Cao Cao called me to rob a tomb

Chapter 242 The Weird Bronze Coffin (4200)

Under Wu Liang's arrangement, Cao Ang, Dian Wei and the personal guard first went to remove the damaged animal skin outermost layer of the coffin.

And Wu Liang himself led Bai Jingjing and Yu Ji to continue to carefully inspect the three puppets representing Zhou Yi Wang Ji Xie, Qi Hugong Lu Jing and Ji Yanghou Jiang Weizi.

The main purpose is to check whether there are any gaps and seals similar to those puppets I have seen before, lest there are gnats or eggs about to hatch in it, and they will be hard to guard against if they are not careful.

But soon Wu Liang ruled out this possibility.

Because the parts where the three puppets nailed the copper nails have cracks due to the age, these cracks are large and small, shallow and deep.

The deeper gap almost pierced through the puppet.

Through such cracks, it can be seen that these puppets are not hollow, but genuine solid wood, and they give the same feedback when knocked.

In addition, Bai Jingjing almost put her ear on the puppet to listen, but she still didn't hear any sound.

So there's nothing to worry about.

After Wu Liang and the others finished inspecting the puppets, when they turned around, Cao Ang and the others had also dismantled the outermost layer of animal skin from the coffin.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, both the coffin and the outer coffin were mostly made of the classic "three long and two short" coffin binding method, rather than the nail method that appeared later, so it is not too difficult to disassemble.

Under the animal skin coffin is a slightly smaller coffin.

The whole body of the coffin was painted with a layer of black paint, but this layer of black paint also appeared to be dry and cracked, and some places had fallen off, exposing the light-colored wood with clear texture inside.

This is basswood.

This kind of wood has moderate hardness, grease, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, uniform and dense intercellular structure, but the wood is mild so it is not easy to crack and deform, the wood grain is fine, easy to process, and strong toughness. It is a very practical wood. The Spring and Autumn period is also more precious.

"Open again."

Wu Liang came to the coffin, squatted down and inspected carefully through the peeling black paint, but found nothing unusual, so he nodded to Cao Ti and others.

The three of them removed a layer of animal skin coffin, and now they have some experience, and it is very handy to remove this coffin.

In the blink of an eye, they had already cut off the rotten leather straps that bound the coffin, and easily moved the coffin lid aside.

Immediately afterwards, everyone was dazzled by the halo reflected from the coffin.

pearl!

That was a coffin full of pearls!
These pearls are very large and relatively uniform, with a diameter of about 1.5-2 centimeters. Even if they are placed in later generations, they can be regarded as relatively precious large pearls.

However, the colors are not uniform, there are white, red, yellow, black, and some variegated pearls of mixed colors.

It should be known that there was no artificial breeding technology in the Spring and Autumn Period.

That is to say, these pearls are all pure natural products, and their value is undoubtedly more precious than that of later generations, not to mention that there are such a large number of fine-quality pearls that have obviously been carefully selected in size and shape.

This means that Qi State is located in the Jiaodong Peninsula near the sea, and has the convenience of collecting pearls. If it is another prince, no matter how noble the status and wealth are, I am afraid that they may not have the conditions to bury so many large pearls of this size.

Not to mention the value of pearls in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Anyway, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, this thing was a treasure more precious than jade, and it was a luxury that the gentry scrambled to collect. Only the most distinguished group of people were eligible to obtain it.

In history, there is an allusion that Wen Long, the prefect of Guiyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty, "presented pearls for flattery" to Emperor Shun of the Han Dynasty. It can be seen that even the emperor of the Han Dynasty cherished this thing, let alone those high-ranking officials.

and so……

"Are these beads all pearls?"

Cao Ang had already looked straight at the eyes, and the corners of his mouth could not help but twitched slightly, but he couldn't believe it was true.

"Exactly."

Wu Liang nodded, and after carefully inspecting the situation in the coffin, he casually picked up a black pearl and handed it to Cao Ang, saying, "Brother Zixiu, this kind of colored pearl is more precious, if we can take these pearls out of the tomb Go, it shouldn’t be a problem if you want to change to Jinshan, right?”

Wild pearls are valuable even in later generations.

However, with the growing maturity of artificial breeding technology, pearls have become an accessory that ordinary people can afford. In some places, there are even roadside stalls selling pearls and pearl powder.

