Ma Kuo, who was already fifty years old, was sent on an envoy again to see if he could see Yelu Dashi for the last time.
Several young officials from Honglu Temple serve him with great respect. Their mission is to read more and learn more. From now on, they will be responsible for the diplomacy of the Western Regions. They cannot allow Ma to travel far away even when he is seventy or eighty years old.
The person responsible for leading the army to protect them was Xiao Zhongxuan, a surrendered general of the Jin Kingdom, who was almost fifty years old.
After Xiao Zhongxuan surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, in addition to bringing his troops to surrender, he also presented an important message: the imperial seal was in the Sanggan River!
But it was said that when the Jin army broke through the capital of Liaoning, Emperor Tianzuo hurriedly fled to Yuanyangbo Palace. Before his buttocks were even hot, the Jin soldiers came after him again, and Emperor Tianzuo hurriedly fled to Datong.
While crossing the Sanggan River, a group of treasures accidentally fell into the water, including the national seal that said "Ordered by heaven, you will live forever".
Since the pursuers could arrive at any time, Emperor Tian Zuo did not dare to stay and did not send anyone to salvage it.
The Xiao Zhongxuan brothers were with Emperor Tianzuo at that time.
They provided information after paying the gold, and Wanyan Zonghan even sent people to fish it out. However, some of the lost treasures in the same batch were fished out, but the jade seal passed down from the country was never found.
The Kingdom of Jin was destroyed, and the news was brought back.
Zhu Guoxiang said to the ministers: "I have taken the Zen throne. You can ask the new king."
Finally, when Ju Ming returned to Beijing, he said to the officials: "Wanyan Zonghan has been fishing for several years, but he has not caught anything, so there is no need to waste people's energy anymore."
Although the emperor said so, the ministers did not dare not to take it seriously!
The cabinet secretly gave instructions to the prefect of Datong to dredge the Sanggan River and retrieve the national seal from the bottom of the river.
In the past three years, the Sanggan River has been completely dredged, but the shadow of the Chuanguo Seal has still not been seen.
In recent years, the Datong government has given up, but the people are still keen on treasure hunting.
Especially in the summer when there is a drought, the water level drops and the rivers become shallow. Many farmers take their children to carry water for irrigation. When they pass by the dry river bed, they let the little ones dig up the mud.
From time to time, people found treasures, most of which were lost by Emperor Tian Zuo.
The more treasures appear in the world, the more people will be attracted. Even if you can't find the national seal, you can still make a fortune by finding other treasures!
…
Ma Kuo and Xiao Zhongxuan set off from Luoyang to Xiliao with national gifts.
By the Sanggan River, a group of libertines were hunting for treasure.
Local farmers only come to look for it occasionally in their spare time or when the river dries up. However, the libertines regard this as a profession and have been hunting for treasures for seven or eight years.
Wang Chongdu's ancestors were from the Wang family in Taiyuan. Previous generations had served as high-ranking officials in the Liao Kingdom, and some of their clansmen had paid gold to become minor-ranking officials.
When the Ming Dynasty regained Datong, it was not too difficult. It was just a matter of dividing the clans and dividing their fields.
Wang Chongdu also studied for several years, but his studies were not good enough and he failed to pass the Ming Dynasty scholar examination. Hearing that there was a national seal in Sanggan River, he took a group of friends and went to search for the treasure when he had time.
I searched downstream from Luobao and searched for more than ten miles in a few years.
Two years ago, they found a golden Buddha.
The entire Buddha statue was made of pure gold and was more than a foot tall. The prefect of Datong came to buy it and quickly sent it to Luoyang. Xiao Zhongxuan identified it as the statue that was worshiped by Empress Xiao Duolilan of the Liao Dynasty.
The pure gold Buddha statue, which is more than a foot tall, made Wang Chongdu and his friends a lot of money!
They became more active and went into the river every three days.
"Brother Wang, it's better not to look for him."
Gao Wenbao lay shirtless on the shore, covered with water, panting from exhaustion and said: "Since we found that Buddha statue, we haven't caught anything for two years."
Wang Chongdu smiled and said: "How can I say I didn't catch it? Isn't there more than ten copper coins and a bronze mirror?"
Li Bin, who was standing next to him, said: "Those copper coins and bronze mirrors were all rotten. I don't know which dynasty they were from. I happily sent them to be polished. The craftsmen who polished the mirrors despised them and said they were just scrap copper and iron."
"Look again, look again." Wang Chongdu still laughed.
