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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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Tian Feng closed his eyes in a silent prayer of gratitude, and even the cynical Guo Jia offered a deep, incredibly sincere bow. After months of terrifying uncertainty, imagining the worst fates for their loved ones, this emotional release was the final, unbreakable chain that bound them to Lie Fan's will. Leaving the geniuses to their relief and their frantic preparations to depart, Lie Fan turned and exited the mansion.
He stepped out into the bustling, vibrant streets of Xiapi, returning back to the imperial palace heavily escorted by the terrifying, silent ranks of the Yellow Ghost Bodyguards.
The ride back was swift, the Emperor's mind already churning, shifting gears from the psychological warfare of the morning to the grand, bureaucratic restructuring of the afternoon.
Upon arriving at the towering, opulent palace complex, he bypassed the grand ceremonial halls and immediately entered into his private study.
The air inside the study was thick with the scent of aged parchment and premium sandalwood incense. Waiting for him in there, standing respectfully around the massive ebony strategy table, were his some of his most trusted pillars.
Zhuge Liang stood with his white crane feather fan resting gently in his hands. Jia Xu watched the door with sharp, calculating eyes. Lu Su offered a warm bow. Beside them stood Chen Gong, a man whose rigid adherence to imperial justice kept the massive population in line. And finally, Pang Tong, the eccentric known as the Fledgling Phoenix, leaned slightly against the table, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Taking his seat at the head of the heavy wooden table, Lie Fan did not waste time with pleasantries. He immediately launched into the core issue of the afternoon.
"The wolves have been tamed," Lie Fan announced, a ripple of quiet, highly professional satisfaction passing through the five ministers. "Xun Yu and the others have fully submitted. They are currently reuniting with their families."
He leaned forward, steepling his fingers, and asked for their honest opinions on the impending bureaucratic dilemma. "Now, I must ask you on what specific government positions these newly surrendered gentlemen should be placed in."
Lie Fan pointed out the obvious, complex problem that their surrender had generated. "After all, except for Xu You, whose talents are more suited for opportunistic regional management, all of them, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Cheng Yu, Tian Feng, and Jia Kui, are genuine, undeniable Minister level talents. They are men who are accustomed to running the highest echelons of a state."
He swept his gaze across the five men in the room. "But the current Minister positions in the court are all completely filled by loyal veterans. You gentlemen, along with Mi Zhu and the others, have bled for this empire and built it from the ground up. I will not strip a loyal man of his well earned position simply to accommodate a surrendered genius. Therefore, I was thinking of making maybe several new ministries or highly specialized departments, possibly just for them to lead. It is time the bureaucracy expanded to match the physical size of our conquests."
Hearing what their Emperor said, the five men looked at each other with knowing, incredibly sharp glances before giving their unified agreement. They were the top apex of politics, and they instantly saw the grander design behind Lie Fan's words.
The ever astute Jia Xu smirked slightly, the expression crinkling the corners of his aged, cunning eyes. He stepped forward, bowing his head slightly.
"This is a brilliant plan to make sure the immense power of the current ministries and departments are weakened, Your Majesty," Jia Xu said, cutting directly to the Machiavellian heart of the proposal. "By introducing five new Minister level talents into the court and granting them their own distinct branches of government, you are effectively diluting the absolute authority that any single one of us currently holds. It is a masterful stroke of imperial control."
Lie Fan smiled warmly at that, a deep, genuine chuckle rumbling in his chest. He looked at the Chancellor, it was true, Lie Fan had intended to use the arrival of the Wei advisors to decentralize the massive blocks of power that his current ministers had naturally accumulated over the years of endless war.
However, Lie Fan raised his hand, his expression turning serious. "Do not mistake my intentions, my trusted friends," Lie Fan explained, looking at each of the five pillars with profound respect. "Your loyalty is unquestioned. But an empire that spans from the freezing northern steppes to the southern jungles cannot be effectively governed by a handful of men, no matter how brilliant they are. The authority isn't truly weakened, but more of being spread out even more to prevent corruption and streamline efficiency."
He gestured to the massive map of the continent spread across the table. "If a single ministry controls all of the agriculture, the taxation, and the grain distribution for more than fifty million people, the sheer weight of the bureaucracy will eventually collapse in on itself, breeding regional corruption that even Pang Tong's Censorate could not catch in time. By spreading the authority, we create a web of overlapping responsibilities. We create a system where no single pillar can fall and bring down the roof."
