Zhuang Rui was a little intimidated by that old man, Mr. He. As the saying goes, old people are shrewd and cunning. Don't be fooled by his seemingly confused appearance. When he starts scheming, he can kill without leaving a trace.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Fourth Aunt's melodious voice chuckled and said, "No need to force it, it's just an opening ceremony. By the way, the three new companies that won the betting licenses will be co-hosting a horse race with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which is a grand event in Hong Kong and Macau..."
"Okay, okay, I'll definitely participate..."
Zhuang Rui gave a perfunctory reply. He just wanted to end the call as soon as possible. What did horse racing have to do with him? He'd rather spend that time at home with his wife and kids. He'd been cooped up for the past two months.
However, Zhuang Rui was unaware that horse racing in Hong Kong was indeed a very influential event, at least in the Hong Kong and Macau regions.
Gambling is illegal in Hong Kong, but horse racing is the only legal, largest, most influential, and most popular form of gambling in Hong Kong, and has become an indispensable part of the lives of Hong Kong citizens.
On race days, wealthy businessmen, officials, white-collar workers, ordinary citizens, and even passersby from all over the world flock to the racecourse, partly to experience the frenzied atmosphere and partly to try their luck.
As horse racing has become increasingly popular, a group of "horse racing experts" have emerged in Hong Kong who make a living by "commenting on horses." Newspapers, radio stations, and television stations have also set up "horse racing" columns or special programs.
It can be said that, apart from the horse racing club and jockeys, the people who benefit the most from horse racing are these "horse experts" who make a living by "talking about horses" and "commenting on horses".
When Zhuang Rui visited Hong Kong before, he couldn't understand why Hong Kong television often aired programs discussing horse racing strategies, and even Qin Xuanbing, who disliked gambling, watched them with great interest. ...
The fourth wife's phone call only bothered Zhuang Rui a little, but he quickly forgot about it because a press conference about the discovery of Genghis Khan's tomb was about to be held.
The relevant departments attached great importance to this national-level discovery. The press conference was held in a conference room in the Great Hall of the People that can accommodate more than 200 media outlets at the same time, which was a very high-level event.
In addition to major domestic media outlets, more than 100 foreign media outlets have applied to participate in this press conference, meaning that this press conference about the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan will be broadcast live simultaneously in more than 100 countries around the world.
"Hey, can we not wear makeup? Why are you putting something on your face?"
In a room in the Great Hall of the People, Zhuang Rui sat in front of a mirror with a bitter expression, while a "person" whose gender could not be discerned from their face was applying foundation to him.
"Xiao Zhuang, we're representing the national image here. Look at me, I'm over forty, and I still need to wear makeup, don't I? Xiaomi's skills are good, she won't mess it up for you..."
Sitting next to Zhuang Rui was a middle-aged man in his forties, who was also the spokesperson sent by the Ministry of Culture for this press conference. Zhuang Rui had spent the entire morning discussing with this Director Liu the issues that might arise during the press conference.
"Damn it, if his father had known his son would turn out like this, he probably would have strangled him at birth..."
Zhuang Rui glanced at the "person" in the mirror—whose stage name was "Minnie" but who had a flat chest and no Adam's apple—and quickly closed his eyes, afraid that if he looked at her too much, he wouldn't be able to stand it and would throw up.
You're telling me, this grown man insists on dressing up like this, neither male nor female. He was just now praising Zhuang Rui's skin with his pinky finger raised. If I didn't know he was a makeup artist, Zhuang Rui probably would have punched him already.
"Alright, I don't want this one, Lao Liu. If you let me use this thing, you can attend today's press conference yourself..."
When Zhuang Rui saw that Minnie had a lipstick, he completely lost it. Was this some kind of press conference or a masquerade ball? This was ridiculous.
"Okay, okay, Xiaomi, it's ready..."