In this case, the value of wild pearls is naturally declining.

The most important thing is that with the advancement of science and technology, the composition of pearls has long been known to people. It is nothing more than a combination of low-value inorganic substances such as calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. Not so magical.

This is somewhat similar to bird's nest and eggs.

Scientific research shows that the nutritional value of bird's nest and eggs is mainly due to the fact that their nutrients contain more collagen, but the protein of eggs contains a lot of collagen, and the yolk also contains other rich nutrients, so in nutrition Scientifically speaking, the nutritional value of eggs is higher than that of bird's nest.

However, in later generations, the price of bird's nest is still not comparable to that of eggs.

This is not because bird's nest is more nutritious, but because it is rare and expensive, coupled with some people's hype and marketing.

Therefore, more and more people in later generations have realized that spending more money to buy bird's nest is basically paying "double IQ tax".

Similarly, there are diamonds.

This thing can be called one of the most successful "marketing" and "scams" in human history. It is obviously only the least valuable carbon element, and it has long been able to be artificially synthesized, but it can be sold at a sky-high price.

However, in later generations, more and more ordinary people have realized this. Although they still buy diamond rings as tokens of love when they get married, many people just rationally regard it as a symbol and buy a diamond ring of about the same size. The meaning is that they are more willing to buy gold products with the saved money.

After all, the recovery price of gold and the recovery price of diamonds have already explained everything, and even the merchants themselves are afraid of smashing their own hands...

Wu Liang is a very rational person.

In his eyes, these pearls are nothing more than a pile of inorganic substances with no archaeological value...Of course, as a tomb robber, he is also like a diamond merchant, hoping that people will pay as much IQ tax as possible, so that he can get more from Boss Cao. The greater the credit you earn.

He even hoped that as many such treasures as possible would be found during tomb robbing, so that he would not have to start with those exquisitely crafted gold wares that could reflect the humanities and craftsmanship of that time.

"A talented and virtuous brother..."

Cao Ang held the black pearl carefully, his eyes glowed with scorching light, and said excitedly, "Let me just say this, if it weren't for the turmoil in the current situation, in the past few years, pearls of this quality would only come from If you get ten, you can exchange for an official position in the imperial court with an annual salary of at least 2000 shi, and it is an important position with a lot of money."

"Hahaha, God bless the envoy, God bless me Cao Jun."

Wu Liang said with a smile on his face, the credit for this work has already been taken care of.

As long as he can go back alive this time, he feels that he is close to becoming the legendary "Faqiu Zhonglang" and getting the legendary "Faqiu Seal" from Boss Cao, but... the problem is that now Cao Does the boss have the so-called "Faqiu seal" in his hand?

That's really hard to say.

Anyway, so far, Wu Liang has not heard of this matter from anyone, and he doesn't know where this "faqiu seal" comes from. Is it Boss Cao who specially asked someone to engrave it for rewarding him? Boss Cao got it by chance from some unknown place.

If it was specially engraved by someone, I always feel that it is not so magical, and I don't know if the actual function is worthy of the legendary title of "an irreplaceable sacred object in the hands of the diggers".

Of course, it is also possible that the so-called "Faqiu Seal" is just a folklore and does not exist at all.

Because the rumors about this thing in later generations are also very vague. It is only said that the "Faqiu Seal" is engraved with the eight characters "Blessed by Heavenly Officials, No Taboos", which has the function of protecting the body from evil spirits. for specific functions.

"What my brother said is very true."

Cao Ang was already grinning from ear to ear, and said again and again, "But in Brother Yu's opinion, although these pearls are very valuable, compared with them, talented and virtuous brothers are the real treasures, and they are the blessings of my father and Cao Jun. My father must also have a deep understanding!"

"Brother Zixiu is absurd."

Wu Liang smiled modestly.

Then he stretched out his hand and pulled the top layer of pearls away, and soon found the matryoshka coffin covered under the pearls.

Only then did Cao Ang realize that these pearls only filled the gap between the two catalpa coffins, not a coffin full of pearls. As a result, the number of pearls was greatly reduced, at least three-quarters less.

However, he was not very disappointed. These pearls were originally a surprise, and the more the better, the better. Such a quantity is also acceptable.

