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Lie Fan took the sealed scroll, breaking the wax with his thumb. As he read the content of the report, his smirk deepened. "Just as I thought." The nobles had already begun to reach out to disgruntled people that have opinions against him. The game was entering its next phase sooner and he liked that.
Further cleaning his domain and land from this bunch of cockroaches and pests, who just do whatever they want, gave him very big satisfaction as it caused him to remember the politicians who were corrupt in his past life.
In that previous life, he had watched them thrive under legal loopholes and social expectations, destroying lives with impunity. But now, in this second life, he had the power to clean them up. To root them out with fire and steel and the weight of law.
"In my past life, men like you hid behind laws and bureaucracy. Now? Now I have the power to burn your nests to the ground." He exhaled, rolling the tension from his shoulders.
Of course, even with the Oriole Agents under his control, those sharp eyed watchers who had infiltrated every corner of the Hengyuan Dynasty, he knew full well that total eradication was impossible.
Corruption was like vermin, cunning, prolific, and resilient. Even if one nest was burned, another would emerge elsewhere. But if they were arrogant enough to gather in one place, to act together in defiance? Then they'd be doing him a favor.
That was why he allowed these noble factions to think they were operating discreetly. He let them write their secret letters, use their private messengers, and host clandestine meetings under the guise of banquets. All the while, his Oriole Agents were marking names, tracing patterns, drawing lines between players. Let them believe they were safe, for now.
And now, with the new coin minting decree looming, their hands would be forced to act when it was announced. Their hidden reserves would be threatened, their control over currency severed. They would panic. They would move.
And when they did, he would strike.
He envisioned it already, an elegant operation, swift and brutal. A coordinated purge. Properties seized, fortunes confiscated, bloodlines disgraced.
All that ill gotten wealth would be put to proper use. Roads, granaries, schools, armories, and many more. He would turn corruption into progress. He also could use them to pay for his military campaigns if needed.
It was a necessary cycle, Lie Fan knew. No matter how advanced society became, the base instincts of greed and ambition would always give rise to corruption. He couldn't change that. But he could ensure that, at least under his reign, such people were kept in check, culled when needed like diseased branches from a flourishing tree.
And perhaps, just perhaps, his descendants would learn from him. Would honor what he built. Perhaps his dynasty would endure, not for decades, but centuries. Maybe even to the modern world he once knew, where skyscrapers replaced temples, and lights shone brighter than the stars, and his dynasty would still stand tall.
He exhaled slowly, grounding himself back in the present.
The next day, Lie Fan sat in his office, the morning sun spilling across the lacquered wood of his desk. Scrolls and bamboo slips littered the surface, petitions, proposals, requests for appointments, village reports, and many more. His calligraphy brush moved with steady purpose as he crossed through the irrelevant and scribbled responses on the margins.
A knock at the door interrupted his work.
"Enter," he said, not looking up.
Jia Xu entered first, followed by Chen Qun, Mi Zhu, Liu Ye, and Chen Gong. Each carried a bundle of documents, their expressions focused.
"Your Majesty," Jia Xu began with a slight bow, "we bring the preliminary drafts concerning the coin minting reform."
Lie Fan put down his brush and gestured to the table. "Place them here. Let's see what we have."
They laid out the scrolls and reports with care. Without wasting time, Lie Fan moved from one document to the next. He read swiftly, his eyes sharp, his mind dissecting every clause, every sentence.
He nodded at Mi Zhu's proposed dissolution orders, which were worded with authority yet gave local officials enough room to execute the orders without sparking unrest.
Liu Ye's infrastructure plans showed detailed schematics for the minting facilities, positioned strategically in Xiapi and also across Xiaopei and Langye to ensure regional safety, economic stimulation, and centralized oversight. He even marked supply chains, manpower requirements, and building materials.
Chen Gong's legal drafts were, as expected, meticulous. Penalties for counterfeiters ranged from heavy fines to public executions, with clear classifications for scale, intent, and repeat offenses. He also included incentives for whistleblowers.
Chen Qun's communique was concise but commanding, giving provincial governors to prefects no doubt about the importance and urgency of the reform and how he wanted it to be done.
"Good," Lie Fan murmured, nodding with satisfaction. "Very good. You've each done well. This is exactly the direction we must take."
He paused, tapping the table thoughtfully. "But there's more we can do. The coins themselves, we must standardize them, both in weight and purity. I want Hengyuan coinage to be unmistakable, reliable. We will improve upon the Han system, not merely replicate it."
Liu Ye looked intrigued. "Do you mean a new coin design, Your Majesty?"
"Yes," Lie Fan replied. "And not just that. I want to explore the possibility of creating some sort of a mechanical device, something that can help us mint coins more efficiently. Less manpower. Less error. Faster output."
