mtl008 Chapter 595 The Luxurious Tomb of the Marquis of Haihun
Chapter 595 The Luxurious Tomb of the Marquis of Haihun
As a wandering Taoist priest who traveled all over the country, Zhang Sheng naturally knew who the Marquis of Haihun was; he was an emperor.
Although he only reigned as emperor for a little over twenty days, he was still an emperor, and he was buried according to imperial rites after his death. What's the difference between this and robbing an imperial tomb?
If I really robbed the imperial tomb, would I still be able to stand in the world?
Thinking of the consequences of robbing the imperial tomb, Zhang Sheng couldn't help but shudder. He stood up and refused without thinking, saying, "This humble Taoist priest is unable to help with this matter. General, please find someone else. Farewell."
After saying that, he was about to leave, but Guan Xing grabbed his sleeve tightly and he couldn't break free.
Guan Xing grabbed his wide, concealable robe sleeves and said, "Taoist Master, please listen to me first. I'm not asking you to participate in tomb raiding. You only need to provide technical support. We'll take the blame for the crime of tomb raiding; it won't affect you at all. In addition, you can take 10% of the money in the tomb."
Zhang Sheng paused upon hearing this. It wouldn't be a problem if the three brothers took the blame, but he was really short of money recently. The Taoist temple on Longhu Mountain hadn't even had its foundation laid yet. If he had to raise the funds himself, when would he ever be able to do so?
Thinking of the barren peaks of Longhu Mountain, Zhang Sheng shook his head and said, "No, it has to be 20%. General, you know the situation of Longhu Mountain. We are really short of money lately."
Guan Xing shook his head and said, "This time I'll give you a maximum of 15 percent, no more. If you steal again next time, I can give you 20 percent."
What do you mean? You're planning to steal again?
After struggling for a moment, Zhang Sheng sat back down with unparalleled ease and said with a smile, "General, you've come to the right person. I am very skilled in feng shui and geomancy, and I guarantee that it won't interfere with your and His Highness's important matters."
Guan Xing raised his glass and said, "Then let's toast to our immediate success!"
Liu Shan and Zhang Bao were still shaken by the previous poisoning incident, so they didn't dare to drink much. They only drank three cups before getting up and leaving.
The next morning, Liu Shan left a letter for Liu Bei saying he was going to Wushan to cut timber, and then left the city with Guan Xing, Zhang Bao, Jiang Wei, Xia Tong and other officials of the Eastern Palace, plus their personal guards, totaling more than two thousand people.
Liu Bei assumed that he had fled to another place to avoid punishment for the loss of 20,000 strings of cash, so he did not think much of it.
He never dreamed that Liu Shan would dig up his own ancestral graves for money.
To avoid Liu Bei's notice, Liu Shan left the city through the south gate, headed south to Jinxiangdu, then turned around and crossed the Yangtze River, heading straight for Haihun County, southwest of Jiangling.
Haihun County was under the jurisdiction of Yuzhang Commandery. It was located at the confluence of the Xiushui and Liaoshui rivers, more than a thousand miles away from Jiangling.
Despite the distance, Liu Shan and his men were filled with enthusiasm. They arrived at the outskirts of Haihun City in just ten days. Upon arrival, they did not dare to immediately rob the tomb, but instead went into the city to meet with the officials and gentry of the county.
Haihun County is a large county with a population of over 30,000. There are also descendants of Liu He, the Marquis of Haihun, living in the county. If you don't deceive these people and let them know that you came to rob the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, do you think you can succeed in robbing it?
Therefore, the army split into two groups. Liu Shan, along with Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, entered the city to meet with the officials and said that they were going to Jiaozhou to pacify the region and were only resting temporarily in Haihun County.
Zhang Sheng, carrying a compass, led Jiang Wei and Xia Tong to the mausoleum to survey the terrain and search for the entrance.
As the founder of Taoism, Zhang Sheng was quite professional in his field, finding the entrance to the tomb and devising an excavation plan in just half a day.
That evening, the two sides met at the camp where the army was stationed outside the city. Zhang Sheng took out a sketch he had drawn in advance and spread it in front of Liu Shan, saying, "Your Highness, General Guan, I have figured out the overall layout of the Haihunhou Tomb. As long as we follow my ideas, there will definitely be no problem digging."
Guan Xing looked down and couldn't help but marvel. Zhang Sheng's sketch was extremely detailed, depicting the main tomb, the secondary tombs, the outer burial pits, and the garden walls and gates.
