Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Hanlaer Banner

Before I knew it, when the spring was warm and the flowers were blooming again, although Director Wang came several times, he only asked about the situation of the map, but kept silent about the appointment.Maybe it's a problem!Anyway, I was not in a hurry, so I studied at ease while taking care of Zhengtianzhai, and quickly memorized the materials handed down by my family, and then started to study my father's archaeological textbooks. Surprisingly, the two are similar, nothing more than How to go straight to Huanglong, as Ms. Qiao said - they are all thieves, what we stole are ancient artifacts, while the archaeologists stole historical relics.

It's almost summer in a blink of an eye, and when I was gradually disappointed with Director Wang, he suddenly appeared in front of me. "Uncle Wang!" "how have you been?" "It's okay!" "Did you go back to your hometown to see?" "No, it's not easy to travel all the way." After a few casual greetings, the two fell into silence again. Suddenly, Uncle Wang took a deep breath, as if making up his mind, leaned over and said, "Do you still remember the Hanlaer Banner I mentioned to you last time? I told you The place where your father cooperated with archaeology for the last time."

"Did you find out that Liao's tomb came to report, but nothing was dug up later?" "Yes, yes, yes!" Uncle Wang showed a happy smile, adjusted his glasses and said, "Just yesterday, an ancient tomb was discovered there again. I plan to take you to see it. After all, it was your father's last stop. You can learn from it." "But is this in compliance with the rules?" I frowned and asked, but I was actually very excited inside. "Hanlaer Banner is near the border, if Tianhua doesn't have a document, it will be very troublesome." Ms. Qiao interrupted.

"I asked my superiors about this. I can help him get an internship certificate. We will pay for it ourselves. Tianhua, maybe this time we can find out where your father went after he left, because the Mongolian guide will also participate." "Uncle Wang, which tribe is the ancient tomb you mentioned?" Miss Qiao walked out of the counter and stood beside me. "The local cultural station is not a professional. They just reported that there are a large number of horse skulls in the breach, which are probably the leaders of the Huns. That's why I want to take Tianhua to have a look." Uncle Wang explained unhurriedly, suddenly He raised his hand and looked at his watch, "I still have something to do, you pack up and leave tomorrow morning."

"Tianhua, I advise you not to have too high expectations." Miss Qiao said as soon as Uncle Wang walked out of the shop. "You know, Nahanlaer Banner is a town founded by the Khitans, and has nothing to do with Bei Danyu at all." "It doesn't matter, Sister Niyue. In fact, what I'm interested in is the Mongolian guide. I heard that every time my father went to the desert, he would lead the way. I really want to meet him for a while. Besides, after reading so many books, it is rare an opportunity to practice." "Then...you have to be careful. Hanlaer Banner is located in the vast grassland, and you can't go to the village or back to the store. Don't place an order." Ms. Qiao said softly, turned and sat back at the counter, pinching it unconsciously. Pointing his fingers, he suddenly said: "Hey! You are so disturbing, if only my father could follow..."

"It's okay, how can I say that Uncle Wang is also experienced and experienced, and will take good care of me. By the way! Where is Boss Qiao going this time? I think he is mysterious. It's been more than half a month. Why don't you Didn't come back?" "He... he is also going to the north this time, probably in a few days!" Ms. Qiao flickered when she said this, as if avoiding my eyes.After a while of silence, he lowered his head and said, "You don't have to worry about things in the store. Remember, you should be more careful and talk less when you go out."

... The next morning, Uncle Wang arrived at the gate of Zhengtianzhai in a jeep. I handed the room key to Ms. Qiao and hinted at the importance of the small wooden box. She nodded knowingly, but her face was always gloomy. I got into the car and found that besides Uncle Wang and the driver, there was also a young man in his twenties sitting. Could it be that he was the Mongolian guide?Uncle Wang immediately made an introduction—his name is Wei Jianguo, and he has just been transferred to the archaeological institute. Despite his young age, he already has five or six years of field archaeological experience. He also participated in the recent Mawangdui excavation. Published academic papers.

