01, the large tomb next to the reservoir
One day in March 1978, workers at the Dongguan Brick and Tile Factory in Chengguan Town, Gushi County, Henan Province, were collecting soil next to the Taohuawu Reservoir not far from the county seat.
This small hill for them to take soil, protruding from the surface of about 60 meters, is very tall.
For a long time, local residents thought it was a natural hillside and never paid much attention to its existence.
However, as the workers dug the earth, everyone felt more and more that something was wrong!
The color of the excavated soil is a fine clay of blue-gray, and the more you dig, the deeper you dig, and finally you dig out ten meters thick!
At this time, only someone was relieved, and it was not normal under this hill! It may be weird...
At this moment, the shovels of workers had already touched the hard object with a bang, and a closer look was actually a coffin buried deep in the ground!
Seeing that the coffin was dug, there was naturally an ancient tomb underground, and everyone quickly reported it to the local cultural protection department.
02. Seventeen martyrdoms are surrounded
With the arrival of professional archaeologists, the excavation work was carried out quickly and smoothly.
After a series of explorations, the data obtained shocked everyone!
The scale of the tomb is huge, showing the shape of the "Liehou" specification, and the age is actually the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2500 years ago!
Subsequently, according to the naming principle of local place names, this ancient tomb was named "Hougudui No. 1 Tomb".
Stones and quicksand appeared in the tomb, which was the most effective anti-theft measure for tombs in the Spring and Autumn Period!
In the process of digging the robbery cave, the tomb robbers often fail because of the obstacle of quicksand and the blow of the stones! Of course, the owner of the tomb who can have the accumulation of stones and sand to prevent theft is not an idle person...
After cleaning up the quicksand and rocks, the bottom of the tomb finally saw the light of day. The entire burial chamber is 21 meters deep and sits west to east.
What stunned the archaeologists the most was that around the coffin of the owner of the middle tomb, there were actually seventeen martyr coffins buried!
This scene is both bloody, but it also constantly reveals the special identity of the owner of the tomb.
According to the identification of the bones of the martyrs by experts in human physique, of the seventeen martyrs, 5 men and 12 women were martyred, the oldest was 40 years old, and the youngest was 20 years old.
Who was the owner of the tomb who was enshrined in the middle coffin like a moon by their stars?
Combined with the "Jiuding" ceremonial vessel unearthed in the tomb, archaeologists deduced that the owner of the tomb was most likely a prince of the Spring and Autumn Period!
03, mysterious woman
Everyone's greatest concern began to focus on the main coffin surrounded by seventeen martyred coffins! The time to open the coffin has finally arrived!
The lid of the main coffin was slowly opened, and a clear and recognizable human skeleton appeared in front of everyone.
All the people gathered around the main coffin, trying to see the true face of the owner of this mysterious tomb for the first time. Which princely monarch is he?
The scientific identification of human bones was soon concluded, and the results surprised everyone!
The owner of the tomb was actually a young woman who was only thirty years old!
Underneath the human skeleton, archaeologists have also found melon seeds that have been carbonized. The fruit ripens in the height of summer, so that the burial time of the tomb owner is also determined: she died in the hot summer.
The burial specifications of the princes, but there is an unidentified young woman?
Who was the grand funeral of more than two thousand years ago for?
To solve this mystery, experts invariably pin their hopes on bronze time! If an inscription can be found, then the mystery of the tomb owner may be solved...
04, the truth of the inscription
Soon, archaeologists found inscriptions on a group of 17 bronze bells.
The inscription cast on a new bell reads: "Only the beginning of the first lunar month, Ding Hai, Po Zi Cheng Zhou, choose its auspicious Jin Yong." Translated into modern Chinese, a man named "Pozi Chengzhou" cast a set of wonderful concord chimes with the best bronze, wishing himself a long life and eternal enjoyment for his descendants!
On several other bronze bells, the words "Pozi Chengzhou" can also be seen.
Combined with the Spring and Autumn History Records, archaeologists believe that this group of bronze musical instruments belonged to the monarch of a princely state named Po Guo in the Western Zhou Dynasty!
However, these inscriptions have several places inscribed with "Po Zi Cheng Zhou", which seem to have been artificially scraped off...
At this moment, the news of the discovery of an inscription on another piece of green tong was also transmitted.
05, a thousand years of history
If it is said that the owner of Hou Gudui No. 1 Tomb is this Princess of the Song Dynasty. So, why did she bury the Poguo bronze with the name of "Po Zi Cheng Zhou"?
The most important thing is, why is the woman who married the Wu state not buried in the Wu kingdom but in the territory of the Po kingdom after death?
This series of questions did not overwhelm the experts, but let them find the truth through the intricate historical records...
The "Zuo Biography" and the "History of the Wu Taibo Family" record: In 504 BC, the Wu king Fu Lu sent the crown prince Fu Cha to attack the Chu state, and in April of that year came to the area of the Chu vassal state of Podi, and then Fu Cha led the army to destroy the Po state first, and then defeated the Chu army...
Therefore, experts combined with the emergence era of Song Jinggong, made the following inferences:
Princess Jizi of the State of Song married her husband, who was still the Prince of Wu at the time.
This Prince of Wu guo is a poor husband, and everyone will naturally not be unfamiliar! He was the Wu Wang Fuchai who made the Yue King goug his way and swore to avenge the snow.
When Fu Cha was still a prince, he was already extremely brave, and the entanglement between him and Gou Jian made an enduring ancient legend...
At that time, he was still the husband of the crown prince and married this Princess of the Song Kingdom.
A few years later, under the orders of his father, Prince Fuchai started the Battle of Chu Chu! Princess Song guo and fu cha walked together and embarked on the road of this battle together!
Subsequently, the heroic and fearless Prince Fu was like a bamboo, leading the army to hit the vassal state of Po Guo of the Chu State and destroy it!
At that time, it was a hot summer day, the morale of the Wu generals who had won consecutive battles was high, and the crown prince Fu Cha was full of ambition and was preparing to march to the Chu state with a single blow...
However, at this time, Lady Jizi suddenly fell ill and died in the barracks!
On the one hand, there is urgent military information, and on the other hand, the pain of the death of the wife, and the husband is in a dilemma. Coupled with the hot weather, it is really not the best time for burial!
Therefore, Fu Cha could only bear the pain of burying his wife nearby, and temporarily built a large tomb in poguo, where the army was stationed, and buried her!
Probably to make up for his own spiritual guilt, fu sent him to the highest standard funeral for his wife, using seventeen slaves to bury her, and also scraped off the bronze cast by the king of the Po kingdom and buried it as a funeral vessel...
The mystery of the identity of the owner of HouGudui No. 1 Tomb has finally been revealed, she is a princess of the Song Kingdom more than 500 years ago, and she is also the wife of fuchai, the prince of the Wu Kingdom, who was also called Lady Wu at that time!
This story could have allowed the prince of Wu Guo to end with the warm image of burying his wife with deep love and righteousness. However, history has already written another ending...
More than ten years later, Fu Cha, who had already ascended to the throne of King Wu, welcomed another beautiful woman above the main hall.
She is Xi Shi!
Wu Wangfuchai, who is self-conscious, has long lost the decisiveness and wisdom of the past, and he will indulge in beauty and have no way to extricate himself!
Perhaps he had already forgotten his wife Jizi, who was buried in a foreign country, and the glory of leading his soldiers to charge into battle, he had gradually stepped into the heavenly net laid down by the Yue King, and the sharp sword was already in his throat!
The Kingdom of Wu, which has been passed down for more than 700 years, is about to enter the abyss of annihilation...