Chapter 5 Chapter 4 The Missing Archaeological Team

List of excavation teams at the Yuli Yingpan site in Xinjiang: Team leader: Professor Tan Yundan Deputy team leader: Lecturer Chen Wei Team members: Wei Qifang, Li Renxi, Liang Ke, Li Wenchang, Dou Miao, Gao Hong, Xiang Zhiyuan The nine-person team is composed of personnel from three units including S University, the Institute of Paleontology, and the museum.Due to the relatively complicated personnel, Professor Tan Yundan made disciplinary regulations from the very beginning. Do not act without authorization, obey all orders, and obey orders unconditionally. Any situation found needs to be reported, and action can only be taken after asking for instructions.

Unify the work and rest time, strictly abide by it, and regularly communicate and discuss. Free time, civilized entertainment, solidarity and friendship, and friendly relations. The fourth one is temporarily attached on the train.Because of the dispute between Li Dazui and Li Renxi during the card game, first Wendou, Li Renxi is obviously not the opponent.As a result, Li Renxi spit out in a rage, cursed in Korean, took off his coat and was about to pounce on him.The two almost rose to the stage of fighting, and were pulled away by all of us.Since then, Professor Tan has stipulated an additional Article 4, emphasizing that "unity, friendship, and getting along with each other" also applies to working hours other than recreational hours.

When we leaned on the car window and watched the bustling city of Urumqi gradually appear in front of us, I think we had the same excitement as when the young people from the XJ Construction Corps arrived.Everyone has a lot of luggage, all of them are holding yellow on the left and Qingcang on the right, standing at the exit in confusion looking for the pick-up sign of XJ Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology. After waiting for nearly an hour, no one suspected of being from the Institute of Archaeology appeared at the gate of Urumqi Railway Station, which was constantly flowing.Professor Tan's face was hesitant, and he waved his hand and said, "Let's go straight to the research institute."

Professor Tan was born in a high-ranking family. He was extremely intelligent and well-off since he was a child.Right now, when she got off the bus in Urumqi, she received such a cold reception. I'm afraid she has never encountered such a contemptuous thing in her life.She had a gloomy face along the way, and we didn't dare to talk much.Arriving at Beijing South Road, the sign of XJ Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology finally appeared, and a boxy building was in front of us.A group of us walked in. The institute was deserted, and even the guard had only a teacup. The tea was still hot, but no one knew where he had gone.Professor Tan frowned and said softly: "What kind of management is this?!"

The doors of most of the offices in the building were locked, and it was hard to knock on the door of a deputy director. The deputy director was on the phone, and it took more than ten minutes before he was free to receive us. Professor Tan introduced himself and said that we are a joint archaeological excavation team from S city. We have contacted Pei Fengfeng, a researcher at the XJ Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and he will take us into the Yingpan area. The deputy director slapped his head: "Old Pei has been in charge of excavating and recording the Yingpan site. He is not here now, but I have heard him report this matter to the director. The director is not here, so I can't decide."

Professor Tan said coldly: "Where are they? I'll talk to them directly." The deputy director smiled awkwardly: "They are still in the camp and haven't come back." Professor Tan's face was as frosty.If glances could kill, I believe the deputy director would have died a hundred times. We were settled in the guest house of XJ Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology to rest and stand by.The deputy director promised to contact Director Qin and Researcher Pei who are doing archaeology in Yingpan on our behalf.In fact, we found out later that the deputy director was completely perfunctory to us.Although he cannot be blamed for this, he did lie to us at the time.

About three days later, the deputy director called us back, saying that the camp archeology was canceled for some reason.In other words, the nine of us who had traveled all the way to Urumqi were about to be sent back without even touching the stones of the Kongque River.Professor Tan stood up on the spot, walked out of the deputy director's office without saying a word, stood in the corridor and made several consecutive phone calls. Li Dazui, Lao Wei and I waited in front of the window at the end of the corridor, watching Professor Tan talk on the phone with a blank expression.Gao Hong and others did not come with us. They sorted out materials in the guest house and made preparations for the excavation.About half an hour later, Professor Tan walked into the deputy director's office again, calmly suppressing his anger.She slammed the door shut.

The few of us have a tacit understanding, arranged according to size, sticking to the door in a descending state, listening to the conversation inside with ears pricked up. Professor Tan asked, "Are Researcher Pei and Institute of Qin still at the Yingpan site?" The deputy director said: "Yes, how many times have I told you that this event has been cancelled, and the higher-ups have also explained that you should go back." Professor Tan slapped the table and tried to restrain his voice and said: "Lies! A total of 6 people including Researcher Pei and Qin Institute's staff have been missing near the camp for many days. The 35th Regiment and the 33rd Regiment sent a total of 20 joint search and rescue personnel , As a result, the search and rescue team also lost contact and their whereabouts are unknown. Why didn't you tell us about this?"

