Although he knew it was a cliff tomb built on a cliff, Zhuang Rui didn't know its exact location. Mangshan was so big, where would he find it if it weren't for Brother Zhang Daniu?
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Miao Feifei suddenly stopped in her tracks, almost causing Zhuang Rui, who was following behind, to bump into her.
Miao Feifei looked at Zhuang Rui and lowered her voice, saying, "Zhuang Rui, those two people are clearly tomb raiders, yet you claim they're donating antiques. What exactly do you mean by that?"
While they were taking the statement, Zhang Daniu was alright and followed Zhuang Rui's words. However, Zhang Erniu kept spouting nonsense, and every sentence he uttered was about making money by digging graves. Zhang Daniu kicked him repeatedly, but he ignored him. The two brothers almost came to blows.
Not to mention that Miao Feifei has handled many major cases, even a novice could see the trickery involved. Therefore, Officer Miao was extremely angry. This was clearly a major tomb raiding case, so how did it turn into a farmer donating antiques?
"Hehe, Officer Miao, as the saying goes, a prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold. These two brothers aren't bad people, they didn't have any criminal intent, and the damage they caused to the tomb wasn't too great, so please be lenient and let them off the hook..."
Zhuang Rui hadn't expected to be able to hide it from Miao Feifei anyway. The reason he called her directly was because it's easier to get things done when you know someone. If it were another policeman, they might have dragged the Da Niu brothers to the station because of this major tomb raiding case.
"Zhuang Rui, so you're using the law to curry favor?"
Officer Miao glared at Zhuang Rui with displeasure.
Chapter 885 Archaeological Team
“Officer Miao, how could I dare? Our policy is to punish past mistakes to prevent future ones and to cure the disease to save the patient, right? These two brothers are not bad people by nature. There is no need to make them spend the rest of their lives in prison because of this mistake, is there?”
If it turns out that this is indeed an imperial tomb, then the Zhang brothers' crimes are truly serious. Even if they don't get life imprisonment, they will certainly face at least ten years in prison.
"Besides, the other person has already repented, and the items have been donated. Even if you want to convict them, it's too late..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to continue speaking, he saw Miao Feifei glare at him and immediately shut his mouth.
"Isn't this all because you instigated it?"
Although the two brothers were a bit entangled, they were both quite honest people. After hearing Zhuang Rui's explanation, Miao Feifei lost interest in pursuing the matter and immediately said, "This is a one-time thing, don't let it happen again. The damage these local farmers cause to ancient tombs is far worse than that of tomb raiders..."
Many of the cases Miao Feifei has handled in recent years involve the smuggling and theft of antiques, and the root cause of many of these cases lies with local farmers. These people are uneducated, unreasonable, and prone to local protectionism, making them the most difficult to deal with.
Moreover, almost all tomb raiding by farmers involves violent excavation. In Hebei, there was an incident where a family of three used explosives from a quarry to blast open an ancient tomb in broad daylight, with a crowd of onlookers around. This shows how ignorant these people were.
"Thank you, thank you Officer Miao, I thank you on behalf of those two brothers..."
Upon hearing that Miao Feifei had relented, Zhuang Rui immediately clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.
Zhuang Rui made quite a few friends during his last trip to Henan Province, and they still keep in touch. So he has a good impression of Henan Province. Although there are some bad apples, as the birthplace of Central Plains civilization, the people are still very simple and honest.
Just like the small village where the Yu brothers hid their stolen goods, as long as you treat those villagers even a little bit well, they will give you their whole heart. That's why Zhuang Rui didn't want to see the Da Niu brothers' lives ruined at such a young age.
Miao Feifei waved her hand and said, "Alright, the cultural relics department will handle the rest. I won't worry about it anymore. By the way, that Zhang Daniu said he wanted a reward? It's good enough that we didn't arrest him..."
"Nonsense, he's talking nonsense, Officer Miao, please don't take it seriously..."
Zhuang Rui was sweating profusely. These two brothers were no pushovers. He was a damn fool for helping them get away with it. They were clearly tomb raiders, but instead of helping them get away with it, he ended up spending money on them.
