Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Luoyang, the imperial city.

Ju Ming ate preserved fruits with tea and asked casually: "Which of the ordained treasures do you think is real? There are no other people here, so you can say whatever you think in your heart."

Huan Guo said: "The fortune-telling treasures of Song and Liao are probably all fake."

"Why?" Zhu Ming smiled.

Huan Guo said: "In the official history, the imperial seal was destroyed due to the self-immolation of the late Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The jade seal of the Liao Kingdom suddenly appeared during the Zhenzong period of the Song Dynasty, and it was said that it was presented by Shi Jingtang. If it was presented by Shi Jingtang, how could it be Didn't you take it out earlier? It had to be hidden for decades. The imperial seal of the former Song Dynasty was nothing more than a joint effort by Zhang Dun and Cai Jing under the orders of Zhe Zong. "

Ju Ming laughed loudly: "Hu Qing is very good and willing to tell the truth."

The imperial seal of the Song Dynasty is now placed in the Ming Dynasty Palace.

Once we get the jade seal passed down from the Liao Kingdom, we'll have it all.

So Huan Guo said: "Although it is fake, it is a good thing to find it. The national seals of the two parties represent the Song and Liao Kingdoms respectively. Now they all belong to the Ming Dynasty, which just shows that the country is unified and China is rebuilt! You can take the opportunity to change the year name, return to the unified, unified Tong, Yuantong, and Hefu are all acceptable.”

Zhu Ming shook his head and said:

"The two jade seals from the Song and Liao Dynasties can be placed together in the Luoyang Palace, but I will not regard them as mandated treasures, but... trophies! As for the real jade seals from the Song and Liao Dynasties, Qin Shihuang can make them himself, why can't I ?”

"You can issue an imperial edict to tell the world, and let the "Da Ming Yue Bao" explain the whole story. It is clearly stated that the jade seal passed down by Qin Shihuang has been burned by the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The treasures of the Song and Liao Dynasties are all forgeries."

"Now that the Song and Liao dynasty treasures have been owned by the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has the responsibility and the right to recreate the imperial seal."

"The new jade seal passed down to the country does not need to be carved from a single jade stone. Jade from the Western Regions, gold from Tubo, silver from Korea, copper from Dali, black water east pearls, Nanyang gold beads, Western gems... can be smelted to smelt gold, silver and copper, and carve pans. The dragon is the seal button, the east pearl and the gold pearl are the dragon beads, and the various colored gemstones are the dragon scales.”

"This means that the four seas unite and the six directions merge into one!"

"When the new national jade seal is carved, it will be changed to: Divine Talisman."

The talisman is a sign of the emperor's order, and it can also refer to the jade seal passed down to the country.

For example, when Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty obtained a jade seal passed down from the country, he immediately changed its original name to "Yuan Fu".

Huan Guo was greatly shocked and said excitedly: "Your Majesty has a mind for the whole world, and none of my ministers can compare with it."

The obvious meaning of Ju Ming's change to the divine talisman is that the Chinese legal system was passed down from Qin Shihuang to the end of the Tang Dynasty. The Song and Liao dynasties each carved their own national jade seals. After the Ming Dynasty put away both of them, it was natural that they should re-create the national jade seals to complete and control the legal system of China.

Moreover, things from all over the world come together in China to form a seal. This national jade seal means the unification of the four seas.

This seal is born sacred and can be called a divine talisman.

As the emperor who made and first took charge of it, Ju Ming should naturally be called the "Emperor of Divine Talisman" in later generations.

The source of those jade seal materials is naturally China's core territory!

…

A month later, the Jade Seal of Liao and its three discoverers arrived at the Luoyang Palace as quickly as possible.

Ju Ming played with the jade seals of the Song and Liao Dynasties and found that they were very similar.

There are also slight differences, such as the cracks on the horns.

There are all cracks, but the cracks are different. It is difficult to control the direction of this thing.

It is estimated that some ministers in the Northern Song Dynasty saw the jade seal of the Liao Kingdom and directly imitated it after returning. It is even possible that the emperor of the Liao Kingdom took the initiative to show off the jade seal to the Song envoys to demonstrate the orthodox status of the Liao Kingdom.

Ju Ming played with the two jade seals alternately and asked the three discoverers: "Come here and see which one you found?"

Wang Chongdu and others walked over cautiously, standing there not daring to reach out and touch them. They couldn't tell the difference after looking at them from close range for a long time.

Ju Ming smiled and said: "One is from the former Song Dynasty and the other is from the Liao Kingdom. Which one do you think is true?"

The three of them were dumbfounded. They thought they had found a treasure, but they didn't expect that there was already one in the palace.

Li Bin asked boldly: "Your Majesty, is the one we found fake?"

Ju Ming laughed: "Don't be afraid, it's all true."

It's weird if it's true. It's probably all fake. It was forged by the Song and Liao countries themselves.

Wang Chongdu still wanted to be granted a title based on this thing, but now he didn't dare to ask for anything extravagant. He was satisfied with just a few silver coins.

Ju Ming asked: "Do you like treasure hunting? I heard that you have been searching in the river for seven or eight years to find the jade seal."

Wang Chongdu replied righteously: "When the common people heard that the national jade seal was in Sanggan River, they vowed to find this treasure for the emperor of tomorrow. Your majesty is destined to have the treasure of destiny!"

Ju Ming nodded in approval: "That's very good. What reward do you want?"

Wang Chongdu replied: "It is a great honor for the common people to be able to share your Majesty's worries. I dare not ask for any reward."

