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There was a trace of respect, even relish, in his tone. The game was not over, the board had simply shrunk. Huang Zhong on the other hand cleared his throat. "While we did not catch the fox, we did bag a significant cub, Your Majesty."
Lie Fan's interest sharpened. "Oh?"
Zhang Liao gestured to a group of soldiers nearby. "Bring the prisoner forward."
The soldiers parted, and two more escorted a young man forward. His fine armor were bloodied and dust stained, and his hands were bound tightly behind his back with coarse rope.
But he held his head high, his jaw set, his eyes burning with a defiance that was achingly familiar. It was the face of Cao Cao, softened by youth but hardened by the same unyielding resolve.
Lie Fan let out a low whistle of genuine surprise. "Cao Ang," he said, stepping closer. "The Crown Prince of Wei. Now this is a big prize to capture. Good work the both of you."
Huang Zhong shook his grizzled head. "The credit is not ours, Your Majesty. It was Dian Wei and Ji Ling. They pursued the last contingent fleeing through the western gate. They reported seeing both Cao Ang and his brother, Cao Pi, attempting to escape. In the chaos, Cao Ang turned back, deliberately engaging our men to buy time for his younger brother to get away. He fought well, but…" Huang Zhong shrugged. "He is no match for Dian Wei's fury."
Lie Fan absorbed this. A sacrifice. The eldest son giving himself up to save the heir's favored sibling. It spoke of family loyalty, of strategic thinking even in disaster. "Reward Dian Wei and Ji Ling handsomely from the imperial treasury," he ordered. "They have grasped a thread of Cao Cao's very lineage."
He then turned his full attention to Cao Ang. The young prince met his gaze without flinching. There was fear there, deep down, Lie Fan could see it in the slight tremble of his bound hands, but it was masterfully controlled, buried beneath layers of dignity and inherited pride.
Lie Fan's smile was not cruel, but it was assessing, like a sculptor examining a fine piece of marble. "A tiger father indeed begets a tiger son," he mused aloud, his voice carrying in the sudden quiet of the secured square. "Sun Jian had his Sun Ce, a little lion who roared to become a firece lion under me. And Cao Cao has you. You have your father's eyes. The same stubborn fire."
Cao Ang remained silent, but his chin lifted a fraction higher. He would not give his captor the satisfaction of a response, nor would he betray the fear coiling in his gut.
Lie Fan circled him slowly. "You made a choice back there. A noble one, perhaps a foolish one. You traded your freedom for your brother's. Tell me, Crown Prince, do you think your father would have made the same choice?"
This time, Cao Ang couldn't help himself. "My father is the Emperor of Wei," he spat, his voice tight with emotion. "His duty is to the state of Wei. My duty was to my family. There is no comparison."
"Ah, duty," Lie Fan echoed, stopping in front of him again. "A heavy word. It will be your companion in the days to come."
His tone shifted, losing its teasing edge, becoming imperial and final. "You will be treated with the courtesy befitting your station. You will join your uncle Cao Hong, Cao Ren, and the others. You will have food, shelter, and no harm will come to you. But you are now a guest of the Hengyuan Empire. Your future, like the future of Wei itself, is now a subject for discussion."
He nodded to the guards. "Take him to the captives' compound. See that he is comfortable."
As Cao Ang was led away, his proud back straight even in defeat, Lie Fan looked up at the captured castle, then westward, toward the road to Tong Pass. Hongnong had fallen, not with a climactic melee, but with the thunder of cannons and the silent, strategic retreat of a rival he was coming to respect more with each passing year.
He had the city, he had Cao Cao's eldest son, his cousins, and his most fiercest warrior. But he also knew that cornered tigers were the most dangerous.
The war had entered its final, most delicate phase. The next move was Cao Cao's, from behind the legendary walls of Tong Pass. And Lie Fan would be waiting, with his cannons, his armies, and now, with his rival's own flesh and blood in his hand.
Meanwhile, the fall of Hongnong was not just a military victory, it was a sudden, violent transition of power that left the city's civilian population reeling in a state of collective shock.
For months, they had been the unseen, suffering third party in the duel between two emperors, their granaries emptied by Wei requisitions, their sleep shattered by the nightly thud of trebuchets, their streets echoing with the grim business of siege.
And then, in a single morning of apocalyptic thunder, the world had ended. The walls that had defined their existence, their prison and their protection, were now gaping ruins.
The banners of Wei were being torn down, and in their place rose the stark, unfamiliar sigils of the Hengyuan Dynasty. Fear was a living thing in the city, thicker than the dust and smoke.
Lie Fan understood this. Conquest was not complete with the taking of walls, it was sealed with the taking of hearts, or at least, the quieting of terrified minds. He stood on a hastily erected platform in the main square, not as the armored God of War, but as a ruler in simpler, though still authoritative, robes.