The deputy director was obviously very surprised by the source of Professor Tan's information, and said in a whisper: "You, how do you know? This is confidential information!" Professor Tan said lightly: "You don't need to know how I know. I just tell you that we will depart from Urumqi to Korla in two days. You just need to help us contact a local guide, and you don't have to ask about other things." The deputy director was irritated by Professor Tan's attitude, and stood up abruptly, as if bumping into a chair. "Whose approval did you get? This project has been cancelled. The Qin Institute and their lives are uncertain, and no one knows what happened in the camp. It is now a military restricted area! Without my approval, you are not allowed to go!"

Professor Tan sneered: "It is precisely because it has become a military restricted area that the relevant departments specially approved our team to investigate and entrusted the Feilong Brigade to provide military protection and support. I believe you will receive a call from your superiors soon." As soon as Professor Tan finished speaking, the phone in the deputy director's office rang. We looked at each other in blank dismay, never expecting Professor Tan to be so powerful. I asked in a low voice: "What is the Flying Dragon Brigade?" Wei Datou also said in a low voice: "The special forces of the XX military region were formed in 1992. They are quite awesome and very cold."

Li Dazui added: "It seems that the standard of our archaeological activities is quite high. Not only are special forces following, but also 26 people are missing in the place where we are going. My Buddha, this life is not ordinary." We didn't expect that Professor Tan's background was far beyond our imagination.Not only was she able to obtain the excavation permit when the camp was closed, but she was also able to obtain the back-up support of the Flying Dragon Brigade through her relationship.In fact, it is not complicated to put it bluntly. When you have a father who was a former deputy commander of the military region and an elder brother who is currently in an important position in the General Staff, everything can become easier. Although Professor Tan took over because of Professor Fan's illness, we had a brief stepmother feeling, but Professor Tan's impartiality and rigor, especially her unexpectedly tenacious will, the kind of determination not to give up until the goal, The character who can use all means for the purpose makes us have to re-examine this big sister in the archaeological world. Before going to Korla, Professor Tan took us to visit the XJ Museum.At that time, the post-modern new building had not yet been built, and the old building was a vaulted old building full of Xinjiang style, which looked novel and friendly.Reminiscent of the old-fashionedness of the museum in S City, we rushed in almost impatiently, shooting everywhere like machine guns, looking for the exhibition stand of unearthed cultural relics in the Yingpan Cemetery. After Gao Hong and Xiang Zhiyuan heard that someone was missing from the Yingpan site, they kept frowning and worried.They are well-informed outside, and their thinking and thinking are much more mature than ours.We, on the other hand, have the spirit of a newborn calf not afraid of tigers. Not only do we not have the slightest intention of retreating, but we are all gearing up, fantasizing about showing our talents at the Yingpan site, becoming famous in one fell swoop, and returning to our hometown. There were not many people in the museum, so Li Dazui took the opportunity to tease Gao Hong and Xiang Zhiyuan, saying that their listless appearance was due to the dilapidated state of the S City Museum and their inferiority complex.Gao Hong didn't bother to retort, Xiang Zhiyuan was younger and retorted passionately.The dilapidated house of the Institute of Paleontology also suffered, and was moved out by Xiang Zhiyuan to mock Li Dazui.While chatting and joking, Wei Datou suddenly saw the famous exhibition stand of male corpses in Tomb No. 15 in Yingpan. At that time, this discovery was rated as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country in 1997.A group of us suddenly went limp, and we gathered around in a hurry, looking at this legendary male corpse with fascination. The corpse of the male from Tomb No. 15 was displayed in a special glass coffin. It was once on a national tour, causing a sensation everywhere it went.In fact, we have all read the pictures of the corpse, the burial objects, and the excavation report by heart.But seeing the real thing at this moment, I still can't restrain my excitement. The excavation of tomb No. 15 was carried out after the Yingpan cemetery was stolen.Although after the baptism of many tomb robbery novels, the act of tomb robbery has been tampered with to be full of romanticism and adventurous spirit, but the fact is that the blow of tomb robbery to historical relics is fatal, sometimes even devastating.Tomb robbers not only plundered the burial objects, but also destroyed the historical and cultural information existing in the site, making it difficult for archaeological work to restore them.Fortunately, when the rescue excavation team discovered tomb No. 15, it was still sleeping quietly underground.Perhaps the hard saline layer in the fill protected it. Wei Datou stared at the mummy through the glass, affectionately