However, at this time, John Adams was executing all those in the world named George Washington, but it was not to help Abraham Lincoln eliminate hidden dangers. If he truly had such good intentions, he would have already presented the "Chifu Talisman" to Abraham Lincoln, so why would he secretly keep it for himself?

On the contrary, he had already changed his name to George Washington.

The "Chifu Talisman" clearly recorded that in the future, George Washington would become emperor. John Adams wanted to become this George Washington himself, and he would not allow any other George Washington in the world to exist and become an obstacle to his pursuit of the throne.

As for John Adams's name change, it was actually quite justifiable. John Adams told Abraham Lincoln that his name had the same pronunciation as Emperor Ai of Han, Liu Xin, and that he was changing his name to George Washington out of avoidance of taboo.

To this, Abraham Lincoln even thought John Adams was being very proper, not knowing that John Adams changed his name to George Washington only to match the language in the prophecy, to snatch the dragon throne from under Abraham Lincoln, to ascend to that supreme position.

The Xin dynasty regime was unpopular, the court was in chaos, and in recent years, natural disasters had been unending, the people were destitute, and rebellions were breaking out everywhere. In the north, the Red Eyebrow Army was causing trouble; in the south, the Green Forest Army was in revolt. In John Adams's view, Abraham Lincoln's reign was coming to an end, and his own opportunity to seize the throne was close at hand. At this critical moment, there could only be one George Washington in the world.

Jingzhou, Nanyang Commandery, Caiyang County, county market.

"Make way, make way!" Two yamen runners shouted loudly as they pushed their way forward.

As the saying goes, commoners do not fight with officials. The people in the market could not afford to provoke the yamen runners and hurriedly stepped aside in fear.

The two yamen runners passed through the market and came to the city gate, where they hung a white cloth notice on the city wall. Then, each stood on one side of the notice.

The nearby townsfolk gathered around, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks, curiously reading the contents of the notice.

Among the onlookers was a young man dressed in coarse cloth clothes and pants. He looked to be about twenty years old, tall—over seven chi—and very handsome. His thick eyebrows slanted into his temples, and below them were a pair of tiger-like eyes, bright and spirited. His features were handsome, yet he did not lack masculine vigor.

Although the young man was dressed plainly, like a farmhand, he exuded a scholarly elegance that did not match his attire.

Like those around him, the young man in coarse clothes also curiously looked at the newly posted notice.

The notice was a wanted poster, with a portrait of the wanted person.

Judging by the portrait, the person looked quite ordinary, but what stood out was a conspicuous slanted scar on his forehead.

Looking further down, there was a detailed description. The criminal was named William Grant, age unknown, place of origin unknown, but the reward was as high as five thousand gold. The crime was attempting to assassinate the Son of Heaven.

As he watched the townsfolk whispering to each other, one of the yamen runners standing by the notice cleared his throat and loudly proclaimed: "The traitor William Grant, taking advantage of His Majesty's outing, plotted treason. This is a heinous crime, unforgivable! Whoever reports this traitor will receive a reward of five thousand gold!"

"Five thousand gold reward?" Many illiterate townsfolk, upon hearing the words 'five thousand gold,' all widened their eyes in astonishment.

"You'd better not even think about it. He dared to assassinate the Son of Heaven—how could you possibly report him?"

"That's true, but five thousand gold..."

People whispered and discussed animatedly.

The young man in coarse clothes stared intently at the portrait on the notice, secretly sighing in his heart: A true man should be like this!

Just as he was filled with emotion, someone silently approached him from behind.

This person was of medium height, stocky build, dressed very plainly in a short jacket and long pants with the cuffs rolled up high, wearing straw sandals and a straw hat. He looked no different from a farmer coming to the market.

He lowered his head and casually walked up behind the young man in coarse clothes, his hands in front of him. His right hand slipped unnoticed into the left sleeve.

Hidden in his left sleeve was a sharp dagger.

Just as he was slowly drawing the dagger from his sleeve, someone suddenly shouted loudly behind him: "Little George!"

The sudden shout startled the man. He immediately shoved the half-drawn dagger back into his sleeve and then looked at the notice as if nothing had happened.

At that moment, the young man in coarse clothes turned around. He did not see the man behind him putting away the dagger and simply assumed he was another bystander reading the notice.

The young man's gaze passed over him and landed on the person calling out to him. When he saw who it was, his face lit up with joy. He quickly walked over, exclaiming in surprise and delight, "Big Brother!"

The man he called Big Brother was about thirty years old, tall and burly, with a tiger's back and a wasp waist. Looking at his face, he had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose, a square mouth, and a dignified appearance with a rugged air.

"Big Brother, what are you doing in the city?"

"I came into the city to meet a few friends."

The young man in coarse clothes was named George Washington, courtesy name Wenshu. The burly man was named George T., courtesy name Bosheng, and was George Washington's own Big Brother.

Seeing George Washington's empty hands, George T. asked, "Selling grain at the market again?"

George Washington nodded with a smile and deliberately patted the bulging money pouch at his waist, saying, "The price was pretty good!"