Chapter 1170 Legend
As Zhuang Rui explained, Batel's expression kept changing. When he heard about the tragic fate of the Qing Dynasty imperial tombs, his expression became extremely ugly.
Although the Mongolians believe that the immortality of the soul is more important than the demise of the body, as a descendant of Genghis Khan, Batel certainly did not want his ancestor to end up like the Qianlong Emperor, with his remains incomplete.
"Alright, Brother Zhuang, I trust you. Let's go with Peng Fei to find the troops stationed nearby..."
After much deliberation, Batel finally agreed to Ren Chunqiang's plan. Although excavating the royal tombs would disturb the peace of his ancestors, it was better than being humiliated by tomb raiders, right?
Moreover, Batel knew that if what Zhuang Rui discovered was indeed a tomb of the Mongol royal family, then they, the tomb keepers, might not be able to stop the excavation work.
Although the state may have some preferential policies for ethnic minorities, it is absolutely impossible to abandon the excavation of Mongolian imperial tombs just to appease their feelings, given the momentous occasion of the discovery of Mongolian imperial tombs.
It's important to know that Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor to unify the six kingdoms and establish a feudal dynasty. Weren't all the burial pits around Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum excavated? If it weren't for technological limitations, even Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum would have been discovered long ago.
"Brother Batel, it would be best if you could understand. I think the people of the grasslands also wish to see the splendor of Genghis Khan a thousand years ago..."
Hearing that Batel had agreed to let them uncover the secrets underground, Zhuang Rui breathed a sigh of relief.
To excavate the tomb of Genghis Khan, which has been buried underground for thousands of years, two factors are essential. The first is that it must be a state undertaking, with the state leading the excavation. The second is the support of the Mongolian people, which is also extremely important.
It's important to understand that if these local people, who have lived on the grasslands for generations, were to strongly oppose the excavation and sabotage it from the shadows, it would create many unexpected difficulties for the excavation work.
"Brother Zhuang, I think I'll pass. Old Ba can go alone..."
Peng Fei was somewhat unhappy with Ren Chunqiang's arrangement. He was Zhuang Rui's personal bodyguard, and what if something happened after he left?
Dr. Ren was taken aback upon hearing this. Indeed, what right did he have to appoint Peng Fei? He then turned his gaze to Zhuang Rui.
"Peng Fei, you must go. Once you arrive at the garrison, contact my elder brother immediately. This matter is extremely important..."
Zhuang Rui understood Ren Chunqiang's meaning: sending Peng Fei was intended to ensure that the relevant departments would take his identity, or rather, the identification he carried, into consideration.
"Okay, but be careful, Brother Zhuang, that waterway is tough to cross, damn it, it's full of water plants..."
When Peng Fei saw Zhuang Rui speak, he nodded reluctantly, which was considered as agreement.
After instructing Peng Fei, Zhuang Rui turned to Ren Chunqiang and said, "Brother Ren, I agree to notify the garrison first, but I'm worried you won't be able to get into the secret passage. I think... we should notify Professor Meng first, and then have them bring over the diving and exploration equipment..."
Even with Peng Fei's physique, he almost couldn't hold on in the waterway. If Ren Chunqiang were to dive down, he would probably end up like Zhu Jiuling, the hero in Jin Yong's martial arts novel "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," who was trapped in a crevice in the mountain and couldn't get in or out of the lake.
Ren Chunqiang shook his head and said firmly, "No, I have to go in and take a look first before deciding whether to report it. Xiao Zhuang, although you are the captain of this archaeological expedition, once we leave Dunhuang, the expedition is effectively over. You have to listen to me..."
Based solely on the gold ingot that Zhuang Rui presented, Dr. Ren could not definitively conclude that this was a Mongol royal tomb, as the underground site could also have been a refuge built by the Yuan Dynasty royal family for their descendants to take refuge in.
