It took more than a year to clear away all the huge rocks blocking the way. Just as Boss Yu was about to deal with the last obstacle, the Zilai Stone, a major incident occurred outside.
Yu Laoda and his accomplices had been robbing tombs for over a decade, accumulating a considerable number of valuable artifacts. They also maintained constant contact with overseas entities, smuggling cultural relics out of the country one after another.
Originally, this matter was handled by Yu Laoda himself. However, since Emperor Wenzong's mausoleum was near Liujiazhuang, if he was not there, leaving Yu Laosan and a few others behind would easily arouse suspicion. So, he entrusted the transaction with Hong Kong to his cousin Yu Laoliu. Unexpectedly, the smuggling of Han Dynasty artifacts failed, and Yu Laoliu was shot dead on the spot for violently resisting arrest.
Aside from his brothers, who were the core members of Yu Laoda's tomb-raiding gang, the rest were all peripheral members. Their names and origins were completely unknown. With Yu Laoliu dead, the trail had gone cold.
However, Yu Laoliu was not cautious enough. Once, after drinking, he mentioned the mausoleum of Emperor Wenzong of Tang to his subordinates. The subordinates were arrested by the police, which led some people to believe that the Flying Horse of Gansu came from Emperor Wenzong's tomb. In order to protect the other cultural relics in Emperor Wenzong's tomb, Professor Meng and others came here.
Originally, when the archaeological team arrived in Liujiazhuang, Yu Laoda had already considered leaving. However, in the following days, he discovered that the place the archaeological team was excavating was the same place where he had previously dug a tunnel, and they had not found the real imperial tomb. This gave him a glimmer of hope, and he thought he could wait until the archaeological team left, retrieve the items from the imperial tomb, and then leave.
However, the information that Big Foot Sister had just told him gave Boss Yu a bad feeling, as if a big net was being cast upon him. But his greed still made Boss Yu decide to take action to open the last mechanism, the self-closing stone, the day after tomorrow.
The reason for choosing the day after tomorrow was that it was Liu Changfa's wedding day in the village. Firstly, firecrackers would be set off, which would cover up the sound of the explosives. Secondly, many guests would come to Liu Family Village, so his men would not be conspicuous if they sneaked in. It would also help them escape after the crime was accomplished. Boss Yu had already taken all these factors into account.
The key issue now is whether the archaeological team can be delayed until after tomorrow to explore the orchard. Old Yu knows that if the village agrees to let the archaeological team dig holes in the orchard, with the help of those armed police officers, he won't be able to stop them at all, and the secret will inevitably be exposed.
After putting his passport back into his bag, Boss Yu took out the gun, hesitated for a moment, and then put it back. In the sweltering heat of the countryside, most men were shirtless, wearing only shorts, so there was nowhere to hide a gun.
Crouching down, Old Yu put the bag back into the hidden compartment under the blue bricks. After laying the bricks back on, he grabbed a handful of dust, sprinkled it on, blew on it, and checked that there were no flaws before standing up, opening the door, and going out.
After leaving his house, Old Yu went straight to the village store, took out 100 yuan and bought four bottles of 48° Xifeng liquor. He put the 20 yuan change in his pocket and carried the liquor to the village secretary's house.
"Second Uncle, I've come to see you. I didn't bring much, but I did bring you a few bottles of wine."
Upon entering the village secretary's house, Old Yu shouted and placed the wine in his hand on the table.
Chapter 249 Southern School and Northern School
"You're already here, why bother buying wine? You've lost a lot of money these past few years contracting the orchard, haven't you?"
The second uncle Yu Ku mentioned was about sixty years old. He was not tall, had a face full of wrinkles, and was holding a long pipe in his hand, which he was puffing on.
“That’s right, Second Uncle. You know, I’ve been working away from home for so many years, and I’ve only saved a little money. I even sold all the valuables in the house to raise enough money to lease the orchard. But today, Big Foot Sister-in-law said that those archaeologists want to dig up the trees in the orchard. How am I supposed to live now…”
As soon as Yu Ku entered, he began to complain. He squatted down by the threshold, rubbed his eyes with his dirty hands, and put on a pitiful look.
