Wang Ji, the CCTV's top cameraman, didn't fall off the ladder, but his whole body was trembling, and the camera lens kept shaking.
It's not surprising that the reporter was timid. After climbing the ladder, the reporter aimed his eyes at the camera's zoom-in lens and took a precise shot.
To his surprise, a man wearing a golden crown, with a majestic appearance, a slightly dark complexion, and tightly closed eyes, was facing him. There seemed to be white downy hair growing around his ears. No matter how brave the reporter was, he was so frightened by this sight that his soul almost left his body, and he was terrified.
"That damn old ghost..."
Just as the staff below the ladder were wondering what was going on, Peng Fei let out a strange cry and pulled out a Desert Eagle that looked like a giant cannon from somewhere, pointing it at the coffin.
"Peng Fei, stop! Don't fire!"
Zhuang Rui was startled by Peng Fei's actions. He regretted not letting him come down. If the gun had gone off accidentally, even he probably wouldn't have been able to save him. The crime of seriously damaging cultural relics would mean he would be imprisoned for at least twenty years, even if he wasn't executed.
"A... a mummy?"
Professor Meng, however, was oblivious to what was happening in front of him. His attention was completely drawn to the male corpse in the coffin, as if in his eyes it was not a corpse that had been dead for a thousand years, but a sleeping beauty.
"Quick, point the camera at the coffin..."
"What's going on? Why can't the images be transmitted? What happened?"
"Old Meng, what mummy? You better explain yourself clearly."
Chaos reigned inside the tomb. Similarly, in the ground command center, everyone was as anxious as ants on a hot plate, constantly calling out on the walkie-talkie. They never expected that the camera would malfunction at such a critical moment.
In particular, Professor Meng's words, when they reached the ears of the veteran experts, made them feel as if they had been scratched by a cat, and they were so anxious that they almost cursed each other.
Finally, after a moment of camera shake, the image gradually became clear, and a man with a dignified appearance, draped in layers of gold silk, appeared lying flat before everyone.
The man's features were so clear; his dark skin seemed to have a touch of rosiness, like a dignified old man in his sleep, so serene and tranquil.
The appearance of this scene immediately silenced the agitated command center. Time seemed to stand still, and the veteran experts stood there with their mouths agape, their faces filled with strange expressions.
"Ah, a mummified corpse, no, a living corpse!"
"Oh my god, how... how could this happen?"
"Old Meng, is this... is this the corpse inside the coffin?"
A little over a minute later, the command center erupted into chaos, with everyone shouting as if only in this way could they release the complex emotions of unease, excitement, and exhilaration within them.
Before the coffin was opened, everyone had made many guesses, even imagining the scene of an Egyptian mummy appearing inside. But no one expected that... there would actually be an old man who looked like he was fast asleep inside.
The discrepancy between reality and imagination stirred emotions even among this group of experienced veteran experts. Even Ouyang Zhenwu stood up, his face filled with astonishment. ...
"Genghis Khan, it must be Genghis Khan..."
Unlike the emotionally charged people in the command center, all the archaeologists in the tomb who had the most direct view of the man in the coffin had the same thought at the same time, and it came to them so naturally: the person in the coffin could only be Genghis Khan.
Although the person inside was just lying quietly, with even their eyes closed, the silent majesty made everyone feel a sense of oppression, like an ant standing in front of an elephant.
This emperor, who commanded the world in his lifetime, still exuded an aura of dominance even after his death. The murderous aura that seemed to emanate from his body made everyone who faced him feel breathless and as if a heavy stone was pressing on their chest.
Genghis Khan's tightly closed eyes and slightly upturned lips seemed to be mocking the world, mocking those who opened his coffin, or perhaps mocking himself? A hero in life, an emperor who trampled the world on horseback, in death he was reduced to a mere three feet of burial ground.
At this moment, even Zhuang Rui, who had seen this face before, was deeply captivated, as if he could see the majestic scene of this old man leading thousands of Mongol cavalry to sweep across the world.
At this moment, even Professor Meng, who had opened countless ancient coffins, was somewhat lost in thought and unable to control himself. He never dreamed that a corpse could bring him so many reveries.
The neighing of horses and the shouts of battle seemed to echo in everyone's ears. The long river of history seemed to flow backward, leading everyone back to a thousand years ago, to witness this emperor standing alone on the high platform, receiving the worship of millions of soldiers.
Chapter 1191 Crystal Coffin
"Teacher, inside... there's a crystal coffin..."
Zhuang Rui was the first to regain his senses. It wasn't that he had particularly strong willpower, but he had already experienced a similar shock more than a month ago, so he was somewhat immune to it now.
"Huh? A crystal coffin?"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Professor Meng seemed to awaken from a dream. Looking closely, he saw that, indeed, there was a transparent crystal coffin outside the lifelike imperial corpse, sealing the entire body inside.
