Live Appreciation, Congratulations to Brother

Chapter 465 Li Zicheng’s tomb?
"Come, show us the three-story pavilion again."

Zhang Yang and the audience in the live broadcast room, led by Baoyou, observed the stone pavilion from bottom to top.

In the funeral customs of ancient Chinese culture, there was actually very little custom of building a pavilion in front of a tomb.

This practice did not begin until the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

And it is often the royal family and nobles who are qualified to build a "pavilion" in front of the mausoleum.

Protect your monument of merit from wind and rain.

The stele pavilion and the memorial in this cemetery are of the same age.

It should have been built at the same time.

However, the carvings on the stele pavilion are more luxurious and detailed than those on the banners.

There are various auspicious animal patterns on it.

"His descendants either found it troublesome or had no money, so they buried him directly. That's why there are so many unfinished areas on it."

[It’s pretty cool to think about it this way]

"It seems to have been built by future generations. You have to pay to visit. It's like a farmhouse."

"Then...Teacher, can this be destroyed?" Baoyou asked.

"Yes, it's just a one-story building."

"Is this tomb very precious?" Baoyou asked.

Not to mention there are grave goods in the tomb.

"I'm afraid not."

"A house on the ground?"

Can a person who can build such a cemetery not have some treasures in the coffin?
Therefore, this tomb cannot be destroyed.

"That's a bit outrageous."

[Not only was the construction not completed, his descendants also abandoned his tomb directly]

It is no exaggeration to say that the total value of all the stone carvings, stele pavilions, and archways in this cemetery alone is worth at least more than 100,000 yuan on the market.

Moreover, many of the patterns have not been completely carved and are obviously in an unfinished state.

Zhang Yang deduced the timeline, looked at the archway and nodded:
"This cemetery was probably built for himself by the owner of the tomb during his lifetime, but he passed away before it was completed."

There is a couplet written vertically on both sides:
[Green mountains cross Beiguo, white water surrounds Dongcheng]

It turned out to be 1918.

This type of tombs belong to the ancient tombs after 1911 and are of great research value.

Zhang Yang nodded very seriously.

[This tomb looks pretty good, I don’t know what era it is from]

Baoyou turned the camera and saw a three-story archway.

Very rare and very folkloric.

Courtyard-style tombs of modern squire.

Zhang Yang even admires this gameplay.

What surprised Zhang Yang was that the carving time of this archway was a little different.

"Yes, it is definitely a cultural relic."

Upward is a pair of owl tails, with pavilions and pavilions sandwiched between them.

And it was expensive to build back then.

"Did the tomb owner build it himself or his descendants?" Zhang Yang asked.

After seeing the stele pavilion, the only thing left is the tomb itself.

"I guess this is the most luxurious tomb within a few kilometers of you, right?"

"There seems to be a more precious one. A house was built directly on top of the tomb to wrap it up."

There are similar cases there.

Some time ago, the Publicity Department of the Cultural Relics Bureau gave Zhang Yang some information.

The accessories of this cemetery are so luxurious, and the main body of the tomb is certainly not ordinary.

It is a full nine years later than the earliest cemetery gate.

[Good guy, that’s too filial]

Even dragons and phoenixes greeted people upwards. Apparently by 1913, people at that time had nothing to avoid.

"I probably understand."

Anyone who has received compulsory education knows that these are two sentences from Li Bai's "Send Off to Friends".

The two characters "Xiangong" are written on the plaque on the archway.

The ancestors are still working while buried underground.

But what’s even more outrageous are those who are willing to spend money to see the tombs.

"Then yours should be more precious than that farmhouse."

"I think there should be no problem in applying for a municipal cultural relic protection unit."

[Then Baoyou can also do special tours]

[Yes, you don’t need to build a house, just surround it with cloth]

[Just build a bigger new house and wrap this tomb in the yard]

[If you ask me, just sell this house, including the tomb]

No matter how many whims the barrage has.

Real treasure friends, after hearing Zhang Yang say "municipal cultural relics protection unit", already understood the gold content of this tomb.

"I understand, Master Zhang."

"Then I'd better report this tomb. It probably won't be demolished. Maybe it will become an attraction in the village in a few hundred years."

"I'll go, the brotherhood is great!"

Zhang Yang gave Baoyou a thumbs up directly.

This vision is much better than most viewers who only think about tomb robbing.

"Then thank you Teacher Zhang today."

Baoyou started to say thank you and prepared to say goodbye.

But before leaving, Zhang Yang suddenly discovered a problem.

"Dude, wait!"

Zhang Yang stopped him.

"what happened?"

