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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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Then, utilizing the absolute, unifying fervor of this new Nationalism ideology as his invincible, impenetrable political shield, Lie Fan struck his most radical and earth shattering blow against traditional society yet. He knew that to truly modernize his empire, he needed the absolute maximum potential of his population. He could not afford to have half of his citizens locked away in inner courtyards, their talents wasted on weaving and subservience.
The next morning, during a grand, highly attended imperial assembly in the massive throne room, with hundreds of ministers, generals, and scholars gathered, Lie Fan stood up and officially began to support and decree the shocking concept of absolute gender equality.
His voice echoed like thunder across the silent, stunned hall. He boldly proclaimed that by the new imperial law, women and men must legally, financially, and fundamentally have the exact same social position within the Hengyuan Dynasty.
"The strength of our huge empire does not reside solely in the arms of men!" Lie Fan passionately announced to the stunned, breathless empire. "The intellect that builds our engines, the cunning that manages our grain, and the courage that defends our borders are not restricted by gender. Therefore, I decree that women are henceforth fully allowed, and actively encouraged, to step out of the inner courtyards!"
He outlined the sweeping changes with absolute authority. Women were now legally permitted to own property in their own name, to inherit wealth directly, and to initiate divorce. They were allowed to work in trades, to open and manage their own businesses, and to sit for the rigorous imperial examinations to hold government offices exactly like men.
And then, he delivered the decree that completely shattered the very foundation of the ancient world.
"And furthermore," Lie Fan declared, his eyes locking onto the rigid, horrified faces of the conservative generals, "if a woman possesses the will and the physical strength, she is officially allowed to train, to bear arms, and to proudly go to the blood soaked battlefield to fight for her nation just like any man. The imperial army will no longer turn away a willing blade based on the archaic traditions of the past."
The decree was absolute, completely tearing down centuries of strict, unquestionable patriarchal norms in a single, devastating legislative strike.
Naturally, the conservative backlash from this unprecedented, revolutionary social decree was incredibly big, explosive, and immediate.
Furious, deeply entrenched Confucian scholars, men who had spent their entire lives studying the ancient texts that dictated a woman's strict subservience, spat blood in outrage. They drafted thousands of frantic, weeping petitions, claiming the Emperor had been bewitched.
Patriarchal nobles, terrified of losing their absolute control over their wives and daughters, threatened to riot, quietly pulling their funds from imperial projects in protest. Conservative elders wailed openly in the streets, tearing their robes and screaming to the sky that the moral heavens were finally falling, the natural order of Yin and Yang had been violently inverted, and the dynasty was inevitably doomed to collapse into chaos.
But this massive, roaring wave of traditionalist anger was immediately, ruthlessly, and surgically suppressed. Lie Fan had anticipated the backlash, and he had positioned his pieces flawlessly.
The terrifying Oriole Agents, operating entirely in the shadows, struck with lethal precision. They did not arrest the screaming elders in the streets, they went after the wealthy nobles and the influential scholars who were secretly organizing the protests.
They dragged the most vocal, rebellious agitators from their comfortable beds in the dark of the night. These men were silenced, some permanently, others shipped off to the freezing labor camps of the north before they could incite a true rebellion.
Meanwhile, Lie Fan cleverly weaponized the demographic that benefited most from the decree. He unleashed the progressive youth, who were already primed by the Nationalism ideology, and the millions of female citizens who passionately and tearfully accepted this liberating way of thinking.
For the women of the empire, Lie Fan's decree was a sudden, blinding ray of sunlight in a dark room. They poured into the streets, no longer hiding their faces. They formed massive, organized rallies in the city squares, loudly praising the Emperor's divine wisdom. Young women flooded the newly opened recruitment centers for the imperial academies and the military training camps, eager to prove their worth.
As these incredibly loyal and progressive supporters openly clashed with the angry traditionalists in the streets, the academies, and the local courts, Lie Fan ensured it was not a fair fight.
He immediately gave the progressive movement massive behind the scenes support. He secretly poured endless imperial funds into the newly established female academies, ensuring they had the best tutors and resources.
