The county seat of Biyang was the administrative center of Tangzhou, with sixty to seventy thousand residents living in the city and many traveling merchants passing through. If the assassin were to strike again, it would be very difficult for Luke Lewis alone to protect Brian Walker's safety.

But in Huaiyuan Town, especially within the military camp, things were much simpler. It was very hard for assassins to infiltrate; if they dared to force their way into the camp, the more than a hundred armed officers of the Inspection Office were not just for show.

Even more crucially, Henry Smith had little influence in Biyang.

He had thought it through: it was unlikely the assassin would target him first, but after the attempt on Brian Walker in Biyang, there was still a chance the assassin would come after him to silence him.

If only he could have Brian Walker and Luke Lewis stay in Huaiyuan, not only could he seize the initiative, but he could also continue to receive guidance from Luke Lewis.

“Since the lord has been exiled to Tangzhou and must be supervised by the prefectural office, whether he can stay in Huaiyuan depends on the decision of Prefect Sean Brooks!” Luke Lewis said thoughtfully.

He was well aware of the chaotic mix in Biyang, but where Brian Walker stayed was not for them to decide.

“If tomorrow morning the old lord suddenly falls ill and is bedridden, is it possible that Sean Brooks would allow him to stay in the Huaiyuan military camp to recover?” Henry Smith asked.

Luke Lewis's eyes lit up.

He had noticed the attitude of Huaiyuan Inspector Gregory Dean today.

Travis Carter had overseen military affairs for nearly twenty years, eventually taking charge of the Privy Council, with his protégés and former subordinates spread throughout the Privy Council and the various imperial and auxiliary armies, his influence even reaching down to the lowest local Inspection Offices.

However, in Tangzhou, Prefect Sean Brooks and the civil officials of the prefectural and Biyang county offices had no connection to Travis Carter.

They had no reason to oppose Travis Carter, but if Brian Walker were to die a violent death in Tangzhou, it would not only stain their careers but could also make them scapegoats in court factional struggles.

Of course, if Travis Carter was determined to see Brian Walker dead, the bottom line for Prefect Sean Brooks, Biyang County Magistrate Lauren Clark, and the others would probably be that Brian Walker died by “accident”—and it would be best if this “accident” happened out of their sight, so they could justifiably push the blame onto a couple of low-ranking officials.

Naturally, Luke Lewis also knew Brian Walker's character well, and said with difficulty:

“Travis Carter, Patrick Walker, and the others act out of personal desire, and fearing the Censorate will block them, often collude with eunuchs to urge His Majesty to issue imperial edicts, making the censors afraid to object—my lord disregards personal honor and repeatedly goes against the emperor’s wishes, thwarting their schemes. This time, he had a fierce dispute with Travis Carter over a certain matter, repeatedly resisted the imperial edict, and was finally exiled to Tangzhou for ‘disrespect.’ He does all this without regard for his own honor or safety. If he could stay in Huaiyuan, it would be best, but I fear he would not agree to feign illness!”

Henry Smith knew little of court affairs, and was not even clear about Brian Walker's reputation or character.

However, recalling the scene at Eagle’s Mouth Cliff, Brian Walker did seem to have the intention of dying to avoid implicating others, and he secretly felt that persuading Brian Walker to cooperate and feign illness to stay in Huaiyuan would not be easy.

“I can go to the market now and buy some purgatives. You can add them to the old lord’s tea as you see fit?” Henry Smith asked again.

Luke Lewis stared wide-eyed, full of questions: how could people like James Smith see this young man before him as a fool?

Seeing that Luke Lewis had never considered such a method, Henry Smith said, “It’s over a hundred and thirty li to Biyang. Seventeenth Uncle asked Andrew Smith to find a horse caravan to travel with, and barring accidents, the journey will be split into two stages. I’ll go prepare the purgatives now, and tomorrow morning I’ll leave with the town’s caravan. We’ll rest at Yushan Relay Station for the night, and by then, Master Lewis, you’ll have to make a decision.”

“But is this what the person behind you suggested?” Luke Lewis asked uncertainly.

“……” Henry Smith knew that telling the truth would never convince Luke Lewis and would only complicate things, so he said, “He does want the old lord to stay in Huaiyuan for easier protection, but as for how to keep him here, that was my own idea. Maybe my method is a bit absurd—do you have any better ideas, Master Lewis?”

Luke Lewis had never thought of using such means to force Brian Walker to stay in Huaiyuan, but he was not one to rigidly stick to the rules.

If they were to keep him, they had to strive to keep him inside the Huaiyuan military camp, and act quickly.

Yushan Relay Station was located between Huaiyuan and Biyang, about sixty or seventy li from each side, known as “one stage” in those days.

On the Huaiyuan Inspection Office’s side, over a hundred soldiers could still maintain daily drills. James Smith and the others, though seemingly low in rank, were all quite skilled in the martial Huai region, not to mention Gregory Dean was a bona fide military exam graduate, and the camp was equipped with powerful bows and crossbows. For three or five assassins to try to force their way in would be suicide.

Although the Inspection Office was under the Privy Council system, locally it was mainly under the control of the County Commandant’s Office and the Prefectural Military Supervision Office (under civil officials). Even if Gregory Dean was willing, local men like James Smith would certainly not want to be scapegoats and watch Brian Walker get assassinated in the camp.

As for Yushan Relay Station, aside from a few weak relay workers, the place was much smaller than the Huaiyuan military camp and much easier to infiltrate.

“Can you leave the camp at this time?” Luke Lewis asked hesitantly.

“I can,” Henry Smith replied.

James Smith and the other captains and officers were all drinking on Hedong Street at this hour, some not even returning for the night. He could easily find an excuse to go to Hedong Street, and not only leave the camp, but even find a ferry to cross the Baijian River—otherwise, swimming across in this early spring would be quite cold.