After thanking Miao Feifei and the other police officers profusely, Zhuang Rui returned to the shop. Er Niu had finished eating, and Da Niu was wolfing down the remaining food. When he saw Zhuang Rui come in, he quickly stood up, with a piece of meat still stuffed in his mouth.
“Da Niu, you can’t do that illegal grave robbing thing again. If you find any ancient tombs, report them to the government. Otherwise, if the police arrest you next time, I won’t be able to help you…”
Zhuang Rui patted Da Niu on the shoulder, gesturing for him to sit down and continue eating.
"Big brother, I understand. I definitely won't do it again. Thank you, big brother..."
Da Niu had just been lectured by the police and knew that although his behavior was nothing serious in the village, it was indeed illegal. The charges that the policewoman mentioned could all be applied to the two brothers.
"Don't thank me, you brothers are all capable, you can make a good living doing anything..."
Zhuang Rui suddenly remembered something and continued, "Oh right, after you've eaten, I'll find you a place to stay. We're heading to Henan Province early tomorrow morning. We'll need some laborers to excavate the ancient tomb. You two brothers can both work there; you'll get over a hundred yuan a day..."
Zhuang Rui checked the time; it was already three or four in the afternoon. Rushing to Henan Province was too hasty. He thought he would discuss it with Professor Meng later and try to leave early tomorrow morning.
"More than a hundred a day? That's great, brother! From now on, my brother and I will work for you, okay? After two years, my brother and I can even get married..."
Erniu, who was standing to the side, immediately lit up when he heard Zhuang Rui’s words. When he used to work on the construction site, he only earned forty or fifty yuan a day, and the foreman would deduct from his earnings.
As for Zhuang Rui's statement about 100 yuan a day, wouldn't that be more than 3,000 yuan a month, and more than 30,000 yuan a year? That's enough to get married. Erniu, who lives a very simple life, has already started to sketch out his wonderful life.
"I...I, Monkey, take them to the guesthouse next to Panjiayuan to stay..."
Zhuang Rui simply couldn't communicate with Er Niu. Archaeological excavations weren't something that happened every day. Where was he going to find so many ancient tombs to ask him to dig every day? He was even thinking about his wife. Zhuang Rui was speechless.
After seeing Da Niu and his brother off, Zhuang Rui returned to the inner room. The cultural relics department had already inventoried the burial objects, but Professor Meng signed a document instructing them to send all of these items to the Archaeological Institute of Peking University for further study after their trip to Henan Province.
After the cultural relics department personnel left, Zhuang Rui walked up to Professor Meng and said, "Professor, it's very late today. Let's go early tomorrow morning, and we can get to the vicinity of Luoyang by the afternoon..."
"Okay, we'll drive there tomorrow. We also need to bring some tools..."
Professor Meng nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "Xiao Ren, you should come too. This time there might be a significant discovery. Also, contact the relevant departments and ask the local garrison to help us guard the site..."
Professor Meng is an archaeological researcher and knows more about tomb raiding in Henan Province than Zhuang Rui does. Near Mangshan, many people who work in the fields during the day might sneak into some tomb at night. So if no one is guarding it, once the news of the tomb being opened spreads, even the murals in the passageway could be completely chiseled away overnight.
Professor Meng frequently goes out to conduct on-site excavations and is very familiar with relevant departments. As long as he makes a request, the local garrison will generally cooperate.
The next morning around 7 a.m., Zhuang Rui and Hao Long picked up the Zhang brothers in their Hummer and drove directly to Peking University. The Hummer was a recent purchase; although it was a four-wheeled vehicle, it had a large interior space, and the doors had been modified to fit even a King Kong.
Of course, Zhuang Rui couldn't bring Jin Gang along on this trip. If that guy went out for a stroll, he would definitely become the most valuable news story of the day.
Peng Fei didn't come with Zhuang Rui this time, but Hao Long insisted on coming along. He had been cooped up for the past two years as a gatekeeper, and with Peng Fei's child still young, Hao Long naturally became Zhuang Rui's number one bodyguard.
Professor Meng and others also prepared a van. In addition to Professor Meng and Dr. Ren, there were also staff members from three other research institutes going together. Including Zhuang Rui and Hao Long, the archaeological team consisted of seven people in total.