"Tianhua! You should ask Jianguo more in the future." "You're welcome, we are all colleagues, let's learn from each other!" Wei Jianguo turned his head and said haha, his expression was very modest, I couldn't help but take a few more glances.In contrast, he felt a bit filthy, but he was imposing, exuding an air of intellectual youth from his whole body, especially his demeanor, which gave people a sense of gentleness and elegance.I have come into contact with quite a few people like this. They seem timid at first glance, but they actually have amazing willpower and scheming in their bones.

The jeep went straight to the train station, Uncle Wang went through the formalities with ease, and the three of them started the long journey. Along the way, I kept teasing Uncle Wang to tell interesting stories about archaeology, and I added a few words from time to time, which didn't feel boring at all.But that Wei Jianguo kept his head buried in his books and didn't fit in at all. It was only then that I discovered that this guy turned out to be a "stuffy gourd". When the train arrived at Wulanchabumeng, Uncle Wang called everyone to get off the train. At this time, a jeep was waiting and pulled us to the depths of the grassland without saying a word.

Those with "units" are different, and there are also special cars for pick-up and drop-off.I was intoxicated with happiness, but after driving for a long time, the car suddenly stopped by a river beach, and there was no road ahead.After that, there were horse-drawn carts and ox carts, stopping and resting, and when they arrived at the destination, it was already noon the next day. Hanlaer Banner is located at the border of the country. It is an exaggeration to say that it is a small town. There is only one street inside and outside. Counting the so-called guest house where we live, there are only more than 30 bungalows in the front and back.However, Uncle Wang explained that Mongolians are not used to fixed houses, and most of them live in nearby pastures and take yurts and vaulted houses as their homes.Don't look at the desertedness now, when it comes to the festival, it will be another scene.

