Seeing my curiosity, Old Master Wei didn't keep me in suspense. He exhaled a puff of smoke, pointed to the portrait of the emperor, and asked me, "Do you know who the person in this painting is?"
I do have some doubts about this: "If I'm not mistaken, this should be a modern painting in the style of the Southern Song Dynasty. As for who the person in the painting is, please forgive my poor eyesight."
"You have a good eye." Old Master Wei smiled. "You don't have this painting at home?"
I shook my head: "No!"
"Actually, the ancestors of our four sects have a deep connection, having known each other since the Northern and Southern Dynasties period."
Old Master Wei changed the subject: "Young man, do you know what a tomb raider is?"
I recalled: "According to historical records, the title of 'Mojin Xiaowei' originated in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. It first appeared in the article 'A Proclamation to Yuzhou on Behalf of Yuan Shao' written by Chen Lin in the Han Dynasty. It tells the story of how Cao Cao established military ranks such as 'Faqiu Zhonglangjiang' and 'Mojin Xiaowei' in order to make up for the lack of military funds. They were responsible for robbing tombs to obtain wealth and supplement the military funds."
Grandpa Wei nodded in satisfaction: "Then do you think this matter is credible?"
"To be honest, I don't believe it."
When I saw that Old Master Wei was testing me, I replied, "There are rumors that Cao Cao was the founder of the tomb raiders, but there is no detailed record of this in official history. This claim comes from a proclamation written by Chen Lin, one of the Seven Scholars of Jian'an. At that time, Cao Cao was ordered by Emperor Xian to punish officials who had betrayed the Han Dynasty, and Yuan Shao had Chen Lin draft this proclamation in order to have a legitimate reason to attack the capital."
Later accounts of Cao Cao establishing the position of "Captain of Tomb Raiders" are largely influenced by this proclamation. Although Cao Cao never explicitly denied sending men to excavate tombs to replenish his army's funds, many historians do not accept the claim that he openly created an official position for this purpose and carried out such a large-scale tomb-raiding operation. After all, he was appointed by the emperor, and openly engaging in such an unjust act would greatly undermine his legal authority.
Old Master Wei tapped his pipe: "Continue."
"The Commentary on the Waterways Classic compiled by Yang Shoujing in the late Qing Dynasty recorded that Cao Cao led his troops into Dang, opened the tomb of King Xiao of Liang, broke the coffin, and collected tens of thousands of catties of gold and jewels."
I paused for a moment: "In reality, Chinese archaeologists unearthed more than 20,000 precious artifacts in the tomb of King Xiao of Liang in the 1980s, including the famous jade burial suit. This shows that the tomb was not looted on a large scale, which is enough to prove that Chen Lin's record in the manifesto, even if not false, was greatly exaggerated. As for the contents of the Commentary on the Waterways Classic, they are even more nonsense, fabricated rumors to attract attention."
"It seems you have some knowledge of history. In official history, there was indeed a General of the Excavation Corps who led the Tomb Raiders, but the initiator was not Cao Cao, but Liu Ziye, the deposed emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty."
Pointing to the portrait of the emperor, Old Master Wei said, "This man was the sixth ruler of the Liu Song Dynasty during the Southern Dynasties period. He only reigned for two years and is known in history as the Former Deposed Emperor, a notorious tyrant. He ascended the throne at the young age of fifteen, and his power base was unstable. He was extremely fearful in the face of powerful ministers, members of the imperial family, and regional military governors. In order to consolidate his throne, and inspired by Chen Lin's proclamation, Liu Ziye openly set up official positions to rob tombs in order to amass wealth and win over important officials."
Seeing the old man's confident assertion, I became even more curious: "How can you be so certain?"
"Because the four sects I just told you about are the only remaining descendants of this tomb-raiding army, and the term 'tomb raiding' was created by the ancestors of these four sects. According to the research of Mr. Ni Fangliu, a scholar of Chinese tomb raiding history, this term first appeared in the area around Beijing and Shenyang in Northeast China."
Old Master Wei raised an eyebrow and looked at me: "During Liu Ziye's reign, he executed ministers, imprisoned princes, and was arrogant and tyrannical. He was assassinated by Liu Yu, the Prince of Xiangdong, and others only two years after ascending the throne. Before the incident, Liu Ziye had already heard rumors that one of the reasons Liu Yu wanted to get rid of him was his cruelty and scheming. So he ordered the four lieutenant generals in charge of the tomb raiders to lead troops to massacre all the captains and destroy the evidence."
The four lieutenant generals knew Liu Ziye's character well. After killing the man, they didn't return to report. Instead, they killed the official supervising them and changed their names, transforming from official thieves to private thieves. These four reclusive lieutenant generals were our ancestors.
I was startled by this statement: "Even if what you said is true, it doesn't make sense. Didn't our ancestors run a pawnshop business?"
