On an evening in the Andes, Zheng Zheng sat outside the tent with a glass of wine in hand, quietly listening to Captain Connor's story about the relationship between Argentina and the Andes.

"At that time, Argentina was still a Spanish colony, and there was a governor sent by Spain called Cessneros. The governor of Cessneros was the Spanish governor sent to Argentina and administered Argentina and the surrounding colonies in place of Spain.

"Argentina is rich in mineral resources, and at that time, there were proven deposits of iron, silver, lead and tin. In those days, if iron and silver could flow steadily into a country, it would be a great help to the country. So the Spanish side was very attached to the Argentine colony at that time – or rather, to what was buried beneath the land. ”

As the governor of Argentina at the time, Cessneros naturally valued these things that would increase his prestige and status in the country, and even built a mint to purify the silver and send it directly to the mint to mint it, and then ship the finished Spanish silver coins back to the country. But it's a long way from Argentina to Spain. At that time, the seas were not calm, piracy was rampant, and even if it was as strong as Spain, it was necessary to be doubly careful when going to sea at that time. Because of this, the silver coins minted by the mint in Argentina could not be shipped to Spain immediately, and a certain amount of silver coins had to be hoarded and then escorted back to Spain by warships. ”

Hearing this, Zheng Zheng nodded and said, "I still have a little understanding of Spanish silver coins." This kind of silver coin is supposed to be the 'double-column' silver coin, which flowed into China around 1700 and 1800 AD, and there were nearly 100 million pieces. However, because of the later Qing Dynasty's foreign reparations and other reasons, this kind of silver coin was transferred to the outside world, and in Chinese mainland, this kind of silver coin is rare. ”

Captain Connor looked at Zheng Zheng, nodded and praised, "It's amazing...... You are indeed a professional consultant. ”

Zheng Zheng smiled disapprovingly and said, "As you said, there is a specialization in the art industry...... And then he said, what happened?"

Captain Connor nodded, "The ships from the colonies to Spain were huge, so at that time, Cessneros had a rule of every 50,000 or 100,000 silver coins. Since not all of the ships were used to hold silver coins, the number of silver coins that could be brought home was not certain, not necessarily one of the two. However, due to the situation in the colonies at that time, the development of silver mines and the smelting of silver could only be said to have just passed, and it was necessary to accumulate for a period of time to reach the number of 50,000 silver coins. The coins were kept safe in a place close to the mint, guarded by Spanish soldiers. ”

"It's been going well, and nothing has gone wrong. But in 1810, things went wrong. ”

Zheng Zheng picked up the conversation: "Because of the May Revolution?"

"Yes. Captain Connor nodded, "Speaking of which...... How much do you know about the May Revolution?"

Zheng Zheng didn't hide it, and said, "I don't know much, please speak." ”

Captain Connor nodded, filled their glasses, and said, "The May Revolution was a well-timed revolution when Napoleon invaded Spain, overthrew King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and appointed his brother Joseph as King of Spain. The Spanish colony of La Plata, which included present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay, lost the support of its overlords. And on May 13, 1810, a batch of British. The landing of troops in Montevideo confirmed that the rumors about the situation in Spain were true. ”

"There is nothing more terrible for a colony than this, when it loses the support of its overlord, the colony loses its ruling power. Under these circumstances, the Spaniards in the colonies were in turmoil, fearing that they would find themselves in a disadvantageous situation because of the counterattack of the people in the colonies. What's more, for them, the former Spain is now considered a dead country, and they have no other to rely on, only the current province of La Plata can be regarded as a foothold. ”

"In this context, the upper echelons of Buenos Aires held a rally to ask the Governor to convene a public congress to decide on the future of the Governor's territory. ”

"There is no need to recount what happened after that, but in a week's time, the Public Assembly decided to call for the resignation of the Viceroyalty, to reconstitute a new council, and to declare the Viceroyalty of La Plata to be formally independent from Spain. That's basically what this May Revolution is all about, and it has to do with what I'm going to say, but it's not very big. ”

Captain Connor and Zheng Zheng clinked glasses and said, "Remember when I said that the silver coins that were minted but not yet returned to Spain were stored near the mint and guarded by a Spaniard with soldiers?"