This has been common throughout history. A few years ago, someone discovered many dilapidated Ming Dynasty buildings in the Shiwan Mountains of Hubei Province, and found a large amount of grain and weapons underground and in some buildings.
After investigation, the relevant departments came to a startling conclusion: this place was built by Zhu Yuanzhang as a refuge for his descendants.
Genghis Khan conquered the world, and naturally, he made enemies all over the world. There is no eternal dynasty in this world, and who knows what kind of escape route he might have left behind.
More importantly, there is a world-class Dunhuang cultural exchange conference in Beijing the day after tomorrow. In a sense, it can also be considered an awards ceremony, which will greatly help Ren Chunqiang's future development.
If Ren Chunqiang rashly listened to Zhuang Rui's advice and did not attend the Dunhuang academic exchange conference, and the discovery here turned out to be a waste of time, then he would not benefit from either side. That is why Dr. Ren decided that he must go down and investigate in person.
"Damn it, what are you looking at? I'll take you to see Genghis Khan's corpse too..."
Zhuang Rui felt a little annoyed after hearing Dr. Ren's words, but he couldn't refute them. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright, but Brother Ren, if you can't hold on underwater, you must come back to the surface..."
According to Zhuang Rui's estimate, it would take at least two minutes to cross the waterway from the lake, and during that time, Ren Chunqiang would need to swim a distance of thirty or forty meters. He didn't think that Ren Chunqiang's body, which was slightly stronger than a bean sprout but far from being robust, could withstand the challenge.
"Alright, I know. As long as no water ghosts grab me from below, why would I want to die?"
Ren Chunqiang waved his hand dismissively, but when he mentioned the water ghost, he couldn't help but shudder. If this underground place really was Genghis Khan's mausoleum, who knows how many people died during the renovation? There might be many wronged souls in this lake.
Of course, Dr. Ren's professional ethics, or rather his expectations for the Mongolian imperial tombs, are commendable. Although he was a little apprehensive, he still followed Zhuang Rui down to the lake.
Zhuang Rui first led Ren Chunqiang down a few meters and pointed out the entrance to the waterway to him. Then the two of them surfaced again, took a deep breath, and then went down together.
To be honest, Zhuang Rui had underestimated Ren Chunqiang. This guy was actually a good swimmer, and he didn't fall behind Zhuang Rui. They entered the suction-filled waterway one after the other.
Actually, Peng Fei had a hard time before because he had to cut the water plants, which took a lot of his energy and strength. Now, Ren Chunqiang only needs to swim along, and as long as he is a good swimmer, he can swim to the other side of the waterway.
Zhuang Rui, who was swimming ahead, tried to grab some water plants with his arms and then used brute force to pull them off. Ren Chunqiang, who was following behind, immediately had less effort. A little over two minutes later, the two of them surfaced at the same time in the pool at the bottom of the underground river.
"Brother Ren, are you alright?"
Zhuang Rui reached out and brushed the water plants off his head and face, then climbed out of the pool. All he could hear was Ren Chunqiang's heavy breathing.
"N-nothing...it's okay, Zhuang...Zhuang Rui, turn on the flashlight..."
Suddenly entering a secluded place, the psychological pressure brought by the darkness was far greater than the physical exhaustion. Although some plants in the riverbed seemed to emit a faint light, for Ren Chunqiang, it was pitch black.
A beam of light shone from Zhuang Rui's hand. This wasn't a waterproof flashlight; it was just an ordinary flashlight, only it had been wrapped in a plastic bag and brought in by Zhuang Rui.
"Brother Ren, this is the box of gold ingots. Look... aren't there traces of artificial carving on the rock walls on both sides?"
After Zhuang Rui and Ren Chunqiang rested for a while, they aimed their flashlights at the pair of gold ingots on the ground. After Dr. Ren went up and examined them for a while, they shone the flashlights on the rock walls on both sides, especially around the pool, where the traces of artificial excavation were very obvious.