"Well, don't worry, kid. Si'er's wife just told me about this too. But others haven't dug it up yet, right? Don't worry, even if they want to touch your orchard, they'll compensate you. Didn't Er Mao's uncle's melon patch on the east side get several thousand yuan in compensation?"
Secretary Liu took a puff of his pipe, tapped the butt against the edge of the table a few times, and the burnt-out ash fell to the ground.
"Second Uncle, my orchard cost tens of thousands of yuan, and it'll be fruiting in just two months. It's incomparable to those melon patches..."
Old Yu pulled out a crumpled pack of Golden Monkey cigarettes from his pocket, stood up, and offered one to Secretary Liu.
"Why can't you understand? The price for a melon patch is the price for a melon patch, and the price for an orchard is the price for an orchard. Do you think the village would let you suffer a loss? They haven't come to me yet. I'll focus on the long hair issue these next few days, and we'll talk about it after this is over..."
Secretary Liu did not accept the cigarette offered by Old Man Yu. Instead, he grabbed a handful of loose tobacco from his pipe, stuffed it into the bowl, and then lit it with a match.
The village secretary, Liu, and Liu Changfa were somewhat related. Liu Changfa was the first person from Liujiazhuang to be admitted to university in many years; in ancient times, that would be considered a top scholar. Because of this, people from Liujiazhuang spoke louder and louder in the surrounding area. Plus, his wife was from the city, so the village was going to make a big fuss about it. As the village secretary, he was the one in charge.
Having received confirmation, Old Yu chatted with Party Secretary Liu for a few more minutes before turning and leaving with a smug look in his eyes. He figured that once that brat Liu Changfa got married, he'd be long gone. ...
Professor Meng and his group rented a large courtyard with four rooms. The original owners had moved to a relative's house to pay the monthly rent of eight hundred yuan. One room was for the little girl, and the other was for Professor Meng. There were two rooms left. Originally, Xiao Fan and Ying Ning each had their own room, but after Zhuang Rui arrived, the two of them squeezed together, leaving one room empty for Zhuang Rui.
Dinner was delivered by Liu Changfa. After learning that Professor Meng would be Zhuang Rui's future mentor, he came to pay a visit, but the groom was too busy. He was pulled away after only a few words.
"Damn it, how am I supposed to sleep like this?"
The nights in the countryside weren't hot, but the mosquitoes were so numerous that Zhuang Rui couldn't stand it. The white lion had thick fur, so it wasn't afraid of them, but Zhuang Rui had only been lying down for a few minutes when he was bitten by seven or eight mosquitoes, which were unbearably itchy.
Zhuang Rui ran to the other people's rooms and saw that they all had mosquito nets. Helpless, Zhuang Rui decided to make do in the car for the night and buy mosquito nets the next day.
"Youngest, can't sleep, huh?"
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to slip out of the yard with the white lion, Liu Changfa walked in, followed by a man. However, because it was late and there were no streetlights in the countryside, Zhuang Rui couldn't see the man's face clearly.
Zhuang Rui told the truth: "There are too many mosquitoes, I can't sleep. I'll make do in the car."
"Come on, let's go to your room, I'll help you get rid of the mosquitoes."
The third brother chuckled and waved his hand. Zhuang Rui noticed that he was holding a handful of hay in his right hand and a basket on his left.
What puzzled Zhuang Rui was that the third brother did not introduce the person following behind him, and the person did not greet Zhuang Rui either. After entering the courtyard, he went directly to Professor Meng's room, knocked on the door, and went inside.
Zhuang Rui didn't have time to care what that person did. He was pulled back to his room by Lao San, who closed all the windows and then found a brazier, lit the dry grass he was holding, and threw it in. Immediately, a thick smoke rose up. Lao San quickly pulled Zhuang Rui out of the house and slammed the door shut behind him.
"Third Brother, what kind of grass is this?"
Zhuang Rui could guess that this thing was probably used to repel mosquitoes, but apart from mosquito coils, this was the first time he had ever seen grass used to repel mosquitoes.
