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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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"It is a masterpiece, Liu Ye. Master Huang Chengyan, Lady Huang Yue Ying... your work is extraordinary," Lie Fan praised them, walking up to run a hand along the smooth, iron plated rail. He turned back to his advisors, his mind already leaping ten steps into the future.
"If the trials are a big success, then we move to immediate, large scale implementation," Lie Fan decreed, his voice taking on the commanding tone of the Emperor once more. "We will begin laying these wagonways to connect the primary coal and iron mines directly to the central forges, and then we will connect the main granaries to the capital. But hear me well, this will require a massive shift in our logistics."
Lie Fan looked at Zhuge Liang, who was still subtly glancing toward Yue Ying. "Minister Kongming, we will need more human resources. This is not a road of dirt that can be left to the rain. The maintenance of the iron rails, the replacement of the timber, the engineering of the flanged wheels... it will require a dedicated, highly trained corps of maintenance workers and engineers. You will need to recruit heavily."
"It shall be done, Your Majesty," Zhuge Liang bowed, forcing his mind back to the logistical challenge. "I will establish a specialized guild within the Ministry of Works to oversee the recruitment and training of these railway artisans."
Lie Fan then turned back to Liu Ye and the Huang family. "Do not stop here. This is merely the first iteration. I want more research, more development, and more funding poured into this project. I want the wagons made stronger. I want the friction on the wheels reduced further. Investigate better alloys for the rails."
"Improve it. Advance it. The Hengyuan Dynasty will not be constrained by the speed of a walking ox in the mud. We will build a network of iron that binds this continent together so tightly it can never be broken again."
As Lie Fan painted his magnificent vision of an iron bound continent, the air within the smoky, cavernous testing warehouse seemed to crackle with an entirely new kind of electricity.
Standing just a half step behind her father, Huang Yue Ying could no longer contain the sheer, unadulterated excitement that was practically vibrating through her slender frame.
While the ministers of state saw economic boons and logistical supremacy, her deeply technical mind was already racing miles ahead, dismantling the Emperor's words and reassembling them into tangible, physical realities.
Her intense, captivating eyes darted back and forth along the length of the iron plated track. Her lips moved in a frantic, silent murmur as she began to mentally draft the necessary equations.
She was already calculating the precise friction coefficients of the iron against the flanged wooden wheels, adjusting for the inevitable degradation of the timber tracks during the humid, torrential downpours of the summer months.
Her fingers twitched at her sides, unconsciously tracing invisible schematics in the dusty air of the workshop, imagining reinforced suspension systems and modified axle grease mixtures that could withstand the sheer kinetic stress of moving ten tons of cargo at a full gallop.
She was so utterly consumed by the torrential flood of her own genius that she was completely oblivious to the intense, unwavering scrutiny she was drawing from the man standing just a few paces away.
Zhuge Liang, the brilliant Minister of Personnel, a man renowned across the empire for his serene, almost ethereal detachment, had abandoned his customary composure entirely. He was staring at Huang Yue Ying. His pristine feather fan hung perfectly still at his side, forgotten.
He, who could effortlessly read the treacherous hearts of rival warlords, who could plot the grand movements of armies a dozen steps ahead of the enemy, found himself completely disarmed and utterly fascinated by the smudge of forge soot on her cheek and the frantic, beautiful chaos of her intellect.
He watched the way her brow furrowed in deep concentration, the way her eyes sparked with the intoxicating fire of discovery. In a world populated by demure, silent noblewomen who hid behind painted silk fans, Huang Yue Ying was a blazing comet.
Zhuge Liang felt a profound, unprecedented pull toward her, an intense, undeniable intrigue that was as sudden as it was overwhelming. He wanted to know the depths of the labyrinthine mind that was currently calculating axle stress with more passion than most men reserved for war.
Nothing, of course, escaped the piercing, omniscient gaze of the Emperor.
Lie Fan caught the subtle shift in Zhuge Liang's posture. He saw the usually unflappable genius staring openly at the fiery, brilliant inventor. Beneath his stern, imperial facade, Lie Fan let out a long, highly amused internal whistle.
'Well, well,' Lie Fan thought to himself, a wry, profoundly satisfied smile tugging at the very corner of his mouth. 'It seems that some forces of destiny are simply too powerful to be derailed, even by a man who has rewritten the entire history of the world. Different timeline, different circumstances, yet the Sleeping Dragon still immediately falls under the spell of the brilliant Lady Huang.'
It was a beautiful, deeply humanizing realization. In his past life's fiction story and game, Zhuge Liang and Huang Yue Ying were an iconic, legendary pairing of minds, a true power couple whose combined intellect had propped up an entire kingdom.
