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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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He paced slowly before the massive wagon, his dark robes sweeping the dusty floor. "I wish to actively promote the undeniable truth that women are a vital, equal part of this society," Lie Fan declared. "They possess minds as sharp, and spirits as fierce, as any man who holds a brush or a sword. Look to the highest echelons of my own household for the proof."
Lie Fan raised his hand, pointing a finger toward the sky. "My beloved concubine, Lady Lu Lingqi, the daughter of the Flying General, rides into battle alongside my finest cavalry. She swings a halberd with terrifying precision and has shed blood to secure the borders of this empire."
"My Empress, Ying Yue, did not content herself with silk and poetry. She spent years studying the most complex medical texts under the tutelage of the legendary Master Hua Tuo and Master Zhang Zhongjing. She possesses the knowledge to cure plagues and save thousands of lives."
Lie Fan turned his piercing gaze back to the young inventor. "If the women of my own family can ride to war and heal the dying, why shouldn't Lady Yue Ying design the infrastructure that will carry us into the future? Why shouldn't the women of this dynasty be permitted to serve the state, if they possess the undeniable talent and the burning desire to do so?"
The Emperor's words hung in the air, heavy and profound.
Hearing this monumental, paradigm shattering declaration, Jia Xu, Xun You, Mi Zhu, and Zhuge Liang immediately understood the staggering gravity of what had just occurred.
Their Emperor was not merely rewarding an eager inventor, he was actively preparing the groundwork for another massive, groundbreaking societal change. He was preparing to systematically dismantle centuries of rigid, patriarchal Confucian norms.
Jia Xu's mind was already racing, calculating the inevitable pushback from the deeply conservative, traditionalist aristocratic families, and simultaneously planning the ruthless political maneuvers required to crush that dissent.
Mi Zhu was calculating the massive economic boom that would follow the integration of millions of women into the skilled labor and administrative forces.
And Zhuge Liang? Zhuge Liang simply looked at Huang Yue Ying, who was standing taller than she ever had in her life, her eyes shining with the beautiful, unburdened light of true freedom. In that moment, Zhuge Liang's fascination deepened into something far more profound.
He realized that under the reign of Emperor Lie Fan, a man could truly partner with a woman as an intellectual equal.
"The talent is there, waiting to be unleashed," Lie Fan concluded, his voice echoing in the silent warehouse. "I sincerely hope that Lady Yue Ying will be the first of many. I hope she becomes the leader of a new generation of women who will step out of the shadows and proudly serve this glorious dynasty."
Lie Fan offered a final, respectful nod to the young woman, acknowledging her not just as a subject, but as a pioneer.
"Now," Lie Fan said, his tone shifting abruptly, the grand philosophical moment giving way to the relentless demands of reality. He clapped his hands together, signaling his elite guard. "We have spent enough time marveling at the future. The present requires my attention. Minister Liu Ye, Deputy Director Yue Ying, I expect your first progress report within the fortnight. We leave now."
"Long live the Emperor! We shall not disappoint you!" Liu Ye and Yue Ying chorused, bowing deeply as the imperial entourage turned to depart.
Lie Fan, flanked by his highest ministers and surrounded by the terrifying, disciplined ring of his elite Imperial Guards, strode out of the smoky confines of the Imperial Workshop. The brilliant midday sun washed over them as they boarded the massive, black iron reinforced carriages.
Chao Bo, Chao Bai, and Huang Chao barked orders, the cavalry mounted up, and the heavy procession began the loud, dust kicking journey back toward the capital.
The ride back to Xiapi was relatively quiet. The ministers were lost in their own deep thoughts, silently digesting the massive economic, infrastructural, and societal shockwaves their Emperor had just initiated with a single, sweeping decree.
When they finally passed through the towering, heavily fortified gates of Xiapi, the cheering crowds had dispersed to their daily lives, leaving the capital bustling with the vibrant, relentless energy of commerce and governance.
Lie Fan parted ways with his advisors in the central courtyards of the Imperial Palace, dismissing them to their respective ministries to begin drafting the new edicts. He did not return to the warm, fragrant embrace of the Harem Palace to rest. An Emperor's work was never truly finished.