Upon seeing Zhuang Rui's car, Professor Meng placed some jacks and other tools on it, along with ropes and other equipment. According to Da Niu, the entrance to the cliff tomb was located on a precipice. ...
The distance from Beijing to Los Angeles is 800 kilometers. Although it was all highway, it still took more than nine hours, including lunch time, and we didn't arrive in Los Angeles until evening.
Luoyang is located in western Henan Province, on the south bank of the Yellow River. It was built by the Duke of Zhou in the 12th century BC. It is one of the eight ancient capitals and one of the first batch of historical and cultural cities announced by the State Council. It is the only city in Chinese history to be named "Divine Capital".
The Heluo region, centered on Luoyang City, is an important cradle of Chinese civilization, boasting numerous scenic spots and historical sites, such as the Longmen Grottoes, White Horse Temple, and the Eight Scenic Spots of Luoyang, all of which are renowned both at home and abroad and attract a large number of tourists every year.
Although Zhuang Rui had been to Henan Province before, the last time he visited was Zhengzhou. This was his first time in Luoyang, and he was filled with curiosity about this city, which can be described as the hometown of ancient emperors.
"Teacher, should we find a hotel to stay in first, and then go to the cliff tomb tomorrow?"
Zhuang Rui parked his car on the side of the road and met with Professor Meng. On-site archaeological excavation was a new field for Zhuang Rui, and he was a complete novice in this field.
"Stay at a hotel?"
Before Professor Meng could answer, the other people in the car all wore strange expressions, which puzzled Zhuang Rui. They couldn't possibly dig in the dark with just a flashlight, could they?
“Xiao Zhuang, in archaeology, proximity and convenience are key. We usually stay with local people. If we stay in a hotel, we'll waste a lot of time traveling every day…”
Professor Meng knew that Zhuang Rui was well-off and this was his first time participating in an archaeological excavation, so he patiently explained it to him.
"Oh, I see. Teacher, then let's stay at Da Niu's house..."
Zhuang Rui felt a little embarrassed after hearing Professor Meng's words. When he first met Professor Meng a few years ago, he, his granddaughter, and two students were living in the home of a villager in the countryside.
Professor Meng nodded and said, "Okay, ask them if it's convenient for you to stay at their house. We'll give you a subsidy of 100 yuan per day. Also, ask if they can find someone to cook for you."
When Zhuang Rui got back to the car, he told Da Niu that he would be paid 100 yuan a day, which made the two brothers very happy. Their family had four tiled houses and a large courtyard, which was enough for all of them to live in.
"100 a day, that's 36,500 yuan a year. Plus, our parents give us 50 yuan a day for cooking. Brother, if they stay for two years, and we don't do anything, that money is enough for them to get married..."
Although Erniu is a bit slow on the uptake, he's very good with numbers, and he's been muttering to himself again, almost driving Zhuang Rui, who's sitting in front of him, to a breakdown.
Chapter 886 Shocking
Mangshan, also known as Beimangshan, is located north of Luoyang City in Henan Province. It is an extension of the Qinling Mountains. Its main peak, Cuiyun Peak, is covered with lush trees that are verdant and cloud-like, making it an extremely beautiful place.
Beiman Mountain is majestic with deep water and fertile soil. The Yi and Luo rivers flow through Luoyang from west to east, and the mountain is nestled beside the water, which is in line with the ancient feng shui saying of "pillowing on the mountain and stepping on the river".
Moreover, the soil layer 5-15 meters below the surface of Beiman Mountain has low water permeability, good bonding properties, and is hard and compact. Therefore, Beiman Mountain has been regarded as a feng shui treasure land for burial and tomb placement since ancient times.
Since Liu Zhi, the King of Chengyang, was buried in Beiman Mountain in the eleventh year of Jianwu of the Later Han Dynasty, many kings, marquises, and nobles chose this place as their burial site. Even the King of Baekje on the Korean Peninsula chose Mang Mountain as his burial place after he died far from home.
The proverb says, "Born in Suzhou and Hangzhou, buried in Beiman Mountain," all originating from this. Beiman Mountain has been a cemetery for Luoyang people since the Eastern Han Dynasty, with the tombs of famous figures throughout history, such as Qin Prime Minister Lü Buwei, the last emperor of the Southern Chen Dynasty, the last emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the Sima family of the Western Jin Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of Han Liu Xiu, the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu, and the great calligrapher Yan Zhenqing.
