Han Fu's Terror

"Don't tell me these tomb robbers are useful to you too?" Xi Zhicai's ancestors had once been wealthy, and their tombs were no small matter. It was inevitable that the burial objects would catch the eye of tomb robbers like these. He would be upset only if he weren't.

"Of course they're useful!" Wang Xuan remained unmoved. He continued staring at the gaunt man and asked, "With the best tools and ten men, how long would it take to quietly dig a passage from inside the city to outside? It has to be wide enough for three people to walk abreast."

"That depends on the terrain. I can't give you an accurate estimate." The man didn't dare guarantee anything. Digging tunnels was absolutely a technical job—not something just anyone could do.

"Take Jizhou, for example."

"Well... generally speaking, if we work quietly and there are no major problems with the location, a passage about ten li long can be completed within a year!" The man thought it over before answering.

Wang Xuan turned his eyes toward Xi Zhicai. Xi Zhicai's face twitched. Damn, tomb robbers really are suited for this. If they had a passage like this prepared in advance during a siege... wouldn't taking the city be effortless?

Wang Xuan rose and walked over to stand before the roughly two hundred men. He turned his head toward Liu Bei and the others, pointed his thumb behind him, and called out, "What do you think? Is there a problem with saying they are worth an army of a hundred thousand?"

"No problem!" Liu Bei rose with a smile and praised him. "Zaizhi really is clever. You actually thought of a method like this."

Liu Bei looked at the people standing straight-backed, clasped his fists, and called out, "I underestimated all