Chapter 155: Giving a Clue (Two-in-One, 3000 Monthly Ticket Bonus)

The semi-circular stone slab reflected a greenish light, and the vigorous, elegant seal script pierced the eyes like sharp arrows.

Chen Peng clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white as they brushed across the stele:

"Meritorious official of the Zhang clan, close to the nobility and favor, descendants succeeding one another... Lin (Zhang Lin, fourth-generation grandson of Zhang Anshi, who inherited the title of Fu Ping Marquis) married Jingwu Princess (daughter of Han Xuan)..."

The more he read, the angrier Chen Peng became. With a loud "thud," the stainless steel long table trembled violently.

"What is this, huh? What is this..."

The veins on his forehead bulged, his eyes were bloodshot, and he slammed his fist onto the long table again and again. "This kind of thing was only intercepted when it reached the border; are you all just eating for free?"

Aside from his roars and the drum-like thundering, there was not a single sound in the appraisal room.

No one spoke; no one even dared to look up.

But they couldn't let the leader go on like this; there were outsiders present, after all.

Guan Xingmin gave Lin Sicheng a look as if asking for help. Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "Jie!"

Chen Peng paused: "What?"

"This is a Boundary Stone, the same Boundary Stone from 'Looking East to Jieshi'! In the Western Han Dynasty, they were generally erected in ancestral temples and tomb altars to record the Emperor's grace and the merits of ancestors..."

Lin Sicheng smiled. "In any case, it's not an epitaph. In the Western Han Dynasty, there were no epitaphs yet, and not even tomb steles."

Do I care whether it's an epitaph or not?

Chen Peng glared at Lin Sicheng.

At the same time, he also realized: if it were just his subordinates, getting angry wouldn't matter; he could grab any one of them who was just eating for free and not doing their job and give them a couple of punches.

But there were so many leaders and experts from other units present; his cursing and smashing were truly a bit unseemly.

But conversely, it was no wonder he was angry: it had been a month since Lin Sicheng sent over the Registration Book and the Jade Wenming. No tomb had been found, and no Cultural Relics had been intercepted.

It was fine before, as only some small artifacts had flowed out, but suddenly a stone stele with inscriptions appeared, and it had even been transported to the border?

Setting everything else aside, just make a comparison: why could the border defense station find the stele under the floorboards of a coal truck, while the police officers stationed by the Municipal Bureau at various checkpoints and intersections hadn't discovered anything?

Chen Peng felt his own cursing was too light: "eating for free" was one thing, eating excrement would be more like it...

"Get out, all of you!" He suppressed his anger. "Do I still need to teach you how to do the next steps?"

Several Branch Captains and Municipal Bureau Branch heads left the appraisal room with their heads hung low.

Chen Peng let out a breath: "Director He, I'll be going first!"

He Zhigang had a dark face and didn't speak, only nodding.

Chen Peng picked up his hat and walked out. Lin Sicheng thought for a moment and followed quietly behind.

"Hey, Little Lin, wait a moment... You aren't with the Public Security Bureau, why are you joining in the fun?" He Zhigang narrowed his eyes. "Come back, come back..."

Lin Sicheng felt helpless and turned around.

Why stay if not to run? Wait to be scolded?

Although he knew that even if He Zhigang scolded, he wouldn't be scolding him, there was still no progress in the work, and he felt uneasy inside.

After a brief pause, he sighed again: "Director He, don't be angry if I speak the truth, but Zhang Anshi's tomb is truly hard to find!"

He Zhigang was startled, and his expression softened slightly.

Seeing this, Chen Peng, wondering what he was thinking, turned back.

Tian Jie's eyes brightened slightly, and he really wanted to give a thumbs up.

Why do you think He Zhigang wasn't exploding in anger? Was it because he didn't dare?

No, it was just because the heads of departments like the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, the Cultural Relics Protection Institute, and the Yang Mausoleum Museum were all in their fifties or sixties. With outsiders present, if he scolded them too harshly, these people would lose face.

Moreover, compared to that, while the Public Security Bureau's work certainly had oversights, at least there was progress: the treasury of the Shijian Center was almost overflowing with searched and recovered Cultural Relics.

And never mind whether they were stolen from Zhang Anshi's tomb; at least it showed they had been working.

The Cultural Relics Bureau, on the other hand, had over two or three hundred people from more than a dozen units working for a month, and they hadn't even found a single hair, let alone a tomb.