"Hehe, this stuff is called mugwort. In our rural area, we didn't have mosquito coils to buy, and we couldn't afford them. We used this stuff instead. It's much more effective than mosquito coils, and it doesn't cost any money. You can just grab a handful by the roadside. In the summer, every household dries it to repel mosquitoes."
The third brother returned to the courtyard, took out the contents of the basket, and placed them on the stone platform in the center of the courtyard. They were some cooked food and a few bottles of beer.
"Youngest brother, I'm sorry for what I did this time. I've been too busy. Why don't you stay in the county town tomorrow? There's a guesthouse there that's quite nice."
The third brother felt a little embarrassed when Zhuang Rui came this time. When he went to Guangdong a while ago, he stayed in a hotel and ate in a restaurant, but when he came to his own place, he couldn't even find a place to sleep.
"Third Brother, don't be so formal. Neither Wei Ge nor I have ever lived in the countryside before. This is a good experience for us. It's fine to stay here. Alright, I'll call those two guys out for a drink."
Zhuang Rui waved his hand. He meant what he said; it was his first time living in the countryside, and it was indeed quite a novel experience. Zhuang Rui got up and called Xiao Fan and Ying Ning out. Meng Qiuqian, that little girl, also popped out to join in the fun. However, Professor Meng's door remained tightly closed, and the faint sounds of two people could be heard. It was unclear who they were or what they were discussing with Professor Meng. ...
Professor Meng sat upright in his chair, shaking his head repeatedly, and said to the people in front of him, "No, we can't let them enter the tomb first and then take action. That would cause immeasurable damage to the Wenzong Mausoleum."
"Old Meng, we've been following this gang for a long time, but the members are scattered and rarely gather together. If we don't wipe them out in one fell swoop, who knows how many more national treasures will be smuggled abroad, causing immeasurable harm..."
The middle-aged man tried his best to explain to Professor Meng that his name was Chen Zhi, and he was a deputy director of the Anti-Smuggling Division of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, specifically responsible for combating smuggling. He was the one who cracked the major cultural relic smuggling case involving the Flying Horse of Gansu.
Three years ago, Guangdong police had cracked several cases of smuggling national treasures, but they failed to catch the main culprit. It was not until then that Yu Laoda came into Chen Zhi's sights. After a meticulous investigation, Chen Zhi was almost certain that the disheveled Yu Ku in this village was the powerful Yu Laoda outside.
However, in recent years, Boss Yu has not made any unusual moves, and Chen Zhi lacks sufficient evidence. In addition, their tomb-robbing gang rarely gathers together, which has prevented the middle-aged man from taking action against them. This time, the Guangdong police seized the tomb. "That's your police's business. I'm only concerned with ensuring that Emperor Wenzong's tomb is not damaged. Little Chen, this is the first Tang Dynasty emperor's tomb that the country plans to excavate, and they also plan to build a palace here for tourists. It's of great significance. Underground tombs must not suffer the slightest damage."
Professor Meng's job is to protect Emperor Wenzong's tomb from being damaged by criminals. As for other matters, they are not within the scope of the old man's consideration. Professor Meng had already cooperated with the police when they went to excavate the worthless burial pit. However, the idea of waiting until the tomb raiders entered the tomb chamber before making arrests is something Professor Meng cannot accept under any circumstances.
Due to differences in geographical environment and historical heritage between the North and South, tombs in the South and the North are also different. This has led to tomb raiders being divided into two factions, the South and the North. The Southern faction of tomb raiders is more skilled in technology and makes more use of feng shui in the process of finding ancient tombs, emphasizing observation, listening, questioning, and palpation.
"Looking" naturally refers to examining the feng shui, while "smelling" relies on the difference in smell to distinguish the presence or absence of a tomb. Some friends might say, "Isn't this nonsense? Can a person have a dog's nose?" However, although it sounds mysterious, it has a certain factual basis.
The soil and filling materials used in tombs varied throughout history, resulting in different smells. For example, tombs from the Qin and Han dynasties were often filled with mercury and cinnabar was used for preservation. However, tombs from the Tang and Song dynasties onwards were typically coated with blue clay. The smells emitted by these special substances may be difficult for the average person to detect, but tomb raiders who made a living from tomb raiding for generations could keenly identify these smells and thus further pinpoint the location of the tomb.
