Professor Meng picked up the flat, heavy gold object, about forty centimeters long, and weighed it in his hand. He smiled and said, "This is a command arrow used by generals in ancient times. It was usually given by the emperor to generals who went out to war. However, this one is not pure gold..."
In some movies and TV dramas, you can also see this scene: when a general takes his seat in the command tent, there is a command arrow or a sword placed on the table in front of him to command his generals and direct the battle.
There were also some command arrows, which were given by generals to their soldiers. However, those command arrows were not much different from ordinary bows and arrows. They could not be made of gold; at most, they were engraved with the names of generals.
"Hmm? There are words on it: Borjigin Temujin. That's right, it's Genghis Khan's Golden Command Arrow!"
Although Professor Meng was not proficient in Mongolian, he found quite a few things with writing on them after several days of excavation. He hadn't learned anything else, but almost all the archaeologists could recognize the characters "Boerjigin Temujin".
To be honest, Zhuang Rui was quite frustrated. When he first used his spiritual energy to survey the tomb, he couldn't find any objects with inscriptions on them. It was only in the end that he deduced it was Temujin's imperial tomb from the golden arrow in the coffin.
However, after the tombs of the two Genghis Khan's concubines were cleared, all sorts of objects with inscriptions suddenly appeared. Many of the inscriptions were praising Genghis Khan. Zhuang Rui wondered why he hadn't been able to find one of them before.
"This...this is Genghis Khan's token. Nothing else could be more convincing than this. Good, good!"
Upon seeing the golden command token, Director Guo, who remained at the ground command post, beamed with joy. However, after uttering only two "good"s, his expression darkened, and he muttered to himself, "I hope that rascal Zhuang Rui doesn't take a liking to this thing. This... this thing should be displayed in the Palace Museum or the National Museum of China when it's in the public eye..."
The Mongols were a nomadic people, and even after Genghis Khan unified Mongolia, he did not follow the Song Dynasty's example of using bells and seals. Therefore, this golden command arrow is the most powerful evidence of Genghis Khan's identity.
An experienced expert standing next to Director Guo chuckled upon hearing his words and said, "Old Guo, if I were Zhuang Rui, I would definitely choose this one..."
Seemingly confirming the expert's words, Zhuang Rui's voice came through the earpieces of everyone in the command center: "Brother Ren, keep this safe. We'll need it for the press conference later. By the way, after the press conference, I need to take it back to the Dingguang Museum. Director Guo promised to lend me three antiques..."
"Ha ha ha ha……"
The people in the command post could no longer contain themselves and burst into laughter. They were all old men in their sixties and seventies, and none of them were afraid of Director Guo's official authority.
Director Guo glanced at Minister Ouyang and said dejectedly, "The leadership has approved it, what am I afraid of? Just consider it compensation for Xiao Guo's discovery of this imperial tomb..."
There are still some other artifacts in the imperial tomb that can prove Genghis Khan's identity. Although the golden token was lent to Zhuang Rui for three months, it won't affect the exhibition of artifacts unearthed from Genghis Khan's tomb. ...
Inside the tomb, Zhuang Rui unconsciously pursed his lips. He could imagine that Director Guo's face must be as black as a cauldron at this moment. But this was just the beginning. Among the three items Zhuang Rui had chosen, the Golden Token could only rank second at best.
At this moment, most of the funerary objects on Zhuang Rui's side have been cleared away. The "Imperial Seal of the State," representing imperial power, is about to be unearthed in his hands. Zhuang Rui couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and his heart seemed to be beating faster.
"This... is really exciting..."
The Imperial Seal of the State was located above Genghis Khan's head, separated only by a crystal coffin.
Therefore, in order to retrieve the "Imperial Seal of the State", Zhuang Rui had to enter the coffin completely, and he had to press his face against the cold crystal coffin before he could reach the "Imperial Seal of the State".
