Chapter 59: Reclaim the Imperial Seal! Why does the seal glow?

"Da da da--"

At this moment, a secret agent from the Imperial Guard suddenly came to report: "Commander-in-chief, there are five ruffians hiding in a cave one mile away from Xuanyuan Pass!"

"???"

Zhuque, who was giving the order to pursue, was stunned for a moment, then frowned and guessed: "These people don't think that the most dangerous place is the safest place?!"

Zhang Liao asked, "Do we need to send troops to surround him, capture him alive and torture him?"

Zhuque thought about it, then shook his head and said:

"We, the Jinyiwei, will take action!"

……

Xuanyuan Pass is located near Songshan Mountain, which is the eastern extension of the Qinling Mountains. There are also branches of the Qinling Mountains such as the Funiu Mountains nearby. The cliffs on both sides are rugged, the mountains are majestic and dangerous, and the roads are winding.

In this kind of terrain, nearly a hundred bandits fled in all directions, and even the army would have a hard time finding them, like looking for a needle in a haystack. Not to mention that they didn't know who was carrying the imperial seal.

One mile away from Xuanyuan Pass, it is where the Funiu Mountains and the remnants of Mount Song are connected. In a cave formed by the angle of a cliff, five gangsters who are closely related to each other are hiding here, holding their breath.

One of them rested his head on the quiver and listened attentively. It worked like a stethoscope, transmitting vibrations from far away to the ear, making them alert immediately.

There was another person wrapped in grass, like a chameleon, conducting reconnaissance at a high point beside the cave. The other three were not idle either, they took turns to rest and recuperate, ready to attack at the slightest sign of trouble.

Written in the dirt beside their feet were the phrases they used to communicate.

For example, "Is this place too close to the enemy? I'm afraid there is a risk of being exposed?", "This is the principle of darkness under the lamp!", "The most dangerous place is the safest place."

These people were indeed very cautious, not even daring to make any sound. They communicated by writing on the ground in an attempt to minimize the risk of exposure.

"Da da da--"

At this time, the sound of footsteps was heard, which immediately entered the quiver, alerting the people who were listening. They sent a message by hitting stones, and awakened the three people who were gathering their strength.

The person who was watching from outside wrapped in grass also crawled back to the cave like a turtle and quickly wrote on the ground: "Enemy troops are approaching, not many!"

"Should I go or stay?"

"Let's wait and see!"

What these people write seems to be underworld jargon, just like cursive writing. After a few waves, a sentence is formed. It is not much slower than speaking and can also reduce the risk of exposure.

Finally, after communication, everyone chose to wait and see!

But at this time, the five of them were observing together, and if there was anything wrong, they would flee directly!
"Da da da--"

The footsteps approached, and soon the sound of fighting was heard.

Xuanwu, disguised as "Murong Hu", was being chased by the Jinyiwei. He was bleeding and seriously injured. Not far from where the five people were hiding, he was chased again and a fight broke out between the two sides.

"Hahaha, I won't change my name, it's Murong Hu! Eighteen years later, I'm a hero again!!!"

Facing the siege of the Jinyiwei, Murong Hu fought bravely and even "killed" several Jinyiwei at the last moment. Suddenly, only two or three Jinyiwei were left to surround him.

in the cave.

After hearing this, the five people lowered their voices and asked, "It's Murong Hu, do you want to help?"

"Keep an eye on it!"

'Murong Hu', who was not far away, had killed two Jinyiwei, but in the fight, he was also slashed twice by Jinyiwei and was kicked away, flying towards the cave of five people.

"..."

The five people could no longer observe because Murong Hu was kicked directly into the cave where they were hiding.

"You, it's you guys!!!"

After Murong Hu finished speaking, he spat out a mouthful of blood, then said weakly: "Don't worry about me, just run!——"

"There's an ambush!!!"

The Jinyiwei outside immediately discovered the five people and retreated immediately. While being on high alert, they blew the communication horn.

"Let's retreat!!!"

"I'll carry him!"

The five men immediately had a clear division of labor, and did not abandon the injured soldier Murong Hu. They were still loyal and would not let their fellow Taoists die.

Murong Hu asked weakly, "Has the seal been sent out?"

"There was an accident!"

These people only said these few words and then shut up.

The long journey was very exhausting, so there was no time for communication. The strong man carrying Murong Hu was already out of breath.

As a last resort, they had to replace players halfway.

Murong Hu didn't want to drag them down, so he said weakly, "Put me down, I can also be used as bait to lure them away!"

