1

During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, Juxian Village, which was under the jurisdiction of Yongping Mansion, had a wealthy Hu Yuan, and invited a few friends to a banquet on this day.

Hu Yuanwai's biggest hobby is to collect antique goods, calligraphy and paintings of celebrities at home, treasures and antiques, dazzling, and often invite friends to appreciate and identify, and take pleasure in it. On this day, the second brother of the friends who were invited to the banquet came, and they knew in their hearts that Hu Yuanwai had found some treasure and wanted to show off with his friends. Therefore, before the banquet was opened, his friend Liu Xiucai asked with a monkey anxious look: "Brother Hu, if there are any good objects, take them out and open our eyes, don't sell them." ”

Hu Yuan was smug outside, and said heartily: "Okay, let's look at one thing first, and then drink it with wine." Then let the servants bring out a large object three or five feet long from the back room.

The object is very heavy, four people carry, very difficult, wrapped with thick cloth, the shape is a cuboid, carefully placed under the hall, everyone around, Hu Yuanwai smiled and lifted the wrapped cloth, inside is a layer of wrapped yellow silk, the yellow silk embroidered with a line of regular script words: Yongle Ernian Chen a certain tribute.

Uncover the yellow silk, revealing the true color of the object, it is a large bronze wood, the wood is as dense as iron, glowing with a dark light, knocking it, the voice is clear, Liu Xiucai preemptively shouted: "Yin Chen wood." ”

"Haha, yes, it's Yin Chenmu." The bearded man said happily twisting his beard.

Everyone appreciated it carefully, and a knowledgeable friend couldn't help nodding, "Well, the color is solid and restrained, the shape is not floating and clumsy, the quality is not open and immersive, and it is really a good wood." As a tribute, it is also a high-quality product. ”

Another friend said: "The Yongle Emperor of the previous dynasty, who reigned for a long time, had a prosperous country, and liked treasures, and it was not easy to enter the emperor's eyes." The tribute to this piece of wood is an expert. ”

A person who was not very knowledgeable asked, "What kind of tree is this Yin Chen tree?" ”

Liu Xiucai deliberately sells his talents, "As far as I know, this kind of wood, only produced in Shuzhong, is the ancient fir due to landslides and earthquakes, buried in the ground, after tens of thousands of years of grinding and pressing, removed the grease and bad Kang, forming iron and copper casting, 10,000 years without rotting, insects and ants do not invade, is the god in the wood." ”

Hu Yuanwai nodded happily, "Brother Liu said very much, strictly speaking, this wood is actually difficult to be regarded as wood, it has been buried in the ground for tens of millions of years, has long been like steel, but it has maintained the carving and texture of wood, it is very rare, what is even more rare is that it is different from other wood, can be planted and felled, it is underground mining occasionally, is non-renewable, can only be obtained by luck, its cherishment can be imagined, since ancient times there are 'do not want gold full of boxes, Rather want the ebony side's saying, the royal officials have always taken this thing to make small carvings, as a town house to avoid evil and blessings, this dynasty since Kangxi, has been this wood as the royal exclusive, the people can not use privately. It is only in recent years that the law has been abolished, so that my generation is fortunate to be able to enjoy the blessing of owning this wood. ”

Everyone asked, "Brother Hu, where did this treasure come from?" ”

Hu Yuanwai shook his head, "Brothers, how to get this treasure, forgive me for not telling you, it's not that I deliberately concealed it, but I actually promised others and had to keep my promise." However, I can tell you one thing, and that is that this wood is so valuable, but it is not one. ”

"Huh? How many more do you have? ”

Hu Yuanwai said: "I only got this one, but at the beginning, this batch of Yin Chen wood, a total of thirteen pieces, entered Beijing as a tribute, but the boat capsized and sank on the road, and nine pieces were salvaged at that time, and four pieces were not found." The one I got today is one of those four, and three more have been missing for more than a hundred years. ”

A thin scribe next to him shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity, it's a pity. ”

"Who said no," Hu Yuanwai said: "If you talk about the treasures whose whereabouts are unknown, they are really countless, such as the "Orchid Pavilion Preface" written by the sage Wang Xi, which is said to have been buried in the Qianling Tomb by the Empress Zetian. Others, such as the original of the "Yongle Canon", the twelve bronze men of the Qin Dynasty, the nine tripods of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the sword of the king of Yue, and the Mao Gongding...... There are so many treasures that can't be found, it's really fascinating, although this piece of Yin Chen wood of mine is precious, compared with those treasures, it is too far behind. ”

Liu Xiucai said: "If my generation can see one of these treasures, my life's wish is enough." ”

The thin scribe shook his head, "It's a pity, it's a pity, Hu Yuanwai, you talked for a long time, but you missed the heaviest one." ”

"The heaviest one?"