Therefore, once Chen Peng left, he would definitely scold them even more fiercely and harshly than Chen Peng.

But with Lin Sicheng defusing the situation like this, He Zhigang's anger dissipated by at least half: because it really was hard to find.

In a month, Duling had been turned over twice; if it could be found, it would have been found long ago.

Of course, the mistake made was also greater: on the first day of the meeting, someone had warned that the tomb was not in Duling, yet no one believed it.

Therefore, if the Boundary Stone and the Gold Seal really flowed out of the country, the Cultural Relics Bureau would have to take the brunt of the blame...

He Zhigang still had a dark face, but compared to his previous state of being "so angry he wanted to curse," he had at least regained most of his reason.

He couldn't be bothered with nonsense and took the folder: "(Zhang Anshi passed away) with the posthumous title Jinghou, granted a burial site at Duling, son Yanshou succeeded... Any objections?"

No one spoke.

"(Emperor Xuan) because Anshi was loyal and cautious in his service, granted a burial site at Duling, thus serving as a General and Marquis, descendants succeeding one another, serving as the Emperor's confidants... Fu Ping Marquis (Zhang Anshi) was enfeoffed for his Merit, granted a burial site at Duling, descendants to succeed as Marquis, for generations without end... Any objections to these two points?"

Still, no one spoke.

He Zhigang flipped the page and continued reading: "The Emperor, remembering Anshi's old merits, issued an edict allowing descendants to be buried alongside him... Zhang Anshi's five generations inherited the title, all buried in the garden, specially granting the burial system... Any objections to these two points?"

These five points were all historical materials Lin Sicheng had dug out from obscure corners, which were much the same as the records in the History of the Han, History Books, and Spring and Autumn of Chu and Han (Western Han History).

The only difference was that each point had an extra sentence: son Yanshou succeeded, descendants succeeding one another, descendants to succeed as Marquis, edict allowing descendants to be buried alongside him, and five generations inherited the title, all buried in the garden.

In fact, they all meant the same thing: the Emperor granted Zhang Anshi's descendants the right to build an Ancestral Tomb Cluster around Duling, and descendants for generations could be buried there, sharing the fate of the state.

It was also quite early on; after it was put into the meeting documents, He Zhigang had let Lin Sicheng submit it. However, no one had paid any attention to it, and some even scoffed at it.

But now, as luck would have it: the Marquis Gold Seal of Zhang Anshi and the stone inscription recording his fourth-generation grandson Zhang Lin "marrying Jingwu Princess" had been dug up. Who would still dare to say that Lin Sicheng's inference that "Zhang Anshi's tomb might be an Ancestral Tomb Cluster" was wrong?

If one followed the last point, as recorded in the Eastern Han scholar Zheng Xuan's Comprehensive Discussion of Customs: Zhang Anshi's five generations inherited the title, all buried in the garden... then how could there be only twenty tombs in the Zhang family mausoleum?

With five generations inheriting the title, there must be at least five Marquises in the tomb cluster. And according to Western Han ritual systems, there were regulations for the size of a Marquis mausoleum; adding them up to cover one hundred mu would still be small.

Therefore, it was definitely impossible for them to be buried in Duling.

Didn't this perfectly match Lin Sicheng's earliest proposal, the one from the first meeting that almost led to an argument?

The claim that "Zhang Anshi's tomb is southeast of Duling" must be a misrecording in ancient literature, and his family tomb is suspected to be outside of Duling...

The bigger problem is: two or three hundred people surrounded Duling, and were so thorough that "even if they saw a mouse hole, they had to take a geomagnetic instrument to probe it," yet they didn't find a single hair of a fresh tomb tunnel.

Yet, Zhang Anshi's golden seal and the Zhang Lin stone stele had run off over a thousand kilometers away?

Could it be that the golden seal and the stele grew legs themselves and flew out of the tomb?

Therefore, one hundred percent: the Zhang Anshi Tomb is a family burial site, and it is outside of Duling!

Seeing that still no one made a sound, He Zhigang's face darkened again, and he raised the folder as if to slam it down, when Tian Jie let out a "clunk": "I have no objections!"

He Zhigang glanced at him: You are just a tomb-finder, you only provide labor and don't speak, your word doesn't count.

I am asking those who sit in offices...

Just as he was about to lose his temper, Hu Zheng sighed inwardly: We have reached this point, what is there still to be stubborn about?

He raised his hand: "I have no objections either!"