"That's right, it was man-made. This underground river was likely formed during the middle stage of karst development and is not suitable for human survival or food storage. It seems this wasn't a refuge built by the Mongols..."
After examining the site, Dr. Ren became somewhat excited and murmured to himself, "There's a legend that Genghis Khan's mausoleum is underwater. Could it be... that the legend is true?"
"There's such a legend?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned when he heard this. He had searched through the entire book of the secret history of Mongolia that had been passed down through song, but he had not found such a statement.
Ren Chunqiang nodded and said, "This is a story I read in a novel. It said that when the mausoleum of Genghis Khan was being built, all the people used, apart from slaves, were the soldiers most loyal to Genghis Khan. These soldiers knew that they would be buried alive with him after the mausoleum was completed."
Whether slaves or soldiers, they were all blindfolded when they went to Genghis Khan's Mausoleum. However, one of them had a moment of lapse in judgment and secretly ran away when returning to the surface to transport stones. According to him, he heard the sound of flowing water underground.
Finally, after the soldiers finished building the mausoleum, they killed all the artisans and slaves. Then, during the rotation, they were killed by other soldiers. This happened three times, and the Genghis Khan Mausoleum remained a secret forever…
"Brother Ren... are you sure this is fiction and not historical material?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned by Ren Chunqiang's words, because the novel and the Genghis Khan Mausoleum deep in the river were too imaginative, and the description was incredibly accurate.
Entering the cave from underground at the Alzhai Grottoes, one finds numerous waterways where the sound of flowing water can be heard. The burial pit at the outermost edge of Genghis Khan's Mausoleum also testifies to the killing of the craftsmen. Zhuang Rui has already proven all of this with his spiritual energy.
"Ahem, it really is a novel, written by that guy from Hong Kong named Ni Kuang. I forgot his name, but you can look for it..."
Ren Chunqiang's face flushed slightly. He coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment. Comparing novels to rigorous archaeological science was a bit too unserious.
Chapter 1171 A False Alarm
"Damn, this novelist should really study archaeology! Not only is his imagination incredible, but he also guessed eight or nine out of ten things correctly. Amazing, truly amazing..."
Upon hearing Ren Chunqiang's words, Zhuang Rui was so astonished that his mouth could have been filled with a duck egg. He was filled with admiration for the Hong Kong novelist.
This is utterly absurd! The truth about Genghis Khan's mausoleum, which has attracted countless people for centuries, is revealed in a novel. How can archaeologists possibly accept this?
After Dr. Ren conducted another survey of the entrance to the underground river, Zhuang Rui said, "Brother Ren, how about it? Can we call Professor Meng now?"
"Okay, okay, we'll report to Professor Meng and our superiors immediately after we leave..."
Ren Chunqiang nodded repeatedly. After this investigation, he was completely certain that this was a Mongolian mausoleum. The Mongolian people who had the ability to build a mausoleum deep underground were obviously Mongolians. Even if it was not the mausoleum of Genghis Khan, it must be a Mongolian imperial mausoleum.
For Dr. Ren, the Dunhuang cultural exchange meeting in Beijing became less important because of the fact that a Mongolian imperial tomb had never been discovered before in archaeological history.
It is important to know that the Dunhuang manuscripts were published a hundred years ago, while the Mongol imperial tombs have been sought for thousands of years without being found. The discovery of this tomb will be recorded in the annals of scientific research in the 21st century.
"Zhuang Rui, how about we follow the underground river further in and see what happens?"
Thinking of the glory that would come from discovering this tomb, Ren Chunqiang's heart was burning with excitement. He wished that the imperial tomb deep in the underground river would immediately appear before him.
Given the opportunity to achieve lasting fame, who could remain calm? Especially historians and archaeologists, when they are deciphering the stories of historical figures, how could they not feel envious and wish they could take the place of the tomb's discovery and excavation, explaining and recording the entire story in detail, which would surely be included in relevant historical annals.
