Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

"Brother, don't be so depressed!"

Arrive before anyone arrives.

When I heard that familiar duck voice, my tense heart relaxed a lot.

The person who came was Cui Hao, who grew up with me in Jinggouzi. He was called Haozi because of his thin stature.

Cui Hao is my only friend.

Because of family reasons, we were both ostracized and bullied by our peers, so we huddled together for warmth.

Cui Hao ran to me, panting, and took out an egg from his arms as if he was presenting a treasure.

He peeled the eggshell skillfully and put the white egg to my mouth.

"Brother, when I feel sad, my mom feeds me eggs, and I feel better immediately after eating them."

I didn't want to eat it.

But Cui Hao's sincere eyes made me open my mouth unconsciously.

He watched me eat the egg with a smile and said, "Are you happier now?"

My nose felt a little sore and I forced a smile and nodded.

At this moment, I knew what it meant that a friend in need is a friend indeed.

"The person who reported you is probably a jerk with a red eye. Find out who did it and I'll give him a good beating for you."

Cui Hao raised his fist and shook it, his face full of expression that said, "I'm so loyal, why don't you praise me?"

I didn't say anything, just pointed at the ground below.

Cui Hao looked in the direction he was looking.

When I saw the dark hole on the ground, I couldn't help but gasp.

"Hiss! Are you really that desperate? Are you going to dig a hole and bury yourself in it?"

I laughed out of anger and slapped him lightly on the back of the head.

"Squat down and look carefully. Are there concave footrests dug out on both sides of the cave wall?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Hao squatted at the entrance of the cave, stretched out his right hand for me to hold, and then put half of his body in.

The hole seemed to be tailor-made for him and he got in easily.

If it were someone with a stronger build, it would be difficult to get in.

"It really has a footrest. It looks like the cellar in my house."

"The hole is a little small, but it's so deep down there that you can't see the end. Could someone be digging a well here?"

When I pulled Cui Hao up, he hadn't realized that this was a tomb robber's hole, and he was still muttering jokes.

"It looks like a robber's hole to me."

"What kind of burglary?"

"All the stories that Camel Master told were in vain. They were just grave robbers' holes."

After being reminded like this, Cui Hao's eyes widened in shock.

His mouth opened and closed several times before he finally uttered a single word: "Fuck!"

He came close to me with red eyes and asked in a low voice: "Is it really a robbery hole?"

Looking at his expression that was greedy yet nervous, and nervous yet cautious, I had already guessed what he was going to do.

"I think he's not going away. According to what Camel Master said, this square hole with a footrest is the signature hole used by tomb robbers in Guanzhong."

Tomb robbing has existed since ancient times.

In the previous dynasty, the trend of tomb robbing spread across the country, and everyone from warlords to ordinary villagers participated in tomb robbing.

As a result, tomb-robbing technology experienced great development and gradually divided into two factions, north and south, with the Yangtze River as the boundary.

The southern school, with Changsha as its center, gave rise to two tomb-robbing circles: Jiangning and Lingnan.

The Northern School is divided into areas inside and outside the Shanhaiguan Pass.

Outside the Great Wall is the tomb-robbing circle of the three northeastern provinces, and inside the Great Wall there are several circles including Luoyang, Guanzhong, southern Shandong, northern Shanxi, and the Beijing Gang.

Each circle has its own expertise and unique skills.

In my later tomb-robbing career, I learned a lot from communicating and gambling with the leaders of these tomb-robbing circles.

For example, Yao Ye, who was famous outside the Great Wall and was known as the ancestor of tomb robbers, once wanted to enter the Great Wall to rob tombs and make some big ones, but was opposed by the tomb-robbing circles inside the Great Wall.

After both sides negotiated and agreed on the rules of the fight, I was elected to fight three rounds with Master Yao.

In the end, I won by a narrow margin and forced him to retreat to Shanhaiguan according to the rules.

He never set foot inside the country again until he was arrested and imprisoned.