The scribe shook his head and said in a sharp voice: "Yes, these treasures that Hu Yuanwai just mentioned, together with what Yin Chen Mu and the like, if compared with that treasure, it is still lighter than that treasure, and if you want me to say, these treasures just mentioned are not as good as that treasure." ”

"Huh?"

Hu Yuanwai suddenly thought about it, and shouted in a lost voice: "What are you talking about...... Heirloom seal? ”

2

The guests around all nodded or shook their heads, and some said: "Yes, yes, if the heirloom seal appears in the world again, then all the antiquities, whether it is treasures, will be dwarfed in front of it." ”

Some said: "Where can I find any trace of the national seal?" For hundreds of years, for this important treasure of the country, many generations of emperors have exhausted their efforts and troops, and it is difficult to find traces of the whole country. Alas, the national seal has touched the hearts of many emperors. ”

"That's right, that's right, Zhu Wuzhang of the former dynasty, after sitting on the throne, didn't care about settling down in the world, and sent his henchman Xu Da to lead a heavy army to Mobei, in the name of chasing the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty, but in fact, the Yuan soldiers were defeated early and retreated thousands of miles, where are the remnants worth such a big fight? The real purpose is to find this heirloom seal. ”

Liu Xiucai said to Hu Yuanwai: "Brother Hu, if you get this heirloom seal......

Hu Yuanwai hurriedly shook his hand, "Brother Liu, don't talk nonsense, I don't have such a blessing, the national seal only belongs to the royal family, and I am a grass people, so I would never dare to think of such non-points." ”

"Yes, yes," someone chimed in: "We have the honor to watch and play with a treasure like Yin Chenmu, which is already a blessing, as for the national seal, don't say it, even if you take a look, I'm afraid no one will be able to do it in the future." ”

The sharp-voiced scribe suddenly smiled, "Not necessarily. ”

Everyone knows that he is usually harsh and arrogant, and often speaks amazingly, and no one believes his words, only one person teased him, "Brother has the national seal, take it out and let me take a look." ”

The scribe raised his chin and said, "Naturally, I don't have the seal of the country, but if the eight words 'Ordered by the heavens, and longevity and eternal prosperity' are here, I don't know how you feel." ”

The people next to him, most of them are talented people, and they naturally know that this "ordered by the sky, both longevity and Yongchang" is the text engraved on the seal of the country, and it is the handwriting of Li Si, the prime minister of Qin. "Brother Tai will make it clear." "Please let us see."

The scribe triumphantly took something out of his bosom.

It was a piece of fabric, three feet long and wide, woven with multicolored threads, light yellow, very gorgeous, and the discerning man with knowledge of the goods exclaimed: "Zhuangjin." ”

"Yes, it's Zhuangjin." The scribe nodded, unfolded the magnificent brocade, embroidered on it is a landscape painting, on the light yellow background, green mountains and green waters, elegant and beautiful, conspicuously, there is a seal on the corner, the dark red ink traces on the light yellow background, it is particularly eye-catching, the font of the imprint is a big seal, many people are talented and learned, carefully distinguish, it is "ordered by the sky, both longevity and Yongchang" eight words.

Liu Xiucai doubted: "Anyone can write these eight words, how can they be covered with seals?" ”

The scribe said: "Yes, these eight characters can indeed be written by anyone, and they can carve a fake seal with a stone at will, and they can also be stamped with these words, but when I got this piece of brocade, the people who left these words on the brocade, not to mention the seal characters, did not even know ordinary Chinese characters, but the illiterate Miao Jiang barbarians, their own people, no writing, and no Chinese characters. ”

At this time, the housekeeper Hu Shenglai came to ask Hu Yuanwai. "Master, the banquet is ready."

Hu Yuanwai beckoned everyone to the table, "Everyone, let's talk while drinking." ”

At the banquet, everyone had a drink, and asked the scribe to continue, the scribe was very complacent, and continued: "At that time, I was a guest at the house of the Yue people, and this magnificent brocade was woven by the toast's daughter, and the toast was very proud, and kept praising his daughter's ingenuity, and I gave the toast a local jade cigarette holder, and he gave it to me at that time, and said that the painting embroidered on it was the landscape of their hometown, and his daughter sat in front of the house, embroidered according to the scenery in front of her.

I didn't care about Zhuang Jin at the time, but when I saw these few printed words, I was surprised, and asked him what was going on, he said, this is a Han seal, which was handed down from the previous generation of Tusi, and his daughter embroidered this Zhuang Jin, and felt that there was still space in the corner, but the picture was embroidered according to the scenery in front of him, adding something, and it was not very like, so he simply stamped this seal.

At that time, Tusi also asked me, are these words words, and what do you read?