Although he was wearing an oxygen mask, which meant he was protected by two layers of shields from Genghis Khan, Zhuang Rui still couldn't help but close his eyes when his face touched the crystal coffin. "What if... what if Genghis Khan opens his eyes? I'd be scared crazy."
After reaching out and brushing aside the artifacts piled on top of the "Imperial Seal of the State," Zhuang Rui suddenly felt a slippery sensation through his gloves, which startled him.
"Ugh, what was I thinking? I scared a whole bird..."
Zhuang Rui opened his eyes and glanced down, which calmed him down. It turned out that the Imperial Seal of the State was wrapped in a brocade woven with gold and silver threads, which had remained intact for thousands of years.
"Damn it, don't scare me..."
Zhuang Rui reached his arm forward again, but was caught off guard by Genghis Khan's seemingly sleeping face. Startled, he quickly closed his eyes, reached in with his right hand, grabbed the brocade, and pulled it out.
"Crack... hiss..."
Just as Zhuang Rui's right hand rose above the crystal coffin, the brocade beneath his hand suddenly snapped. Startled, Zhuang Rui abandoned all concern for Genghis Khan beneath him and quickly used his left hand to support the Imperial Seal of the State, then lay prone on the crystal coffin.
It was almost midsummer on the surface, but the temperature underground was extremely low. Zhuang Rui hadn't sweated a drop after working for four or five hours, but now his forehead was covered with beads of sweat the size of beans.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness! If it had broken another corner, I would have risked my life to fix it..."
Zhuang Rui lay sprawled on the crystal coffin like a frog, his limbs seemingly powerless, completely forgetting that there was an ancient emperor beneath him. If his friends saw this, who knows what they would speculate about Zhuang Rui's sexual orientation.
Although Zhuang Rui knew that the "Imperial Seal of the State" wrapped in brocade might not be so fragile, he still couldn't help but feel nervous. He wasn't this careful when he first held his son.
Professor Meng, who had been directing the entire operation from the ladder, suddenly noticed that Zhuang Rui's posture was not very elegant and that he was lying there and not getting up. He couldn't help but call out curiously, "Zhuang Rui, what's wrong? Why are you lying there? Did you fall?"
"No, teacher, I didn't hurt myself..."
Zhuang Rui raised his head, revealing a smile that looked more like a grimace, "I...I just have no strength left in my body..."
"What happened? Xiao Ren, stop and help Zhuang Rui out..."
Professor Meng thought Zhuang Rui was exhausted, so he quickly called Ren Chunqiang and another staff member inside the coffin to help Zhuang Rui up.
With his arms tightly wrapped around his chest, Zhuang Rui climbed the ladder in a strange posture. When his legs touched the ground, he couldn't help but sit down on the ground with a thud.
"Brother Zhuang, what are you holding?"
Peng Fei, with his sharp eyes, spotted something in Zhuang Rui's arms and quickly came over. Upon hearing Peng Fei's words, the camera, which was originally aimed at the inside of the coffin, also turned its lens towards Zhuang Rui's... embrace.
"This kid must be carrying some kind of treasure..."
Zhuang Rui's unusual behavior also attracted the attention of everyone in the command center. Director Guo stared intently at the screen, wanting to see what it was that could make Zhuang Rui so nervous.
"Brother Zhuang, take it out and let us see it..."
Peng Fei reached out and tugged at Zhuang Rui's arm, only to find that the guy was holding on tightly and showed no intention of letting go.
"Xiao Zhuang, what is that?"
Professor Meng was also curious and climbed down the ladder.
"Jade... Imperial Seal!"
After sitting on the ground for a while, Zhuang Rui felt his strength returning to his body. He was really scared when he almost fell and knocked over the Imperial Seal.
Because of that one small difference, Zhuang Rui could very well have become infamous for smashing the imperial seal, just like the strong-willed Empress Dowager of the Western Han Dynasty in history.