like staring at a lover. "According to the excavation report, after the opening of tomb No. 15, it was a colored coffin covered with blankets. The archaeological staff moved out the colored coffin and transported it back to Urumqi as it was, and opened it for inspection in Urumqi. The main body of the blanket covered by the colored coffin was a lion. It is lifelike and full of Persian artistic style. The strangest thing is that the owner of the coffin is a brown-haired adult male wearing a humanoid mask." Wei Datou talked eloquently, immersed in it. Xiang Zhiyuan seemed quite unconvinced, and said: "The mask is 1 cm long, 1 cm wide, and 1 cm high. It is made of three layers of linen cloth superimposed to make a human face. The forehead is decorated with a long strip of gold foil. The surface is painted white, with facial features painted on it, and red lips. Painted, the eyes are closed and sleeping. Funeral human-shaped masks were very rare before the Han and Jin Dynasties. Now the common view is to cover the face with objects to prevent the soul of the deceased from leaving the body, so that the dead can return and keep their homes. Male corpse clothing Gorgeous, the silk Mingyi is meticulous in workmanship. There are many funerary objects, which can be called treasures." Li Dazui raised his thumb and praised: "Two strong men. In the first round of PK, evenly matched, no winner!" A few of us stood there muttering, not noticing the strange eyes of others on us.Especially Wei Datou, I think if he knows the Maoshan Taoist's wall-penetrating technique, he will definitely pierce through the glass without hesitation, and throw himself on the M15 male corpse for a thorough observation. At this moment, Li Renxi suddenly tugged on my sleeve, his face turned pale. I was about to ask him what's the matter, but he was silent, his eyes pointing to the east.I followed his gaze to look over, and suddenly my whole body was cold. In times of shock, people tend to lose the notion of time.I seldom have such a moment, even when faced with the strange corpse of Y man, even when my finger touched an unknown stranger, and even when Zhou Qian strangled his neck, I did not lose the most basic thinking ability and rational judgment.But this time, just like when I first saw the woman in black in room 409, the feeling of emptiness and nothingness permeated instantly, breaking me into countless pieces. No, I can still remember the thrilling two seconds when I saw that black shadow.For two seconds, I stubbornly stuck to myself and calculated the duration of this unreasonable illusion. But this time, in the museum where people come and go, in this public place where teammates are all around, I completely lost the concept of time and space. On the east side is a booth with large glass. There are three exhibits on the booth: a gold-leaf sachet with intricate brocade ribbons, a pillow with animal face patterns, and fragments of Shouzi Brocade.Before rushing to the male corpse of Tomb No. 15, we had already browsed through the exhibits here, and the items here are also cultural relics unearthed from Tomb No. 15.It wasn't seeing them again that chilled me, it was—I saw myself. I saw it, myself. My ten fingers pressed against the glass, like a dividing line between yin and yang forever.Around me and in the entire vast and boundless space, there is an endless black sea.My eyes were open, staring at another self more than ten meters away.The sea is unfathomably deep and silent, and I am suspended in it.There is no expression, no words, no plot that can be expressed, I and myself are facing each other, the sea is cold and there is no temperature. I saw my empty eyes, like a body without a soul, swaying with the scattered long hair.That still youthful face was extremely pale in the dark sea water, but gradually sagged and rotted.In an instant or a lifetime, the black sea swallowed my body, my youth became a corpse with part of my body hanging, my fingers turned into dry bones, and fell off the glass.I, who looked like an old woman, was far away in the unfathomable sea water, but my fingers were still reaching out to me, as if silently wailing, which was heartbreaking. I can hear my breathing, feel my heart beating slightly faster in my chest, and even the tingling suffocation and the coldness and hardness of the sea water are all real.It was like a black and white silent film, which contained my whole life, and after chewing, I spit out a pile of rotten bones. "Liang Ke, Liang Ke?" Li Renxi's voice sounded from beside me, he tugged on my sleeve again, and said softly: "Did Professor Tan quarrel with the curator?" Everything disappeared in an instant, and the silent boundless sea disappeared without a trace. In front of my eyes were still the booths and exhibits on the east side.Professor Tan is talking with the curator of the XJ Museum, which seems quite heated.Professor Tan's face was livid, and the curator patiently tried to persuade him. Li Renxi said anxiously: "Professor Tan is in a bad mood recently, and I'm very anxious." He looked at me and said even more worriedly: "What's wrong with you? It seems like I saw a ghost." Wei Datou, who was next to me, also noticed my strangeness, walked over and said with concern: "Liang Ke, are you feeling unwell? Your face is very pale." Li Dazui brushed his hair and smiled mysteriously: "Normal. According to my