He ordered the city garrisons to provide unspoken military protection to the progressive rallies, instructing the guards to harshly arrest any traditionalist who dared to raise a hand against the women. He gave heavy political backing directly into the hands of the progressive magistrates, ensuring that any legal disputes between a woman and her patriarchal clan were aggressively judged in favor of the woman.
Through this overwhelming, multi layered strategy of covert assassination, massive financial backing, and the sheer, unstoppable demographic weight of the liberated women and youth, Lie Fan ensured that the progressive voices completely drowned out the old guard.
The traditionalists, finding their leaders disappearing in the night, their protests guarded by heavily armed soldiers, and their arguments shouted down by millions of liberated citizens, slowly began to fracture and break. They realized, with bitter, helpless despair, that the world they had ruled was dead.
Lie Fan watched from his throne as the dust of the social revolution began to settle. He had navigated the turbulent waters of societal upheaval and emerged victorious. By weaponizing loyalty and crushing dissent with an iron fist wrapped in progressive ideals, he was officially making gender equality a permanent, unbreakable pillar of his grand, modern empire.
The Hengyuan Dynasty wasn't going to be just the strongest nation on earth, it will become the most socially advanced and a true beacon of a new world order.
With the dust of the social revolution settling into the permanent bedrock of the Hengyuan Dynasty, Lie Fan did not simply sit back and let his magistrates enforce the new laws. He understood that a radical decree required equally radical, undeniable symbols to truly cement itself in the minds of the populace. A law written on parchment was one thing, but a living, breathing example was a force of nature.
With Lie Fan ruthlessly enacting this revolutionary equality decree across the sprawling empire, he of course also deeply, actively supported his own family. He wanted his five beloved wives to boldly step out from behind his shadow and become the ultimate, public pioneers of this terrifying new era of gender equality.
He did not do this merely for political theater. He firmly believed in them because they were all incredibly talented, fiercely competent, and possessed sharp, brilliant minds in their own right, harboring diverse skills that could easily rival or completely surpass any seasoned man in the dynasty. For years, their brilliance had been confined to the luxurious, gilded cage of the imperial harem, their talents enjoyed only by him and their closest attendants. Lie Fan knew it was a tragic waste of human potential.
He sat down with them late one evening in the private gardens of the inner palace. The air was cool, scented with blooming jasmine, but the atmosphere around the carved stone table was charged with an electric, nervous anticipation. He took each of their hands, looking into their eyes, and passionately encouraged each of them to step into the light.
He turned first to Ying Yue. She was not just a beautiful empress, she was the brilliant adopted daughter of the legendary physician Hua Tuo. She had spent her entire time after their marriage years ago, meticulously learning advanced, groundbreaking medicine directly under him and the revered medical sage, Zhang Zhongjing.
"Yue'er," Lie Fan said softly, his tone filled with absolute respect. "Your knowledge of the human body, of herbs, and of the flow of qi is unparalleled. For too long, male doctors have let women and infants die rather than violate the strict modesty laws that forbid them from examining female patients. I want you to become a pioneering head doctor. Establish an imperial hospital specifically to treat women and children. Teach other women the art of healing. Save the countless lives that the old world neglected."
Ying Yue's eyes widened, shimmering with unshed tears. The prospect of using her father's teachings to heal on a massive scale, rather than just treating palace ailments, ignited a profound fire within her. She squeezed his hand and nodded deeply.
He then turned to the breathtakingly beautiful Diao Chan. Her beauty was legendary, but it often overshadowed her true genius. She was peerlessly skilled in elegant, complex dancing, the composition of music, and the intricate, mathematical art of silk embroidery.
"Chan'er," Lie Fan smiled, "your art brings light to the darkest days. I envision you becoming a grand dance and arts teacher, the premier patron of culture in the empire. I want you to establish a grand academy in the capital to elevate the cultural arts, teaching young women that their grace is a form of power, not just a commodity to be traded in marriage."
