There are clear records in the history books of the Han Dynasty that the emperor had seven-square jade seals.
The six seals actually used are white jade and Chihu buttons, each with different functions.
Emperor's seal: used to seal general edicts, such as paying homage to officials below the Third Duke.
The Emperor's Seal: It is used to seal edicts issued to princes and kings, and is also used to recruit soldiers from counties and countries.
Emperor's Seal: This seal seals the edict recruiting ministers. This seal is also used for general edicts to send troops.
The Seal of the Emperor: used to seal edicts given to foreign leaders such as the Xiongnu Chanyu.
The emperor's seal: an edict used to seal foreign countries or recruit their leaders.
Emperor's Seal: Used to seal edicts issued by recruiting foreign soldiers or by ghosts and gods from heaven and earth.
The rule of jade seals is that the emperor's seal governs the internal affairs of the dynasty, and the imperial seal governs foreign affairs.
The imperial seal will not be used to seal imperial edicts, but is a symbol of imperial power and heavenly authority.
According to the "Historical Records: The Chronicles of the First Emperor of Qin", when Liu Bang's army forced Xianyang, "Zi Ying was tied around the neck to form a chariot, with a white horse and a plain chariot, bearing the emperor's seal and talisman, and descended to the side of the Zhi Road." This was where the Qin Dynasty came to an end.
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This "First Emperor's Seal" was acquired by Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and designated as the imperial seal. After the new emperor succeeds to the throne, he must first accept this seal before the throne can be recognized by his subjects.
It is widely rumored that the national jade seal was made from He's jade, which is a false rumor. It is said that the national seal was carved from white jade in Lantian, Shaanxi Province. The words "Ordered by heaven, you will live forever" are engraved on the jade seal.
Wei Hong, a scholar in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, recorded in his "Old Yi of the Han Dynasty": "Before the Qin Dynasty, gold, jade, and silver were used as square-inch seals. Since the Qin Dynasty, the emperor only called the seal, and he also used jade, so no one else could use it. The jade came out of Lantian Mountain.
The title is Li Si Shu."
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the "Jade Seal Genealogy" written by Ji Sengzhen, a native of Qi in the Southern Dynasties, recorded: "It is said that the imperial seal was carved by Qin Shihuang when he first established the world. The jade came out of Lantian Mountain and was written by Prime Minister Li Si."
Shen Yue, a native of Liang in the Southern Dynasties, recorded in "Book of Song. Rites of Passage": "In the early days, Emperor Gaozu entered the Pass and obtained the Lantian Jade Seal of the First Emperor of Qin."
During the Luoyang Palace Incident, both the northern and southern palaces were in chaos, and the jade seals passed down to the country disappeared without a trace. When Dong Zhuo and Yuan Wei supported Liu Xie, there were only six remaining seals.
Now no one knows where the Chuanguo Jade Seal is, and Liu Xiang is not sure either. He only remembers that the "Three Kingdoms·Wu Zhi·Sun Jian Biography" records: In the well of Zhenguan in the south of Jianjun City, people went into the well to find the Han Chuanguo Seal.
I don’t know if it’s right or not, so I say I have to try my luck.
It's not that he wants to use this thing to become emperor. Even if he catches it, he won't make it public. The passing of the national seal can only be the icing on the cake. It will only be a prop to increase legitimacy when he has the strength to ascend the throne.
Rested overnight near the Yellow River breach, packed a few days of rations, and headed south on horseback.
There was no need to stop and go on the way, and there was not much luggage. We arrived at the ruins of Luoyang in the afternoon.
This is the second time he has come to Luoyang. This giant beast entrenched on the bank of Luoshui River once brought him great psychological pressure. Now, it looks like a corpse lying on the wasteland, its flesh and blood has rotted away.
All that was left was a few broken bones, left to be beaten by wind and rain.
The rammed-earth city wall had been burned and washed away by floods. It had collapsed in many places and was covered with weeds and vines. The majestic building, which was more than five feet high, no longer had the majesty and magnificence it once had.
Through the gaps in the city wall, you can see that the city is also overgrown with grass. The pavilions and pavilions of the past are no longer there. You can only imagine their elegance from the hills and grass.
The walls of the North and South Palaces are still standing, but the majestic palaces that used to be visible from more than ten miles away have disappeared without a trace.
This place has become the home of wild foxes and cunning rabbits.
Everyone was silent. The capital of the Han Dynasty had become so dilapidated, and there was a sense of sadness lingering in their hearts. No one except the destructive maniac could be happy.
"Let's go into the city and have a look. I haven't visited Luoyang yet."
Liu Xiang patted Chi Tu's neck and walked into the city through the gap in the collapsed city wall.
