Was the Yellow-Eyebrowed Monk used just as a distraction?

[Ken Cheng]

When he knew he couldn't outfight Deun Yin Hing, and that it would be politically inconvenient for him to ask the monks of the Celestial Dragon Temple to do it for him, Dali King Deun Jing Ming turned to his friend the Yellow Eyebrowed Monk for assistance in dealing with Deun Yin Hing so that Deun Jing Ming could rescue his nephew Deun Yu from captivity at Chung Man Sau's 10,000 Calamities Manor.

The problem was that the Yellow Eyebrowed Monk's martial arts weren't even up to the level of Deun Jing Ming, let alone Deun Yin Hing. There was no way that the monk could defeat Deun Yin Hing in a straight fight, so he didn't try.

Instead, the Yellow Eyebrowed Monk engaged Deun Yin Hing in a game of go, which diverted Deun Yin Hing's attention while Deun Jing Tsun's subordinates quietly rescued Deun Yu using their own methods.

Was that the reason for the Yellow Eyebrowed Monk's presence...just to be a distraction for Deun Yin Hing?

[Ren Wo Xing]

1) Duan Zhengming COULD outfight Duan Yanqing, but thought it would be difficult to actually kill him, and him personally fighting would be improper anyhow,

2) Minister Hua Hegen, Fan Hua, and Ba Tianshi (who were not DZC's subordinates) came up with the tunnel-digging idea on their own. It was Fan Hua's idea, and neither Duan Zhengming nor the Yellow Browed Monk had any knowledge of it.

3) Duan Zhengming knew that the Yellow Browed Monk's martial arts was lower than his, but, quote,

Emperor Baoding replied, “Martial brother, your wisdom is deep and your intelligence is vast. You can achieve victory without purely relying on the power of your fingers.”

He had always admired the Yellow Browed Monk’s intelligence and martial arts, and also knew that the monk’s two disciples were not weak either. With the three of them working together, they would certainly achieve victory. Much to his surprise, after waiting an entire day and an entire night, he hadn’t received any news of success at all.

Basically, he significantly underestimated Duan Yanqing's own intelligence and ability.