"Are we such treacherous people?"

"If we leave you behind, we will be laughed at by the heroes of the martial arts world. How can we survive in the martial arts world in the future?!"

"We, the heroes of the outlaws, can die in battle, but we must not lose our loyalty!"

"..."

These people just want to save face and suffer in vain!

This seemed to be their weak spot. Although they were already out of breath after running wildly, they still retorted angrily, as if Murong Hu was humiliating them!
Murong Hu asked weakly: "Where is my elder brother? I am really sorry to trouble you... ahem... just hand me over to my elder brother... ahem..."

"We don't know either."

"Just in case, we fled in all directions. No one knew where we were fleeing to. This was to avoid the risk of being captured alive and exposed."

"..."

In this way, Xuanwu, disguised as "Murong Hu", lay on their backs, waiting for the opportunity, pretending to cough weakly while trying to obtain intelligence from them.

After all, Xuanwu had to disguise himself as "Murong Hu". And at that time, Murong Hu was already dead, but he said a few words before his death, which made Xuanwu barely able to disguise himself.

But the only thing we know about Murong Hu's life is that he and Murong Long are brothers, that he made a name for himself in Yangzhou, and that he was attached to Yuan Shu. Nothing else is known, so Xuanwu must perfect the character of the pretender.

This is the only way to achieve perfection!

After making sure that the imperial seal was not with them, Xuanwu suddenly felt that these people were of no use.

"kill!--"

Xuanwu deliberately left clues for the Jinyiwei to track down. The Jinyiwei followed the traces and attacked him from both sides, arriving later than others.

"The principle of darkness under the lamp is still unreliable!"

These people can be called heroes of the martial arts world. After they put down the Xuanwu, they turned their backs and said, "Don't worry, we will definitely die before you!"

"As a man, you must be loyal! In the underworld, you must be loyal even more!"

"..."

Xuanwu wanted to ask, why are you following Yuan Shu, a guy with no future? Wouldn't it be better to abandon the dark and join the light and follow His Majesty?
After probing along the way, Xuanwu was suddenly deeply impressed by the "face-saving" and "loyal" nature of these people in the martial arts world!
After thinking about it, Xuanwu, who was originally preparing to stab in the back, decided to change his plan from "beheading" to "capturing alive".

Under the encirclement of the Jinyiwei and with Zhuque's personal participation in the battle, the six men were immediately captured alive, put into prison vans, and escorted to the capital.

On the way, the Jinyiwei deliberately separated Xuanwu. Zhuque approached and asked in confusion: "Why didn't you just stab them in the back and finish them off?"

"During our time together, I discovered that these people are very loyal. Perhaps I can use them as bait to lure the fish into the trap!"

Xuanwu gave his reason for changing his plan, "If we mobilize a large army to escort us back to Beijing, someone will definitely come and hijack the car!"

"But I guess that those who can come and rob the car probably don't have the imperial seal with them." Zhuque said with a frown.

Xuanwu said: "The more people we attract, the more people will know where the imperial seal is, and we will definitely get some clues.

On the other hand, if they don’t have any, we can pretend to be jailbroken and see where they will flee to.”

...

Zhuque said: "I have a simpler way, it depends on your performance!"

“???” Xuanwu was puzzled.

then.

Suzaku managed to imprison Xuanwu and Yang Hong together.

Xuanwu immediately understood!
Next, Xuanwu, disguised as 'Murong Hu', began his performance.

As a Xuanwu who is proficient in bone shrinking, disguise and ventriloquism, he can disguise himself as any target person.

But the prerequisite is that the target person needs to be observed.

This time Murong Hu is dead, and Xuanwu gradually improves Murong Hu's character through subsequent communication and contact with heroes in the martial arts world. In fact, this is a personal performance.

But fortunately, Xuanwu pretended to be seriously injured in advance. When he couldn't answer, he started coughing violently, and even spit out blood from time to time, so Yang Hong would not be too suspicious.

In this indirect way, Yang Hong's words made Murong Hu overjoyed:
"The Imperial Seal was taken away by your eldest brother. With his martial arts skills, as long as he lies dormant, it won't be found in a short time.

I just don’t know if he can escape from the capital and bring the imperial seal to the lord!”

On Murong Long? !
In fact, the Jinyiwei had guessed it long ago, because apart from Yang Hong, Murong Long was Yuan Shu's most trusted confidant!
The imperial seal is so important, it is not safe to hand it over to other common people!
Moreover, Murong Long's brother Murong Hu stayed behind for them and fought to the death in the capital. This kind of dedication deserves Yang Hong's trust even more!

