Tomb raiding: Intercepting Yin Xinyue and building a family of immortals

The square was damp, and the coffin dew mixed with the mountain spring water flowing down from the mountain, forming a soft, mushy black mud.

Stepping on it feels like stepping on cow dung.

The group could only try to find dry places and carefully avoid the black mud.

After walking a few dozen steps, we arrived at the sacrificial platform in the very center.

On the high platform sat a coffin several sizes larger than the dark wooden coffin.

That's right!

This coffin has an outer coffin!

The so-called outer coffin is actually the outer layer of the coffin.

When ordinary people die, they only have a coffin, not an outer coffin!

In ancient times, there was a term often used to describe elaborate burials.

For example, if a minister dies, the monarch will order that he be given a grand funeral.

There's a standard for elaborate burials here: a coffin must be placed inside an outer coffin!

The outer coffin is a standard for measuring whether a burial is elaborate.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, there was an official named Zhang Tang. Historical records state that Zhang Tang was a cruel official who liked to extort and punish powerful and influential people, which displeased all the civil and military officials in the court.

Later, many ministers jointly submitted a memorial accusing Zhang Tang of accepting bribes and embezzling, claiming that his family was as wealthy as a country.

Unable to bear the accusations, Zhang Tang committed suicide.

After his death, the family's wealth consisted only of what Emperor Wu had bestowed upon them; it was not as abundant as the ministers had claimed.

Zhang Tang's brothers planned to pool their money to give him a proper funeral.

His mother, however, said, "Tang was a minister of the emperor, yet he died because of slanderous words. Why give him a lavish funeral? He was carried in an oxcart, with a coffin but no outer coffin!"

When Emperor Wu of Han heard that Zhang Tang had been given a simple burial without even a coffin, he executed the three chief clerks of the prime minister who had submitted memorials criticizing Zhang Tang, and also forced the prime minister at the time to commit suicide.

Zhang Tang was indeed a cruel official, but in reality, he was also a tool in Emperor Wu of Han's hands, used to deal with those powerful and influential families!

Emperor Wu wanted to wage war and pacify the Xiongnu.

But war requires money, so where does the money come from?

Exorbitant taxes and levies only make it harder for ordinary people to survive, while the wealthy and powerful families are the ones who can extract the most profit.

However, once the Xiongnu were pacified and the land annexation by powerful clans was curbed, this sword became the one pushed out to be sacrificed.

Zhang Tang knew his death was imminent, so he didn't struggle. Instead, he used his death to take several powerful figures with him.

Without the restraint of ruthless officials like Zhang Tang, those powerful and aristocratic families would likely have usurped the throne at the end of the Western Han Dynasty even sooner.

In addition, there were specific regulations governing coffins and outer coffins in ancient times.

According to the Rites of Zhou, the emperor's coffin had four layers, dukes' coffins had three layers, feudal lords' coffins had two layers, high officials' coffins had one layer, and lower officials' coffins had no layers.

In other words, the coffin of the highest emperor could have four layers, one inside the other.

The cheapest taxi can carry a coffin that is not heavy, but it can be encased in an outer coffin.

As for ordinary people, they are treated like cattle and horses. If they can even afford a simple coffin, they are considered well-off.

Therefore, if it is an ancient tomb from before the Qin and Han dynasties, you can basically determine the status and rank of the tomb owner by looking at how many layers of coffin there are.

Closer to home.

The coffins around the altar were all empty coffins without outer coffins, and dew was constantly seeping from them.

However, the coffin on the altar is encased in a stone outer shell, consisting of dozens of wall panels and eight thick stone pillars.

The wall panels are engraved with cloud patterns, as well as murals depicting the life of the owner.

"Brother Su, look at the murals here."

Wu Jizong circled the coffin several times, pointing to the patterns on the murals.

The paintings on the wall panels are mostly about military campaigns. But for some reason, the faces of the soldiers are all blurred. Only their heads are outlined, without any facial features. Only the general leading the troops has clearly discernible features.

Old Wu thought for a moment and guessed, "According to the clues we have, Biaozi Ridge should be the tomb of a great general from the Warring States period. This place may be an altar for his soldiers. But, with thousands of coffins, how many soldiers must have been buried here?"

Old Wu didn't care about being a general or anything; he only cared about how many treasures he could find.

