Traveling through an ancient military camp: Bao'er's survival song

Li Bei, who shares the same parents as Li Baobao, is a big, burly man with dark skin. However, he has extremely keen perception and a very good reaction speed, so he was selected by Peng Zizheng not long after Li Bei joined the army.

Before deciding to have Li Bei act as his spy, Peng Zizheng not only went to Menglian Mountain to find out about Li Bei's ancestors for three generations, but also sent people to secretly monitor Li Balu's family in the village.

The schoolteacher, Li Xiucai, who once drank wine and ate braised pig's head with rock sugar with Li Balu, was a trusted confidant who grew up under General Peng Yi's command, alongside Peng Zizheng. During the battle of Luntu City, Li Xiucai was one of the ten daredevils who infiltrated the city with Peng Zizheng, and one of the two survivors of the ten daredevils, the other being Peng Zizheng himself.

Therefore, Li Xiucai was not only Peng Zizheng's confidant, but also a brother with whom Peng Zizheng had shared a life-or-death bond. However, that battle had severely damaged Li Xiucai's health; his hands, once capable of wielding weapons, could now barely hold a writing brush. So, when he learned that Peng Zizheng needed someone to monitor the family of the newly promoted Li Bei, he went.

Li Beiyuan was assigned the role of a shop assistant at Sibaoge. Sibaoge sells writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Although its name is simple and straightforward, it is a well-known shop in the capital.

Although Li Bei came from a rural background and had a low level of education, he possessed a remarkable talent for calligraphy. His handwriting was slender and elegant, earning praise even from the manager of the Sibao Pavilion. Coupled with his quick wit and ability to navigate social situations, Li Bei was quickly promoted to head clerk at the Sibao Pavilion. His duties included not only receiving high-ranking officials and dignitaries but also overseeing the delivery of goods to their residences. Therefore, Li Bei had long ago established a connection with the family of Grand Tutor Wu Peng'en, reporting whatever information he could gather about the Wu family to Peng Zizheng, who was stationed far away on the frontier.

Now, Li Bei, as the head waiter of Sibao Pavilion, also rented a courtyard house. Today, after Sibao Pavilion closed for the day, he invited several stewards and managers from official families with whom he had been on good terms to have a drink together. By the time he returned to his house, it was almost midnight.

As soon as Li Bei opened the gate, he sensed something was wrong in the courtyard: the door to the inner room was wide open, and although it was dark inside, he could still tell that someone was sitting in the main hall.

In that instant of alertness, Li Bei quickly scanned several possibilities, and then, relying on his keen senses, he soon realized that the person sitting inside must be General Peng. He didn't ask rashly, but as usual, turned and bolted the door, then walked to the doorway of the inner room and simply asked softly, "Why aren't there any candles?"

The person inside replied, "Candles are too precious; starlight will suffice."

This is a secret code between Li Bei and the general, used in a one-on-one conversation.

Li Bei immediately went inside, gave Peng Zizheng a soldier's salute in the dark, then closed the door and lit the oil lamp with a tinderbox.

"General, is there anything you need me to do? This place is a mixed bag, not a place for us to talk."

Peng Zizheng carefully examined Li Bei's face in the dim light, still finding that Li Bei looked nothing like his younger brother, Li Baobao. He coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment and said, "Come with me." He then went straight to Li Bei's bedroom, pulled open the wooden cabinet with one hand, and pried open the floor beneath it with a knife, revealing a tunnel in front of them.