I improvised and said to him that these words were 'peace and joy, happiness and good health', and he believed it and expressed his gratitude. I asked him, can you take out your Han seal for me to see? Who knows that he shook his head again and again, saying that this is absolutely not good, the rules handed down from the previous generation, this thing must not be shown to the Han people, as for the reason, he doesn't know, I have repeatedly criticized, he will not let go. And it seemed that I was suspicious, and I did not dare to delve further.

Because of this doubt in my heart, I should have returned to the north as soon as possible, but I still couldn't let go of this heart disease, lingered, and refused to leave. ”

Speaking of this, Hu Yuanwai interjected: "If you change anyone, you won't move." ”

The scribe continued: "Yes, the eight words 'ordered by the sky, both longevity and eternal prosperity', seem to be engraved in my heart, I take this piece of brocade every day, look over and over, there is nothing else in my mind, only think about how to find out the whereabouts of the national seal again, but, after waiting for two months, there is no chance, the toast and other local toasts, fighting, the two sides fight to the death, the local people have been killed and injured, I am afraid of harming myself, I think that my life is important, so I set off to return to my hometown. ”

The housekeeper Hu Sheng added wine, and Hu Yuanwai said: "Drinking and drinking, since it is not blessed, it is also fate that has not arrived, and it is impossible to ask for it." ”

The people at the wine table listened to the experience of the scribe, and some said: "It's a pity, it's a pity, if it were me, I would rather take a risk than find out the whereabouts of the treasure seal." Some doubted whether the scribes were "making up stories", and some said: "The heirloom seal, there are many imitations, and there are fakes in all dynasties, but I wonder if the one in the hands of the toast is a fake?" ”

Everyone discussed for a while, and finally could only sigh for a while, the southern Miao Xinjiang area, the mountains and rivers are far away, if it is not a very important thing, ordinary people will not be able to go to such a far place in their lives, naturally no one will go to the south for that unreliable information.

3

In the afternoon, Hu Yuanwai's son-in-law was studying at home, and the son-in-law was more than ten years old, and he was curious, so he asked Hu Yuanwai: "In the morning, the group of uncles said what 'Inheritance of the National Seal', what kind of good thing is that?" ”

What Hu Yuanwai was thinking about at this time was exactly this matter, and when he saw Gongzi mention it, he simply took a bench, sat in the courtyard, and said to Gongzi: "Okay, I'll tell you about it today." ”

The housekeeper Hu Sheng brought a wooden stool to Gongzi, sat down himself, and listened to the staff talk about the ancient while studying ink for Gongzi. Hu Yuanwai said: "Speaking of this thing, we must first tell a story, called 'He's Bi'.

This matter originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, Bian He, a native of Chu, got a stone in the mountain, he knew that it was a piece of beautiful jade, so he dedicated it to King Chu Li, King Chu Li sent a jade worker to identify, the jade worker was clumsy, and could not recognize that in this stone, in fact, it was a beautiful jade, so he said to the king of Chu: This is a stone. King Li was furious, thinking that Bian He deliberately came to deceive himself, so he ordered Bian He's left foot to be cut off for the crime of bullying the king. Later, King Wu succeeded to the throne, and Bian He came to offer jade again, who knew that King Wu also thought that Bian He was a liar, and cut off Bian He's right foot. When King Wen succeeded to the throne, Bian He sat at the foot of Jing Mountain and cried, and was informed by King Wen, asked him the reason, Bian He explained the reason, and King Wen sent someone to cut the stone open, and sure enough, it was a rare piece of beautiful jade. Since then, this piece of jade has been called 'He's Bi'.

He's bi returned to King Wen, and later when he came to King Wei, Xiangguo Zhaoyang destroyed the Yue Kingdom, and King Wei rewarded this bi to Zhaoyang, who knew that Zhaoyang got this bi on the same day, it was lost. It turned out that Zhaoyang was very happy to get this treasure, and invited all friends to set up a banquet by the lake to appreciate the treasure, and suddenly heard someone shouting: "There are big fish in the water." Zhaoyang got up and went to the lake to watch the fish, but the fish didn't see it, but the treasure and the family were gone. Zhaoyang was furious, suspecting that it was done by the doorman Zhang Yi, and tortured him strictly, but found nothing, but angered Zhang Yi, so that Zhang Yi went to another country, and later became the prime minister of Qin and destroyed Chu.

