Yang Yi led two children who were about half a meter tall, and escorted two people wearing sheepskin coats who were tied up.

As soon as they entered the tent, the two children each kicked the two men hard in the back of the knees.

thump.

The two knelt down in the center of the tent.

"Your Highness, these two fellows were spotted near our camp by Aji and Axiang and subdued on the spot."

Yang Yi looked at the two children with great satisfaction.

Needless to say, he trained these two children himself, so their performance was certainly something to be proud of.

"Your Highness, my brother and I spotted these two men while patrolling near the camp. We ordered them to stop, but they not only ignored us, they also tried to attack us."

"And the result? Hmph!"

Aji puffed out his little chest, his face full of pride.

He and Axiang were Budugen's two sons who were left behind as hostages by Liu Wei.

Among these thousand boy scouts were orphans of Han Chinese, children of Xianbei and Xiongnu people.

They were divided into ten groups and received military-style training from Yang Yi and ten other guards.

Speak Chinese, use Chinese characters, and learn Chinese etiquette.

Liu Wei plans to start with children and completely assimilate them into his own service.

These child soldiers, growing up in the military camp, will surely become another secret weapon for Liu Wei in the future.

And these two, Aji and Axiang, became the lead and deputy lead chorus of a Boy Scout troupe thanks to their excellent physique and performance.

Liu Wei then noticed that the two men who had been arrested had bruises and blood from their noses, clearly having been severely beaten.

Unexpectedly, these two kids started fighting right away when they faced someone several heads taller than them!

Such young calves are fearless and ruthless when they strike.

"Aji, Axiang, your father will be so proud of you!"

Liu Wei stepped forward and patted the two men on the shoulder. "Yang Yi, let them take Aji and the others back first. Remember to give them credit for their service!"

Liu Du had previously instructed them to perform well by the Marquis's side and become useful to him.

Now that they have caught the thief and made a good contribution, Liu Wei has a good initial impression of them, which is certainly a good thing.

The two were overjoyed by Liu Wei's praise.

They immediately returned the favor with proper Han Chinese etiquette, bowing respectfully before following Yang Yi away.

Inside the main tent, only Liu Wei and Shen Lian remained, along with the two people sent by Empress Dowager Dong to contact Diao Chan.

Liu Wei immediately recognized that the two men were eunuchs who had lost their genitals.

Both of them had no beards, were effeminate in appearance, and had a faint smell of urine.

"Will you tell me on your own initiative, or will I have to resort to my methods?"

Liu Wei's eyes, sharp as swords, shot towards the two of them.

"Your Highness, what do you want us to say?"

They shuddered at Liu Wei's intimidating gaze, and one of them asked, trembling.

"Heh, you're pretending to be ignorant when you know the truth, aren't you!"

Liu Wei gave a cold laugh and turned his head. "Commander Shen, how did you get those people who refused to talk honestly to talk?"

"Your Highness, I simply buried them in the ground with only their heads exposed, then cut a slit in their scalp and poured in mercury."

"Not long after, these people became extremely itchy and started jumping around, their skin peeling off completely."

Shen Lian spoke with great relish, and even licked his lips after he finished.

"You've already peeled off the skin, how can you expect to confess?"

Liu Wei knew that this torture of skinning people alive was a specialty of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and anyone subjected to such a method would wish they were dead.

"Your Highness, after they sprang out, their flesh and bones were exposed, they were neither human nor ghost. We only ask that we give them a quick death with one stroke!"

"Of course I told you everything I knew."

Liu Wei pretended to suddenly realize something: "Oh, so if we want them to confess, we should skin them alive?"

"Your Highness, based on my deduction, these two are probably very tight-lipped, so they should definitely be subjected to severe torture," Shen Lian replied cooperatively.

The two of them, as if no one else was around, asked and answered each other, describing the cruel torture of skinning people alive as if it were nothing.

But the two eunuchs had already turned pale, were sweating profusely, and felt itchy all over.

It was as if a hole had been punched in their heads and mercury had been poured in.

The sensation, like being bitten by millions of insects, sent chills down one's spine.

At that moment, they realized that there was no way to escape.

When Empress Dowager Dong sent them, they were already prepared to die together.

But I never expected to suffer such pain before I died.

The two stared at each other, wide-eyed and filled with apprehension.

“Commander Shen, although these two are tight-lipped, they are physically weak. If they are tortured at the same time, and if the operation is not done properly, they will die. Then I will not be able to get any information out of them.”

"I think we only need to torture one person."

"In that case, what I want can also be achieved."

However, Liu Wei said leisurely.

Shen Lian immediately understood Liu Wei's meaning and asked, feigning confusion, "Your Highness, which of these two should be punished?"

A glimmer of hope ignited in the lifeless eyes of the two eunuchs.

When people are in dire straits, what they fear most is that there is still hope.

Even if everyone dies in the end, no one wants to be the one who gets their skin peeled off and filled with mercury.

"How about this, we'll interrogate these two separately, and then have them confront each other. As long as one of them confesses honestly, we won't skin him alive!"

Liu Wei smiled slightly.

The interrogation of this matter later became known in game theory as the Prisoner's Dilemma.

It refers to a special kind of game between two captured prisoners.

If both deny the charges, they will be sentenced to one year in prison.

If one person confesses and the other denies, the one who confesses will have one year to live, and the one who denies will have ten years to live.

If both confess, they will be sentenced to three years in prison.

Actually, this is a psychological game.

People are inherently selfish, and even when denying something together is beneficial to both parties, maintaining cooperation is difficult.

What is best for an individual is not necessarily best for the group.

Ultimately, both prisoners will choose to confess.

In later criminal investigations involving gangs, this method was frequently used to separate suspects for interrogation in order to achieve the best results.

As a professional, Shen Lian immediately understood what Liu Wei meant.

When the Imperial Guards interrogated prisoners, they probably already operated in this way, but they didn't elevate it to a certain theoretical level like Liu Wei did.

"Did you hear that? The prince has given one of you a chance. You'd better make the most of it."

"Otherwise, you'll be the one getting your skin peeled off!"

Shen Lian shouted loudly.

The two remained silent, their gazes towards each other becoming extremely wary.

The two, who were originally determined to die and say nothing, have now begun to waver.

Right now, if I don't want to suffer the pain of being skinned alive, I have no choice but to tell the truth.

Then, Shen Lian took one of them out.

"Speak, what is the purpose of Empress Dowager Dong's summons?"

"Why did Empress Dowager Dong place a singing girl by my side?"

"......"