Chapter 316: Investigating One by One

Two police cars were parked at the highway exit, one with a Hebei license plate, the other with a Baoding license plate.

The former belonged to the HEB Provincial Department, and the latter to the BD Municipal Bureau. Although they belonged to different regions, they were part of the same system and dealt with each other often, so both sides were not strangers.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Office Director of the Municipal Bureau took out a cigarette case and handed out cigarettes.

"Old leader, which department is coming this time?"

Director Li of the Provincial Department took the cigarette and shielded it from the wind to light it: "The Beijing Municipal Bureau!"

"Why so sudden?"

Li Zhijie did not speak.

More than just sudden?

If he had to describe it: extremely urgent, not a moment to lose.

Yesterday at three in the afternoon, the leaders of the Provincial Department first received a call from the leaders of the Criminal Investigation General Brigade of Beijing. This was private in nature, roughly just a private communication: We have a matter here that needs to be handled on your side; it's a bit urgent, old friend, please bear with us.

Less than ten minutes after the call ended, the Department's General 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 General Brigade, to the Municipal Bureau, and then to the Ministry, it hadn't even been an hour from start to finish. This level, this speed—how many years had it been since he'd seen this?

One could see how high the level of the case was.

When asked further, every level was ambiguous, only saying the case was not large, and the investigation level was only at the detachment level under the General Brigade. This trip to the local area was just to find some clues, and there was no need for the local agencies to make a big fuss. It was only because the departure was so urgent that it was coordinated at a higher level.

As for what the specific case was, not a single word was mentioned. Moreover, it wasn't until this morning that they received notice: the special investigation team was not coming to the provincial capital, but to Baoding.

They were all old institutions; who didn't understand whom?

It wasn't as if there hadn't been major, shocking cases across the country before; even with ministerial-level supervision, this was the speed it would be at.

From this, it was hard to say whether the case was big, but the level of attention was definitely high enough. Therefore, neither the province nor the city took it lightly. Although those coming to receive them were only from the Department and Municipal Bureau offices, the criminal investigation departments at both levels were fully prepared.

Turning these thoughts over, Li Zhijie exhaled a puff of smoke: "Have the operational departments all been arranged?"

"Of course, Deputy Bureau Chief Liu is leading the team personally, and all units are on standby."

"That's good!"

As the two were talking, having almost finished a cigarette, a motorcade exited the highway.

They were all standard license plates, including sedans, SUVs, a pickup truck, and a box truck, so no one paid them any mind.

But when the motorcade stopped behind the police cars, the group of police officers realized something was wrong.

Immediately, two people stepped down from the lead car.

Li Zhijie's eyelids twitched: Wasn't it said that only a detachment-level team was coming?

The Office Director of the Municipal Bureau, the Deputy Team Leader of the Beijing Criminal Investigation General Brigade... with this level, it wouldn't be excessive for a Department leader to receive them.

The key was: standard plates, plainclothes?

Looking further back: there were six vehicles of various sizes, but apart from these two, not a single person got out of the cars.

Who was sitting in the sedans? He didn't know. Were there leaders? He didn't know either. What was being carried in the pickup and the box truck? He knew even less.

But Li Zhijie at least knew what this meant: the group that arrived today had basically zero trust in local agencies.

Regardless of whether it was the Provincial Department or the Municipal Bureau...

Secretly astonished, Li Zhijie hurried to greet them: "Director Chen, Deputy Team Leader Sun, you've had a hard journey!"

"Director Li is too kind; we are the ones who should apologize: we've caused trouble this time!"

"Beijing and Hebei are one family; there's no talk of trouble!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Zhijie probed again: "After the long journey and the fatigue of travel, let's go to the hotel to rest first. If it's convenient, Director Chen, please provide a list, or even just a headcount, and I will go make arrangements!"

"Thank you, Director Li, but the case is quite urgent, so we won't make arrangements; let's head to Yixian first."

Director Chen looked back, "Director Li, I must trouble you again: let's not notify Yixian for now. Just send two comrades from here to be responsible for temporary coordination, but we will need to change cars and change clothes!"

Li Zhijie's eyelids twitched repeatedly.

No meal, no hotel, and not only was there no name list, but they wouldn't even give a specific headcount?

Only now did they say they were going to Yixian, yet they wouldn't allow the local department to be notified? They even required the accompanying personnel from the Provincial Department and Municipal Bureau to change into plainclothes and change into different cars?

How high must this level of secrecy be?

Li Zhijie and the Municipal Bureau Director exchanged a glance; they had racked their brains but couldn't recall any earth-shattering major cases in Yixian recently.

