Liu Qi studied the hanging coffin in the cave and asked Chen Wendao: "Brother Wen, can I be buried here?"
Chen Wen nodded and said, "Okay, just bury it here. The nanmu coffin will be opened and buried with the body in the coffin."
Liu Qi felt that this was the only way, and said: "That's okay. You can ask General E to pick up the guards and bring some tools that can pry open the Nan coffin."
"Yes." Chen Wenying walked to the entrance of the cave and shouted to E Huan with a trumpet in his hand: "General E, there is a nan coffin in the cave. Please come up with a crowbar."
When E Huan heard Chen Wen's shout, he picked out a few tools that could pry open the coffin from the sack beside him. With the corpses of the bronze-armored guards between them, with the help of the apes, he successively transported the four corpses of the guards to the hanging coffin.
Inside the cave.
After some strenuous efforts, the solid nanmu coffin was finally opened and the lid was lifted. My eyes lit up when I saw that there was a set of gold-studded jade clothes in the nanmu coffin. Sure enough, an emperor-level figure was buried in a hanging coffin.
But I saw that the golden jade garment in the Nan coffin contained three to four thousand jade pieces, woven with extremely fine gold wire. The size and shape of each jade piece in the entire set of jade garments had been rigorously designed and finely processed.
This shows the superb level of craftsmanship at that time.
Yes, it was popular in the Han Dynasty to be buried with jade garments made of gold thread. The royal nobles believed that "jade can cool the corpse." Emperor-level figures would start to make jade garments made of gold thread when they were alive. After death, their nearest and dearest would wear jade garments made of gold thread.
Wrap the body of the deceased tightly, like armor to protect the body, and pray that the body will be immortal for thousands of years.
The historical knowledge Liu Qi learned from later generations is very consistent with the coffin burial scene in front of him. He knows that the gold-lined jade clothes are the burial clothes worn by emperors and high-ranking nobles after their death in the Han Dynasty. Their appearance is the same as the shape of the human body. The origin of the jade clothes can be traced back even earlier.
In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, "jade-embellished masks" and "jade-embellished clothes" were popular. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Pi issued an edict banning jade clothes, which have been popular for four hundred years.
Jade clothing is a symbol of the wearer's status. The jade clothing of the emperor and some of his ministers was made of gold threads, which was called "golden jade clothing". Other nobles used silver and copper wires to make jade clothing, which was called "silver jade clothing."
", "Copper strands and jade clothes".
The gold-threaded jade garment was priceless. How could Liu Qi let go of such a good opportunity? But Liu Qi could not show greed. Instead, he pretended to be in trouble: "Brother Wen, what should I do if a gold-threaded jade garment appears in the nanmu coffin?"
Is good?"
Chen Wen knew that Liu Qi's attitude towards the gold-threaded jade garment was to be both a bitch and a memorial arch. Thinking about how Liu Qi could steal Gou Jian's sword, how could he let go of the priceless gold-threaded jade garment?
Chen Wen guessed what Liu Qi was thinking, raised his hand to Liu Qi, and said solemnly: "Young Master, the gold and jade clothes belong to the royal family of the Han Dynasty. The Young Master is a clan member of the Han Dynasty, and you deserve it."
Liu Qi thought that Chen Wen was really good at speaking, so he decided to embarrass Chen Wen and see if Chen Wen could explain the matter of stealing the jade garment with golden threads. So Liu Qi frowned and said: "Brother Wen's words are reasonable, but although the jade garment is
Good, but it is something that the emperor was frugal with, so it might be unlucky to take it?"
Chen Wen stroked his short beard and said: "Young Master, that's not right. In times of trouble, one piece of clothing can be worth a thousand troops. It's God's will. If the jade clothes see the light of day again, it must be the emperor's spirit. He wants the young master to fulfill his emperor's will and ensure peace in the world."
ah."
Liu Qi chuckled. Chen Wen was indeed very powerful. He could turn the bad into good, the black into white, and the dead into life. A few years later, during the Battle of Chibi, Chen Wen was sent as an envoy to Wei, Shu, and Wu to lobby the three parties to take advantage of it.
Li Ding is the perfect choice.
Seeing that what Chen Wen said was very reasonable, Liu Qi accepted it humbly and said generously: "Brother Wen's advice is not only God's will, but also the fulfillment of the emperor's will. I am willing to think about the people of the world, so I will humbly submit to this emperor."
