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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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It was a masterstroke of psychological manipulation, aimed directly at Lie Fan's pride as a father and an Emperor. Lie Fan looked over his shoulder. Muchen was watching him intently, absorbing every word of this lethal philosophical duel.
Lie Fan turned back to the dying warlord. "I have absolute faith in Muchen. He will be a sovereign the likes of which this land has never seen. But a good father does not leave vipers in the garden to test his son's reflexes. My duty is to hand him a unified, peaceful realm, not a realm littered with the lingering embers of his father's rivals."
Cao Cao opened his mouth to formulate another desperate argument, to appeal to Lie Fan's vanity, his honor, his legacy. But the immense, agonizing effort of the debate was simply too much for his failing body.
A sudden, violent spasm seized the warlord. Cao Cao's eyes widened in sheer agony as a terrifying, wet rattling sound tore from his chest. He lunged forward on the stretcher, hacking violently.
"My Lord!" Grand Concubine Bian shrieked in horror.
Dark, almost black blood erupted from Cao Cao's lips, splattering across the pristine white sheets of the stretcher and staining his pale chin. He collapsed backward, his body trembling uncontrollably, gasping for air that his lungs refused to process.
The imperial physicians scrambled frantically, wiping his mouth, checking his eyes, their faces reflecting absolute panic.
"His pulse is fading!" the lead physician cried out. "The exertion has ruptured his inner vitality!"
Cao Cao lay staring up at the smoke filled sky above the courtyard. He knew, with absolute, terrifying clarity, that the hourglass had run empty. He could feel the coldness creeping up his limbs. The great game was over.
He weakly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes finding Lie Fan one last time. His voice was no longer the roar of a warlord, but the pathetic, broken whisper of a dying father.
"Lie Fan..." Cao Cao gasped, a bubble of blood bursting on his lips. "Please... I beg you... just one. Allow just one grandson... to sweep my tomb... to burn incense for the ancestors. Do not let me wander the Yellow Springs... as a forgotten ghost. I beg you."
It was a plea that stripped away every layer of armor, every title, every ounce of pride. It was raw, unfiltered human desperation.
Lie Fan stared down at the man who had been his greatest rival. He felt a profound, heavy ache in his chest. To see a titan brought so low was a tragic, sobering reminder of the fragility of power.
Lie Fan closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep, slow breath.
"I will think upon it, Brother Mengde," Lie Fan said softly, his voice carrying a quiet, solemn finality. "I will consider your plea. But for now... my decision stands."
He stepped back from the stretcher, his demeanor shifting instantly from a philosopher to the Supreme Commander. He turned his gaze toward the surrounding Hengyuan generals.
"General Xu Rong. General Fan Chou," Lie Fan commanded, his voice echoing with iron authority. "You will escort the entirety of the Cao clan, every son, every daughter, every concubine, and the Emperor himself, to the grand estate of the former Minister Wang in the eastern district. It is a compound large enough to house them all. You will place them under absolute house arrest."
"By your command, Your Majesty!" the two cavalry commanders barked in unison.
"Hear me well," Lie Fan continued, his eyes sweeping over his men to ensure the severity of the order was understood. "You are to establish a triple layered perimeter. The Imperial Guard will hold the inner walls, the heavy infantry will hold the outer compound, and the cavalry will patrol the streets. No one enters. No one leaves. No letters, no messages, no servants from the outside."
"The Cao family is to have zero contact with the world beyond those walls, except for myself, or those who carry my personal, written seal. Ensure they are treated with the dignity befitting their station, but guard them as if they were dragons waiting to breathe fire. Move them now."
The Hengyuan soldiers moved with swift, emotionless precision. They hauled Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, and the other sons to their feet. The eunuchs, weeping silently, picked up the stretcher bearing the fading Cao Cao.
"You are making a mistake, Lie Fan!" Cao Zhang roared as he was dragged away, struggling against four heavily armored guards. "You cannot cage us forever!"
Cao Pi did not shout. He simply looked back over his shoulder at Lie Fan, his eyes dark, unreadable pools of despair and lingering, venomous intellect. Then, he turned away, marching into the darkness of his new, permanent gilded cage.
Lie Fan stood in silence, watching the procession disappear through the archways of the Harem Palace until the last torch flickered out of sight.
The courtyard was suddenly very quiet, save for the crackling of the braziers and the distant sounds of the army securing the outer city.
Lie Fan turned slowly to face his brain trust. Sima Yi, Chen Deng, Zang Hong, Xu Shu, and Pang Tong stood in a loose semicircle. Behind them, Muchen stood quietly, processing the monumental gravity of what he had just witnessed.
"Speak," Lie Fan ordered simply, leaning against his halberd. "You are my mind. Give me your counsel."
The advisors exchanged glances. It was Pang Tong who stepped forward first, his unique face twisted in a scowl of pragmatic disapproval.
"Your Majesty is too merciful," Pang Tong rasped, not bothering to sugarcoat his words. "A house arrest, no matter how heavily guarded, is a leaky vessel. You leave the root in the ground. Cao Pi is a serpent. If he is given decades to sit in a room and think, he will eventually find a crack in the wall. You should have ordered the eradication of the bloodline tonight. It is the only way to ensure zero unnecessary risk for the Crown Prince's future."