"Is there a stone slab in front of the archway of the tomb just now?"

"Yes." Baoyou moved the camera and pointed it at the stone slab on the ground.

"Didn't you notice that this is a cement board?" Zhang Yang asked.

The other buildings in the cemetery are all bluestone.

Only the place in front of the archway is a cement board.

It looks weird.

"Let me see……"

Baoyou stretched out his hand, touched it, knocked again, nodded and said:
"It's really made of cement."

"But this shouldn't be placed in our home. No one from our family comes in very often."

【I do not believe】

[It seems that cement in our country only has a history of a hundred years]

[Domestic cement only became available in 1921, which is memorized in history books]

【It seems like there is an unexpected gain】

Zhang Yang looked at the age of this cement board, 1980.

Why does this year seem a bit familiar?

Wait, Zhang Yang remembered.

The descendants of the owner of this tomb moved their family abroad the next year, in 1981.

Therefore, there is a high probability that this slate was not placed by Baoyou’s family.

It was the descendants of the tomb owner who did it.

"Teacher, this bottom seems to be empty."

Baoyou tapped it lightly and made a new discovery.

"Empty? Knock again and we'll listen."

Baoyou did as he was told, deliberately placing the microphone of his cell phone against the stone slab.

Sure enough, it made a crisp "dong dong dong" sound.

This determines two things at once:

There is nothing under the slab;
The slate itself is not thick either.

Will it be...

Zhang Yang suddenly had a bold idea.

He hesitated for a moment and said to Baoyou:

"Do you have a crowbar? Can you pry it up and take a look?"

"Huh? Isn't this bad?"

"Don't panic. There are so many of us watching. If something happens, everyone is a witness."

"As long as you don't suddenly disconnect the microphone as soon as you see something precious, then there will be no problem."

【Ha ha ha ha】

[Yes, as long as you don’t run away suddenly]

[I bet fifty cents that he will run away later]

[Wouldn’t this damage the ancient tombs? 】

"Brothers, it's like this. This stone slab was placed here later to block the hole at the bottom."

"What does it mean?"

"It means there is probably a burglary cave underneath."

"The sooner we discover it, the better. Maybe we can salvage some treasures."

"What if there is nothing underneath?" Baoyou asked.

"What if it's just a trap."

"Then just put the cement board back over it." Zhang Yang said with a smile. "It was originally something added later and has nothing to do with cultural relics."

"It seems so..."

Baoyou was convinced by Zhang Yang.

He put his cell phone next to the stone, giving everyone a direct view of the archway.

[Someone can take a screenshot and go to the Internet to find the descendants of the deceased]

[No more talking, just add some incense]

[[candle][candle][candle][candle][candle]]

"No, brothers, please don't burn incense in my live broadcast room."

"Come on, come on. For those who put on the incense, the assistant will help mark them. Later, each person will be charged six yuan for the sesame oil."

Zhang Yang's charging standards are very reasonable.

This is how Putuo Mountain charges.

That Buddha statue may not be as old as this archway.

After a while, Baoyou came back and brought a young man with him.

The young man should be the coolie he was looking for.

Without saying a word, he picked up the crowbar and started to pry off the cement board.

In just a few seconds, a square cement board was lifted up.

The two of them worked together, like lifting a manhole cover, to move the cement board away.

Only then did Baoyou come over, pick up his cell phone, and show everyone the scene.

Sure enough, there was a bottomless pit under the stone slab.

The new boy looked at it with the flash of his mobile phone. The hole was curved downwards, and the direction should be leading to the tomb.

"This was done by a master."

Zhang Yang came to the conclusion when he saw the robbery hole.

To be honest, a person with less than five or six years of working in the industry would not be able to dig out such a silky hole.

Some impromptu tomb robbers often dig holes that look like dog gnaws, with uneven holes everywhere.

That would actually be a waste of effort.

This is what a real hole theft should be, with a clear purpose and a small amount of work.

"Okay, just call the police!" Zhang Yang spread his hands.

Even for grave robbing cases in the 1980s, the police had to be reported, and there was nothing to say.

"Teacher, I seem to understand."

Baoyou pointed at the tomb and said with sudden realization:
"Back then, this family suddenly had money to go abroad. Could it be that they had to dig out their ancestral graves?"

"But in their day, it didn't seem like it was against the law to dig into ancestral graves."

"It is indeed possible." Zhang Yang nodded.

"But everyone is already wet, so there's no point in thinking about it."

“I think it’s important now to check all the old graves in the villages near you.”

"For such a modern ancient tomb, it is said that if it can yield a treasure worth tens of thousands of yuan, it is considered a big deal."