Sorry, brother Wen, please carefully take out the jade clothes and bring them back to Xiangyang. You and General E must not reveal the secret."
"Yes." Chen Wen guessed what Liu Qi was thinking, and after receiving Liu Qi's instructions, he carefully dismantled the jade garment with golden threads, took out the jade garment, and found that the body wrapped in the jade garment was a burly male corpse, still alive, and the body was
well-preserved.
Chen Wen folded the jade clothes and tried to open the man's head and take out the jade pillow, but Liu Qi stopped him. He waved his hand and said, "Brother Wen, this is enough. The jade pillow will stay with this emperor."
"Yes." Chen Wen looked at the jade pillow with regret, and was a little confused about Liu Qi's sometimes cruel and sometimes kind character. Since he even took off the jade clothes of the corpse, why did he leave a jade pillow without taking it with him?
?
E Huan looked at the male body that had taken off his jade clothes, and asked Liu Qi: "Master, I think this coffin is a bit crowded for four guards to be buried together. Should it be the king's corpse or the guards?"
Liu Qi replied without hesitation: "Put the four bronze-armored guards on the bottom of the coffin and let the emperor lie on it. Originally, the owner of the coffin is the prince. We took away the jade clothes and paired them with four loyal and brave guards.
The coffin is worthy of this prince."
"Young Master is wise." Chen Wen flattered, secretly praising the perfect excuse Liu Qi made up to get rid of his uneasy mind about stealing the jade clothes with golden threads.
Liu Qi also ignored Chen Wen's flattery and ordered to E Huan: "Brother Wen, General E, we must bury them together in a coffin without further delay."
"Yes." E Huan, Chen Wen responded, and with the help of the ape king, he first lifted the king's corpse out of the coffin, and then took out the jade pillow. Fortunately, the coffin was tall and it would not be a problem to hold five corpses.
When Chen Wen and E Huan stacked the bodies of the four bronze guards in the coffin one after another, and finally carried the king's corpse into the coffin, lying on top of the guards with a jade pillow on their head, they were about to close the coffin and make a conclusion, but they were stopped by Liu Qi.
Liu Qi said, "Please wait a moment to close the coffin." Then he turned to E Huan and said, "General E, go down again and get a bottle of mercury. Use the mercury bottle marked with the word "mercury" to soak the jade pillow and pour it into the coffin. If
The words of the coffin robber will surely touch the mercury and die."
E Huan said yes and jumped down again to get the mercury bottle.
Chen Wen still flattered: "Young Master is wise." He secretly praised Liu Qi for his thoughtfulness. Mercury is poisonous. If a tomb robber steals a hanging coffin, he will accidentally inhale mercury and die.
Liu Qi looked at the corpse of the king stacked on top of the bronze-armored guards in the nanmu coffin, and asked Chen Wen playfully: "Brother Wen, there is no record in the nanmu coffin. Which prince can this corpse be?"
Chen Wen was stunned for a moment. He didn't know whether Liu Qi was asking the question knowingly or what he meant. He pondered for a moment, twirled his short beard, and replied solemnly: "Sir, when the king's body is opened in the coffin and revealed to the light of day, it means rebirth, regardless of past life or present life, regardless of surname.
No matter who you are, it will be turned into the dust of history. We don’t need to trace who the king’s corpse is to avoid the jealousy of future generations. Let the four guards protect the prince and rest here.”
Liu Qi admired Chen Wen's answer and sighed: "What Brother Wen said is exactly what I want. We don't need to find out who owns the coffin in the cave and the royal tomb on the ground. There are only these two places and cannot be expanded. If there are more digs, it may annoy the spirits of the dead."
, you will receive retribution after death."
Chen Wen nodded and said, "I would like to listen to you sir."
While Liu Qi and Chen Wen were talking, E Huan had already taken out an exquisite glass-shaped mercury bottle.
E Huan's fan climbed extremely fast, comparable to the ape king. In the blink of an eye, he climbed up and down the ten-foot cliff and handed the mercury bottle to Liu Qi.
Liu Qi opened the bottle cap, slowly poured the mercury onto the jade pillow, then slowly poured the king's corpse into the coffin. After pouring the entire bottle of mercury into the coffin, he tore off the mercury label on the mercury bottle and kneaded it into small balls.
