The Han Dynasty’s Fate Is Not Yet Sealed: I, Liu Xie, Rewrite the Age of Chaos
At the end of the Eastern Han, Emperor Ling was incompetent and the He clan held power. Four-year-old Liu Xie, known as the Marquis of Dong, was born into the palace’s political maelstrom. His mother was murdered, and he was left adrift like a duckweed on the water. But he carried a modern soul within him. Precocious and keeping his talents hidden, he lay low in the palace under Empress Dowager Dong’s protection. He secretly learned martial arts and won the aid of Shi A, then happened upon the Profound Origin Scripture and cultivated both inner and outer strength. He built a network through the Hundred Flavors Pavilion restaurant, using Sichuan cuisine and hotpot to amass wealth from across the realm and weave together an intelligence network. He devised a three-tier training method to forge a powerful army in Hejian, winning Dong Zhong’s loyalty completely.
Though still a child, he hid behind a mask of timidity while plotting in secret. Through his restaurant, he brought in the great clans and recruited men from humble backgrounds. With his elite army, he resisted the He clan and secured his foundations, advancing step by step in the shadows of the palace walls. As Emperor Ling’s health failed and the struggle over the heir grew fierce, the plot to have He Jin bring Dong Zhuo to the capital began to emerge. At last, this young qilin who had been lying in wait would bare his claws: protect his mother, purge corrupt officials, and take control of the court. In the body of a boy, he would defy fate and make the tottering Han dynasty shine anew amid the chaos.