Then, sparsely: "No objections... no objections..."

He Zhigang's expression cleared slightly, and he opened the folder again:

"The *Records of the Grand Historian: Book of Celestial Patterns* records: The heavens have constellations, the earth has regions; the *Three Prefectures Yellow Chart* (an Eastern Han classic on geomancy) also records:

Han mausoleums all use the Four Spirits to guard the four directions, the Azure Dragon coiled on the left, the White Tiger crouching on the right, the Vermilion Bird soaring in the front, the Black Tortoise lying in the back... Therefore, Western Han imperial mausoleums selected sites based on calendar, astrology, and geomancy theories..."

"And through observation: the center of the Duling tumulus coincides with the projected position of the North Star (the Pole Star, the Emperor Star), and the four gates of the mausoleum should correspond to the 'Eastern Horn Mansion,' 'Western Kui Mansion,' 'Southern Wing Mansion,' and 'Northern Dipper Mansion' among the Twenty-Eight Mansions, constructing a 'Heaven and Mausoleum as One' cosmic model... Do you acknowledge this?"

These were all things that had been systematically researched, so the response was very crisp: "Acknowledged!"

He Zhigang nodded and continued reading: This is the first point... Second, the *Book of Rites: Royal Regulations* records: "The altar of the state is on the right, and the ancestral temple is on the left." The *Book of Han: Treatise on Rites and Music* also records: (Imperial mausoleums) left Azure Dragon, right White Tiger... meaning left civil, right martial.

*Records of the Grand Historian: Book of Celestial Patterns*: The Mao Mansion is called the Mao Head, the Hu star, representing the white-clothed assembly. The Bi Mansion is called the Rare Carriage, governing hunting. The Shen Mansion is the White Tiger... meaning the three mansions of Mao, Bi, and Shen are in the west, governing military campaigns and slaughter.

At that time, Zhang Anshi was the Grand Marshal, the head of the military officials, so he was buried to the west of the mausoleum, corresponding to the theory of 'holding the chariots and cavalry, guarding the imperial mausoleum'... The approximate range should be between three to six kilometers due west of Duling..."

The group of people was stunned in unison, their eyes staring straight at Lin Sicheng: It felt a bit far-fetched. But thinking about it carefully, it was not without reason.

So, the kid actually managed to round it all out?

Perhaps He Zhigang also felt it was a bit forced, so he didn't ask "do you acknowledge it," but instead closed the folder: "Everyone, we have investigated for a month, braving the wind and sun, it has indeed been very hard. But since it is indicated that the Zhang Anshi Tomb is not in Duling, there is no need to stubbornly split hairs."

"Since we need to adjust our direction, having a basis is better than having no basis, so Division Chief Hu, I suggest: look to the west!"

Otherwise, we certainly have to look outside of Duling.

But we can't just bump around like headless flies, right?

Rather than starting over from the beginning, checking data, checking files, verifying, and researching, which would consume who knows how many more months, it is better to investigate following Lin Sicheng's line of thought.

Just as General Manager He said: what if?

Just as Hu Zheng was about to nod, Lin Sicheng said abruptly: "General Manager He, it's not easy to find!"

He Zhigang was taken aback and glared at him.

Lin Sicheng hurriedly smiled: "General Manager He, it really isn't easy to find, because that area is currently undergoing demolition, and everywhere that should be leveled has been leveled. Therefore, there are no reference points on the surface; let alone inferring from the terrain, even satellite remote sensing is useless.

There is one more point: even if there is a tomb, it should be buried deep underground, otherwise, relevant mausoleum ruins would have been discovered during the demolition process... Therefore, if we look, we must conduct deep hole probing, simultaneously utilizing ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity method, magnetic method, and seismic wave detection. But no matter which one it is, it requires the construction site to completely stop work!"

Lin Sicheng paused slightly: "But Aerospace City is a National Level economic and technological development zone, how can we stop it?"

He Zhigang finally knew why Lin Sicheng wanted to sneak away right after Chen Peng finished scolding him? Because there was simply no way to find it...

But we can't just not look, right?

If there is no way, then we must find a way.

Just as he was frowning and thinking, Lin Sicheng pointed to the tombstone: "Two leaders, I have some thoughts, but I'm not sure if they will work, just take it as me talking off the top of my head!"

It's not like they hadn't used him before?

Lin Sicheng was too useful.

Chen Peng nodded vigorously: "Speak!"