In addition, there were granaries, treasuries, musical instrument stores, as well as clothing stores, armories, document stores, entertainment equipment stores, wine vessel stores, kitchenware stores, music and horse storage stores, and even road systems and drainage facilities.
This isn't a tomb at all; it's clearly a luxurious and fully-equipped mansion of a nobleman.
Liu Shan exclaimed in shock, "The Marquis of Haihun is far too wealthy! How can I, the Crown Prince, be less rich than a dead man? Is there any justice in this world?"
Guan Xing couldn't help but sigh, "I never thought a tomb could be built like this. I thought we could just dig a hole and bury it and that would be the end of it. Poverty really limits our imagination."
"But Taoist priest, you are truly professional. You didn't even go inside the tomb, just glanced at the ground and knew the specific layout of the tomb. That's too exaggerated. How did you do that? Do you have X-ray vision or something?"
When asked about his field of expertise, Zhang Sheng proudly puffed out his chest and said, "The mausoleums of dukes and marquises are all governed by feng shui principles. The direction the door faces, the location of the main tomb, and the size of the storerooms are all carefully considered. It's not as simple as just digging a hole. To put it more simply, although mausoleums are built for the dead, they are also constructed by the living. Since they are constructed by the living, it's always correct to reason according to the thinking of the living."
Liu Shan rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's dig tonight. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can call it a day. If we drag it out, it's easy for things to go wrong. If the descendants of the Marquis of Haihun find out, it will be troublesome."
Zhang Sheng shook his head and said, "No, the timing of breaking ground is important, especially for tomb raiding. We must choose an auspicious day. The day after tomorrow at noon is the most suitable time to dig."
"The day after tomorrow?" Liu Shan said with a bitter face, "Do we have to wait that long?"
Guan Xing comforted him, saying, "For professional matters, let's listen to the professionals. Let's do as the Taoist priest says. It won't make a difference if we wait a day or two."
There are rules to tomb raiding; one cannot act recklessly. Liu Shan knew the importance of feng shui, so he reluctantly agreed and returned to the county town to continue his superficial dealings with the officials and gentry of Haihun County.
Time flew by, and the auspicious hour arrived quickly. Liu Chan, Guan Xing, and others carried shovels to the entrance of the tomb. Under Zhang Sheng's technical guidance, they shoveled soil. This shovelful of soil served as a signal. As soon as Liu Chan finished shoveling and stood up, the soldiers behind him rushed forward with shovels and hoes. Thousands of people worked at the same time, and the efficiency was outstanding.
While Liu Shan was busy robbing tombs, the officials and gentry in the county were also pondering Liu Shan's intentions.
The magistrate of Haihun County was named Zhou Chang, a native of Ba Commandery. He had recently been transferred from Bashu and was practically a fellow townsman of Liu Shan. As a result, he and Liu Shan had been getting along very well these past few days.
They hit it off quite well at first, but Magistrate Zhou gradually became a little suspicious. Didn't His Highness the Crown Prince say he was going to Jiaozhou to quell the rebellion? Why is he staying in Haihun? If he keeps dragging this out, the Jiaozhou rebellion will be completely quelled.
The magistrate, Zhou Chang, became increasingly suspicious, convinced that Liu Shan was deceiving him and must have ulterior motives for coming to Haihun. After much deliberation, he decided to send someone to investigate.
The county constable who had been dispatched returned quickly and rushed into the study to report to Zhou Chang: "Reporting to the magistrate, I went to His Highness the Crown Prince's military camp outside the city as you instructed. I found that there were only a few guards left in the camp, and the rest of them were nowhere to be found. I continued to follow the army's footprints. After finding the army, I did not dare to approach them, but instead climbed up a tree to secretly observe. I found His Highness leading the army, wielding hoes and digging something, and they were digging very hard."
Zhou Chang frowned and asked, "What are you digging for? Could it be that there's some treasure in Haihun County?"
The constable replied, "Magistrate, you are new to Haihun and may not know this, but the place His Highness the Crown Prince dug is the mausoleum of the Marquis of Haihun. Even we locals don't dare to go near that place normally."
Marquis of Haihun?
Zhou Chang recognized the title, and couldn't help but frown and fall into deep thought. After a moment, he recalled the story of Liu He, the deposed emperor of Han, being demoted to the Marquis of Haihun, and immediately cursed, "Holy crap..."