To see that natural, magnetic attraction blossoming right here, amidst the smoke and noise of his own Imperial Workshop, brought a genuine warmth to Lie Fan's chest. The Hengyuan Dynasty was about to gain its greatest power couple.
But there was still an empire to build, and the moment for matchmaking would have to wait.
Pushing his amusement aside, Lie Fan turned his commanding presence back to the two men formally responsible for the project.
"Liu Ye. Master Huang Chengyan," Lie Fan addressed them, his voice slicing through the ambient noise of the nearby forges. The two man instantly snapped to attention, bowing their heads respectfully.
"The successful trial within this warehouse is only the beginning," Lie Fan decreed, pointing his hand toward the massive wooden doors that led out to the open world. "I do not want this technology to languish as a mere curiosity in a workshop. I want it implemented, and I want it done immediately. Your first mandate is to lay a continuous, fully operational wagonway from the gates of Xiapi directly to the city of Xiaopei."
Liu Ye's eyes widened slightly at the scale of the order, but he nodded vigorously. Xiaopei was a highly strategic neighboring city, close enough to serve as a perfect, controlled testing ground, yet far enough to provide genuine, grueling logistical data.
"Once the rails are laid," Lie Fan continued, his mind firing off directives with the rapid, systematic precision of a seasoned general, "I want rigorous, exhaustive testing conducted along the entire route. You must calculate the precise time and speed required to travel between the two cities. I want to know the absolute fastest transit time possible when the horses are pushed to their limits, and I want the slowest, most sustainable pacing for continuous, unbreaking supply lines."
He paced slowly alongside the heavy wooden wagon, running a hand over the rough-hewn timber. "Furthermore, you must establish the absolute weight capacities. Test the rails with varying loads, from light, rapid transit carriages carrying royal couriers, to massively overloaded wagons hauling raw iron ore and grain."
"I need to know exactly how much weight the iron plating can withstand before it buckles, how the weather affects the friction on the inclines, and how frequently the draft horses need to be rotated. Calculate everything. Leave nothing to chance. I want a comprehensive logistical manual on my desk by the time the first wagon reaches Xiaopei."
"We hear and obey, Your Imperial Majesty," Liu Ye replied, his voice thick with the gravity of the task. "It will be a monumental undertaking. We will have to survey the land, level the gradients, and establish specialized timber mills purely for the production of the tracks."
Huang Chengyan stroked his long beard, his brow deeply furrowed as he began mentally drafting the labor requirements. "It will be done, Your Majesty. We shall begin the topographic surveys at first light tomorrow."
Before either man could say another word, a clear, fiercely determined voice rang out, shattering the strict, patriarchal decorum of the imperial gathering.
"Your Imperial Majesty! If I may!"
Every eye in the warehouse snapped toward the source of the interruption.
Huang Yue Ying had stepped forward from the shadow of her father. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists at her sides, and her chin was raised high. Despite the fact that she was addressing the supreme ruler of the known world, surrounded by his most terrifyingly powerful ministers, her eyes burned with an ambition that simply refused to be silenced.
"I have already drafted the preliminary gradient calculations for the Xiapi-Xiaopei route in my private journals," Yue Ying stated boldly, the words tumbling from her lips in a rush of technical passion. "I am intimately familiar with the structural tolerances of the flanged wheels we developed. Please, Your Majesty, I ask that you allow me to be the one to lead this project of deployment. Let me oversee the laying of the tracks and the execution of the field trials!"
A heavy, suffocating silence immediately descended upon the workshop.
Huang Chengyan's face drained of all color, turning a sickly, terrified shade of ash. To interrupt the Emperor of Hengyuan was an offense punishable by severe flogging, for a young woman to boldly demand command of a massive imperial infrastructure project right in front of the Emperor's appointed Minister of Works was a social transgression of staggering, borderline treasonous proportions.
"Yue Ying!" Huang Chengyan hissed, his voice cracking with sheer panic. He grabbed his daughter's arm, yanking her back with a desperate, terrified strength. "Have you lost your mind? Silence yourself this instant! Forgive her, Your Majesty! She speaks out of turn! She is overcome by the fumes of the forge!"
He shoved her behind him, bowing so deeply he nearly toppled over. "This monumental project is under the absolute, divine supervision of Master Liu Ye, as personally ordained by Your Imperial Majesty! It is impossible for a... for a mere girl to assume such a mantle. She meant no disrespect to the throne or to the Minister!"
Yue Ying's fierce posture immediately crumbled. The crushing, undeniable weight of the era's deeply ingrained patriarchal norms crashed down upon her shoulders. She realized the sheer audacity of what she had just done. She dropped her gaze to the dirt floor, her cheeks burning with a mixture of intense humiliation and bitter, profound frustration, visibly deflating under the harsh glare of her terrified father.
