On the morning of a new day, mist rose from the mountains, and the humidity in the air increased a lot, showing signs of rain.
There are already people standing in front of the treasure cave, and engineers are helping out. Three large searchlights have been set up inside last night. The diesel generator not far away is humming, supplying electricity continuously.
"Xiao Mo, depending on the weather conditions, it may rain. We must seize the time to transport the good luck treasures as soon as possible."
"Okay, except for the ones guarding the top, the rest of my men have followed down. They are strong and can do things quickly."
"Okay, Professor Yu, Professor Zhou, let's go into the cave."
"Walk."
Three archaeological experts, Li Mo, and other archaeological staff entered the cave one after another. The cave is very large. Under the illumination of the searchlight, it is very bright inside and you can basically see everything inside clearly.
Li Mo looked around. The cave was filled with boxes of things. There were no traces of artificial excavation on the cave walls. This should be a natural cave.
He walked to a wooden box that was about to fall apart, stretched out his hand and pressed it gently, and the wooden box rotted like a piece of paper and a hole was punched out.
"Teacher, it is still very difficult to transport all these treasures out. These wooden boxes have decayed and cannot withstand gravity at all. We must use new wooden boxes to store them and then transport them out one by one."
"Xiao Mo, this matter has been arranged a long time ago. Those newly customized wooden boxes will be delivered soon." Professor Yu smiled. They have participated in many archaeological works. What kind of environment and what kind of materials are needed? , you only need to look at it to know clearly.
Crash--
Suddenly something collapsed on the other side, making a sound of metal hitting.
When everyone heard the news, they saw Zheng Bin standing there in shock. The three wooden boxes piled beside him had fallen apart, and the gold ingots contained in them were scattered on the ground, surrounding his legs and feet.
"I didn't mean it, I just accidentally touched it. Who knew it would fall apart immediately." Teacher Zheng Bin quickly explained that he himself was also frightened just now, and his heart was beating violently now.
"Be careful."
Professor Zhu did not blame him, but stared at the gold ingots for a long time, and sighed: "In the late Qing Dynasty, countless people outside starved to death, but there are amazing treasures of wealth buried here. The Yiwang Stone Da left himself a way out, but forgot the original purpose of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Decay, degeneration, and internal strife eventually led to the demise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This is the tragedy of every general in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the sorrow of every farmer who follows him."
"Boss, the first batch of wooden boxes have arrived." Brown Bear led a group of people to carry the wooden boxes in.
"Leave it alone, we will sort it out one by one and record everything clearly."
"Yes, boss."
Starting from the gold ingots scattered on the ground, the pieces of golden ingots were neatly packed into new wooden boxes.
"Boss, this box can store ninety-eight gold ingots."
"Nail up, note."
After the wooden box was covered, two security personnel used hammers to hammer thick nails into the wooden boards. Then they carried the box out one by one, tied it up again with nylon ropes as thick as their thumbs, and placed them there waiting to be carried out together by helicopter.
When things started, other people stepped forward to help, taking out gold ingots from the rotten wooden box and putting them into new wooden boxes. Everyone was working quietly, and boxes of gold ingots were carried out.
I don't know how long it took before Li Mo stood up and kicked his sore thighs and asked, "Brown Bear, how many large boxes have been emptied?"
"There are twelve boxes of gold ingots and three boxes of silver ingots. Boss, I think this small area should contain all gold and silver ingots." The brown bear waved his hand and drew a big circle.
Li Mo saw that there were about thirty or forty boxes left, and he agreed with the teacher's opinion. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was rotten to the core. Shi Dakai would rather bury such a fortune here so that he could have a chance to start over again after the failed uprising, rather than use it to help more poor farmers. I have to say, he was very sad.
But a century and a half later, no one understands what he was thinking at that time.
"Brown Bear, how many empty boxes are there outside?"
"There are seven more, and the second batch has not been delivered yet."
"This speed is too slow." Li Mo felt overwhelmed. The cleaning speed and efficiency of such a large cave were terrifyingly slow.
"Hahaha, don't be impatient. This is fast enough. Cars can't get in, so we have to rely on helicopters. Anyway, we have made mental preparations and strive to complete this archaeological project in about a month."