Fa Zheng, who had just arrived from the western front to join the council, nodded emphatically. "Master Pang is correct. The 'Nine Exterminations' is brutal, yes, but it is a political tool forged through centuries of necessity. By allowing them to live, even sterilized, you leave a symbol. Symbols inspire martyrs. Eradicate them, Your Majesty. Burn the root."
"I must disagree," Xu Shu interjected gently, stepping forward and bowing. "Your Majesty's decision was a masterstroke of psychological warfare and imperial grace. To slaughter them all tonight, in cold blood, after they have surrendered, would paint you as a bloodthirsty tyrant."
"It would terrify the remaining rabbles and make future unifications vastly more difficult. By placing them under comfortable, isolated house arrest, and ending the bloodline naturally, you achieve the same strategic goal, the extinction of the threat, without staining your own legacy with the blood of innocents."
Chen Deng nodded slowly. "Master Xu Shu speaks wisdom. The optics of mercy are powerful. Let them fade into obscurity. A slow death of a dynasty is far more humiliating and far less inspiring than an executioner's block."
Lie Fan turned his gaze to Sima Yi. The brilliant, dark eyed strategist had remained remarkably quiet.
"And you, Zhongda?" Lie Fan asked, his eyes narrowing slightly, remembering the history of the Sima clan from his past life. "Do you believe I should pull the weed by the roots, or let it wither in a pot?"
Sima Yi met Lie Fan's gaze evenly, his expression an impenetrable mask. "Both arguments hold merit, Your Majesty. But danger does not only come from the royal blood itself, it comes from those who remember the blood fondly. As long as they breathe, they are a risk. However, immediate execution risks turning the populace of the central plains against you."
"Your current edict is a delicate balance. I suggest we observe them for a year. If they attempt to communicate, if they show even a sliver of defiance... then we execute them legally for treason, absolving Your Majesty of the tyrant's label."
Lie Fan listened in silence. He absorbed their brutal pragmatism, their focus on optics, their calculating paranoia. It was exactly why he kept them by his side.
He raised his armored hand, a gesture that instantly silenced the courtyard.
"We will discuss this no further tonight," Lie Fan declared, his voice cutting through the smoky air. "The fate of the Cao clan is a matter of profound dynastic importance. It will not be finalized in the blood soaked gardens of their fallen home. When we return to Xiapi, I will convene the entire imperial court and the inner circle. We will debate this thoroughly in the light of day. For now, my edict of isolation stands."
He turned away from the advisors, looking out over the walls of the inner fortress toward the vast, sprawling city of Chang'an.
"Our immediate focus must not be on the prisoners, but on the prize we have won," Lie Fan commanded, shifting into the supreme administrator. "The Wei Dynasty is broken, but the territory is vast. Tomorrow, we begin the monumental task of consolidating Chang'An."
"We must pacify the populace, secure the surrounding granaries, integrate the surrendered soldiers, and establish our bureaucracy over the central plains. We must prove to the people that the Hengyuan Dynasty brings order and prosperity, not just fire and cannons."
Lie Fan turned back to his son, offering Muchen a small, reassuring smile.
"Once the capital is secured and the administration is functional," Lie Fan announced, his eyes sweeping over his generals and advisors, "the Crown Prince and I will return to our capital in Xiapi. We will take half of the imperial army with us to march in a grand victory procession."
He then looked to the west, where the jagged peaks of the mountains vanished into the dark night.
"The other half of the army," Lie Fan said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble, "will remain here in Chang'An, heavily garrisoning the western borders. Those pathetic 'League of Northwest Lords' watched this battle from afar, hoping we would bleed ourselves dry. They are waiting for a moment of weakness."
Lie Fan gripped his halberd tightly, a fierce, triumphant light burning in his eyes.
"We will leave them a hundred thousand heavily armed, victorious veterans under our finest commanders. We will ensure that the League of Northwest Lords understands perfectly that the Black Dragon has not gone to sleep. He is merely digesting his meal. If they dare to do anything stupid... we will march west, and we will not offer them the mercy of a gilded cage."
The heavy, resonant silence that followed Lie Fan's chilling proclamation was broken only by the synchronized, metallic rustle of armor as the assembled generals and advisors dropped to one knee. They bowed their heads, their voices joining in a unified, echoing chorus that sealed the fate of the central plains.
"We hear and obey, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live Hengyuan!"
With the ultimate directive given, the terrifying, flawless machinery of the Hengyuan Empire shifted gears. The age of conquest in the central plains was officially over; the grueling, meticulous age of consolidation had begun.
By mid morning, the smoke over Chang'an had begun to thin, dispersed by a crisp western wind. Lie Fan formally relocated his command from the nobleman's estate in the outer city to the heart of the conquered empire, the Imperial Palace of Chang'An.
As Lie Fan ascended the sweeping marble steps of the Great Hall, now cleared of the horrific carnage from the night before, though the dark stains of blood still seeped deep into the ancient wood, he took his seat upon the ornate Dragon Throne. He rested his hands on the carved armrests, his sharp eyes scanning the vast, echoing chamber.
It was a structure practically vibrating with centuries of history, the very cradle of the Western Han. Yet, as Lie Fan sat upon the seat of absolute power, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk touched his lips.
It was undeniably ancient and culturally priceless, but in terms of sheer architectural scale, logistical functionality, and imperial grandeur, this palace was actually noticeably smaller and far less fortified than the breathtaking, monumental palace complex he had built from the ground up in his capital of Xiapi. Xiapi was the future, Chang'An was merely a glorious museum.
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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