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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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The guards did not hesitate, nor did they show any gentleness. They dragged the shrieking, weeping men backward down the long aisle and violently threw them out the heavy bronze doors of the Grand Court Hall. The doors slammed shut with a reverberating boom, instantly cutting off their pathetic wails, plunging the court back into a heavy, terrified silence.
Lie Fan slowly lowered his hand, gripping his jade scepter. He leaned forward on the Dragon Throne, his gaze sweeping over the remaining officials, both those who had been promoted and those who had just narrowly escaped the executioner's block with a severe demotion.
"Let what you have just witnessed burn itself into your memories," Lie Fan began, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that seemed to shake the very pillars of the hall. "When I took the throne of Hengyuan, I made a promise to the heavens and to the earth. I promised that this dynasty would not repeat the sickening, rotting failures of the Han. The Han fell because its officials grew fat on the suffering of the commoners. They saw their titles not as a sacred duty, but as a license to steal, to extort, and to hide behind their silk robes while the realm burned."
Lie Fan's eyes locked onto the three demoted officials, Guo Lin, Zhou Tong, and Song Qian, who were still kneeling, trembling violently on the cold floor.
"You three," Lie Fan commanded, his voice slicing through the air. "You are demoted because of your incompetence, your lethargy, and your failure to execute the brilliant designs of your superiors. You stand before me today not as victims, but as men who have been granted an extraordinary, unearned mercy."
"You keep your heads, and you keep a fraction of your rank. Do not waste this grace. Return to your newly assigned, lower posts. Work until your hands bleed and your eyes fail. Earn back the honor you have tarnished today. If you ever allow lethargy to infect your duties again, Zhuge Liang will not demote you. I will have you beheaded. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty! We thank Your Majesty for this boundless mercy! We shall work until we die!" the three men chorused, kowtowing frantically before scrambling back into the lowest ranks of the civil assembly, thanking the gods they were still breathing.
Lie Fan then turned his gaze toward Chen Fen, Li Zheng, and the other newly promoted officials, who were still kneeling proudly in the aisle. The terrifying ice in his eyes melted, replaced by the warm, radiant pride of a sovereign looking upon his most valuable assets.
"And to you," Lie Fan said, his voice ringing with majestic warmth. "You are the true, beating heart of the Hengyuan Empire. Your brilliance, your tireless dedication, and your absolute incorruptibility are the reasons our armies marched with full bellies, and our conquered cities transitioned in peace."
"A sword can conquer a city, but only a righteous brush can hold it. You have proven yourselves worthy of the immense power you wield. Rise, my lords. Accept your new ranks with pride, and know that the Emperor sees, recognizes, and rewards the sweat of his loyal servants. Congratulations."
"We live only to serve the Black Dragon!" the promoted officials shouted, bowing deeply one final time before rising and taking their new, elevated positions within the civil ranks, their faces glowing with immense pride.
Lie Fan settled back into his throne, letting out a small sigh. He looked at Zhuge Liang, who was still holding the thick ledger.
"Kongming," Lie Fan said, his tone shifting back to the practical administrator. "The ledger is thick, and the day is short. We have established the precedent and demonstrated the absolute standard of our justice."
"You and the Ministry of Personnel may announce the rest of the promotions and demotions through the standard bureaucratic channels. It would take a week to read every name here, and we have the fate of a continent to discuss."
Zhuge Liang bowed his head gracefully, snapping his feather fan open with a soft rustle. "Your Majesty is infinitely practical. The Ministry shall handle the remainder of the decrees with utmost efficiency." He stepped backward, seamlessly melting back into his position of prominence among the civil leaders.
Immediately, before the echo of Zhuge Liang's footsteps could even fade, another figure stepped boldly into the center aisle.
It was Lu Su, the Minister of Rites.
He was a man known for his profound diplomatic tact, his immense personal wealth, and his incredibly far reaching geopolitical vision. Dressed in elaborate, flowing robes of deep ceremonial crimson, Lu Su bowed deeply before the throne.
"Your Imperial Majesty," Lu Su began, his voice projecting a warm, yet incredibly serious authority. "The sword has spoken, and the brush has judged. But there is a final, paramount duty that must be fulfilled to truly anchor this new era. As the Minister of Rites, I must formally propose the immediate, massive preparation for the grand proclamation of unification."
Lu Su swept his arm out, gesturing toward the vast, invisible expanse of the empire beyond the palace walls.
"The central plains, the ancient cradle of civilization, are entirely, unequivocally united under the banner of Hengyuan," Lu Su declared. "The Han is a forgotten ghost, and the Wei is dust upon the wind. The people must know that the Mandate of Heaven has officially, formally transferred to Your Majesty in its absolute entirety."
"We must prepare the imperial sacrifices at Mount Tai. We must forge the new, eternal calendars. We must broadcast to every village, every city, and every distant commandery that the era of chaotic warlords is dead, and the era of the Black Dragon has truly begun."
Lu Su paused, anticipating the obvious strategic counter argument, and addressed it flawlessly.
"I am acutely aware, Your Majesty, that the rugged mountains of Liang Province in the far west remain under the stubborn control of the so called League of Northwestern Lords," Lu Su stated, his tone dismissing them as little more than a nuisance. "This rabbles still draw breath. But they are merely insects waiting for the winter frost. Your Majesty's armies will crush them into the dirt sooner rather than later. Having the grand preparations, the altars, and the proclamations ready now is vastly superior to waiting for their inevitable defeat. Let us declare the unification of the earth, and let the northwestern lords hear the celebration of their own doom echoing from the capital!"
A low, excited murmur rippled through the Grand Court Hall. The civil officials nodded in fervent agreement, while the military generals grinned at the sheer, overwhelming confidence of dismissing the western warlords as a mere afterthought to a victory parade.