This is the first time I have come to the vast grassland. The excitement is beyond words. As soon as I packed my luggage, I couldn’t wait to go out for a walk, but I was stopped by Uncle Wang, who talked for a long time about the living customs of Mongolian compatriots, and After the etiquette taboo, I closed the door and called "sleep"... "Uncle Wang, it's only past noon, why don't you go to the cemetery first?" "Hehe! The Hanlaer Banner is very big. The herdsman who discovered the ancient tomb said that the place is at least thirty or forty miles away from here!" Uncle Wang lay on the bed with his head resting on his arms, and said lazily, "I've made all the arrangements. Already, the herdsmen will come and lead the way tomorrow morning. Now I’m afraid that the kind old man won’t be able to catch up!” "Honest old man?" "Well! It's the Mongolian guide I mentioned to you earlier. He has been assisting the archaeological team. By the way! He was introduced by your father!" "Introduced by my father?" "That's right! Although this man sounds weird, he is really capable. Not only does he know the terrain of every place, he even knows the habits of every plant and tree, and he can also predict the changes in the weather, leading us out of dangerous situations several times... Sometimes I even suspect that he was transformed from an old wolf, haha..." As Uncle Wang was talking, he suddenly burst out laughing, which aroused my interest even more, so I kept asking about the origin of this guide, but Uncle Wang explained it like squeezing toothpaste, and it took a long time to hear the general idea —— It turned out that this Mongolian guide was an orphan who wandered alone in the grasslands since he was a child. He lived in Baotou for several years before liberation. It is said that he was engaged in fur and medicinal materials business. Because he often dealt with Han people and he was talented and smart, he quickly learned Chinese. , and gave himself a Chinese name - Houdao.When the Japanese invaded, he returned to the grassland to make a living by herding horses and cattle.When my father first came to the grassland for inspection, they met by chance. Perhaps because they had feelings for Baotou, they kindly took care of my father, and the two quickly became friends.Later, his father introduced him to the archaeological team as a guide, and he participated every time he came to the grassland for archeology... It's really strange, why didn't my father say a word about these things?I was wondering, but I saw Uncle Wang sat up suddenly, tilted his head to listen, and then smiled, "Hey! Cao Cao Cao Cao will be here, and the sound of his horse bell is really special." Before the words were finished, the wooden door slammed, and an old man wearing a Mongolian robe and holding a horsewhip came in carelessly, and shouted in Mandarin with a Baotou accent: "Director Wang! Let's say goodbye. Three years, you want to kill me!" Uncle Wang hurried up to greet each other, and the two greeted each other with hugs and hugs. Wei Jianguo, who had been reading, also got up to say hello. I almost forgot his existence.Uncle Wang calmed down and introduced the two parties, "This is the kind old man I often mention, the living map of the grassland! These two are my assistants, Jianguo and Tianhua..." When Uncle Wang introduced me, he just mentioned it lightly, logically he should have mentioned my father!Of course I don't mind at this time, because my mind is all on this old man.I saw that he had a burly figure that was extremely disproportionate to his age, a gray beard covered most of his face, and the rest were all wrinkles carved by the years, but he was very energetic, especially the look in his eyes, which was invisible With a kind of majesty, a sense of pride. "How to arrange this time?" Hou Daobo asked straight to the point, and he was obviously a straightforward person.Just as Uncle Wang announced his plan, he heard him preach loudly, "Are you tired? If you can, go now. As for the location of the cemetery! I'll ask the herdsman who found it." "It doesn't matter to us. We are afraid that we don't have enough time. We have to come back before dark." Uncle Wang said with a smile. "Hey! I came here in a big Lele car. I have everything. Let's build a small blanket tonight. It's more comfortable than this shabby house." Houdao walked out the door triumphantly, and we Come out and have a look, good guy!His horse-drawn Lele cart was really big, and it was full of various things, such as tarpaulin, felt, wooden strips, ropes, and pots and pans... I dare say that I brought all my belongings. ... Uncle Wang was quick to do things, and within a short while, the arrangements were made. The four of them squeezed into the cart, and Uncle Hou Dao whipped his whip, and headed westward slowly against the scorching sun. As Uncle Wang introduced, most Mongolian compatriots live in nearby pastures. As soon as they left the town, piles of yurts came into view, continuously, herdsmen in similar clothes rode horses and shuttled among them, and the sound of sheep bleating and shouting One after another... This completely overturned my first impression-Hanlaer Banner is by no means a desolate place. As the yurts gradually deepened, the yurts became more and more sparse. In the end, all that could be seen was the vast greenery.Facing this vast and endless grassland, I was shocked but also a little intoxicated. This kind of primitive beauty is so confusing that I really want to shout a few words. Dad also passed by here, right?Suddenly, I remembered