That’s what I thought. After so much effort and so many people dying, all I got in the end was a few unreadable fragments of the manuscript. Thinking back to the moment when the Pantuo Mandala suddenly collapsed, and the people who were buried in it in an instant.
For the people in the sand sea, I started to feel a little sad for no reason, and I felt unworthy for them.
"The manuscript cannot be deciphered, so what's the point of doing these things?"
"The people who got the code have never given up and are constantly trying to figure out how to interpret its contents." Mustache said: "The interpretation is definitely not a matter of a day or two, but there is still progress to some extent. From Wei Changkong, Lei Yingxiong,
It can also be seen from the unknown gloomy face that their process has accelerated, maybe because they have recently obtained some clues."
There is a whole codex, tens of thousands of symbols with vague meanings, and they are scattered in the hands of several people. They are unwilling to give up, but they have no other choice, so they can only try their best to find a way to decipher it. It is these that have been deciphered.
Part of the content has become the latest direction and goal of these people's actions.
What is the most direct relationship between the manuscript and the bronze medal?
"Don't be discouraged. There is one thing I won't hide from you." Mustache still had that very calm expression, but there was a trace of light that was hard to detect in his eyes: "If I'm not wrong, we
He will be the biggest winner in this competition."
"Why do you say that?"
"You have already seen the two most critical points in the two parchments, but these two points are not really the most critical. For us, the most critical thing is a sentence at the end of the second parchment.
.”
"What are you talking about?" I couldn't help but straighten up and asked. To be honest, when things got to this point, I was vaguely trapped in it, and I really wanted to know the final truth.
"It's very simple. There are only six words." Mustache said one word at a time: "If you lose the game, you will be unhappy."
I thought about these six words for a moment and immediately analyzed a piece of information. The second key point in the parchment is very clear. In the duel between Lu Xiuhuang and Yuan Hao, he said that he had another very important thing.
Therefore, the task of going deep into the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty to find things was handed over to a man named Shi Pan, and he got Yuan Hao's approval.
Losing the game means being unhappy...
The literal meaning is easy to understand. This person named Shi Pan missed the task. He did not complete the task and did not bring back anything, which made Yuan Hao very angry.
"Do you understand? In the two volumes of parchment, only this sentence is the most important!" Mustache gently clenched his fist, and his knuckles made a few crisp sounds: "Lu Xiuhuang's plan failed because of various reasons.
The reason is that I didn’t bring anything back, and that thing is still where it is!”
"In the parchment, this thing is called an artifact? What exactly could it be? Is it more important than the Xixia bronze medal?"
"It's hard to say what this thing is." Mustache stood up and took out a flat box: "You should take a look at this thing first. It's very interesting."
This box does not look like an antique. After opening it, there is a very old diary inside. The cover is very thick and the entire diary is like a discus.
When I opened this diary, I felt dizzy again. There were rows of bird texts, but no one could understand them.
"It's in Russian, and there's a Chinese translation at the bottom of the diary."
"Why did you pull out another Russian diary?"
"Do you know Kozlov?" Mustache glanced at me and then said, "These are the notes he left."
"Kozlov? Russian?"
Mustache may have obtained this old diary not long ago, and he has studied everything in it carefully. He told me that Kozlov is a very famous person, because he was the first to steal from Blackwater City in Xixia.
A large number of Xixia cultural relics were excavated and transported back to Russia.
Kozlov is a native of Dukhovshina, Russia. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Military Academy at the age of 24. Although this Russian military officer graduated from the military academy, he seems not to be interested in military affairs, but loves exploring. Kozlov
After graduating from the St. Petersburg Military Academy, Kozlov has been following a Russian officer named Przhevalski on expeditions in Central Asia. But later, Kozlov left Central Asia and set the destination of the expedition in Pakistan, China.
Danjilin Desert because he saw a book written by the Western explorer Potanin: "Tanggut in China--Tibetan Border Region and Central Mongolia".
Tangut is Xixia. In this book, Boningta describes the Blackwater City in Xixia. These descriptions are all based on hearsay, because Boningta has never really set foot in Blackwater City, but he firmly believes in a folk legend: Blackwater City
The last defender, General Black, buried more than eighty carts of gold, jade and jewelry in a dry well in the city before he was defeated.
Kozlov was completely attracted by the Blackwater City in the book. It was not only the most famous military town before the fall of Xixia, but also had great archaeological value, and there was also huge wealth to be discovered. Therefore, he came to Badain Jaran excitedly
He wanted to find the Blackwater City in the desert, but what disappointed Ke Ye was that the local Mongolians had always had a bad impression of Lao Maozi. Not only did no one want to guide him, they also expelled him from Ejina.