Diao Chan, usually so composed, let out a breathless gasp, a radiant, genuine smile breaking across her flawless features as she envisioned a grand hall filled with music and motion.
Next was the intellectual lady, Cai Wenji. Famous across the central plains for her mastery of playing musical instruments and creating heart wrenching, brilliant poems that captured the tragedy and triumph of the era, she had spent her life surrounded by scrolls.
"Ji'er," Lie Fan said, his voice lowering with academic reverence. "Your mind is a library of history and emotion. I want you to formally step out of the poetry circles and become a respected, public scholar. I am appointing you as the Head Imperial Librarian. You will oversee the archiving of our dynasty's history, and you will lecture at the highest academies. You will show the old scholars that wisdom does not require a beard."
Cai Wenji's sharp eyes flashed with a dangerous, thrilling intellect. She had always despised the condescending tone of the court scholars; now, she would be their superior.
He then looked at the fierce warrior concubine, Lu Lingqi. She sat with perfect, rigid posture, her sharp eyes always scanning the shadows. She was, of course, terrifyingly skilled in brutal martial arts, heavy weapons, and cavalry tactics, having inherited the terrifying, demonic strength of her father, Lu Bu.
"Qi'er," Lie Fan said, a predatory grin touching his lips. "The inner courtyard is too small for a tigress. I want you to don your heavy armor. I want you to officially become a frontline commanding general. You will train the first all female heavy infantry unit, corporate your own female unit in it. You will show the world that the daughters of Hengyuan can break a shield wall just as easily as its sons."
Lu Lingqi did not weep or gasp. She simply slammed a clenched fist against her chest, her eyes burning with an absolute, unadulterated bloodlust and profound loyalty. Finally, she would have her war.
And lastly, he turned to the beautiful and calculating Zhen Ji. Beneath her elegant, serene exterior, she perfectly inherited the legendary Zhen Clan's terrifying merchant acumen. She understood the flow of silver, supply chains, and market manipulation better than any of his official in finance.
"Zhen'er," Lie Fan said, his eyes glinting with shared ambition. "The old nobility hoards their wealth in chests. I want you to multiply it across the oceans. I want you to completely step out of the shadows and become a titan merchant. You will publicly run massive, state sponsored trade guilds and businesses. You will command the merchant fleets. You will control the silver that builds our cannons."
Zhen Ji's lips curled into a sharp, terrifyingly beautiful smile. The economic domination of the continent was a game she had been preparing to play her entire life.
With their roles defined and their Emperor's absolute, unwavering backing secured, the women prepared to change the world.
A week later, a massive, breathtakingly dramatic scene was carefully orchestrated to unfold at the very heart of the capital.
The morning sun rose over Xiapi, casting long, golden rays across the sprawling, pristine white marble of the grand imperial plaza located directly in front of the palace. Tens of thousands of people had gathered. Word had been purposefully leaked by the Oriole Agents that a monumental imperial announcement regarding the equality decree was going to take place.
The plaza was a sea of humanity, a vibrating cross section of the entire empire. Commoners in rough spun cloth rubbed shoulders with wealthy merchants in fine silk. Ambitious young students from the academies stood near grizzled, scarred veterans of the northern campaigns. And mixed throughout the crowd were the rigid, scowling faces of the old Confucian scholars and conservative nobles, standing with their arms crossed in defiant, bitter skepticism.
Suddenly, the deafening, rhythmic beating of the massive imperial war drums echoed across the plaza, silencing the murmuring crowd instantly. The heavy, gold studded wooden gates of the Harem Palace, a place traditionally meant to hide women away from the world, a symbol of female subservience and isolation, began to slowly, loudly groan open.
The crowd held its collective breath. They expected the Emperor to emerge, or perhaps a procession of Imperial maids reading a scroll.
Instead, they witnessed a sight that would be permanently burned into the history of the world.
The Empress and the Four Imperial Concubines officially stepped out from the heavy, secluded gates without their Emperor. But they were not dressed as the delicate, heavily perfumed ornaments the ancient world expected them to be. They had entirely cast aside the heavily jeweled, restrictive royal robes and the elaborate, suffocating headdresses of the inner court.
