Chapter 63 Pitching to the Great Ming

The Imperial Seal of the Realm!
The legendary Heirloom Seal of the Realm crafted by Qin Shi Huang!
Although Zhang Bo had never been an emperor himself, he was extremely well-informed about it.
"Receiving the Mandate from Heaven, may you lead a long and prosperous life!"
He finally understood why Zhu Biao had said that old Zhu was quite satisfied with this trip.
Because the Ming Dynasty did not possess the Imperial Seal of the Realm.
To be precise, ever since Emperor Li Congke of the Later Tang Dynasty immolated himself with the seal in his arms during the late Tang period, the Imperial Seal of the Realm had vanished without a trace.
In the dynasties that followed, although individuals occasionally emerged claiming to have found the seal, those assertions were blatantly and instantly recognized as fake.
The Imperial Seal of the Realm, which ought to have served as the supreme symbol of imperial authority, had thus disappeared, leading subsequent dynasties to abandon the quest for it and instead commission their own dynastic seals.
The Ming Dynasty was no exception.
Yet in the current timeline of the Western Han Dynasty, less than a century had passed since the fall of the Qin, making this Imperial Seal of the Realm genuine and authentic.
Furthermore, this particular seal was not the gold-inlaid jade version that became widely known in later eras.
In the twilight of the Western Han, Wang Mang usurped the throne and sent men to demand the seal from the Grand Empress Dowager, who in fury smashed it against the ground, chipping a corner. Wang Mang later had the missing corner repaired with gold, creating the gold-inlaid jade seal passed down through subsequent generations.
In the present Western Han, however, it was the fifth year of the Yuanshou era, and even Wang Mang's grandfather had not yet been born, let alone Wang Mang himself.
This meant that the current Imperial Seal of the Realm was still a pristine, undamaged seal.
At this thought, Zhang Bo could not help feeling a stirring of excitement.
He also wanted to see what this first edition of the Imperial Seal of the Realm actually looked like.
Unfortunately, he could not travel to the Western Han.
Wait—he had already bought a smartphone for Liu Ju this time.
With the phone in hand, if he just had a word with Chezi, taking a few photos of the Imperial Seal of the Realm shouldn't be much of a problem.
Shooting a short video would be even better.
That settled it.
However, the immediate priority was to inform Zhu Biao right in front of him about the matter concerning Song Yingxing.
"Brother Zhu, there is something I need to discuss with you."
Zhu Biao gave Zhang Bo a somewhat surprised look; he had also come here today with an important matter to discuss with the proprietor.
"What a coincidence, I also have something to tell you, Proprietor. You go first."
"A person from the late Ming Dynasty has arrived at my diner."
"The late Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Biao felt a sudden jolt in his chest, and his hands, which were moving the crates, came to an abrupt halt.
He looked at Zhang Bo and lowered his voice to ask.
"Could it be the Chongzhen Emperor?"
"Biao'er, what are you discussing with the proprietor?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's voice echoed from outside the garage. He was still wearing the clothes Zhang Bo had given him earlier, and the expression on his face was not as aloof as before, but rather tinged with joy.
For old Zhu, this trip to the Western Han had been extraordinarily rewarding; not only had he laid eyes on the Imperial Seal of the Realm, but he had even held it and played with it himself.
He had to admit—
It felt amazing.