But the question arises again?!
How are they going to lure out Murong Long and retrieve the Imperial Seal? !
"kill!--"

When Xuanwu and Zhuque were looking for a strategy, they were suddenly ambushed by a group of ruffians on the way back to the capital.

But they were quickly suppressed by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and were either captured alive or killed in battle!
These people obviously did not have the imperial seal on them, so when they were tortured to get information, they refused to say anything. Some of them did, but no one knew whether they were true or not.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards escorted all these people back to the capital in prison cars.

As time gradually grew darker, the Jinyiwei did not choose to sleep in the open air and escorted him back to Beijing overnight.

Loose on the outside but strict on the inside, just to lure people into the trap!
As the Jinyiwei were escorting the prison van, there was a group of people following closely. They were all the ruffians who had fled from the desperate battle at Xuanyuan Pass. Upon hearing the news, they immediately came in groups of three or five to rescue.

Batch after batch, fearless and unafraid of death!

The Jinyiwei really couldn't understand why these ruffians were so desperate. They captured several groups of people alive, saying that they did it for loyalty!

"All men in the world are brothers. Help those in need, save those in trouble, and risk your life for your brothers!"

Is loyalty so important?!
Of course it is important!
Dong Zhongshu: "Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness are the five constant virtues."

This is the core of Confucianism and the foundation of the Han Dynasty's governance.

But in the eyes of the Jinyiwei, loyalty also has different levels of loyalty.

Loyalty to the emperor, patriotism, and national justice are more important than these chivalrous sentiments and petty family sentiments!
If the imperial seal were to spread throughout the world, it would surely attract scrambles among those with ulterior motives.

By then, heroes will be fighting for supremacy, the world will be in chaos, and the people will be displaced and devastated by war. Is this the loyalty they want? !

When talking about the feelings of family and country, these Jianghu gangsters finally fell into dead silence. But soon, their expressions turned into hatred!
"The court is corrupt, the relatives of the emperor are in power, the eunuchs are in power, there are constant wars on the border, corvée and military service are heavy, there is a severe drought in the country, and the harvest is not harvested, but the taxes are not reduced. We have already reached a dead end!
"This country is already in a state of terminal illness! Your Majesty has no ambition to make progress, and does not know how to work hard to find ways to reform. He is still employing eunuchs from the East Factory, and you, the Jinyiwei, are also overbearing and ruthless to the nobles.

"The bloodshed in Chongde Hall has shocked the country! Your Majesty, you are unworthy of your position!"

click-

This person was directly separated from the body by the Jinyiwei.

Lord humiliate to death!

After questioning, the Jinyiwei learned that many of these gangsters had participated in the Yellow Turban Rebellion!

Yes!

In their view, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was just. It was an uprising by the common people against the brutal imperial court and the tyrant monarch!

Heavy taxes and land annexation have caused many people to become bandits. They don't want to be in the underworld and want to live a stable life, but this world does not allow it!

Simply put, there was already a class antagonism between these gangsters and the Han emperor and the imperial court.

However, the Jinyiwei didn't understand why they should work for Yuan Shu? !
The Yuan family of Runan, three dukes in four generations, this is also a kind of class antagonism, right?!

"Because - the one who replaced the Han Dynasty was Dangtu Gao!"

After hearing this, the Jinyiwei was horrified!!!
Thunder strikes!!!

They wanted to shut up all these outspoken scoundrels. But they could shut up their mouths, but they couldn't shut up their minds!

The Eastern Han Dynasty today is indeed in a precarious situation!

But it was not the Yuan family, not even Yuan Shu who was qualified to replace him. The fortunes of the Han Dynasty were in decline, and it was not the Yuan family's turn to intervene!
After that, the Jinyiwei no longer asked any questions!
Not enough words to speculate!
They were escorted all the way back to Beijing, and arrived at the southern suburbs of Luoyang at around 10 o'clock in the evening.

Still haven’t caught Murong Long!
After thinking about it, the Jinyiwei decided not to escort these prisoners to Beijing overnight, but to let them stay overnight in the southern suburbs, and decided to lure the snakes out of their holes!

They acted relaxed, as if they were feeling carefree after returning to the capital.

The purpose is to make the enemy take risks!
Murong Hu is Murong Long's brother. Murong Long should not let go of such an opportunity!
Zhuque immediately brought the "Six Seals of the Son of Heaven" into the palace for an audience!
It was already past eleven o'clock in the evening, and Liu Bian was still handling government affairs in Deyang Palace. He had clearly woken up at five in the morning, but he was tireless and worked hard, but it seemed as if he would never finish everything.