But that’s a story for later, let’s talk about the present first.

Cui Hao's breathing became heavier and he muttered to himself.

"Do you think there's gold in the tomb? Last year, people from the neighboring village dug up four pieces of gold while farming!"

Gold is hard currency in any era.

In this era, countless antiques have been burned and smashed.

At that time, most people had no idea of ​​the value of antiques.

That is to say, starting from this year, um, I mean 79, Hong Kong businessmen began to enter the mainland to purchase antiques, and the prices of antiques skyrocketed, and more and more people participated in tomb robbing.

The entire 1980s to early 1990s was the golden age of tomb robbing.

I was one of the first people to engage in tomb robbing during this golden age.

Unlike Cui Hao who talked about gold, what I thought about were the bronzes, jades, Tang Sancai and other important artifacts that Professor Zhang talked about.

Because when talking about these, Professor Zhang mentioned that these are all good things and are worth a lot of money abroad.

The speaker may not have intended it, but the listener took it to heart. I inexplicably remembered this sentence.

If there really are these things in the tomb, and they are sold abroad...

As soon as the thought arose, I suppressed it forcefully.

How could it be sold abroad? At most, it could be sold to antique shops in the provincial capital.

And be careful not to be discovered as something that has just been dug up.

No, how could I think of robbing tombs and selling burial objects? This is immoral. I have to think of a way to preserve my reputation and make a profit.

When I talk about this now, I feel that I was so pedantic and ridiculous, just like Kong Yiji who couldn't take off his long gown.

But I was so conflicted at the time, like a prisoner caught in a dilemma.

"Find some branches and cover the hole first."

In broad daylight, I didn't dare to waste any more time, fearing that someone would come and see the robber's hole, so I pushed Cui Hao to find a branch.

Cui Hao was also obedient and quickly came back with the branches.

He deftly inserted branches into the hole, interweaving them horizontally and vertically to form partitions, sprinkled a thick layer of leaves on it, and then covered it with a layer of soil.

"Brother, are you going back now? You can't return empty-handed after entering a treasure mountain."

Cui Hao looked back every three steps, looking at the covered tunnel with reluctance.

I pulled his arm hard, causing him to stagger.

"What are you thinking about in broad daylight? Safety comes first. Let's discuss this on the loess slope behind the village at night."

"Well, I'll do whatever you say."

After returning to the village, we both went back to our homes.

As soon as I entered the house, I heard violent coughing.

I rushed into my grandfather's room.

I saw him leaning listlessly on the kang, with blood dripping from his right hand which was covering his mouth when he coughed.

I was completely numb and stood at the door, at a loss as to what to do.

"Master!"

Grandpa wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and forced a smile on his wrinkled face: "Stone Boy is back."

"It's my fault that I can't let you go to college or get married."

"I should have dealt with your father severely back then. That damn bastard ruined my future as a stone kid! Cough cough cough!"

As he coughed, more blood flowed out of my grandfather's mouth.

I hurried forward to support my grandfather.

With tears in my eyes, I looked at this old man who raised me, taught me to read and understand, and gave me all his love.

"Stop talking, it's not your fault!"

"Hurry up and lie down. I'll go find a doctor."

After helping my grandfather lie down, I ran out.

Soon the village doctor came back with his clothes still on.

This guy just caused trouble at Liu Lanxie's house and I pulled him up from the kang.

"Shitouwa, you coward, let me go now! It's disgraceful for others to see me like this..."

The village doctor twisted his body and struggled.

I glared at him with my beast-like red eyes, and his words immediately became silent, and his struggling body stopped twisting.

I dragged him all the way in disheveled clothes, all the way to my home.

After examining my grandfather, the village doctor opened and closed his mouth several times, as if he wanted to say something but didn't dare.

Seeing his expression, my blood ran cold.

As if falling into an icy cave, he asked in a trembling voice, "Can my grandfather's illness be cured?"

"Going to the city...or a big provincial hospital might be enough to get treatment, but it'll cost a lot of money."