#496 - Chapter 496: Excavated by Invaders
"A stone tablet."
"What kind of stone tablet?" Dongfang Chen asked.
"It has six characters written on it: ‘Trespassers of the Imperial Tomb Shall Die.’" Old Qin replied.
"Then where is the stone tablet?" Dongfang Chen asked.
"It's gone." Old Qin spread his hands, answering.
"Gone? No, Old Qin, you didn't come all this way just to tell me a story, did you? Besides, even if there really is such a stone tablet, it's just a threatening statement, why take it seriously?" Dongfang Chen laughed.
"Don't you underestimate it. In recent years, more than a dozen experts researching the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum have sacrificed their lives," Old Qin said.
"Old Qin, don't worry, I won't go down. As you can see, I'm just sending some probes down, nothing will happen. You should go back first, we'll contact each other if there's any news." Dongfang Chen prepared to open the door to leave.
He had no interest in discussing these mystical things here.
"Little Chen!" Old Qin's expression changed, he shouted to stop him.
Seeing that Old Qin was angry, Dongfang Chen quickly softened his tone.
He's so old, don't let him get sick from anger.
"Old Qin, why are you still angry? Didn't I tell you, I won't go down, I'll just use the equipment to check it out." Dongfang Chen walked to Old Qin and helped him sit down.
"Sigh! You don't need to test anymore, this place has actually been opened long ago," Old Qin said in a softened tone.
"Ah?" Dongfang Chen was stunned.
"In fact, this place was already looted by invaders two hundred years ago," Old Qin dropped a bombshell.
"But… if it has been looted, then why has it always been said to the outside world that it has never been opened?" Dongfang Chen couldn't understand.
Moreover, Old Qin just said that those who tried to loot the imperial tomb were dead. Now he says it has already been robbed, which is simply self-contradictory.
"After the founding of the country, our experts carried out rescue repairs on the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum. In the coffin of the First Emperor, a bundle of jade slips woven with gold thread was found, and the content on it shocked everyone," Old Qin said.
"What was written on it?" Dongfang Chen felt that this was the content he was looking for.
"It described a scene of a cult called the 'Fire Purification Sect' spreading the art of immortality throughout the Qin Dynasty. At that time, plagues were rampant and starvation was widespread, and the Fire Purification Sect took advantage of the situation to grow stronger, widely recruiting believers. The First Emperor personally led six expeditions, on the one hand, widely spreading education, and on the other hand, launching a purge against those cultists. In more than ten years, countless preachers and believers were buried alive. All the heretical scriptures seized were burned, and those who privately hid scriptures were implicated. As the saying goes, 'Heaven rewards diligence', and finally the remnants of the Fire Purification Sect were completely exterminated on the shores of the East Sea," Old Qin said.
Such a description basically matched the information provided by the Mayans, but Old Qin's description was more comprehensive.
"That is to say, the historical claim that Qin Shi Huang made six tours to find the elixir of immortality is wrong?" Dongfang Chen said.
"That's right, after seeing the content on the jade slips, several experts lamented how huge the gap between history and reality was," Old Qin replied.
"Perhaps this Fire Purification Sect and the current Red Robe Sect are cults of the same nature," Dongfang Chen guessed.
"Perhaps," Old Qin took a deep breath, looking very melancholy.
Dongfang Chen felt that Old Qin's expression was very wrong.
What does Qin Shi Huang's extermination of the Fire Purification Sect have to do with him?
Why is he so melancholy?
"Old Qin, what's wrong with you?" Dongfang Chen asked.
"It's nothing, I just feel sorry for this eternal emperor!" Old Qin sighed.
"Yes. It's very regrettable." Dongfang Chen nodded.
Historical records show that Qin Shi Huang began his first tour before unifying the six kingdoms.
Now it has been confirmed that the purpose of the tour was to eliminate the Fire Purification Sect.
That is to say, basically his second half of his life was spent endlessly fighting against the Fire Purification Sect. Until the sixth tour, he died in Shaqiu.
Is this an emperor?
This looks more like a non-stop working machine.
No wonder even the former high priest of the Maya praised this Chinese leader.
However, Old Qin's narrative lacks a key content, that is, the terracotta army.
The Mayan high priest mentioned the phrase "digging soil for soldiers".
"Old Qin, did the jade slips mention how the Fire Purification Sect was exterminated?" Dongfang Chen asked.
"No, it didn't." Old Qin shook his head.
"Okay then!" Dongfang Chen nodded.
"Alright, Little Chen, now that the situation is clear, let's leave!" Old Qin said.
"Oh, right, Old Qin, apart from discovering the jade slips in Qin Shi Huang's tomb, didn't you find anything else?" Dongfang Chen asked.
"Sigh! The First Emperor's mausoleum was looted, and there were not even a few floor tiles left. What valuable things could there be? Apart from some broken terracotta figurines, there is nothing else." Old Qin sighed and shook his head, looking very distressed.
But why did Dongfang Chen feel vaguely untrustworthy?
He always felt that Old Qin was fooling him.
"Old Qin, I heard that Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum is very magnificent, with the sun, moon, stars, mountains, and rivers all available. Since you know the situation inside, can you tell me about it?" Dongfang Chen asked tentatively.