what Uncle Wang said, when my father and Hou Daobo set off from Hanlaer Banner to the north, they separated not long after, and they must be near here.However, the unobstructed environment in front of me clearly shows that this is impossible at all. Even if my father deliberately throws off Uncle Houdao, it will be difficult to escape his sight... I involuntarily turned my gaze to Uncle Houdao, and I always felt that this Mongolian old man Full of secrets. After walking for about three hours, two connected hills suddenly appeared in front of him.This low hill is in the shape of a saddle, covered with towering trees, like an isolated island in the vast sea of ​​grass.Hou Daobo pointed to one of the woods and said, "It should be there." Everyone looked in the direction of his finger, and saw a khaki-yellow pit in a piece of emerald green, which was particularly eye-catching. "Building tombs at the foot of the mountain is indeed the funeral custom of the Huns." Jianguo quickly picked up a notebook, and drew the topography of the hill, and also numbered it.This is the difference between archaeology and tomb robbery, right?I secretly smiled, and turned my head to the pit again. Suddenly, a gray-white figure in the distance caught my attention. He stood motionless among the grass, just at the edge of the woodland. "Look, that man is so strange." I yelled out. "It's warrior figurines! It's from stone statues. They're everywhere on the grasslands. It's not surprising." Uncle Hou Dao said disapprovingly, and suddenly turned around to ask Uncle Wang, "Haven't you researched the origin of this thing clearly? ?” "Yeah! Don't talk about the origin, it's hard to tell the story." Uncle Wang lit a cigarette, exhaled and said, "There are more in Xinjiang. Last year, the institute organized a special team to investigate, but the result was also unsuccessful. This The stone culture is too mysterious. Today's Kazakhs, Uyghurs, and your Mongolian compatriots do not have the customs and records of erecting stone figures, so they can only be ancient peoples. For a long time, archaeologists have believed that they belonged to the Western Turks. However, not long ago, an expert accidentally discovered that a strange pottery was engraved on the position of several stone hands, and this unique olive-shaped pottery belonged to the Karasuk civilization, which was at least earlier than the Turkic civilization. More than a thousand years. Therefore, the conclusion of the Turkic Warrior Statue seems pale..." While talking, Lele Che has come to the hill.I jumped out of the car and went straight to the stone man out of curiosity. The two-meter-high statue is carved from a whole block of stone, and its shape is simple and rough. It is almost just a large outline of a person—a wide and round head and face, a thick, flat body, and no limbs. "The current unified opinion in the archaeological circle is that the nation that erected the stone man has disappeared in the long history, and then the Turks inherited this culture. The meaning of their doing this probably stems from religion, believing that the stone man has the ability to communicate with spirits , after a person dies, his soul will be attached to these stone figures, thus reaching eternity." Uncle Wang stood next to me and explained seriously. "It's too rough! It can't even engrave the facial features in place, and making a snowman is better than its image." "Hehe! This one is indeed rougher than the other ones, but this also just shows that it is older." Uncle Wang said, his expression suddenly became serious, he took a step forward, his fingers cruising along the lines of the stone statue , said thoughtfully: "I've never seen such a composition before, maybe it's a relic from the prehistoric Stone Age. Go! Call Jianguo here, and take a few photos for archiving." Isn't it just a rotten stone? If this thing is sold in Liulichang, it is estimated that it will have to pay a shipping fee to get rid of it, but Uncle Wang regards it as a treasure.I turned around uninterestedly, and was about to look for Jianguo, but I heard him shouting from a distance, "Director Wang, this is indeed the tomb of the Huns, and the scale is not small." When Uncle Wang heard this, he staggered and ran over, ignoring the stone statue in front of him.I paused, and looked back again, only to see this dilapidated stone statue standing silently under the scorching sun with an elusive expression. Perhaps for thousands of years, it has been so lonely facing the vicissitudes of the prairie. "Oops! We're still late, and we've all been destroyed like this." Facing the messy pits, Uncle Wang stomped his feet in distress. I looked up and observed that this low hill was like a winding green dragon, and this tomb was built in a low-lying place in the middle, which obviously cut off the air veins. From the perspective of Feng Shui, it belongs to the category of "broken dragon and trapped corpse". The evil place of human beings is a dead end.The family biography "Looking for Dragon Points" commented in this way-this kind of acupuncture point that neither hides wind nor absorbs qi, burial is bound to cause harm to descendants, and even family changes.Unless, there is a dark river below to divert the anger in Mai's eyes... Thinking that this is the tomb of the Huns, it may not be a firm belief in geomantic omen.I turned my eyes to the tomb again, but I really couldn't figure out how it collapsed, and judging from the traces, it didn't look like the handwriting of professional tomb robbers.I saw that the diameter of