Chapter 715: Take it home

Zhang Xiaohua also saw the tears on Tan Zhenhua’s face. She sighed softly, stood up and walked to the bedside table and pulled out a few tissues and handed them to him: "Zhenhua, don’t get excited. Speak slowly. This matter has passed 100 times. For many years, besides, our Huaxia is no longer the way people bullied it."
Tan Zhenhua took the tissue from Zhang Xiaohua, wiped away the tears from his face, thanked him in a slightly choked voice, and then took a deep breath before continuing to slowly say: "On October 7, the robbers After breaking through the Old Summer Palace, an unprecedented looting began. They smashed vases and mirrors, tore off painting frames and scrolls, they broke open warehouses to silk, and wrapped horses with these precious fabrics; they wrapped the queen's phoenix Robes, pockets full of rubies, sapphires, pearls and crystals. Because there are too many treasures in the garden, they don’t even know what to take, such as cloisonne, official kiln porcelains of various dynasties, robes with flowers, and wall clocks inlaid with beads , Calligraphy and painting ancient books that have been preserved for thousands of years... All the treasures accumulated by China for thousands of years have become their trophies."
"This organized robbery lasted for 11 full days, and on October 18th, all the things that could be removed were removed. The British commander, James Earl, who should be nailed to the stigma of human civilization ·Pruss VIII ordered the Old Summer Palace to be burned. The fire burned for several days before it went out. But the British military chaplain Robert McGee wrote in his diary without any guilt: "There is no longer a pair of eyes that can witness another era. The artistic talent and taste are gone, and there is not one left, and there is no house left. Let there be no trace of a palace here. Now, you're done. "
"Bang", there was another loud noise. This time, Lu Jiangang, who had always been silent, hit the table with a fist. Everyone looked up and saw that he was full of anger and cursed with gritted teeth: " These beasts!"
Tan Zhenhua’s faint voice was not interrupted by this:
After the statistics, there were only more than 20 buildings in the huge Yuanming that survived, but most of them were affected by fire. The wooden structures were basically destroyed, and the furnishings were all robbed. At the same time, parts of the Longevity Mountain Qingyi Garden, Xiangshan Jingyi Garden, and Yuquan Mountain Jingming Garden were also burned down, and the worst was Anyou Palace.
Because the robbers came suddenly, the chief of Anyou Palace locked the gate of the palace again. At that time, more than 300 eunuchs, maids, and craftsmen were burned to death in the palace.
What's more, when the fire in the Old Summer Palace was still burning, Prince Gong Yixin, who was ordered to stay in the capital, agreed to all the conditions of the robber invaders and signed the "Tianjin Treaty" and the "Beijing Treaty". Ceded to Britain, large areas in the north were taken into captivity by Oros who took advantage of the fire. The robbers even forced Braid to pay them 16 million taels of silver for their military expenses. "
"Such a decadent dynasty, there is no reason to survive!" Zhan Nuozhu said bitterly. And following his conclusion, everyone in the room lost the interest in talking for a while, and the atmosphere was depressed and dull.
In the end, Zhang Xiaohua broke the silence. She asked: "So Zhenhua, listen to you, the Old Summer Palace has lost a large number of cultural relics, the number is unknown. After more than 150 years, these things have probably been scattered all over the world. Yes, how did you know that the leading lot was an antique in the Old Summer Palace?"
"Actually, there are still a few," Tan Zhenhua replied: "The collections in the Old Summer Palace belong to the Royal Neiku, with a more detailed registration. According to the statistics afterwards, about 1.5 million pieces were lost and damaged. What you just saw The dragon head is one of the most famous ones. It was originally placed in front of the Haiyan Hall in the Old Summer Palace. It was the head of the zodiac animal on the twelve zodiac fountain ordered by the Emperor Qianlong. According to historical records, the fountain is 12 The heads of the beasts will take turns spraying water to tell the time, the scene is very spectacular, and the instructor just said that the lot should have been part of some kind of water spraying equipment, it is probably the spout of an artificial fountain, so I think that It is the dragon head among the animal heads of the Chinese zodiac."
