Chapter Twenty-Nine: No Negotiation—You’re Doomed in the Shadows!
“Speak! Where did you get this pure gold incense burner?”
“Honorable officers, I found it by accident while tilling the fields. I dug it up from the earth and thought I could sell it in the city for a bit of money.”
“Heh, from the fields, you say... I suspect you unearthed it from a grave. It still carries the peculiar, foul scent of funerary objects. You dared to rob a tomb? That’s a capital offense—punishable by death!”
“Ah… Please spare me, officers! The harvest was poor this year, I couldn’t pay the land rent, and my parents have both fallen ill. They need money for medicine, and I had no other choice. I braved my fear and dug up an abandoned grave—Heaven and Earth bear witness! I only took the incense burner and left all the other treasures untouched. I won’t dare again, please spare me, I beg you!”
“So, you say you took only this pure gold incense burner, but there’s still much gold and silver in the tomb? Where is this abandoned grave?”
“Thirty miles southwest of the city, on Gaoyang Plain, in a forest that’s rarely visited. There are no homes for miles around. Inside the tomb are large gold ingots, beautiful jade from Hetian, emerald bracelets, night pearls as big as pigeon eggs… All fine things, but my courage failed me, I didn’t dare take them.”
...
The simple-minded farmer was terrified, kneeling and begging for mercy, confessing everything about his grave robbing.
After hearing his tale, Wang Biao’s eyes lit up instantly. He left two officers to guard the farmer, gathered the others aside, and began to whisper.
“Brothers, our chance to strike it rich has come.”
“Boss, what do you mean?”
“Heh, that fool was clear—he only took the incense burner, the tomb still holds much gold and silver. Why don’t we help ourselves? If we seize those treasures, we’ll have enough for lifetimes!”
“Hu—Hu—”
The officers glanced at each other, their breathing quickening. According to the Tang Code, grave robbing is one of the ten great crimes—punishable by immediate execution.
Ordinarily, not even in their wildest dreams would they dare such a thing. But tonight, emboldened by heavy drinking and muddled minds, their thoughts were less clear… Most importantly, the lure of treasure was irresistible!
They scraped by as officers, wringing a paltry handful of coins from the people each month, barely enough for a couple meals at a tavern or a visit to the pleasure house. The rest of the days were bitter.
If they could get their hands on the tomb’s treasures, they’d be wealthy beyond imagination. They could quit their posts, hide in a small county, buy houses and land, take wives and concubines, feast every day—what a life that would be!
With this in mind, the group exchanged glances and nodded in unison—fortune favors the bold. Let’s do it!
“Bring the lad over here… Tell me, do you want to live or die?”
“Please be merciful, officers! I want to live!”
“If you want to live, do as you’re told. Understand?”
“I understand! I’ll obey!”
...
Since they were about to rob a tomb, they couldn’t go dressed as officers.
Wang Biao and his men went home first, changed into ordinary clothing, then gathered outside Anhua Gate in the southwest corner of Chang’an. They brought picks, shovels, ropes, and other tools, and set out under cover of night in a mule-drawn wagon, heading straight for Gaoyang Plain.
Gaoyang Plain lies thirty miles southwest of Chang’an. The land is high and solid, with the Qin Mountains to the south and Chang’an to the north—a place of excellent feng shui.
Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, many residents of Chang’an have chosen Gaoyang Plain as their final resting place. Countless tombs dot the region, including those of famous figures: Princess Gaoyang, seventeenth daughter of Emperor Taizong; Li Chengjia, a prominent minister of Emperor Gaozong; Shangguan Wan’er, the celebrated talent of Empress Wu’s era—all are buried here.
As for the tombs of officials below third rank, they are as numerous as grains of sand, and buried with them are untold treasures of gold and silver, drawing countless thieves—the tombs are frequently plundered.
...
Thus, after burial, the wealthy and powerful always left behind tomb guardians to ensure safety.
Over time, villages sprang up around Gaoyang Plain, populated by hereditary tomb keepers. They despised tomb robbers, and if caught, would beat them to death without mercy!
...
“Where’s that abandoned grave?”
“In the woods ahead, easy to find.”
At midnight, guided by the farmer, Wang Biao and his men arrived at Gaoyang Plain. They scouted the woods and quickly found the neglected tomb.
The mound was barely a yard high, and the two rows of stone statues before it were broken—missing heads, arms, snapped in half—none intact. Yet the marble tombstone stood strong, and by the moonlight, one could faintly read the inscription: Tomb of Yang Yue, Lord of Xiuwu County, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review!
Yang Yue was the younger brother of Yang Su, the Duke of Yue and the most renowned general of the late Sui. He was cunning and treacherous, full of schemes, aided Yang Guang in seizing the crown prince’s title, and poisoned the deposed prince Yang Yong—a villain of the highest order… He died in the middle years of the Sui and was buried at Gaoyang Plain.