The gold and silver brocades that appeared to be covering Genghis Khan were actually floating in the water. However, the crystal coffin was not large enough to contain the body, so it looked as if it was tightly wrapped around his body.
"Is it soaked in medicine?"
Upon closer inspection, Professor Meng immediately discovered that Genghis Khan's entire body was surrounded by a colorless, watery substance. However, due to the extremely high transparency of the crystal coffin, it was difficult to detect without careful observation.
But this raises another question: what exactly is the medicine made of that? How could it have lasted for thousands of years?
It's important to know that water-like substances evaporate naturally. Let alone such a small amount of water, even a small lake would probably disappear in less than a thousand years if it became stagnant.
What's even more astonishing is that the potion in just this one crystal coffin preserved the corpse for a thousand years without decaying. It seems that even the most advanced modern technology cannot achieve this.
Needless to say, the efficacy of this preservative far surpasses that of the formalin brought in by the archaeological team. If this mystery can be solved, it will greatly promote the development of modern medicine.
"This...this crystal coffin...it actually has no gaps?"
The problem of the medicine not evaporating was quickly solved, because Professor Meng, who peered down into the body, discovered that the entire crystal coffin was a single, seamless piece, seemingly without any seams or joints.
Seeing that Professor Meng's attention was focused on the crystal coffin, Zhuang Rui coughed and said, "Professor, the coffin has been opened. Should we... clear out the things around it first?"
Inside this enormous coffin, besides the crystal coffin, were countless precious burial objects, including a blood coral over a meter tall, various exquisite ancient jade pieces, and gold and silver utensils, filling the entire coffin to the brim.
These items need to be preserved immediately after the coffin is opened; otherwise, they may oxidize upon contact with external oxygen.
"Yes, yes, it was my oversight..."
Professor Meng blushed. He was supposed to be the one to say those words, but in his moment of distraction, his student had ended up reminding him instead.
"Zhuang Rui, you and Xiao Ren bring the things up. Xiao Liu and the others stay down here and take care of them. First, clear the items on the left side..."
There were only eight staff members entering the main tomb chamber this time. Professor Meng knew that it was impossible for him to carry out such a high-intensity cleaning work due to his physical condition, so he made proper arrangements.
"Here you go, two pieces of ancient jade..."
"One blood coral isn't enough, we need two people..."
"A golden dagger, but the color isn't quite right. I need to get it serviced as soon as possible..."
Zhuang Rui and Dr. Ren stood on the ladder, bending down to take out the artifacts one by one from the coffin. They worked for more than four or five hours, leaving them with sore backs and aching waists, but they only managed to clean out one area of treasures at the bottom of the crystal coffin.
The more than 1,680 pieces of high-quality ancient jade, mostly bats and openwork dragon-shaped jade pendants representing auspicious meanings, are well preserved because the tomb chamber did not collapse or get flooded.
Due to years of contact with gold and silver artifacts and coffin brocade, many ancient jade pieces have three to four different colors of patina. One piece of ancient jade is even a seven-colored patina jade that Zhuang Rui has never seen before. The several different colors make the ancient jade even more mysterious and unpredictable.
The abundance of jade burial objects filled Zhuang Rui with regret. If he had robbed the tomb himself, the Dingguang Museum could have immediately added a jade exhibit.
The other blood coral is also a top-quality specimen. The entire coral is about 1.5 meters tall. Even after being buried underground for thousands of years, it still exudes a bright and beautiful color. Furthermore, there are artificially inlaid gemstones on the natural coral branches, making it even more dazzling.
At this moment, Director Guo, who was watching the cleanup work from the ground command center, suddenly exclaimed, "Wow, so many good things..."
"Xiao Guo, what's wrong? You've discovered so many good things, aren't you happy?"
Ouyang Zhenwu has been traveling between Beijing and Inner Mongolia recently. The preliminary work for the press conference has been completed, and it can proceed immediately after Genghis Khan's coffin is opened today.
"I'm happy, I'm happy, but Minister, I must admit my mistake to the organization. I shouldn't have gambled with state property for personal gain..."
Director Guo felt a mix of emotions, unsure of what to feel. Each of these items was a national treasure, and the thought of Zhuang Rui having to lend out three of them made his heart ache.
Director Guo never expected that Zhuang Rui didn't care about these burial items at all. In the end, even Director Guo didn't have the authority to approve lending out what Zhuang Rui wanted.
"Zhuang Rui has made great contributions to the country, and it is only right to give him an appropriate reward..."
Ouyang Zhenwu understood Director Guo's feelings and said with a smile, "Moreover, the Palace Museum has been behaving very erratically lately, and it needs to introduce some competition. Don't think that just because they occupy national resources, they're second only to the emperor. Xiao Guo, you bear responsibility in this matter..."