"I still can't tell how I paid for my trip abroad!"

"Maybe your ancestors sponsored more."

[Brother, please go and see your ancestral graves]

[It was really the golden age of tomb robbing in the past. You could go abroad directly after robbing]

[In this case, can the cemetery be demolished? 】

"I understand."

"Then I'll hang up first, teacher."

"Don't worry, put the slate back first."

Zhang Yang did not forget about business.

Under his command, Baoyou and his friends returned the stone slab to its original position.

Looking at the scene in the camera, Zhang Yang made an OK gesture.

Only in this way can I serve as a witness, otherwise what will happen if Baoyou sneaks in later?

……

After hanging up the microphone, Zhang Yang changed the count in the upper right corner of the live broadcast room.

[Total number of tombs inspected: 8]

[Newly discovered cultural relic sites: 3]

This is his record of achievements.

If any leader wants to check his work on a whim.

Once you click into the live broadcast room, you can immediately see how many graves he has identified.

When it was time to broadcast, another treasure friend came to see the tomb.

"Teacher, I just saw the courtyard tomb you identified. I remembered that there is also one in our village, but no one lives in it now."

"Hurry up and help."

Is there no one living in the tomb?

Baoyou said this without any reason and it sounded strange.

But the scene behind him really looks like that.

Nine steps, followed by a stone arch.

The carvings on the stone arch were very similar to what Zhang Yang and Bao friends had seen before.

They are all reliefs of various characters and auspicious animals.

"There are a few more stone tablets here."

Baoyou pointed to the three large stone slabs next to the steps.

It was already covered with moss, and when I got closer I saw that there were indeed words on it.

The date of signing is "the fourth year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty".

"Isn't this tomb protected by the local cultural relics department?" Zhang Yang asked strangely.

No, there is a stone tablet with a clear year and an exquisite stone gate.

Has this tomb been emptied?
If this is not the case, there is no need to not protect it at all.

"There is no protection, because there were people living here before."

"Let them hold themselves accountable."

"Friend Bao, please speak more clearly. Are there people living nearby or in the cemetery? These are two different concepts."

"Next door, next door, teacher, can you understand?"

“What we say here is: living with ghosts.”

Zhang Yang was just about to say that he understood, but when he heard Baoyou say "living with ghosts", he was confused again.

What the hell? Gravekeeper?
Baoyou’s words were too abstract. Zhang Yang gave up on understanding and urged:

"Forget it, you'd better take us in and take a look!"

"Yeah, no problem."

Baoyou climbed up the steps and entered the stone door. In front of him was a long stone corridor.

At the end of the corridor is a dilapidated double-story wooden house.

"Teacher, over there is the Yangzhai, where the descendants of the tomb owner live."

"This is the haunted house."

"Oh I see!"

"So that's what you mean when you say living with ghosts."

[Isn’t the cemetery built next to the house? It’s crazy]

[I know, this is the Tomb Sect]

[It still looks a bit spooky to outsiders]

[If the person buried next door is one’s ancestor, then that’s okay]

[Many places in rural areas are like this, but they just don’t have good courtyards]

Zhang Yang felt that what the barrage said made sense.

The difference between this cemetery and the previously stolen courtyard-style tomb is that it is closer to the house and the yard is more impressive.

The previous small tomb, whether it was the tomb door or the stele pavilion, looked like a "dwelling".

Now, just looking at the corridor, you can tell that the owner of the tomb is very rich.

"There's no need to look at the Yang House. Baoyou, please show us the Yin House."

"Well, the haunted house is over here."

After Baoyou walked to the middle of the corridor, the camera turned and there was another stone arch on his right side.

The plaque on the door reads "Double Life Palace" in three characters.

Going further, you will see the main archway that is five or six meters high by visual inspection.

More impressive and complex than the previous one.

Zhang Yang glanced at it and saw that there should be hundreds of figures and flowers embossed on the archway alone. This was definitely a big project in the late Qing Dynasty.

The identity of the owner of the tomb is stated on the tombstone:

Cheng Yonggao and his wife Xiangshi.

I have never heard of this man Zhang Yang.

But looking at the epitaph, he was probably the leading wealthy man in the area at that time.

"Okay, thank you, dear friend."

"He taught us a lot."

"But what you said about living with ghosts is not quite accurate. In fact, as early as the Neolithic Age, primitive societies had the habit of burying the bodies of the deceased under the ground of their own houses."

"That way is more genuine."

After Zhang Yang finished speaking, he planned to disconnect the microphone.

But Baoyou's words stopped him:

"Teacher, there is another theory that the owner of this tomb is Li Zicheng."

(End of this chapter)