Seeing what they were thinking, Director Chen smiled slightly: "The case is actually not large, but it involves many aspects and has a relatively large influence, so it is being handled quite urgently."

The words were very cryptic, but Li Zhijie understood immediately: too many internal personnel were involved, and they were afraid of leaks, so they couldn't follow standard procedures.

To put it bluntly: it involved not only internal personnel in Beijing but also local ones. It could be at the county level, or the city level, or even worse, the department level.

The key lay in the latter part: relatively large influence!

This was telling them clearly: the leaders paying attention to this case were not just one or two. Thinking back: the notification letter issued by the Ministry's General Office was sent so urgently—how high must the level of the leaders be?

The two were struck with horror and dared not ask any more questions; they got into their cars in a hurry and immediately reported to their supervising leaders.

After the leaders listened to the general situation, they communicated with Director Chen. About half an hour later, the Municipal Bureau sent two cars and plainclothes for the accompanying personnel.

Eight cars exited the highway and headed west, but they didn't stop after reaching Yixian; they continued west.

Further west, where could they go?

Yishui Lake, Yongding Mountain, or perhaps even Langya Mountain?

Halfway there, the motorcade turned into Xiling Town, and Li Zhijie suddenly realized: what they were handling this time was nine times out of ten a cultural relics case.

But he couldn't quite figure it out: no matter how big a cultural relics case was, at most they might dig up an imperial tomb; how much social harm could it cause to warrant the Ministry issuing a letter?

In his astonishment, the motorcade stopped at the entrance of the Xiling Management Committee, but the ones who stepped forward to coordinate were not Director Chen and Deputy Team Leader Sun, but two people who got out of the second car.

After an introduction, Li Zhijie was shocked again: these two, one was a Deputy Director-General of the Archaeology Department of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, and the other was the Division Chief of the Archaeology Management Division of the Archaeology Department.

The reception protocol could not be described as anything but high: a Deputy Bureau Chief of the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau was leading the team.

This level was even higher than Director Chen and Deputy Team Leader Sun, and the reception protocol was two levels higher than his and the Municipal Bureau Director's.

But that was not the point: the Ministry's General Office issued a letter for the Provincial Department and Municipal Bureau to assist the special investigation team, which showed that they were indeed here to handle a case.

And these two people from the National Cultural Heritage Administration represent the Ministry. And what of the archaeology team and experts behind them?

The key is that the conversation between that Department Head Wu and the Deputy Bureau Chief of the provincial bureau was exactly the same as the rhetoric used earlier at the highway exit with Director Chen and Deputy Captain Sun:

They arrived in a bit of a rush, so they ask the local comrades to please be understanding. They just received a report that someone was illegally occupying mausoleum land to build farmland, so they are conducting a routine inspection, just going through the motions; it is not a big problem.

Looking at the Deputy Bureau Chief's expression again, it is filled with suspicion amidst surprise, and probing amidst unease... how is it any different from his own earlier?

It is clear that they only knew what this Department Head Wu was here for once they arrived on the scene.

Li Zhijie thinks the more he thinks about it, the more wrong it feels: does illegal occupation of mausoleum land require alarming the Ministry?

This Department Head Wu, and the seven or eight people behind him, are clearly here to provide cover for their counterparts from Beijing.

Two ministries cooperating, handling a case jointly... has the tomb of Yongzheng been robbed?

Even if an imperial mausoleum were robbed, there is no need to be sneaky, acting like a thief, is there?

While pondering, the group entered the office, sat for about ten minutes, and drank a cup of tea.

Then, the crowd swarmed out and headed straight for the Mu Mausoleum at the far west of the mausoleum area.

Once on site, those setting up base stations set them up, those connecting to satellites connected them, those assembling drones assembled them, and those assembling radar assembled it.

With such a clear purpose and such urgency, not to mention Li Zhijie finding it wrong, the accompanying Deputy Bureau Chief of the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, the Municipal Bureau Chief, and the Person in Charge of the mausoleum area all found it wrong.

Looking at this array of high-end equipment: if it were just illegal occupation of protected land, where would the need for such a massive display be?

After thinking about it, the Deputy Bureau Chief gathered the persons in charge from the city, county, town, and mausoleum area together.

He got straight to the point, speaking bluntly, not even avoiding Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu: "Has the Mu Mausoleum been robbed?"

The group shook their heads in unison: what kind of joke is that?

The four imperial mausoleums of the Western Tombs: Yongzheng, Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Guangxu; except for the Guangxu tomb which was blown open by warlords with explosives and thoroughly looted during the Republic of China, the remaining three are basically intact.

