The process of extracting the contents of the coffin went very smoothly.

After all, the owner of tomb No. M-105 is not a big noble.

Moreover, according to Kong Jianwen's inference, he died suddenly and was buried in a hurry.

Therefore, there were not many burial objects in his coffin.

It is different from other tombs of nobles in the Western Han Dynasty, where the owner's coffin is resplendent with gold and jade, and even his head rests on a jade pillow and his body sleeps on a jade mat.

The owner of Tomb No. M-105 was stuffed into the coffin wearing only silk clothes.

Moreover, due to long-term immersion in water and poor sealing of the coffin, the remains of the tomb owner were basically decomposed.

After most of the water in the coffin was drained, no valuable cultural relics were found except for some pieces of silk that had not completely rotted.

But no one is in a hurry at all.

All good things must be buried at the bottom of the coffin.

Sure enough, when the water in the coffin was pumped out until it was only about four to five centimeters thick, some metallic objects began to appear vaguely in the pitch-black "black water".

"I saw it! There's a sword!"

Wang Weida, who had quick eyes and quick hands, immediately reached into the coffin with both hands and carefully lifted a bronze sword that was at least eighty or ninety centimeters long from the water!

"What the hell, a bronze sword?!"

Chen Han's eyes widened and he looked in shock at the sword in front of him, which was still as smooth as new when it was fished out of the water. He was simply stunned!

This sword has no trace of the weather that has been buried underground for two thousand years!

Even because it was placed in stagnant water, when the sword was lifted out of the water, the sword could still reflect light!

It's just... it's like it was just cast!

Kong Jianwen also rushed forward, took the sword from Wang Weida's hand, and exclaimed again and again: "This... this is the Qin sword!"

"This is the pinnacle masterpiece of Chinese bronze casting craftsmanship!"

The bronze sword is a weapon often used in ancient China. It can also be said to be the earliest war weapon developed.

The history of Chinese bronze swords can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and they are the pinnacle representative of Chinese bronze weapon craftsmanship.

However, in the early Western Han Dynasty, as iron smelting technology matured, iron swords gradually eliminated bronze swords and became the mainstream of the world.

By the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the process of replacing bronze weapons with steel weapons had been completely completed.

Most of the bronze swords unearthed in archeology are from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The number of bronze swords unearthed from the Western Han Dynasty is very small.

Not to mention that the owner of tomb No. M-105 can be confirmed to have died after at least the period of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.

After all, Zhao Mingjing only became popular after Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.

Before opening the coffin, no one thought that a Qin sword would be found in the tomb of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty!

When Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, two hundred years had passed since the fall of Qin!

"The sword body is grey-yellow, with fine texture and no trachoma, and the surface of the sword body has been finely filed and polished!"

After Kong Jianwen inspected the sword carefully, he said with great satisfaction: "Yes, this is a Qin sword!"

"Moreover, it is the pinnacle of Qin Dynasty bronze sword casting technology and a masterpiece of the most mature period!"

"In terms of appearance and format, this sword is not much different from the bronze sword made in Qin Dynasty. However, the specific ratio of copper and tin must be sent to experts for appraisal."

Kong Jianwen pushed up his glasses and said with certainty: "But I estimate that this should be a bronze sword made in the Qin Dynasty, and maybe it is the family heirloom sword of the tomb owner."

"Otherwise, it would be impossible to be immortalized by soaking in water for two thousand years!"

"It is even less likely that it will be so precious that it can be placed in a coffin and sleep with the owner of the tomb."

For a bronze sword to survive underground for more than two thousand years without rusting, many conditions must be met.

First, it is best to be in a closed oxygen-deficient environment, either in a vacuum state, or like the Yue King Goujian sword, which was soaked in groundwater for a long time and separated from the air.

This will reduce oxidation, and less oxidation will naturally lead to less rust.

Second, the sword body must take anti-rust measures!

The most important reason why the Yue King Goujian's sword has not rusted for 2,500 years is that the sword body is plated with a layer of metal containing chromium!