This was just the capital. If all the people in the Han Dynasty had to submit reports, Liu Bian would definitely be overwhelmed. He also knew that it was not advisable to do everything personally, and that a person had his limits.

In the lower left corner of the dragon table, there is an empty bowl. This is Liu Bian’s dinner - a bowl of wheat porridge. The one cooked by the imperial kitchen is very dry and sticky. Compared with those wheat porridges with clear soup, it is actually similar to wheat rice.

But after working from dinner until eleven o'clock, I was already hungry. Liu Bian's frugality was mainly to set an example. As the leader of the Han Dynasty, he expressed his views, and the palace really began to tighten its belt!
The upper level should set a good example for the lower level so as to avoid extravagance and waste.

If we persist for a while, we can at least survive the current food crisis. The autumn harvest season will come in a blink of an eye, and life will be a little better then.

As the king of a country, he lived worse than those aristocratic families. They had luxurious food and enjoyed the best of everything, while Liu Bian only lived on oatmeal porridge. It was really miserable!

"Your Majesty, Commander Suzaku requests an audience."

Cao Zhengchun's voice echoed, and I didn't know if it was an illusion, but Eunuch Cao seemed to have lost a lot of weight.

Liu Bian has started to tighten his belt and live frugally. Following suit, Eunuch Cao has been living on oatmeal porridge these days.

He is a martial artist, and the Tiangang Boy's Kung Fu consumes a lot of energy. Without adequate nutritional and medicinal supplements, it will only damage the essence of his body.

But the self-cultivation of a loyal dog is that he would rather starve to death than share the worries of His Majesty!
"pass."

"promise!"

Zhuque brought the six imperial seals to the emperor and pleaded guilty:

"Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei is incompetent. They have only recovered the six seals of the emperor. The whereabouts of the imperial seal is currently unknown!"

Zhuque said "temporarily" twice, implying that they, the Jinyiwei, will definitely find the imperial seal back as soon as possible!

However, Liu Bian was very satisfied with this: "We were able to find the six seals of the emperor in such a short time. This is enough to show how hard you Jinyiwei have worked! Thank you for your hard work!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!!"

Zhuque felt a little warm in her heart. The Jinyiwei had already reduced their sleep time to one hour in order to search for the whereabouts of the Imperial Seal and the Six Seals of the Emperor.

Especially after meeting Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce yesterday, the work was even more intensive, and even the two of them worked day and night, which led to today's achievements.

A kind word can warm you through the winter!

His Majesty's words of thanks for your hard work made Suzaku feel that it was all worth it.

After Cao Zhengchun presented it, Liu Bian opened the box. For some reason, no brilliant aura appeared at this time.

Liu Bian looked at the six seals of the emperor with some relief in his eyes. At least now, the imperial edicts were issued with legal seals!

For example, the appointment of Liu Bei as the governor of Qingzhou could directly stamp the six seals of the emperor and order the court to issue an edict!
The imperial seal is of great significance, but it is not often used after all. It is just a decoration. As a time traveler who has received scientific education, how could Liu Bian be so feudal and superstitious?! He thought to himself in a happy way, comforting himself!
At this time, Liu Bian's right eyelid twitched: "Left eye twitching means good fortune, right eye twitching means disaster? Feudal superstition! It must be because I haven't had enough rest recently!"

Rumbling--

Suddenly at this moment, there was a violent tremor in the capital, as if an earthquake had occurred.

"???"

Liu Bian was suddenly a little confused. Could it be that another methane tank exploded? !
Cao Zhengchun was the first to guard the emperor, and Zhuque and other guards also protected Liu Bian. The entire Deyang Palace and Beigong were guarding the emperor.

"Da da da--"

At this time, a spy from the Imperial Guard came to report: "Report, Your Majesty, there is an earthquake in the southern suburbs of the capital!"

"Carry out disaster relief immediately! At all costs!"

Liu Bian sighed inwardly, the Eastern Han Dynasty was really doomsday, with many disasters, not only man-made disasters, but also natural disasters.

"promise!!!"

But at this time, another Jinyiwei came to report: "Your Majesty, there is a thousand-foot-high rosy glow rising straight into the sky from the south suburbs!"

Liu Bian was suddenly a little surprised and, under the protection of Cao Zhengchun, he stood up and walked out of the hall, looking towards the southern suburbs.

