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In her later years, Li Lianying revealed the luxury of Empress Dowager Cixi's burial, which was made of gold silk nan wood painted four times, and countless gold and silver treasures were buried there.
If these gold and silver treasures are converted into the current yuan, it will be nearly 9 billion yuan.
The extravagance of Empress Dowager Cixi's mausoleum is not only reflected in these gold and silver treasures, but also in the cruelty of his use of living people to accompany him.
During her lifetime, Cixi found herself a burial road for 80 skilled craftsmen to build and seal her mausoleum.
Portrait of Cixi
In order not to allow the mausoleum to be stolen, the entrance to the tomb could not be known to others, and these 80 skilled craftsmen were destined to stay here for Cixi to be buried.
But one of these 80 people cleverly escaped the fate of being buried with him, and he even became the gravedigger of Cixi's tomb. Who is this craftsman? How did he become the gravedigger of Cixi's tomb?
Sun Dianying's sword went sideways to get military salaries
"Big brother, these brothers under us are starving to death! You'll have to find a way to help your brothers get some military pay!" ”
"Urge, you know to urge me every day!" Old Jiang's side doesn't pay military salaries, what can I do with my mother?! ”
In the 20s of the 20th century, Sun Dianying, who survived in the chaotic world, took his brother and joined Chiang Kai-shek's team. Although Sun Dianying's troops were nominally regular, they were not treated as regular troops.
Photo|Sun Dianying
Chiang Kai-shek was an eccentric man, and he handed over all the excellent equipment in the Kuomintang troops to his cronies, and the salaries were also distributed to his cronies.
Sun Dianying and others' "miscellaneous army" is like the queen mother, and it is common to lack equipment and lack military food.
In order to convince his subordinates and feed these brothers, Sun Dianying could only find a way to get some military salaries himself.
Sun Dianying's brain is active and very thoughtful. Soon, he learned a very quick way to get money! That is to rob the tomb!
There are many funerary goods in the tomb, and if you are lucky, you can take out a funerary item at random and it is priceless. Using the money obtained from tomb robbery to feed your brothers is indeed a good way! Just do it!
Photo|Sun Dianying robbed the tomb of Cixi
Sun Dianying not only has to do it, he also has to do a big job. He directly targeted Cixi's mausoleum.
As the most powerful woman in the late Qing Dynasty, Cixi must have buried many rare treasures in her mausoleum.
In addition to believing that Cixi's tomb must contain many rare treasures, Sun Dianying wanted to steal the treasures in Cixi's tomb for other reasons.
Sun Dianying's father died at the hands of Cixi. Sun Dianying's father was caught in prison in an accident in his early years, and the jailer in prison tried to beat his grandfather into a trick, but his grandfather refused to comply, and finally he was beaten to death.
Sun Dianying remembered this father-killing revenge on Cixi's head. The feud of killing his father was one of the reasons that prompted him to steal the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi.
The Qing Dynasty has long since declined, and the royal slaves who were responsible for guarding the imperial tombs have long disappeared. Sun Dianying initially thought it would be very simple to open Cixi's tomb and bring out all the rare treasures inside. He also has some weapons and explosives stored in his hands, which will definitely come in handy at critical moments.
But Sun Dianying underestimated the wisdom of the craftsmen who built the mausoleum for Cixi at that time. Sun Dianying and his subordinates dug along Cixi's mausoleum for two days and two nights, but they could not find the entrance to Cixi's mausoleum.
Cixi's mausoleum was built relatively strongly, and if they couldn't find the entrance to Cixi's mausoleum, even if they had more explosives, it would be useless.
Photo|Entrance to Cixi's tomb
Just when Sun Dianying and others were about to give up the idea of robbing tombs, things ushered in a turning point.
"Junye, I know that there is a person who knows where the entrance to Empress Dowager Cixi's mausoleum is!"
Sun Dianying's men went into the village near the Cixi Mausoleum and wanted to ask the people in the village if they knew the exact location of the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi.
It was meant to be a chance! But I didn't expect that there were really villagers who knew the mystery of the Cixi Mausoleum!
"Before, there was a stonemason surnamed Jiang who was the one who built the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi. Surely he knew where the entrance to Empress Dowager Cixi's mausoleum was? ”
Finding this stonemason surnamed Jiang gives them a chance to open Cixi's mausoleum.