"Isn't it already May?" It felt like time passed so fast. Li Mo felt as if the Spring Festival had just passed not long ago. It was already April in the blink of an eye.
Professor Zhou gently patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "One month is the ideal time. If you look at the soil under your feet, you don't know how deep it is. I think such an archaeological project would take one or two A month is considered a short time.”
"Xiao Mo has never seriously participated in archaeological work. In fact, the time we are talking about is only the time to unearth treasures. After everything is moved back, we will spend more time classifying, analyzing, and sorting out the registration. book."
Professor Yu also joked, and they couldn't help laughing when they saw Li Mo's depressed look.
"Speaking of the follow-up research work, there is still a lot of research on the treasure of Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu. I have already made arrangements for my retirement. If I have nothing to do, I will stay in the Xiang Yu Treasure Hall and do some simple research. Work, and the time is spent to the fullest.”
"Lao Zhu, we can work together in the future. If we invite a few other old guys, we won't suddenly feel so lost after retirement."
The archaeological work that was originally quite boring has now become interesting under the guidance of three professors.
Time passes day by day, and it’s mid-April in a blink of an eye.
About 70% of the transportable wooden boxes in the treasure cave have been cleared out, and there are an astonishing amount of various gold and silver ingots, jades, and precious porcelain. The rest is expected to be cleared within three to five days, and the next step is to dig out the soil beneath our feet.
It’s another new day, and only Li Mo leads a group of young teachers to work in the treasure cave. The people behind them were all people from the Security Shield Company, a newly transferred group from Kyoto. The previous group had been sent back to Kyoto for a rest.
"Uncle Junior, these custom-made wooden boxes are all rectangular. What treasures are you going to put in them?"
Chen Xiaojun was the second group to follow, and Brown Bear had already escorted some of Shi Dakai's treasures back to Kyoto.
"Weapons should be very interesting. When the time comes, we will open a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Treasure Hall, and we will be able to open up a separate hall just for various weapons."
Chen Xiaojun's eyes lit up and he asked in a low voice: "Uncle Master, are there any antique guns in this treasure cave?"
"We still need to sort out the details one by one before we know the details."
A group of people walked to the depths of the treasure cave. What they saw in front of them were various rectangular and decayed wooden boxes as tall as a person. They didn't know how many weapons were originally piled here.
"Everyone, be careful. We'll set it up with a ladder and clean it from top to bottom." Li Mo set up the ladder and Zheng Bin hurriedly held it steady.
Li Mo carefully opened the top wooden box. He didn't know what was stuffed in the wooden box. It was dark and sticky, and felt soft and elastic with his hands.
He used a small flashlight to look at it, and it turned out that several layers of linen were stuck together. The linen felt a little oily, and when he opened it, he discovered that it was wrapped in a thick-backed machete. Each machete has a layer of sticky black substance on it, and I don’t know what it is coated with.
Li Mo reached out and grabbed the handle of a machete, brought it up to his nose and smelled it.
"Somewhat similar to wood wax oil." Li Mo handed the thick-backed machete to Xiao Jun standing next to the ladder and said, "Catch it carefully and pay attention to the edge."
Chen Xiaojun took the machete and said in surprise: "It's quite heavy. The surface of this machete is coated with a layer of maintenance oil, so that it has not rusted after more than a hundred years, and the blade is sharp and gives off a cold glow."
"Xiaojun, when did you become proficient in these?"
"I don't know much about it. I just heard veterans talk about some experiences in maintaining weapons when I was in the army."
Only then did Li Mo understand why the weapons in the wooden box were wrapped in several layers of linen. It turned out to be to prevent the weapons from rusting to the greatest extent. Once the cutting edge of a machete becomes rusty, it is basically useless.
"Everyone is extremely careful. The weapons in the wooden box are very sharp. Anyone who is not involved in the cleanup work is staying away to avoid accidental danger."
"I understand, Teacher Li."
Today the three professors are resting outside the Shanwangping Mountains, where Li Mo alone has the final say.
They took out the weapons one by one and put them neatly into new wooden boxes. They did not immediately wipe off the layer of maintenance substance painted on the surface of the weapons. Once wiped off, the surface of the thick-backed machete might become damaged. Oxidation occurs.