After hearing about it, King Qin Zhao sent a letter to Zhao State, willing to exchange for this piece of Heshi Bi, when Qin was strong, Zhao State was weak, Zhao Huiwen King was very worried, Xiang Guo Lin Xiangru said, willing to send this bi into Qin, for the fifteen cities, as expected, Qin Zhao Zhao King saw the treasure, rejoiced, but did not mention the matter of changing the city. Lin Xiangru had a plan, saying that there was a flaw in the bi, and the king of Qin hurriedly asked him to point out that Lin Xiangru took the bi, raised it above his head, and made a gesture to break it, and argued with the king of Qin, saying that he would rather die than disgrace the mission, and finally made the king of Qin compromise, so that Lin Xiangru took the bibi of the family and returned to Zhao. This is the famous 'priceless city' and 'complete return to Zhao' in history.

The Qin Dynasty finally defeated the Six Kingdoms, unified China, and the Bi to the hands of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor ordered Xianyang famous jade king Sun Tao, the bi fine grinding, carved into the seal, and ordered Prime Minister Li Si, personally wrote the 'ordered by the sky, both longevity and Yongchang' eight-character seal inscription, engraved on the seal, since then, this seal, passed down from generation to generation, has become the status symbol of the emperors of the past dynasties.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, Liu Bang invaded Xianyang, and the prince of Qin held this seal in his hand, knelt beside the road, and dedicated it to Liu Bang, and the Qin Dynasty perished. This heirloom seal, then became the jade seal of the emperors of the Han Dynasty, to the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped power, when the emperor was young, this seal was hidden in the hands of the Queen Mother of Changle Palace, Wang Mang sent his younger brother Wang Shun to the Queen Mother to ask for the jade seal, the Queen Mother was furious, smashed the seal to Wang Shun, did not smash, but broke a corner of the seal, Wang Mang ordered people to repair it with gold, so later generations called this seal 'gold inlaid jade seal'.

Later, Wang Mang committed suicide in defeat, the world was in chaos, Liu Xiu got the world, called the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the seal came into the hands of Liu Xiu and became the national seal of the Han Dynasty again.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the eunuchs were in rebellion, Yuan Shao entered the palace to kill the eunuchs, Duan Jue fled with the emperor, and the jade seal disappeared.

Later, Sun Jian led people to attack Luoyang, and saw that there were colorful clouds in a well in the south of the city, so he sent people into the well and saw a small box, which was hidden in the jade seal of the country. Sun Jianru obtained the treasure and hid it in his wife Wu's place. Later, Yuan Shu detained Wu and seized the seal. After the death of Yuan Shu, Xu Xuan, the assassin of Jingzhou, brought the seal to Xuchang, when Cao Cao coerced the emperor and ordered the princes, so far, the seal of the country had to return to the Han Dynasty.

After the end of the Han Dynasty, the seal returned to the Jin, and after the fall of the Jin, the seal passed through the Song, Qi, Liang and Chen dynasties of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and has been used as a national seal. The Later Sui Dynasty unified China and returned the national seal to the Sui.

After the fall of the Sui Dynasty, Empress Xiao fled into the Mobei Turks with the national seal. Therefore, when Tang Gaozong Li Yuan won the world, he did not have a seal, which became a big regret for him. Soon after, Taizong Li Shimin sent the general Li Jing to lead the army to crusade against the Turks, Xiao Hou returned to the Central Plains, and the seal of the country finally appeared in the Central Plains, and in the hands of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Taizong Longyan was happy.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and the seal of the country went through the Later Liang and the Later Tang Dynasty, and before the fall of the Later Tang Dynasty, the last emperor Li Congke took the seal of the country to the Xuanwu Building, and the seal of the country disappeared.

For example, when Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, a farmer named Duan Yi found the seal of the country when he was plowing the field and sent it to the imperial court.

When Yuan Shizu, the "jade seal of the country" suddenly appeared in Dadu, sold in the market, and the minister of power ordered someone to buy it. Actually, that's just one of the fakes.

During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang sent Xu Da into Mobei to chase and fight the remnants of the Yuan forces, the main purpose of which was to find the jade seal of the country, but in the end it was in vain.

Since this dynasty, the seal of the country has not been seen, although the kings of each generation have carved countless jade seals, but that is only because there is no national seal, and the last resort, only the real seal of the country, by the kings of the dynasties as a symbol of the 'destiny of heaven', has long exceeded its own meaning. Other jade seals and national treasures, compared to it, are more than one level behind, such as the candlelight compared to the sun and the moon. ”

When Hu Yuanwai said this, Hu Gongzi suddenly said: "Hu Sheng, the ink you studied has gone outside." ”

Sure enough, Hu Sheng, who was studying ink next to him, heard the riddle, and got all the water in the inkstone outside, and the surrounding area was stained with ink. Hu Sheng was startled, and hurriedly cleaned up the residual ink and wiped the furniture. Hu Yuanwai said with a smile: "It's no wonder that ordinary people listen to the story of the national seal, they are all like this, they are both envious and emotional, and these guests who came today are not like this." ”