But the stonemason surnamed Jiang had already returned to the mountains and countryside with his wife and children, and the villagers who told them the news did not know the true whereabouts of the Jiang stonemason.
Photo|Status of Cixi Tomb
There is nothing difficult in the world, only people with hearts.
In front of Sun Dianying was a huge fortune, and it was impossible for him to give up this wealth easily. Sun Dianying sent his subordinates around to inquire about the whereabouts of this Jiang Mason, even if he dug three feet into the ground, he had to find this person.
After a period of searching, the Jiang Mason was brought to Sun Dianying. The dusty past on Jiang Mason for many years was also unveiled.
The ginger mason who escaped the burial
At that time, the ginger mason was still very young, and his wife had just given birth to a big fat son to him. He thought that his next life would be a good life, but he was suddenly selected by the Qing Dynasty officials and soldiers to become a craftsman in the Cixi mausoleum.
Photo|Sun Dianying robbed the tomb of Cixi
Jiang Shiji knew in his heart that this was a road of no return. The people who built the Cixi Mausoleum must be the last to know where the entrance to the Cixi Mausoleum is, and the people of the royal family, in order not to let their tombs be stolen, these people who last know that the entrance is there, are destined to become funeral objects in the feudal era.
But the ginger stonemason didn't dare to resist at all!
If he had followed the arrangements of the Qing officials and soldiers to build a mausoleum for Cixi, their family would have sacrificed him alone; If he rebelled against the arrangements of the Qing officials and soldiers, his wife and newborn son would be buried with Empress Dowager Cixi.
Ginger masons are unfortunate, but ginger masons are lucky.
Open the tomb door
It may be that his life should not be extinguished, and he has been given another chance to be born again.
After Jiang Stonemason was selected as the craftsman of Empress Dowager Cixi's tomb, he was depressed every day, and he often thought of his son's white and tender face, but he could never see it again.
The thoughts of the Sijia made Jiang Stonemason lose his mind more and more when working. Once, he was sent by the leading craftsmen to build high stones. The ginger mason who climbed the shelf was still a little absent-minded. It had just rained the night before, and the surface of the stone was somewhat slippery.
The Jiang Mason did not step firmly on one foot and fell directly from a height. The ginger stonemason's head rested impartially on the tip of the large stone next to it.
Photo|Cixi is buried
There was a sharp pain in the temple, and the ginger mason instantly lost consciousness and passed out.
The other craftsmen did not dare to speak up when they saw the appearance of the ginger stonemason. Because the head of the Jiang stonemason was knocked out of blood, it was a very bad sign to see the blood of others in the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi.
Most people in ancient times were superstitious, and Empress Dowager Cixi believed in these. They shook the ginger mason vigorously and found that he showed no signs of awakening. The craftsmen discussed with the Qing Dynasty officials and soldiers guarding the mausoleum, and finally decided to throw the "corpse" of the ginger stonemason on a barren mountain not far away.
The ginger mason just passed out and did not really die. The ginger stonemason, who had been thrown into a barren mountain, woke up after a while.
Jiang Mason touched his still somewhat dizzy head and observed the situation around him. After a long time, Jiang Mason reacted that he was "escaping from death".
He quickly ran home to explain what he had experienced to his wife, packed some valuable items in the house, and took her to other places overnight.
Photo|Status of Cixi Tomb
But there is no airtight wall in the world! The fact that the ginger mason came back again was discovered by people from the same village. People in the same village have never had a grudge with the ginger stonemason, and reporting the ginger mason for "sneaking" home is not necessarily rewarded.
The people in the village turned a blind eye as if it had never happened.
Jiang Mason then had the opportunity to take his wife and children to live in seclusion elsewhere and live a small life as a family.
Later, he waited for the news of the demise of the Great Qing. Jiang Mason felt that his situation was safer, so he stopped hiding and began to live an upright life.
Unexpectedly, fate played a joke on him again! He was actually "caught" out by the bandit warlord Sun Dianying.
There was no difference between offending the bandit warlord Sun Dianying and offending the Qing officials and soldiers. In order to save the life of his whole family, and Sun Dianying promised to give him some benefits after the fact, Jiang Mason went in the direction he remembered and led them to find the entrance to Empress Dowager Cixi's mausoleum.
The Cixi Mausoleum was stolen
It was many years ago to participate in the construction of Empress Dowager Cixi's mausoleum, and Jiang Mason could not remember the specific location clearly, so he could only keep groping.