Throw it out of the cave, and then place the delicate empty bottle without any markings next to the jade pillow.
After pouring mercury into the coffin, Liu Qi led Chen Wen, E Huan, the ape king and several apes standing next to him in two rows in the small cave and bowed three times to the hanging coffin. Then Chen Wen bowed to the hanging coffin again.
He was mumbling something while holding the hanging coffin. He couldn't hear what he was saying. It was probably some ancient scripture such as "Heaven is Lingling, Earth is Lingling, the Jade Emperor is coming to show his spirit".
Chen Wen read for a while, and then said to Liu Qi solemnly: "Master, you can order the coffin to be sealed."
Liu Qi looked at the Nan coffin for the last time and said in condolences: "This prince and four brave men, rest in peace." Then he loudly ordered: "Brother Wen, General Hubei, seal the coffin."
"Yes." Chen Wen and E Huan responded, standing on both sides, lifting the heavy coffin lid, closing the coffin, and finally nailed the coffin tightly with special stainless steel nails, and adopted sealing measures to seal the coffin.
The four guards of the Tomb Rat were successfully buried with the king's corpse.
So far, the four bronze guards and the unknown king's corpse were buried in a hanging coffin somewhere in the Wangshan Chu Tombs in Jiangling. They were not stolen again for thousands of years until the construction of the Yangtze River Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project, also known as the Three Gorges Reservoir.
, submerging the hanging coffins and the unknown Chu king’s tomb below the cliff became a historical mystery.
After the corpses of the four guards were buried together with the king's corpse and the coffin was closed, Liu Qi, Chen Wen and E Huan descended to the ground one after another. After the ape king and several apes climbed into the cave, they also climbed to the ground. The ape king whistled and the ape wall dispersed.
.
Liu Qi also ordered the scaffolding built by several large pine trees to be dismantled and put aside first, which may be used after digging the Chu King's tomb. After digging up the Goujian Sword, he cut the large pine trees into small pieces and piled them in the tomb.
To prevent future generations from using pine tree supports to climb up the hanging coffin.
The four living bronze guards did not climb up the hanging coffin to pay their last respects to the four dead guards. When Liu Qi came down from the hanging coffin and briefly informed the guards about the situation of burying the bodies of the four guards together, the four bronze guards were shocked.
I couldn't cry without making a sound, my face was full of tears, my grief was beyond words.
Liu Qi was also hurt, with tears in the corners of his eyes, and he had nothing to say to comfort him. He hugged the four living bronze guards who were crying and patted their shoulders, and the matter was over.
Chen Wen took off the gold-threaded jade clothes, handed it to Liu Qi, carefully packed it in a strong cowhide bag, put it into the carriage, and called a bronze guard to guard it, so that the gold-threaded jade clothes would not be out of sight at all times.
.
Now that he has the help of the ape king and the great apes all over the mountains and plains, he no longer has to worry about being attacked by the tomb rats. Without further ado, as it was still early in the day, Liu Qi decided to excavate the underground Chu King's Tomb immediately while there were still a few hours before sunset.
After gesturing with the ape king for a long time, and confirming that the ape king understood what Liu Qi meant, Liu Qi chose three excavation sites, taking care of each other, and still used the method of digging on slopes. Liu Qi, Chen Wen and E Huan
Each one brings a Bronze Guard to be responsible for an excavation site, leaving one Bronze Guard to guard the camp.
After getting Liu Qi's advice, the ape king went to the ape group and gestured for a while. Suddenly the chattering ape group was divided into three large groups and gathered next to the three excavation points. After Liu Qi, Chen Wen and E Huan broke through the ground, they came with great strength.
The apes helped Liu Qi, Chen Wen and E Huan dig the tomb with their hands and feet.
The three excavation points were dug together. The apes were powerful and extremely efficient. Dust was everywhere for a while. Soon the three excavation points were connected, and a huge tomb made of Han bricks appeared.
Chen Wen picked up a piece of Han brick scattered in the soil and looked at it carefully for a while. There were some inscriptions on the Han brick. Perhaps Chen Wen understood the inscription and shouted excitedly: "My lord, this is the tomb of the King of Chu, and the sword of King Gou Jian of Yue is there."