When chromium is used in smelting metals, it has the characteristics of high strength, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, high temperature resistance, and oxidation resistance, and can protect utensils from rust!

In addition, there was another anti-rust measure in ancient China.

That is the Qin bronze sword chromium salt oxidation protection technology!

In the Bronze Age, whether a sword was useful or sharp depended entirely on how much tin was added to the copper during smelting.

If there is too little tin, the sword will be too soft, but if there is too much tin, the sword will be too hard and it will break easily.

How to master this copper-tin ratio is a very test of smelting technology and level.

And it also has a great impact on the size of the bronze sword.

When the bronze sword first appeared, the sword was only twenty or thirty centimeters long, and it was just a short sword.

The Fish Intestine Sword, one of the top ten famous swords in Chinese history, is speculated to be a 20cm dagger.

The reason why swords were short at that time was because of the limitations of the sword-making process, which made it impossible to make a bronze sword that was long, sharp and not easy to break.

By the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the advancement of bronze craftsmanship, the length of bronze swords generally reached about 50 to 60 centimeters.

In the late Warring States period, bronze swords could be up to 75 centimeters long and were still very sharp and easy to use.

The Qin-style bronze sword was a major breakthrough in the field of bronze swords.

Guanzhong Qin swords from the Qin Dynasty can generally reach 80 centimeters in length, and the longest one is even 95 centimeters!

The length, hardness and toughness of the Qin sword have reached an almost perfect combination, which is the final pinnacle of bronze sword casting technology!

Qin Shihuang was able to unify the six kingdoms, and this pinnacle bronze sword craftsmanship played a big role in it.

You must know that at that time, Chu State could already make iron swords, and they actually made them, but they did not stop the Qin State army.

In most people's minds, iron swords are definitely easier to use than bronze swords, being sharper and lighter.

Ironware represents advancement, while bronzeware represents backwardness.

But in fact, the Iron Sword is not invincible as soon as it is born.

The early iron swords were really not as good as the peak bronze swords.

It took hundreds of years for the iron sword to completely surpass the bronze sword from its birth!

The bronze sword of the Qin State was not only 30 centimeters longer than the swords of the Six Eastern Kingdoms at the same time, it was also easier to stab the opponent first when the two armies were fighting.

Moreover, the sharpness of the bronze swords of the Qin State is not inferior to the early iron swords at all!

The sharpness and hardness of early iron swords were not as sharp as those of Qin's bronze swords.

Qin's bronze smelting and forging technology was the best in China at that time, and it had almost a generational advantage over the bronze technology of other countries!

Not only because the Qin sword is sharp, but also because the Qin State also mastered the technology of oxidizing bronze swords with chromium salts!

When the terracotta warriors and horses in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang were unearthed, the chromium salt oxidation protection technology of Qin's bronze swords caused a sensation in the world!

The bronze sword unearthed from the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang has been buried underground for more than two thousand years. After the rust was removed on the spot, the surface is still as bright as new. The blade is so sharp that one sword can cut through 12 layers of newspapers!

Relevant experts discovered the unearthed bronze swords, bronze spears and other weapons through electron probe and proton X-ray fluorescence analysis.

The surface of the bronze sword has a protective layer of chromium-containing oxide of 10 to 15 microns!

It is this oxide layer of chromium compounds with a thickness of only microns that gives bronze weapons good anti-corrosion and anti-rust properties, allowing them to remain as bright as new after being hidden underground for more than 2,000 years!

This chromium salt oxidation protection technology was not invented and patented until 1937 in Germany in modern times, and it required a complex industrial process to achieve it!

Even modern chromium salt oxidation protection technology can only maintain stainless steel for about 60 years.

How the Qin people were able to master the chromium salt oxidation treatment technology 2,200 years ago under such primitive conditions remains a mystery to this day after the demise of the Qin State.

However, the swords made by the Qin people with their pinnacle sword-making technology still exist in the world, telling their legends to the world!

Let future generations of Chinese people be able to admire the incredible sword-making craftsmanship of the Qin people!
Chapter completed!