Director Liu was used to this kind of thing, and he suppressed a laugh as he stopped the makeup artist, saying, "Xiao Zhuang, remember, when reporters ask questions, you must slow down your speech. This will give you time to consider your words and avoid saying anything you shouldn't..."
Taking advantage of the makeup session, Director Liu shared some relevant experience with Zhuang Rui. Since Zhuang Rui had never experienced a press conference before, he might say something inappropriate under pressure, which is a major taboo at any press conference.
"Don't worry, Director Liu, if I don't know how to answer, I'll just stay silent..."
Zhuang Rui nodded. He was no longer a greenhorn. Besides, he was attending the press conference as the discoverer of Genghis Khan's Mausoleum, and he could easily pretend to be unaware of the subsequent archaeological discoveries.
"Let's go, it's almost time..."
Director Liu glanced at his watch, stood up, and walked outside.
"Wow, this is quite a scene..."
After entering the press conference venue, Zhuang Rui and Director Liu sat in the prepared seats. Behind them was a projector screen, while in front of them were densely packed people and various long and short cameras.
"Ahem, welcome to all media reporters attending this reception..."
After a few official remarks, Director Liu steered the conversation directly to the main topic, "The reason I've gathered you all here today is to announce a major archaeological discovery in our country. Just two months ago, a Mongolian imperial tomb was discovered in Inner Mongolia. After verification, it has been confirmed that this is the tomb of Temujin, the founding Khan of the Mongol Empire, who lived from 1162 to 1227 AD..."
"Is this really the mausoleum of Genghis Khan?"
"Could there be a mistake? Wasn't it said that Genghis Khan's mausoleum is in Outer Mongolia?"
"Evidence, we need evidence..."
The official information released earlier only stated that it was a Mongolian imperial tomb, so as soon as Director Liu finished speaking, the entire venue erupted in excitement.
It's important to understand that Genghis Khan's influence extended far beyond establishing the Mongol Empire; the era he ushered in changed the entire world order.
Chapter 1202 Answering Reporters' Questions
After conquering the Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongols invaded Europe to the west, which meant that the history of almost every ethnic group in Asia and Europe recorded the Mongol influence. Their influence even reached Türkiye and the Arab world.
The power of the Mongols is indeed an undeniable fact. In the palace tent of the Mongol commander who conquered Europe at that time, Russian princes and nobles, the sons of the Georgian king and queen, many sultans of high status, and princes of Goryeo could only kneel humbly in the palace tent.
In the field of history, there is an academic theory that Genghis Khan and his followers conquered the world, promoted exchanges between East and West, and facilitated the integration of ethnic groups in China, but there are also many different views.
Throughout history, different countries have had very different attitudes toward the Mongol rule during that period. Some say, "Genghis Khan is the greatest emperor of mankind!"
The praise also includes the claim that the Mongols were brutal and fierce.
The first act of genocide in history did not actually occur during World War II under Hitler, but rather during the Mongol conquest led by Genghis Khan.
When Genghis Khan was teaching his descendants on his return from the western expedition, he said a famous maxim: "The greatest pleasure in life is to kill all your enemies, plunder all their property, watch their relatives weep, ride their horses, and rape their wives and daughters." At that time, all those in the world who did not want to be slaughtered, plundered, or enslaved by them were enemies of the Mongol Dynasty.
The influence of the Mongols on Europe went far beyond this; the Black Death, the largest plague outbreak in Europe during the Middle Ages, was also closely related to the Mongols.
The outbreak of the Black Death originated from a war, which in turn stemmed from a street dispute between a group of Italian merchants and local Muslim residents. The Muslims then turned to the Mongols, who were advancing westward, for help.
The Mongol prince, eager to conquer the entire Crimean Peninsula, seized this opportunity and launched an attack, besieging the Italian merchants and the Eastern Roman Empire's garrison within the walls of Caffa.
