Chapter 390: Skull of a Qjng Dynasty Prince! The First Manchu Flag! (2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Abbot Fang was relieved. Such a quantity, even if entirely excavated, should not cause significant damage to the temple.
Guided by the location, the archaeological team began to dig. They dug nearly two meters deep before they unearthed a large chest.
“Professor Jiang, are the treasures here the same as the treasure Mr. Luo found?” one of them asked.
“We will not know until we dig it up,” was the response. The depth at which the treasure was buried varied.
But that was not much of a problem.
If the intention was to confuse outsiders, then the treasure must be buried deeper. Buried too shallow? It would not look like treasure, especially since Zhang Xianzhong did not regard it highly!
Or perhaps it was that the monks of the past unearthed it and reburied it themselves.
Jiang Biehe was more inclined to believe it was the monks’ doing.
Zhang Xianzhong’s intention was to loudly and visibly destroy Puzhao Temple, leading people to believe that the treasure was buried underneath.
However, the actual treasure was in a different part of Qingcheng Mountain.
On the other side, Luo Feng had slept until noon.
Upon awakening, he found Su Meiji, Qin Rubing, Li Shishi, and others already waiting outside his room.
Furthermore, they had prepared a fragrant meal.
The girls, during yesterday’s treasure hunting, had not exerted much physical energy.
Thus, it was normal for them to rise early.
After breakfast, Luo Feng led everyone to yesterday’s site.
One by one, the chests were now opened by Luo Feng.
What they discovered was an abundance of gold, silver, and precious jewels.
This did not surprise Luo Feng.
After all, Zhang Xianzhong was on the run. Besides bringing hard commodities like gold, silver, and precious jewels, what else could he have carried? Paintings and calligraphy?
He chuckled.
Such artifacts were easily damaged.
Only gold and silver, robust and indestructible, could withstand the treacherous journey he had undertaken.
Among the silver, there were ingots marked with the character “Daxi.”
There were also gold and silver coins awarded by the “King of the West.”
However, they did not find any jade seals.
Nor did they see other significant relics.
All they found were hard commodities.
“There’s truly a wealth of treasures!” one exclaimed.
“While other archaeological teams count their gold and silver by individual pieces, our host here is counting by chests…”
“Still counting them by chests? They should be weighed by the ton!” “But why are there still two chests that the host is reluctant to open?”
“I think, surely there must be something good inside, and our host is saving these for the end!” “Hurry, hurry, open them, let’s see what’s inside!” As for the unknown,
The online viewers were, of course, full of anticipation.
After all, Luo Feng had already opened a heap of chests filled with gold and silver.
If there was even the slightest chance of there being something different, it would surprise and delight the viewers.
“Only two chests remain, why haven’t you opened them, Luo Feng?” Su Meiji curiously asked, “Are these two different from the others? Are you curious about what’s inside, perhaps they hold something unique?”
“Indeed, you’re clever, Meiji. These two chests, be it their burial location and depth, they’re different from the others! I plan to open them last!” Luo Feng complimented her, thought for a moment, then declared, “Let us open this small one first.”
Following that, Luo Feng brought forth a half-meter chest. With a click, he unlatched it.
To their surprise, a human skull appeared within.
“Good heavens!”
“What in the world? A human skull?”
“Could this be the skull of Zhang Xianzhong?”
“Incredible, why would Zhang Xianzhong’s skull be at the site of his buried treasure?”
“If truly buried here, this would be a grave site!”
Luo Feng was quite taken aback upon seeing the skull. He composed himself, noticing a small wooden tablet within the chest.
But upon seeing the writing on the tablet, Luo Feng nearly fainted.
“Aisin-Gioro Nikan?”
Could it be the surname of the Qing Dynasty royal family?
“This… This says Aisin-Gioro?” Su Meiji, who had also been brushing up on traditional characters, understood the meaning and exclaimed, “Why is the surname of the Qing Dynasty royal family here? Who was this person?’
“Aisin-Gioro, this is certainly no ordinary name!” “Anyone with this surname would have been royalty!”
“Obviously, I’ve seen it in TV dramas!”
“Moreover, it’s the Aisin-Gioro surname from the late Ming Dynasty? That must be a direct ancestor of Kangxi and Qianlong!”
“That’s quite a formidable status!”
“Isn’t this supposed to be Zhang Xianzhong’s treasure? What does Aisin-Gioro have to do with it?”
“As I recall, Aisin-Gioro Nikan died after Zhang Xianzhong, didn’t he? The timeline doesn’t add up!”