Among them, the tomb tunnel of the Tai Mausoleum (Yongzheng) reached the Vajra Wall (the protective wall outside the underground palace), and the Chang Mausoleum (Jiaqing) reached the outside of the Dragon-Breaking Stone (main tomb chamber), nearly being robbed.

Only the Mu Mausoleum of Daoguang, let alone a tomb tunnel, has not even had a pit dug in it. If one were to rank them: among the twelve imperial mausoleums of the Qing Dynasty, the Mu Mausoleum is the best-preserved one, without exception.

With such high representativeness, the level of protection is not ordinary. There is twenty-four-hour guard duty within the park and irregular patrols around the clock.

Never mind digging a tunnel, they would notice even if someone dug two shovelfuls of dirt.

Sun Jiamu, standing nearby, smiled and explained: "Bureau Chief He, it is just a routine inspection following a report."

Deputy Bureau Chief He remained expressionless: Heh!

You even used satellites; do you think I believe that?

No, he must find a way to ask. If an imperial mausoleum has truly been excavated and the provincial and municipal levels are still being kept in the dark while the National Cultural Heritage Administration discovered it first, this matter would be huge.

As these thoughts turned, he looked at Wu Hui in front of the Bao Cheng (tomb mound), wondering whether to fish for information.

But there were too many people, a large crowd surrounding a few young men fiddling with several imaging devices.

Deputy Bureau Chief He peered from afar: the screen was constantly moving, likely real-time footage from the drone in the sky, but the image was very clear.

He had heard of this, knowing it was the latest spatial remote sensing technology, but he had never seen it, let alone used it.

Indeed, he was not the only one curious, including Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu.

Something like the "RTK System (Real-Time Kinematic)" is fine; it was introduced nearly two years ago, and although they cannot operate it, the people in the Archaeology Department generally know the principle.

But things like "Hyperspectral Remote Sensing" and "Radar Remote Sensing" were only introduced by the Cultural Relics Bureau at the beginning of the year. They have been studying and training, and this is the first time they are using them for field surveying.

The group was very curious, and what was even more curious was that Lin Sicheng seemed to understand it quite well, constantly directing the two technicians: how to adjust parameters, how to align base station signals, how to calculate interferometric measurements, and how to observe mutation indices.

He was even more proficient than the two technicians sent out by the bureau who had undergone specialized training?

After watching for a while, someone could not help but ask: "Teacher Lin, Shaanxi shouldn't have this stuff yet, how do you know so much?"

"Shaanxi doesn't have it!" Lin Sicheng looked up and smiled, "But there is an instruction manual!"

The person who asked was choked up: he just asked casually, why is this person snapping back?

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.

They were in the middle of a critical moment, with endless work to do; where would they find the time to explain it to him?

Not to mention ordinary archaeology team members, last time in Yuncheng, Lin Sicheng used the RTK System to find a porcelain kiln site, and Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu were amazed; Lin Sicheng had answered the same way then:

Department Head Wu, Division Chief Sun, actually this thing is not difficult. There is an accompanying instruction manual, and you can learn it by taking a look.

Afterward, Sun Jiamu carried the instruction manual and read it for two months; let alone operating it, he did not even understand the principles.

So there is no need to doubt it; anything Lin Sicheng says can be learned by taking a look and pondering is absolutely incredibly difficult for ordinary people.

Wu Hui scanned the circle, meaning for everyone to shut up, and the group became as silent as cicadas in winter.

Feeling something strange, Bureau Chief He subconsciously took a few looks.

The young man is very young, in his early twenties, with delicate features.

He hadn't been introduced earlier, and Bureau Chief He only inadvertently noticed that the smell of medicine on this young man was extremely heavy, and his movements were not very convenient, as if he had just been injured.

Because he was very young, he had previously assumed Lin Sicheng was an ordinary staff member, so Bureau Chief He did not pay attention.

But looking now: a crowd was surrounding this young man. Including Wu Hui, including the two division chiefs introduced earlier, the Deputy Director of the Archaeological Institute, directors, institute heads, captains, and several others who hadn't been introduced and whose roles were unknown, all gathered there.

Their expressions were focused, filled with curiosity and a bit of inquiry, but no one spoke; it was quiet.

Watching Lin Sicheng give directions and talk to the two technicians, the group finally understood the principles of these machines:

Observing the surface, to put it bluntly: if there is a tomb tunnel, if it has been backfilled, the initial soil is loose, which will inevitably cause local bulging.