There was a Guangzhou man named Jiao Si, a representative of the Southern School, who was incredibly accurate in finding burial sites. He could determine the location of a tomb by listening to the wind and rain, distinguishing the sound of thunder, and observing the color of grass and mud traces.
Once, Jiao Si and his gang of tomb raiders were searching for tombs in the wild. It was noon when lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky. Jiao Si immediately ordered his men to scatter and observe the thunder and lightning from different locations, remembering the characteristics and reporting back to him. Jiao Si himself stood on a high place to observe the feng shui and the earth's energy.
After the rain stopped, someone returned and reported to him that during the thunder, he felt something floating under his feet and heard an echo from the ground. Jiao Si immediately determined that there was an ancient tomb there, and a large one at that. After a group of tomb raiders dug it up, it turned out to be the tomb of a Han Dynasty king or nobleman.
In this process, Jiao Si used two techniques from the Southern School of Tomb Raiding: "observation" and "cutting".
Friends, don't think this is nonsense. The use of feng shui and geomancy to find tombs has been verified countless times and is often based on a lot of facts. This is also the foundation of the Southern School of Tomb Raiders.
Northern tomb raiders, on the other hand, are more rough and unrefined. Their most distinctive feature is the tools they use. Few Northern tomb raiders rely on feng shui to determine the location of tombs. They trust the Luoyang shovel in their hands more. Therefore, some people say that the Luoyang shovel is the symbol of Northern tomb raiding.
Another common tool in the Northern School is the axe, used for excavating tombs, especially for large Han Dynasty tombs with "Huangchangticou" (a type of ancient Chinese tomb structure), where the axe is an indispensable tool.
In addition, when archaeologists excavate tombs, they often find chisels, rakes, picks, shovels, sickles and other tools in tombs that have been previously looted. These are the tools that the Northern School of Tomb Raiders were adept at using to steal and plunder tombs.
Whether it's searching for or excavating tombs, the Northern School doesn't employ much technical skill; they simply rely on sharp tools, hence their reputation for being crude and unsophisticated. This is something that Southern tomb raiders look down upon.
People like Yu Laoda typically excavate tombs by digging a tunnel and then using an axe or chisel to break open the burial chamber. Explosives are also frequently used.
Compared to the northern faction, the northern tomb raiders caused more serious and thorough damage to the tombs. That's why Professor Meng firmly disagreed with Chen Zhi's opinion and decided to catch the tomb raiders after they had succeeded.
Chen Zhi was helpless against Professor Meng's stubbornness. After all, Professor Meng was an expert who enjoyed special allowances from the State Council and was not someone he could order around. If the old man insisted on excavating Emperor Wenzong's tomb, he would not be able to stop him. In that case, it would definitely alert the enemy.
"Old Meng, how about this? Give us two more days to set up the net, and we'll definitely bring these criminals to justice the day after tomorrow."
Chen Zhi and his team had already gathered some information on this tomb-raiding gang and analyzed that they hadn't yet opened the tomb or entered the burial chamber. However, based on their judgment, Boss Yu and his men should make their move within the next few days, so Chen Zhi assured Professor Meng. ...
The next day, Professor Meng and the others went to the excavation site as usual, accompanied by a group of old women from the village. Zhuang Rui couldn't leave today because Wei Ge and Lao Si were arriving that day. He arrived early and was assigned the task of receiving them by Lao San.
Wei Ge and Lao Si had never lived in the countryside before. They followed Zhuang Rui to the melon field and saw the archaeological excavation site. The day passed quickly. The two of them naturally stayed with Zhuang Rui that night, but they just laid two more straw mats on the ground, which was convenient.
On the day of Liu Changfa's wedding, Zhuang Rui's car was used to pick up the bride, and Wei Ge dressed up as a young man to be the best man. They were busy all day long. The wedding of the third son was a happy event for Liujiazhuang. Many people from the neighboring villages who were related to him also came to celebrate. In addition, the bride's family members also came, which made Liujiazhuang a lot more unfamiliar.
