Beipai Tomb Raiders Notes

Chapter 611 Jiang Zhaoxue's Problem

At dawn, before daybreak, a blazing fire rose from a sheltered spot halfway up the mountain. The black smoke from the cremation mingled with the fresh air after the rain, creating an unpleasant odor.

However, Liu only had two relics with him. Besides the strange magical bell, there was also a silver heart-shaped pendant that looked very old and had turned black from oxidation. Remembering the Taoist priest's instructions, I didn't dare keep either of them and threw them into the fire to burn.

Jiang Zhaoxue sent a few people to help, one of whom took out a cigarette case and said to me, "Hey buddy, wanna have one?"

"Thanks."

Taking the cigarette, I casually asked, "Are you originally from Jiangcun?"

“Jiangcun has been abandoned for half a century. How old am I? But my maternal grandmother is considered half a Jiangcun native. She married into the village before the Great Migration.”

"How much treasure did your maternal grandmother's family inherit back then?" I asked.

After hearing this, the guy lowered his head and lit a cigarette, pretending not to have heard my question.

"What kind of work do you usually do in Qiandao Lake?"

"He'll be a gofer. He does odd jobs, no salary, but he gets a bonus every year. You go ahead, buddy. The fire here will start soon. We'll take care of the rest. The lady is waiting for you."

I nodded and threw the stick away.

Before leaving, I looked back one last time.

All that could be seen was the right hand of the six corpses dangling over the firewood. As the fire spread, the red rope on his wrist instantly turned to ashes.

Down the mountain, Jiang Zhaoxue was standing beside a large rock waiting for me.

"Hey, beautiful lady, what are you looking at?"

"Watching the sunrise."

"Can you see the horse?"

"I'm not completely blind, I still have some light perception. Xiang Yunfeng, do you usually talk to girls like this?"

"Don't misunderstand, we're the same age. I just wanted to get closer to you, I didn't mean to tease you, Miss. On the contrary, I respect you very much."

"You just said that kind of iron coin... there are a thousand catties?"

"What, you don't believe it?"

"I believe you. I think your family definitely hasn't sold any, otherwise it's impossible that not a single one has appeared on the market over the years."

"It's all rusted up, just scrap metal," she said nonchalantly.

I swallowed hard and tried to say, "If you don't like it, how about you sell it to me? I'll buy it for ten times the price of iron, or we can sell it by the piece. I'll give you fifty yuan per piece."

She seemed tired of standing and wanted to find a place to sit down.

I quickly wiped the stones off the ground with my sleeve.

I guided her to sit down and said, "This price is not low. According to what you said, a thousand catties is about fifty thousand pieces. At fifty yuan per piece, that's two million five hundred thousand."

She looked at me and said, "Do you think I'm an idiot? I know everything you've done in Qiandao Lake these past few months. You sold them to that girl with glasses for 700,000 each."

I argued, "That's different. One piece is called a unique item! A unique item has a unique price. Anything becomes worthless when there's too much of it. You suddenly have a thousand pounds! It can't be worth that price."

Her expression remained unmoved.

Seeing that I couldn't fool him, I stopped asking about the iron coins and instead asked him what he wanted from me.

She began, "It's nothing. I'm interested in history, and I know you've researched information about treasures, so I'd like to hear your thoughts on the history behind it."

"Perspectives behind history..."

I thought for a moment and said, “The deepest part of the Zukengyuan River is the site of the ancient Qixian Village from the Northern Song Dynasty. The Song History describes Fang La as a wealthy lacquer garden owner, saying that he rebelled because the court levied heavy taxes. This record should be wrong. In fact, Fang La was very poor. He was not a native of Qingxi. He should be a member of the Fang clan in Shanguo County. He came to Chun'an to seek refuge with his elder, Fang Youchang, and beg for food.”

"Fang Youchang was the real owner of the lacquer garden, while Fang La was just a poor laborer. The root cause of his rebellion was that he accidentally killed Fang Youchang. Fang Youchang's son, Fang Geng, witnessed all of this and went to report it to the authorities. It is only right that a life should be paid for a life. If Fang La had not rebelled at that time, he would have only one way out: death."

"The first thing he did after the uprising was to kill Fang Youchang's entire family of forty-three people, but he still failed to capture Fang Geng. In the third year of Xuanhe, after the uprising was suppressed, the rebel army retreated to the Qingxi base camp. Fang La secretly went into hiding. At this time, Fang Geng went to report him and led the government troops to find his last hiding place."