The persistent Russian officer and explorer Kozlov learned from his experience after being driven back, summed up the reasons for the failure of the expedition, and made a very careful and detailed plan to prepare for the second search for Blackwater City. Kozlov knew that,
He could not complete the plan on his own, so he first lobbied domestically and obtained the support and sponsorship of the Russian Royal Society. In 1908, Kozlov began his second trip to Ezina.
Although Kozlov planned this expedition carefully, he was still a little uneasy, so he made an unexpected move and asked someone to divine the outcome of the expedition.
There lived an eminent monk from Tibet in Juyanhai. Kozlov made his request. The eminent monk burned bones for divination and said that this time he would be able to find Blackwater City and dig out treasures.
Kozlov finally felt at ease, and then went to visit Prince Darcy of Mongolia as planned. In this desert and grassland, the prince was the only master. Kozlov presented the prince with sophisticated muskets and weapons from Russia.
Prince Darcy really did not take the gift in vain, and then sent a guide to lead the expedition to Blackwater City. Although Kozlov did not dig out the legendary treasure buried by General Black, countless precious Xixia cultural relics and documents were
Shipping back to Russia.
After listening to his introduction, I started to read the translation. It can be seen that the person responsible for translating the notes did not have a particularly high level of Russian. The translation of a good notebook was like a running account, very mechanical, and there was no charm in the words.
Moreover, the notes seem incomplete and were cut out from the entire notebook. However, the translation is perfect for me. My writing and reading skills have always been at the elementary school level. Looking at this kind of thing
Very handy.
Kozlov has been to many places in his life, but this notebook begins with his first trip to Ejina. The content is very detailed, including the geography and landforms along the way, the route, customs, personal experiences, and even what happened along the way.
All trivial matters, big and small, were recorded one by one.
I read many pages but didn't find anything special, so I asked Mustache: "You said this note is interesting, why haven't I seen it yet?"
"What did you see?"
"This is the paragraph: The barbaric Mongols rudely drove me out of their territory and prohibited me and my companions from getting closer to Ejina. Perhaps all backward ethnic groups are so unkind."
"This was the first time Kozlov looked for Blackwater City. He was driven away by the local Turgut people, and then he continued to look down."
The next content of the note is almost the same as what Mustache told. After Kozlov returned home, he obtained the support of Loki Slovitch, the head of the Russian Royal Society at the time, and reorganized an expedition that was much larger than the first one.
In preparation for his second departure, he also selected some sophisticated muskets, Russian gold coins, chime bells and other gadgets to bribe the Mongolian prince officials, and asked Tibetan monks to burn bones for divination in Juyanhai.
This time, Kozlov finally got what he wanted. Under the guidance of his guide, he found Blackwater City. This Russian explorer did not have a rigorous academic attitude and spirit. What attracted him to Blackwater City was the treasure buried in the dry well by General Black.
.
In his notes, Kozlov recorded a list of items excavated from Blackwater City at that time, including Buddha statues, magical instruments, picture scrolls, books, notebooks, scriptures, coins, jewelry, etc. The entire excavation process lasted for thirteen years.
But what disappointed Kozlov was that he never found the legendary dry well. Kozlov recorded in his notes: Potanin may have deceived me and everyone who has read this book, Black General,
Eighty carts of gold, silver, jewels, and a dry well may not exist.
The things excavated from Blackwater City were quickly transported back to Russia and were sorted and kept by the Royal Society. Kozlov, who had personally set foot in Blackwater City, gave up. He finally believed that the legend was just a legend after all, and there was no treasure he desired in Blackwater City.
.
At this time, Mustache came up behind me, looked at the translation, and said, "We are about to reach an interesting place, look carefully."
To be honest, I was already a little impatient, but after hearing what Mustache said, I quickly cheered up and continued reading word by word.
After finishing his trip to Blackwater City, Kozlov continued his exploration in China. This time his destination was Sichuan. While traveling, Kozlov suddenly received an order from St. Petersburg. The order was sent by the Royal Society of Russia.
Yes, they asked Kozlov to stop his trip immediately and return home quickly.
Kozlov was worthy of being a soldier, and he immediately left for home after being ordered to do so. On the day he returned to St. Petersburg, Lokislovitch, who had strongly supported him in his expedition to Blackwater City, had an extremely secret conversation with him. It was not recorded in the notes.
The specific content of the conversation between the two parties, but Kozlov left such a paragraph in his notes that made me stunned.