this circular pit was about ten meters, and there was no brick walled tomb. In the messy sand, except for a few pieces of broken coffins, there were still a lot of horse skulls left. This reminds me of the description in "Differentiating Caves and Distinguishing the Soil"-the Huns have the custom of killing horses and burying them for burial, but only the horse's head is buried, and the body is kept by the tribe for food.By counting the number of buried horse heads, one can infer the identity of the owner of the tomb, the more the more, the higher the status... "The owner of this tomb must be someone, at least a nobleman, but it's not Shanyu, because Shanyu's tombs are all square." I pretended to show off, and Uncle Wang nodded repeatedly. "Good boy, it seems that some time ago I worked hard to study it, not bad! Keep talking!" "This tomb was obviously built in a hurry." Uncle Wang's encouragement made me more energetic, cleared my throat, and said calmly: "According to the funeral specifications of the Huns, a tomb with a horse's head is buried inside. It must be a triple coffin of iron, silver, and gold, and no matter whether it is a round tomb or a square tomb, there are stone foundations. This is a wooden coffin, and there is no foundation stone. Obviously, it was unprepared and panicked. Hastily buried, it is likely that there was an emergency." "Okay! The analysis is in place. It really is that the tiger father has no dogs." Uncle Wang was so happy that he patted my shoulder and kept praising me. Any indication of decoration.It's really puzzling... At this time, Uncle Hou Dao, who had been watching by the side, gave a "chi" smile, gave me a disdainful look, turned around and returned to the Lele cart in the forest, and leisurely smoked the dry cigarette. "This tomb is badly damaged. It seems that it has no research value. Tianhua, help Jianguo clean up the records. I'll talk to Uncle Houdao." After Uncle Wang finished speaking, he went straight to the forest. What he said really annoyed people. Could it be that he came all the way here and ended up empty-handed like this?At this time, Wei Jianguo had already taken the photos, handed me a brush without saying a word, jumped into the pit by himself, first moved out the horse skulls one by one, and then carefully cleaned every inch of sand with the brush... The sun was gradually setting in the west, and the broken tomb was almost cleaned up in a blink of an eye. As expected, nothing was found inside.At this time, Uncle Wang called us to go and rest, Wei Jianguo responded, clapped his hands and left, this nerd is really getting more and more annoying. Hou Daobo had already boiled a pot of hot water, divided it into four bowls, and placed them neatly on the car, each with a few pieces of dried mutton.Everyone is also welcome, and they drink it when they pick it up. "Hey! Where's the water? The water tank in your car is obviously empty!" I asked curiously. "Haha! In the grassland, you can have everything if you follow Uncle Hou Dao." Uncle Wang explained with a smile, "Just now, the old man walked around for a while, and soon sniffed out the source of water, which is at the foot of the mountain in front, without digging. No matter how deep it is, the water just pops out." "Oh! It's really amazing." I said perfunctorily, but I didn't think so in my heart. He was born and raised here, and he might have lived near here. Isn't finding a water source just out of pocket? Uncle Hou Dao kept smiling all the time, and suddenly leaned towards me, pointed to a hill and said, "Young man, I just heard that you analyzed the tomb well, and you have a way! Look at the woods again, is there anything strange about it? " I looked over without knowing it, and I really found something wrong with this look—in the seemingly disorderly pine forest, there were two towering chickens. They were equally tall and straight, standing side by side, forming a shape of a door.Could this be the legendary Shenmenmu, the guardian deity in front of the Khitan tomb? Perhaps because I am in the grassland, I naturally think of the Khitan Tomb.According to my father's archaeological records, the early Khitan people worshiped trees very much. They believed that the tops of tall trees were the closest to the sky and were the dwelling place of gods, so they had the primitive custom of tree burial.It’s a bit scary to say that after a person died, they would use a carriage to pull them into the mountains, choose the tallest tree, and then directly hang the body on the top of the tree. After three years, they would come back and collect the bones, burn them and scatter them...until the Liao Dynasty. Influenced by the Central Plains culture, the Khitan people had the custom of building tombs and burials, but they never forgot the worship of trees. Therefore, a pair of trees were planted in front of the tomb, and they were called "Shenmen Wood", which meant that they were respected by the people. Protection of the gods. At this moment, faced with a scene similar to that described in the data, my blood was racing, I put down the bowl, and ran quickly to the top of the mound.In this kind of overgrown mountain and forest land, if you want to see the traces left by the excavation, you can only borrow the survey method of "rice farming remains"-if there are artificial buildings under the ground, the plants on them will have different growth and colors , no matter how many years have passed.The silhouette can be discerned simply by looking down from a height. I climbed to the top of the hill with all my