The mainly wooden building had experienced a fire and nothing was left. Instead, the stone avenue, although overgrown with grass and covered with mud, stubbornly showed its existence.
As we walked along the road, we saw birds, rats and rabbits from time to time, fleeing in panic. The pile of ruins was indeed nothing interesting to see. After taking a few glances at the North Palace, we headed towards the South Palace.
This is his destination.
Zhenguan Well is located in the southeast corner of the South Palace. It took me a long time to find it. The well mouth is six feet square, the well platform is less than half a person high, and it is a polygonal stone platform with twelve sides.
I leaned forward and looked down. It was dark inside and I couldn't see any water. It might be a dry well, or the water might be too deep and the sky was not good to see clearly.
Thanks to the brick and stone paving in both the northern and southern palaces, they are much cleaner than outside the palace. Otherwise, I would not know where to find the Year of the Monkey and the Moon of the Horse.
"Lord, are you looking for this well?" Zhao Jing asked doubtfully.
Because it was getting dark soon, Liu Xiang felt a little impatient and failed to conceal his true intention. If he had known it, he would have asked Su Wei to look for him together. However, he did not have enough energy to cultivate his energy and the city was not deep enough.
He reflected on himself.
In order to fool me, I had to make up a lie: "I had a dream some time ago. Someone wanted to give me something. Before I could finish speaking, he jumped into the well. The dream was not clear. I only remembered that I was in Nangong.
, it wasn’t until I saw this wellhead that I realized I had some impression.”
The Han people are superstitious and believe deeply in the interpretation of dreams, prophecies, and the rhetoric of gods and ghosts. Zhao Jing is a senior superstitious person who wants to "ascend to the heaven" with his lord.
As soon as he heard this, he immediately became energetic and asked enthusiastically: "Master, shall I go down and take a look?"
"Don't worry, I don't know what's in the well? It will be dangerous if you go down hastily." Liu Xiang stopped him. Who knows if there are poisonous snakes and insects in it, and he doesn't know if there is miasma in it, or whether there is enough oxygen.
If you go down, you will easily die inside.
He turned around and said: "Make an oil lamp, put it in the wooden cage, and go down and have a look."
The soldier carried grease with him to maintain his weapons and armor, took a hemp rope as a wick, found a wooden bowl as a lamp, broke off branches, and whittled boards to make a simple four-corner cage.
It becomes a lighting tool for exploring the bottom of a well.
In fact, if you weren't afraid of causing a fire and burning the jade seal, you could just throw a torch down.
A cage with thick wooden boards was added on top, an oil lamp was placed inside, the fire was turned on, a rope was tied, and the cage was lowered to the bottom of the well.
It's not deep, only about four feet or so. I couldn't see any water in the dim light, so I don't know if it was originally a dry well or if it was blocked later.
I knocked on the wall of the well with a spear pole for a while, but there was no big movement. It seemed to be quite safe.
"Go down and take a look, pay attention to safety."
"only."
Zhao Jing had long been feeling itchy and unbearable, so he tied a rope around his waist and jumped down from the wellhead. He didn't want to climb up. It would save him a lot of effort if he could go down with him.
Several guards carefully went down the rope. Zhao Yun had already mobilized manpower to guard the surroundings, and sentries were also arranged at high places. He didn't know what the Lord wanted to take, but this was the palace, and no matter what it was, it couldn't be underestimated.
Liu Xiang was at the mouth of the well, leaning forward to observe carefully. Dian Wei, who was beside him, shouted into the well in disgust: "Hurry up and wait. If you are afraid, come up. Someone else will go down and have a look."
He was particularly curious about what would be inside the well, which would be worthy of his lord running to the palace in Luoyang to salvage it.
Shi A also glanced into the well from time to time, he was also curious.
The well was not deep, and soon it reached the bottom. Zhao Jing's voice came up along the wall of the well: "The dry well is so stinky, throw down a wet linen cloth."
His request was quickly met, and the search for the bottom of the well soon yielded results.
"A skeleton was found, as well as a red lacquered box."
"Throw a sack down." Liu Xiang ordered the guards beside him, then turned to the well and shouted: "Bring them all up."
Things were uneventful. After a while, both Ma Bao and Zhao Jing returned to the ground.
Liu Xiang took the cleaned red lacquer wooden box, which was a palm-sized cube and heavy. When he opened it, he found a seal wrapped in yellow silk, made of white jade, five inches in diameter, with five dragons on the New York intersection, and one dragon.
If the horn is missing, replace it with gold.
Turning it over and looking at it, there are eight insect and bird seal characters engraved on the front: "I have been ordered by heaven to live long and prosperous".
The national seal of Han Dynasty!
Liu Xiang put away the jade seal, turned around and ordered: "Today's events must not be told outside!"