“Could the treasure have been buried by Nikan?”
Luo Feng pondered for a moment, acknowledging that Nikan was indeed one of Nurhaci’s grandsons.
“I believe, it might be a burial companion!” Luo Feng stroked his chin, “Or perhaps it was an offering!” “This place may have been used as a shrine tomb!”
“As for who it was!”
When Luo Feng got to this point, he chuckled and declared, “It must have been
Li Dingguo!”
The main reason he could think of this was due to Li Dingguo’s unique position.
Li Dingguo was born into a poor peasant family. In 1630, during the Chongzhen era, Zhang Xianzhong started the Shaanxi peasant uprising, and the young Li Dingguo was adopted and renamed Zhang. From then on, he followed Zhang Xianzhong into battle.
As Li Dingguo grew older, his bravery and martial prowess earned Zhang Xianzhong’s affection. After Zhang Xianzhong’s death, Li Dingguo pledged allegiance to the Southern Ming regime. After a thorough preparation in early 1652, Li Dingguo led an army of 80,000 to attack Hunan, claiming a series of victories against the Qing army, shifting the momentum in the Southern Ming’s resistance against the Qing.
In the year 1661 AD (the fifteenth year of Yongli, the eighteenth year of
Shunzhi), an army of one hundred thousand soldiers led by the Qing general Wu Sangui entered Burma, attempting to coerce the Burmese king into surrendering Emperor Yongli, but to no avail. The following year, Wu Sangui executed Emperor Yongli in Kunming, marking the demise of the Southern Ming Dynasty. Upon hearing this news, Li Dingguo was overwhelmed by grief and rage. The man who had defied the Qing in the southwestern frontier for 17 years succumbed to illness in Mengla in June of 1662 AD, at the age of 42.
Such was the life of Li Dingguo.
In simplest terms, Li Dingguo was the man who had killed Aisin Gioro Nikan.
And here appeared Nikan’s skull.
Moreover, was not Li Dingguo the adopted son of Zhang Xianzhong?
In that case, it would be reasonable to think of this as a form of worship.
“So, it appears that Li Dingguo used this skull to pay tribute to Zhang
Xianzhong!” Luo Feng concluded, throwing the wooden tag back into the box.
Though this was not Zhang Xianzhong’s grave, Li Dingguo had evidently treated it as such.
With that settled, Luo Feng proceeded to open another, longer box.
Upon opening the box, he found a cylindrical object wrapped in silk.
Could it be another piece of calligraphy or painting?
However, since it was buried alongside the skull, it might not be a painting or calligraphy piece.
Upon realizing this, Luo Feng felt a slight disappointment.
But given that it was part of the burial tribute, it must have held significant meaning.
“What is this object?”
Upon unwrapping the silk, Luo Feng was perplexed.
Was it a piece of cloth?
With curiosity, Luo Feng unfolded the cloth.
To his surprise, it was a white piece of cloth over two meters in length and about one and a half meters wide at the left, presenting a triangular shape with a wave-like border.
In the center of the cloth was an embroidery of an eagle!
“This… This must be a flag!”
Atter all, tnere were no signature marks trom ramous artists.
And there was nothing else.
Just an eagle.
Certainly, it was a flag.
Not a silk painting.
“Is this the national flag of the Ming Dynasty?”
“Since when did the Ming Dynasty have a national flag?”
“And why would a flag have a white background? What custom is this?” Luo Feng shook his head, “It is not a national flag, but a war banner!”
“And it doesn’t seem to be a war banner of the Ming Dynasty!” Luo Feng knew.
During the Ming Dynasty, the concept of a national flag did not exist.
War banners however, did. They were used in battles.
“The wars of Spring and Autumn were not justified; the lords engaged in warfare, no peace in the Central Plains, war banners flew in the sky”.
The war banner mentioned here was used in battles.
As for the appearance of national flags, the first appeared during the Qing Dynasty under the reign of Emperor Guangxu. It was called the Yellow Dragon Flag, which depicted a dragon on a yellow silk background.
“Could it be one of the Eight Banners of the Manchu Qing?” Su Meiji questioned.
Luo Feng did not answer immediately, but said: “The Eight Banners of the Qing
Dynasty initially consisted of just four banners – yellow, white, blue, and red!”
“Nurhaci commanded the Yellow Banner, while his eldest son, Aisin Gioro Dorgon, controlled the White Banner.
Aisin Gioro Nikan was the son of Dorgon, thus naturally he bore the White
Banner!”
“This white banner before us must have been a spoils of war that Li Dingguo obtained after killing Nikan!”
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