“Anyway, it’s just a matter of a few months—drag it out a bit and it’ll be over!”

Once he left the palace, Henry Lewis’s status had changed from Crown Prince to King Lane, but this King Lane title was nothing more than an empty name—in the early years of the Han dynasty, kings still held real power, but by now, it was just a hollow title, with not a shred of actual authority.

But Henry Lewis also realized it wasn’t entirely without benefit. He was surprised to find that ever since he was granted the title of King Lane, the dragon energy within his body seemed to shift a little, and the thin dragon energy that always hovered over the imperial city became slightly easier to absorb.

“Receiving the title of King Lane counts as official recognition, so the Han dynasty’s dragon energy is now more willing to come to me!”

He didn’t conduct any experiments along the way, just walked with his head down, frowning in thought.

“Charles Carter’s position in the Xiyuan Army is becoming increasingly awkward. Now, even the troops under his command are gradually being taken over by others. Although Jason Johnson and Samuel Harper have both returned to the capital, with their personalities, they definitely won’t cling to their troops. In that case, if I want to protect myself, I still need a loyal force that I can command at will!”

This task definitely had to be given to Charles Carter, but what excuse could he use?

Charles Carter is currently one of the Eight Colonels of the Xiyuan Army. Even if he’s not happy, the position is a real, powerful military post, but the trouble is, it’s also quite difficult to mobilize.

“Looks like I’ll have to wait until I ascend the throne before making any moves!”

In the days that followed, life seemed to settle into a calm routine.

Brian Lewis’s ascension to the throne didn’t cause much of a stir. The court officials fully acknowledged Brian Lewis’s status as the legitimate son, and with Grand General James Harris protecting him, plus the support of Grand Tutor Kyle Young and James Harris jointly assisting in governance, naturally no one would oppose these two. So at a glance, the Han dynasty seemed to have finally stabilized, and the struggle between the eunuchs and James Harris also reached its conclusion.

Only Henry Lewis knew that all of this was just the calm before the storm.

Sure enough, not long after, news came that James Harris had tried to exterminate the eunuchs. In the end, the Ten Attendants, with no other choice, turned to the current Empress Dowager Harris—the former Empress Harris—and only by sacrificing Scott Kent did the rest manage to survive.

At this time, Henry Lewis was still quietly hiding in his own quarters, secretly pleased: “These people are so busy fighting each other, they’ve completely forgotten about me—what a good thing!”

Day after day passed, and the letters from Charles Carter became more and more frequent. Henry Lewis knew the time had come— in the most recent letter, Charles Carter had made it clear that James Harris had already summoned outside troops into the capital, and the chaos he had been waiting for was about to erupt.

Before that, all he needed to do was quietly wait for the struggle between the Ten Attendants and James Harris to reach its boiling point.

Sure enough, after Empress Dowager Drake was poisoned, the conflict between the two sides reached its peak. The Ten Attendants believed that if they didn’t get rid of James Harris now, they would have no place left in the world. So they gathered the palace guards, forged an imperial summons from the Empress Dowager, and finally killed James Harris.

Henry Lewis saw all of this clearly through his paper crane, but he didn’t intervene, because only with James Harris’s death would true chaos begin.

By now, it was already the sixth year of Zhongping, or the first year of Guangxi, in the eighth month. After this month, the historically famous Grand Tutor Drake would step onto the stage of history.

But before that, Henry Lewis, who had kept a low profile for nineteen years, would today be the first to step onto the stage of this chaotic era.

“Crusading against Donald Drake… will still happen, but the details inside won’t be the same as before!”

Through the images sent by the paper crane, Samuel Young and Charles Carter, along with many officers, led the Xiyuan Army into the imperial palace. The palace was already in chaos, the sounds of killing rising and falling, and several palaces were set on fire. It was unclear whether this was the work of the Xiyuan Army or the eunuchs, who might have started the fires to create confusion and escape.

Seeing this, Henry Lewis just sneered: “This dynasty has truly fallen to the lowest point. A bunch of eunuchs and officers leading troops can rampage through the imperial city. Even though it has nothing to do with me, it’s still unpleasant to watch!”

He stood up, hung his long sword at his waist, and strode out of his quarters.

Opposite him was a group of elite soldiers from the Xiyuan Army, weapons in hand, charging forward and shouting:

“All those in the palace with pale faces and no beards are eunuchs—kill them all!”

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Chapter 11: Killing to Establish Authority

The Xiyuan Army, formed by order of the Ling Emperor, had only one notable achievement in history: participating in this so-called Ten Attendants’ Rebellion in the imperial palace.

But the role this army played in the chaos was far from honorable.

Although their goal was to eliminate the corrupt eunuchs who plagued the nation, when it came to their actual actions, they were hardly any better than bandits and rebels.

Arson, indiscriminate killing—such acts were countless, and the very act of storming the palace was itself tantamount to treason.

“No wonder this army seemed to vanish from history after this year, buried in the dust of time. No matter who holds power, it’s unlikely they would tolerate such a force!”

Henry Lewis stood calmly in front of his quarters, as if the dozens of soldiers charging at him didn’t exist at all. Henry Lewis simply didn’t take this mob of unruly troops seriously.