Accompanied only by a small detachment of his personal guards, Lie Fan made the familiar, somewhat weary walk back to his private administrative office.
The heavy rosewood doors closed behind him with a soft, final thud, sealing him in the quiet sanctuary of power. The room was exactly as he had left it earlier that morning. The massive mahogany table dominated the center of the room.
And waiting for him, stacked in neat, intimidatingly high piles across his desk, was the eternal, inescapable reality of rule.
There were towering stacks of fresh bamboo slips and silk scrolls. There were urgent petitions from the southern magistrates regarding monsoon flooding, requests for military supply allocations from the western garrisons, intelligence reports from the Oriole agents tracking the movements of the Northwestern Lords, and endless, mundane disputes over land borders from the newly integrated nobles of the central plains.
Lie Fan let out a long, heavy sigh. He walked around the massive desk, the heavy fabric of his practical riding clothes rustling softly in the silent room. He took his seat in the high backed wooden chair, reaching out to adjust the wick of the oil lamp as the afternoon shadows began to lengthen.
He had just ordered the construction of a revolutionary transportation network and initiated a massive societal reform that would alter the course of human history.
But right now, a village headman in Xu Province was angrily petitioning the throne because his neighbor's ox had trampled his cabbage field, and the local magistrate had refused to hear the case.
With a wry, exhausted smile, Lie Fan picked up his jade handled brush, dipped it into the dark ink, unrolled the first bamboo slip, and returned to the quiet, grueling, everyday bureaucracy of governing the world.
The flickering flame of the oil lamp cast long, dancing shadows across the mountains of bamboo slips that covered the massive mahogany desk. Outside the heavy rosewood doors of the Emperor's private administrative office, the bustling, triumphant noise of the capital had settled into the quiet, rhythmic hum of the evening watch.
Lie Fan sat in his high backed wooden chair, his posture immaculate despite the creeping ache in his shoulders. For hours, he had been submerged in the tedious, inescapable ocean of bureaucracy.
The grand, sweeping decrees of the morning court session, the annihilation of a royal bloodline, the foundation of a continent spanning railway, the elevation of former rebels to barons, were the glamorous heights of absolute power.
But this, the endless signing of agricultural subsidies, the arbitration of local disputes over trampled cabbages, and the authorization of grain stipends for displaced widows, was the heavy, grinding machinery that actually kept an empire from collapsing.
He dipped his jade handled brush into the dark ink, expertly tracing the characters of his imperial seal onto a petition from a southern magistrate. He set the brush down and let out a long, slow exhale, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The silence of the room was profound, a sharp contrast to the deafening roar of the Grand Court Hall.
He was just reaching for the next tightly bound scroll when a soft, respectful knock echoed against the heavy rosewood doors.
"Enter," Lie Fan called out, his voice steady, masking his exhaustion.
The heavy door opened with a muted creak. The Senior Imperial Maid, Madam Xue, stepped quietly over the threshold. She moved with the silent, unobtrusive grace required of those permitted to walk the inner sanctums of power, her hands clasped neatly at her waist. She offered a deep, flawless bow.
"Your Imperial Majesty, please forgive the interruption to your evening labors," Madam Xue spoke softly, her eyes respectfully lowered to the floor. "Grand General Huangfu Song and Deputy Grand General Zhang Liao have arrived. They humbly request an immediate audience. They state that the matter is of pressing military and administrative importance."
Lie Fan's brow furrowed slightly. The presence of the two highest ranking active military commanders in the empire outside of a scheduled council meeting was highly unusual. The war was officially over, the armies were garrisoned. A sudden visit from both the Grand General and the Deputy Grand General usually implied a crisis.
"Send them in immediately," Lie Fan commanded, straightening his posture and pushing the stacks of agrarian petitions aside.
Madam Xue bowed once more and stepped backward out of the room. A moment later, the heavy doors were pushed open entirely.
Grand General Huangfu Song, the venerable, grizzled patriarch of the Hengyuan military, and Vice Grand General Zhang Liao, the stoic, battle hardened vanguard of the era, strode into the office.
