Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"That's really true!"

Ye Bichuan, a man with a thick beard, also joined the group at the table.

"Then the foreign tribes of the South Seas who attacked and destroyed the Ming Dynasty's Pacification Commissioner's Office had absolutely no chance of bringing their seals and documents to the Ming Dynasty."

It is only natural that no one has been able to determine the authenticity of the document for over a century.

But what use would Steward Qin of the Lin family have for buying these things?

Could it be that he intends to use this official seal and investiture document to impersonate a court official?

"You know what, Brother Qin actually did have that idea."

To Ye Bichuan's surprise, Xu Quan actually nodded.

"He even carefully formulated a detailed plan on his way back to the Ming Dynasty."

Unfortunately, after returning to Shuangyu Port, the Qin brothers, after much deliberation, finally abandoned this plan.

Impersonating an official of the imperial court is far too risky. If things go wrong, not only he himself, but the Lin family will also be implicated.

Brother Qin has a family and a business, and he really doesn't dare to take this risk, let alone implicate the Lin family who have been so kind to him.

After we got into a good drinking session, Brother Qin told me about his previous plan.

After surrendering, the Shi family, the Pacification Commissioner of Old Port, were relocated by the Majapahit Kingdom to eastern Java, far from their original territory.

Even if some members of the clan were secretly kept behind, they should have already changed their names and surnames.

The Old Port Pacification Commissioner was a hereditary third-rank chieftain, and the Ming Dynasty never claimed to abolish the Old Port Pacification Commissioner!

Logically speaking, even today, the descendants of the Shi family still have the legitimate right to inherit the official position.

If someone were to come to the capital to pay homage to the Shi family descendant, carrying the official seal of the Pacification Commissioner of Old Port and the hereditary third-rank Pacification Commissioner conferment document issued by the Yongle Emperor, and request to inherit the position, the court should recognize it.

Today, the Shi clan no longer exists in Old Port, at least not in name.

Naturally, no one can prove whether the person holding the seal of the Pacification Commissioner and the investiture documents is actually a descendant of the Shi family, the Pacification Commissioner of Old Port.

After hearing what Brother Qin said, I also think it makes a lot of sense.

The third-rank Pacification Commissioner was the highest-ranking hereditary chieftain, and there were only about ten such chieftains in the entire Ming Dynasty.

The families I've heard of—the Yang family, the An family, the Dao family, the Mang family, and the Mang family, all of whom were powerful regional lords with tens of thousands of troops—are all powerful figures in their own right.

These hereditary chieftain families have been passed down for hundreds of years, many of which existed as early as the Tang and Song dynasties and were already granted the title of chieftain during the Mongol Yuan dynasty.

If this succeeds, it will be a chance to soar to great heights!

However, the risks are indeed considerable.

The position of Pacification Commissioner of Old Port has remained unclaimed for a century. If a descendant of the Shi family were to suddenly appear and request to succeed to the position, the court's investigation and verification would be extremely rigorous.

However, as long as the seal, the edict of investiture, and the tally are genuine, there is still a chance that this matter will succeed.

However, the Qin brothers were worried about something else.

Even if one successfully impersonates a descendant of the Shi family and receives an official title from the court, it is still just a title.

Tusi were not appointed officials; they could only govern their own Xuanwei Division territory.

The Old Port Pacification Commission has long been annexed by other countries; it's not something you can simply take over by holding a succession certificate from the imperial court.

Did they really take such a big risk just to get a nominal rank of third grade?

This was one of the reasons that ultimately led him to abandon the plan.

Since he's abandoned the plan, keeping this thing is useless to him.

However, the Qin brothers were unwilling to just throw away what they had finally brought back from Southeast Asia at a cost of fifty taels of silver.

Now that he had told me where this thing came from, he simply asked me to find him a buyer in Shuangyu Port.

If someone is willing to take the risk of acquiring the honorary title of a third-rank Pacification Commissioner without territory, he is willing to sell these items for five hundred taels of silver.

"Five hundred taels of silver!"

Ye Bichuan said disdainfully,

"That Manager Qin only spent fifty taels of silver to buy it. He chickened out and didn't dare to impersonate someone else to go to the capital to request the court to grant him the position. He even wanted to resell it for ten times the price!"

Also, he trusted you that much, Lao Xu, that he handed the things over to you first?

"Bichuan, of course he dares to hand it over to Lao Xu."

The middle-aged man surnamed Wang laughed.

"The Lin family is now one of the largest maritime merchants in Shuangyu Port, with dozens of large Fujian ships."

If you dare to take anything from Manager Qin, you won't be able to stay in Shuangyu Port.

Old Xu had received a favor from the Lin family. If it weren't for the boat given to him by the Lin family two years ago, he might not have been able to raise enough money to buy a Fujian-style boat until today.

How could I possibly set sail with you and me to do maritime trade?

Old Xu now owns two large Fujian boats, and he earns five hundred taels of silver in just one trip to Hirado.

Logically and emotionally, Lao Xu would never do something so foolish.

"Brother Wang sees things very clearly."

Xu Quan praised,

"I finally managed to build some connections with the Lin family, how could I be so foolish as to do something like this?"

Manager Qin and I have already discussed it. After this item is sold, I will only need to give him five hundred taels of silver. Who he sells it to, how much silver he gets, and how the buyer plans to use it are none of his business.

At the same time, I must keep it a secret for him and not reveal to the buyer that this item was purchased from him.

"Both of you are my life-or-death friends. I invited you here so we could discuss together who to sell these items to for the best price."

"Old Xu, have you ever thought about keeping these things for ourselves?"

After a moment of contemplation, the middle-aged man surnamed Wang finally spoke.

"Leave these things behind?"

Xu Quan was clearly somewhat surprised.

"The risk of impersonating a descendant of the Shi family to request the imperial court to inherit the title is not small. If the attempt fails, the person will die without a burial place, and their family will also be implicated."

Moreover, I think Steward Qin is right. Although the position of a third-rank Pacification Commissioner is prestigious, it is just an honorary title without any territory.

Is it really worth taking such a risk for this?

"Bichuan, what do you think of this matter?"

The middle-aged man surnamed Wang looked at the bearded man.

"I agree with Lao Xu; it's not worth taking such a big risk for a mere honorary title!"

Ye Bichuan shook his head, but his expression quickly hardened again.

"If you, Brother Wang, are willing to take the risk, I will accompany you on this journey."

If we're unlucky, we brothers will go to the execution ground together, so we'll have each other company on the road to the underworld.

If Heaven is kind and the court truly fails to uncover any flaws, then I beg the Pacification Commissioner to grant me a local official position as well.

Even if it's just a nominal title, it'll be fine. Then I won't have to kneel before the county magistrate anymore.

"Over the years, the three of us have worked together and overcome countless dangers."

After a brief silence, Xu Quan finally nodded and said,

"If Brother Wang really wants to give it a try, I, Xu, will gladly risk my life to accompany you."

"That's excellent!"

Seeing that his two close friends were willing to gamble with him, the middle-aged man surnamed Wang picked up a jar of yellow wine, poured three full bowls, and placed them in the center of the table.

Then he pulled a dagger from his waist, slashed his left palm, and dripped blood into the wine bowl.

Xu Quan and Ye Bichuan also took the dagger and repeated the same action.

Then, the three of them picked up the wine bowls mixed with each other's blood and drank them down in one gulp.