They all immediately nodded their heads in agreement, their brilliant minds instantly understanding the necessary checks and balances that the Emperor was architecting. It was the natural, necessary evolution of a an empire transitioning into an eternal, continent spanning dynasty.
Before the silence could stretch, Zhuge Liang stepped forward, waving his feather fan gently as his mind raced with the logistical possibilities.
"The logic is flawless, Your Majesty," Zhuge Liang asked, his eyes burning with the desire to organize the chaos. "But what kind of specific directions will the new ministries and departments be focused on? The current structure covers the traditional needs of the state. Where will these new branches operate?"
Lie Fan leaned back, his mind visualizing the colossal challenges that awaited them in the coming years. He confidently stated his grand design, knowing that the men before him would have to meticulously draft the laws to make it a reality.
"I wanted the new branches to be strictly focused on the most critical, expanding vectors of our future," Lie Fan said, holding up a finger for each point. "First, the military. We need a branch entirely dedicated not to fighting, but to the astronomical logistics, the ordinance development, and the mass mobilization of our expanded armies."
"Second, domestic development. A ministry entirely focused on building the new steam wagonways, the massive irrigation canals, and managing the unprecedented migration of the poor to the northern steppes that I decreed yesterday."
He held up a third and fourth finger. "Third, agriculture. We must separate the collection of taxes from the actual science and distribution of the harvest. We need a branch focused purely on ensuring that famines become a myth of the past through advanced farming techniques and grain reserves. And fourth, foreign affairs. As we look toward the eastern oceans, to Yamato, and to the unknown territories beyond the western deserts, we need a department solely dedicated to managing vassal states, trade routes, and foreign intelligence."
Hearing that grand, incredibly ambitious vision, everyone in the study nodded in deep, profound thought. The scope of what Lie Fan was proposing would elevate the Hengyuan Dynasty from a mere kingdom into a highly advanced, industrialized, and perfectly regulated super empire.
They immediately begun the intense, highly detailed discussion alongside Lie Fan. For the next several hours, the imperial study became a crucible of political creation.
The six most brilliant men in the world debated fiercely, crossing out old laws, drawing up new jurisdictional boundaries, and arguing over the allocation of funds to finalize the names and the exact kind of responsibilities these four new ministries and one new specialized department will have.
They decided that Xun Yu, with his flawless administrative compass, would be the perfect candidate to head the newly formed Ministry of Domestic Development, overseeing the monumental northern migration. Cheng Yu was assisted to be his vice minister, since this ministry will oversee a large development across the land and would need more than one capable man on the helm.
Tian Feng's rigid ethics would be ideal for the Ministry of Agriculture, ensuring that the grain silos were never corrupted by greedy provincial lords. Xi Zhicai would take the helm of the Ministry of Military Logistics, coordinating the massive supply trains required for future conquests.
Jia Kui would manage the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, establishing diplomatic and trade dominance over the peripheral tribes. And Guo Jia, with his brilliant, chaotic, and perceptive mind, would be given control of a highly specialized, independent Department of Strategic Intelligence, working in tandem with, yet separate from, Jia Xu's Orioles.
After hours of intense, exhausting debate, the ink on the master scrolls was finally dry, and it was finally done. The new bureaucratic blueprint of the Hengyuan Dynasty was established.
Lie Fan let out a long breath, rolling up the final scroll. He turned from the table and says to Jia Xu, whose network of messengers was always the fastest in the capital.
"Chancellor," Lie Fan commanded, his voice shifting from the tone of a politician back to that of a visionary conqueror. "I want you to summon Liu Ye, Huang Yue Ying, and Huang Chengyan to meet me here in the study immediately. We have spent enough time organizing the men of this empire, it is time we focus on the machines that will carry them."
Jia Xu bowed deeply. "It shall be done at once, Your Majesty."
As the others gathered their ledgers and prepared to leave the study to carry out their new, sweeping administrative orders, Lie Fan specifically asked for Zhuge Liang to stay behind in the study with him.
The other four ministers respectfully excused themselves, the heavy wooden doors closing softly behind them, leaving the Emperor alone with his brilliant Minister of Personnel.
Lie Fan gestured for Zhuge Liang to approach the table once more. The Emperor's eyes were bright with a deeply held, highly secretive anticipation. He wanted to privately ask him about the one project that held the key to his ultimate dream of total global domination.
"Kongming," Lie Fan said softly, using the young genius's courtesy name in the quiet intimacy of the study. "The political foundation is set. But politics alone will not carry my armies across the eastern oceans, nor will it move thousands of tons of grain across the northern permafrost before the winter sets in. Tell me the truth, without the embellishments of the court."
