In ancient Chinese history, it was not uncommon for warlords to pay their soldiers by stealing tombs, among which Cao Cao was the grandfather of these people. In order to rob the tomb, Cao Cao also specially formed an army called "Lieutenant Touching Gold". In China's modern history, one of the most famous warlords for tomb robbery is Sun Dianying. In the name of military exercises, Sun Dianying surrounded the Qing Tombs and stole countless precious treasures from the tombs of Cixi, Qianlong and others, so he was called the "Great Thief of the Tanglin Tombs" by the world. During the Republic of China, there were two other people who could be called together with Yuan Shikai, the great thief of The Tanglin, namely Jin Yun'e and Dang Yukun. Today, Xiaobian will introduce to you Dang Yukun, who is regarded as a sinner who has destroyed zhou and Qin culture for thousands of years.
Dang Yukun grew up in poverty and spent his childhood in hunger and cold. When he was a little older, he worked as an apprentice in antique shops in Xi'an, Beijing and other places, and learned the skill of treasure hunting. Later, when domestic uprisings continued, Dang Yukun also went to Fuping County as a knifeman. During the Xinhai Revolution, Dang Yukun joined the Fengxiang warlord and Guo Jian, the leader of the Jingguo Army, and successively served as a platoon leader, a company commander, and a regimental commander. In August 1921, Feng Yuxiang rectified the warlords in the northwest, Guo Jian was killed for disobeying discipline, and Dang Yukun and his troops fled to Liquan County, Shaanxi Province.
In 1926, Dang Yukun saw that Feng Yuxiang was busy with himself, so he led people back to Fengxiang and made it his own private kingdom. His troops were disciplined, often killing people and running amok. In order to satisfy his little wife Dang Caixia, he also gave Dang Caixia the title of battalion commander of the Guard Battalion, and Dang Caixia often led her men to Fengxiang City as a mighty blessing. In 1927, Feng Yuxiang took advantage of the Northern Expedition to plan to drive the local warlords of Shaanxi to participate in the war outside the province. However, Dang Yukun bribed Yue Weijun, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Route Army, to send only Lü Yongfang's brigade to accompany the army, and Feng Yuxiang hated him to the bone.
Because Dang Yukun had the ability to treasure with one hand, he began to plan tomb robbery after he occupied Fengxiang. And "Yongzhou" is also known as the birthplace of the Zhou Qin Dynasty, so he appointed the brigade commander He Yutang as the commander-in-chief of the treasure theft, and colluded with the local squires to carry out a large number of excavations of the Qin and Han ancient tombs around the Cockfighting Platform. The result made Dang Yukun very satisfied, not only the valuable bronzes such as the Western Zhou Dynasty Copper Forbidden and Kezun, but also the cars, bowls, Ruyi stones and other antiquities of the Qin Mugong era. In order to facilitate his own expenses, he sold many cultural relics abroad.
After the news of Dang Yukun's tomb robbery came out, the people of the whole country demanded that the Shaanxi government severely punish Dang Yukun. At that time, many local warlords plotted to overthrow Feng, and Feng Yuxiang reached a cooperation with Song Zheyuan and sent Zhang Weixi's Thirteenth Army to besiege Dang Yukun. In this battle, Dang Yukun's troops were killed and wounded more than 2,000 people, 5,000 were captured, and he himself died on the battlefield, and tens of thousands of people in the city died in artillery fire. Later, all 5,000 captives surrendered by Dang Yukun's troops were also executed by Song Zheyuan.