In this realistic war game, only I understand the course of the battle.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Underground Tunnel

Shen Du lay in the wounded soldiers' tent for three days.

The wound on his left leg healed faster than he had expected.

It's not because he has a particularly good physique.

The eleven stitches that Gu Zhang sewed were crooked, but they were all sewn in the correct places.

By the evening of the third day, he was able to stand up and walk a few steps while leaning on his knife.

When they reached the tent entrance, Zhao Laoliu was squatting outside, gnawing on a piece of cold horse meat.

When he saw him come out, Zhao Laoliu almost dropped the meat on the ground.

"Mr. Li, your leg—"

"I can walk."

Shen Du propped the knife on the ground and sat down next to Zhao Laoliu.

The setting sun peeked through the crenellations of the west gate tower, turning the stone slabs of the barbican a rusty color.

The artillery has been idle for two whole days.

The entire battlefield was so quiet it didn't feel like a battlefield at all.

There was no sound of cannons, no shouts of battle.

The only sound was the slight clattering of the wooden plaques on the city wall as the wind blew through them.

The wooden plaques that read "The Divine Seat of the High Emperor" are still hanging on the top of the stack.

It hasn't been touched for two days.

Nobody dared to touch it.

Even the guards on the city walls dared not.

They used bamboo poles to carry the wooden signs outside the stack and hung them up, keeping a safe distance themselves.

"Cheol-hyun's move was too vicious."

Shen Du took the water bag handed to him by Zhao Laoliu and drank some water.

"His Highness raised an army under the banner of 'pacifying the rebellion'."

"To bombard the ancestral tablet of the founding emperor is to betray one's teacher and ancestors."

"Tie Xuan is not defending the city."

"This is a political trap being set for His Highness."

"Even if Your Highness stops firing now, this matter will still reach Nanjing."

"Those censors can also pin the accusation of 'intending to bombard the ancestral temple' on His Highness."

He returned the water bag to Zhao Laoliu.

He stood up, leaning on his sword, and walked to the base of the city wall inside the barbican.

The rammed earth at the base of the city wall had been soaked in the moat for half a month, and the bottom had begun to soften.

He poked the rammed earth with the tip of his knife.

The tip of the knife was embedded two inches deep.

"Zhao Laoliu".

Shen Du turned around, and the setting sun shone from behind him, casting shadows on his face.

"Your Highness must not bombard the city walls."

"We'll walk along the city wall."

Zhao Laoliu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly grinned.

When he smiled, his eyebrows, half-burned off by gunpowder, became even more crooked.

His whole face looked both sly and excited.

"typical?"

He lowered his voice.

"typical."

Shen Du squatted down and used his dagger to draw a cross-section diagram on the muddy ground.

"The base of Jinan's city wall is made of rammed earth, and underneath is a layer of sandy soil."

"The sandy soil layer is neither hard nor soft, so it's quick to dig, but it's prone to collapse."

"The sandy layer we dug down to was about two zhang below the surface."

"It's deep enough to go under the moat without letting in water."

"Even if it collapses, it won't affect the ground level for the time being."

"Our target is directly below the city wall."

"Bury the gunpowder in the sand layer directly below the city wall."

"The rammed earth was blasted down, causing the entire section of the city wall to collapse."

"Gunfire on the ground cannot be used to target the memorial tablet of Emperor Taizu."

"The gunpowder underground doesn't need to concern itself with the memorial tablet."

"The memorial tablets are hanging on the wall; we're blowing up the base of the wall."

He drew an arrow from the outside of the moat towards the bottom of the city wall.

"Dig down to the base of the city wall, set off gunpowder, and then run."

"Once the gunpowder explodes, the city wall collapses."

"When the city wall collapsed, the memorial tablet shattered along with it."

"His Highness didn't fire any cannons, the city walls collapsed on their own."

"This is not called betraying one's master and ancestors."

"This is called fate."

That night, Shen Du limped into Zhu Neng's camp.

Zhu Neng's right arm was still in a sling in front of his chest.

That was from being scalded by boiling oil during the charge at the south gate of the inner city; it's taking a long time to heal.

She had lost weight, but her eyes were still as fierce as ever.

Shen Du explained the plan from beginning to end.

Without any unnecessary preamble, it gets straight to the point.

They dug tunnels to go under the moat.

They buried gunpowder directly beneath the west city wall to blow it up.

Zhu Neng listened with his mouth closed, without answering immediately.

He tapped the table a few times with his left hand.

Then he suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

"Is your leg better?"

"I can walk."

"We can't climb the ladder, but we can squat at the entrance and watch people dig tunnels."

Shen Du was prepared.

"I will take command of the people in the Hundred Household Office."

"Zhao Laoliu led the obstacle-breaking team to be in charge of digging soil."

