Chapter 28: Coiling Dragon Brings Eternal Peace to the World

The first number in the nine-grid puzzle was eight. I had deduced this result, but fearing that Xiao Lianshan might act recklessly again, I took a deep breath and tremblingly moved to the square carved with the number eight. I stood there quietly for half a minute; seeing that there was no movement in the stone chamber, I felt a secret sense of relief.

I signaled for the others to come over, repeatedly warning them not to make a single misstep.

Yue Qianling handed me the note she had just copied. We had solved the first of the seven lines of text, but for the remaining six, it seemed we did not have much time left.

"One man built the wall ten thousand miles long."

"One man built the wall ten thousand miles long?" Gu Anqi looked back at Yue Qianling. "Sister Qianling, are there any records of the Great Wall being built in the History of Ming?"

Yue Qianling nodded, thinking as she spoke.

"During the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Ming, the Tumu Crisis occurred. The Oirat and Tatar tribes constantly launched raids, forcing the Ming dynasty to make the repair of the northern Great Wall and the construction of beacon towers a top priority. Later, in the twilight of the Ming dynasty, internal strife and external threats, along with the rise of the Manchus, forced the Ming into a defensive posture. During the Jiajing, Longqing, and Wanli eras, the northern wars were constant, necessitating massive repairs to the Great Wall."

"The timeline doesn't make sense," Qiu Nuo shook his head after some thought. "This secret chamber was built by Zhu Yuanzhang. The clues left behind should surely relate to events during his reign, but the Great Wall was heavily repaired in the late Ming. How could he have known?"

"One man?!" Xiao Lianshan said in surprise. "No matter how I look at this sentence, it seems impossible. How could one man build a city wall, let alone one ten thousand miles long?"

I repeated the sentence over and over in my mind, unable to grasp what "one man" meant in this context. If it literally meant one person, it sounded like an exaggeration, but if it were an allusion, what was it hinting at?

"Do you all remember Shen Jiangchuan?"

Yue Leiting’s sudden interjection drew everyone’s attention. No one knew why he had brought this up.

"Dad! Don't distract him. Why are you bringing up Shen Jiangchuan for no reason?"

"No, I just heard Lianshan say it was impossible for one man to build a ten-thousand-mile wall, and it reminded me of something. In fact, there really was such a person," Yue Leiting said, sounding uncertain.

"Dad, don't stir up trouble. This isn't a game; people will die if we guess wrong," Yue Qianling said crossly.

I looked up at Yue Leiting and asked calmly, "Brother Ting, what did you think of? Tell us."

"When I knew Shen Jiangchuan, I was about your age. The kid loved to brag, always saying his ancestors included a great figure who was wealthier than the entire nation. He said that because he had so much money, he was eventually killed, and it was supposedly related to building a city wall. But it's been so long, I don't remember clearly."

"You can actually take Shen Jiangchuan's words seriously? Sigh, Dad, what am I going to do with you?"

I lowered my head and thought for a moment, the corners of my mouth slowly curling upward. Before anyone could react, I took a step forward and stood firmly on the square carved with the number three.

"Everyone, come here. The number hidden in the sentence 'One man built the wall ten thousand miles long' is three."

Seeing my confidence, the others followed and stood on the square.

"Brother, how did you know it was three?"

"Brother Ting's words reminded me. Shen Jiangchuan might not have been bragging. If his ancestor was indeed that man, then what he said wasn't an exaggeration at all. There really was one man capable of building a city wall through his own efforts!" I replied calmly.

"Killed because of building a city?" Qiu Nuo carefully recalled Yue Leiting's words. Soon, his expression matched mine, and he smiled faintly. "So, it was him!"

Seeing that Qiu Nuo had also figured it out, Yue Qianling pouted. "I was looking at it from a historical perspective; otherwise, I would have thought of him sooner."

Yue Leiting looked bewildered. He had started the topic, but he still didn't know who the person was.

"Who is it, exactly?"

"There was only one person in the Ming Dynasty who was wealthy enough to rival a nation, built a city wall by himself, and was punished for it: Shen Wansan!" I answered with a smile.

"Yes! Yes! That's the one, Shen Wansan. I remember now—Shen Jiangchuan said his ancestor was called Shen Wansan," Yue Leiting nodded.

"Shen Wansan was a wealthy merchant in Suzhou during the early Ming Dynasty. It was no exaggeration to say he was wealthier than the nation. He was a shrewd businessman, but unfortunately, he didn't understand politics or human nature. Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to build the city of Jinling, so Shen Wansan funded one-third of the capital's construction. Later, he tried to strike while the iron was hot and requested to fund a reward for the three armies. Zhu Yuanzhang was furious, declaring, 'A commoner rewarding the Emperor's army is a sign of a rebel; he deserves to be executed.' He was exiled to the frontier and eventually died in a foreign land," Yue Qianling explained.