The Palace Museum has been embroiled in numerous scandals recently, including damage to national first-class cultural relics, lax security systems, theft of items, and even the revelation that the Palace Museum distributed Qing Dynasty armor as employee benefits in the last century, which has caused great public dissatisfaction.
Ouyang Zhenwu's words were quite strong. His meaning was clear: if the departments below did not make rectifications, he would not rule out handing over some precious cultural relics to other state-owned or even private museums for exhibition.
"Yes, yes, Minister, after this excavation is completed, we will rectify and improve our work style..."
Director Guo, already in his fifties, blushed deeply and was speechless after being rebuked by Ouyang Zhenwu. The Palace Museum had indeed been plagued by a series of incidents recently, causing a crisis of trust among the public and even drawing dissatisfaction from high-ranking officials. ...
"Alright, everyone, let's rest for a bit before we start cleaning up..."
Tomb excavation is an extremely tedious and energy-consuming task that allows no room for carelessness. After working for four or five hours, everyone was exhausted.
The initial excitement of seeing Genghis Khan had long since vanished. The staff inside the tomb had long lost their reverence for this emperor, and sometimes they even wished they could move him out, coffin and all, to avoid being constantly hindered when cleaning the artifacts.
After changing out of his oxygen suit outside, Zhuang Rui took a sip of water and said to Professor Meng, "Professor, let's clean the head area first. According to the style of Mongolian tombs, the head and feet are often the areas with the richest burial goods..."
In this vast underground palace, the three objects that Zhuang Rui valued most were, firstly, the "Imperial Seal of the State," which symbolized the majesty of ancient emperors, and secondly, the golden command arrow engraved with Genghis Khan's name.
As for the third one, it is of course Genghis Khan himself, who is buried in a crystal coffin. However, due to geographical limitations, it is estimated that such a large crystal coffin would be difficult to move to the ground.
Zhuang Rui wasn't greedy. He would be content as long as Director Guo kept his promise and handed over the golden token and the "Imperial Seal of the State".
Before Professor Meng could answer Zhuang Rui's question, Ren Chunqiang interjected, "Zhuang Rui, let's clear the items on both sides first. Once we clear the sides, there'll be enough space for people to stand inside..."
While cleaning the bottom of the crystal coffin, due to the cramped space, it was difficult to remove the items at the bottom after taking out the items on top. Dr. Ren almost fell headfirst into the coffin and came into contact with Genghis Khan's dragon feet.
"Brother Ren, the beginning and end are the hardest to clean. Once we've cleaned those two places, the rest will be easier. We should tackle the difficult parts first..."
Zhuang Rui had always been respectful to Ren Chunqiang, but after holding back for more than a month, Zhuang Rui only wanted to see the Imperial Seal of the State as soon as possible, and he no longer cared about refusing Dr. Ren's request.
"Alright, let's do as Xiao Zhuang says. Everyone, let's work hard and try to get the items out of the coffin today..."
Professor Meng now almost always answers Zhuang Rui's requests. Although he goes down into the tomb, Zhuang Rui is mostly in charge of directing the cleanup. This gives Professor Meng a sense of relief despite his slight disappointment.
The younger generation surpasses the older generation, and the elderly will eventually retire. Seeing Zhuang Rui, at just thirty years old, able to independently lead such a major archaeological excavation, even Professor Meng felt that he was already old and decrepit.
After a short rest, the group dressed again and returned to the coffin to get busy. Now, seeing Genghis Khan in the crystal coffin, they no longer felt the same way they had before.
This is a common human failing; once you've seen something a lot, you stop taking it seriously. It's like how some men, despite having beautiful wives at home, still go out and find a mistress who isn't particularly attractive. It's the same principle.
More than two hours later, the items on top of the crystal coffin had decreased significantly. Now, every time Zhuang Rui retrieved an item, his face was almost touching Genghis Khan's face inside the coffin.
"What is this? A golden imperial tablet?"
Ren Chunqiang, who was cleaning up on the other side, suddenly leaned out of the coffin, holding a flat, long, golden object in his hand.
Chapter 1192 The Jade Seal Unearthed
Ren Chunqiang's words startled Professor Meng. He looked at Ren Chunqiang's right hand, smiled, and shook his head: "Court board? Really? When Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, there wasn't even a written language. How could he have used a court board?"
The so-called court tablet, also known as the scepter or the jade tablet of rites, can be seen in many ancient TV dramas. Every minister holds one in his hand and holds it in front of his chest.
This thing is actually similar to a notebook used in meetings today, used to record the gist of things. When speaking in court, if you forget something, you can glance at it to avoid embarrassing yourself in front of the emperor. The scepters that have survived to this day are mostly made of ivory, jade, and bamboo. Professor Meng has never heard of ancient scepters being made of gold. Carrying this thing to court must be exhausting.
"This is not a scepter..."