Afterward, through rain soaking, natural settling, etc., the tomb tunnel will inevitably have subsidence. Looking at which place in the mausoleum area is unreasonably high or has obvious pit-like shapes, nine times out of ten it is a backfilled tomb tunnel.

Secondly, observing probe holes: if you want to rob a tomb, you first probe the soil. The tomb tunnel might be backfilled, but no grave robber is meticulous enough to fill back probe holes that are less than ten centimeters in diameter.

And remote sensing imaging can be accurate to the centimeter level; point-like depressions with a diameter of over five centimeters and a depth of over twenty centimeters are all clearly marked.

Finally, observing anomalies in surface vegetation reflectivity: if you want to rob a tomb, don't you have to transport tools in? After robbing it, don't you have to transport Cultural Relics out?

Never mind vehicle tracks, as long as a person has stepped on it, if the vegetation height drops by more than one centimeter, it can be observed by the remote sensing system.

In 2008, these instruments were considered true high-tech.

But the strange thing is, there didn't seem to be any anomalies.

There were no tomb tunnels, no probe holes, and certainly no transport paths worn by people or vehicles.

Were the machines not calibrated 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 they were miscalibrated, it was impossible for all three to be wrong.

Was it not dug from here?

That was even more impossible.

The copper coins could not lie; it could be said that apart from Mu Mausoleum, burying that coin anywhere else in the country would not produce that unique jujube-red patina.

Twirling the copper coin, he tilted his head to think, and a flash of light crossed his mind.

Silver Snake, Out-of-Print, Yellow Dragon?

Had he been so focused on pondering this copper coin that he had forgotten about the gold coins?

This was what Ma Shan had said himself, that very day when he blocked his path with his men: his subordinates had been careless and missed the mark—a crate of Silver Snakes, six Out-of-Prints, and three Yellow Dragons.

At that time, Ma Shan was convinced he was in league with that woman, so he wouldn't have been speaking nonsense...

Thinking this to himself, Lin Sicheng stretched out his hand: "Senior Brother Fang, the Compass!"

The group was collectively stunned: what on earth?

Looking again, he had indeed taken out a Compass.

Since his injuries hadn't fully healed, Lin Sicheng didn't dare use too much force; he held it up with effort and turned it gently.

He turned it once, took a look. Turned it again, took another look, and occasionally walked around, changing his position.

He Cong'an found it increasingly strange as he watched: "Division Chief Sun, what is he doing?"

Sun Jiamu was taken aback, not knowing how to explain.

It wasn't the first time he had seen Lin Sicheng use this thing; he had often seen it back in Yuncheng. But the problem was, at that time, Lin Sicheng wasn't looking for a tomb, but an ancient kiln site.

If he were asked to explain, he really couldn't.

After thinking for a long time, Sun Jiamu spat out three words: "Determining the orientation!"

He Cong'an paused, looked up at the sun, and then looked at the mausoleum, which was perfectly aligned: what was there to determine?

It wasn't just He Supervisor who was puzzled; Li Zhijie was even more so: standing next to Director Chen and Deputy Team Leader Sun seemed to be Branch Captain Zhang and Deputy Branch Captain Yan of the Cultural Relics Branch.

From this, it was clear that this case involved Cultural Relics.

But he had only heard of using a Compass for Grave-robbing or finding tombs; the mausoleum was right there, such a large Lock (mausoleum mound) behind them, so what was the point of using this thing?

Having seen Lin Sicheng use it twice, Wu Hui and Sun Jiamu were already unfazed. The several Deputy Directors, Directors, Institute Heads, and Captains were all in archaeology and were no strangers to this object.

But the group of Police were curious beyond measure.

They had heard that this thing was magical, that masters of Grave-robbing only needed to sit on a plane, look at the mountain terrain, and adjust the Compass a few times to find an ancient tomb in the complex, chaotic, and lawless mountains.

But in reality, they had handled so many Grave-robbing cases; who had they ever seen use one?

Let alone use one, there were few Grave Robbers who could even understand this thing.

Out of curiosity, Yan Wenjing leaned in closer: "Teacher Lin, what is all this on here?"

"Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, solar terms and directions, the twenty-four hours, and astronomical calendars!"

"How do you use it specifically?"

As Lin Sicheng adjusted the Compass, he explained: "In ancient times, selecting a mausoleum required observing the mountains, distinguishing the soil, watching the Qi, determining the sand, measuring the water..."

To put it plainly: the mountains (dragon veins) needed three platforms and nine curtains to hide the Wind and gather water. The soil needed all five colors to harmonize the Five Elements. The earth's Qi needed to be prosperous to multiply descendants, the sand and water needed to be locked, auspicious and prosperous, and the Dividing Gold and sitting degrees had to correspond to the heavenly timing..."