Holding the Imperial Seal of the Realm without a single chipped corner was something very few people in history had ever managed to do; even Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, could not claim that feat.
Yet he, old Zhu, was one of them.
It was only a pity that it could not be taken away.
Beyond all that, he had also conversed with Emperor Wu of Han on matters of statecraft, imparting many advanced governing philosophies to him.
Naturally, he had also severely looked down upon Emperor Wu regarding the issue of the crown prince.
He could see that the relationship between Emperor Wu and his son was deeply troubled, unlike the bond between himself and Biao'er.
Was it not only natural for a father to leave his family estate to his son? Why make things so painfully difficult?
Seeing old Zhu standing at the doorway, Zhang Bo glanced at Zhu Biao.
Zhu Biao sighed softly and shook his head.
The meaning was self-evident.
For now, old Zhu must not be allowed to know about this.
"Father, I was discussing matters of rewards with the proprietor."
"Rewards? Ah, yes, yes, there should be a lavish reward."
The master of this diner before them had not only cured Xiongying's illness but could also bridge the ancient and the modern; such a great talent indeed deserved a generous reward.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After saying this, Zhang Bo lowered his voice and spoke to Zhu Biao on the side.
"Brother Zhu, remember to tell His Majesty that no overly precious rewards are needed—just gold beans will suffice."
Zhang Bo knew old Zhu's character all too well.
If they talked about rewards, he might end up issuing Great Ming Treasure Notes or an iron certificate of amnesty.
As for the Great Ming Treasure Notes, needless to say, for the current Zhang Bo, they were too harsh even to use as toilet paper.
As for the iron certificate of amnesty, Li Shanchang—whose grave grass was already two meters tall—had a few words to say about that.
That was why he had prepared things in advance with Zhu Biao.
He wanted to avoid being rewarded with a stack of worthless paper and a scrap of broken iron.
Zhu Biao nodded after hearing Zhang Bo's request.
"By the way, Proprietor, what about my clothes?"
"Your Majesty, please wait a moment, I'll go get them right now."
A few minutes later, Zhang Bo handed the cleaned garments back into old Zhu's hands.
Holding the imperial robe handed to him by Zhang Bo and catching a faint, pleasant fragrance lingering on the fabric, Zhu Yuanzhang asked,
"Proprietor, could it be that you had my clothes washed?"
"Yes."
"I didn't expect you to have such skills as well."
Zhang Bo wanted to explain that it was done by a washing machine and had nothing to do with him, but upon second thought, he decided against it.
Explaining would be far too troublesome.
"Oh right, Your Majesty, I have a batch of new goods arrived. I wonder if Your Majesty might be interested."
Unlike Liu Bei and Song Yingxing, both of whom currently possessed virtually no financial resources and thus had to act merely as middlemen to earn a price difference,
Chezi and old Zhu were different. They were emperors of vast dynasties, so Zhang Bo intended to sell those items directly to them.

Sure enough, upon hearing Zhang Bo's words, a look of keen interest appeared on old Zhu's face.
"Proprietor, what kind of goods are these?"
Zhang Bo returned to the garage, brought out a small trolley, and hauled over several large crates.
Then he unpacked them one by one and began introducing them to old Zhu.
"Your Majesty, this is sugar, and this is salt."
Zhang Bo opened a bag of salt and a bag of sugar respectively, gently poured a pinch into his palm, and displayed it to Zhu Yuanzhang.
As expected, old Zhu's gaze was immediately captured by the two items in Zhang Bo's hand.
"This is salt? And this is sugar?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the two types of snow-white, extremely refined sugar and salt in Zhang Bo's hand, quite astonished.
Most of the salt in the Ming Dynasty was coarse salt, mixed with other impurities and colors, and sugar was much the same.
He had never seen sugar and salt of such immaculate purity before.
Zhang Bo nodded.
At this sight, old Zhu did not hesitate at all; he directly pinched a small amount of sugar and brought it to his lips.
Sweet, with no strange aftertaste whatsoever.
This was Zhu Yuanzhang's most direct impression.
Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang pinched a bit of salt and put it into his mouth.
There was not the slightest trace of bitterness.
Splendid, truly splendid.
"Proprietor, I wonder how this salt and sugar are made."
Old Zhu, as expected of you, going straight for the secret formula, are you?
"Your Majesty, I do not know."
"Oh, is that really so?"
Zhang Bo nodded without changing his expression or missing a beat.
Who made salt by hand nowadays? It was all industrially produced.
He genuinely had no idea.
Old Zhu did not press the matter further.
He merely gave a slight nod.
"Also, Your Majesty, this is a lighter, and this is the mirror I mentioned to you previously..."
Zhu Yuanzhang's attention was completely captivated by these clever little gadgets, and he nodded continuously.
"Good, good, good, pack all of these up. As for the price, go and discuss it with Biao'er."
"You got it."
Zhang Bo cast a glance at Zhu Biao, and in an instant, both of them exchanged a tacit, knowing nod.