A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Outside Shanzhou City, in Dou Jiande's military camp, three figures appeared.

The visitor was none other than Qin Qiong, also known as Qin Shubao, who had come to deliver the Imperial Seal of the State to Dou Jiande on the orders of Li Shimin.

The two men behind him were his earliest sworn brothers, Cheng Yaojin and Shan Xiongxin.

"You said you've come to present the Imperial Seal of the State?"

Dou Jiande looked at the three Qin brothers in front of him with surprise and doubt. He was naturally familiar with the three Qin brothers.

Qin Qiong, who once ranked among the top ten in the world's number one martial arts tournament, was also Li Mi's top general. Together with his many sworn brothers, he caused Dou Jiande countless troubles.

"That's right, Prince Chang Le, this is the Imperial Seal of the State."

Cheng Yaojin took out a small yellow cloth bag from his bosom. Under the candlelight, Dou Jiande could vaguely see dragon patterns embroidered on it.

Qin Qiong opened the cloth bag and took out a wooden box carved from fine sandalwood, which he respectfully handed to Dou Jiande with both hands.

Dou Jiande reached out to take the Imperial Seal of the State, but immediately withdrew his hand.

He washed his hands vigorously three times with water, dried them with fine silk, and then accepted the wooden box with both hands.

Dou Jiande slowly opened the wooden box, revealing a jade seal that was four inches square inside.

The jade seal was made of the finest Hetian jade, with a bluish-green hue, and was surrounded by five dragons, their bodies undulating and their scales and claws clearly defined.

Dou Jiande slowly lifted it up with his hand and saw eight large characters engraved in Qin seal script on its underside.

By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous!

This is the genuine Imperial Seal of the State!

Dou Jiande was so enamored with the item that all his confidants knelt down beside him, shouting "Long live the Emperor! Your Majesty!"

Hahahaha!

Hahahaha!

Hahahaha!

Dou Jiande laughed heartily, gently stroking the Imperial Seal of the State in his hand. Listening to the shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" around him, he felt that he had reached the pinnacle of his life.

After a long while, Dou Jiande, his face flushed, carefully put away the Imperial Seal of the State and looked at Qin Qiong and the other two with a smile.

"Why did you present the Imperial Seal of the State to me?"

Qin Qiong was about to give Dou Jiande the explanation they had agreed on, but Dou Jiande stopped him with a gesture.

Dou Jiande glanced at the three men. He had heard of Qin Qiong's heroic spirit and Shan Xiongxin's upright demeanor.

Only Cheng Yaojin looked rather cheerful, and according to rumors, he was a rough man, unlike Qin Qiong and Shan Xiongxin, who were both learned and skilled in martial arts.

The words of this simpleton are the most believable.

"You tell me."

Dou Jiande pointed at Cheng Yaojin and gestured to Qin Qiong and Shan Xiongxin not to speak.

Cheng Yaojin chuckled sheepishly and pointed to his nose, as if asking Dou Jiande, "Is it me?"

Seeing how honest and simple Cheng Yaojin was, Dou Jiande felt even more at ease, smiled gently at Cheng Yaojin, and nodded.

"In any case, your presentation of the Imperial Seal is a great achievement, and I will never treat you poorly."

"When I first seized the Imperial Seal from Wang Shichong and brought it back to Wagang Mountain, after discussing it with my brothers, we discovered that we were out of food supplies."

"This imperial seal can't be eaten either. Without food, everyone will go hungry. I've even lost weight."

Ultimately, everyone agreed that keeping this thing in our hands would be more of a curse than a blessing.

"The brothers discussed it back and forth, but couldn't come to a conclusion."

"In the end, everyone chose to submit to a wise ruler and let the brothers have enough to eat first."

"Among our group of brothers, the most educated are the eldest brother and the third brother."

"They said that we seized the Imperial Seal from Wang Shichong, which is an irreconcilable enmity."