"Therefore, the story recorded in the Song Dynasty history that Han Shizhong asked a wild woman in the mountains to find out the whereabouts of Fang La, and then entered the mountain cave and killed dozens of enemy soldiers is also incorrect. The truth is that Fang Geng's merit was replaced. This can be seen from Fang Geng's later career. If it weren't for Tong Guan's support, he would never have been able to continue to be an official just because he and Fang La were from the same clan. Moreover, the court even bestowed upon him the plaque of Chengxin Lang, a family of loyalty and righteousness."

"In summary, a poor working man accidentally killed someone. In order to survive, he chose to rebel, joined Manichaeism to enhance his reputation, and shouted that all laws are equal and there is no superior or inferior, which attracted the people to follow him. He eventually had a million mercenaries, proclaimed himself a Holy Duke, established the Yongle reign, and then plundered half of the wealth of the entire Jiangnan region like locusts. Because of his arrogance and ambition, he was defeated and killed, leaving behind only chests and chests of wealth. This is the story behind history."

After I finished speaking, Jiang Zhaoxue pondered and said, "You said that Fang La did not come from the Qingxi Fang clan, but from the Shanguo Fang clan. Is this just speculation or is there direct evidence to prove it?"

“There is evidence. I met someone who told me that there is a village in Shanguo County that holds a secret bonfire party every year during the Spring Festival. The objects of worship are a sword and a black boot, which should be Fang La’s sword and boot. This custom is not recorded in any documents, but it has been passed down for hundreds of years. If you are interested in this, you can go to that village during the Spring Festival this year. Of course, I heard that the village is extremely unwelcoming to outsiders.”

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Jiang Zhaoxue nodded, then questioned me, "Xiang Yunfeng, according to your reasoning, if the Northern Song Dynasty history is wrong, then the Rongzhai Yishi of the Southern Song Dynasty clearly records that there was a lacquer garden in La. Does that mean the Southern Song Dynasty history is also wrong? Its author, Hong Mai, was well-read and had an upright reputation. He rose to the position of vice prime minister. He was born during the Xuanhe era. Could it be that he also lied in his own work?"

"No, no, no, you want to argue with me, huh?"

Jiang Zhaoxue shook her head: "How could I be arguing with you? I just want to hear different people's opinions on it."

I thought for a moment and said, “I have also read the Rongzhai history you mentioned. It does not belong to the official history of the Southern Song Dynasty. It is just a personal note. Hong Mai was born in the third year of Xuanhe. Fang La was defeated in the same year he was born, so he had no connection with Fang La.”

“I agree that Hong Mai is an upright man, but he had his own ulterior motives in writing it this way. In his notes, he said that there was a lacquer garden in La, and Fang Shisan rebelled because of the heavy taxes imposed by the court. He also praised Han Shizhong for his bravery. This was actually a subtle warning to the authorities to implement benevolent policies and not to impose heavy taxes on the people. Otherwise, there might be another Fang Shisan. This was his good intention.”

Jiang Zhaoxue frowned: "You said that Fang Geng led the soldiers to find Fang La's last hiding place, but why is this not mentioned at all in the later biographies of Fang Geng?"

I frowned and said, “Miss, no book, whether it’s a history book or a literary work, is created out of thin air. It’s written by people. People can’t write about things that would cost them their heads, unless they want to commit suicide. Tong Guan didn’t mistreat him. Fang Geng has lived a wealthy life. Why would he have to tell the truth and betray his benefactor?”

"Furthermore, the biography of Fang Geng was not written by Fang Geng himself. It was dictated by Fang Geng's fifth-generation granddaughter and compiled by Xu Zhizhi of the Yuan Dynasty. By then, several generations had passed, and the people involved would naturally not know the truth of what happened back then."

"You don't need to doubt it! What I'm saying is the truth that's closest to the truth!" I said firmly.

Jiang Zhaoxue took a deep breath, her expression still somewhat unconvinced. She said, "The front is lacquered cloth, the back is lacquered cloth, and the middle is lacquered cloth. This 'Lacquered Cloth Sutra' has been passed down in Chun'an for hundreds of years. Have you deciphered its secret?"

"I really don't know. I've thought about it for a long time but still can't figure it out. Do you know, Miss?"

"Of course I know."

"Then tell me what happened quickly."

She suddenly stood up, took a stick, and walked forward.

"Why did you leave? Tell me!"

She kept walking, turned her head and snorted.