Chapter 470: Astonishment! Gold Worth 40 Billion! (2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Although the treasures that were contained within the fortress did not emit any light, Luo Feng seemed to already envision heaps of gold lying in wait of him.
Back to the six treasure hunters from Japan.
At the moment, they were resting. Five of them were asleep, while one was on duty.
Even the one on duty was fighting off his desire to sleep.
After all, in the wilderness, be it day or night, there always needed to be a sentinel. The presence of creatures like tigers or black bears could pose severe threats.
The guard sat on a fur blanket, warmed by a bonfire, yet the temperature still felt unkind.
Unconsciously, he found himself reminiscing about his father.
His father, who would disappear for months every year. When he was a child and asked his father where he was going, his father would say he was going to work.
Not until after his college graduation did his father reveal the truth.
His father spent those months in China under the guise of conducting site surveys, but was actually hunting for treasure.
This approach seemed foolhardy, but it was effective, because in China, research personnel from any empire were respected.
However, this method was only effective before the year 2000. As the nation strengthened and the demand for domestic talent was not as desperate, the government became less accommodating to foreign surveyors of the local terrain.
So they dropped the pretense.
They went straight for the treasure.
Accompanying his father were also about twenty other people.
He recalled one time, his father drove a group of these people to their family farm as guests.
That time, he met the other “uncles”.
It was also that time, he met the partners who accompanied his father in treasure hunting for decades.
Back then, they were all just children following their elders.
“From today, you must work hard to improve your wilderness survival skills!”
“The task of treasure hunting will be passed on to you, as we can’t continue this forever!”
“Dad, what are you talking about? What treasure hunting, what treasures?”
Those conversations still lingered deep in his memory.
“It’s the Tsarist gold treasure!”
He was very excited when he first heard of the gold treasure.
But it felt unreal.
After all, there was so much gold, how could Tsarist Russia have lost it?
His father explained, “In Tsarist Russia, there was originally 900 tons of gold, not the rumored 600 tons!”
“From December 1915 to November 1916, to purchase weapons, Tsarist Russia shipped 17 billion dollars’ worth of gold to the United States as a deposit, but in the end, they neither received the weapons nor recovered the deposit! Later, they reached an agreement with Japan and shipped nearly 3 billion dollars’ worth of gold, while the remaining gold was sent to the northeast at the time!” “The Tsarist gold that remains in China now is approximately 500 tons!”
These words.
These events.
For him, who was a freshly graduated student back then.
They were a massive shock.
“Why wasn’t it brought back then?”
He remembered asking his father that question.
“Too many people knew about the gold, it was too conspicuous, and moreover, our motherland, Japan did not fulfill our promise. Tsarist Russia was always watching, we could only smuggle some back when a few people returned to the homeland. Over the years, probably about 80 tons were brought back from the northeast of China!”
“Thanks to this, the Northern Wild representative was able to become the dominant party in the Land of Cherry Blossoms in a short period of time!”
“Indeed, it was the Northern Wild representative!” When he was young, hearing about these events left him utterly bewildered. So, this was how the Northern Wild representative made his fortune?
His father continued, “My grandfather also brought some back in his time. Our current family wealth, quite substantial I must add, came from the benefits of that gold. Otherwise, with your grandfather’s post-service benefits, how could we lead the life we do now?”
“But father, why did the Northern Wild representative not continue to send people to find the gold?” he queried.
“They do not know where the rest of the gold lies!”
“They don’t know? Why wouldn’t they know?”
His father explained, “The train carrying the Tsar’s gold arrived in Manzhouli, and the man in charge of this task, Kolchak, was recognized by a certain military force in Huaxia when he fled to Irkutsk. After he was captured, he was killed. Afterward, Petrov became the highest-ranking officer and upon arrival in Manchuria, he tried to negotiate terms with us!”
“Heh, he did not understand the seriousness of the situation at the time. As the saying goes in Huaxia, ‘He who holds the jewel is guilty.”‘
“After that, our army confiscated all the gold to serve as Petrov’s asylum funds, offering it for his protection!”
“The officer in charge at the time didn’t report the details of Petrov’s gold to his superiors. Instead, he wrote that they had encountered bandits in Manchuria and had seized many spoils of war. These spoils had already been disposed of to cover the army’s expenses!”
At that point, he was already astonished. The small army in the northeast had actually managed to keep such a large quantity of gold hidden? How could they dare?
His father continued, “This nearly 600 tons of gold was equivalent to two years of revenue for the entirety of Japan back at the time. No one could resist the allure of such a sum.”
“My grandfather, your great-grandfather, was one of the first people to come into contact with the gold, and they were ordered not to reveal this to anyone!”
“Over time, this gold was transported in batches to Changbai Mountain. The officer in charge at the time planned to store the treasure in the military fortress of Changbai Mountain, then gradually float it down the Yalu River to the Land of Cherry Blossoms.”
“The initial plan went smoothly, but news leaked out. The Tsarist Russians spread the word, and we had internal traitors who were bribed!”
“To protect the secret of the gold, the officer in charge secretly executed some people!”
“The remaining group was sent back to the homeland, each of them receiving a generous amount of gold!”
He then asked, “So, father, wouldn’t those who returned spread the news?”
His father replied, “Firstly, they didn’t know much. Secondly, their movements were monitored after their return. Even leaving the city required them to make a report to their superiors, not to mention traveling abroad.” “At present, only about twenty or so people know about this!”
“But it’s been such a long time, where the gold is hidden, whether it’s in the military fortress or buried underground, is unclear!”
“Changbai Mountain is simply too vast, even if I devoted my entire life to the exploration, I couldn’t complete it.”
“But since we know this secret, we must find the gold. In this way, our family, for generations to come, will not have to worry about money any longer!”
This was everything he knew.
To put it simply.
It was the army of the Land of Cherry Blossoms that wanted to pocket the gold.
However, later, unforeseen events occurred, and all those people died out.
Those who know about it now only knew that the gold was located somewhere within Changbai Mountain..
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnovel(.)com