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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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As the six titans of the Hengyuan Dynasty filed out of the imperial study, their minds racing with the impossible, intoxicating possibilities of trapped Qi and iron machines, Lie Fan sat back down in his high backed chair. He looked at the small bronze teapot bubbling merrily on the brazier in the corner of the room.
The lie had been perfect. The trajectory of human history had just been violently, irrevocably altered by a thousand years.
After the six titans of the Hengyuan Dynasty filed out of the room, their minds buzzing with the revolutionary, world altering concepts of the atmospheric steam engine and the pressurized oil cabinets, the imperial study fell completely quiet. The heavy, iron reinforced doors clicked shut, sealing out the distant, muffled sounds of the capital's continued celebrations.
For a long moment, Lie Fan simply sat in the high backed chair, letting the adrenaline of his masterful deception slowly ebb from his veins. He watched the small bronze teapot on the brazier, the delicate wisp of steam curling toward the painted ceiling. He had planted the seeds of the industrial revolution. Now, it was a matter of securing the hands that would forge it.
As if summoned by his very thoughts, the silence of the room was subtly broken by the whisper of silk.
From the shadowed alcove near the private eastern entrance of the study, a door utilized exclusively by the inner court, a figure emerged. It was a young woman, dressed flawlessly in the pale blue, flowing silk robes of a senior Imperial Maid. Her hair was pinned back with standard jade ornaments, and she carried a small, lacquered serving tray holding a fresh pot of tea and a porcelain cup.
To any minister or guard passing her in the corridors, she was nothing more than a dutiful servant of the Palace.
But as she stepped into the lamplight, her demeanor instantly, chillingly transformed. The demure, subservient posture vanished, replaced by the lethal, perfectly balanced grace of an apex predator. She was a high ranking operative of the Oriole network, one of Chancellor Jia Xu's most trusted ghosts inside the palace.
She glided silently across the room, completely bypassing the tea set on the tray. With a fluid, practiced motion, she reached beneath the false bottom of the lacquered wood and extracted a small, cylindrical bamboo tube, sealed at both ends with black wax.
She sank to one knee before the mahogany desk, her head bowed in absolute reverence.
"Your Imperial Majesty," the agent whispered, her voice barely carrying past the edge of the desk. "A priority dispatch from the western and central provincial shadows. The targets you specified have been located."
Lie Fan's eyes sharpened instantly. He reached out and took the bamboo tube, breaking the black wax seal with his thumb. "Ma Jun and Pu Yuan?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," she replied respectfully, remaining perfectly still. "The agents have managed to find both of them. Based upon the specific geographic locations of birth you provided, and the highly specific physical traits you described, our operatives are absolutely certain these two youths are the ones you seek."
Lie Fan unrolled the small, densely coded silk scroll. He quickly scanned the ciphered characters, translating the Oriole shorthand in his mind.
Historically, he knew Ma Jun hailed from Fufeng in the west, while Pu Yuan's origins were somewhat more obscured, though his talents flourished in the Shu region. The intelligence report detailed how the Orioles had scoured the local registries, the artisan guilds, and the rural blacksmiths.
They had found Ma Jun, a quiet, intensely focused boy who already displayed an eccentric, obsessive fascination with weaving looms and wooden gears. And they had located Pu Yuan, a youth with unusually broad shoulders for his age, caught constantly lingering around the local village forge, obsessively watching the smith quench hot iron in the river.
Lie Fan read further down the report, and a profound, genuine expression of satisfaction settled over his features.
The Oriole operatives were terrifying, but they were also highly skilled diplomats when the situation required a soft touch rather than a blade. The report detailed how the agents, dressed as imperial scholars from the capital, had approached the parents of the two prodigies.
Rather than being terrified of the imperial summons, Ma Jun and Pu Yuan's parents were completely overwhelmed with joy. The agents had informed them that their sons possessed an incredibly rare, divine aptitude for mechanics and metallurgy, and that Lie Fan himself had personally requested their enrollment into the highly prestigious Xiapi Imperial Academy.
For common artisans and provincial farmers, having their sons elevated to the highest educational institution in the known world was a miracle beyond comprehension. The parents were deeply, profoundly honored that the Emperor of the unified earth could trust and value the latent talent within their young, soot stained boys.
