Chapter 316 Exploring One by One
Two police cars were parked at the highway entrance, one with the license plate number Ji A and the other with the license plate number Ji F.
The first vehicle belonged to the HEB Provincial Department, and the second belonged to the BD Municipal Bureau. Although they were from different locations, they belonged to the same system, interacted frequently, and were not strangers to each other.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the director of the municipal bureau's office took out a cigarette case and offered cigarettes.
"Old boss, which department is visiting this time?"
Director Li from the provincial department took the cigarette, shielded his eyes from the wind, and lit it: "Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau!"
Why so suddenly?
Li Zhijie remained silent.
It was more than just sudden.
If you asked him to describe it: "Extremely urgent, leaving no time to lose."
Yesterday afternoon at 3 PM, the provincial department leaders received a call from the leaders of the Beijing Criminal Investigation Corps. This was a private matter, essentially a private conversation: "We have something urgent to take care of over there, please bear with us, old friend."
Less than ten minutes after the phone call ended, the department office received a coordination letter from the Beijing Municipal Bureau. Then, less than half an hour later, the ministry also issued a notification letter.
From the provincial headquarters to the municipal bureau, and then to the ministry, the entire process took less than an hour. This level of authority, this speed—how many years has it been since we've seen anything like it?
This shows how high the level of the case is.
Upon further inquiry, all levels of government were vague, only stating that the case was minor and the investigation level was merely a branch under the provincial headquarters. The mission was simply to gather some leads and didn't require significant effort from local authorities. The escalation of coordination was only necessary because the trip was rushed.
The specifics of the case were not mentioned at all. Moreover, it wasn't until this morning that we were notified that the special task force was not coming to the provincial capital, but to Baoding.
We're all veterans of the organization; we all know each other well.
It's not like we haven't had major cases that shocked the whole country before. Even with ministerial-level supervision, this is about the speed we've seen.
Therefore, it's hard to say how big the case is, but the level of attention it's receiving is definitely high. Thus, the provincial and municipal authorities are taking it very seriously. Although only the provincial and municipal bureau offices came to receive them, the entire criminal investigation department at both levels was on high alert.
Thinking it over, Li Zhijie exhaled a puff of smoke: "Have the business departments made all the arrangements?"
"Of course, Deputy Director Liu will personally lead the team, and all units are on standby at any time."
"That's good!"
As the two men talked, they finished almost a cigarette, and then a convoy of cars exited the highway.
They all had ordinary license plates; there were cars, SUVs, a pickup truck, and a van, so I didn't pay much attention to them.
But when the convoy stopped behind the police cars, a group of police officers realized something was wrong.
Immediately afterwards, two people got out of the car in front.
Li Zhijie's eyelids twitched: Wasn't it said that only the brigade level was coming?
The director of the municipal bureau's office, the deputy chief of the Beijing Criminal Investigation Corps... at this level, it wouldn't be unreasonable for a department-level leader to receive him.
The key question is: Is it a regular brand, or casual wear?
Looking further ahead: there were six cars of various sizes, but apart from these two people, no one else got off.
Who's in the cars? Nobody knows. Are there any leaders? Nobody knows either. What's in the pickup trucks and vans? Even less so.
But Li Zhijie knew at least what this meant: the group that came today had virtually no trust in local authorities.
Regardless of whether it's the provincial department or the municipal bureau...
Secretly surprised, Li Zhijie hurriedly went to greet them: "Director Chen, Chief Sun, thank you for your hard work!"
"Director Li, you're too kind. We're the ones apologizing: We've troubled you this time!"
"Beijing and Hebei are like one family, there's no trouble at all!"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Zhijie probed further: "You must be tired from your long journey. Please rest at the hotel first. If it's convenient, Director Chen, could you provide a list or a number of people? I'll make the arrangements!"
"Thank you, Director Li. The case is quite urgent, so we won't make any arrangements. Let's go to Yi County first."
Director Chen looked back. "Director Li, I'll have to trouble you again: we won't notify Yi County yet. Just send two people here to handle temporary coordination, but they'll need to change cars and clothes!"
Li Zhijie's eyelids twitched rapidly.
They won't eat, they won't stay in hotels, and they won't even give us a list of people, let alone a specific number of people?
Only now are they saying they're going to Yi County, but they're not allowed to notify the local authorities? Even the accompanying personnel from the provincial and municipal bureaus have to change into civilian clothes and use different vehicles?
How high must the level of secrecy be?