"Li Mi is an ungrateful man. He even killed Zhai Gong, who gave him his foundation. If we hand over the imperial seal to them now, we might end up like Zhai Gong, dying without a burial place."

"Li Yuan of Guanzhong is hesitant and timid, incapable of accomplishing great things, and not worthy of being consulted."

"Only the King of Chang Le is renowned throughout the world for his benevolence and righteousness. We brothers are bound together by righteousness and admire benevolent and righteous people the most."

"Therefore, we all feel that someone like you, King Chang Le, is worthy of our allegiance."

"These are the exact words of my eldest and third brothers."

Cheng Yaojin gave a simple, honest smile, his eyes narrowing.

"Oh, did your eldest brother and third brother say anything else?"

Dou Jiande asked with a smile.

"Big brother, third brother, speaking of Prince Chang Le, you have the air of an emperor. Yao Jin doesn't know what that is, but he does know that you have a strong sense of loyalty. Yao Jin likes it very much."

Cheng Yaojin, as always, answered without a care in the world.

It was his carefree and honest answer that dispelled Dou Jiande's doubts.

"Brother Qin Qiong, what are your requests? I will certainly do my utmost to fulfill them!"

Relieved, Dou Jiande claimed he changed quickly and began addressing himself as "朕" (Zhen, the imperial "I").

Qin Qiong bowed and said, "I will obey Your Majesty's orders."

Dou Jiande has always cherished talent and had long coveted Qin Qiong and others.

Hearing Qin Qiong bow to him and address him as "Your Majesty," the feeling of satisfaction he experienced was second only to receiving the Imperial Seal of the State.

"I will never mistreat those who have rendered meritorious service. You have presented the Imperial Seal of the State. After I ascend the throne, all three of you will be granted the title of Duke."

"The other brothers of Wagang were all granted titles of nobility."

With a wave of his hand, Dou Jiande bestowed dozens of duke and marquis titles.

They came to surrender with an army of over 100,000 and the Imperial Seal of the State, so he couldn't be stingy, otherwise what would the world think of him?

Qin Qiong quickly bowed and expressed his gratitude.

Cheng Yaojin didn't bow, but instead said in a simple and honest way, "I knew it! Your Majesty is the most loyal of all!"

Dou Jiande was not angry at all; on the contrary, he felt that this person was very sincere and that what he said was from the bottom of his heart. He decided to promote him more in the future.

"Brothers, please return first. After I defeat the rebels Li Mi and Wang Shichong, I will perform the Fengshan ceremony to worship Heaven, ascend the throne, and become Emperor. The rewards I promised you will be issued at that time."

"In addition, I will give you another 500,000 shi of grain, which you can take to Shanzhou to coordinate with my troops and jointly fight the rebels."

"I obey your decree."

Qin Qiong accepted the order.

The three men, along with the men sent by Dou Jiande to escort the grain and 50 shi of grain, returned to Shanzhou.

These men were not only escorting supplies, but also serving as Dou Jiande's spies, infiltrating the Wagang army to inform him of events.

News of Dou Jiande obtaining the Imperial Seal of the State spread quickly, and the army and people of Hebei were naturally overjoyed. Countless people eagerly joined the army, and the powerful families of Hebei also invested money and grain in Dou Jiande, allowing his power to expand rapidly.

The ranks of Wang Shichong and Li Mi began to waver, and some powerful families under their command also became restless. The two quickly formed an alliance, mobilized troops stationed in various places, and planned to wipe out Dou Jiande in one fell swoop, and then compete with each other for the Imperial Seal.

During this period, Li Mi also wanted to first eliminate the Wagang Army in Shanzhou, but Wang Shichong refused.

Wang Shichong felt that every day they delayed, Dou Jiande would become stronger. Dou Jiande was their biggest threat, while Wagang was just a minor nuisance that could be easily eliminated after Dou Jiande was defeated.

If the attack on Wagang leads to Dou Jiande consuming the prestige and benefits brought by the Imperial Seal, then they will be in trouble.