"Come on, the four of us will work together to lift the coffin out for inspection."

If you want to use these coffins to avoid gnats, these matryoshka coffins must be dismantled one by one, so that the space in the coffins can be used reasonably.

……

The remaining three-layer matryoshka coffin inside is not light at all.

However, with Dian Wei as a strong and tough guy, Cao Ang and his personal guards are not ordinary people. Wu Liang paddled beside him to provide some help. Although it took some trouble, he was finally lifted out of it.

When lifting it, Wu Liang had a feeling that the coffin inside must have been filled with other things, and it was quite dense. Otherwise, just three wooden coffins and one corpse should not be so heavy that even Dian Wei's face was already flushed, and he squatted on the ground panting for a long time before he recovered.

As a result, when Wu Liang opened the next basswood coffin, he didn't see anything dense inside.

Between the interlayers of the two coffins, only some very thin silk was filled.

Yes, silk had already appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, and a relatively mature weaving technique appeared. Although there is still some gap with the silk in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, many nobles have already used exquisite silk products.

And Duke Ai of Qi, as the king of a country, is naturally much more luxurious than ordinary nobles, and silk is certainly not a problem.

In addition, the silk in this interlayer has been cut and sewn except for some patterns similar to curtains, and it is divided into many layers and filled in the interlayer between the two coffins. When stacked, it looks like they are arranged one by one. The same flower clusters are only limited by the printing and dyeing techniques of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the color of these flower clusters is relatively dull.

However, the weight of silk is really limited, which is obviously not the reason for the unusually heavy coffin.

"Pull it out again and continue driving."

Wu Liang observed for a while, and said again.

There are only two layers of the unopened coffin, and the outer layer is a catalpa coffin that is more precious than basswood.

This kind of wood is tough and elastic, has a high density and is not warped or cracked. It is also resistant to moisture and decay, and is not easy to be harmed by insects and fungi. It is known as "immortal for a thousand years".

In ancient times, catalpa wood was once known as the "orthodox material", and was even designated as a tribute wood for making high-quality furniture, boats, and even some excellent military accessories. disaster.

As for the inner floor, according to the customs of the Spring and Autumn Period, it should also be a catalpa coffin.

So, the four of them stepped forward together to carry it together.

Although the outer layer of basswood coffins that have been opened has been removed, when the four of them worked together to move the two matryoshka coffins inside, it still felt very heavy and took a lot of effort.

As a result, after moving out and opening the catalpa coffin on the outer layer, Wu Liang understood the reason.

original.

The interlayers of the two coffins were still filled with some insignificant silk.

However, the innermost coffin, which is usually used to enshrine the body of the owner of the tomb, is not the expected catalpa coffin at all, but a metal coffin made entirely of bronze...

Although this bronze coffin was slightly smaller than normal coffins, it looked like a real thing, and the sound when it was knocked was very dull.

In addition, many magnificent patterns were cast on the surface of the coffin. The overall pattern is mainly dragon pattern and cloud pattern, with some rope patterns on the edges and corners, and some small faces are also decorated with some cloud pattern and shell pattern. , looks very fine.

If it is placed in later generations, this coffin itself will be a rare cultural relic, comparable to the national treasure "Simuwuding", which is known as "the heaviest known bronze in ancient China" discovered by later generations, and it is invaluable!
However, this bronze coffin was not bound using the common "three long and two short" method.

No fixing means were found on the coffin lid and the coffin, as if they were simply covered together.

Wu Liang moved closer and examined it carefully.

Soon, a total of six hexagonal metal columns protruding from the coffin were found on the side of the coffin, two on each of the two larger sides, and one on each of the top and end sides.

The six hexagonal metal pillars obviously did not integrate with the bronze coffin, but protruded through the holes that fit perfectly.

In addition, the material of the hexagonal prism is slightly different.

"What is this?"

Wu Liang felt that this hexagonal metal pillar seemed to be a part of some unknown mechanism, but he was not sure, so he had to ask Dian Wei, Cao Ang and others to open the coffin carefully and try, "Be careful, everyone, no matter what you hear If you make any movement, stop immediately, and continue after I have checked it, and you must not be reckless."

　Thanks to [Mi Meng] boss for his support.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)