Cao Cao, such a cruel figure, is just an ordinary person in the face of death. Cao Cao killed countless people before his death, and his heart was already like a rock. But in the face of death, he also knows fear, and he is also worried about his own back. Cao Cao is also afraid that his grave will be visited by grave robbers. Later, Cao Cao's mausoleum did not escape the "patronage" of grave robbers. Cao Cao's tomb was stolen more than once in history, and archaeologists found more than one stolen hole in Cao Cao's tomb. The discovery of Cao Cao's tomb also originated from a grave robbery. The big explosion that robbed Cao Cao's tomb attracted the attention of the villagers, and finally Cao Cao's tomb was discovered.
In the early years of Western Han Dynasty, due to the weak national strength, the social economy was not particularly prosperous. At that time, thin burial was popular in society, and the emperor himself even set an example. In the imperial edict before his death, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty clearly stated that thin burial should be carried out, and all burial rituals should be simple. Try not to let extravagant things be buried in graves, and try not to disturb the production and life of ordinary people because of funeral. Even though Emperor Wendi clearly told everyone that he was carrying out a thin burial, the Baling of Emperor Wendi was robbed in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
At that time, many gold, silver and jewels were stolen and dug up in Baling. Many scholars believe that the precious treasures in Baling may have been put in when Emperor Wu was buried, but when Dou Taihou died. By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, with the strengthening of national strength, the concept of funeral in the Han Dynasty had changed. People in the Han dynasty regarded death as life, and a large number of funerary objects were placed in the tombs of many princes and nobles. Due to the popularity of thick burial in Han dynasty, there are many precious funerary objects in a large number of tombs, and the interest of grave robbers in Han tombs has also been greatly enhanced.
There are many funerary objects in the mausoleum, and naturally there will be grave robbers to remember. When the power of the Han Dynasty was relatively strong, grave robbers naturally did not dare to think about the imperial tomb, but the tombs of their nobles and rich people may not be so lucky. When the central government still had great power in the Han Dynasty, many Han tombs were gradually excavated. At the turn of the Han Dynasty, due to the chaos in the world, the tombs of the Western Han emperors began to be stolen.
One of the most famous is the Red Eyebrow Army who stole the imperial tomb of the Western Han Dynasty. It was during this period that Lv Hou's grave was stolen and even the body was dragged out of the grave. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos again, and the Central Committee of the Eastern Han Dynasty existed in name only. The emperor can't even save his own life, let alone protect the mausoleum. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a large number of people died and social production was seriously damaged. At that time, military expenditure and rations became the primary problems that plagued governors of all walks of life.
The major governors also tried their best for food rations and military expenses. Among them, Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo thought of robbing the tomb and used the gold, silver and jewels buried in the tomb for military expenses. Before Dong Zhuo withdrew from Luoyang, the tombs of the Eastern Han Dynasty were almost looted. Eastern Han tombs were destroyed. After Dong Zhuo withdrew from Luoyang, the tombs of the Eastern Han Dynasty basically lost the value of excavation.
After Dong Zhuo arrived in Chang 'an, the imperial tombs around Chang 'an were not spared. Dong Zhuo also excavated the tombs of the Western Han emperors on a large scale, including Mao Mausoleum, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. It is said that when Dong Zhuo was robbing the mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he also found the words that Emperor Wu scolded Dong Zhuo. Lu Bu is not only the first warrior under Dong Zhuo's account, but also a master of grave robbery, helping Dong Zhuo to rob many tombs. Different from Dong Zhuo's public excavation of imperial tombs, there is no imperial tomb to be excavated within the scope of Cao Cao's rule, and Cao Cao Can only focuses on excavating the tombs of ordinary princes and nobles.
According to Chen Lin's "Yuan Shao's trip to Yuzhou", "Cao Cao, a special general, touched the gold captain and died suddenly without being explicit." It is clearly written in this short article that Cao Cao specially set up two official posts in order to rob the ancient tomb: Faqiu corps commander and captain Mojinwei. In this campaign, Chen Lin also made it clear that Cao Cao had robbed Liang Xiaowang's mausoleum.
It is recorded in an essay: "Liang Xiaowang, the late emperor's mother and brother, has a majestic grave and pine, cypress and mulberry seeds, which should be respected, and the school official personally digs it, breaking the coffin naked and winning the treasure." It made the sacred dynasty shed tears and made the people feel sad. "After Cao Cao destroyed Yuan Shao, he caught Chen Lin. Cao Cao only blamed Chen Lin for not scolding his ancestors, and did not deny the fact that he had robbed the ancient tomb. This is why some people think that Cao Cao did rob the ancient tomb. If Cao Cao didn't rob the tomb, Chen Lin wouldn't make it clear that Cao Cao robbed Liang Xiaowang's tomb.
