After listening to my explanation and observing the surrounding terrain, the engineer nodded: "Detonating here won't be too difficult, but we need to remove some large rocks from above and bury the explosives in front of this door. This will reduce the spread of the shock wave and allow the kinetic energy of the explosives to move towards the side of the tomb door."
Let's get right to it.
After confirming that there was no danger in the tomb passage, I asked several bodyguards from the Wei family to come down and help.
Under the engineer's direction, we quickly buried several pieces of explosives with stones in front of the sealed door of the small hall, connected the fuses, and then hid far away.
The engineer's goal was simply to blast open the tomb door, so he didn't use much explosives.
I walked up to the broken door and shone my flashlight inside. Inside was an arched passageway with a row of downward stairs leading to a room inside.
Directly opposite the staircase is another door, made of white marble. Two pillars stand in front of the door, with a protruding eave on top. On the eave is a circular relief depicting a treasure top and auspicious clouds, which perfectly complements the protruding eave.
After the door was opened, a very peculiar smell wafted out, both fishy and foul, making it feel like a scene of chicken slaughter.
The floor of the small hall of this tomb, made of some unknown material, still reflects light when a flashlight is shone on it.
I walked halfway down the stairs and suddenly noticed water flowing on the floor of the small hall.
It wasn't water that was already there, because the ground below wasn't wet, and the water looked like it had just flowed out.
I didn't know what mechanism I had triggered, so I slowed down: "Everyone be careful, follow behind me and watch where I land."
The further you go in, the stronger the pungent smell becomes.
I confirmed there were no hidden mechanisms on the stairs, and when I reached the end, I shone my flashlight inside. My expression then changed.
There weren't many things in this small hall; on the left were a stone table and chairs, and on the right was a stone bed.
What made me uncomfortable was that there were four glass jars placed on either side of the small hall entrance.
Those jars were over two meters tall and looked like petri dishes.
These jars were all filled with pink liquid, and underneath them were a pile of bones and a piece of clothing.
It appears there were four eunuchs and four palace maids.
A jar to my right was cracked by the explosion, and the liquid I saw was flowing out from the crack in that jar.
The monkey followed behind me, and after seeing a few jars, it frowned: "Was this grave for a scientist? Why are they putting these things here?"
"This is human sacrifice. If nothing unexpected happens, these jars contain formalin. The intention is to preserve the body and use it to replace the stone statues in the tomb."
I looked at the corpse in the jar, then glanced at the white marble tomb door directly in front of me: "The identity of this tomb owner is no ordinary person."
The monkey's attention, however, was focused on something else: "Did the Qing Dynasty have formaldehyde?"
Formalin alone is not enough. Although formalin is a preservative and bactericidal agent, it is highly unlikely that it can keep a dead body at room temperature and prevent it from decaying. To achieve long-term preservation, other preservation measures are needed. The most common method now is to freeze the body in a freezer while using these preservatives.
What is formalin? It is actually a formaldehyde solution, a combination of water and a small amount of other elements added in a certain proportion. What is the concentration of formalin? The concentration of medical formalin is about 35% to 37% formaldehyde and water solution. This can be used in large quantities in medicine. It has a very pungent smell and is very volatile. It is mainly used for disinfection, sterilization and preservation.
"Of course. Commonly used chemical preservatives such as phenols, alcohols, aldehydes, heavy metal salts, or physical methods such as heating, ultraviolet light, and drying all have a preservative and fixative effect. For example, mummification is also a method of preserving corpses."
The engineer answered for me: "However, in medical terms, the main fixatives commonly used in the preservation and embalming of corpses are formaldehyde, ethanol, and various mixtures of Zenker solution, Bouin solution, Carnoy solution, etc. Among these, a 37% to 40% aqueous solution of formaldehyde, which is a gas at room temperature, dissolved in water is what we call formalin."
The monkey was a little confused: "Formaldehyde? Is that the stuff we encountered when decorating our homes?"
"That's right, it's the formaldehyde left over from renovations and furniture, so making specimens is also a dangerous job."
The engineer nodded: "Although formalin can preserve corpses, the human body is not completely sterile. Therefore, the formalin solution for specimens needs to be changed every year. If it is completely sealed, it can last for decades without any problems! However, these jars clearly have problems with sealing and sterilization. The corpses inside have already dissolved."
I looked at the engineer: "I didn't expect you to know this."
"I am a blasting engineer. I majored in ammunition engineering and blasting technology in college and minored in chemistry."
The engineer paused for a moment: "Compared to your curiosity about me, I have some more unfortunate news to tell you: this place cannot be demolished. This room is not a dome structure, so it cannot be effectively supported. Moreover, the space is too small. If we use too little explosive, we might not be able to blow the door open. If we use too much explosive, this place will definitely collapse! From a professional point of view, I don't think this place is suitable for demolition."
Undeterred, I asked, "What are the chances of a landslide?"
The engineer shone his flashlight around: "The main cause of the collapse is vibration. The probability needs to be calculated precisely, but based on my experience, there's an over 80% chance that they'll release the explosives here. You saw it yourself, we just blew something outside and it cracked the glass jars here. If they blew something inside, you can imagine what would happen."
I walked up to the jade door and checked it. I was really unwilling to give up: "This door can only be opened with a key with a nail. Without tools, it's very difficult to get in."
"Then I suggest you use professional tools."
The engineer pointed to the ceiling: "I brought an electric pickaxe. With that, it's not impossible to make a hole in two or three hours."
"Two or three hours is too long; we don't have that much time."
I stood there for a while and then said, "Now that things have come to this, we can only use the methods that our predecessors have used before."
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