"What's 'Tu Gong Fa'? What's 'Di Dao'?" Zhang Feng was perplexed, having never heard of the term "Tu Gong Fa" before. He looked at the dark entrance in front of him, unsure what to make of it. This gave Xu Sheng an opportunity to show off.

  "Just now when you coughed... that thing, the horse shed collapsed, and when the wooden beam hit the ground, Ben Junwei heard the sound of a hollow underground, so I was sure there must be some hidden secret underneath. Who would have thought that this excavation would actually uncover a tunnel? What an unexpected gain!" Xu Sheng didn't explain the meaning of earthwork and tunnel to Zhang Feng, but instead began to boast about his own merits.

  Zhang Feng couldn't help but remind him, "How was this tunnel dug?" He had only seen the mountain's cliff paths before and it was really his first time seeing a tunnel like this. Now he could only listen to Xu Sheng explain.

  "Cough... you've gone off topic, you little brat. You're obviously a new recruit, not like that sly one who ran away earlier. As for this earthwork method, if you bring it with you in the army for another year or so, you should understand it too. Today I'll teach you; earthwork, moving according to the terrain, things like digging tunnels, digging pitfalls, and guiding waterways are all applications of earthwork methods. Originally, there were specialized personnel in the military responsible for this kind of thing. Most of them were grave robbers who dug up tombs, but since a large number of people died in the chaos of the previous dynasty, these kinds of people have almost disappeared."

  "Nowadays, we do the earthwork ourselves, but it's definitely not as stable as when professionals do it. Often, there are accidents like collapses and holes, so gradually, this method is no longer used. I didn't expect to see a tunnel left behind by an old man today." Xu Sheng explained while looking down at the tunnel, and he even patted the wall beside him with force.

  "How did you know this was left by an old man and not newly dug?" Zhang Feng asked in puzzlement.

  "It's simple, you see the pit is just right at the exit, both sides have been supported with wood, and it's our good fortune that we happened to hit the exit location. If we were digging a hole in the middle of the tunnel, just the two of you wouldn't be able to open it up. The tunnels made by the older generation are very cleverly designed, only at the exits do they rise upwards and the soil layer is shallow."

  And look around this exit, on the left is the high state city government office and so on, behind it is a granary that often stores grain and fodder, now storing our army's food. I'm telling you... Zhang Feng who was listening with relish suddenly saw Xu Sheng lose his voice, but saw him frowning and staring at the location of the granary, muttering to himself: "Impossible, what a coincidence..."

  "Prefect Xu, Brother Xu, if my men have committed any offense, please forgive them this once. I'll take him back and punish him." Just then, two figures emerged from behind the door - Wang Zhen and Chen Hua.

  It is said that Zhang Feng had a fight with Ma Fu and Duan Jiangjun, which shocked Wang Zhen to hurry over. In this Gaozhou City, there was only one person who matched Chen Hua's description, that is Xu Da Yuanshuai's Shuaiwei Chang Xu Sheng Xun.

  But little did Wang Zhen expect that after arriving here, he saw Xu Sheng and Zhang Feng chatting with each other shoulder to shoulder, as if they were old friends. If it weren't for the scattered horse shed debris around them, Wang Zhen would have thought Chen Hua's report was false.

  "Hey, Wang Zhen is here! Come quick and take a look, we've discovered an underground secret passage." Xu Sheng turned around to beckon Wang Zhen over to come and observe.

  "Huh?" Wang Zhen curiously walked forward to take a look, and indeed it was a genuine entrance. Since the two of them didn't have any accidents, Wang Zhen also stopped worrying about this matter and quickly reported the cave incident to his superiors.

  ……

  "General! Qiufu's thousand households' commander Wang Zhen's hundred households have reported that a deep pit secret passage was discovered at the location of the newly built horse shed!"

  "Go, hurry up and wait for me to take a look!"

  Tang Yun brought Qiu Fu, Wang Zhen and others to hurry here, just hastily greeted Xu Sheng and quickly observed the entrance of this pit.

  "Have you ever sent someone down to investigate?"

  "Never..."