Because Beiman Mountain has been considered a sacred place for burial sites since ancient times, many myths and legends have incorporated it into their stories. The so-called Ghost King of Beiman Mountain in many novels refers to this Beiman Mountain.
Of course, Mangshan was also one of the places that suffered the most disasters. Cao Cao's tomb raiders during the Three Kingdoms period, as well as later warlords who raised military funds, all set their sights on the rich burial goods in the tombs at the foot of Beimanshan.
So for thousands of years, the entire Beiman Mountain has been visited by tomb robbers countless times, and the remains of countless emperors and generals have been thrown into the wild. I wonder if the ancient feng shui masters thought about the desolation of the emperors' remains today when they were surveying the tombs.
Zhang Daniu's family lived in a small village at the foot of Beiman Mountain. Due to the drought and lack of rain, it was difficult to support the family by farming alone. Therefore, most of the young and middle-aged people in the village went out to work, while those who stayed in the village all set their sights on Beiman Mountain.
Even with the most thorough excavation by the ancients, there are still some tombs among the thousands of imperial tombs and generals' mausoleums. Although the Beimang Tomb Protection Group has been established, there are still many night workers on duty late at night.
"Xiao Zhuang, stop the car on the hill ahead..."
After crossing that small hill, it would take another seven or eight minutes to reach Zhang Daniu's house. However, Zhuang Rui received a call from Professor Meng, who asked him to stop the car on the hillside.
"Teacher, what's wrong?"
After Zhuang Rui asked Hao Long to stop the bus, he got out and greeted Professor Meng, who was coming out of the minibus.
"Shocking! Shocking!" Professor Meng's expression was rather unpleasant. He waved his hand and walked straight towards a slope, staring at a fault-lined soil surface riddled with holes the thickness of fingers, remaining silent for a long time.
Professor Meng pointed to a hole in the fault line that appeared to be only thirty or forty centimeters in diameter and said to Zhuang Rui, "There used to be a tomb here, but it has long been looted. This is the tomb robber's hole, and it must have been there at least 100 years ago..."
Professor Meng paused for a moment, then beckoned to Zhuang Rui, telling him to climb up a slightly sloping mound. In the afterglow of the setting sun, he looked at the empty farmland in the distance, a trace of sorrow appearing on his face.
"In a few decades, there may be no more ancient tombs left in Mangshan..."
Professor Meng suddenly squatted down, picked up a round clod of earth about ten centimeters long and six or seven centimeters in diameter, and said, "Xiao Zhuang, take a look at this."
"this?"
Zhuang Rui didn't know what Professor Meng meant by showing him this. He held the clod of soil for a while and was about to say he didn't know when he suddenly remembered the shape of the Luoyang shovel. He remembered that the soil he used to bring up with the Luoyang shovel was this shape.
"Teacher, was this left behind by tomb raiders exploring the tomb?"
Zhuang Rui asked tentatively. He didn't know how long the clod of earth in his hand had been there; it was already extremely hard and probably wouldn't break even if it were dropped on the ground.
Professor Meng nodded, pointed around, and said, "Yes, look around again, see how much of this is on the ground..."
Following his teacher's instructions, Zhuang Rui looked down at the ground. What he saw made him instantly understand the meaning of Professor Meng's earlier words, "shocking and appalling."
It turns out that on this hillside, there are many such soil piles on the ground every five or six meters or so, and their round or columnar shapes are easy to identify.
This means that the hillside he was on, which resembled a mound of earth, had been almost completely screened by fences. Qin Dynasty tombs often had palaces built on top of the burial chambers and earthen mounds erected on top of them, so this hillside was also highly sought after by tomb raiders.
Hearing about it is one thing, but seeing it in person was an indescribable shock. Zhuang Rui muttered to himself, "This...is nobody going to do anything about this?"
"Sigh, the local government has put in a lot of effort to clean up the mess, but they simply can't manage it all. You can't see a soul during the day; they only come out at night. The police are human too; they can't guard these mountains 24 hours a day, can they?"