Zhang Xiaohua nodded and said: "No wonder you can recognize it, it turned out to be like this, then where is the capital of the twelve beasts now? Do we still have remains in China?"
Tan Zhenhua shook his head and said: "I don't know where they are, but I know that we haven't survived one in China now. I only found out their existence by looking through an ancient book by chance."
After hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua sighed again, and then fell silent.
Tan Zhenhua said so much just now, and finally let out a sulky breath in his heart. Seeing that everyone bowed their heads and said nothing, he forced a smile and said, "Sister Xiaohua, in fact, what you said just now is right. It's 100% past. For many years, history has been unable to change. What we can do today is to remember the humiliation we have suffered and try to make this kind of thing never happen again. As for the dragon head, since I met it today, then It’s fate, let’s go, time is almost up, let us take it home."
"Yes, let's take it home!" The three of them stood up and responded. Lu Jiangang squeezed a pair of fists and added bitterly, "Zhenhua, don't worry, if you don't have enough money. It’s okay if we didn’t shoot it today, as long as we find a way to know who got it in the end, I don’t believe it anymore. Things can be more important than the lives of the rich guys!"
Yes, this guy's brutal energy has broken out, and he has even figured out the means to move outside the market.
Tan Zhenhua quickly comforted: "Brother Jiangang, it's okay. Money has never been a problem for me. Don't worry, I am determined to win this dragon head today. Let's go downstairs."
...
The auctioneer on the stage gave a lengthy and sensational explanation and presented a series of information documents. While confirming the true identity of the dragon head, he finally announced its starting price-750,000 US dollars, and announced each increase in price. Not less than 50,000 US dollars.
Tan Zhenhua can now be 100% sure that this is the dragon head lost in the Old Summer Palace.
It's just that, now this cultural relic, which is made of all copper and has a history of less than 200 years, has not been truly recognized for its value. Otherwise, its valuation will never be a mere US$1 million.
Zhan Nuozhu asked Tan Zhenhua in a low voice: "Zhenhua, didn't the instructor just say that the estimated price of this dragon head is 1 million US dollars? How come the starting price is only 750,000?"
Tan Zhenhua went to a half-truth auction anyway, so after learning some common sense, he replied in a low voice: "This is Mr. Zhan. Generally, the valuation of auction items is a combination of the seller, the auction house and the appraisal agency. An estimate is given, but this price is only a reference, and the auction house’s rule is generally to start at about 75% of this estimate, so the starting price of this dragon head with an estimate of 1 million is 750,000."
Zhan Nuozhu nodded his head and said that he understood, but only for a moment he came up and asked in a low voice, "Zhenhua, why don't you make a bid? You see, the price has grown to 900,000 yuan. If you don't start, what happened to others? do?"
"It's not time yet." Tan Zhenhua had to explain to him again that the auction house's rule is that the highest bidder gets the price, so there is no need to pay attention to the current bid. Let's wait for the final price to come out, and then add a little more to fight with him. , It is completely unnecessary to blend in now.
"Oh, that's it." Zhan Nuozhu finally understood the doorway and turned to focus on the progress of the bidding. Tan Zhenhua also took this opportunity to look around to see who was bidding, so that he could estimate himself. Competitors.
Someone raised his hand to indicate that Tan Zhenhua found that it was the Japanese man he had just met in the exhibition hall. The offer had risen to 950,000 US dollars. Another raised his hand. He was a middle-aged Caucasian man. He did not know whether he was from Europe or America. The price rose. At $1 million, the estimated price of the lot has been reached.
Then, he saw a typical Middle Eastern man covered in white Arab robes with five fingers outstretched, all wearing a ring with huge gemstones and lightly waving his right hand.
This seemed to be some kind of agreed secret signal. The auctioneer on the stage suddenly realized that he stretched out the auction hammer and pointed it in the direction of the Middle Eastern man and shouted: "1.05 million U.S. dollars. Now someone is bidding 1.05 million U.S. dollars, and even higher. Is it?"