Ang Lee and his team also walked along the cave for almost a thousand steps. Along the way, they encountered stalactites, a large number of raw jade stones, a large cave, and several ventilation holes. However, the cave seemed to be very long. Ang Lee had a hunch that the length of the cave was very long. At present, he had only explored a small part of the cave, and there was still a long way to go. Ang Lee obviously could not stay here for too long, so it was destined that he would not be able to explore the entire cave.
Although it was only a thousand steps into the cave, the distance was not very long. Because it was dark inside, they stopped for a long time along the way. Therefore, two hours passed unknowingly. Ang Lee planned to continue exploring for another two hours. Then, no matter what the situation was, they would have to return. When they returned, because they were very familiar with the road, it did not take long to return to the entrance of the cave. About an hour was enough.
Ang Lee and his team were lucky. After walking for a few hundred steps, they would encounter ventilation holes. Some ventilation holes were hidden, which meant that they could not find the holes at all. However, they could clearly feel the wind blowing. If there were no ventilation holes, where did the wind come from?
Since the discovery of the first raw jade stone, everyone had been paying attention to it along the way. Of course, Ang Lee was no exception. He found that there were always raw jade stones along the way, and the stones on both sides of the cave were always silicate stones. In other words, the raw jade stone was still upstream. As for how far upstream it was, Ang Lee was becoming less and less hopeful. After continuing to walk for an hour, they had gone two thousand steps into the cave. However, except for the raw jade stone under their feet, they did not find anything else. They did not even find the stalactites. It was very monotonous and hard cave walls and ceiling.
"Assistant Minister Li, I'm afraid it's almost noon. Do you want to rest for a while?"
Chen Long asked.
Ang Lee said, "No hurry. We'll stop exploring after another hour."
"Yes."
Chen Long replied.
They continued to move forward and slightly quickened their pace.
"Assistant Minister Li, there's a fork in the road ahead. Which one should we take?"
Chen Long asked.
As they walked, they unknowingly came across a fork in the road. Moreover, both forks were passable. One led to the source of the stream, and the other led to a dry cave. There was no stream under their feet.
Since Ang Lee could walk through both entrances, he had to choose which one to walk through.
"Let's split up. We'll be back here after another five hundred steps."
Ang Lee said.
Due to time constraints, Ang Lee was unable to continue exploring the cave. It would be good if he could explore a portion of it. The rest of the exploration could only be left to the local Zhan people. After all, the treasures here should belong to them. The lives of the people here were too poor, so there was nothing wrong with raising their standard of living slightly.
After splitting into two groups, Ang Lee chose to explore the path without water. He let some of the guards explore the upper reaches of the stream. After exploring a bit more, they could return.
The bottom of the fork that suddenly appeared also had traces of a stream, but it was dry at the moment. However, it was certain that there used to be water here. It was just that there was less and less water upstream, so there was no water in this fork. Based on this judgment, Ang Lee was basically certain that the two caves would eventually converge. It was because of this judgment that Ang Lee let the two groups walk separately. He wanted to see if the two groups could converge after a few hundred steps.
"What's this? Green jade?"
As they walked, one of the guards found a green stone on the wall of the cave. He gently used a knife to remove the stone.
"Come, let me see."
Ang Lee took the green stone and looked at it carefully. There was a smile at the corner of his mouth. This was not green jade, but more precious emerald.
This emerald was far more precious than green jade. It belonged to the king of emeralds. The best quality emerald could be more valuable than diamonds. Emerald was a flawless gem that was difficult to find. In fact, it could be said that emerald must have some cracks and contents. There were so many complex species in its cracks that it was even called a "garden" by researchers.
Emerald was one of the precious gems since ancient times. It was said that six thousand years ago, people in ancient Babylon offered it in front of the statue of the goddess. In the ancient Chaldea of the Persian Gulf, women especially liked emerald jewelry. Thousands of years ago, ancient Egypt and ancient Greece also liked emerald jewelry. The ancestors of Hua Xia also liked emerald very much. The Ming and Qing emperors especially liked emerald. The Ming Dynasty emperor regarded it as as precious as the golden green cat's eye. There was a saying that the crown needed cat's eye and emerald. Ming Wanli Emperor's jade belt was inlaid with a large emerald. After the death of Empress Dowager Cixi of the later Qing Dynasty, in addition to a large number of pearls and other gems, there were also two large emeralds.
"This is not green jade, it's a very precious emerald. This is much more valuable than green jade, hahaha!"
Ang Lee said with a smile.
Emerald is also called spinach green. It is very precious. When it is identified, several factors need to be considered. For example, the color should be green with blue, and the quality of green with gray is poor. Next is the transparency. Clear and bright, crystal clear and transparent are the best, and translucent are ordinary. Then there is the purity. There are often some contents inside emerald, such as pure, which is rare. The cutting is also very important. The standard cutting is called the emerald type, which can completely reflect the luster of the gem. Weight is also a very important evaluation criterion. The general emerald crystal is not big. After cutting and grinding, the quality is excellent. It is rare to have a weight of more than two carats. It is even rarer to have a weight of more than five carats. The bigger the emerald, the higher the value. Of course, it must be under the same conditions, that is, the high-quality emerald that meets the above requirements, the bigger the more precious it is.
Of course, since it is a very valuable gem, naturally some people are willing to synthesize it artificially. If it can be passed off as genuine, it would be really wonderful. However, because there is an irregular flocculent substance inside emerald, it is almost impossible to artificially create emerald. Even with the technology of later generations, it is impossible to create emerald that can be passed off as genuine emerald.