"An imperial seal? Genghis Khan also left behind an imperial seal?"
Professor Meng frowned upon hearing this. He had always believed that during the Mongol Khanate period, the emperor did not have an imperial seal. Zhuang Rui's words puzzled him.
Professor Meng simply couldn't connect this jade seal with the Imperial Seal of the State, since the Imperial Seal of the State had been missing for a long time, and no one would have expected it to appear here.
"It's not the Imperial Seal, no...no, it is, it is...well, you can see for yourselves..."
For the first time, Zhuang Rui realized how poor his eloquence was. The simple phrase "Imperial Seal of the State" stuck in his throat, and he couldn't get it out smoothly no matter what he said.
In a moment of desperation, Zhuang Rui simply placed the Imperial Seal, which was wrapped in tattered brocade, on the ground and then carefully unwrapped the brocade.
"This...this imperial seal's shape...why does it look so familiar?"
Upon first sight of the "Imperial Seal of the State," the thought simultaneously crossed the minds of both the staff inside the tomb and the veteran experts guarding the command post.
Chapter 1193 A Word That Shocked the Audience
Compared to a normal seal, the emperor's jade seal was naturally much larger. During the Ming Dynasty, there was also a eunuch in charge of the seal, who stood behind the emperor holding the jade seal with both hands. He held an extremely high position in the palace.
However, this jade seal dazzled everyone. The reason was simple: at first glance, they felt as if they had seen it somewhere before.
The entire jade seal is pure white, with a smooth and lustrous sheen. Although it is wrapped in brocade made of gold and silver threads, it is not stained with any color. Under the light, it reveals a smooth and precious color.
The base of the jade seal is square, about 20 to 30 centimeters in length and width. A dragon-like beast is carved on the knob, and the lifelike five-coiled dragon represents the divine power, strength, authority and kingly demeanor in Chinese culture.
"That's strange, why does it look so familiar? This style seems... seems..."
Professor Meng uttered two "it seems" sounds before suddenly falling silent. However, if anyone could see through the oxygen mask covering Professor Meng's face, they would surely notice that he was now unable to speak, his mouth agape.
Not only Professor Meng, but also the experts who remained in front of the command center screen fell silent when the camera changed angle and zoomed in on the jade seal.
The bottom of the pure white jade seal has a section about four or five centimeters in diameter that has a golden luster. Clearly, this is not a naturally occurring color, but rather the result of artificial repair.
Although the gold color of this piece doesn't quite match the overall jade seal, it still looks so harmonious, demonstrating the superb skill of the craftsman who repaired it.
"The Imperial Seal of the State?"
Even Ouyang Zhenwu, an outsider to the field, recognized the origin of this jade seal at a glance. The reason is simply that the Imperial Seal of the State has had a tremendous influence in China, and the story of gold inlaid with jade is known to anyone with even a little knowledge of history.
"That's right, look at this design, it's the He Shi Bi jade..."
"My God, how... how could it possibly appear inside Genghis Khan's mausoleum?"
"Why is it impossible? When the Jin dynasty destroyed the Northern Song dynasty, both emperors were captured, and the jewels in the Northern Song palace were looted. At that time, there were rumors that the Imperial Seal of the State had been obtained by the Jin people. Later, the Mongols destroyed the Jin dynasty, and the Imperial Seal of the State is in Genghis Khan's mausoleum. What's so impossible about that?"
"That timing doesn't make sense either. When the Mongols destroyed the Jin dynasty, Genghis Khan had already been dead for several years..."
"Hey, Professor Guo, didn't the parchment scroll that was unearthed a few days ago say that Genghis Khan was buried eight years after his death? Doesn't that make sense?"
"It's hard to say. Since the Tang Dynasty, there have been countless imitations of the Imperial Seal of the State. Emperor Taizong of Tang alone had dozens of imitations made. Maybe this one isn't even real..."
