Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

In terms of effectiveness in digging holes and finding tombs, the iron chisel and the Luoyang shovel are similar.

Why has the Luoyang shovel become so popular and become a magical tool?

Because the Luoyang shovel can not only be used to explore tombs, but also to dig holes!

And the drilling efficiency is very high.

Especially after the development of the whirlwind shovel, digging holes with the Luoyang shovel is no longer a problem.

The fastest speed I could dig a tunnel with a Luoyang shovel was half a night, and I could dig a tunnel nearly twenty meters deep.

This digging speed is one of the best in the tomb-robbing circle.

"The Luoyang shovel is used in much the same way as a pickaxe."

"The difference is that the iron chisel is lighter and harder to use the deeper you go, while the Luoyang shovel is heavier and easier to use the deeper you go."

"I'll take you out for some practice. You carry that bundle of poles on your back."

"it is good."

There were about twenty poles in the bundle.

Each one is as thick as a thumb and about one and a half meters long, and is quite heavy to carry.

Old Li walked in front, holding a Luoyang shovel. "Luoyang shovels come in different sizes. Generally, small shovels are used for probing holes, and large shovels are used for digging holes."

"This thing is very useful for drilling holes. You'll know it once you use it."

"I'm teaching you sincerely, don't forget our agreement later."

I smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will tell you word for word."

"Yes! I believe you."

We left the village and stopped in a secluded place.

Lao Li picked up the wooden pole and connected it to the Luoyang shovel. He then handed it to me and said, "Come on, hit it down like you would with a piercing pole."

I took it, opened my feet to shoulder width and bent my knees slightly.

Hold the bar with both hands in front of your chest and start pounding down.

With two strokes of the Luoyang shovel, he dug into the soil, lifted it up and poured the soil onto the ground.

Compared with the iron pick, the Luoyang shovel needs to continuously pour out the soil.

Old Li kicked the spilled soil with his feet.

"You need to look carefully at the soil you dig out to distinguish between dead and living soil."

"If you can bring out carbon soil, green clay, and white clay, you'll be rich."

Carbon clay, like green clay and white clay, all have the function of moisture-proofing.

Usually, the nobles used a layer of charcoal and a layer of plaster, while those above the royal level used multiple layers of charcoal and plaster.

No matter how many layers there are, as long as the carbon layer and plaster are brought out, it means that the tomb is waving at your feet.

"You should know how to distinguish rammed earth and mixed soil, right?" Old Li said casually.

I nodded. “I know.”

There is a mnemonic written in Tuoye’s family notes: Look carefully at the soil when the flowers come up, and you won’t be wrong if you just stir the soil.

Flower soil refers to five-flower soil, three-flower soil, etc., soils from various different soil layers, mixed together to form soils of different colors.

Even those who have never robbed a tomb have basically heard of Wuhua soil.

But few people know about the soil.

The splashed soil is the soil that was not completely backfilled when the tomb was built.

It is usually scattered near the tomb passage and, like flower soil, is a mixture of multiple soil layers, forming soil of different colors.

Because it is scattered soil, it has low density and is loose, and its thickness is small and uneven.

It looks like mud that has been tossed around, so it is called tossed around mud.

As long as we dig out the soil, there is a 99% chance that the tomb passage is nearby.

Therefore, fluttering soil is a more clear signal soil.

However, this set of formulas is only applicable to the Northern School.

The southern school has different formulas due to the different geographical environment.

For example, the Changsha School's mnemonic: the old filling soil has a different color, look for worms in the red soil, there is heaven and earth in the middle of the soil layer, and the tomb under the rammed earth is not empty.

The old soil filling corresponds to the dead soil and living soil of the northern school.

The key is to find worms in the red soil.

The soil structure near Changsha is basically loess on the upper layer, worm-like red soil in the middle layer, and kaolin, yellow sand mud, red sandstone and other structures on the bottom layer.

Ninety-nine percent of the large tombs around Changsha are buried in worm-like red soil layers.

So the motto is to look for worms in the red soil.

The worms here are not insects, but kaolin mixed in the red soil. They are white and look like there are worms in the soil.

This kind of soil is also called red reticulated soil, vermilion soil, etc.

The most critical step in finding a tomb in Changsha is to find rammed earth in the worm-like red soil layer.

Because the underground soil in Changsha is damp, special attention is paid to sealing and moisture-proofing when building large tombs.

Not only will carbon layers and plaster be used to seal and prevent moisture, but several layers of rammed earth will also be used to enhance the sealing effect.

As long as you find rammed earth in the worm-like red soil layer, the tomb will be right under your feet!

Other places have their own tomb-finding tips depending on the terrain and topography. I won’t go into details here, we’ll talk about it in detail later.

After I told him I knew, Lao Li stopped talking.

In addition to looking at the mixed soil, rammed earth, plaster mud, and carbon layer when digging a hole, there are other secrets to looking at the soil.

The family notes of Tuoye have detailed records.

I believe that this unique skill is also among the abilities passed down in the Li family.

But he didn't say anything else, obviously keeping something to himself.

"Brother Li, besides these, is there anything else to watch on Tumen Dao?"

"Haha, are you trying to test me?"

Old Li picked up a cigarette and lit it.

He took two puffs and exhaled a cloud of white smoke.

"The fact that you can ask this question means you know other traditional methods, so there's no need to ask me."

"You just said you don't keep secrets."

"I'm not hiding anything. I told you how to use the Luoyang shovel, not how to look at the soil." Old Li said confidently.

I grinned and continued digging holes with the Luoyang shovel.

puff puff!

The hole was getting deeper and deeper, and eight wooden poles had been connected.

This means the water has sunk ten meters deep.

Normally, it would be very difficult to use the rod at this depth.

But when Luoyang shoveled to this depth, he not only didn't feel any effort, but felt it was even easier than before.

This is the advantage brought by the weight of the shovel head.

"Isn't it less tiring?" Old Li said with a smile.

"Yes, the rod is not very useful when it is stuck at this depth. This is really a good treasure."

"It has to be baby."

"You have learned how to use the Luoyang shovel. Our agreement..." Old Li asked with his eyes rolling.

He felt somewhat guilty.

Because I was being cunning just now.

The core of using the Luoyang shovel is not how to dig a hole.

But how to look at the soil.

"Looking at the soil is another skill. It's not that I'm hiding it from you, it's just that we don't have this agreement. Do you understand?"

Old Li added another sentence.

Afraid that I would find an excuse not to tell you the address.

I smiled and said, "Of course I understand."

"It's human nature for you to want to keep secrets. Even a master has to keep secrets when teaching his apprentice, let alone we're not even master and apprentice."

"But I have a request. Could you please give me this Luoyang shovel?"

Old Li immediately shook his head like a rattle.

"No, no, I only have three Luoyang shovels. I really can't give them to you."

"You can see what this thing looks like. Just find a blacksmith and make one based on it. Why do you have to ask me to do it?"

"Okay, then don't do that."

I didn't think much about it at the time.

Later, I asked a blacksmith to make me a Luoyang shovel, only to find out that he had dug a hole for me.

If a blacksmith doesn't know the trick, the Luoyang shovel he makes will be difficult to take out of the ground and will be completely useless.

"I'll tell you the address right away."

I waved to Lao Li.

He immediately leaned over to listen.

"The stone sheep and stone horse were bought from the Jiang Family Temple in Zhitun Village. The Jiang family once produced sword-bearing guards who served as the emperor's personal guards."

"I guess the tomb is near Zhitun Village."