Lie Fan leaned forward, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. "What is the current progress of the steam technology development? Are the massive steam engines finally ready to be used?"
Hearing what Lie Fan had just asked regarding the technological progress, the heavy, conspiratorial atmosphere within the fragrant imperial study immediately lightened. The young, fiercely intelligent Minister of Personnel did not hesitate.
Zhuge Liang immediately responded with a bright proud smile, his eyes sparkling with the thrill of unprecedented discovery. He closed his white crane feather fan with a soft snap, holding it respectfully in his left hand as he stepped closer to the massive ebony strategy table.
"Your Imperial Majesty, the progress is nothing short of miraculous," Zhuge Liang respectfully stated, his voice carrying the rhythmic, measured cadence of a scholar who had just unlocked the fundamental secrets of the universe. "The brilliant minds within the research division, working day and night under the heavy funding you provided, have completely and successfully developed what we have termed the 'Steam Qi Yin Yang theory'."
Lie Fan leaned forward, deeply intrigued. He knew the modern physics behind steam power, having brought the knowledge from his previous life, but hearing it translated through the lens of ancient Chinese philosophy and brilliant Han era scholars was endlessly fascinating.
Zhuge Liang enthusiastically elaborated on the breakthrough. "In the past, we merely viewed boiling water as a domestic necessity. But by applying the ancient principles of the cosmos, we now understand its raw, mechanical fury."
"Fire is the ultimate Yang, expansive, volatile, and aggressive. Water is the ultimate Yin, yielding, heavy, and cool. When the extreme Yang of the coal fire violently acts upon the Yin of the water within a perfectly sealed, reinforced iron boiler, it creates a massive, pressurized manifestation of 'Qi', a literal breath of invisible, expanding energy."
Zhuge Liang gestured with his hands, illustrating the motion of pistons. "This pressurized Qi seeks to escape its iron prison with terrifying force. Right now, the theoretical framework of harnessing that aggressive expansion and cooling it to create a vacuum is actively being put into practical application. We are building the prototypes directly according to the intricate, visionary schematics Your Majesty had previously given us. We are moving from the realm of philosophy directly into the realm of forged iron and moving parts."
Hearing that tremendous, history altering progress, Lie Fan nodded his head in deep, profound satisfaction. The corner of his mouth curled into a triumphant smile.
"That is very good news for the empire's future, Kongming," Lie Fan said, his voice dropping into a solemn, heavy register. "Flesh and blood have united this continent, but it is iron, coal, and steam that will conquer the oceans and shrink the vast distances of our new world. The era of relying solely on the wind to sail our ships and beasts of burden to pull our grain is slowly coming to an end."
Shortly after that highly encouraging discussion concluded, the heavy wooden doors of the imperial study were gently pushed open by the Yellow Ghost Bodyguards standing outside.
The most brilliant, unparalleled inventive minds of the Hengyuan Dynasty stepped over the threshold. The brilliant inventor Huang Yue Ying entered first, behind her walked her father, the venerable Huang Chengyan, and beside him strode the engineering genius Liu Ye.
They stepped up to the edge of the ebony table, respectfully bowed deeply, and greeted the Emperor with unified, formal reverence.
Lie Fan warmly did the same, standing up from his heavy wooden chair and returning their greeting with a welcoming, highly appreciative smile.
Inviting them to sit at the table, Lie Fan motioned for the servants to pour them cups of warm, premium tea. Once they were settled, Lie Fan then formally asked for a comprehensive report on their ongoing engineering projects, specifically regarding the integration of the new steam theories and the naval weaponry he had commissioned.
The three inventors did not show an ounce of hesitation. They were in their element, fueled by the limitless resources of the imperial treasury. They confidently spoke up, their voices echoing in the quiet study, saying that the progress is going extremely well.
Liu Ye, acting as the primary voice for the heavy industrial applications, reported first on the successful prototyping of the foundational steam machine.
"Thanks to the refined steel produced by Your Majesty's blast furnaces, we have solved the containment issue," Liu Ye detailed, his hands moving rapidly to describe the machinery.
"We have successfully cast a heavy, pressurized boiler that does not rupture under extreme heat. The mechanical stability is currently holding firm. The expanding steam forces a heavy iron piston upward through a greased, airtight cylinder, and as the steam is vented and condenses, the pressure drops, violently pulling the piston back down. It is a continuous, rhythmic heartbeat of pure mechanical power. We currently have a stationary prototype the size of a small carriage that can continuously lift weights that would normally break the backs of fifty strong men."
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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