Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

096: The Birth of a New Buddha

Su Wen, Xu Ge, Cui Lingyu, and their maid Xiao Bi rushed to the military camp.

Military camps were generally not allowed to be stationed inside the city; they were usually located outside the city. However, there were exceptions in some areas where military camps were stationed in the southeast corner of the outer city, where an area was designated specifically for stationing troops.

Tibet had always coveted the Tang Dynasty and frequently launched attacks against it. Therefore, if the military camps were stationed outside the city, they would be easily surrounded and annihilated. As a result, the military camps of Shazhou City were specially placed in the outer city.

This also makes it less likely to be ambushed. Once the Tibetan army is discovered, a response can be made immediately, such as closing the city gates and climbing the city walls for defense.

Before long, the four of them arrived at the outer city.

Six soldiers were standing at the camp gate. When they saw four men approaching on horseback, they became quite nervous. The sergeant raised his hand to stop them, saying, "This is a Tang Dynasty military camp. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter. Please leave immediately!"

Su Wen raised his voice and said, "I am Su Wen, the acting governor of Shazhou, personally appointed by the Emperor. I have come to inspect the military camp. Open the gate!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several men saluted and stepped aside. The sergeant shouted, "Open the gate! The imperial envoy is inspecting the camp!"

Su Wen and Xu Ge jumped off their horses, and Xiao Bi followed suit. Su Wen reached out and helped Cui Lingyu down. As the gate slowly opened, the four of them stepped into the camp.

This was Su Wen's first time seeing the military camp of the Tang Dynasty. He originally thought it would be more solemn and dignified, but there was not a single person in the entire training square. There was no one when he passed by the main camp. It wasn't until he went deeper into the camp and came to the central camp that he saw a few shirtless men wearing baggy pants strolling around the camp. The men were chatting and laughing and pushing each other.

The moment the soldiers saw the four men, they were about to speak when a voice suddenly called out, "Imperial Envoy Su, what brings you to the military camp!"

Upon hearing this, the men immediately huddled together, and one soldier saluted, saying, "Greetings, Imperial Envoy!"

Su Wen looked at the person speaking and saw that it was none other than Zhang Yi, the Xuanjie Colonel.

Su Wendao said, "Zhang Yi, summon the soldiers who patrol Chang Le Fang at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM). I have something to ask them!"

Zhang Yi quickly responded, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and call the people from Group Four, Team Three, Squad Seven and Eight here!"

The group responded and quickly turned to leave.

Zhang Yi kept his head down, not daring to look up. Before Su Wen could speak, Xiao Bi asked, "General, it's 1:15 AM now. According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, all soldiers should be training in formation. Why is there no one on the training ground?"

Zhang Yi was sweating profusely, wanting to explain but unsure how. Su Wen, standing nearby, spoke up, "Just consider it a day off from training; it's fine!"

Xiao Bi wanted to argue, but Cui Lingyu turned her head slightly and gave Xiao Bi a serious look. Xiao Bi immediately pouted and stopped talking.

Cui Lingyu smiled slightly and looked at Su Wen, saying, "Su Lang, let's go to the central command tent. It's too sunny standing here!"

Su Wen nodded in agreement.

Zhang Yi said, "Imperial Envoy Su, this way please!"

When Su Wen arrived at the central army camp, he found the entire camp quite tidy, indicating that at least no one had caused any trouble inside.

At that moment, in a nearby tent, a soldier ran in and shouted, "Seven, Five, Eight, are you still sleeping? The imperial envoy is inspecting the camp and wants to see you! Get up now!"

Upon hearing this, everyone sat bolt upright in bed, hurriedly dressing. One man exclaimed anxiously, "Why are you suddenly patrolling the military camp? Why didn't you give us any notice?!"

"Still talking? Hurry up!"

Before long, ten soldiers entered the tent one after another. They hadn't even had time to put on their clothes properly yet. Xu Ge and Xiao Bi stood not far from them. Su Wen got up and walked over to them. The smell of alcohol hit him, indicating that they had been drinking heavily again last night!

However, Su Wen didn't care about any of this. After all, the affairs of the military camp were managed by Zhang Yi, the Xuanjie Colonel General, and had nothing to do with him.

Su Wendao said, "Today at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), which soldiers are responsible for patrolling Chang Le Fang? Step forward one step, and the other two can leave!"

After bowing, the two men left the tent, while the remaining eight stood there with their heads down, not daring to look up.

Su Wen asked, "Did you drink before your patrol at 1 AM today?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Zhang Yi was extremely nervous, but he still feigned composure and said, "The imperial envoy is asking you questions, so just speak frankly!"

Among the group, some nodded while others shook their heads.

Su Wendao said, "Those who want to drink, raise your hands so I can see them!"

Upon hearing this, four people trembled and raised their heads, while the other four did not raise their hands.

It seemed it wasn't caused by drinking. Su Wen then looked at the group and asked, "Did you eat anything together before today's patrol? Or was there anything strange?"

The eight men looked at each other in bewilderment. One of them spoke up: "Before our patrol at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), the cook Hu San said he wanted to borrow a horse to go home to the inner city. According to military regulations, we shouldn't lend horses, but he treated us to meat buns, so we specially picked out a good horse for him!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen asked, "Did General Peng, the Benevolent and Brave Colonel, also eat?"

The men nodded. "We ate it. We wouldn't have dared to do that without General Peng's permission!"

Cui Lingyu then asked, "Think carefully, is the horse you saw during your patrol the same one that disappeared during your patrol?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent for a moment, looked at each other, and then several people nodded in agreement: "We didn't look closely at the time and didn't notice, but now that we think about it, it really does look similar, especially the ponytail. I tied it myself, and I even tied a red string at the back!"

"Yes, there really was a red string in the tail of that horse that disappeared around the corner!"

"That shouldn't be the case! Hu San returned the horse before our patrol!"

Su Wen then looked at Zhang Yi and said, "Go and bring Hu San here!"

Zhang Yi responded, "Go and call Hu San here!"

A soldier saluted and turned to leave the tent. Su Wen frowned and looked at Cui Lingyu, saying, "It seems that Hu San put something in the meat buns, then rode his horse to the inner city to meet the bandits. There must be an illusionist among those bandits!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yi was greatly alarmed and said, "Imperial Envoy Su, do you mean that someone from the other side has already infiltrated our military camp?"

Su Wen nodded: "Based on the current clues, that's the case, but we still need to interrogate Hu San to find out the truth!"

"By the way, when did Hu San join the army?"

Zhang Yi replied, "During the Xiantian era!"

Su Wen: "Who lives in Hu San's family?"

Zhang Yi said, "Hu San is from a respectable family. His home is in Ping'an Ward, inside the inner city of Shazhou. He has a wife, Madam Ma, a son, a daughter, and his elderly mother."

Su Wen frowned and said, "How could someone like that choose to collude with the enemy?"

Cui Lingyu asked, "Does the Hu family believe in Buddhism?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yi replied, "Yes, my wife and mother are very devout believers; there's even a Buddha statue in our home!"