Zheng Zheng nodded, frowned for a moment, and asked, "You mean...... What's the problem?"

Captain Connor smiled and nodded, "When this Spaniard got the news on May 13th, he knew that the Spain he knew no longer existed. At that time, the situation in the Viceroyalty of La Plata was very uncertain, and no one knew whether the incident would begin with bloodshed. So before the May Revolution, the Spaniard took his like-minded soldiers and left with all the silver coins in the silver coin storehouse. ”

"...... they," Zheng Zheng guessed, "they entered the Andes?"

"Yes. Captain Connor nodded and said, "The other routes are very disadvantageous for them, and it is impossible to go to sea." For them, the only place where they could take refuge and be safe from hunting was in the Andes. They could pass through the Andes and advance towards the other Spanish colonies connected to the Andes. He should have been prepared to seize an area of the colony before the situation stabilized...... How to say it, in Chinese terms...... Self-determination as king? should be the word ......"

"At that time, the Viceroy of Cessneros in the province of La Plata was busy dealing with the news of the invasion of Spain, and to pacify the populace and make all kinds of preparations, while some of the powerful people of Buenos Aire at that time were also busy with this matter, and they did not have time to take care of the remote areas of the Viceroyalty. This Spaniard—his name is not clearly recorded, let's call him Julian—Julian had well-trained soldiers, weapons, and money, and if he could reach a slightly more remote part of the Viceroyalty of La Plata, he could control a small area with the Governor's lack of influence and the resources at his disposal, and the turbulence of the time. ”

Listening to the meaning of Captain Connor's words, Zheng Zheng said, "But he didn't succeed?"

"Yes. After the May Revolution, the environment had stabilized, and it was only then that the mint was swept away. After various judgments, the new ** thought that Julian had taken the silver coins with them, and also judged that they would go to the Andes Mountains with the silver coins, so he tracked them all the way. However, the search in the Andes found nothing, and in the mountains, they found a deep valley formed by the collapse of a mountain. And near the collapsed mountain, they found traces that Julian had once passed by with a man. On the other side of this deep valley, no traces have been found. ”

"Because the valley is so deep that there is no way to enter from the valley floor, and the valley floor is full of rubble from the collapsed mountain, even if you enter the valley floor and then check it, it will be a time-consuming and laborious work. At that time, the newly established new ** had too many things to deal with, and there was really no manpower to invest in it, so after it was determined that Julian and the others and those silver coins were all buried at the bottom, no one cared. ”

After a pause, Captain Connor said, "It's just that this statement was later questioned by others, and it was a little untenable. This is because some people claim to have entered the valley and have made careful investigations, but have found no traces of Julian or silver coins. Those who agree with this statement believe that Julian did not die at the bottom, but left smoothly with these silver coins and his own people, but did not expect that the situation would stabilize so quickly that their plan could not be carried out, so they divided the silver coins and lived an incognito life. ”

Zheng Zheng nodded on the side and said, "This ending is not bad, at least he is alive...... After all, it is tens of thousands of silver coins, and the new ** should not be so disrespectful, right?"

Captain Connor shrugged his shoulders and said, "They also wanted to find the coins, but they lost their initial chance. The river was diverted due to the prolonged rainstorms, and the valley formed by the collapse of the mountain became a deep pool. With the state of technology at that time, it was impossible to carry out such deep-water underwater operations. ”

After a pause, he said, "And this claim—the claim that Julian stole the silver coin—has always been just a rumor, and there is no official record of it, nor has it been acknowledged. It was only word of mouth in Argentina that a great fortune was hidden in the deep pools of the Andes...... You know, Jack, it's like the legend of any treasure, there are many people who know it, but there are few people who really believe it. ”

"Is this...... It's just a legend. ”

Zheng Zheng hesitated for a moment, and finally came to the conclusion that this was just a legend. But in his heart, Zheng Zheng didn't quite think that this was just a boring legend about treasures.