"My descendants… there are many foolish rulers?"
What Zhu Yuanzhang found most agreeable about this glowing screen was how bluntly it spoke. Most phrases were unfamiliar, yet their meaning was easy enough to grasp.
Take that judgment of Ming emperors. It sounded absurd, yet somehow normal when applied to Ming rulers. One only needed to savor it briefly for the implication to become obvious.
Ming emperors tended to behave absurdly.
To stray so far from the register of proper conduct… how was that different from folly?
He had already compiled the Ancestral Instructions for his descendants. Was it really so hard for them to follow them?
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned in confusion.
Empress Ma could only soothe him, saying that once ministers were summoned, they could study the matter carefully. Surely there must be a way to guard against future disasters.
---
In Ganlu Hall, however, Li Shimin quietly let out a breath of relief.
Turning to Empress Zhangsun, he said with some satisfaction,
"Fortunately, my Tang descendants, though…"
"…have not done anything quite so absurd."
As for the tiger tally becoming the fish tally, that had been his father's decree. It had little to do with him, the Prince of Tiance.
Besides, the order had already been in force for over ten years, and the taboo on tiger tallies had caused no inconvenience to the people. There was no reason to change it now.
Empress Zhangsun watched her husband's relieved expression and remembered how, just last year in the rear palace, he had been stomping in anger while cursing Li Longji as a senile fool.
If they were not in front of so many attendants, she would have exposed him on the spot.
Li Shimin remained blissfully unaware and continued curiously,
"What connection does Journey to the West have with pigs?"
"Later generations call it a strange and marvelous book. I truly wish to see what makes it so remarkable… and how the Xuanzang in that book compares with the Xuanzang I personally met."
---
Meanwhile, the narrowed screen continued playing the younger man's voice.
---
[Lightscreen]
[Alright, enough about taboos. Let's look at Treasure Friend Number Two's fish tally.
In Li Yuan's time, only central officials wore fish tallies. That meant rank five and above.
When we talked about Wang Xuance's promotion earlier, we mentioned that in Tang officialdom rank five was the crucial dividing line. Only from rank five upward did your name qualify to be seen by the emperor.
Under Li Yuan and Li Shimin, when an official of rank five or above died, their fish tally was reclaimed.
Li Zhi thought fish tallies were lifetime honors. Taking them back after death felt inhumane. His intention was for them to be buried with the official, which was a more compassionate policy.
But objectively, this caused fish tallies to spread everywhere. Plenty of people used a dead elder's tally to show status or even sell it.
During Wu Zetian's reign, fish tallies were distributed even more widely. Provincial top officials started receiving them too.
By Xuanzong's reign, fish tallies had even become military rewards. They lost their original meaning as marks of honor and basically flooded the system.
But our treasure friend's tally here isn't complete.
When Li Zhi ordered they not be reclaimed, he also granted special pouches for storing them. Rank three and above got gold pouches, rank five and above got silver.
That's the famous Tang "gold fish pouch."
In the Song dynasty, they abolished fish tallies and restored tiger tallies, but kept the fish pouch as a sign of favor and rank distinction.
Kind of a new version of buying the box and discarding the pearl.
Anyway, back to the tally. Like tiger tallies, these were split in two. Only when both halves fit perfectly together could identity be verified.
So inside the two halves there were usually matching yin-yang inscriptions.
Let's open this treasure friend's fish tally and take a look…]
As the tally opened, the calm voice on the screen suddenly sounded exasperated.
[Wait, what kind of fish tally has the inner inscription carved with the words "history illiterate"?!]
---
The comments exploded.
[Server Chat Log]
[KnightButTired: LOL! This is a one-of-a-kind artifact! Keep it for a few years and trade it for a Maybach!
WinOrSnack: Maybe Li Shimin made it himself for the vlogger! A gift from the Emperor!
Warbutlazy:Made by Li Shimin? Then when the tally shines, the 'Great Tang Warriors' unsheathe their Light Blades! 'Fight for the Heavenly Khan! We are the blades of the Prosperous Tang! Glory guides me!'
Marchlater: Sounds great but… I must reassemble my troops first
Kindaferal: I'll appraise this treasure friend. Probably picked it up from a 3D printer. Not illegal at all
But seriously, let me add some facts
Tang Xuanzong actually did ban catching carp. Twice. In Kaiyuan years three and nineteen
Didn't really work though. Kaiyuan year three he banned it, and in year five Wang Wei wrote in Luoyang Maiden's Song about how delicious carp sashimi was
So clearly nobody listened
Okchampion: The pig ban too. Zhengde Emperor Zhu Shou issued one, but it lasted only three months before being withdrawn
Some historians think it was tied to his struggle with the civil officials
Either way, the ordinary people caught in the crossfire suffered the most]
---
Li Shimin's expression was extremely complicated.
He felt pleased that the fish tally discussion had won back some dignity… but hearing that Xuanzong had truly issued such bans left him embarrassed again.
Empress Zhangsun, perceptive as ever, leaned slightly closer, intending to comfort him.
But before she could speak, she heard him mutter,
"That's not really a major matter."
He was taking it that lightly now?
Then he added,
"Compared to celebrating and frolicking with An Lushan… or executing three sons in a single day… this carp ban is negligible."
That response left the empress momentarily speechless.
Having steadied his mood, Li Shimin even asked with interest,
"These words about Tang warriors… could they be bestowed upon the army? Let them shout them when displaying merit."
In just two years, captured enemies had already been presented outside the capital twice. Li Shimin had begun growing picky about victory ceremonies.
Imagine it.
Warriors of Zhenguan marching into the city in ranks.
Citizens spreading flowers along brocade roads.
Soldiers shouting, We are the blade of the Prosperous Tang.
Compared to the old Han cries of "Ten Thousand Victories" or "Long Live," how much more imposing that sounded.
The scene in his mind even brought a smile to his face.
Watching him, ministers like Wei Zheng and Fang Xuanling could not help but sigh.
Their emperor's temperament had indeed become far more tolerant than before.
---
The Ming emperor, whose composure had also improved, stared instead at the phrase "Zhengde Emperor… struggle with the civil officials," his brows tightening.
Civil officials forming factions for private gain… like in Song times?
---
On the screen, the gleaming fish tally was pushed aside.
The next object came into view.
A jade disc.
---
[Lightscreen]
[Our third treasure friend today… you can tell at a glance from the shape.
This is a jade bi whose appearance has been damaged.
I say damaged because the back of the disc looks extremely pure. The color is soft and pleasant. In the hand it has that lustrous, oily translucence people always praise in jade. The texture's excellent.
Of course, I don't actually know jade. These are just the compliments people always use. Memorize them, folks. Next time you see jade and don't know how to praise it, just repeat these. Works every time.
The reason I say the beauty's damaged is the front. All these dense chisel marks.
But those marks are actually characters.
Which means the identity of this jade disc is already obvious.
From the Jin dynasty through the Song, some emperors performed the ritual commonly called the Dragon-Casting Rite, part of the Golden Register Daoist ceremonies.
And jade discs like this were key ritual objects in those rites.
This… is a Dragon-Casting Jade Bi.]