After chatting with the teacher, Chen Han turned around and went to the cultural relic storage room.

As soon as he entered the door, he heard Professor Li's exclamation.

"He said: Yu Ji's great-great-grandson, Mu Shandunmin, fears the destiny of heaven, and must be a native of Zeng!"

"This inscription once again provides new direct evidence that Zeng Guo's family name is "Ji"!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Han quickly walked to Professor Li and stretched his head to look at the inscription in his hand.

Ji, also known as Houji.

His surname is Ji and his given name is Qi. He is the great-great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor and the eldest son of Emperor Ku.

In "Historical Records·Zhou Benji", Hou Ji's birth also has a metaphysical color. Legend has it that Jiang Yuan, the daughter of the Tai family, stepped on the footprints of a giant and was abandoned.

Perhaps it is because Liu Bang's "White Snake Rebellion" and "The Son of the Red Emperor" and "His Mother was Conceived by God", etc., in order to maintain the rationality of his rule, he used metaphysics to gild himself.

Therefore, the kings of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties recorded by Tai Shigong in "Historical Records" are also full of metaphysics.

But regardless of these metaphysical connotations, in the eyes of the Zhou royal family, Hou Ji was their ancestor.

Since Marquis Zeng claims to be the great-great-grandson of Ji, it undoubtedly once again proves that Marquis Zeng is Ji's surname.

The following passage is a boast made by Marquis Zeng, saying that he, Mu Shan Dunmin, ruled the Zeng State in accordance with the orders of God.

On the bell No. 1, there is also an inscription ""Restore Zeng Jiang"". These two sentences are the great achievements Zeng Houyu inscribed for himself.

"Xiao Chen? I was looking for you!"

Seeing Chen Han coming back, Professor Li quickly pulled him and walked to the corner to sit down.

"I have thought about it for a long time, and I feel that the "Nangong" written on the bell No. 1 may not be Nangong Shi, but his eldest son."

Hey, Chen Han chuckled.

Sure enough, wise people tend to agree!

Chen Han smiled and asked: "Professor Li, what do you think?"

He wanted to hear Professor Li's thoughts and see if the two of them thought of something together.

Professor Li did not continue, but instead asked: "Xiao Chen, do you still remember Da Meng Ding?"

Chen Han nodded with sudden realization.

How could you not know about the famous Dameng Ding?

The Da Yu Ding is a Western Zhou bronze tripod unearthed in Li Village, Xi County, Shaanxi during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. It was sold to the cultural relics market after being unearthed.

Later, it was hidden in the Shanghai Museum in 1952, and later borrowed by the National Museum of China. It is still on display at the National Museum of China.

The reason why this tripod is called Dameng Ding is because the maker was a minister named Yu during the reign of King Kang.

Also unearthed together with the Great Meng Ding was a Small Meng Ding.

However, the Xiao Meng Ding was bought and sold several times after it was unearthed, and was later lost.

As soon as Professor Li mentioned Da Meng Ding, Chen Han vaguely guessed what he was going to say.

Before the chimes in Tomb M1 of Wenfeng Pagoda were unearthed, there were no bronze inscriptions mentioning "Nangong", the most famous of which was the Great Meng Ding.

There is such an inscription on the Dameng Ding.

The king said: The shape of your cup is that of your ancestor Nangong!

"The king said, Meng, you must learn from your heir, Nangong!"

There is another inscription.

Yiru Zunan Gongqi (a kind of flag), used in war. Yiru was born in the fourth uncle of Bangsi.

"I will give you the flag of your ancestor Nangong to use for hunting patrols, and four officials of your country."

The "Nangong" here refers to Nangong Shi. This idea has long been proposed in the academic community.

However, before the chimes in Tomb M1 of Wenfeng Pagoda were unearthed, this sentence on the Da Meng Ding would not have any connection with Zeng Guo.

But it’s different now!

The Great Meng Ding can be definitely made in the 23rd year of King Kang.

The "Nangong" recorded in Zeng Houyu's chimes was the one who assisted King Wen and Wu.

Judging from the timeline, it is obviously consistent with the descendant of the minister named Meng during the Kang Dynasty!

In other words, Meng and Zenghou are both descendants of Nangong.

"I think it's just like the Duke of Zhao was granted the title of Yan, but his son Ke was appointed to Yan, and the Duke of Zhou was granted the title of Lu, but his son Bo Qin was granted the title of Lu."

"Nangong's status in the early Zhou Dynasty was almost the same as that of Zhaogong, and he was a minister of Zhougong. When he was granted the title of Zengdi, he did not receive the title himself, but was granted the title by his descendants."

"Because the development of the southern territory was very important to Zong Zhou at that time, sending Nangong Shi, who was honored as "Nangong", to go also reflected the importance he attached to the south."