"Zhu Yuanzhang really didn't know how to treat people. People were kind enough to help him, and instead of being grateful, he repaid kindness with malice," Xiao Lianshan said.

"If everyone thought like you, the world would be peaceful, but Zhu Yuanzhang wanted the world for himself. To win the world, one must win the hearts of the people. Shen Wansan's actions pushed him into a corner; he was practically asking for death," Gu Anqi said with a wry smile.

"I understand. Shen Wansan, Shen Wansan—so the number we needed was three," Liu Hao laughed suddenly. "I didn't expect that even after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he would still dwell on this. His heart is truly too small."

"No time left, let's continue," Qiu Nuo reminded us calmly.

The third line of text was: "Coiled dragon, eternal longevity, peace for the world."

The previous two lines were related to history, making them relatively easy to deduce, but this one was baffling. Whether looking at the lines themselves or the meaning combined, it was hard to figure out what number Zhu Yuanzhang had hidden.

"I know this one," Liu Hao said earnestly. "The 'coiled dragon' refers to the Son of Heaven—the true dragon emperor. 'Eternal longevity' means he wanted to live for a long time. This is easy to understand: Zhu Yuanzhang, entrenched in Jinling, wanted his dynasty to last for ten thousand generations!"

"But what is the number?" Yue Qianling countered.

"The number? Well... how would I know? That's for you educated people to figure out. That's all I can think of," Liu Hao said, throwing up his hands.

"Although Zhu Yuanzhang was cruel, he was rational in some respects. He could be considered a wise ruler of his time. According to records in the History of Ming, he didn't have the delusion of 'ten thousand generations'; he was a pragmatic emperor," Yue Qianling said seriously. "Therefore, the idea that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted his dynasty to last forever is completely inconsistent with his personality."

"A 'coiled dragon' refers to a dormant dragon, but Zhu Yuanzhang was already an emperor when he built this secret chamber, and the political situation was stable. This doesn't make sense either," Qiu Nuo said, puzzled.

I repeatedly looked at the note in my hand. They were all correct; the text Zhu Yuanzhang left behind was too abrupt, and it was hard to connect it to history or the man himself, especially "eternal longevity" and "peace for the world."

If Zhu Yuanzhang wanted eternal life, he wouldn't have planned ahead by building the Ming Fourteen Tombs. As for "peace for the world," the empire was already unified, and the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty were no longer a threat.

Just as I was deep in thought, I noticed that Xiao Lianshan, who usually asked the most questions, was unusually quiet. I turned to look at him and was stunned, my face changing color.

Xiao Lianshan was gingerly stretching out a foot, stepping into another square.

"Lianshan, don't—"

I shouted in panic to stop him, but the words had barely left my lips when Xiao Lianshan was already standing in the square. Almost everyone stared in shock at the rigid Xiao Lianshan, not daring to make a sound.

The stone chamber was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After more than a minute passed without incident, Xiao Lianshan let out a long breath.

"I don't understand any of this stuff you're talking about, but I do know about the 'coiled dragon' and 'eternal longevity'."

As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand. After the door to the secret chamber was opened, I had entrusted the Imperial Jade Seal to him for safekeeping, and now it was held in his hands.

I slapped my forehead in realization and stepped over to stand beside him.

"You kid... you scared me to death! Why didn't you say so earlier? I had completely forgotten about this."

"Heh heh, I was just trying it out. I didn't expect it to really be five," Xiao Lianshan said with a simple grin.

Qiu Nuo looked at the jade seal in Xiao Lianshan's hand and also realized the truth.

"So, Zhu Yuanzhang was always bitter about not having the Imperial Jade Seal to prove he was the legitimate emperor, and he didn't forget to mention it even when building the Ming Fourteen Tombs."

"How... how is it five?" Yue Leiting followed us into the square carved with the number five, asking curiously.

"Dad, can you not ask such childish questions?" Yue Qianling pointed at the seal. "How many dragons are on it?"

"Five..." As soon as Yue Leiting spoke, he finally understood. "Then what about 'eternal longevity' and 'peace for the world'?"

"It's right here," Xiao Lianshan flipped the seal over, revealing eight seal-script characters:

"Receiving the mandate from heaven, may you live forever and prosper."

"The Imperial Jade Seal is the seal passed down by emperors since the Qin Dynasty, carved by the order of Qin Shi Huang. It is four inches square, with five dragons entwined on the top, and the eight seal-script characters written by Li Si—'Receiving the mandate from heaven, may you live forever and prosper'—carved on the front, serving as a token of divine right and orthodox legitimacy," I said calmly. "The true meaning of 'Coiled dragon, eternal longevity, peace for the world' is that Zhu Yuanzhang regretted not having the token that proved his status as an emperor, and the 'coiled dragon' refers to the five dragons carved on the seal."