To make matters worse, there was the question of taxes. The Confederate government took cotton for taxes in lieu of money, but three bales wouldn't even cover the taxes.
And this becomes a secret, a private obsession, which I would say is an apt description of writing novels and screenplays, of making things up in lieu of knowing the real answer.
So, our cup is very much part of a system-it was given either as an Imperial gift or in lieu of a salary, to a senior official at the Han military garrisons near present day Pyongyang in North Korea.