We don't care whether Cao Cao has a corps commander or a captain who touches gold. Is Cao Cao himself afraid that his tomb will be stolen? The answer is yes. During the Han and Jin Dynasties, the situation of excavating ancient tombs was very serious, not to mention Dong Zhuo openly excavating tombs. At that time, the phenomenon of folk grave robbery was also very serious. For example, at that time, someone robbed the ancient tombs of the Warring States and stole the annals of bamboo books. Cao Cao made many enemies and had a high position before his death, so he naturally worried that his grave would be stolen. Therefore, Cao Cao made a plan to prevent theft and dig before he died.
Cao Cao's first method was thin burial. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the social and economic damage was very great. At the peak of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were about 50 million people, but before and after Battle of Red Cliffs, there were only 5 million people left. Cao Cao's "Hao Li Xing" said that "white bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no crow for a thousand miles. It's no exaggeration. I gave birth to a hundred things, and my intestines were broken after reading them. In this case, Cao Cao, as an outstanding politician with great vision, naturally knows that there is no need to bury a lot of social resources underground for a long time. Thick burial is a waste of social resources and easy to attract the attention of grave robbers. Therefore, Cao Cao ordered the implementation of thin burial not only for practical reasons, but also for the psychology of anti-theft excavation.
Cao Cao said in the "Legacy Order": "Hundreds of officials should be in the temple, playing fifteen times; After burial, it must be removed; Garrison shall not leave the chariot department; There is a division, and each rate is the location. He was buried in Xishan, Ye Zhi, close to Ximen Bao Temple, and there were no treasures hidden. " In 2009, Cao Cao's tomb was discovered in Gaoxi Village, Anfeng Township, Anyang City, Henan Province. After excavating Cao Cao's tomb, archaeologists found that the number and color of cultural relics unearthed were not as good as those of other princes' tombs. More than 250 cultural relics were unearthed from Cao Cao's tomb. Most of the cultural relics in Cao Cao's tomb are not precious gold, silver and jade, but some pottery and other funerary objects. Cao Cao probably only thinks that gold, silver and jade articles are treasures, but he doesn't know that everything in his mausoleum will be treasures in the future.
According to folklore, Cao Cao's second way to prevent grave robbery is to set up suspicious graves widely. Because Cao Cao impressed future generations as a "cunning" person, Cao Cao was even considered a treacherous person after the Song Dynasty. Later, there was a saying that Cao Cao set up a suspicious tomb to prevent grave robbery. Later generations have a good deduction that Cao Cao set up 72 suspected tombs. On the day of Cao Cao's funeral, more than 70 coffins set out in different directions, and no one knew which one was the real coffin of Cao Cao.
Because the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is very popular, the story of Cao Cao's suspected burial is well known after Luo Guanzhong's rendering. Everyone wants to believe that Cao Cao really set up a grave of doubt. When Pu Songling was writing Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, there was a chapter called Cao Cao's Tomb, which made the specific location of Cao Cao's tomb even more confusing. In fact, this is only the result of the spread and romance of later generations, and there is no record of Cao Li's suspicious tomb in real history. Historical records actually recorded that Cao Cao pointed out the location of his mausoleum before he died. 2 18 years, Cao Cao said in the final command:
"Buried in ancient times, will live in barren land. The rule of Ximen Bao Temple is to guard the mausoleum in the west. Because of its height, it is not sealed or treeless. " Rites of Rites buried people in cemeteries. There were governors living around before, and then there was Dr. Qing. The Han system is also called buried tomb. Officials, doctors, and column generals who have made meritorious deeds should follow the mausoleum. It is widely used in trillions of fields to make it compatible. "
Cao Cao's Legacy also recorded: "You always go to Tongquetai to see the tomb of Xiling. The rest of the incense can be shared with the ladies without sacrifice. "
Through Cao Cao's final and last orders, we can clearly know the approximate location of Cao Cao's mausoleum. One is near the Ximen Bao Temple, and the other is standing on the Tongquetai, where you can see Cao Cao's tomb.
The location where Cao Cao's tomb was discovered in 2009 is roughly the same as that recorded in historical books. Through archaeological excavations, we can know that the records in the history books are very accurate, but Cao Li's view of suspicious tombs is untenable.
It may be that history and people have misunderstood Cao Cao too deeply, and Cao Cao's death has also been discussed. We don't know whether Cao Cao has a corps commander or a captain, but according to archaeology, Cao Cao didn't have a suspicious tomb. History will tell us everything. With the emergence of historical archaeological data, we will finally know the real Cao Cao.