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

Peng Zizheng never expected that his horse accident was related to the Qiang people.

That day, while waiting for Li Baobao at the teahouse, he saw an old man in a carriage whose wine gourd looked familiar through the window. Without thinking about why it looked familiar, he jumped out and tried to catch the man. In the end, not only did he fail to catch the old man, he also broke his own arm.

The emperor sent the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to investigate the case. Although the confessions obtained from the prison did not reveal who was behind it, each member of the arrested acrobatic troupe had a small snake tattoo on the center of their back.

This is the symbol of the Qiang Kingdom's Poisonous Snake Guard.

Of the five Poisonous Serpent Guards who were imprisoned, two died under severe torture, and the remaining three were barely kept alive by being forced to drink ginseng soup. The warden dared not use torture again, fearing that the remaining three would lose their lives if they did not confess clearly, and he would have to bear the responsibility.

But the punishments in the imperial prison had only been suspended for one day, just one day, when the person disappeared.

The one who got lost was the dwarf.

The warden was furious, and in the days that followed, the prison was filled with wailing, bloodshed, and constant screams.

Meanwhile, in the Guide General's mansion, Peng Zizheng, sitting on the edge of the bed with his arm in a sling, was looking at the "master thief" who had suddenly appeared in front of him and the dwarf on the ground who was obviously about to die. He was so angry that the veins on his forehead were throbbing.

"I never expected that you are not good at stealing gold and silver, but at stealing people!" Peng Zizheng said through gritted teeth, looking at the short, smug master thief in front of him.

"General, you flatter me. It's just that those bastards in the Imperial Prison are utterly useless. They haven't gotten any valuable information out of us in days. I thought to myself, I was personally instructed by my senior brother to assist you, General. Unlike the other four who are clueless and arrogant all day long, waiting for you to invite them, I'm not one to eat for free." The master thief Shi Miao declared smugly.

"So you know how to interrogate people?"

"Oh, no, that's not true. Everyone has their own expertise. I've mastered the art of thievery to the highest degree, and I have no interest in doing anything else." Shi Miao said shamelessly.

Peng Zizheng's face darkened. He shouted for the soldiers outside to come in and keep an eye on the dwarf and the master thief. He also sent someone to fetch a doctor to prevent the dwarf, who had suffered severe torture and the ordeal of escaping from prison, from dying. After changing his clothes, he prepared to go to the palace to plead guilty.

Seeing that General Peng was ignoring him and was about to leave, Shi Miao couldn't hold back any longer and stopped Peng Zizheng, saying, "General, don't go yet! Look, I've already submitted my pledge of loyalty. I don't need any gold or silver in return. Just give me a word and let me be the leader of those senior brothers, hehehe..."

Peng Zizheng stared at the jubilant master thief Shi Miao with a dark face, and squeezed out two words through gritted teeth: "Granted."

While Liu Xu was playing with the five-colored divine tortoise presented by the envoy of the Sui Kingdom in the palace, he suddenly had a premonition and said with a smile to the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies beside him, "Why do I have a feeling that trouble is about to happen?"

Minister Pei of the Court of State Ceremonial immediately knelt down. He had just presented the divine tortoise when the emperor said there would be trouble. This clearly meant that the tortoise was not an auspicious omen but a harbinger of disaster! He was racking his brains trying to figure out how to explain himself when he heard a eunuch outside hurry in: "Your Majesty, General Peng Zizheng of Guide requests an audience."

Emperor Liu Xu laughed heartily, put the tortoise back into the shallow jar and handed it over to the palace maids to take good care of. He then dismissed the kneeling Lord Pei, whose forehead was covered in sweat, before summoning his troublesome general, Peng Zizheng, to an audience.