"Look for it according to the Cultural Relics clues..."

Just as he started, Chen Peng's eyelids twitched: The so-called following the vine to find the melon, the police of course know to follow the Cultural Relics clues to investigate.

But after investigating for nearly a month, quite a few items have been recovered, and some suspected to have been unearthed from the Zhang Anshi Tomb, but the problem is, at most, we can only touch the periphery.

Many people have been arrested, but the most significant ones are just the black-market Cultural Relics dealers who collect these items. He can even say who he collected them from and where he collected them.

But once investigated, this person simply doesn't exist... This core group of people is like they are invisible?

Thinking secretly, just as Chen Peng was about to say something, Lin Sicheng pointed to the stone stele again: "Director Chen, because this group is too professional, it is not easy to investigate. And they are extremely bold: under such high-pressure circumstances, they still dig when they should, sell when they should, and transport when they should?"

Wanting money but not their lives, this dog-boldness is almost reaching the heavens?

"Especially this one..." Lin Sicheng pointed to the carved stone again, "It was dug out for nearly two days, the mud on it had just barely dried, and it was transported to the border...

This is a typical 'Golden Forty-Eight Hours' exit; ordinary grave-robbing gangs don't have this connection, let alone this path and ability. There must be overseas organizations involved: that is, on-site acquisition, overnight transport, overseas reception...

This method has a characteristic: they rarely sell stolen goods domestically. The items that flow into the black market are nine times out of ten bait deliberately released to mislead the investigation direction of the relevant departments... That is why we can't find them."

There is another characteristic: the Two-Dragon Theft and Fencing, meaning those who dig don't sell, and those who sell don't dig. It is basically "the financier finds the tomb location, then provides funds to hire a professional organization as an intermediary, and the intermediary then hires a grave-robbing gang to go down into the pit.

And it is money in one hand, goods in the other: that is, as soon as one item is dug up, they pay the grave-robbing gang for one item on the spot..."

"Therefore, the organization is extremely tight, the division of labor is extremely clear, and the management is extremely strict: once they go down into the pit, they either dig it empty, or they are forced to withdraw because the investigation is too tight; otherwise, they won't come out of the pit.

And it is very likely that the intermediary is intentionally blocking the news; those who go down into the tomb don't even know that the outside world has already exploded and the investigation is so tight. Therefore, they should still be digging non-stop..."

Chen Peng's face grew darker the more he listened, and darker still.

Being this awesome, how can we still investigate?

He Zhigang thought for a moment: "Little Lin, what is meant by 'professional organization'?"

Lin Sicheng paused: "Auction houses!"

The two were stunned in unison: International auction houses?

If it is an international auction house responsible for fencing the stolen goods, Lin Sicheng's speculation is indeed quite possible. Just like this stone slab, all the main checkpoints were checking so strictly, yet it was still transported out?

Suddenly, Chen Peng remembered the "inverted boot" that Lin Sicheng mentioned last time: Director Chen, this group is too professional, it is estimated that it is not easy to investigate...

At that time, he didn't really believe it, thinking to himself, how many years have I been in the police force?

As it turns out, it's really fucking hard to investigate.

Especially this "Golden Forty-Eight Hours" to exit the country that Lin Sicheng mentioned, along with "reverse-booting" and "deliberately planting bait to mislead the direction of the investigation"—this is definitely a veteran Grave Robber.

Ordinary petty thieves wouldn't even know how to pull off something this slick, let alone understand it...

Chen Peng bit his cheek, looking pained: "How do you know so much, kid?"

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "Learned it from books!"

Chen Peng let out a "heh": Like I believe that crap?

He was referring to Lin Sicheng's "learned it from books" line, not Lin Sicheng's deduction.

With his over twenty years of professional experience, the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was possible.

But even if it's an international auction house, the core staff are still locals, and one hundred percent, their public identities have absolutely nothing to do with the auction house.

So, are you going to run abroad and check every single auction house?

Of course, no matter how hard it is, it has to be checked; to put it another way: it's better than having no leads at all, right?

He let out a breath and straightened Lin Sicheng's collar: "If you're going to help, help all the way; if you're going to see a Buddha to the west, see him to the end. Come on, give your Uncle Chen some ideas..."

Lin Sicheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He thought again: "First find the Cultural Relics, then follow the Cultural Relics to find the people!"

Chen Peng pressed on: "Find who?"

"The Grave Robber, or even better, the auction house!"