Kafa's formidable defenses and the defenders' tenacious resistance made it difficult for the Mongol army to conquer, and the siege lasted for a full year. At this time, a terrible plague began to break out in the Mongol army, and soldiers fell one after another. The fierce and wild battle cries could no longer be heard in the Mongol camp.
The garrison of Kafa had no idea what was happening in the Mongol camp. They were just wondering why the Mongols, who were usually so aggressive, had suddenly become quiet and hadn't attacked for several days.
Did the Mongols give up after failing to capture the city? Or were they gathering new strength for a more powerful offensive? Amidst the speculation, the exhausted defenders of Kaffa enjoyed a rare period of peace.
However, just a few days later, one morning, the defenders of Kafa were surprised to find that the Mongols had once again set up an attack formation outside the city. This time, they seemed to have changed their tactics. Instead of using ladders or sending thousands of soldiers to swarm the city walls, they set up rows of huge wooden catapults that were more than three people tall outside the city walls.
At the Mongol prince's command, countless deadly new projectiles flew towards the city of Kafa. In an instant, the Kafa defenders were all stunned. Those shells... were all human bodies. Before the Kafa defenders could react, the corpses of soldiers infected with plague and rotting were violently thrown into the air and flew into the city of Kafa. Kafa was thus filled with corpses.
Soon, the rotting corpses began to pollute the air and poison the water. People finally understood the Mongol army's intentions, because the city of Kaffa was also beginning to experience the terrifying plague—the Black Death.
Patients afflicted with this disease initially experience chills and headaches, followed by fever, delirium, coma, widespread skin bleeding, malignant sores, and respiratory failure. They die within two or three days, or at most four or five days, and their skin often turns blackish-purple after death. This terrible disease was thus named the "Black Death." At the time, people did not know that this was the plague. Within a few days, the people of Caffa within the city walls perished one after another. The streets of the city were filled with corpses covered with malignant sores and black spots. Caffa became a living hell. Those who were lucky enough to survive fled out of the city in fear, veiled in black.
The Italian merchants in Caffa thus embarked on their escape, boarding ships to return to their homeland in Italy. Little did they know that they were accompanied by the culprits who spread the Black Death—rats and fleas.
Rats infected by fleas climbed onto the mooring ropes, hid in the cargo hold, and sailed towards the Mediterranean Sea with the sailboat.
While the Italian merchants' fleet was still at sea, news of the Black Death engulfing Caffa had already spread far and wide, plunging Europe into panic.
The fleet made its long journey back to Italy, but no one agreed to let them dock because some sailors had already contracted deadly diseases while the ships were still at sea, and they were dying one after another.
The merchants eventually arrived at the port of Messina in Sicily. The panicked port officials quarantined the ships, but it was too late. Just as the first mooring rope was connected to the shore, rats had already landed. The brief stop was enough for the Black Death to spread to Europe.
In just two years, the Black Death sent nearly a third of Europe’s population to hell, with more than 20 million people disappearing.
The devastation brought by the Black Death became a turning point in European history. This devastation caused a sharp drop in the European population, leaving the country devastated and unrecognizable.
Many survivors questioned the old order and wavered in their traditional values. It was the Black Death that objectively destroyed the old social system and ushered in the dawn of the Renaissance in Europe.
At its root, this disaster can be said to have been caused by the Mongols, and its impact on the world is far-reaching.
A European scholar once said that compared to Genghis Khan, Hitler was like an angel.
Regardless of his merits or demerits, Genghis Khan's influence worldwide far surpasses that of any emperor in Chinese history, and he has been the focus of attention for historians from various countries for thousands of years.
So when they heard that the excavated Mongolian imperial tomb was the tomb of Genghis Khan, the entire press conference hall erupted in excitement.
"What evidence do you have to prove that this is Genghis Khan's tomb?"
"Have any treasures looted by the Mongols around the world been found in tombs?"
"Who discovered this tomb? And what was the discovery process?"