Of course, the person who stole the show in this whole affair was none other than Zhuang Rui.
However, as the second person to discover the tomb, he would also be bestowed with a lot of honor. For Dr. Ren, this was like a windfall, and he was already very satisfied.
Therefore, Dr. Ren, in a state of excitement, made such a request that violated archaeological regulations. You should know that the excavation of such a large tomb would definitely require the establishment of a command center, and the excavation process must be carried out under the unified deployment of the command center.
Zhuang Rui didn't care, because he had already used his spiritual energy to survey the area. There were no dangerous creatures in the three or four-mile-long underground river. As long as he didn't get lost, there would be no danger.
Moreover, Zhuang Rui himself didn't take any rules or regulations to heart. Upon hearing Dr. Ren's words, he immediately said, "Brother Ren, the battery in this flashlight will probably only last for two hours at most. Let's walk forward for an hour, and if we still haven't found it, let's turn back here..."
Zhuang Rui only brought one flashlight with him. If it runs out of power and it's pitch black, even if he reaches the secret passage of the tomb, he probably won't find anything. Zhuang Rui can't possibly find the highly concealed exit of the secret passage in the dark, can he?
"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say, I'll do as you say..."
Dr. Ren nodded repeatedly, still basking in the joy of this tremendous discovery.
"Brother Ren, I'll go first, you follow behind..."
Zhuang Rui took the flashlight from Ren Chunqiang, leaned against the edge of the underground river, and walked inside.
Underground rivers are often found alongside karst caves, and this underground river is no exception. Although it is not as tall and wide as the karst cave under the Alzhai Grottoes, it is still more than three meters high and four meters wide, enough for several people to walk side by side.
After walking more than ten meters forward and turning a crooked path, the scenery in front of him suddenly changed, causing Zhuang Rui to stop in his tracks.
Various stalactites hang from the rock walls above the underground river, and the slowly flowing water displays a variety of beautiful colors under Zhuang Rui's flashlight beam.
Who says that Earth's most magnificent colors can only be seen in the depths of the ocean and in primeval forests? Inside this cave, the wonders of nature captivated Zhuang Rui and his companion.
"So beautiful..."
Ren Chunqiang muttered to himself.
"Yes, even without any imperial tombs here, developing this area would make it an excellent tourist attraction..."
Zhuang Rui nodded. Nature always creates miracles that are beyond human capabilities without their knowledge. However, due to the battery of their flashlight, the two of them could only save this beautiful scenery for another time.
After walking about four or five hundred meters, the terrain became narrower and narrower. The river channel, which was originally three or four meters wide, was only a little over one meter wide in some places, and Zhuang Rui and his companion had to walk barefoot in the river channel.
The height of the cave ceiling also decreased, and in some places, one had to bend over to pass through. To Dr. Ren's excitement, there were traces of artificial excavation in these places, which indicated that they had not gone to the wrong place.
"Ouch..."
Zhuang Rui, who was walking in front, suddenly cried out in pain and stopped abruptly.
Ren Chunqiang, who was following behind Zhuang Rui, bumped into Zhuang Rui's back unexpectedly. Ignoring the stinging sensation in his nose, he quickly asked, "What's wrong? Zhuang Rui, are you in danger?"
"I...I don't know what it is, it feels like I'm on fire, damn, it hurts so much..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head and shone the flashlight on his left arm. He immediately noticed a burn mark on his forearm, about the size of a coin, with the skin broken open and the surrounding area bright red.
"Quick, wash it with water..."
Dr. Ren felt relieved when he realized it wasn't a monster. In this dark and remote place, they didn't even have a gun. If they had really encountered a monster, they would have been doomed.
Zhuang Rui handed the flashlight to Ren Chunqiang. While bending down to clean the wound on his forearm, he silently infused it with a trace of spiritual energy, relieving the pain in his arm.