Lie Fan listened to Lu Su, a broad, incredibly satisfied smile spreading across his face beneath the jade beads. It was exactly the kind of bold, continent spanning psychological warfare he loved.
"Your vision is flawless, Zijing," Lie Fan agreed, his voice booming with approval. "We will not wait for the last dog to stop barking before we claim the house. The preparations for the grand proclamation of unification shall begin immediately. Draw up the rites, select the auspicious days, and open the treasuries to fund the sacrifices. Let the heavens know that I have claimed the earth."
But as the court murmured its excited approval, Lie Fan raised his jade scepter, demanding silence once more. The murmurs instantly ceased.
"However," Lie Fan added, his eyes gleaming with a sudden, vast ambition that stretched far beyond the borders of their known maps. "I do not merely want the farmers of Yan province and the fishermen of Yang province to hear this proclamation. A new power has risen in the east, an empire that rivals the greatest dynasties of antiquity. I want the entire world to know."
Lie Fan leaned forward, his gaze sweeping over his stunned court.
"Lu Su, you will coordinate with Jia Xu and Mi Zhu," Lie Fan commanded. "I want the foreign merchants, the emissaries, and the caravan masters who travel the perilous Silk Road from the far, distant west, from the lands they call Da Qin, Anxi, and Guishuang, to be brought to the capital. Treat them with the utmost luxury. Fill their caravans with our finest silks, our finest porcelain, and our most exquisite teas. But more importantly, fill their ears with the news of our absolute conquest."
Lie Fan's voice resonated with the chilling, magnificent ego of a world conqueror.
"Let them return across the deserts and the mountains," Lie Fan decreed. "Let them stand before the foreign kings and the distant emperors of the west, and let them speak the name of Hengyuan. Let them carry the word that the fragmented, warring states of the orient are gone. Tell them that if they look to the rising sun, they will no longer see chaos. They will see only the Black Dragon. Ensure the world knows there is a new, supreme power upon this earth."
The court erupted into a fierce, spontaneous roar of agreement. The sheer scale of the Emperor's ambition, reaching out to touch empires they had only heard of in mythical merchant tales, sent a thrill of absolute, imperial pride surging through every man in the hall. They were no longer fighting for a province, they were staking their claim on the globe.
Lie Fan allowed the roar to echo for a moment, basking in the fanatical devotion of his court. He then tapped his scepter against the throne once more.
CLACK.
The hall fell deathly silent.
"We have spoken of the west," Lie Fan said, his tone shifting abruptly, a new, dark intensity entering his eyes. "But an empire must have no blind spots. While our armies march toward the sunset, we must secure our backs against the rising sun."
He turned his gaze entirely to the right side of the hall, locking eyes with the highest echelons of his military command.
"During our grueling campaigns to pacify the chaotic kingdoms and small nations to the south of the Goguryeo peninsula," Lie Fan recalled, his voice echoing in the silent hall, "our naval patrols and coastal garrisons encountered the eastern kingdoms due to the peninsuka nations. So now, emissaries, merchants, and sometimes heavily armed pirates hailing from a fragmented, mysterious land across the turbulent Eastern Sea. A land they call Yamatai, populated by the Wa people."
Lie Fan's eyes narrowed, a cold, calculating light shining within them. He remembered the vague, historical fragments of Queen Himiko and the Japanese archipelago from his past life. They were currently fractured, tribal, and technologically inferior, but they were an island nation with an inherent, dangerous potential for naval harassment.
"I will not tolerate an unknown, unvassalized power lurking off my eastern shores," Lie Fan declared, the absolute, unyielding mandate of conquest dripping from his every word. "An empire is only secure when it is surrounded by loyal subjects, or deep ocean. I wish to investigate this land of Yamatai."
Lie Fan pointed his jade scepter directly at the vanguard of the military wing.
"Grand Commandant Xun You. Grand General Huangfu Song. Minister of War Sima Yi," Lie Fan commanded, naming the three most terrifyingly capable military minds in the entire continent. "Step forward."
The three men moved instantly, stepping into the center aisle and dropping to one knee, their heads bowed respectfully toward the Dragon Throne.
"You three are hereby tasked with the subjugation of the Eastern Sea," Lie Fan ordered, his voice echoing with iron finality. "You will begin immediate preparations. Draft the naval logistics, assemble a specialized expeditionary fleet from the eastern shipyards, and gather the necessary intelligence from our captured coastal pirates."
"I want Yamatai investigated, mapped, and brought to heel. You will offer their rulers the generous opportunity to kneel and become a permanent, tribute paying vassal of the Hengyuan Empire."
Lie Fan paused, the jade beads of his crown clicking softly as he tilted his head, his eyes burning with the cold fire of a supreme warlord.
"And if they refuse the honor of kneeling," Lie Fan finished softly, his voice echoing like a death knell in the vast, incense filled hall, "you will conquer them, shatter their islands, and burn their fleets to the waterline. The Eastern Sea belongs to the Black Dragon. Do not fail me."
Xun You, his mind already racing with the staggering logistical calculations of a massive, cross oceanic naval invasion. Huangfu Song, his veteran blood pumping with the thrill of a completely unprecedented, historic campaign.
And Sima Yi, his dark eyes glittering with the ruthless, calculating joy of mapping a new conquest, bowed their heads so deeply they touched the black obsidian floor. "We hear and obey, Your Imperial Majesty!" the three titans roared in perfect unison. "The banners of Hengyuan shall cross the sea! The east shall fall!"
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty
Age: 36 (203 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 2325
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 11)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 1,010 (+20)
VIT: 659 (+20)
AGI: 653 (+10)
INT: 691
CHR: 98
WIS: 569
WILL: 436
ATR Points: 0