Li Zhijie and the director of the municipal bureau exchanged a glance. They racked their brains but couldn't recall any earth-shattering cases that had occurred in Yi County recently.
It was obvious what they were thinking. Director Chen smiled and said, "The case isn't actually that big, but it involves many aspects and has a significant impact, so we're handling it rather urgently."
The words were spoken in a veiled manner, but Li Zhijie understood immediately: too many internal personnel were involved, and there was a risk of leaks, so the usual procedures could not be followed.
To put it bluntly: it involves not only people within the capital city, but also local officials. It could be at the county level, the city level, or even the provincial level.
The key lies in the following sentence: It has a relatively large influence!
This is clearly telling them that there are more than just one or two leaders paying attention to this case. Consider this: a notification letter issued by the ministry's general office, and issued so urgently—how high must the leader's rank be?
The two were startled and dared not ask any more questions. They quickly got into the car and immediately reported to their supervisor.
After listening to the brief summary, the leader spoke with Director Chen. About half an hour later, the Municipal Bureau sent two vehicles and accompanying personnel in plain clothes.
The eight vehicles exited the highway and headed west, but they did not stop after reaching Yi County and continued westward.
Where can we go further west?
Yishui Lake, Yongding Mountain, or perhaps Langya Mountain?
Halfway there, the convoy turned into Xiling Town, and Li Zhijie suddenly realized: this case is most likely a cultural relic case.
But he couldn't quite understand: no matter how big the cultural relics case was, at most it would just be the excavation of the imperial tombs, how much social harm could it cause, that it was worth it for the ministries to issue a letter?
To everyone's surprise, the convoy stopped at the entrance of the Xiling Management Committee, but it was not Director Chen and Deputy Chief Sun who came forward to greet them, but two people who got out of the second car.
After they introduced themselves, Li Zhijie was surprised again: one of them was the deputy director of the Archaeology Department of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and the other was the director of the Archaeology Management Division of the Archaeology Department.
The reception was of an exceptionally high standard: a deputy director of the provincial cultural relics bureau led the delegation.
This level is higher than that of Director Chen and Deputy Chief Sun, and the reception protocol is two levels higher than that of him and the municipal bureau's office staff.
But that's not the point: the General Office of the Ministry issued a letter asking the Provincial Department and the Municipal Bureau to assist the special task force in handling the case, indicating that this time the case is indeed going to be handled.
These two individuals, from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, represent a ministry. And what about the archaeological team and experts behind them?
The key point is that the conversation between Director Wu and the deputy director of the provincial bureau was exactly the same as what they said to Director Chen and Deputy Chief Sun at the highway exit:
We arrived a bit hastily, please forgive us, local officials. We only received a report that someone was illegally occupying land belonging to the mausoleum to build farmland. They were just conducting a routine inspection, a mere formality, and it's not a big deal.
Looking at the deputy director's expression, there was surprise mixed with suspicion, unease mixed with probing... How was he any different from before?
It was clear that they only found out what Director Wu was there for when they arrived at the destination.
Li Zhijie became increasingly suspicious: Why would illegally occupying cemetery land warrant the attention of ministries?
This Director Wu, along with the seven or eight people behind him, were clearly there to cover for their colleagues in Beijing.
Two ministries cooperated in a joint investigation... Was Emperor Yongzheng's tomb robbed?
Even if the imperial tombs were robbed, they wouldn't do it so secretly, like thieves, would they?
While pondering this, the group entered the office, sat for about ten minutes, and drank a cup of tea.
Then, a large group of people emerged and headed straight for the Mu Mausoleum, located at the westernmost part of the mausoleum area.
Upon arriving at the location, some set up base stations, some connected satellites, some installed drones, and some assembled radars.
With such a clear and urgent objective, not only did Li Zhijie notice something amiss, but the accompanying deputy director of the provincial cultural relics bureau, the director of the municipal bureau, and the person in charge of the mausoleum area all noticed something was wrong.
Looking at this whole group of high-flying actors: if it were just a matter of illegally occupying protected area land, why would they need such a big show?
After thinking it over, the deputy director summoned all the heads of the city, county, town, and mausoleum area together.
He got straight to the point, speaking frankly and without hesitation, not even bothering to avoid Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu: "The Mu Mausoleum has been robbed?"
A group of people shook their heads in unison: What a joke!
The four imperial tombs in the Western Tombs are those of Emperors Yongzheng, Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Guangxu. Except for Guangxu's tomb, which was blown open and completely looted by warlords during the Republic of China era, the remaining three tombs are basically intact.