"Teacher Li, this wooden box stores spears. The poles of this spears are still as clean as new."
"At that time, the weapons used by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were mainly cold weapons, and only a small number of hot weapons were used. Everyone was careful, and several people took turns climbing the ladder."
Li Mo explained and started cleaning up again.
The pile of weapons as tall as a person gradually decreased, and Li Mo's eyes could finally fall directly on something behind the weapons. When the searchlight shone over, I saw that there seemed to be an even more incredible treasure in the deepest part of the cave. It was all covered with linen. It was impossible to see what kind of valuable treasure there was underneath with the naked eye.
After thinking about it, Li Mo gave up using the special pupils and just waited for the blind box lottery draw to see if the hidden things were earth-shattering treasures.
On the next day, Li Mo opened a rectangular wooden box and finally found the spear. He was not proficient in firearms, but Xiao Jun beside him saw them with bright eyes. These were antique guns.
He stretched out his hand and took out a slender gun, studied it carefully and said: "This is a musket. It looks like it was just made and stored here. There are no traces of use. Uncle Master, let me look at the other wooden guns." Is there anything else in the box?”
"He even raised his gun." Chen Xiaojun looked at the strange-shaped weapon in a daze. As the name suggests, the use of this gun requires the tacit cooperation of two people.
Li Mo also squatted down and looked at the gun with great interest. The barrel of the gun was very long, about two meters long. During the battle, one person in front carries the barrel of the gun on his shoulder, and one person behind him operates and fires the gun. If you are unlucky, the latest person to die will definitely be the person holding the barrel of the gun in front.
"Xiaojun, it seems that what I expected is really coming true. After I return to Kyoto, I will open a separate Taiping Heavenly Kingdom weapons museum. Look at these guns and muskets. Once they are displayed, many tourists will be very curious."
"Uncle Junior, come and take a look at this box. The guns stored in it are of different styles. If I read correctly, the ones here should be shotguns."
Li Mo took the shotgun from his hand, made a few boring gestures and handed it back to Chen Xiaojun, saying: "In the future, it can only be kept in the exhibition hall, Xiaojun, tell me which of these three spears is more powerful. "
"To be honest, these hot weapons were already lagging behind at the time. The most powerful one was the foreign gun, which was accurate, powerful, and easy to operate. If Shi Dakai really wanted to hide treasure, that foreign gun would definitely be his first choice. Junior uncle, we Let’s look again.”
After everyone cleaned up, they found foreign guns, and in one of the wooden boxes, they found ten hand-held short foreign guns.
"Go ahead, this is called a peerless antique gun." Chen Xiaojun couldn't help but marvel. He held up a hand-held short foreign gun in both hands and gently touched the complex and beautiful patterns carved on the handle. It was really dazzling and cool. .
During the Qing Dynasty, such a cool foreign gun was probably only qualified to be used by emperors and princes, or even powerful officials might have a hidden gun.
Li Mo also picked up one, which was quite heavy. This thing is the best among guns, and it was considered the ceiling product of firearms technology at the time.
"It's raining heavily."
Someone suddenly shouted outside the cave.
Li Mo put away the gun and turned to look outside the treasure cave. A security guard ran over and said, "Boss, the rain is raining heavily outside. I'm worried that there will be a lot of water at the bottom of the valley. Do you want to build a barrier at the entrance of the cave first?" dam."
"Can."
"Uncle Master, it seems that God is not kind to us. I heard that deep in the mountains, especially at higher altitudes, rain is the norm."
"There's nothing we can do about it. We'd better finish things as soon as possible and leave early."
It was raining heavily outside the treasure cave, but it was still hot and dry inside the treasure cave. Before it gets dark, all the weapons in this area can be cleared.
"Uncle Junior, a small passage has been cleared here. Let's go over and see if there are any good things at the end."
"Okay, let's go."
The two of them slowly moved inside along the small passage. This is the deepest part of the cave and has not been affected by the mudslide, but the terrain here is also much higher than other places. Pieces of linen cloth covered some things, and the outlines couldn't be seen, and there were no special eyes, so it was unclear whether there were any better treasures underneath.
"Xiaojun, let's take off everything on top."
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