There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 45 The Magic of the High-Replica Imperial Seal

"Meet the old man!"

"Well, no need to be polite, everyone, please take a seat!"

Nie Jieren remained calm and just raised his hand and said.

Such demeanor surprised everyone who was paying their respects in the hall, but after the surprise, they felt it was natural.

It is true that like son, like father!

It has to be said that Nie Yu's physical filter of the knife handle is still very useful. After a few waves, in the eyes of these wealthy people in the capital, the Nie family is no longer a country bumpkin or local rich man from a remote countryside, but a big rebel with certain strength.

Nie Yu took in all the performance of these people, and he was ready to add fuel to the fire, a fire that symbolized imperial power!

"Dad, sit down first!"

Nie Yu warned his father to hold back his words, then walked into the hall, making sure everyone could see him. He continued, "This general has summoned you all here today. Besides welcoming my father to Jingzhou, I actually have something important to announce. This is also a secret that our ancestors of the Nie family have kept hidden for many years!"

The secret buried by our ancestors for many years?
When they heard this topic, everyone was confused for a moment. Not only the heads of the major families in Jingzhou, but even Feng Xiuyong, the trusted secretary, was a little confused at this moment.

What's going on? It seems the general didn't tell him in advance!

Nie Yu ignored their reactions and pointed at the brocade box on the table: "Uncle, please help me bring the box over!"

Because Butler Liu was left in Yidu County as a guard, any matter had to be done by his cousin Nie Lin.

Nie Lin picked up the brocade box on the table. The pattern on the box was quite beautiful. He decided to get one for himself. However, it was a bit heavy to hold, as if it contained a stone.

"General!"

Nie Lin carefully handed the box to Nie Yu.

Nie Yu took the box and without waiting for the other party to come back, he directly opened the lid and grabbed the "stone" inside with one hand.

"If you receive orders from Heaven, you will live forever!"

The next second, the whole audience stood up.

The Chen family head, who had just calmed down, asked tremblingly, "This... could this be?"

"Pass the country's jade seal!"

Nie Yu replied indifferently.

The head of the Chen family fainted instantly, and his trusted old steward stepped forward to support him subconsciously, while the other heads of the family were no longer able to care about anything else. They all looked at the crystal clear and gorgeous imperial seal in horror.

In their eyes, Nie Yu, holding the imperial seal, seemed to be no longer a so-called rebel at this moment, but the Son of Heaven, the true Dragon Emperor!

"Long live the general! Long live the general!"

Feng Xiuyong reacted very quickly. Regardless of whether he was really frightened or not, he immediately knelt down and shouted.

With him taking the lead, the other clerks of the newly formed Secretariat also knelt down and bowed.

"Long live the General!"

"Long live the General!"

"Long live the General!"

Three shouts came down in unison.

After that came all the generals of the Han army, then the remaining Han soldiers who were unaware of the situation, and then the heads of the major families who had come back to their senses from the shock.

Even Nie Lin, who was in charge of carrying the box, knelt on the ground at this moment. Unlike other people who had different thoughts, he was truly impressed.

No wonder my cousin dared to rebel suddenly. Even my nephew has such amazing talents. It turns out that it was the will of our ancestors. Their Nie family actually has the opportunity to produce a true dragon emperor!

Nie Lin hadn't considered this imperial seal a forgery. He was closest to it and could see it most clearly. The exquisite patterns, coupled with the jade carvings, could only have been created by a master craftsman. And then there were the seal characters on the bottom. This was the real seal, it couldn't be more genuine!
His Nie family definitely couldn't get the jade seal, so it could only have been obtained by their ancestors. If they were not royal relatives, then it must have been a gift from heaven.

No matter which one it is, it means that his Nie family has a destiny!

Destiny is illusory, but many times, this illusory destiny is needed to do many things. The so-called tool and name are indispensable if you want to accomplish great things.

Even the true founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji, had to fight against Mongolia first, using it as an excuse to take back the imperial seal of the Yuan Dynasty, and only then could he ascend the throne and become emperor.

Well, there is a saying that Zhu Yuanzhang’s northern expedition against the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty was also to take back the imperial seal of the Yuan Dynasty, but in the end it came to nothing.

Nie Yu took out this high-imitation jade seal not just to show off, but to determine the future strategic direction of the Han army and stabilize the morale of the people.

Without the imperial seal, he would at most be a big rebel who occupied the state capital, and he might also have some White Lotus sect connections.

With the imperial seal, he is still a rebel, but he has a bit of legitimacy. Even if he does nothing else, he can use this to proclaim himself emperor, satisfy his desire to be an emperor, and then wait to be destroyed and appear in history books. At least he can leave a page of content.

This is the value of the jade seal.

Nie Yu handed the jade seal to his father, and then looked at the people in the hall. Led by Feng Xiuyong, all the Han army civil and military officials had fiery eyes.

The new clerks in the Secretariat couldn't help but feel ecstatic. They thought their bet was right. This traitor really had a destiny. No wonder he was so powerful!

The heads of other wealthy families and the surrendered officials of the Pseudo-Qing Dynasty all had complicated expressions at this moment, and no one knew what they were thinking.

In a moment...

The head of the Chen family woke up and immediately glanced at the imperial seal held by Nie Jieren. Without giving it much thought, he stood up and said, "General, the Chen family is willing to donate 10,000 taels of silver and 10,000 dan of grain to the Han army as military supplies. We also heard that the General's Mansion is short of talent and eager to recruit talented individuals. The Chen family is also willing to contribute two legitimate sons, both of whom have passed the imperial examination and are eligible to serve the General's Mansion."

Wow, he is so decisive, almost as if he is determined to go all the way to the end.

Upon hearing this, the other family heads were first shocked by the courage of Family Head Chen, but then several more family heads stood up and followed suit.

"General, the Li family is willing to donate 5,000 taels of silver, 2,000 dan of grain, and a legitimate son to serve as a clerk in the General's office."

"General, the Liu family is willing to donate three thousand taels of silver and one of their sons to serve as your clerk."

"..."

After several waves in a row, people contributed money, food and manpower, as if they had all given it their all.

These people are not stupid. They have been forced to join the rebels. Instead of waiting until the rebels have completely established their foothold and then joining them to add icing on the cake, it is better to provide timely assistance while the rebels are still unstable and gain the credit of joining the rebels.

The worst possible outcome would be a similar fate to that of a thief.

If you win, you will be rich and glorious, and become a prime minister. If you lose, your entire family will be executed and all nine generations of your clan will be exterminated.

It's just a gamble, their ancestors have done it before.

A wealthy family that is not brave enough to take big gambles can never truly become a wealthy family. Everyone has ambition.

Nie Yu laughed heartily. He had thought that the imitation jade seal would have a strong reputation for righteousness, but he had not expected the effect to be so good. "Well, well, well, you are all loyal subjects of the Han Dynasty. This general is very pleased."

"I will not accept the money and food you offer in vain. Your children will serve as officials in the General's Mansion in the future. As long as they do their job well, I will promote them without hesitation!"

"Also, officials of the old Jingzhou government office, I will forgive your past misdeeds. If you work diligently in the future, I will reward you accordingly!"

"Thank you, General!"

Hearing that past events would be forgiven, those who had been demoted all breathed a sigh of relief and praised in unison.

Feng Xiuyong, who was standing aside, saw it clearly. He said that bygone days would be forgiven, but in fact he also added that those who worked diligently would be rewarded according to their merits, but if they did not, would they also be punished according to their crimes?
From ancient times to the present, kings and ministers who only care about merits and demerits but are ruthless often have bad endings.

Although the generals are not kings yet, they are already subjects.

(End of this chapter)