"Sir, let's open the coffin. Who cares about a general or anything like that? This coffin is so big, who knows how many good things it holds!"

Old Wu hesitated for a moment, then turned his gaze to Su Chen.

"Young man, what do you say?"

"Wait a mininute."

Su Chen thought for a moment and asked Wu Jizong for a candle.

Immediately afterwards, it was lit at the southeast corner of the platform.

After waiting a while and seeing that there was nothing wrong with the candles, he nodded and said, "Alright, we can open the coffin now."

Upon seeing this, Old Wu's eyes lit up, and he said, "Is this the rule of the Tomb Raiders?"

Su Chen smiled and nodded, saying, "Humans light candles, ghosts blow them out. The rule of the Tomb Raiders is that you don't raid tombs when the rooster crows and the lamp goes out."

Old Wu nodded slightly, then directed his son and grandson to properly separate the outer coffin from the inner coffin.

Su Chen thought for a moment, then turned and winked at the black-backed sixth brother behind him.

The latter understood and took the Guanshan knife off his back and held it in his hand.

One should always be wary of others. If there really are some rare treasures inside this coffin, it's hard to guarantee that these members of the Wu family won't have ulterior motives.

In addition, if there are any dangerous objects inside the coffin, it's good to have time to react if you prepare in advance.

Su Chen didn't say anything, but his hand was placed on his waist, where the pistol was hidden.

only……

As the outer coffin was dismantled into eight pieces, revealing the 'coffin' inside, everyone was taken aback.

Because what's inside isn't a coffin at all, but a golden casket!

The so-called "golden box" is actually a bronze box, which is golden in color.

They are usually used to store valuables or easily damaged books.

However, after thousands of years, the golden box hidden inside the outer coffin has long been covered in rust.

"Why isn't it a coffin?"

Old Wu was somewhat disappointed when he saw the golden cabinet.

Wu Jizong, who was standing to the side, chuckled and patted him on the head, saying, "Silly boy, the golden cabinet is the best! More than forty years ago, your second uncle excavated a tomb of a duke in the Huaiyin area, and there was also a golden cabinet inside, which was filled with silver ingots."

Upon hearing this, Wu Laogou's eyes lit up, and he and his second brother knocked on the lock on the gold box, which had long been rusted together.

Can……

When the two opened the golden box, they found that inside the large bronze box, which was about half a person's height, there was only a jade tortoise.

Old Wu leaned over and took out the jade tortoise. After examining it carefully for a moment, he was greatly disappointed!

"This is river-polished jade, and the carving is subpar; it's practically worthless!"

Although Wu Laogou had never been to a tomb, he had learned a little about cultural relics and antiques through his surroundings.

Upon hearing this, Old Wu quickly took the jade tortoise and examined it closely.

After a moment, he shook his head as well, slightly disappointed, and said, "It's really worthless. This jade turtle has no patina, no good material, and the carving is mediocre. At most, it'll sell for a few silver dollars..."

Antiques and cultural relics are not necessarily more valuable the older they are.

Take Tang Bohu from the Ming Dynasty for example; during his lifetime, his paintings were already extremely valuable.

If it were a down-on-his-luck scholar from the Ming Dynasty, his paintings would not fetch a price, whether he was alive or dead.

The jade tortoise in the Golden Chest is just like that.

There's nothing of value to be found in terms of materials, craftsmanship, or historical significance.

Wu Jizong shook his head and muttered, "It doesn't make sense. This altar is so big, with thousands of dark wood coffins and outer coffins. Such a high standard, and all we get is a worthless jade tortoise?"

Su Chen looked at Old Wu and the jade tortoise in his hand, equally puzzled!

Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, suddenly, a series of muffled thuds came from the coffin closest to the altar.

It's like someone is banging on the wood inside!

The commotion froze everyone in place, and a chill ran straight to their core.

Keep in mind, there are thousands of coffins made of ebony wood here. What if they all came back to life...?

Wouldn't that be thousands of rice dumplings?

Just as Old Wu was still in a daze, he saw that the muffled sound seemed to be contagious.

In just a few breaths, the muffled thuds increased, and at that moment, it seemed as if even the ground began to tremble.

Boom boom boom!

Boom boom boom!

Looking at the thousands of dark wooden coffins in the square, the tremors grew more and more violent, as if something was about to break out of the coffins.

Old Wu and his second brother, their legs trembling, asked:

"How to do?"