Gao Wenbao said depressedly: "Han Sanlang and the others have not looked for it this year, so why are we still trying to find it? First, the government dredged the river, and then tens of thousands of people searched for treasures. The twenty-mile river upstream and downstream has been plowed countless times. Don't talk about treasures.
Even the chamber pots from the bottom of the river have been fished out."
While they were talking, a few more friends came ashore. They lay there for a while and then started making noises about breaking up.
That night, everyone had a dinner.
Wang Chongdu still insisted, leaving only Gao Wenbao and Li Bin to accompany him.
In the past, their treasure hunting team had more than twenty people, but now there are only three people left.
Wang Chongdu took two friends and continued to search downstream. They were more than thirty miles away from the spot where Emperor Tianzuo dropped his treasure.
Gao Wenbao complained as he walked: "The jade seal is so heavy, and no matter how fast the river flows, how can it be carried out for more than thirty miles? Besides, there are people here who have come here, and the government has dredged the river. It is impossible.
There is treasure."
"Don't talk nonsense. We'll look for it for another half a year," Wang Chongdu said. "If we can't find it, we won't do it."
Li Bin said: "During the Chinese New Year, my brother brought back a copy of "Arabian Nights" from the south. There were many treasure hunting stories in it. I heard that overseas countries were full of treasures. Instead of searching blindly in the Sanggan River, we
, it is better to take a boat and go to sea to find foreign treasures."
Gao Wenbao smiled and said: "I also borrowed your book "Arabian Nights" to read. The treasure hunting stories are all made up. Have you ever seen the sea? Have you ever been on a sea ship? Although the three of us brothers are also familiar with water,
But swimming in the ocean is different from swimming in the river."
"What's the difference? It's all water!"
Li Bin said: "In the past few years of treasure hunting, my water resistance has gotten better and better. I can now hold my breath underwater for half a quarter of an hour."
Wang Chongdu joked: "If we find the imperial seal, the officials will definitely ennoble us. At that time, we will go to the south, get a sea ship, hire some boatmen and sailors, and go to sea to hunt for treasures in foreign countries. Maybe
How can we meet other immortals overseas like the Supreme Emperor?"
"This is a good idea," Li Bin said. "Ever since I read "Arabian Nights", I have wanted to see the sea, and then travel around overseas countries. Maybe I can marry a foreign princess as my consort."
Gao Wenbao asked: "Your engagement is void, why don't you find another one?"
Li Bin said angrily: "You have the nerve to ask! I followed you down the river to fish for treasures when I was fourteen, and I didn't do any other serious things. Although treasure hunting can also be rewarding, in the eyes of others, we are all idle wanderers.
son."
Wang Chongdu consoled him and said, "I haven't gotten married yet. When I find the national seal, why worry about not marrying a good woman?"
The three of them changed locations and spent several days diving and exploring nearby.
Nothing was found.
Another day, Wang Chongdu carefully observed the water patterns and found a backwater nest next to a huge rock.
He plunged into the water and felt that the backwater was quite deep. He emerged from the water without daring to continue diving and said, "Throw the rope down, and you guys will hold the rope and guard the boulder."
Li Bin threw down the rope and sat on the boulder to chat with Gao Wenbao.
Wang Chongdu tied a rope around his waist, picked up a stone and dived down.
The suction force below is quite strong, there are whirlpools of water, and aquatic plants are swaying at the bottom of the water.
Wang Chongdu couldn't see clearly, so he just closed his eyes and touched blindly.
After a few minutes, he could no longer hold his breath, so he quickly pulled the rope, and the two friends worked together to pull him up.
Li Bin asked: "How?"
"No." Wang Chongdu gasped.
After resting for a while, Wang Chongdu dived again.
After repeating it five or six times, the rope was pulled again, and the two friends pulled him up again.
But Wang Chongdu emerged from the water, holding something in his arms, and shouted excitedly: "It feels like a box. Even if it's not a national seal, it must be a royal treasure of the Liao Kingdom!"
"Get ashore quickly!"
Gao Wenbao and Li Bin were overjoyed when they heard this.
The outside of the box is tied with yellow silk cloth. It has been soaked in water for twenty years. The silk cloth has decayed and changed color. It will rot when you pull it.
Wang Chongdu washed the box with water, but it turned out to be an exquisite lacquerware.
The box has no lock and opens as soon as you open it.
The lacquer box was lined with silk, and there was another item in the box, which was also wrapped in silk.
Li Bin took out his dagger and cut open the rotten silk fabric, and suddenly a jade seal appeared in his sight.
To be continued...