observation and calculation, Liang Ke should have arrived at the time of her monthly aunt's visit... Hey, hey, take it easy, you don't need to slap someone in the face." !" Professor Tan on the other side ended the conversation and walked towards us. "Go back to the guest house. I'm calling an emergency team meeting." The whole team looked at each other in blank dismay, and the originally excited mood suddenly became worried, wondering what would go wrong in this twists and turns excavation work. Einstein said that time and space are an illusion of human cognition.I believe. "Let me make a long story short. I understand that everyone is full of expectations for this archaeological work in Yingpan, and I believe that everyone has already understood that this archaeological excavation work is different from the past. On the one hand, it is full of great temptation. Every major discovery at the Yingpan site may be discovered. Recorded in the annals of history, it has an epoch-making impact on the analysis of the living conditions of people in the ancient Western Regions, the Silk Road, and the history of cultural exchanges between the East and the West. On the other hand, I would like to ask you a question: how many people and how many people passed through the ancient Moshan Kingdom site before? Batch survey?" Xiang Zhiyuan immediately raised his hand, and the three words "I know" were written all over his excited expression. Upon seeing this, Wei Datou quickly replied: "Russian explorer Kozlov in 1893, Sven Hedin in 1900, Stein in 1914, Bergmann in 1928 and others were the first explorers to visit this area. They have all been to Yingpan. Special inspections to the Yingpan area in my country are relatively rare, but there have been three organized inspections to the Lop Nur area. The first was from 1930 to 1934, with an 18-member Northwest Academy of Sciences inspection team. The second was in 1980 From 1981 to 1981, Peng Jiamu advocated and organized the Lop Nur Comprehensive Expedition Team of the Xinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The third time was the International Symposium on Loulan Studies in 1995. It was this academic seminar that found that the cemetery in Yingpan was stolen and destroyed seriously. Organized the rescue excavation team of the XJ Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology to enter the Yingpan area for excavation and research work, and found and transported back the male corpse of Tomb No. 15. The discovery of this male corpse greatly encouraged the archaeological excavation work and the archaeological community in the Yingpan area The XJ Institute of Paleontology has been carrying out excavation and research intermittently in the following years for the interest in the ancient Moshan country area, until now. The answer is over!" Probably because he was afraid of stealing the limelight from Xiang Zhiyuan, Wei Datou spoke extremely fast, almost ignoring all punctuation marks.After finishing speaking in one breath, his eyes rolled white, and he almost lost his breath.Li Dazui quietly made a thumbs up gesture to Lao Wei, and the two understood, and looked at Zhiyuan triumphantly. Professor Tan nodded: "The answer is very comprehensive. Does anyone know what happened to these pioneers after they entered the Lop Nur and Yingpan areas?" Everyone glanced at each other, and Dou Miao said, "Professor Tan, just tell me the truth. We already know about the disappearance of Institute Qin and Researcher Pei from the XJ Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology." Professor Tan said lightly: "After Kozlov entered the camp area, he stayed overnight and even left. In his records, he only briefly recorded that it was very dangerous. It is recommended that explorers do not choose to fulfill their adventure dreams there. Swedish explorer Bergmann In his memoirs, he called the ruins of the ancient Moshan Kingdom a place of death, "I hope I will never enter there again in my lifetime." He also only stayed in the camp for two days. In 1930, the 18-member inspection team disappeared in the camp for two days. After searching for half a month, they finally gave up the search and rescue work and returned. In 1980, Peng Jiamu died in Lop Nur, and in 1996, the explorer Yu Chunshun also died there. Everyone knows that the most recent one was led by Qin Suo and Pei Researcher. The archaeological excavation team lost contact on July 21, and the XJ Construction Corps sent a joint search and rescue team to search and rescue, but also lost contact, and their whereabouts are still unknown.” Professor Tan gave us a deep look: "The ancient Moshan country is known as the country of death. Entering there means that you may pay the price of your life. If someone is willing to withdraw now, I will approve it." After being silent for a while, Gao Hong said softly: "I heard that the XX military region has sent Feilong special forces to assist us in entering the camp area for investigation?" Professor Tan said: "Yes. They are not only responsible for our safety, but also responsible for search and rescue work." Li Dazui grinned: "Then what are we worried about? Go, we have come to this point, and we will go if we die." Deputy team leader Chen Wei stood up: "At the request of the superior, I have an agreement that everyone must sign. The relevant content is a confirmation that the individual has