Countless questions, delivered in various languages, filled the press conference venue. The numerous reporters were as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline, knowing that the legendary Mausoleum of Genghis Khan is a treasure trove of wealth from all over the world.
Seeing the room erupt in a frenzy, the host quickly called out into the microphone, "Quiet, please be quiet. The Q&A session hasn't started yet. First, let's have Director Liu introduce the relevant information about the Genghis Khan Mausoleum..."
"Ahem, I know you all want to move on to the next segment, but this is my job, so please be patient and listen to me finish..."
Director Liu was adept at engaging the reporters' emotions, and his words made many people laugh. "Next, I will show you some video footage. There are scholars from various countries who study Mongolian history, and I believe they will tell you whether this tomb is real or not..."
Director Liu made a gesture to the staff present, and some edited images immediately appeared on the wall behind Zhuang Rui and Director Liu.
The winding underground passages, the magnificent interconnected underground buildings, and scenes of burial objects within the mausoleum were all revealed, eliciting gasps of amazement from the audience.
When the images of Genghis Khan's main tomb chamber appeared, no one in the room could remain calm. The dazzling gold shimmering under the lights made everyone's breathing become heavier.
When the text on the parchment scroll was magnified and appeared on the screen, countless flashes went off. Most of these reporters were those who covered scientific expeditions and knew the importance of text to a tomb.
The reporters at the scene were now convinced that this was indeed Genghis Khan's tomb, because as the party making the announcement, China would not have held such a press conference without solid evidence.
"Our experts, who specialize in Mongolian history, have confirmed through examination of the inscriptions unearthed from the tomb that this mausoleum is indeed the tomb of Genghis Khan. Now, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask..."
After the slideshow was finished, the Q&A session began. As soon as Director Liu finished speaking, more than a hundred hands in the audience shot up in unison.
An American journalist stood up after being called on. "Director Liu, I'm a reporter from the Associated Press. I'd like to know how many artifacts were unearthed during the excavation of Genghis Khan's Mausoleum?"
"The artifacts are still being cleared. After the clearing work is completed, the relevant data will be gradually released to the public..."
Director Liu's answer was watertight. He was referring to relevant data, meaning that some data would not be released to the public. This was also a kind of linguistic skill.
At the host's call, several more reporters stepped forward, and Director Liu answered their questions wittily one by one. Of course, these reporters had all been contacted beforehand.
Suddenly, a reporter, without being called upon, stood up and loudly proclaimed, "Director Liu, I am a reporter from the Russian news agency TASS. If I have not misunderstood that period of history, Genghis Khan conquered the entirety of Russia, and plundered countless treasures from our country. I strongly demand that the Chinese government disclose these artifacts and return the wealth looted from Russia; it belongs to the people of Russia and the world..."
"Yes, that's right. The wealth of Genghis Khan's mausoleum should belong to the people of the world..."
"We demand that the Chinese government disclose the quantity and types of cultural relics at the Genghis Khan Mausoleum..."
The question posed by the Russian journalist who looked somewhat like a polar bear resonated with many people; the discovery of gold in the main chamber of Genghis Khan's mausoleum had already made them feel extremely unbalanced.
It is important to know that Russia, which served as a barrier between Mongolia and Europe at the time, suffered greatly from the Mongol cavalry. During the Mongol Empire, almost the entire country of Russia fell to the Mongol army.
Of course, all their treasures were also looted by the Mongols. However, nearly a thousand years have passed, and they have no clear record of what treasures were taken.
"this……"
The Russian journalist's abrupt question was clearly outside of Director Liu's prepared response.
Moreover, this question is very pointed. A bad answer could cast a lot of doubt on the archaeological excavation. Director Liu, who had been calm and composed just now, suddenly broke out in a sweat.
"Sir, our country has always been deeply disgusted by acts of robbery. If you have evidence to prove that Genghis Khan stole anything from your country, I think our government would be very willing to return it..."
Zhuang Rui's voice rang out from the side.
"This...this..."