Zhuge Liang, watching her spirit break, felt a sudden, sharp pang of entirely uncharacteristic anger flare in his chest on her behalf. He opened his mouth, preparing to step forward and risk his own standing to defend her intellect.
But the Emperor beat him to it.
Lie Fan threw his head back, and a rich, booming, genuinely delighted laugh echoed off the high rafters of the workshop, instantly shattering the terrifying tension that had gripped the room.
"Master Huang, release the girl's arm and stand up," Lie Fan commanded gently, a wide, reassuring smile on his face. He waved away the old inventor's panicked apologies. "There is nothing to forgive. In fact, I find her enthusiasm to be entirely refreshing."
Lie Fan stepped closer to the young inventor, looking down at her bowed head.
"Lady Yue Ying, look at me," the Emperor commanded softly.
Yue Ying slowly raised her head, her eyes wide with a mixture of apprehension and lingering defiance, meeting the gaze of the conqueror.
"I admire your fire, and I respect your absolute confidence in your own mind," Lie Fan told her, his tone completely devoid of imperial condescension. "However, your father is correct on the matter of hierarchy. I cannot place you as the primary leader of this deployment. That position, and the heavy political burden that comes with it, is already securely held by Minister Liu Ye."
Yue Ying nodded slowly, accepting the reality, though the disappointment was evident in the tightening of her jaw.
"But," Lie Fan continued, his voice rising in volume so that every minister and guard in the room could hear him perfectly. "To ignore a mind as sharp as yours simply because of the traditions of the past would be a tragedy, and an insult to the progress of this empire. Therefore, by my imperial decree, you shall not be hidden away in the shadows of your father's drafting room."
Lie Fan looked over at Liu Ye, who was watching the exchange with wide eyes.
"Minister Liu Ye," Lie Fan declared. "I hereby appoint Madam Huang Yue Ying as your official Second in Command for the Xiapi-Xiaopei Wagonway Deployment Project. She will possess the full authority to assist you in ensuring this project runs smoothly, to manage the engineering teams, and to implement her structural designs."
Yue Ying gasped softly, her hands flying up to cover her mouth in sheer, unadulterated shock.
"I make this appointment not out of charity, but out of absolute necessity," Lie Fan continued, looking back at Yue Ying, his eyes filled with profound respect. "I am fully aware that you possess a brilliant, unconventional intellect. From the highly classified reports I have received from this very workshop, I know for a fact that it was your specialized calculations and structural insights that massively assisted in the stabilization and final casting of our Cannons."
A murmur of genuine shock rippled through the gathered ministers. Xun You, Jia Xu, and Mi Zhu exchanged wide eyed glances. The Cannons were the most terrifying, closely guarded military secret of the Hengyuan Dynasty, the very weapons that had shattered the impenetrable walls of Chang'an and won them the world.
To hear the Emperor casually, publicly attribute a massive portion of their success to the young woman standing before them instantly elevated her status from a curious eccentric to a vital, undeniable asset of the state.
"Such a sharp mind will definitely be needed out there on the rails," Lie Fan concluded with a warm smile. "Do you accept the post, Deputy Director?"
Yue Ying dropped to her knees, tears of overwhelming gratitude and pure joy spilling down her soot-smudged cheeks. She pressed her forehead to the dirt floor.
"I accept, Your Imperial Majesty! I accept with all my heart and soul!" she wept, her voice trembling with emotion. "I will not fail you! I will build you a road of iron that will last a thousand years! Thank you! Thank you!"
Beside her, Huang Chengyan fell to his knees as well, weeping openly. He kowtowed furiously, overwhelmed by the Emperor's boundless grace. "Your Majesty is truly the son of Heaven! You elevate the humble and reward true merit! My family owes you our lives and our eternal devotion! Thank you for giving my stubborn daughter such a miraculous chance!"
Lie Fan smiled, gesturing for them both to rise.
But as they stood, Lie Fan turned his gaze away from the inventors and looked directly at his inner circle of advisors. He looked at Jia Xu, Xun You, Mi Zhu, and Zhuge Liang. His expression sobered, shifting from the benevolent patron back into the visionary, paradigm-shifting sovereign.
"Let this appointment serve as a message to the entire realm," Lie Fan announced, his voice carrying a heavy, philosophical weight that commanded absolute silence. "For too long, the ancient dynasties have crippled themselves by locking half of their greatest potential away behind the walls of the inner courtyards. I will not allow the Hengyuan Dynasty to fight with one arm tied behind its back."
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."
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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