Among them, the tomb robbers' tunnel in Tai Mausoleum (Yongzheng) reached the Vajra Wall (the protective wall outside the underground palace), and the tunnel in Chang Mausoleum (Jiaqing) reached the outside of the Dragon-Severing Stone (the main tomb chamber), and they were almost robbed.
Only the Mu Mausoleum of Emperor Daoguang has never been dug, let alone had any tomb raiding holes dug in it. If we were to rank the twelve imperial mausoleums of the Qing Dynasty, the Mu Mausoleum would be the best preserved, without exception.
Given its high level of representativeness, the level of protection is exceptionally high. The park is staffed 24 hours a day, with patrols conducted irregularly around the clock.
They can find you even if you dig two shovelfuls of dirt, let alone dig a hole.
Sun Jiamu, who was standing nearby, smiled and explained, "Director He, it was just a routine inspection based on a report."
Deputy Director He, expressionless: Heh!
They're even using satellites now, do you think I'd believe it?
No, we have to find out. What if it really is an imperial tomb that has been excavated, and the provincial and municipal governments are still in the dark, but the State Administration of Cultural Heritage discovers it first? That would be a huge problem.
Thinking it over, he looked at Wu Hui in front of Baocheng (the burial mound) and wondered if he should try to find out more information.
But there were too many people, a huge crowd gathered around, watching a few young men fiddling with several imaging devices.
Deputy Director He glanced at it from a distance: the screen was constantly moving, probably from a drone in the sky taking real-time photos, but the images were very clear.
He had heard of it and knew it was the latest space remote sensing technology, but he had never seen it or used it.
Believe it or not, he wasn't the only one who was curious; Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu were also curious.
The “RTk (Real-Time Dynamic Differential Positioning)” is alright. It’s been introduced for almost two years. Although we don’t know how to operate it, the people in the Archaeology Department have a general understanding of the principles.
However, technologies like "hyperspectral remote sensing" and "radar remote sensing" were only introduced by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage at the beginning of the year. We've been learning and training on them, but this is the first time they've been used for on-site surveying.
The group of people were quite curious. What was even more curious was that Lin Sicheng seemed to know a lot about this, and he kept directing the two technicians: how to adjust the parameters, how to connect the base station signals, how to calculate the interferometry, and how to observe the mutation index.
He was even more skilled than the technicians who had been specially trained by the two bureaus.
After watching for a while, someone couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Lin, Shaanxi shouldn't have this yet, right? How do you know so much about it?"
“There’s none in Shaanxi!” Lin Sicheng looked up and smiled. “But there are instruction manuals!”
The person who asked the question was taken aback: he had only asked casually, why was this person being so sarcastic?
After thinking for a moment, just as he was about to say something, Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu looked up and glared at him in unison.
At this crucial moment, I'm too busy to explain anything to you.
Let alone ordinary archaeological team members, last time in Yuncheng, when Lin Sicheng used the RTK system to find porcelain kiln sites, Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu were amazed, and Lin Sicheng gave the same answer:
Director Wu, Section Chief Sun, this isn't actually that difficult. There's an instruction manual; you can learn it just by looking at it.
After that, Sun Jiamu spent two months reading the instruction manual, but he didn't understand how to operate it, let alone the underlying principles.
So there's no doubt that what Lin Sicheng said he could learn by just looking at it and thinking about it would be extremely difficult for ordinary people.
Wu Hui looked around, signaling everyone to shut up, and the group fell silent.
Feeling something was off, Director He subconsciously glanced at the person a few times.
The young man was very young, in his early twenties, with delicate features.
Before being introduced, Director He only noticed by chance that the young man smelled very strongly of medicine and was not very mobile, as if he had just been injured.
Because he was very young, Director He had previously thought Lin Sicheng was just an ordinary staff member, so he didn't pay much attention to him.
But look around: this young man is surrounded by a bunch of people. Including Wu Hui, the two department heads who were introduced earlier, the vice president, director, institute director, team leader of the archaeological institute, and several others who were not introduced before and whose jobs we don't know, all gathered around him.
They were focused, their curiosity tinged with a hint of inquiry, but no one spoke; they were all quiet.
Watching Lin Sicheng's instructions and his conversation with the two technicians, the group finally understood the workings of the machines:
To put it bluntly, if there are holes left by thieves and they are backfilled, the initial loose soil will inevitably cause local uplift.
After being soaked by rainwater and naturally receding, the tomb raiders' tunnels will inevitably settle. Look for any area in the tomb area that is noticeably higher than it should be, or has a distinct pit shape; it is very likely a tomb raiders' tunnel that has been backfilled.