"The pawnshop was just an excuse. In ancient times, the clans were powerful. To avoid being bullied, our four ancestors lived together until the late Qing Dynasty when the country was breached. Only then did they return to their old ways for a living. The pawnshop was just a cover for tomb raiding. Hanging up this portrait of the deposed emperor is to let the wronged souls of those tomb raiders who were killed know that when they come to seek revenge, there is a cause for the wrong and a debtor for the debtor. Killing was not what our ancestors wanted."
Grandpa Wei picked up the Sancai Cup and used the lid to brush away the floating tea leaves: "Back then, the Four Gates opened pawnshops to cover up their tomb raiding activities. They would sell the excavated burial objects as dead pawns, and at the same time, they could use their professional knowledge to buy some treasures that had been scattered among the people at low prices."
The original surnames of the four families Qu, Duan, Song, and Wei are nowhere to be found. It is only known that they originated from the homophones of Qu, Duan, Song, and Wei.
To take means to find a burial site and descend into the soil;
"Die" refers to dating and identification.
"Sending" refers to the channels for disposing of stolen goods;
The Wei family, on the other hand, uses force to protect the safety of the other three gates. They can defend against not only living people, but also some 'unclean' things.
These four trades were the jobs our ancestors were in charge of when they led the tomb raiders. Your Duan family ancestor was responsible for finding and selecting burial goods in the tombs.
By the time of your great-grandfather, he combined the knowledge passed down from his ancestors with his own insights and experiences to write the extraordinary book, "The Record of Judges."
After listening to Mr. Wei's introduction, the doubts in my heart were gradually dispelled.
I've always wondered why, since my ancestors ran a pawnshop, the notes my grandfather passed down to me contained so many secret arts of Yin and Yang and Feng Shui.
Looking back now, those things would have been more practical than pawnshop items if used in tomb raiding.
Seeing me deep in thought, Old Master Wei continued, "Our ancestors retired from the trade at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and only resumed it in the late Qing Dynasty. By that reckoning, you are already the fourth generation of the new force."
"Isn't that a bit too big a span? It's been more than a hundred years since the Xinhai Revolution."
After listening to Grandpa Wei's story, I never expected that my family's ancestors had such a background: "Grandpa Wei, you've said so much, but it seems to have nothing to do with my dad."
Grandpa Wei didn't answer my question. Instead, he took a photo out of his pocket and handed it to me: "Take a look at this first."
This is a color photograph, which has been laminated to preserve it for longer.
The background of the photo is the Shenyang Imperial Palace, and there are eight people in the photo: four older people and four younger people.
The faces above were all unfamiliar, but one person looked very familiar to me. I stared at him for a long time before asking incredulously, "Is the person in the Zhongshan suit my grandfather?"
"Yes! The young man in the leather jacket next to your grandfather is your father! Next to them are me and my second son, and the other four are from the Song and Qu families."
Grandpa Wei looked at the photo with some nostalgia: "You weren't even born when this photo was taken."
"...In your story, didn't you say that the four families were separated during the Japanese invasion of China? Why did they come together again?"
I looked at Grandpa Wei, completely bewildered: "Judging from this photo, my grandfather and father weren't always out of touch. Something happened that caused them to break up! Grandpa Wei, what happened that caused my grandfather and father to fall out? And where is my father now?"
Seeing my anxious expression, Grandpa Wei calmly replied, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you that."
"Why?"
I stood up excitedly from my chair: "You've told me all this, isn't it just to tell me about my dad?"
Grandpa Wei sipped his tea: "Your grandfather is no longer here. As your elder, I have a responsibility to tell you about the family's traditions. But the falling out between your father and grandfather is your family matter, and I cannot get involved."
"No! You set up two traps to test me today, and now you're using my father's matter to pique my curiosity, which means you need something from me."
After sorting through the events, I guessed why the Wei family had brought me here: "What conditions do you need to tell me about my father?"
"You're quite clever, kid."
Old Master Wei smiled and said, "I called you here because there is something I need you to do. If you can do it for me, I can tell you the whole story about your father, the meeting and the break between the four families."
I nodded without hesitation: "What is it? Please tell me."
"Grave robbing!"
"Farewell!"
Upon hearing the two words spoken by Grandpa Wei, I turned around without hesitation and walked directly towards the exit of the reception room.
Grandpa Wei was a little stunned that I refused so readily: "Young man, don't you want to know if your father is alive or dead, where he is, and why he and your grandfather have never spoken to each other since?"
I kept walking away: "I don't want to! He abandoned me when I was a child, and he never raised me. I could accept it if he were free! But I don't need to take risks for his sake, especially since it's a crime."
Wei Xiao added, "There's also a reward of 20,000 yuan!"
I'd already reached the door: "Tch! Twenty thousand yuan isn't a small amount, but it's not a huge sum either. Goodbye."
Wei Xiao raised his voice: "I said 20,000 per day!"
Upon hearing this, I naturally turned around and walked towards Grandpa Wei: "Grandpa Wei, I'm not a greedy person, I'm just very curious about why you insist on finding me, you understand?"
“I know about your situation. While you're not starving, you're certainly destitute. People like you can only change their fate and turn their lives around by seizing opportunities when they arise.”
Old Master Wei revealed a sly smile: "Sit down and let's talk!"
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