"They are all from mining backgrounds; Baigouhe used to mine coal in Datong."

"I know how to prop up the pit with timber to prevent it from collapsing."

"Gu Zhang led the wall-climbing team to guard the perimeter of the cave entrance."

"Fire-type mounted archers are unusable."

"The tunnels are quiet places, and the cavalry's hooves are too loud."

"Let them continue to ride horses and set off smoke signals outside the West Gate."

"Let the people on the city walls think we're still gathering."

"How long will it take to dig?"

"The straight-line distance from the east bank of the moat to the base of the west city wall is about 150 zhang."

"The sandy soil layer is loose, and we can dig in shifts, reaching a depth of thirty feet a day."

"They dug to the base of the city wall in five days."

"On the sixth day, set off the gunpowder, ignite it, and explode."

Zhu Neng remained silent for a while.

Shen Du stopped speaking.

The only sound in the tent was the occasional crackling of the oil lamp wick.

And Zhu Neng's heavy breathing.

After a while, Zhu picked up a token from the table.

It wasn't a silver medal, it was an iron medal, with the character "朱" engraved on it.

He tossed the iron plaque to Shen Du.

"Take whatever you want."

"But there is one condition."

"Gunpowder can only be used once, and the city wall can only be blown up once."

"If it can't be destroyed, Sheng Yong's counterattack will bury everyone in the tunnel."

Shen Du caught the iron plate.

"Once is enough."

Starting from the second day, Shen Du divided the manpower into four shifts, rotating day and night.

Zhao Laoliu was the first to go down into the cave.

He was shirtless, with a short-handled axe tucked into his waistband.

He was carrying a pickaxe borrowed from the supply depot.

He had an unlit tobacco pipe dangling from his mouth.

The first pickaxe was driven into a recessed spot selected on the east bank of the moat.

The timber was dragged directly from the supply depot.

Shen Du took Zhu Neng's iron plaque to requisition supplies.

The old soldier in charge of the warehouse saw the iron plaque and opened the warehouse door without saying a word.

Hemp rope, willow baskets, wheelbarrows for transporting soil, and bamboo pipes for ventilation.

Even the wooden planks used to prevent landslides were made from the thickest pine wood.

Zhao Laoliu set up the first wooden frame at the entrance of the cave.

Before crawling inside, he glanced back at Shen Du.

"Mr. Li, you don't need to keep an eye on things here."

"My leg isn't fully healed yet."

"I've been mining coal for half my life, and I can smell which section of soil is about to collapse even with my eyes closed."

"When you were mining coal, there was no Jinan city wall overhead."

Shen Du sat on a rock outside the cave entrance, leaning on his knife.

The sword is held horizontally across his knees.

"dig."

"I'll just sit here."

On the fourth night, the tunnel was dug right beneath the city wall.

Zhao Laoliu crawled out of the tunnel, his face covered in mud.

The tobacco pipe was covered in dirt.

He spat at the entrance of the cave; the spit was yellow.

But his eyes still shone brightly.

"Master Li, we've arrived."

"Right below the city wall, at the junction of the rammed earth layer and the sand layer."

"There was a section of sandy soil that was so loose that I could dig it out with my bare hands."

"That's the best spot to put out the gunpowder."

Shen Du stood up, leaned on his knife, walked to the cave entrance, and looked inside.

Two oil lamps were lit in the tunnel, casting a dim light.

You can see the soil layer at the end of the tunnel.

The upper layer is rammed earth, and the lower layer is grayish-white sand.

At the junction, Zhao Laoliu used a pickaxe to carve out a cavity as tall as a person.

Four pine wood support poles were placed on the top of the chamber.

The pole creaked under the weight of the soil, but it held up.

"Move the gunpowder down."

Shen Du turned around and spoke to the messenger behind him.

"Inform General Zhu Neng."

"Light the fire at 5:00 AM tomorrow."

The night before the siege.

In a side hall of the Shandong Provincial Administration Office in the inner city of Jinan, the candlelight was unusually dim.

Tie Xuan had already changed out of his official robes.

He was only wearing a faded blue cloth shirt.

Under the lamplight, his expression remained as calm as ever.

He had the results of the wiretapping presented to him in a blue robe spread out in front of him.

Six unusual tremors were detected at the foot of the western city wall.

After eliminating the interference of the moat's flow and the galloping cavalry outside the city.

The frequency and duration of three vibrations perfectly matched those of manual excavation.

The blue-robed man has already ruled out two of the options.

The sound of natural seepage of groundwater was detected at the northern end.

In the eastern section, there is a section of abandoned drainage pipes with howling wind.

Ultimately, the most suspicious excavation site will be identified.

It was located about three zhang south of the west city wall.