Lie Fan lowered the silk scroll, a warm, pragmatic smile touching his lips. It was perfect. A genius bound by chains or driven by fear would only produce mediocrity. A genius fueled by honor, comfort, and state sponsored resources would change the world.
He looked down at the kneeling agent.
"The operatives have done flawless work," Lie Fan commended her softly. "However, these are not hardened soldiers or cynical scholars. They are young boys, and boys require the anchor of their families to truly flourish. I will not have their minds distracted by homesickness or the trauma of separation."
Lie Fan reached for his writing brush, drafting a swift, authoritative addendum on the back of the silk scroll.
"Transmit this order back to the operatives immediately," Lie Fan commanded. "They are not to simply take the boys. They are to have Ma Jun and Pu Yuan's parents, and any immediate siblings, brought safely and comfortably into Xiapi alongside them. Once they arrive in the capital, the Ministry of Personnel is to allocate them a modest, comfortable house in the artisan district. Furthermore, the parents are to be given steady, respectable, but modest jobs within the outer rings of the imperial bureaucracy or the state foundries."
Lie Fan stamped the addendum with his seal and handed it back to the agent. "Ensure they lack for absolutely nothing. They must be comfortable, secure, and close to their sons. The minds of Ma Jun and Pu Yuan belong to the empire now, and the empire takes care of its own."
The Oriole agent received the scroll with both hands, her face remaining a mask of pure professional devotion. "I understand perfectly, Your Imperial Majesty. I shall convey your exact orders to the handlers tonight. The families will be escorted to the capital with the utmost care."
"Go," Lie Fan nodded.
With a silent, fluid motion, the agent rose to her feet, slipped the scroll back into her robes, picked up the lacquered tea tray, and vanished back into the shadowed alcove. Within seconds, it was as if she had never been there at all.
Lie Fan sat alone for a moment longer. The seeds of the steam engine were in the hands of Huang Yue Ying. The prodigies who would build the high pressure boilers and forge the musket barrels were on their way to the capital.
The foundation of his industrial revolution was perfectly set in stone.
But machines and factories were the weapons of tomorrow. Today, he still had an empire of flesh, blood, and borders to secure.
Lie Fan stood up from his desk. He smoothed the heavy, dark silk of his robes and walked out of the study.
The atmosphere in the palace shifted dramatically as he moved from the secluded, academic quiet of his private wing toward the beating heart of his military apparatus. The air grew cooler, carrying the faint, metallic scent of polished armor and the sharp tang of burning pine resin from the torches. The Yellow Ghost Bodyguards fell into step around him, a silent, terrifying diamond of elite killers escorting their sovereign.
Lie Fan was heading straight to the Grand Military Strategy Room.
While the rest of the capital celebrated the end of the Warlord Era, Lie Fan knew that true peace was a temporary illusion. The internal threats of the Han Dynasty had been annihilated, but the external map was vast, dark, and filled with predators. He had summoned the absolute apex of his military high command to this room hours ago, tasking them with formulating the grand plan for the outward expansion of the Hengyuan Empire.
As Lie Fan approached the heavy, iron-bound oak doors of the strategy room, the muffled, intense sounds of a heated, passionate debate echoed through the thick wood.
He raised a hand, signaling the Yellow Ghost guards to remain outside. Two heavily armored sentries immediately pushed the massive doors open.
Lie Fan stepped into the room.
The Grand Military Strategy Room was a cavernous, imposing space. The walls were lined with massive, incredibly detailed topographical maps of the entire Asian continent, stretching from the jungles of the deep south to the frozen tundras of the far north.
In the very center of the room sat a colossal, beautifully carved wooden sandbox table, currently populated with hundreds of painted wooden markers representing legions, cavalry divisions, and supply routes.
Gathered around this massive table, deeply entrenched in a furious tactical debate, were the supreme titans of Hengyuan's military might.
There was Xun You, the Grand Commandant, his brilliant, deeply analytical eyes scanning the map with the cold logic of a master chess player. Beside him stood Sima Yi, the Minister of War, his dark, calculating gaze radiating an aura of lethal, fathomless ambition and terrifying intellect.
Across the table stood the men of action.