"But "Nangong" was supposed to be a hereditary position that remained in the Zhou royal family's service, similar to "Tai Shi"."

"So Nangong Shi sent his eldest son to the throne, and he continued to stay in the center to assist in becoming the king."

Professor Li opened the "Shang Shu" at hand, turned to the chapter about Gu Ming, pointed to the sentence above and said to Chen Han:

"The Book of Ministers once mentioned that a minister named Nangong Mao led his tiger warriors to welcome Prince Zhao after the death of King Cheng."

"Combined with the fact that Nangong Shi once assisted the young King Cheng."

"Then, it can be guessed that Nangong Mao should be Nangong Shi's second son. After Nangong Shi's death, he inherited Nangong Shi's position in the central government and served in the imperial court."

"We know from the inscription on the Great Yu Ding that Yu's father Nangong Maoying died in the early years of King Kang, and his legitimate son Yu was still young at that time."

"That's why there was this passage from King Kang on Meng Ding who taught Meng."

Meng can be regarded as a famous minister in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. His famous name is not left in historical records, but is known through unearthed inscriptions.

On the small Yu tripod that has been lost, it is recorded that King Kang ordered Yu to conquer the ghosts and win a great victory, capturing a large number of people and livestock.

At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, six bronze vessels were discovered in Anzhou, which later became the famous Anzhou Six vessels, and such an inscription was also recorded on them.

"The year when the king ordered Nangong to attack Hufang"

The six vessels of Anzhou are all vessels of the Zhao Dynasty, which means that this passage records the events of the Zhao Dynasty.

And "Nangong" here refers to Nangong Meng.

Judging from the large Yu tripod, Yu's father died in the early years of King Kang, and he was still young. Therefore, Yu was still in his prime during the reign of King Zhao, and King Zhao ordered him to attack Hu Fang.

From these handed down inscriptions, it can be seen that Nangong Meng was a strong man, and he was a strong man who made great military exploits for the Zhou royal family throughout the Kangzhao period.

Equivalent to Bai Qi of Qin, Wei Qing of Han, and Guo Ziyi of Tang, they are all great generals of the country.

"The later Nangong clan should trace their origins to Nangong Meng's lineage."

Professor Li shook his head and said with some sigh: "The lineage that was granted the title of Zeng Guo should have taken Zeng as their surname later, and finally changed it to Sui."

"This is why historians have never linked the Nangong family and Zeng Guo together before."

"No one could have imagined that Nangong Shi's bloodline could be so strong. His eldest son was granted the title of Zeng, and became the leader of the kingdoms in the eastern Han Dynasty. He dominated the south and was the ancestor of all the surnames in the world."

"The second son inherited Nangong Shi's central official position, and his descendants made great military exploits for the Zhou family, becoming the head of the Nangong clan and the ancestor of Nangong in the world."

Chen Han opened his mouth half-open and quickly digested Professor Li's remarks in his mind.

I have to say that Professor Li’s argument is indeed very convincing!

The research he made was far more complete and more credible than Chen Han's judgment of "Nangong Shi will be sealed if he doesn't have it" based on intuition and guesswork.

Combining the Dameng Ding, Xiaomeng Ding, Anzhou Six Ware and Shangshu, both handed down documents and archaeological evidence can prove that this statement is reasonable and most likely!

In the early days of becoming king, the Nangong family was divided into two, each developed separately, and each developed very well.

Only then did the phenomenon of Meng Ding, Zeng Hou and Chime Bell all worship "Zun Nan Gong" together.

The situation of two branches of one bloodline was also very common in that clan-centered era.

The old winners were also divided into two groups, one established the State of Qin and the other established the State of Zhao.

Each of the vassal states with the surname Ji was also divided from members of the Zhou royal family.

The high-ranking nobles, ministers and officials in each prince's country were divided from the prince's public clan.

The entire history of the Zhou Dynasty is actually a process of continuous internal division of various families, with large clans divided into small clans, and small clans divided into smaller clans, and then merged again.

It is quite normal for Nangong Shi to have two descendants.

It’s just that the tomb of Zeng Houyu didn’t appear before, so modern people don’t understand this top nobleman of the Western Zhou Dynasty three thousand years ago at all!

Chen Han praised: "Professor Li, your inference is enough to write a paper on the genealogy of the Nangong family."

“It’s not a problem to submit to core journals!”

Professor Li smiled implicitly: "It's just a guess. It's not perfect yet, and it still lacks some key evidence."

"It would be great if more inscriptions could be unearthed in the future."

"It would be best if it involves inscriptions from the early Zeng Kingdom or the early Western Zhou Dynasty."

"By the way, didn't you go to Yejiashan Cemetery to inquire about information today?"
To be continued...