Despite the late hour, both men were dressed in their immaculate, formal martial attire, heavy leather and polished steel that clanked softly with every step. The scent of saddle leather, cold iron, and the crisp night air followed them into the warm, incense scented room.
They reached the center of the office, just before the massive mahogany desk, and in perfect, synchronized martial unison, both titans of war dropped heavily to one knee. They bowed their heads, their right fists pressing into their left palms.
"We greet His Imperial Majesty! May the Emperor live ten thousand years!" the two generals chorused, their deep, gravelly voices filling the quiet office.
"Stand up, both of you. There is no need for such rigid formalities at this hour," Lie Fan instructed, gesturing for them to rise. His sharp eyes studied their faces.
They did not carry the frantic, wild eyed panic of men bringing news of a sudden rebellion, but their expressions were deeply solemn, carrying the weight of an unresolved burden. "To what do I owe the presence of my two finest commanders when the sun has already set? What matter drives you to my office tonight?"
Huangfu Song rose slowly, his joints popping slightly, a testament to decades spent in the saddle. He clasped his hands behind his back, his aged, intelligent eyes meeting the Emperor's gaze.
"Your Majesty," Huangfu Song began respectfully, his tone reflecting the delicate nature of his inquiry. "During the monumental proceedings of the Grand Imperial Court today, we settled the fate of the Cao bloodline, distributed the rewards of the campaign, and set our eyes upon the eastern oceans. But amidst the grand strategy, a highly critical, lingering shadow of the war was inadvertently left unaddressed."
Huangfu Song paused, ensuring he had the Emperor's absolute attention. "We come to seek Your Majesty's judgment regarding the captive Wei Generals currently held in the maximum security levels of the capital's military prison. We need to know your will. Are we to open diplomatic dialogues to actively recruit them into the Hengyuan ranks? Are they to remain imprisoned as permanent political leverage? Or... are we to prepare the executioner's blocks and wipe their names from the ledgers entirely?"
For a fraction of a second, absolute silence reigned in the office.
Then, Lie Fan raised his right hand and brought his palm slapping hard against his own temple, letting out a sharp, incredulous groan.
"By the heavens," Lie Fan muttered, closing his eyes and dragging his hand down his face in a rare, completely unshielded display of genuine frustration. He let out a dry, self deprecating laugh. "How in the world did I forget about the tigers in the basement? I spent the entire afternoon busy and I completely neglected the finest martial commanders of the central plains."
He shook his head, motioning toward the plush, high backed wooden chairs arranged near a small tea table to the side of his desk.
"My apologies, gentlemen. The sheer volume of this transition has momentarily crowded my mind. You are absolutely correct, this must be discussed, and it must be resolved before the week is out. Come, be seated."
Huangfu Song and Zhang Liao moved to the chairs, sitting with the rigid, perfectly straight posture drilled into them by a lifetime of military service. Lie Fan rose from his desk, walking over to join them.
He personally lifted an exquisite porcelain teapot, pouring hot, fragrant green tea into three small cups. To have the Emperor of the world personally serve them tea was an honor that made even the stoic Zhang Liao blink in humble surprise, but they accepted the cups with deep bows of their heads.
Lie Fan took his seat, wrapping his hands around the warm porcelain cup. He let the silence settle for a moment, shifting his mindset from the macro-politics of the empire back into the gritty, psychological reality of dealing with defeated, fiercely proud warriors.
"Tell me," Lie Fan commanded softly, his eyes locking onto Zhang Liao. "What is the current condition of the captive Wei command structure? How have they fared since their world burned down around them?"
Zhang Liao set his teacup down untouched, assuming his role as the primary overseer of the military prisons.
"For the most part, Your Majesty, they are eerily calm," Zhang Liao reported, his voice a steady, objective rumble. "Men like Yu Jin, Yue Jin, and the mid tier commanders are highly disciplined veterans. They understand the brutal mechanics of warfare."
"They know they were outmaneuvered and utterly crushed by superior force. They sit in their cells, quiet and brooding, causing no trouble for the guards. They are simply waiting for the victor to decide their fate. If approached correctly, many of them possess the pragmatic mindset required to bend the knee to a new dynasty."
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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