They were dressed in their respective, highly functional professional attires, walking shoulder to shoulder with absolute, terrifying confidence.
At the center walked Ying Yue. She was dressed in the pure, immaculate white robes of a master physician, carrying a simple wooden medical box slung over her shoulder, her hair tied back practically. Her face radiated a calm, profound healing authority.
To her right walked Diao Chan, dressed in the flowing, vibrant, incredibly elegant silks of an arts grandmaster. She moved with a fluid, mesmerizing grace that made her seem as though she was gliding over the marble, holding a beautifully painted bamboo fan that commanded absolute attention.
To her left was Cai Wenji. She wore the austere, dark, heavy robes and the distinctive, squared hat of a high imperial scholar. She carried a thick scroll of ancient bamboo slips in her hands, her chin held high, her eyes radiating a sharp, intimidating intellect that challenged anyone to question her knowledge.
On the far right, marching with heavy, thunderous steps, was Lu Lingqi. The crowd gasped audibly. The warrior concubine was clad in gleaming, heavy steel lamellar armor, her crimson cape billowing behind her. A massive, terrifyingly sharp crescent halberd rested easily on her armored shoulder, and her face was set in a mask of absolute, uncompromising martial ferocity.
And on the far left walked Zhen Ji. She was dressed in the sharp, impeccably tailored, luxurious silk clothes of a wealthy guild master, adorned with the subtle, heavy silver chains of commerce. She carried an abacus in one hand, her eyes scanning the crowd not with fear, but with the calculating gaze of a predator evaluating a market.
They confidently walked out into the center of the grand imperial plaza to publicly, undeniably endorse the equality decree. Standing before the massive sea of commoners, nobles, and court officials, they beautifully and fiercely pioneered the professions to be done by women. In a single morning, with a single, coordinated march out of the harem, they were effectively shattering centuries of patriarchal chains.
The silence that gripped the plaza was absolute, heavy with the weight of shattered paradigms.
Then, the reality of what they were witnessing set in.
Of course, this unprecedented, world shaking public display immediately elicited a massive, explosive, and violently polarized reaction from the massive crowd.
The progressive supporters, the ambitious youth from the academies, and the tens of thousands of women in the plaza who had spent their lives treated as second class citizens erupted. The sound was deafening, a tidal wave of sheer, unadulterated emotional release.
They cheered wildly, tears streaming down their faces, roaring their absolute, fanatical support for their Empress and Concubines. Young girls pointed at Lu Lingqi's armor with wide, awe struck eyes, female merchants wept seeing Zhen Ji standing as an equal to the lords of commerce.
However, the reaction from the other side of the plaza was one of apocalyptic horror.
Those stubborn traditionalists that fiercely fought against the decree, the old Confucian scholars with their long white beards, the rigid patriarchs, and the conservative nobles, had an absolute, screaming meltdown.
The sight of women standing in positions of ultimate authority, completely outside the control of men, was too much for their ancient worldviews to handle. They screamed in sheer, vein popping outrage. They pointed trembling, accusatory fingers at the women, shouting that the heavens were crying tears of blood at this blatant, disgusting defiance of natural order.
"Blasphemy!" an elderly, highly respected scholar screamed, tearing his expensive silk robes in a dramatic display of grief, his face purple with rage. "A woman in armor?! A woman holding the scrolls of the ancestors?! The dynasty will burn! The Emperor is blinded by harlots!"
The conservative faction began to surge forward, their voices rising into a hostile, threatening chant. The progressive youth surged forward to meet them, and the plaza teetered on the very edge of a massive, bloody riot.
But just as the conservative backlash reached a fever pitch, ready to physically attack the women who dared to defy the ancient laws, a deafening, terrifying sound cut through the chaos. The massive bronze war horns on the palace walls blew a single, earth shaking note. The heavy wooden doors on the high balcony overlooking the plaza were thrown open. Lie Fan majestically stepped out into the sunlight.
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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