Fortunately, he finally found the entrance to Empress Dowager Cixi's mausoleum.
Photo|Night pearl in Cixi's mouth
"Jun Ye, there may be an organ stored at this entrance. Let's be careful! ”
Jiang Mason was only half involved in this huge project, and he didn't know if the rest of the craftsmen had built other mechanisms at the entrance after he left.
"What organ is not organized?"
"Bring me my dynamite! Blast this entrance for me! ”
Sun Dianying couldn't take care of much, the gold and silver treasures were in front of him, and he couldn't wait.
After the door of Empress Dowager Cixi's mausoleum was blown open, Sun Dianying led his men into the mausoleum. With the guidance of the ginger stonemasons, they gradually became familiar with the structure inside the mausoleum.
Soon, they found Empress Dowager Cixi's coffin. With great effort, they finally opened the lid of the coffin. Seeing the gold and silver jewelry piled up around Empress Dowager Cixi, they felt that this sharp weapon was not in vain.
Jade cabbage, lifelike watermelon jade stone pillow, the night pearl held in Empress Dowager Cixi's mouth.
Figure|Jade cabbage
Every piece of this is a priceless treasure.
Sun Dianying led his men to plunder like robbers, and they did not even spare the pearls sewn on Empress Dowager Cixi's mourning clothes.
The theft of Empress Dowager Cixi's mausoleum quickly caused a sensation! The last emperor Aisin Juelo Puyi also heard the news!
Although the Great Qing is dead, and Cixi is no longer a high-ranking empress dowager, these people are so blatantly digging their own ancestral graves, which is unbearable!
Watermelon jade pillow
Pu Yi and several old ministers who were still loyal to the Qing Dynasty asked Chiang Kai-shek for an explanation based on reports that Empress Dowager Cixi's mausoleum had been stolen. For Puyi, this is not a political matter, this is a matter of spoiling people's ancestral graves and lacking morality!
In 1929, the case finally ushered in a preliminary trial. Chiang Kai-shek wants to give Puyi an explanation on the bright side!
And those priceless treasures were placed in Sun Dianying's hands, but they couldn't find a way out. These treasures can only be exchanged for military salaries if they are sold, otherwise even if they are worth anything in Sun Dianying's hands, it will only be a broken stone.
Sun Dianying has also been in the officialdom for many years, and he has long understood these twists and turns above the officialdom.
He first took out a nine-dragon sword from among the treasures everywhere in the tomb. This sword is a treasure of Qianlong's collection, surrounded by nine golden dragons, and the meaning of this sword is self-evident.
Red coral in the Qing Palace
Sun Dianying wiped the sword clean and bright, and entrusted the sword to Song Meiling. He hoped that Soong Meiling could blow the pillow wind for himself and let Chiang Kai-shek turn this matter into a small matter and a small matter.
Although this sword was given to Soong Meiling, it was actually given indirectly to Chiang Kai-shek.
Sun Dianying even took out a lot of treasures and gave them to the "red man" who could speak around Chiang Kai-shek. No one will be unable to get by with money, and the red man next to Chiang Kai-shek, the treasure sent to the door, naturally smiles.
If you take other people's things, you will naturally do things for others. The red people around Chiang Kai-shek also began to praise the benefits of Sun Dianying, coupled with Song Meiling's constant blowing pillow wind, Chiang Kai-shek did not want to care about this matter anymore.
The pre-trial of the case has no result, and the final trial is more like a show, without any substantive content. Sun Dianying was not punished in any way.
When the matter gradually subsided, Sun Dianying took the gold and silver jewelry stolen from Cixi's tomb to the market and sold it, making a big profit.
Treasures in Cixi's tomb
Some of these treasures, which represent the craftsmanship of ancient Chinese craftsmen, were purchased by foreign merchants, and some were collected by collectors, and these national treasures were displaced by Sun Dianying's hands and traveled to all parts of the world.
Only a small part of these national artifacts sold by Sun Dianying eventually returned to the National Museum, and most of the rest are still lost overseas.
Everyone had mixed opinions about Sun Dianying's theft of Empress Dowager Cixi's mausoleum.
But these cultural relics belonging to China are now lost overseas, which is really regrettable!
Resources:
[1] Revealed: Warlord Sun Dianying excavated the inside story of Qianlong Cixi's mausoleum Phoenix Net
[2] "The Mystery of the Loss of National Treasures", China Literature and History Publishing House