It also provides the approximate depth and orientation.

"typical."

Tie Xuan placed the note on the table in a very soft voice.

"Instead of shelling, they started digging tunnels."

"Li Jingzhong—this guy is definitely never idle."

He picked up a pen and wrote a few words on the paper.

Prepare the barbican.

Inform General Sheng Yong that there has been a change of events directly below the west city wall.

He was asked to gather all the reserve troops and laborers from the western gate barbican.

Prepare sandbags, lime, water tanks, and kerosene.

It's one quarter before 5:00 AM.

Directly below the west city wall.

All the gunpowder had been piled into the chamber.

Forty-five bundles of gunpowder, each bundle consisting of three earthenware jars, were tied tightly with hemp rope.

It was wrapped in a layer of tung oil cloth for waterproofing.

The lead wire is a thick hemp thread made of three strands twisted together.

From the chamber, it was pulled along the tunnel all the way to the entrance of the cave on the east bank of the moat.

It is long enough for the person who starts the fire to run a safe distance.

Shen Du squatted outside the cave entrance, conducting a final inspection of the wire connectors.

The lead wire is dry.

The joints were sealed with wax to prevent them from getting damp from the moisture in the tunnel.

It was exactly 5:00 AM.

"Clear the area."

Shen Du stood up and retreated, leaning on his knife.

Everyone in the tunnel was evacuated.

The entire east bank of the moat has been cleared.

Huo Zhen led his mounted archers to continue riding and releasing smoke signals in front of the west gate.

This is a feint.

Exactly the same as the past few days.

The soldiers guarding the city walls were already used to it.

Shen Du took one last look in the direction of the city wall.

The wooden plaques on the city wall that read "The Divine Seat of the High Emperor".

It was still swaying in the morning breeze.

The outlines were clearly defined by the light of dawn.

Tie Xuan hung the memorial tablet on the city wall.

This was to prevent His Highness from firing the cannon.

But he didn't know.

His 100-household garrison was no longer outside the city walls.

They passed under the city wall.

"ignition."

Zhao Laoliu pulled the tobacco pipe out of his mouth.

A spark from the pipe shone briefly in the morning breeze.

Then he attached the tobacco pipe to the end of the fuse.

The fuse hissed and burned.

Sparks followed the hemp thread into the tunnel.

The speed was not fast, but the determination was extremely strong.

Like a tamed snake, it is crawling along the ground towards its target.

Shen Du stood there, leaning on his knife.

His left leg was trembling from the pain.

But his back was ramrod straight.

He counted silently in his mind.

one two Three……

It takes about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn the fuse from the hole to the bottom of the city wall.

Zhao Laoliu stood next to him.

He clutched the tobacco pipe in his hand, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Gu Zhang gripped the horse's reins outside the west gate.

The fire-wielding archers reined in their horses on the feinting position.

The horse's hooves pawed restlessly at the ground.

The entire position was waiting.

Directly below the city wall, the fuse burned into the cavity.

The ground shook.

It wasn't the sound of cannons.

It was a muffled sound from deep underground.

It sounded like someone had smashed a drum under their feet.

Then comes the second tone.

A low, rumbling shockwave surged upwards from directly beneath the city wall.

They overturned the land on the east bank of the moat.

Soil and bits of grass were thrown into the air.

The rammed earth city wall began to crack from the base upwards.

The section of the city wall that is cracked, located slightly to the south of the bottom of the west city wall.

It felt like being struck from the ground up by an invisible hand.

The cracks spread from the base of the wall to the top.

The stacks with wooden signs hanging on them broke apart one after another.

The ancestral tablet of the founding emperor was scattered into pieces of wood in the dust and smoke of the collapse.

It rolled into the moat along with rammed earth blocks and bricks.

The defenders on the city wall were knocked to the ground by the shock.

Someone fell from the top of the stack.

Someone was clinging tightly to the flagpole and screaming.

Tie Xuan was knocked down inside the city gate tower.

His face was covered in dirt when he got up from the ground.

The official hat rolled under the table.

"What's going on—!"

No one answered him.

After the explosion.

A layer of yellow soil and wood chips floated on the surface of the moat.

The smoke was choking.

A crack about three zhang long appeared in the west city wall.

The crack extends from the base of the wall all the way to the top.

It did not collapse completely.

However, the crack had collapsed to a depth of about ten feet.

The internal horse trails are completely exposed.

The area was covered with collapsed walls and broken wooden beams.

It was large enough for the attacking troops to climb up using ladders.

Shen Du stood on the east bank of the moat, leaning on his sword.

Looking at that crack.

He pulled the knife from the ground.

The tip of the knife points in the direction of the crack.

"Send a signal."

"General Zhu Neng, please attack the city."