"All of this is on the Compass. For example: using specific formulas to combine sets of numbers to calculate the most auspicious and accurate answer."

Seeing Lin Sicheng speaking so eloquently, Yan Wenjing twisted his face: "Is it useful?"

This actually stumped Lin Sicheng, and he thought for a long while: "Captain Yan, the question isn't whether it's useful, but whether people believe in it."

How could no one believe in it?

The emperors of ancient times began building their mausoleums the day they ascended the throne and continued until they died; was that just for fun?

Thinking this to himself, he took another look. Roughly guessing what he was curious about, Lin Sicheng explained:

"According to the Xuanzong Veritable Records, there were twenty-nine auxiliary tombs at Mu Mausoleum. However, the 1851 'Mu Mausoleum Project Accounting Yellow Register' lists thirty-one."

Later, to save on expenses, the Xianfeng Emperor merged the burials of some of the Daoguang Emperor's concubines who passed away during his reign into 'collective burials' with a single monument. This portion was not recorded in historical documents, totaling twelve tombs."

"Including princes and Princesses who died in childhood, as well as buried eunuchs, there should be about sixty-seven auxiliary tombs for Daoguang... but nowadays, only thirty-two have been identified, of which only eight are intact and fourteen are partially damaged."

Sixty-seven minus eight minus fourteen...

Yan Wenjing calculated: "The remaining forty-five are all robbed?"

"Only ten were robbed, basically concentrated between 1942 and 1950..."

Lin Sicheng pointed outside the mausoleum, "In 1958, part of it was leveled along with the trees and mounds. In 1968, part of the monuments and tomb paths were smashed. In the 1970s, when the farmland was leveled, another part was pushed over... so, most of the tombs are still there, but the mounds were leveled and the monuments pushed over, leaving no traces on the surface..."

Pausing slightly, he looked at the people from the local unit, and Lin Sicheng lowered his voice: "I am very certain that the crate of copper coins was dug out from here."

It wasn't just Lin Sicheng who was certain; including Yan Wenjing, the Branch Captain, the Deputy Team Leader, and even Wang Qizhi, as well as the Police who were in the interrogation room that day, were all certain: if it hadn't been dug from Mu Mausoleum, Ma Shan wouldn't have been that terrified.

But even with high-tech satellite remote sensing used, no traces were found within the mausoleum area?

Then there was only one possibility: this group of Grave Robbers did not rob the tombs within the mausoleum area.

But following the direction of Lin Sicheng's finger, the group looked at each other in dismay.

It was nearly October, the time of the autumn harvest; some corn had been picked, but the stalks were still standing in the fields. Some were still green and not quite ripe, but others had already had their stalks cut, the stubble burned, and cow and sheep manure spread.

Even more so, some fields had already been plowed.

As far as the eye could see, apart from the Mu Mausoleum under their feet and the Mu East Mausoleum (tomb of Daoguang's concubines) not far away, the surroundings were nothing but farmland.

Heaven only knew where the remaining forty-five auxiliary tombs were. And heaven only knew which one Ma Shan had robbed.

You couldn't even use high-tech equipment: with vehicles rolling and people treading, and machines plowing, how could you find traces?

Everyone who was in the know, who knew why they were here today, looked at Lin Sicheng. Although they didn't say it, the meaning was written all over their faces: how could this be found?

Lin Sicheng said nothing.

He felt it shouldn't be hard to find. The prerequisite was that Ma Shan and Ma Long were both not lying.

Ma Shan said there were three gold coins in that box. Ma Long, who was also Maguan, said: he didn't know if there were gold coins, but that box of copper coins intercepted by that woman was sent to Beijing, box and all.

If everything, including the gold coins, was dug up from the burial pits of Mu Mausoleum, then at the very least, a concubine's tomb had been robbed.

Qing regulations: Emperors, Empresses Dowager, and Empresses were buried with gold coins; Imperial Concubines and Noble Consorts with silver-gilding; Concubines and secondary consorts with copper-gilding.

Regardless of whether it was real gold or gold-gilding, including the three Empresses, there were only about twenty people qualified to be buried with gold coins. Eighteen of them were within the mausoleum area, and only seven or eight were outside the mausoleum grounds.

Based on feng shui, based on orientation, and further based on the concubines' ranks, birth dates, lifespans, offspring, and posthumous titles, as well as other Information Detachment, Lin Sicheng was fully confident he could find it.

Next, it was nothing more than searching one by one...

(End of chapter)