As night fell, the banquet at Liu Changfa's house continued unabated, with guests coming and going in an endless stream. Just then, three people, two tall and one short, took advantage of the moonlight and quietly slipped away from the back of the village towards the back mountain.
Chapter 250 Arrest
The wind is strong today, even though there's a crescent moon hanging in the sky. It keeps getting obscured by low-hanging dark clouds, so visibility is very low, if not pitch black.
A strong wind blew through the orchard, making the branches rustle. Three figures quickly jumped over the fence surrounding the orchard and entered the orchard. The shadows of the trees hung down, like ghostly figures.
"shut up!"
A low shout stopped the two wolfhounds that were charging at him. The originally ferocious wolfhounds, upon seeing Boss Yu, surrounded him and wagged their tails, but Boss Yu waved them away.
"Big brother..."
Yu Sansheng, reeking of alcohol, came to greet us. His half-black, half-white face, set against the night, looked even more like a ghost, definitely capable of stopping children from crying at night.
They were night owls. Yu Laosan always slept during the day and drank after waking up. After all, he was the only one left in this desolate wilderness, and several of his former comrades were buried not far away. No matter how bold Yu Laosan was, he still needed to numb himself with alcohol.
Old Master Yu didn't reply, glancing at the wine bottle in Old Master Yu's hand. He raised his hand and slapped Old Master Yu across the face. The tall and burly Old Master Yu was actually spun around on the spot by the slap, and when he regained his balance, half of his cheek was already swollen high.
"Damn it, you good-for-nothing! What time is it now? You still dare to drink? If you mess this up, I'll send you to the underworld to keep the Cui brothers company."
Yu Laoda's vicious words immediately sobered Yu Sansheng up. He didn't dare to utter a word and stood in front of Yu Laoda with his head down, like a primary school student listening to a teacher's instruction.
"Same as always, Sansheng, you keep watch up here, and Lao Si, you go to the orchard. Ring the bell if anything happens, and keep everyone alert..."
Yu Ku took out two copper bells the size of walnuts from his backpack and handed them to the two men. However, the metal tongue inside the bells was held in place by a thin thread that wrapped around the bells many times. After receiving the bells, Lao Si and Yu Sansheng skillfully untied the thread that wrapped the tongue and held the bells in their hands to prevent them from making a clear sound.
Although walkie-talkies are available now, the bell can carry a long distance in the quiet night. Boss Yu and his men are already used to using it. After all, if something happens, there might not be time to use a walkie-talkie, but the bell is different. It can make a sound just by being tossed on the ground.
After giving his instructions, Boss Yu put down his backpack, took off his tattered clothes, revealing a black diving suit that clung to his skin, and then took out a mask from his bag and put it on his head, leaving only his eyes exposed.
The eighth brother was dressed in the same way. Their clothes were specially made so that they wouldn't get dirty and could protect their skin from being scratched by gravel or other objects.
Moreover, in Boss Yu's backpack were items such as a jack and a gas mask. Many main pit tomb chambers contain toxic gases due to long-term sealing. Boss Yu had been eyeing this Wenzong tomb for more than ten years and was quite well prepared.
"Let's go..."
Old Yu glanced indifferently at the dark woods outside and went into the wooden house built in the middle of the orchard first.
The wooden cabin was about ten square meters in size. To prevent it from getting damp from the ground, the floor was paved with blue bricks, and a bamboo bed was placed at the back. There was a table in the middle, and a pile of wine bottles were thrown near the door. Next to the bottles was a stove, but the fire inside had long since gone out, and it was unclear how long it had been unused.
Old Master Yu squatted down and pried up the blue bricks on the right side of the stove one by one. After prying off about ten bricks, two grooves were revealed on the ground. Old Eight and Old Third Yu walked to the left side of the stove and pushed it to the right with force.
With a series of "clicking" sounds, the stove, which seemed to be fixed to the ground, slowly slid more than a meter to the right, revealing an opening more than a meter wide in its original position.