  "How was this local specialty discovered?"

  "I don't know..."

  "Subordinates know, this was discovered by Xu Xiaowei."

  A group of people quickly gathered around Xu Sheng and the two of them again. At this time, Xu Sheng was still actively pulling Zhang Feng over.

  At the time when Wang Zhen was in a hurry to report, Xu Sheng took Zhang Feng and began his own plan to win him over. He had experienced Zhang Feng's skills, such a person would be wasted as a small general flag, if he didn't pull him under his own command wouldn't that be a waste?

  "Little kid, what's your surname and name, under whose command are you?" Xu Sheng came up and asked from the very beginning.

  "My surname is Zhang, and my name is Feng. My courtesy name is Yunlong. I am the chief banner under Wang Zhen's command." Since he had just been knocked flying, Zhang Feng answered politely to the other party's gentle inquiry.

  "Ah, it was just that person who rushed in. Alright, kid, you come with me and don't be a small general here anymore. Come under my command as a guard, I'll guarantee your official career will rise three levels, how about that?" From the seventh rank military officer to the fifth rank could be considered a great reward, Xu Sheng thought this price was high enough, he had given Zhang Feng enough face

  Zhang Feng initially thought he had misheard, but seeing Xu Sheng's serious expression, he knew that what he said was true. This was unexpected, and he didn't think that after beating someone up, he could still be promoted by the other party. It was truly unheard of.

  "Thank you for your kindness, but as a personal bodyguard of the Prince of Yan, I should fulfill my duty and loyalty. Moreover, it is not right for me to take liberties without orders."

  "Hey, no big deal, I'll make you a general and I'm still in charge. Let me tell you, I'm the house general of the Duke of Wei, that is, our commander-in-chief. How about it, kid? Qualified enough? Come join me, your skills will guarantee a bright future ahead, not inferior to mine." Xu Sheng revealed his true identity this time, with an air of determination to recruit Zhang Feng under his command.

  "This... Lord, I'd like to stay in Beiping, stay in the north." Zhang Feng said firmly. He still had his own unfinished business and couldn't possibly follow Duke Wei back to Tianfu, where there were no Yuan people for him to kill.

  Just as the two were speaking, Tang Yun and his group arrived and asked, "Commander Xu, is this the entrance to the tunnel you discovered?"

  Xu Sheng, who was rejected, had a belly full of resentment, but since Tang Yun's official position was higher than his, he couldn't help but hold back his voice and replied in a bad tone: "Yes, take a good look, maybe it was left behind by the Yuan people."

  "Haha! Captain, you've made a great contribution indeed. General Zeng secretly told me that the Northern Yuan people have a secret plan to attack Gaozhou City from inside and outside, and the only place around here that can be used as a grain transfer depot is Gaozhou City. The intentions of the Northern Yuan people are clear, but I didn't know how they would respond from within, so I could only deploy heavy troops near the granary. But now it's good, we've discovered the enemy's tunnel, and their internal response plan can be easily broken." Tang Yun said with a big laugh, having a target is always better than dispersing troops to guard the grain.

  "Sir, what if there are other secret passages besides Beiyuan, what should we do?"

  "Otherwise, most of the houses in this city are underground, and it's hard to dig secret passages. I think this passage should have been here since the city was built. But, don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of one in ten thousand, Qiu Fu, you lead people to guard the grain depot, be careful and vigilant!"

  "Can Commander Xu discuss and decide matters with me?"

  "Ah, right, bring him along too." Xu Sheng nodded in agreement, but still managed to drag Zhang Feng along.

  In the center of Gaozhou City, a mansion like a government office was used by Tang Yun as a meeting hall. All his subordinates, including the thousand households, had arrived.

  Tang Yun began to arrange the tasks, with some guarding the grain depot, others guarding the city gate, and personally entrusted Xu Sheng to lead a team to guard the courtyard where the tunnel exit was located. He also moved the equipment allocated by Zhu Di to the four-sided city wall.

  "Generals, quickly deploy according to the plan, we are now waiting quietly for the sun to set!" Tang Yun waved his hand, and the generals bowed and retreated...

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