might and looked down with my hands on my knees. Under the setting sun, there was indeed a strip of stripes behind the two towering trees, which was formed by slightly yellowed weeds.There are tombs below for sure, but the feng shui pattern here is worse than that of the Xiongnu tomb at the foot of the mountain-the "dragon" has its head broken, the "sand" pierces its heart, and the "water" goes retrograde without a photo. Chengjuesha is clearly an evil place where corpses are trapped, and it must be buried forever. At this moment, Uncle Wang and the others followed. Obviously, they also saw the traces, and they were all dumbfounded.Wei Jianguo quickly fiddled with the camera to take pictures, shooting from all directions. "Could this be the real tomb of the Xiongnu, and the one that collapsed is just a suspicious tomb." I'm here to throw a brick to attract jade, and I want to hear Uncle Wang's opinion. "No! The people of the grassland don't bother to make tricks like suspicious graves. The land here is vast and sparsely populated. It's too easy to want to have a secret burial, so why bother." Uncle Wang immediately refuted, looking very excited. "Hehe! I didn't expect you to be quite seasoned at such a young age. Asking questions knowingly..." Uncle Hou Dao said with a smile, and sat down on a rock. I was a little embarrassed for a while, because what I said just now really exposed my flaws - I ran up because I recognized the Khitan Shenmen wood, but I said it was the tomb of the Huns.Suddenly, I was startled inwardly. This Shenmenmu was guided by Uncle Hou Dao. The old man is also a master. With such eyesight, I am afraid that he is even better than old man Qiao. "This is the treasure!" Uncle Wang said with emotion: "With this scale and structure, it is definitely a figure above the noble level." "Then let's dig it out now?" I began to gear up. "No, no, no! You have to follow the rules of archaeology." Uncle Wang shook his head and said with regret: "The most basic rule of ancient tomb survey is that it must be a tomb with a breach, or an irreversible geological disaster is about to occur. , in order to carry out rescue excavation.” "You can't dig in front of you, so why are we here?" I said angrily. Uncle Wang ignored him and walked down the slope without saying a word. Wei Jianguo followed closely behind. I looked at the honest man sitting on the rock. laugh.Suddenly, he knocked on the cigarette rod, stood up and walked down the mountain. When he passed by me, he whispered in my ear: "Don't look wronged, you must know that this is archaeology, not washing sand." After speaking, he hummed the pastoral song of the prairie. For a while, the whole mountain forest echoed with a strange tune... This kind uncle is really becoming more and more elusive. ... The sunset on the grassland was late, but it got dark in an instant. The setting sun had just disappeared, and the stars all over the sky suddenly appeared, so fast that I didn't know what to do.As fast as the weather changes, there is also the temperature. After nightfall, the entire grassland is shrouded in coldness, as if returning to winter. At this time, Uncle Hou Dao had already set up the yurt, and after lighting a bonfire next to the stone man, the three of us sat on the ground, warming up by the fire while waiting for dinner.Soon, Uncle Hou Dao came out with a big plate, and he saw that there were still four bowls and a pile of mutton. The Mongolian food is mainly mutton, which I also like, but the bowl of food is a bit hard to swallow. It seems to be the legendary fermented mare's milk. It tastes weird, and it is fishy and sour in the mouth.Seeing me frowning, Uncle Wang reminded me quietly: "Here, it is extremely impolite to refuse the host's hospitality. You not only have to eat, but also show appreciation." "Haha! Don't be particular about me, but this mare's milk is a good thing. After you get used to drinking it, you must chase after me every day." Hou Daobo said with a smile.Standing up suddenly, he went straight to the Lele car not far away. I watched him untie a cloth bag from it and walk back slowly. "If you are not used to it, I have better ones here." Uncle Hou Dao opened the cloth bag with a proud face, took out a few buns and put them on the plate. "Beetroot buns?" I almost jumped up. This is a special snack unique to my hometown, but I saw it on the vast grassland thousands of miles away. Can you not be excited?I grabbed it and took a bite, the long-lost taste immediately overflowed my lips and teeth, and I felt a lot of emotion in my heart. "Is it delicious? When I first went to Baotou, I wasn't used to the taste of beets. I didn't expect to be addicted to it later." Hou Daobo looked at me with a strange look, and said slowly: "Accept new things. There is always a process of adaptation, and the sooner you get used to it, the sooner you can taste the taste..." "Everyone is tired, let's go to rest early!" Uncle Wang put down his bowl and stretched his waist. "Let's go back to Ulanqab tomorrow and try to catch the afternoon train the day after tomorrow." "What about the ancient tomb in the woods? Why don't you investigate it?" Wei Jianguo asked, tilting his head.This was the first sentence he voluntarily said after stepping into the grassland. "Of course we need this. Although we can't excavate, we must make records and marks." After finishing speaking, Uncle Wang got up and got into the yurt. Looking at the elegant bonfire, I suddenly had a strong hope - I hope that the Khitan tomb will also collapse during the survey tomorrow.