that done?"

  "It's easy for you to say, why don't you go?" Long Fei glared at Xu Shu: "That's risking one's life!" He turned and walked away.

  The jade seal is not just one piece, from the Qin Dynasty onwards, the special name for the emperor's seal was "Seal", and it was specially made of jade, so it was called "Jade Seal". There are six Jade Seals, namely "Emperor's Seal", "Emperor's Traveling Seal", "Emperor's Letter Seal", "Son of Heaven's Seal", "Son of Heaven's Traveling Seal" and "Son of Heaven's Letter Seal". In addition to these six, there is another one that is not among the six, which is the "Heirloom Jade Seal".

  "The Heirloom Seal of the Realm" also known as "The Imperial Seal", was a seal passed down through generations of emperors after Qin, and was carved under the order of Qin Shi Huang. It is four inches square, with five dragons intertwined on its top, and has eight characters written by Li Si: "Received the Mandate from Heaven, Long Life and Eternal Prosperity". This served as a symbol of the divine right to rule and legitimacy of the imperial power. Later generations of emperors considered obtaining this seal as a sign of their destiny, and treated it with reverence as a national treasure. Legend has it that possessing the seal meant "Receiving the Mandate from Heaven", while losing it meant "The End of One's Fate". Those who ascended to the throne without this seal were ridiculed as "White Board Emperors", appearing weak and being despised by the people. This led to many competing for the treasure, causing the Heirloom Seal to change hands repeatedly, circulating in China for over two thousand years. In the end, it vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind, making one sigh with regret.

  At the end of Qin, Liu Bang led his army into Xianyang first. The last king of Qin, Ziying, presented the imperial jade seal to Liu Bang. After Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty and ascended to the throne, he wore this imperial jade seal, known as the "Han Imperial Seal". Later, the jade seal was stored in the Changle Palace, becoming a symbol of imperial power. At the end of the Western Han, Wang Mang usurped power, and Emperor Liu Ying was only two years old. The jade seal was managed by Empress Dowager Huo Yuan. Wang Mang ordered An Yang Hou Wang Shun to force the empress dowager to hand over the jade seal. When the empress dowager angrily threw the jade seal on the ground, one corner of the jade seal was broken off and later repaired with gold, leaving a flaw.

  After Wang Mang's defeat, the Jade Seal changed hands several times and eventually fell into the possession of Emperor Guangwu of Han Liu Xiu, who passed it down to the emperors of Eastern Han. During Emperor Shao's reign, the Ten Eunuchs created chaos, and Liu Bian fled without taking the Jade Seal with him. When he returned to the palace, he found that the Jade Seal was missing. Unexpectedly, it had fallen into a dry well, where Sun Jian obtained it.

  At night, when everyone was resting, Long Fei gathered everyone together and told them about the jade seal. Everyone was shocked. The imperial jade seal is a symbol of the emperor, but Sun Jian hid it without reporting it, which shows that this Sun Jian is not as loyal to the king and patriotic as rumored. Since we know that the jade seal is in Sun Jian's hands, there are only three ways to get it back: steal, rob or cheat.

  Jia Yu smiled slightly and said: "This is not necessarily so, I have another plan, called Ji!"

  "What's wrong?"

  Jia Xu said, "The Imperial Seal of the State is a divine object, legend has it that whoever possesses it will be granted the Mandate of Heaven. If so, I suppose there are others among the lords who have such intentions, not just Sun Jian alone!"

  "What a wonderful plan! Xu Shu clapped his hands in delight: "In order to seize the jade seal, they will inevitably attack each other. At that time, we will have an opportunity! I'll go and arrange for someone to spread the news that Sun Jian has obtained the imperial jade seal."

  Xu Shu walked away with a smile. Long Fei looked at Jia Yu and said, "Wen He! You're not being honest! He's already gone, what's your next move?"

  Jia Yu smiled: "Nothing much, to put it bluntly, it's just stealing the dragon and phoenix! Whoever gets the Imperial Seal of the Abdicated Emperor will have the Mandate of Heaven on their side. Does the master not have this idea?"

  "I? I don't believe those things!" Long Fei shook his head: "I believe in one sentence, whoever wins the hearts of the people will win the world. If a broken stone is so powerful, how could Qin State be destroyed and why would Great Han become like this today? Let them take it if they want to, I won't join in on this commotion!"