Ouyang Zhenwu's words brought the astonished crowd back to their senses. However, the command post immediately turned into a marketplace, with discussions erupting everywhere. Some said it was the Imperial Seal of the State, while others refuted it. For a moment, no one could convince anyone else, so they simply shouted at each other to see who could shout the loudest.
These senior experts are all pure scholars, and they are all about the same age. Whenever they gather together, there is no question of who leads whom or who commands whom, and there is no authority. Everything is based on facts and evidence.
Therefore, in such a harmonious academic atmosphere, arguments are inevitable. Sometimes, two senior experts can argue heatedly over the dating of a small object.
"Ahem... Everyone, please be quiet. We haven't seen the actual product yet, so let's hear what Professor Meng and the others have to say first."
Ouyang Zhenwu was quite helpless in the face of this group of old men. Outside, he was a high-ranking minister, and might even become a national leader. Wherever he went, he was surrounded by a large entourage and enjoyed immense prestige.
However, in front of these elderly people, Ouyang Zhenwu was at best a logistics support staff member. Whenever the old guys who were about the same age as Ouyang Zhenwu were short of any tools, they would immediately ask Ouyang Zhenwu to solve the problem.
However, Ouyang Zhenwu's words calmed everyone down. Even if they argued fiercely up there, it wouldn't be as clear as what the people inside the mausoleum could see.
"Old Meng, take a look, is this really the Imperial Seal of the State carved from the He Shi Bi jade?"
An old man grabbed the microphone and started shouting.
"Old Meng, you're no good. Your appraisal skills aren't even as good as mine. That whole cabinet of fake jade you bought at Panjiayuan is a cautionary tale..."
This person is Professor Meng's colleague and knows that he likes to collect jade, but after decades, his ability to identify jade has not improved much, and he has bought a cabinet full of antique-style fake jade.
Therefore, although archaeology and collecting are related in some way, it does not mean that archaeologists are necessarily collectors and appraisers. Otherwise, all those archaeology graduates every year would not need to work so hard to find jobs; they could just go to antique markets around the world and find bargains to make a fortune.
Conversely, grassroots appraisers like Uncle De, while able to determine the authenticity of objects, often lack the ability to cite sources or their origins.
Just as the old professor was questioning Professor Meng's appraisal skills, an older expert offered his opinion: "Isn't Xiao Zhuang here? He's a nationally renowned jade expert. Let Xiao Zhuang take a look, let him see..."
"Yes, yes, isn't Xiao Zhuang a standing director of the Jade Association? Let him take a look..."
"Hmm, Xiao Zhuang is alright. I trust him. The other day he helped me look at a piece of jade, and his description of its age and quality was spot on..."
When the suggestion was made to have Zhuang Rui appraise the "Imperial Seal of the State," surprisingly, the opinions of many experts in the command center were unified. This puzzled Ouyang Zhenwu, who said, "Zhuang Rui is still relatively young. How about... I contact an expert from the Palace Museum who specializes in appraising imperial seals and jade artifacts?"
Ouyang Zhenwu knew that Zhuang Rui was quite accomplished in the antique circle and had even opened a small shop and set up a private museum in Panjiayuan. However, in Ouyang Zhenwu's opinion, one must have decades of experience in appraising antiques. Wasn't Zhuang Rui a bit too young?
"Minister Ouyang, you don't know this, but Xiao Zhuang has a very good reputation in the antique world, especially in the jade industry. He's known as the 'King of Jadeite from the North,' and that title isn't for nothing..."
When Ouyang Zhenwu seemed somewhat skeptical of Zhuang Rui's abilities, an experienced expert immediately stepped forward to defend Zhuang Rui.
“That’s right, Minister Ouyang, I’ve also heard of Zhuang Rui’s reputation. He is indeed a very famous antique appraisal expert in China, and I think he even runs a website…”
Although Director Guo lost the bet with Zhuang Rui, he still spoke up and said a few good words about Zhuang Rui.