The Lost Tomb Vol. 7

Chapter 55: Unlock the Password

"These chains extending from the bearing affect the mechanism's controls inside. Only one chain starts the correct decoding, while the others all represent errors." I counted a total of five chains extending out from there.

I was very surprised because I had never thought that there would be such a mature modular technology in ancient China. The most famous type was movable type printing. Modular technology could be used many times beyond any geographical limits, so the mechanism here could obviously be used anywhere.

I immediately thought of Poker-face. The Zhang family's ancestors had set up such a clever mechanism considering Sichuan and Guangxi had different geological conditions, weather, and various factors on both sides. It was necessary to ensure that the interconnected mechanisms set up on both sides were stable enough and wouldn't be damaged over a thousand years.

Since the entire mechanism was for their own children and grandchildren, it didn't matter which part went wrong first. Any error could cause their death.

If you were an ordinary craftsman, you could only use clever techniques to design mechanisms suitable for both sides according to the respective conditions of the two places. But it was impossible to use such a thing in ancient times because the craftsmen at that time couldn't figure out what would happen hundreds of years later. As a result, the mechanisms designed according to their respective geographical environment ended up being two completely different things.

But modularization was different. It ensured that you would have the same effect wherever you put it, no matter the environment. This was why KFC tasted the same wherever you went. Movable type printing ensured that a set of typefaces could be used repeatedly and were of high quality.

"So what?" Xiao Hua didn't understand.

"The ancients had the habit of considering problems from a practical nature," I said. "For example, with the former printing press, a book had to be engraved with a full page, and it couldn't be used after it was finished. An ancient publisher was very upset with this and invented movable type printing so that he could fire half of the carvers and keep only a few of the best ones. No one modularizes for the sake of it; the ancients did it in anticipation of a great deal of repetitive work."

If the craftsmen here used modules, then the only reason I could think of was that they didn't want to design mechanisms separately for all the links. As a result, it was very likely that all the mechanisms here and those in Guangxi used the same things as this hornet's nest. If Poker-face knocked on the stones, he might see the same thing as us.

The designers of Zhang Jialou designed everything and made these mechanisms ready before they even chose the building site. In this way, they only needed to select the right place, then smash a few holes and install these modules.

"I kind of know what you mean." Xiao Hua obviously understood my way of thinking better than Fatty would have. "Fuck, you've gotta be shitting me. Are you saying that Zhang Jialou is moving?"

I nodded. "The biggest advantage of modularization is that it can be removed and taken away. If you look at the Yangshi Lei and other traces, the chains here are iron, but only this thing is bronze. It shows that throughout history, the Zhang family's ancestor's coffins had been placed in more than one location. The so-called Zhang Jialou will definitely be their final resting place."

Xiao Hua gave me a meaningful smile, "I found another reason why Granny Huo asked me to bring you. To some extent, you're also a little knowledgeable shit."

I grinned, thinking that these words made it sound like he didn't want me to be here before.

I squatted down and shined the flashlight at the thing, "I think Yangshi Lei is just a contractor. They helped the so-called Zhang family build the Zhang Jialou to house the coffins, but they didn't participate any further."