Secondly, observe the probe holes: if you want to rob a tomb, you first need to probe the soil. The tomb robber's hole might be backfilled, but no tomb robber would be so meticulous as to fill in even a probe hole with a diameter of no more than ten centimeters.
Remote sensing imaging can be accurate to the centimeter level, clearly marking even point depressions with a diameter of more than five centimeters and a depth of more than twenty centimeters.
Finally, observe the abnormal reflectivity of the surface vegetation: If you want to rob a tomb, wouldn't you need to transport tools inside? And after you've finished robbing it, wouldn't you need to transport the artifacts out?
Even if it's just a car running over it, as long as a person walks on it and the vegetation elevation drops by more than one centimeter, it can be detected by remote sensing systems.
In 2008, these instruments were considered truly high-tech.
But strangely, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
There were no tomb raiders' holes, no exploration holes, and no transport channels for people or vehicles.
Is the machine not set up correctly?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Lin Sicheng shook his head decisively: In his past life, he could operate these machines with his eyes closed. Even if he made a mistake, it was impossible for all three to be wrong.
Wasn't it dug from here?
Even less likely.
Copper coins don't lie. You could say that, apart from the Mu Mausoleum, burying that coin anywhere else in the country wouldn't create that unique jujube-red patina.
Holding the copper coin, he tilted his head back and thought for a moment, when a thought flashed through his mind.
Silver Snake, Rare Edition, Yellow Dragon?
So engrossed in studying the copper coin, I forgot about the gold coin.
This is what Ma Shan said himself. On that day, when he and his men blocked his way: his blind men took away a box of silver snakes, six rare items, and three yellow dragons.
At that time, Ma Shan was convinced that he was in cahoots with that woman, so he wouldn't have spoken carelessly...
After a moment's thought, Lin Sicheng stretched out his hand: "Senior Brother Fang, the compass!"
The group of people were all stunned: What the heck?
Upon closer inspection, they indeed produced a compass.
Lin Sicheng didn't dare to use too much force because his injury hadn't fully healed. He supported him with all his might and then turned him gently.
Turn around, take a look. Turn around again, take another look, and keep moving around and changing positions.
He Cong'an looked on with increasing curiosity: "Director Sun, what are you doing?"
Sun Jiamu was taken aback, unsure how to explain.
This wasn't the first time he'd seen Lin Sicheng use this thing; he'd seen it frequently back in Yuncheng. But the problem was, Lin Sicheng wasn't looking for a tomb then, but rather an ancient kiln site.
If you ask him to explain, he really can't.
After thinking for a long time, Sun Jiamu uttered three words: "Determine the direction!"
He Cong'an paused for a moment, looked up at the sun, and then at the cemetery, which was perfectly aligned: What's the point of deciding on this?
Not only Director He found it strange, but Li Zhijie found it even stranger: standing next to Director Chen and Deputy Chief Sun, it seemed to be Chief Zhang and Deputy Chief Yan from the Cultural Relics Detachment.
Therefore, it can be concluded that this case involves cultural relics.
But I've only ever heard of using a compass to rob tombs and find graves. This is a cemetery, with such a large tomb right behind us. What would we need this for?
Having seen Lin Sicheng use it twice, Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu were already used to it. The vice deans, directors, institute chiefs, and team leaders were all archaeologists and were familiar with this device.
But a group of police officers were incredibly curious.
I have heard that this thing is incredibly magical. Experts in tomb raiding only need to sit in an airplane, look at the mountain terrain, and adjust the compass a few times to find ancient tombs in the intricate and chaotic mountains with no discernible pattern.
But in reality, after handling so many tomb raiding cases, who has ever used it?
Let alone using it, there are very few tomb raiders who can even understand this thing.
Out of curiosity, Yan Wenjing leaned closer and asked, "Teacher Lin, what are all these things on here?"
"The Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the Solar Terms and Directions, the Twenty-Four Time Periods, and Astronomy and Calendar!"
"How exactly do you use it?"
As Lin Sicheng adjusted the compass, he explained, "In ancient times, selecting a burial site required observing the mountains, identifying the soil, assessing the aura, determining the sand formations, and measuring the water..."
To put it bluntly: A mountain (dragon vein) needs three platforms and nine tents to shelter from the wind and gather water. The soil needs to have all five colors to harmonize the five elements. The earth's energy needs to be abundant to ensure the prosperity of descendants. The sand and water must be locked and secured for good fortune and prosperity. The orientation of the site must align with the timing of Heaven…”
"These are all on the compass. For example, you can use a specific formula to combine several sets of numbers to calculate the most auspicious and accurate answer."
