Lin Sanqi took the pottery shard and took a look at it, but then handed it to Director Liu.
Stop joking. Lin Sanqi knows nothing about archaeology. He just has a God's perspective. If he didn't have the golden finger, he would also think that this was a broken piece of someone's water tank.
Director Liu was a professional. He took it and looked at it carefully, then handed it to the two archaeological experts, Yuan Zhongyi and Zhao Kangmin, behind him.
Zhao Kangmin touched it a few times and replied:
"This is indeed a pottery fragment from the Qin and Han dynasties. Its specific purpose is unknown. Looking at this fragment, it seems to have a pattern similar to that of armor pieces."
Lin Sanqi clapped his hands excitedly, thinking, that's right, this should be part of the Terracotta Warrior's body.
Director Liu didn't take it seriously at this time and asked with a smile:
"Commissioner Lin, how are you going to find the Terracotta Warriors you mentioned? Based on the terracotta warriors and horses we've excavated from the accompanying pits of Emperor Jing of Han's mausoleum, they're all quite small, generally no larger than 50 centimeters, so they're quite difficult to dig up."
Lin Sanqi snorted softly:
"Han Terracotta Warriors? I've never heard of them, which means they're definitely not worth much. As far as I know, the Qin Terracotta Warriors are around 2 meters tall on average, taller than me."
Director Liu and the archaeological team were secretly surprised.
There are 2-meter-tall pottery figurines. Some tomb guardians or door gods in Tang Dynasty tombs are this tall, but usually only two of these are unearthed.
It is hard to imagine what a spectacular sight it would be to see more than 8,000 terracotta warriors, each nearly two meters tall, standing in rows.
The Qin Dynasty was a short-lived dynasty after its unification. Did it have the strength and ability to do so?
Director Liu still didn't believe it, and Commander Qi had already hidden in a small forest in the distance to enjoy the cool air. He was not interested in dead people's things and simply regarded himself as an outsider.
At this time, Lin Sanqi took a look at the farmland in front of him, compared it with the map in his hand, and then pointed and said:
"Village Chief Yang, from here to there, this is about 10 mu of land, right? I'll take it over. Can you calculate how much the crops and vegetables here will cost?"
Village Chief Yang was confused: "Leader, what do you want this land for?"
Lin Sanqi waved his hand and said, "Dig the ground, remove the soil on the surface, and find the priceless treasure~~~"
The local cadres and the village chief nearby all gave him a stupid look. How could there be priceless treasures in this damn place?
Even if there is, how would you, a foreigner, know?
When Director Liu heard that Lin Sanqi wanted to dig 10 acres of land, he became anxious and quickly stopped him.
"Commissioner Lin, a ten-acre excavation is too large. How about we try using a Luoyang shovel to confirm if there's anything underground before making a decision?"
Lin Sanqi agreed when he heard this. He was sure that there were terracotta warriors underground, but digging them out would be a huge project, and he couldn't stay in Xi'an forever.
As long as you make sure it is there, the rest will be left to the local authorities.
"Okay, then try digging a few holes."
Director Liu wiped his sweat, thinking that he had persuaded this little ancestor, so he signaled his subordinates.
More than a dozen archaeological team members took some long tubular iron tools from the car and began to piece them together.
Lin Sanqi was superstitious about the Grave Robbers' Chronicles for a while and was particularly interested in the Luoyang shovel, so he decided to try it himself.
Zhao Kangmin Lehehe demonstrated:
"Commissioner Lin, when using a Luoyang shovel, stand upright with your legs apart, hold the handle with both hands in front of your chest, and place the shovel head on the ground between your toes. Strike downward with force and vertically to form a probe hole.
Once the soil is excavated, the color and texture of the soil brought up by the shovel should be observed. Also, the presence of artifacts such as pottery shards, bricks, and charcoal should be checked. These artifacts could be building materials or burial objects, indicating the presence of a burial site below.
Just like me, look at the soil I brought up with these few shovels, there are... Hey, there are actually pottery shards in here?"
Zhao Kangmin was very alert and immediately squatted down to observe the broken pottery pieces in the soil.
At this moment, Yuan Zhongyi, who was about 20 meters away from Zhao Kangmin, also noticed something strange about the soil in the Luoyang shovel:
"Wait, what kind of pottery is this? Hey, look at it, does it look like a finger?"
When Director Liu heard this, his alarm bells immediately rang, and he immediately ran over to observe:
"This soil layer is also wrong. There are sawdust in it. Does this mean there was a man-made structure underground?"
Not far away, another archaeologist also shouted:
"Captain Yuan, come and take a look. In the dirt I dug out, there are several pieces of pottery with colors on them. There are vermilion, green, and blue."