As expected, there was a ray of light that stretched from the sky to the ground, like a pillar of light rising straight into the sky. Even though it was just a ray of light, Liu Bian could feel the aura of the "Imperial Seal".

"This unscientific!"

Liu Bian looked at the rays of light rising into the sky in disbelief. This could not be explained by scientific principles at all. But considering that he had traveled through time, he put away his scientific thoughts and turned to feudal superstition.

Is there any connection between the earthquake and the imperial seal? !
Accident or coincidence?!
Of course, no matter what, the imperial seal is in the southern suburbs of the capital, so Liu Bian will not let it go: "That is the imperial seal!"

Zhuque was immediately moved and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I will lead the troops to track them down immediately!"

"Go."

Zhuque immediately took the order and retreated.

……

The southern suburbs of the capital.

As the earthquake broke out, crustal movement occurred here, and the Jinyiwei, who were temporarily sleeping in the open in the southern suburbs, encountered the aftermath.

The prisoner carts carrying Yang Hong, Murong Hu and other prisoners suddenly fell to the ground. The horses were shocked by the earthquake and fled in panic, neighing and causing chaos in the Jinyiwei formation.

It was originally just a disguise of being loose on the outside but tight on the inside, but now because of the sudden earthquake, they have really lost their composure.

At this time, Murong Long, who had been observing from a distance, took decisive action.

"kill!--"

The gangsters who followed closely also started to attack at this time. They would not let go of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

These gangsters rushed in all directions, opened the prison door of the prison van, and rescued the gangsters.

Murong Long also came to the prison van of Murong Hu and Yang Hong. He didn't even need the key. The fence, which was as thick as an arm, was broken by his palm!

"Why are you here?! Are you crazy?! Why don't you hide?!"

Yang Hong was horrified because he knew that Murong Long had the imperial seal with him. Wasn't this walking into a trap?

"I'm here to rescue you. There won't be any accidents!" Murong Long didn't care much. "This is an earthquake. If it wasn't for a godsend opportunity, I wouldn't have taken action at all!"

"Uuuuuu——"

The Jinyiwei blew the horn directly. They didn't care about other gangsters at all, but went straight to Murong Hu and Yang Hong.

"Big, big brother..."

'Murong Hu' looked at Murong Long weakly.

Murong Long interrupted him directly and threw a box tied to his chest to him, "I'll cover you, you guys flee from here immediately!"

"!!!"

Xuanwu, disguised as Murong Hu, felt the heavy pressure in the box and couldn't believe it. He got the imperial seal just like that?!

Is there a stone inside? !
Xuanwu was worried about an accident, so he pretended to take the box, but he dropped it due to weakness. With a click, the box fell to the ground and opened.

"Wow—"

A bright light shot straight into the sky, instantly blinding the eyes of everyone around, making them unable to open their eyes!

"The Imperial Seal!!!"

After the Jinyiwei was shocked, they were immediately filled with lingering surprise, "Take back the imperial seal!!!"

They rushed over here madly!

Yang Hong was quick to put the imperial seal back into the box. The light seemed to be suppressed!
To be honest, they still don't understand why the Imperial Seal and the Six Seals of the Son of Heaven glow?!

This is not made of night-shining pearls, but Hetian jade!
Why is it glowing?!
These boxes are all made of special golden nanmu wood, which is used to suppress the brilliance of the imperial seal and the six seals of the emperor.

Suddenly, the light disappeared after it was closed!

"Walk!!!"

Yang Hong shouted to Murong Hu and led the retreat.

The Six Arts of a Gentleman made the Confucian scholars of the Han Dynasty not "corrupt scholars" but "scholar-generals" who were both civil and military. Yang Hong also had some martial arts skills.

Just when Murong Long was about to kill the Jinyiwei, 'Murong Hu' woke up in shock. Although he was clearly half dead, he quickly caught up with Yang Hong.

More and more Jinyiwei surrounded them. Yang Hong was a little anxious. He asked, "How are you injured?"

"No problem."

Murong Hu suddenly perked up.

Yang Hong handed the golden nanmu box containing the "Imperial Seal" to Murong Hu and said in a deep voice:

"I'll lead them away, and you try to hide! The earthquake in the capital must have caused panic among the people, and many people will be homeless. You can take this opportunity to escape!"

"it is good!!!"

Xuanwu, disguised as "Murong Hu", successfully obtained the imperial seal.

At this moment, Xuanwu actually had a strange expression on his face, not knowing what to feel - after searching high and low for something, he finally got it without any effort!

(End of this chapter)