1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 4030

The unconventional style of the Haihan caravan naturally attracted the attention of other caravans along this land route.

The caravans traveling along this route were of very diverse composition, including Ottoman caravans from their colonial power, caravans from various countries and city-states along the Mediterranean coast, and Arab caravans operating along the Red Sea coast. It was a convergence of different commercial cultures from Asia, Africa, and Europe.

When caravans from different regions meet in this area, they usually inform each other of their identities and the types of goods they are carrying to see if there are any trading opportunities. If they find something they like and the price is right, they will trade on the spot, and bartering is also very common.

However, the Haihan caravan was clearly an anomaly. First of all, this caravan came from the East, thousands of miles away, and was definitely a rare sight in this region. Communication with them could only be achieved with the help of the translators brought by the Haihan caravan itself.

Secondly, the Haihan caravan only sold its own goods and did not purchase goods carried by other caravans; at most, they would buy a few samples. Their stated reason was to travel light and wait until they reached Port Said on the Mediterranean side to purchase the goods locally.

Furthermore, the caravan kept stopping and starting along the way for no apparent reason, seemingly in no hurry to reach its next destination.

Between Suez on the Red Sea and Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, there are no densely populated areas, only a few supply points run by Arabs. Caravans traveling between these areas are eager to spend as little time as possible on their journeys, but the Haihan Caravan is in no hurry, as if it were leisurely enjoying the desert.

Soon, it was discovered that the Haihan caravans were secretly digging for something in their tents every time they stopped to camp. The only plausible explanation was treasure hunting, but with hundreds of caravans passing through this area every year, how could they not know if there were treasures buried underground?

If the Haihan people could find something good in the sand here, they would definitely hide it secretly in their luggage. Naturally, some people started to have ulterior motives.

A small caravan of only seven people secretly contacted the camel drivers hired by the Haihan Caravan, hoping to find out what treasures the Haihan Caravan had unearthed.

This caravan engaged in all sorts of trade, including acquiring various ancient Egyptian artifacts from the public. If the Haihan people had anything of value, they would naturally be interested in purchasing it. However, after some initial contact and probing, they discovered that the Haihan people had no intention of selling any local items, so they had to make other plans.

The caravan was entirely Egyptian, allowing them to communicate with the camel drivers discreetly. Although bribing the camel drivers seemed worthwhile, one of them soon provided them with valuable information.

According to the camel driver's observations, the Haihan caravan would always carry several boxes out of those mysterious tents before setting off each time. If they had indeed unearthed any treasure from beneath the sand, it would undoubtedly be hidden in these boxes.

The Haihan people did not seem to guard these boxes strictly, as they were usually shipped together with other goods without any special protection measures.

So the small caravan decided to take unconventional measures and planned to steal the boxes when the Haihan caravan stopped to set up camp.

At this point, Takahashi Minami was unaware that someone was eyeing his belongings; he was focused on the field exploration along the way.

In order to cooperate with the geological exploration team's sampling plan, Takahashi Minami had to arrange for his subordinates to take turns joining the excavation operation in order to improve efficiency and shorten the time spent at each location.

Takahashi Minami was well aware that such stop-and-go travel could easily arouse suspicion, but the opportunity to conduct on-site exploration and sampling was hard to come by, and it was hard to say whether there would be a next time, so she still had to try her best to complete the established plan.

But he truly hadn't anticipated that the Haihan caravan's actions, in the eyes of some with ulterior motives, had become a means of plundering treasure. That day, after the Haihan caravan settled near a water source, they set up several tents as usual and began digging again.

When the excavation began, Takahashi Minami would personally visit the site for a while. Although he didn't understand geological exploration, his presence in such situations would make his subordinates work more diligently, which would also improve efficiency.

During this trip, the main method of geological exploration was drilling and sampling.

However, due to limited transportation capacity and the inconvenience of openly excavating, the exploration team did not have large steam-powered engineering machinery available and could only rely entirely on manual operation to drill soil samples from the ground.

Fortunately, the soil at the sampling points along the way was relatively loose. With the help of professional tools, even relying solely on manpower, it was possible to quickly drill to a depth of more than ten meters, and at the deepest point, soil samples could be collected from about thirty meters underground.

The holes drilled are relatively small in diameter, so after sampling and backfilling, there are almost no traces of excavation left.

The extracted soil samples will undergo immediate and simple testing, and the detailed excavation location, depth, and soil conditions will be recorded. A small number of samples will be preserved for further research upon return.

Although a single preserved soil sample usually only weighs about an ounce, the volume and weight can still be quite considerable when the quantity is large. The caravan had only traveled halfway, and the soil samples had already filled several large boxes.

These boxes were naturally quite heavy and all locked, so it's no wonder that outsiders would mistakenly think they contained some shady treasures.

Takahashi Minami stayed at the excavation site for about an hour before returning to his tent to rest. Now approaching sixty, his physical strength and energy are not what they used to be. He took on this kind of long-distance field research work by voluntarily, and most of the time he was just pushing himself, and could only maintain his condition by resting as much as possible.

After Takahashi Minami left, the mining and sampling work continued for about two more hours before the task was completed.

Although the sampling work was simple, it was physically demanding. Everyone involved in the exploration was exhausted. After packing up their tools and soil samples, they all went to sleep.

As night fell, the caravan camp was completely silent, with only the faint crackling of the fire burning in the middle of the camp audible.

A dark figure slowly moved between the tents, avoiding the sight of the night watchmen, and crept into the tent where luggage and goods were stored.

A moment later, the dark figure left the tent, dragging a heavy wooden crate behind him. To make as little noise as possible, he moved extremely slowly, twice hiding in the shadows between the tents to avoid the night watchmen who were patrolling the camp.

More than an hour later, the dark figure finally dragged the wooden crate away from the camp and into the nearby sand dunes.

(End of this chapter)