Cao Zongshen asked everyone to tie the horses well, and the horses could also be parked here, which shows that the ventilation conditions are very good.

After tying up the horse, Cao led everyone to continue to move forward, and the tunnel began to narrow and twist.

The number of forks in the road gradually increased, and if no one led him and wanted to return to the original exit, Zong Shu thought to himself that he would not be able to do it.

Walking through an intersection that only allowed one person to pass, the front suddenly opened up.

It was a large space with a pile of firewood lit, and more than a hundred people, men, women, and children were sitting in it.

As soon as Zong Shu and the others walked in, more than a hundred people fell to their knees. This kneeling has confused everyone.

Zong Shu hurriedly beckoned everyone to get up.

An old man came over and introduced himself as the patriarch of the Cao family, very excited, and thanked Zong Shu for looking up to the Cao family and saving the Cao family.

The Zong family took Cao Zongshen as a young master's servant, and Zong Shu rescued Cao Zongshen's father and brother from the prison, which had already been transmitted to Caojiazhuang through pigeons.

The Zong family learned that Cao Shili, Cao Dacheng and Cao Zongshen were gravediggers, not only did they not dislike it, but also arranged a new livelihood for them and got a considerable income.

Now, nearly half of the people in Caojiazhuang have arrived in Mi County, and they don't have to dig coal themselves, but they can get much higher treatment than ordinary miners.

The Cao family has been digging graves for a living for generations, and they can't see the light at all.

After working for a long time, this place has become a place of focus for the government, and public officials often come to arrest the villagers.

Since the previous generation, the Cao family began to secretly build this tunnel, not only to escape the capture of the government, but more importantly, to prevent the looting of bandits and Liao.

In normal times, those who remain in the farm will also plant crops, and when the wind blows, they will immediately go underground.

Hearing this, Zong Shu suddenly felt that history really couldn't bear to look at it carefully.

The reason why Renqiu County can produce the unique tactics of "tunnel warfare" is actually here.

In order to prevent bandits, the descendants of Captain Touching Gold gave full play to their specialties and dug tunnels to hide.

This laid a solid foundation for a counter-sweep millennium later.

"Li Zheng, why don't you move to Mi County? Hiding here is not an option. ”

This is the front line of the war between Song and Liao, if the Great Song is defeated, the Liao State will occupy here, and if the Liao State does not occupy it, the Jin people will also come, and they can't hide underground every day.

"Young Master Zong, I'm no longer Lizheng, Caojiazhuang, there is no Lizheng." The patriarch said.

Cao Zongshen saw that everyone was not an outsider, and he also told the truth, in the eyes of the government, Caojiazhuang has become a den of bandits, where is there anything right?

Fortunately, the current government does not want to make a big deal out of it, as long as Caojiazhuang does not make an earth-shattering case, as long as it does not dig up the graves of the royal officials, the government generally turns a blind eye.

The patriarch said that the reason why he didn't want to move all of them to Mi County was because his homeland was difficult to leave, and his ancestors were buried here.

Zong Shu said that since his grandfather's generation, the graves have been turned underground.

Those who dig other people's graves are also afraid that others will dig their own ancestral graves.

Zong Shu proposed to visit the tunnel.

The patriarch readily agreed, and at the same time ordered several women in Caojiazhuang to start cooking.

The patriarch said that the top of the tunnel was still three feet above the ground, so that it would not prevent crops from growing on it.

There is a large hole at intervals, and the roof of the hole is supported by wood, which is very strong.

Many small holes were dug in the four walls of the big hole, some of them lived in people, some of them tied up animals, some put things on their feet, and some used them as toilets.

A large cave can accommodate more than 100 people, and the largest can accommodate more than 200 people.

The cave is often filled with boiling water, dry food, quilts, and lights, and there are air holes in the hole that lead to the ground, and light can leak from the air holes.

The patriarch led everyone to climb out of the other exit, which was actually an abandoned well outside the village, in the crops, and no one could see it, this was an authentic exit.

I went back to the tunnel, walked a little and there was an exit, and when I came out, I found that it was inside a soaphorn tree.

The soaphorn tree is estimated to be hundreds of years old, and the middle is empty, only the bark is alive, and it actually grows luxuriantly.

The tunnel entrance is so hidden, and the tunnel of Caojiazhuang is really clever.

No wonder the government, bandits, and Liao people came in turn, but they didn't grab anything, let alone catch anyone.

This should be the biggest secret of the entire Cao family in Caojiazhuang, and it is also the biggest guarantee for the survival and development of the Cao family.

The Cao family boldly opened these secrets to himself and the people he brought.

Needless to say, Cao Zongshen had already told the patriarch everything here through the pigeons.

The patriarch said that although the Cao family has a low status, they still know the righteousness, and Cao Jiazhuang is willing to provide any help for everyone to go north to save the family army.

Looking at it now, Caojiazhuang is probably the safest place around.

After the visit, I returned to the big cave just now, and the meal was ready. Everyone had a good meal.

The underground space was unusually warm, everyone took out the palm mat from their backpacks, and the patriarch brought everyone a quilt again.

When I woke up the next day, I found that there were four or five rays of light coming through the top.

The patriarch and Cao Zongshen walked over, and Zong Shu took out charcoal and a few pieces of paper, and said, "Your tunnels can actually be improved. ”

These papers were drawn based on his memories of the movie "Tunnel War".

When I was a child, there were no other entertainment projects, and there were only a few movies, and I don't know how many times I watched "Tunnel War".

"Young Master, what is this and what does it do?" The patriarch asked, pointing to a picture.

"It's the drainage system."

Zong Shu explained the principle of the drainage system, which is actually to connect the tunnel with the dry well and culvert.

In case someone finds the exit of the tunnel and puts water into it, the water comes in through the hole and flows into the dry well and ditch again.

"To get more water out of the drainage hole, it's better to keep digging out, connecting more places and having more outlets."

Zong Shu's words made the patriarch admire him very much, because this is also what the patriarch is worried about.

If the government or the Liao people get serious, find an outlet at random, and pour water into it, they can only drown in the ground.

The plan proposed by Zong Shu just satisfactorily solves this problem.

The patriarch stood up and made a deep bow to Zong Shu, because this time completely eliminated Caojiazhuang's biggest concern.

"Don't thank me, it's not," Zong Shu immediately changed his words: "Actually, it's not my credit alone, I came up with it on your basis." ”

The problem of tunnel drainage is not Zong Shu's invention at all, but the experience created by the military and civilians of the Jizhong Plain in later generations in the harsh anti-sweeping situation.

"What the young master said is extremely true, but these projects cost a lot." The patriarch said that at present, these tunnels have been dug for many years to reach this scale.

"Old man," Zong Shu was not polite to the patriarch, after all, he is now the prince's grandmaster: "You continue to dig, I will solve all the expenses." ”

The patriarch naturally knew Zong Shu's strength, not to mention anything else, a Mi County charcoal would make Zong Yi a huge rich.

Zong Shu pulled Zong Shen, Niu Gao, Li Shaoyan and Qin Dali aside and said, "Caojiazhuang, extremely great strategic value. The authenticity of Caojiazhuang is of great military value. ”

Niu Gao's eyes lit up when he heard this, this tunnel is indeed an underground castle to fight the enemy and save himself!

"I want to build this place into a first-line bridgehead against gold! Sooner or later, this place will be occupied by the Jin. Caojiazhuang is a sharp knife that we reserve in the heart of the enemy! ”