Lin Sanqi became more certain when he heard it from afar, because when the Terracotta Warriors were first unearthed, they were not as gray as everyone saw, but were decorated with colorful patterns.
According to historical records, the Terracotta Warriors' costumes were in more than a dozen colors, including vermilion, green, blue, purple, pink, light green, light blue, black, white, and ochre.
In particular, the four colors of pink green, vermilion, purple and sky blue are the most numerous, and the painted patterns on pottery figurines of different levels are also different.
However, due to inadequate technology, these colors quickly oxidized after being unearthed, leaving only the original gray color of the soil.
The archaeological team members ran around, all of them excited, so they called more team members and started digging holes all over the mountains.
When the sun went down, smoke rose from the village cafeteria. Captain Yuan then excitedly reported to Lin Sanqi:
"Commissioner Lin, after several meetings, and with the confirmation of provincial and municipal archaeological experts, we have confirmed that there are terracotta warriors underneath, and they are painted terracotta warriors with a wide variety of vibrant colors. This is the first such discovery in China.
If it is true, as you say, that the Terracotta Army is nearly two meters tall and there are more than a few thousand of them, then painted pottery figurines of this scale are unique in China, no, in the world. It is a miracle!
Lin Sanqi thought to himself, I know better than you that this is a miracle. Should I show you the short video of the Terracotta Warriors saved on my phone?
"Commissioner Lin, since you know there are Terracotta Warriors here, can you determine their approximate range?"
Lin Sanqi knew that there were three pits in total, and he also knew where the bronze chariot and horses were dug out, but Lin Sanqi knew that too much is as bad as too little, so that was enough.
"Captain Yuan, I don't know the exact extent of the area. I know there are terracotta warriors here because someone came here to explore before liberation and tried to steal them but failed, so they were preserved."
At this time, Director Liu also came over and sighed after hearing Lin Sanqi's words:
"Our preliminary exploration results using the Luoyang shovel indicate that the Terracotta Warriors and Horses pit is estimated to cover an area of ​​approximately 20,000 square meters, making it a very large area.
I've already reported this to the provincial government urgently by phone, but the province is under significant financial pressure and I'm afraid they won't be planning large-scale excavations in the near future."
Lin Sanqi thought that this generation of provincial leaders was still short-sighted.
The discovery of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin can become a business card for Xi'an, and it will definitely attract tourists from all over the country and even the world to visit.
After the reform and opening up, we can use this golden business card to attract investment from everywhere, and that's all money.
Of course, Lin Sanqi did not blame the local government. Lack of money is a common difficulty faced by people across the country.
Even the tombs of emperors of past dynasties are abandoned and no one takes care of them. It is probably because there are too many cultural relics and ancient buildings, and they cannot be protected anymore, so they are not protected.
"Director Liu, can you give us an estimate of how much it will cost for the excavation work, plus the subsequent construction of a museum?"
Director Liu thought for a moment and said uncertainly:
"Archaeological work is extremely tedious and can take years to dig. We can't rush it, and we have to build a new museum. The investment will definitely be 10 million yuan, which our province simply can't afford."
Ten million RMB was a huge sum of money for the local government of Xi'an at that time.
But for Bao'an County, which has hundreds of millions of dollars in its hands, it is just a small amount.
Lin Sanqi thought for a moment, made up his mind and said:
"Well, Director Liu, we, Bao'an County, will pay for the 10 million RMB."
Director Liu, Captain Yuan and others were all stunned, wondering if they were hallucinating.
Lin Sanqi ignored the surprised expressions of the archaeologists. He had seen such expressions so many times that he had become numb to them.
"But I have two requests. One is that after the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum is built, it should be permanently open to the people of Bao'an County free of charge. There is no entrance fee and no need for reservations. You can enter whenever you arrive."
Director Liu had a lot of question marks on his mind, thinking that museum tickets these days only cost a few cents, and almost no one visits, so why do you need to make an appointment?
Lin Sanqi suddenly swallowed his saliva, and then bravely continued to deceive:
"My second request is that after the Terracotta Warriors are unearthed, give me two. Ahem, if you agree to these requests, I will invest."
Lin Sanqi wanted the Terracotta Warriors so that he could brag about them in the future. They were national treasures, truly treasures known to the world. How proud would he be if he could show them off to others?
Of course, it is not for home decoration.
How much courage does it take to use funeral objects as decorations in your home?
Director Liu was completely confused. His mind was completely lost and he mumbled, not knowing how to respond.
When Captain Yuan saw that his old leader did not answer, he also refused to accept the distinction between superiors and subordinates and shouted excitedly:
"Promise, we promise everything. Not only will we give you two terracotta warriors, we can also give you a few more!"
Lin Sanqi thought, just based on what you said, in a few decades, you, Yuan Zhongyi, might be bullied online and turned into a prodigal son. (End of this chapter)
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