  "Right! Big brother is right!" The crowd nodded in agreement. Long Fei's subordinates were all from commoner backgrounds, so they knew what the common people wanted. This speech by Long Fei was easy to understand, and even Dian Wei nodded repeatedly: "Boss, I, Old Dian, support you!"

  Jia Xun nodded: "Since that's the case, then let's sit back and watch the battle of the tigers, and see whose hands the Imperial Seal will finally fall into!"

  The news had hardly gone out when the Allied Army's camp was stirred. Yuan Shu detained Sun Jian's family under false pretenses, forcing Sun Jian to hand over the Imperial Seal. At the same time, Yuan Shao sent his trusted general Zhou Xin as the Governor of Yuzhou, taking away Sun Jian's territory. Liu Biao of Jingzhou dispatched General Huang Zu to garrison at Yiyang, cutting off Sun Jian's retreat route. The three lords joined forces to push Sun Jian into a desperate situation.

  Cheng Pu said: "Your Excellency, we have no way out now. This jade seal is an unlucky object, it's better to abandon it!"

  "Absolutely not!" Huang Gai said: "The jade seal is the will of heaven, knowing it has the effect of getting the world under control, this is the auspicious sign from above, absolutely cannot be abandoned. Don't worry, my lord, we will definitely protect you completely."

  Sun Jian nodded: "This place is not suitable for a long stay, I want to return to Changsha to guard the danger and wait for the opportunity, what do you think?"

  "What about his mother and younger sister?" Sun Ce asked.

  Sun Jian said: "Yuan Shu only wants the jade seal, and before he gets it, he won't do anything to your mother. Once we find an opportunity, we can rescue them."

  Han Dang said: "I heard that Liu Biao sent Huang Zu to ambush us at Yiyang, if we don't have Yuan Shu's grain and fodder, it will be difficult for us to break through."

  "What a joke! There's no place in the world that I, Sun Jian, cannot get through!" Sun Jian gritted his teeth: "I didn't even put Huang Zu in my eyes, when I'm forced to, I'll attack Xiangyang and take his Jingzhou."

  Although Sun Jian and Yuan Shu had fallen out, after all, Sun Jian was still one of Yuan Shu's generals. If he wanted to leave, he should bid farewell to Yuan Shu. When they arrived at Yuan Shu's large tent, the high-ranking generals under Yuan Shu were divided into two factions, and there were hundreds of guards surrounding the tent, with a solemn atmosphere that was slightly murderous. As they approached the entrance of the tent, General Zhang Yun stopped Sun Jian and his men, indicating that they should remove their swords. Sun Jian had no choice but to remove his sword before he could enter.

  "Sun Jian, you are so bold!" As soon as they met, Yuan Shu immediately shouted loudly: "Privately hiding the jade seal, this is a serious crime. Hand it over quickly, and I will speak beautifully on your behalf to the Emperor to pardon your crime!"

  Sun Jian said calmly and slowly: "General Zu, what are you talking about? I have never seen any jade seal, where does the crime of private storage come from?"

  Qiao Feng coldly smiled and said: "Sun Jian, don't try to deny it anymore. Someone has already told the master about this matter in detail. Do you still remember the dry well of Luoyang?"

  "Who dares to frame me? Bring General Cao out and confront him!" Sun Jian thought, that day in the imperial palace, apart from his own men, there were indeed some soldiers. Could it be that someone had really informed on him? But even if he died, he couldn't admit it.

  "Bold Sun Jian, still refusing to admit defeat even now! Come, take him down!" With a single order from Yuan Shu, several guards rushed forward. Sun Ce seized the opportunity and suddenly made his move, grabbing the wrist of one of the guards, flipping it over, pulling him close, and swiftly drawing out his sword, holding it to his throat. Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and others also responded in kind, snatching several weapons and standing guard beside Sun Jian. Sun Jian was known as the "Fierce Tiger of Jiangdong", and Yuan Shu knew his reputation all too well - he had ordered his men to be on high alert outside, fearing an attack, but didn't think his own people would be a problem. Now, with their opponents holding weapons in this great tent, taking his head would be as easy as turning one's hand over.

  "Haha... " Yuan Shu laughed and said: "Oh dear! General Sun, why must you be so serious? I was just asking a question, put down your weapons! Put them down!"