Chapter 357: One Hundred Boxes of Gold! Tributes from Japan! A Pile of Tricolor Tang Pottery! (1)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Upon hearing Luo Feng’s words, Gu Santong’s heart that had been doused with disappointment felt somewhat better.
That’s right. When people die, they must be buried, but before their burials, their tombstones should be erected first.
However, because these were women’s tombs, the tombstone would not be placed in the entrance passageway.
“Let’s go, Master Gu. Let’s take a look first!” Luo Feng said in good spirits, walking towards the first room.
As they opened the jade stone door, the door hinges creaked.
The room was shrouded in darkness. After a quick sweep, Luo Feng discovered that it was a large hall, roughly between eighty and ninety square meters in size.
Rows of neatly stacked boxes filled the floor of the hall.
“Is this the government’s silver?” Gu Santong picked up a silver ingot and examined its bottom.
“Teacher Gu, which year does this coinbelong to?” Luo Feng nodded, not at all surprised, as he had encountered many such boxes containing government-issued silver in the past.
“It seems to be from Zixian!” Gu Santong said.
“Huh? Zixian?” Luo Feng was puzzled. “Could this not be government silver, but private silver from a minter in Zixian?”
Gu Santong was equally confused. “Which dynasty would that be?”
“It should be a Ming Dynasty mint!” Luo Feng nodded.
“No way, it can’t be. A tomb from the Ming Dynasty?”
“Only the government’s silver is from the Ming Dynasty, but that doesn’t necessarily confirm it!”
Gu Santong asked, “Can we determine which period the mint belongs to?”
Luo Feng shook his head helplessly, “There were too many mints during the
Ming Dynasty, and the time span is vast. It’s difficult to determine.”
Even though Luo Feng was well-versed in history, it was challenging to pinpoint a specific time based solely on a mint’s location.
The other boxes were also opened, and without exception, they all contained private silver.
This was actually quite normal. During the Ming Dynasty, government-issued silver was reserved for officials or government staff usage.
It was a symbol of status, and in most cases, the government silver would not be buried with the deceased.
“There weren’t many wealthy people in the Ming Dynasty. Could this be the tomb of Yan Song?” A viewer wondered.
“Could it really be him?”
‘Why not? Who else could compare to him in terms of wealth during the Ming Dynasty?
“I’d blindly guess it’s the eunuch known as ‘Nine Thousand Years.’ Hahaha!”
“You fool! Didn’t I tell you this is a joint burial pit? Where would a eunuch have wives? Besides, since there are Xuande Tongbao coins here, it must be from before the Jiajing period!”
“That’s not necessarily true. Yan Song entered the Hanlin Academy during the Zhengde period, which spans a long time!”
“Hehe, let me tell you, Yan Song’s family belongings had been confiscated by the government! How could he have so much silver hidden here?”
“Do you really think all of someone’s treasures would be kept at home? That’s laughable!”
“It might really be Yan Song. After all, the coffins in the tomb are empty, and as Luo Feng said, the tomb owner might have encountered a great robbery!”
Yan Song?
Upon reading these messages, Luo Feng began to ponder.
He soon ruled out this possibility.
Yan Song’s family was based in the capital city, and the cities associated with him were Shuntian, Xijiang, and the capital.
The former were places where he served, and the capital was where he held the peak of his power.
The latter was the place where he was born and raised.
No matter how powerful one was in their lifetime, unless they became an emperor, most people would want to return to their hometown.
Therefore, it was somewhat puzzling that he would not be buried in his hometown, but instead choose to have his tomb constructed here.
As they pushed open the door to the second room, they found more large and small boxes, containing a considerable amount of gold — easily over a hundred boxes.
“Damn, was he really that wealthy?”
“Could it be a tomb of He Shen?”
“Do you guys really think it’s a Qin Dynasty tomb after Luo Feng has already speculated it’s a Ming Dynasty tomb?”
“This must be a tomb from a later period. If it were a tomb from the Qin Dynasty, where would all this government silver come from? Did they time travel to the future to get it?”
By this point, everyone had stopped debating whether a Tang Dynasty tomb was built above a tomb from a later period.
After all, the evidence was right in front of them: this was a Ming Dynasty tomb.
A preliminary count showed that the two rooms contained tens of thousands of taels of silver and gold.
Finally, the third room offered something different.
“Damn! There are some rare and exotic animals here!” Luo Feng muttered to himself, both surprised and not so surprised at the same time.
After all, even during the Qin Dynasty, many rare and exotic animals accompanied the deceased in their tombs.
There were also instances of pandas being buried with the dead during the Han Dynasty.
Many of the animal skeletons in the room were identified by Gu Santong and Luo Feng as tigers, leopards, and black bears.
The animal remains were well-preserved, likely brought here after they were killed.
“Tigers as burial companions? That’s quite capricious!”
“What kind of tiger is it? A Siberian tiger?”
“Judging from the skeleton, it’s unlikely to be a Siberian tiger. It’s probably a South China tiger from the southern regions!” Luo Feng guessed.
Entering the fourth room, Luo Feng found more large boxes stacked near the door.
He crouched down and opened one of the boxes.
Inside were small, black pieces.
“Ding! Pepper! Tang Dynasty, valued at 200,000 yuan!”
“Pepper?”
Luo Feng was taken aback by the presence of pepper as a burial item. He hesitated for a moment before telling everyone, “These black things should be pepper!”
“What the hell?” Gu Santong was also baffled..
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