Seeing Lin Sicheng's eloquent explanation, Yan Wenjing frowned and asked, "Is it useful?"
This stumped Lin Sicheng. He thought for a long time and said, "Captain Yan, the problem isn't whether it's useful or not, but whether anyone will believe it."
How could no one believe it?
Ancient emperors began building their mausoleums from the day they ascended the throne and continued until their death. Was it just for fun?
He quickly changed his mind and glanced at it again. Having roughly guessed what the other person was curious about, Lin Sicheng explained:
According to the "Veritable Records of Emperor Xuanzong", there were 29 auxiliary mausoleums to the Mu Mausoleum. However, the "Yellow Register of the Mu Mausoleum Project Completion" from the first year of the Xianfeng reign lists 31.
Later, in order to save expenses, Emperor Xianfeng ordered that some of Emperor Daoguang's concubines who died during his reign be buried together with a single stele. This part, which is not recorded in historical records, consists of twelve steles.
The mausoleums of princes and princesses who died before reaching adulthood, along with the eunuchs buried with them, should have numbered around sixty-seven for Emperor Daoguang… but currently, only thirty-two have been identified, of which only eight are intact and fourteen are partially damaged.
Sixty-seven minus eight, then minus fourteen...
Yan Wenjing did the math: "There are still forty-five left, all of them were stolen?"
"Only ten were stolen, mostly between 1942 and 1950..."
Lin Sicheng pointed outside the cemetery, “In 1958, part of the tomb, including the trees, was cleared away. In 1968, part of the tombstone and the path to the grave were smashed. In the 1970s, when farmland was being leveled, another part was demolished… So, most of the tombs are still there, only the mounds have been cleared and the tombstones have been toppled, leaving no trace on the surface…”
After a slight pause and glancing at the local officials, Lin Sicheng lowered his voice and said, "I'm quite certain that the box of copper coins was dug out from here."
Not only Lin Sicheng was certain, but Yan Wenjing, the branch captain, Deputy Chief Sun, and even Wang Qizhi, as well as the police officers in the interrogation room that day, were all very certain: if it hadn't been dug from Muling, Ma Shan wouldn't have been so frightened.
Even with the use of high-tech satellite remote sensing, no trace was found in the mausoleum area?
Then there's only one possibility: this group of tomb raiders didn't raid tombs within the mausoleum area.
But following the direction Lin Sicheng pointed, the group of people looked at each other in bewilderment.
As the National Day holiday approaches, it's harvest time. Some corn cobs have been harvested, but the stalks are still standing in the ground. Some are still green and not fully ripe, while others have already had their stalks cut, the stubble burned, and cow and sheep manure applied.
Even worse, some have already finished plowing the land.
As far as the eye can see, apart from the Mu Mausoleum at your feet and the Mu Dong Mausoleum (the tomb of the concubines of the Daoguang Emperor) not far away, all around is farmland.
Where the remaining forty-five secondary tombs are is anyone's guess. And which one Ma Shan robbed is even more unknown.
Even if you want to use high technology, you can't: if a car runs over a person or a person is plowed by an excavator, how can you find any traces?
Everyone who knew the situation and why they were here today was staring at Lin Sicheng. Though they didn't say anything, their expressions were clear: How are we supposed to find him?
Lin Sicheng remained silent.
He felt it shouldn't be too hard to find. That is, assuming neither Ma Shan nor Ma Long were lying.
Ma Shan said there were three gold coins in the box. Ma Long, also known as Ma Gan, said that he didn't know if there were any gold coins, but the box of copper coins that the woman intercepted was sent to the capital along with the box.
If the gold coins and other valuables were all dug from the side tombs of the Mu Mausoleum, then the tombs of the concubines were at least robbed.
According to Qing dynasty regulations: emperors, empress dowagers, and empresses were buried with gold coins; imperial concubines and noble concubines were buried with gilded silver coins; and concubines and consorts were buried with gilded bronze coins.
Whether it was real gold or gilded gold, including the three empresses, only about twenty people were qualified to be buried with gold coins. Eighteen of them were buried within the mausoleum area, while seven or eight were buried outside the mausoleum.
Based on feng shui principles, location, the concubine's rank, birth date, lifespan, offspring, and posthumous titles, Lin Sicheng was fully confident he could find it.
Next, it's simply a matter of exploring each one one by one...
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