The ministers exchanged looks. Liu Ye furrowed his brows. "Such a device… would require new principles, Your Majesty. Perhaps a combination of rotating pressure, measured molds…"
"Precisely whatever you said," Lie Fan said. "I want you to supervise this project, Liu Ye. Work with our best artisans, blacksmiths, inventors. Involve the alchemists too if needed. Let creativity lead. They have never let me down."
Liu Ye bowed deeply. "I will dedicate myself fully, Your Majesty. If such a device can be made, it will be made."
Lie Fan nodded in approval. He could've simply searched and given them the blueprints from the Book Of Knowledge stored inside his inventory, but he resisted. Innovation needed to take root in this world on its own. Progress was more enduring when it belonged to the people.
With the matter settled, the ministers excused themselves to return to their respective bureaus, diving back into the machinery of governance.
Lie Fan stretched his arms, rolled his shoulders, then stood. He felt the tension of battle and politics begin to ebb.
"Enough strategy for one morning," he murmured. "Time to find peace."
He made his way toward the Harem Palace, escorted only by two Yellow Ghosts in discreet robes. As he passed the shaded walkways and blooming courtyards, the air shifted. Softer. Warmer.
When he arrived at the Harem Palace, he was greeted by the gentle sound of the guqin. There, beneath a flowering magnolia tree, sat Diao Chan, Cai Wenji, and Zhen Ji, each with an instrument before them. They were engaged in playful competition, composing poems and melodies that matched the summer breeze and chirping birds.
Diao Chan noticed him first and smiled warmly. "Husband, you're here."
"What a delightful scene," Lie Fan said, stepping closer. "I feel as though I've stumbled into a beautiful painting that I don't dare to disturb"
Zhen Ji laughed softly. "Then sit, and be our judge, Husband. Decide whose verse best captures the moment."
Cai Wenji tilted her head, feigning worry. "You must be careful, Husband. Choosing wrongly may cost you dearly."
Lie Fan chuckled. "Then I suppose I must choose all three, and live to tell the tale."
They laughed, and he sat among them. For the next hour, there was no politics, no rebellion, no whispers of conspiracy. Only laughter, poetry, and music. A small sanctuary in a world he was working so hard to cleanse.
But even then, as he listened to Zhen Ji pluck a perfect note, the fire in his heart remained lit.
Let the nobles scheme. Let the enemies rise.
He would cleanse them all.
Then several days passed and the next court session arrived with palpable tension. The hall was packed, every courtier and official from noble to the humblest background present, whether out of duty or dread.
Lie Fan took his throne, his gaze sweeping over the assembly.
*"Before we begin,"* he said, his voice cutting through the murmurs, *"Chancellor Jia Xu has an announcement."*
Jia Xu stepped forward, unrolling the decree with deliberate slowness.
"By the will of His Majesty, Son of Heaven, Emperor Hongyi, Sovereign of the Hengyuan Dynasty, henceforth, all coin minting shall be centralized under the authority of the Ministry of Finance. Private mints are hereby abolished and banned. Any individual or clan found to continue producing currency without imperial permission will face severe penalties, including confiscation of assets, exile, and even public execution."
The reaction was immediate when this decree was announced.
"This is an act of tyranny, Your Majesty!" a noble shouted.
"You cannot strip us of this right, Your Majesty! This is our traditional right and foundation of our society!"
Lie Fan let the outrage build, his expression unreadable. The voices became louder and louder, as protests kept flying toward him.
Then—
"Silence."
The word was not shouted, yet it carried the weight of a blade being drawn. The grand hall fell still the moment Lie Fan's word fell.
Lie Fan rose from his throne.
"This is not a debate. This is law. Those who oppose it may voice their grievances only once. But know this, the empire's stability is not negotiable and inflation was running rampant. Only central government could stop inflation from rising using this law."
His gaze lingered on the nobles he knew were already plotting.
"So, choose your next words carefully."
The silence that followed was deafening.
That night after the court session, in a secluded estate outside Xiapi, a group of nobles, scholars, merchants, military officials, and others from the Gentleman's Concord or the Anti Lie Fan faction, that was present in Xiapi, gathered in secret.
"This is the final straw," one hissed. "First the eunuchs, now our mints? What next, our lands? Our traditions? Our way of life? Our norms?"
"We must act soon," another agreed. "Before he strips us of everything and makes us truly powerless."
A third, older noble leaned forward. "And how, exactly, do you propose we act? He was protected by white Imperial guards and had the entirety of the imperial army in his control. The Grand General and Deputy Grand General are both loyal to him. The people adore him. Even the merchants benefit from his reforms."
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty
Age: 34 (201 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 2325
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 966 (+20)
VIT: 623 (+20)
AGI: 623 (+10)
INT: 667
CHR: 98
WIS: 549
WILL: 432
ATR Points: 0