After dismounting, Wang San watched the large group of men slowly make their way toward the docks. Then, following Wang Yue's instructions, he buried more than twenty ceramic jars haphazardly in the middle of the road.
He had no idea what the jars were for. But Wang Yue had told him they were incredibly destructive and that they had to handle them with extreme care.
The hundred or so men who had stayed behind with him each carried two jars in their arms. They'd been careful not to jostle them too much during the march.
After burying the first batch, they hurried along the same route as the rest of the troops. After covering two li, they buried another twenty or so jars.
They repeated this several times. While they were burying the jars, they suddenly heard a violent explosion on the road they had just passed. At the same time, they felt the ground tremble.
The hundred men exchanged bewildered looks. Only then did they glance at the jars they had yet to bury. A thought crossed all their minds at once: Could the jars have caused that huge explosion?
They suspected as much, but none of them dared to check. Still puzzled, they continued carrying out their orders.
After burying the last batch of jars, they were about to regroup and hurry after the troops when a series of violent explosions erupted on the road in the distance.
The blasts were so fierce that, strangely, they put the men somewhat at ease. They remembered Wang Yue's instructions: once they were sure no pursuers were coming, they were to dig up the jars and bury them somewhere out of sight.
If the blasts were powerful enough to shake the ground, just imagine the damage they could cause. If the