been aware of the possible risks of entering the camp area and voluntarily went there. Professor Tan and I It's been signed." After all, send the agreement to us.This agreement is only a thin page, but the content is heavy. Wei Datou said softly to me: "Why do I feel a bit like a contract of prostitution?" Li Dazui comforted him and said, "It's better than when I got the marriage certificate, that was a tragedy." Everyone else signed the agreement in silence. Li Renxi raised his hand and asked, "Teacher, may I ask you about the content of the conversation that the XJ Museum Director had with you? No offense, I just..." A rare blush appeared on Professor Tan's stern face, and he said a little embarrassedly: "He is my college classmate, he just cares about us, and hopes we don't go to the camp." Both Lao Wei and Li Dazui knew that Professor Tan had been single all along, and when they suddenly discovered this situation, they inevitably whispered excitedly. Chen Wei interrupted the ongoing gossip: "Everyone pack up quickly. You don't need to bring too much supplies. We will go to Korla to purchase. We will leave tomorrow." Surprisingly, we stayed in Korla until mid to late September.During this period, Professor Tan has been actively coordinating with relevant parties, but there were times when the eldest sister was unable to do so.After we signed the deed of selling ourselves, we were full of expectations, but we were left hanging in Korla, the capital of the Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture.Korla means "overlooking" in Uighur.It is said that Xuanzang also passed here when he was studying the scriptures in the West. With a population of more than 400,000, Korla is a small town with a happy life.Korla City has a long history and is the throat of the ancient Silk Road.It is located in the heartland of the Eurasian continent and Xinjiang, on the northeast edge of the Tarim Basin, with the Kuruk Mountains and Huola Mountains offshoots of the Tianshan Mountains in the north, and the Taklamakan Desert in the south.It once belonged to the Quli Kingdom, one of the 36 ancient Western Regions.The local products are very rich.After enjoying the Turpan grapes, it was time for the pears to ripen.Our group had a great time. Looking back now, before the series of horrible incidents that happened later, the time we stayed in Korla was considered the best and most peaceful time of our trip to northern Xinjiang.I often think of the mutton skewers and fragrant pears I ate in Korla, and my lips and teeth are still fragrant. Korla fragrant pear has been cultivated for two thousand years.The "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes" in the fifth century BC said: "Pears from the vast sea come from the north of the vast sea, and they are cold-resistant and not dry." If it falls on the ground, it will be smashed to pieces; if it falls on the ground, the fake fragrant pear will not rot, but if it hits the head, it will make people dizzy." Although it does not rhyme, it is very practical.In addition to eating crispy and juicy pears, we also ate roast lamb.There is no doubt that Lee In Hee is the king of fans in our team.Every time it's time to eat mutton, the barbecue that everyone can't finish will be consciously transported to Li Inxi.Originally, Li Dazui and I were not weak, after all, we have practiced in the S cafeteria for many years.But Lee In-hee is not only a genius cultivated by our S cafeteria, but also has extraordinary talents. After all, he is a Korean student. In addition to enjoying the delicious food in Korla, we are not idle.Dou Miao and Li Dazui went to Tiemenguan and the Grand Canyon to collect fossil samples and gained a lot.Wei Datou and I followed Professor Tan and Teacher Chen to give several lectures on archaeological knowledge in Korla, at the Children's Palace and the Elderly Activity Center respectively.Although the audience in the audience yawned, Wei Datou was talking nonsense. Professor Tan nodded frequently, obviously appreciating it very much. We also went to Bosten Lake together.Bosten Lake, known as the West Sea in ancient times, is located in Bohu County in the southeast of the Yanqi Basin. It is the largest inland freshwater huff and puff lake in China.Bosten means "standing" in Mongolian. There are three strange mountains in the middle of the lake, which are amazingly beautiful.This place is like a paradise on earth, with snow-capped mountains, lakes, oases, and deserts reflecting each other, the mist is vast, and the water and sky are the same color. Li Dazui sighed, "It's so beautiful, it makes me want to cry." This place seems to be a bright pearl sleeping quietly outside the world.It is the source of Kongque River.However, this river, which was once the source of life, has now dried up after passing Yuli.Since then, there are no more oases and shimmering lights, only dryness, depletion and desolation. After returning from Bosten Lake, we received an emergency order and finally entered the Yingpan area.The Institute of Qin, Researcher Pei, and the joint search and rescue team from the regiment field failed to find it.Whether this access order means giving up the search and rescue and acquiescing to their death, we don't want to speculate. We only know that the country has started a new round of archaeological excavations.Whether we were chosen, or forced our way in, is unknown.