Ju Ming said: "Although it is not the imperial seal of Qin Shihuang, it belongs to the Liao Kingdom after all. It is a great achievement to reunite the Song and Liao Dynasties. The title is related to military affairs and cannot be awarded at will. You have no military merits or political achievements. It can only be given as a baron."

Although it did not meet their expectations, the three of them were still very happy and quickly knelt down to thank them.

Ju Ming asked them to stand up and asked, "If you have any other requests, just say them."

Li Bin said: "Your Majesty, after reading "Arabian Nights", I have always wanted to go to sea and travel around the countries. Can I become a naval officer and sail around the world with the sergeant?"

A smile appeared on Ju Ming's face: "You two also want to go to sea?"

Gao Wenbao said: "As a small family, we have parents, wives and children. It is really not suitable to travel far. We just want to get some capital for business."

Wang Chongdu, however, observed the emperor's expression, secretly figured out the emperor's intentions, and said: "The common people are also willing to go to sea."

Ju Ming said to Wang Chongdu and Li Bin: "You go to the navy for half a year to learn basic navigation knowledge. After half a year, I will give you a ship and some manpower. You can explore the surrounding oceans first, and then cross over after you gain more experience." Go further and further. You have to write logbooks, draw navigation charts, explore unknown islands, and you can also do maritime trade. "

"Thank you for your grace!" Li Bin was overjoyed.

Wang Chongdu didn't know what was going on and asked, "Your Majesty, are you just doing this?"

Ju Ming said: "It is very dangerous to go to sea, and your task is very heavy. Taoist Master Xue Daoguang has explored the South China Sea and the waters near Japan before, so you can practice with the nautical charts he left. When you gain more sailing experience, you may be able to keep going east , crossing the vast ocean and arriving at a new world.”

"New World? Is it an overseas fairy mansion?" Wang Chongdu became more and more confused as he listened.

Ju Ming asked the eunuch to bring the globe.

This globe is a semi-finished product. The landmass is only from Japan to the east coast of the Mediterranean. Africa only has part of the east coast. The various islands in the South China Sea are also incompletely marked.

The rest is ocean.

Ju Ming asked: "Do you know that the earth is round?"

The three of them shook their heads at the same time.

Ju Ming said: "The earth is a sphere, called the earth, rotating around the sun. Scholars taking the imperial examination must learn this knowledge, and you must learn it before you officially go to sea. The thing in my hand is a globe, which has been discovered The countries and islands are all marked on the globe. The blue part is the ocean. Come and take a closer look. "

The three people immediately gathered around and looked at the globe again and again.

Ju Ming pointed to the area where Australia is located: "With such a large sea area, will there be no land? I guess there may be a continent there, or at least one or several large islands."

Then he pointed to North and South America: "This place is even wider. Isn't there any land? Maybe there are many countries there."

The three of them nodded, thinking that the emperor was right.

Ju Ming asked again: "Did you know that Zhang Qian was sent as an envoy to the Western Regions?"

"I know." All three of them have read books.

Ju Ming said: "During the Western Han Dynasty, the Western Region was like a vast ocean, a fog for China. Zhang Qian cleared the fog and brought back many crops, allowing Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to have news about Tianma. You are my Zhang Qian of the Ming Dynasty, Clear the fog from the ocean!"

Wang Chongdu immediately bowed: "I will definitely live up to this mission!"

Li Bin also quickly expressed his position.

Gao Wenbao's blood boiled when he was told: "Your Majesty, the common people also want to go to sea."

Ju Ming did not agree immediately, but asked: "Do you know that there are many people who are proficient in navigation, why don't I let them explore the sea?"

The three shook their heads.

Ju Ming said: "Exploring the sea is very hard, and you may wander at sea for months, or even years. In order to salvage the jade seal, you can persist for seven or eight years without giving up, and you also offered to go overseas to explore various countries, so I feel You can take this responsibility. Think clearly, you may die in the sea."

Gao Wenbao knelt down and said: "If I can serve His Majesty, I will never give up even if I serve you!"

Ju Ming said: "If you have wives, children and parents, you can take them to Zhejiang to settle down, and you can reunite with your family after returning."

Under the arrangement of the Ministry of Rites, the three of them all received the title of baronet and immediately went to Zhoushan Naval Academy. If their families are willing to relocate, the court will arrange to send them to settle along the coast of Zhejiang.

Next, Emperor Zhu issued some strange orders.

He sent envoys to various places, asking Tubo to donate gold, Dali to donate copper materials, Western Liao to donate jade, Annan to donate ivory, Mobei tribes to donate wolf tusks, and Nanyang vassal states to donate gold beads, Tortoiseshell and precious stones…

There are also domestic tasks. The Andong Protectorate needs to donate Dongzhu, the North Korean Governor-General needs to donate local silver, Hunan needs to donate turquoise, Sichuan needs to donate horns, and Jiangxi needs to donate Japanese lead...

It has the flavor of Song Huizong's "Hua Shi Gang", but only a little bit of each item is needed.

Only Huan Guo understood that Emperor Zhu wanted to create a new imperial seal.

Various metals will be smelted together to become the dragon-shaped seal button of the jade seal. Gemstones of various colors will be cut and set into dragon scales. The golden pearl and the eastern pearl will be the dragon pearl. Wolf tusks, ivory, horns, and tortoise shells are probably also cut and inlaid on the dragon.

That will be the national treasure of the Ming Dynasty - the talisman!