In the ninth year of the Sui, Yang Su’s son Yang Xuangan rebelled, was defeated, killed, and his clan exterminated… Yang family’s ancestral tombs were abandoned, left untended.
“Where’s the tunnel?”
“Behind the mound, but I refilled it before I left.”
“Liu Big Head and Shorty—stand guard outside the woods. If anyone approaches, mimic the cuckoo’s cry. The rest, with me—let’s reopen the tunnel!”
“Yes!”
The tunnel was quickly found—about four feet across, just wide enough for an adult to crawl through. Though it had been refilled, the soil was loose.
Driven by greed for gold and jewels, Wang Biao and his men worked with feverish energy. Within an hour, they reopened the tunnel, ventilated it briefly, then scrambled into the burial chamber.
By torchlight, they saw everything clearly. The chamber was spacious, divided into main hall, chariot vault, wine cellar, instrument room, treasury, and more.
In the main chamber, a massive coffin of golden nanmu wood was displayed. Around it were pure gold incense burners, candlesticks, dishes, rice bowls—glittering under the torchlight, dazzling to behold.
It was said that Yang Guang showered Yang Yue with gold and jewels to win his loyalty, and Yang Yue, childless due to an accident in youth, took all his treasures to the grave.
“We’ve struck gold—this time we’re truly rich!”
“What are we waiting for? Start hauling the loot out!”
“Right!”
They pounced like hungry wolves, pillaging the gold and silver vessels, gems, and jade from every chamber. They smashed open the coffin, stripped it of all burial goods, even pried the night pearl from the corpse’s mouth, tossing the rotting body aside.
Next, they hauled the loot out, filling several large bags—conservatively worth hundreds of thousands of coins, enough to last for generations.
Grave robbing is a grave crime. To prevent leaks, Wang Biao planned to kill witnesses, but the farmer had vanished.
“Where’s that kid?”
“No idea. He was just here, now he’s gone.”
“Spread out and search. Once found, silence him. Tonight’s events must never be revealed—understood?”
“Understood!”
...
“Coo—coo!”
Just as Wang Biao’s men prepared to search for the farmer, a sudden, urgent cuckoo call sounded from outside the woods—a warning, signaling that many people were approaching.
The birdcall stopped, replaced by cries of pain—meaning the two guards had been captured.
“This is bad, run!”
“Catch the tomb robbers—don’t let a single one escape! Beat them to death!”
“Don’t hit us—we’re officers from Jingzhao Prefecture!”
“Bah! Damn tomb robbers, pretending to be officers… Even if you are, breaking the law only makes your crimes worse. Beat them to death!”
Wang Biao and his men tried to flee, but it was too late. Hundreds of tomb guardians surrounded them, torches raised, wielding clubs, raining blows upon them.
At first they struggled, but were soon overwhelmed by the furious crowd—batons fell, screams echoed…
Only when they were half dead did the guardians relent, then hauled the stolen treasures and dragged Wang Biao’s men like corpses straight to the Jingzhao Prefecture offices in Chang’an.
Awaiting them was a punishment far more severe.
...
“Drink—drink!”
Outside Chang’an, at the headquarters of the Outlaws, a celebration banquet was underway—cups raised, laughter filling the air.
“The young master is truly formidable. With a simple plan, he handled Wang Biao’s gang. The tomb guardians beat them half to death, then sent them to Jingzhao Prefecture.”
“I hear Ji Wen’s face turned green with rage. His officers and captains were caught grave robbing—he won’t escape the charge of lax discipline, and the prefecture’s reputation is ruined. Who will trust them now?”
“But Ji Wen is ruthless—he ordered Wang Biao’s whole gang beaten to death right in front of the prefecture gates!”
It turned out all this was orchestrated by Li Zhao: first, he sent the Mole to breach the Sui dynasty tomb of Yang Yue and steal a pure gold incense burner.
Then, he had the Thousand-Faced Mouse disguise himself as a farmer, carry the golden burner into town, and deliberately get noticed by Wang Biao’s gang, stirring their greed and luring them step by step to the tomb at Gaoyang Plain.
Finally, the River-Turning Mouse tipped off the guardians, who caught the robbers and beat them half to death… Every step of the plan was tight, flawless.
Wang Biao’s gang, even in the underworld, would remain befuddled ghosts!
As for Yang Yue, a notorious villain of the former Sui, who committed countless crimes—his tomb deserved to be robbed!
“Tell the brothers: if the Jingzhao Prefecture men come provoking again, don’t confront them head-on. Go for the sneaky approach—ambushes, trickery, traps… Strike hard, and don’t spare them. Understood?”
“Yes!”
After this event, Li Zhao’s prestige within the Outlaws soared—a leader both cultured and martial, generous, and protective of his men, winning their heartfelt loyalty.
Yet Li Zhao knew the matter wasn’t over. Ji Wen would surely seek revenge next time, his methods more sinister and vicious. Li Zhao would have to remain vigilant.