Zhang Liao, the Deputy Grand General, his scarred hands resting heavily on the edge of the sandbox, exuding the unyielding, martial pressure of a man who had broken a hundred enemy lines. Next to him was the venerable Huangfu Song, the Grand General, a living legend whose veteran gravity commanded absolute respect from every soldier breathing.
And finally, standing slightly apart but observing everything with sharp, piercing clarity, was Lu Xun, the brilliant young Bailiff of Xiapi, representing the terrifying tactical potential of the next generation.
"If we push into the southern jungles of Jiaozhi and beyond, the disease and the terrain will bleed our heavy infantry dry before they even see an enemy!" Zhang Liao was arguing fiercely, pointing a calloused finger at the southern expanse of the map.
"The south holds vast wealth and maritime routes, General," Sima Yi countered smoothly, his voice a dark, velvety purr. "But the west holds the Silk Road. If we push past Qinghai Plateau deeper into the Western Regions, we control the absolute flow of global commerce. We choke the desert kingdoms into submission with a fraction of the troops."
"Both directions stretch our supply lines to the breaking point," Xun You interjected, his tone calm but carrying absolute authority. "We must consider the existential threat, not merely the economic gain."
The moment the heavy oak doors boomed shut behind Lie Fan, the heated debate ceased instantly.
The five greatest military minds of the age froze. They turned as one, their expressions immediately shifting from fiery debate to absolute, rigid reverence. They brought their hands together, bowing deeply from the waist in perfect synchronization.
"Your Imperial Majesty!" they chorused, their voices echoing off the stone walls.
Lie Fan walked slowly toward the head of the map table, a warm, reassuring smile breaking through his normally intimidating imperial aura. He waved his hand in a smooth, dismissive gesture.
"At ease, all of you. At ease," Lie Fan said, his voice carrying the camaraderie of a commander returning to his trusted staff. "The celebrations outside are for the politicians and the merchants. I much prefer the honest company of men who deal in maps and iron. Please, stand straight."
The commanders straightened up, though they remained at rigid attention.
Lie Fan looked down at the massive sandbox, noting the chaotic placement of the wooden markers representing their debate. He rested his hands on the carved wooden edge of the table, looking up to meet the eyes of his high command.
"The internal rot of the mainland has been carved out. The warlords are dead, and the land is unified under the Hengyuan banner," Lie Fan stated, his voice dropping into a low, serious register that commanded the room. "But an empire is like a shark. If it stops moving forward, it drowns. We have the largest, most experienced, and most heavily armed military force in the history of the world currently sitting idle. Idle swords rust, and idle soldiers breed trouble."
He swept his gaze over the five brilliant men.
"I heard the echoes of your debate through the doors," Lie Fan continued. "The south, the west, the east. But I ask you now, formally, as the supreme architects of my wrath, What is the absolute best target for our first outward expansion? Where must the Black Dragon strike first to secure our eternal hegemony?"
The room was silent for a heavy moment. The generals exchanged quick, loaded glances. Zhang Liao looked at Sima Yi, who gave a subtle, deferential nod toward the man holding the highest strategic rank in the room.
Xun You, the Grand Commandant, stepped forward. He did not hesitate, nor did he offer multiple, politically safe options. He had analyzed the geopolitical reality with flawless logic, and he had reached a terrifying, unavoidable conclusion.
Xun You picked up a long, bamboo pointer stick. He reached across the massive sandbox table, completely bypassing the wealth of the southern jungles and the lucrative trade routes of the western deserts.
He slammed the tip of the bamboo pointer down hard on the northern edge of the map, directly above the winding, stone serpent that represented the Great Wall.
"We highly recommend that we expand to the North, Your Imperial Majesty," Xun You declared, his voice ringing with absolute, unshakeable conviction. "Out past the Great Wall. Deep into the sweeping steppes."
Lie Fan raised a single eyebrow, feigning a look of intense curiosity, encouraging his Grand Commandant to elaborate.
"The North, Xun You? The steppes are vast, freezing, and hold no cities of gold or vast agricultural wealth. Why throw our legions into the frozen grass when the south offers endless riches?" Xun You's eyes hardened. He was a man who looked past the immediate wealth to see the shadows gathering on the horizon.
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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