Chapter 414: The Royal Seal of the Wei King! A Meteorite Sword! The Kongming Pearl! (1)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Cao Cao, in his lifetime, never declared himself emperor. Yet, it would be a mistake to interpret this as evidence that he lacked such aspirations.
Initially, Cao Cao was a staunch supporter of the Han dynasty, frequently mulling over the restoration of its grandeur. Yet, from the moment he gained control over the emperor to govern the lords, his ambitions swelled.
As his influence grew, he found himself surrounded by voices urging him to seize the imperial title, even if he had no immediate desire to do so. Sun Quan, at the time, had penned a letter to Cao Cao, advocating for his ascension to the throne.
Why, then, did Cao Cao never declare himself emperor during his lifetime? It could be that he deemed the time inappropriate, or he feared reprisal from moral traditionalists. Nevertheless, he ruled the kingdom in practice, an emperor in everything but title.
The presence of the nine Ding and eight Gui here suggested a latent aspiration to seize the throne. Luo Feng found himself wondering, why utilize a cultural relic as the Ding? Why not commission the creation of a grander one?
Without further deliberation, Luo Feng stood and moved towards one end of the room. The primary burial chamber remained unified, a continuous expanse. The burial artifacts were abundant, but the chamber’s sheer size made it seem somewhat vacant.
Soon, Luo Feng found himself standing before several elongated stone tables, upon which weapons lay, each accompanied by a placard. Likely, these placards carried the names of the weapons.
“The Great Halberd used by the King of Wei in his lifetime.”
“The Short Spear used by the King of Wei in his lifetime.”
These findings bore resemblance to the stone pieces discovered in the counterfeit tombs—a reasonable correlation, given that both the authentic and counterfeit tombs were Cao Cao’s handiwork.
Naturally, the counterfeit tomb would not contain Cao Cao’s genuine weapons, but the genuine tomb undoubtedly did. Every weapon here was of superior quality, crafted from premium iron, which was clear, even at first glance.
During the Three Kingdoms era, iron usage had been refined. Most warfare equipment consisted of iron, with bronze being sparingly used due to its propensity to break.
Iron weapons were snarper and sturdier. However, wnen It came to preservation over millennia, iron was challenging to maintain, while bronze tended to be more stable.
The preservation of these weapons could be attributed to a lack of oxygen and the superior quality of the materials used. Luo Feng picked up a blade. Its body was incredibly glossy, and the pattern on it was untouched by rust.
“Unbelievable! These are the authentic weapons of Boss Cao! What were those in the counterfeit tomb? Even after thousands of years, there’s no rust?” “It seems implausible for iron artifacts to last this long without rusting, doesn’t
“That’s precisely my point. This seems somewhat fabricated.”
“I suspect it’s not iron. It must be bronze!”
“Do you really believe the bronze in your home looks like this? Are you daft?”
Luo Feng interjected, “It’s not bronze; it appears to be meteorite iron!”
Upon further examination, Luo Feng confirmed, “Indeed, this is made from meteorite iron. Such weapons, a kind of natural alloy steel, were exceedingly rare at the time. Only the most esteemed generals could afford them!”
Meteorite iron, as the term suggests, is a stone from the sky, of extraterrestrial origin. In ancient times, weapons forged from these cosmic stones were incredibly precious. Even today, a piece of meteorite iron can be worth millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions.
However, how could Cao Cao, the de facto emperor, not possess such weapons?
“Were there really that many meteorites back then? Why do all legendary weapons seem to be crafted from meteorite iron?”
“How were they able to identify meteorite iron?”
Luo Feng chuckled, “There are countless ancient records of meteorites. Approximately two thousand years ago, the Qi region experienced a meteorite iron rain. That’s only one recorded incident—imagine the number of unrecorded events! As for identifying meteorite iron, you’re overcomplicating matters. Once the ancients encountered it, they learned from the experience. How could they not recognize meteorite iron?”
Departing from the pile of weapons, Luo Feng approached several chests. Atop these chests were numerous written indictments—inventory lists that documented the items and their quantities within the chests.
Upon opening a chest, Luo Feng found it precisely as the indictments had described—filled with shriveled sachets. It puzzled Luo Feng that Cao Cao had such an extensive collection of sachets. There were some in the counterfeit tomb, and now here in the genuine one as well. Could Cao Cao have been troubled by body odor?
Suppressing his sarcastic musing, Luo Feng proceeded. The burial artifacts, neatly arranged, seemed somewhat random, presenting no discernible patterns to Luo Feng.
In front of him was a pile of chests without indictments. Opening one, Luo Feng discovered two small boxes. Each was about thirty centimeters in size. On opening one, Luo Feng gasped, “A seal made of jade?”
Before his eyes lay an exquisitely carved jade stone, inverted, with intertwining dragons etched onto it.
“Incredible! Is this Boss Cao’s jade seal?” “This will undoubtedly fetch a fortune!”
“But isn’t it illegal to privately carve jade seals?”
Luo Feng laughed, “This isn’t a state seal; it’s a personal seal!” This item was used when writing to others, serving as a stamp to verify one’s identity.
Although it was a personal seal, it belonged to Cao Cao, which made it extraordinarily valuable..
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