The refractive index of natural emerald is generally higher, while synthetic emerald tends to have a lower refractive index. The proportion of natural emerald is larger, while the proportion of synthetic emerald is relatively small. Most natural emeralds would have flaws and three-phase inclusions. Synthetic emeralds with needle-like, columnar, and granular crystalline mineral inclusions were often cleaner. Synthetic emeralds with hydrothermal synthesis were in the shape of a window screen, and synthetic emeralds with fusion synthesis were in the shape of bread crumbs. The characteristics of the inclusions of natural and synthetic emeralds were different. Also, natural emeralds reacted slower or were dark red under ultraviolet light, while synthetic emeralds often emitted strong red fluorescence.
"Assistant Minister Li, why is this gem called emerald? Is it specially for Grandmother? "
A guard asked.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said casually, "This, I am not very clear. It is just a name. Maybe someone's grandmother found it first? Haha! In any case, this thing is indeed very precious, much more precious than green jade. Look carefully and see if there are any more around. "
If there is a large number of emerald ore nearby, the Zhan Clan will really make a fortune. This thing is a real gem. The price is needless to say. If anyone has such a large amount of wealth, they will make a fortune. Even if the whole Zhan Clan has it, it will still be a big fortune.
"Assistant Minister Li, I also found one."
"Assistant Minister Li, this cave wall is a little different from the previous one. It is not a stone."
Several guards said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Well, it is very good. If we can find two, it means that we can find more. It is just that this is a cave and it is not easy to mine! Forget it! Let's move on. "
Although emerald is a top gem, Ang Lee is not short of money. The most important thing is that there is not enough time. They can't spend too much time in the cave.
Everyone moved on and soon heard the sound of another group of people. The speed of the other group was almost the same as Ang Lee's, so the two groups of people joined together.
This very well confirmed Ang Lee's previous speculation. This cave without water was a branch of the original stream. Because the amount of water was greatly reduced, it slowly dried up.
"Assistant Minister Li, we didn't find anything new along the way. There is a raw jade stone underground, nothing else."
A guard said.
Ang Lee looked at the upstream of the stream and said, "It is getting late. Let's rest here for a while, eat some dry food, and then go back!"
Obviously, Li An didn't want to continue exploring. He had already gone at least three thousand steps into the cave and had discovered a lot of things. If he continued to explore, he didn't have that much time. Secondly, when he entered, he had prepared a limited number of torches. If he continued to explore, he would lack torches. There was no light in the cave, so if he used up all the torches, he would have to return in the dark. That would be a very scary thing. His speed would slow down a lot, and he might even fall down.
Although they were far from exploring the source of the stream, they found a lot of treasures. This trip was not in vain. Anyway, Ang Lee was very satisfied and happy.
After casually eating some dry rations, they returned to the giant pit along the way. Because they had walked this path once, they sped up greatly on their way back. They were three times faster than when they came. In just over half an hour, they had left the mountain cave and returned to the giant pit.
As everyone felt quite cold in the cave, the first thing they did after leaving the cave was to find a place with sparse trees. Then, they stood under the sun to warm themselves up.
When they came out, it was already afternoon. Ang Lee asked the guards to start making lunch. Although they had eaten twice in the cave, they only ate a little. Everyone was definitely not full. Therefore, they still had to eat again. Only when they were full could they have the strength to work.
After staying in the crater for so long, the news from the outside had also spread. The people of the Zhan Clan and the Lang Clan had completed the installation of a set of smelting equipment. They were breaking stones and preparing to start smelting. Anyway, the method had been told to them. If they followed it, there shouldn't be too much of a problem.
It would take some time to smelt the tungsten ore. Under the circumstances where the smelting was not completed, Ang Lee did not want to go up. However, the news of the precious herbs and gems found in the cave quickly spread. Most of the people of the Zhan Clan and some of the Lang Clan knew that there were so many treasures at the bottom of the crater. This naturally attracted the greed of everyone. After all, the people of the two clans were quite poor. How could they not be tempted by so much wealth?
However, this crater was on the side of the border of the Zhan Clan. Logically speaking, it should belong to the Zhan Clan. This made the people of the Lang Clan quite unhappy. They felt that since it was a treasure that appeared at the border, it should be divided equally between the two clans. However, the people of the Zhan Clan were naturally unwilling. As such, some conflicts arose and they directly quarreled above the crater.
"Brother Zhan, this crater is at the border mountain. The treasures inside should naturally belong to us. If there's money, let's earn it together!"
The leader of the Lang Clan said.
The people of the Zhan Clan frowned and objected, "Why do you have a share? This crater is on the side of the Zhan Clan. It has nothing to do with the Lang Clan. Whatever is inside should belong to the Zhan Clan."
"It all belongs to you. Why? This border mountain is the border between the two clans. The entire Border Mountain belongs to the border between the two clans. It's not the peak of the Border Mountain that belongs to the border between the two clans. Otherwise, why would we mine the tungsten ore in the Border Mountain together? "
The leader of the Lang Clan said.
"We mine the tungsten ore together because both of our clans don't have enough manpower. There are tungsten ore on both sides. This is different from the crater. The crater is on our side. It should all belong to the Zhan Clan."
The leader of the Zhan Clan said.
The leader of the Lang Clan objected, "How can this do? Even if the crater belongs to the Zhan Clan, the cave in the crater is towards the west. This cave must be connected to the west of the mountain. The gems inside should belong to the Lang Clan. There's no share for you."
"But the cave is in the crater of the Zhan Clan. Other than the people of the Zhan Clan, no one else is allowed to enter."
The leader of the Zhan Clan said.
The leader of the Lang Clan was angry and said, "Alright! Then we, the Lang Clan, will immediately gather our men and dig on the opposite side. It will only be over when we can dig a cave. I don't believe that we can't dig a cave. "
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