Around him, are the generals that accompany him before, the twin brothers Chao Bo and Chao Bai, alongside Huang Chao, and there's also the two generals who after the battle summoned by him to protect him, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, where the five of them formed a protective cordon. Their presence was a statemen, order had come, and it was formidable.
Lie Fan spoke to the gathered, anxious crowds in a voice that was firm but not threatening. He promised safety. He promised an end to the fighting within the city walls.
He assured them that no soldier under his command would harm a citizen or loot a home. His words were clear, practical, trying to cut through the fog of their trauma. But the memory of the cannons, the sound that had shaken the very bones of the earth, was a hard ghost to dispel with words alone.
It was at this moment that a new procession entered the square from the main eastern road. It was not another wave of battle hardened infantry, but something altogether different.
Led by Crown Prince Muchen on a sturdy pony, flanked by the ever watchful Zhao Yun and Ma Chao, followed by a retinue of elite soldiers and the scholarly figures of Lu Zhi and Zhuge Jin, the group was trailed by several heavy, canvas covered wagons.
Behind them, on horseback, came the brain trust of the campaign, Sima Yi, Chen Deng, Zang Hong, Xu Shu, and Pang Tong, their expressions observant and approving.
The sight gave the people pause. Here was no conquering horde, but what looked almost like a civilian relief column, led by a boy.
As the entourage halted, Muchen dismounted with a grace that was still learning, Zhao Yun and Ma Chao mirroring his movements a half breath behind, their eyes scanning the rooftops, the crowd, every window.
The young prince took a deep, visible breath, squaring his shoulders beneath his simple armor. The people, curious and still fearful, parted silently before him as he walked toward the platform where his father stood.
The presence of the two legendary generals at his back and the company of stern, disciplined soldiers spoke of his importance, but his youth and his clear, unpracticed nervousness made him seem strangely approachable.
Reaching the platform, Muchen bowed deeply to his father. "Imperial Father."
Lie Fan's stern expression softened into something warmer. "Rise, my son. You bring more than yourself, I see."
Muchen straightened, his voice gaining strength as he spoke his rehearsed piece. "With your permission, Imperial Father. I… we… have brought the excess grain and medical supplies from the army's stores. The people of Hongnong have endured a long siege. Their own supplies must be exhausted. I thought… we could distribute this. To help them. And to show them that the Emperor's peace means full bellies and safety, not just the absence of war."
He finished, his cheeks slightly flushed, awaiting judgment. It was a child's idea of goodness, but one filtered through the stark lessons of the past weeks, lessons about cost, about morale, about the human element behind the maps.
Lie Fan looked at his son, then at the expectant, gaunt faces in the crowd. A genuine, proud smile spread across his face. He placed a hand on Muchen's shoulder, the gesture heavy with meaning.
"You have grown up today, Muchen. Not just in years, but in understanding. This is the right thing. Not just kind, but wise. A ruler who only takes is a bandit. A true emperor builds, and he builds first on the foundation of his people's welfare."
He gave the shoulder a firm, encouraging squeeze. Then, he turned to the crowd, his voice projecting with easy authority. "People of Hongnong! You see before you not only your new emperor, but the future! My son, Crown Prince Muchen! He has seen your hardship, and he has acted. He has a message for you."
He stepped back slightly, ceding the center of the platform. The full weight of hundreds of hopeful, desperate, and wary eyes settled on the eleven-year-old prince.
Muchen froze for a heartbeat. The theoretical idea in the command tent was now a terrifying reality. He looked up at his father, who gave him a small, almost imperceptible nod. You are ready.
Swallowing hard, Muchen stepped forward. The square was utterly silent. He could hear the ragged breathing of the old man in the front, see the hollow look in a young mother's eyes as she clutched a silent infant.
He took another deep breath, and when he spoke, his voice was higher than his father's, clearer, and it carried with a surprising steadiness.
"People of Hongnong!" he began, his words careful but growing more confident. "I am Lie Muchen, son of Emperor Hongyi and Crown Prince of Hengyuan. I have come today, with the permission of my Imperial Father, to bring you aid. The long siege is over. The fear is over."
He gestured toward the wagons. "In these carts are grain, salt, medicinal herbs, all kind of supplies from our own army. They are not spoils. They are a gift. A gift because you have suffered. Because you are not our enemies, you are people who need to eat, to heal, to live without the sound of war drums."
He paused, letting the simple, powerful statement hang in the air. He saw faces begin to change, not cheering yet, but the blank terror was receding, replaced by a dawning, cautious hope.
"My Imperial Father has promised you safety. I promise you care. Hongnong will not be a broken city. It will be a safe city. A prosperous city, just like Xiapi, just like Xuchang, and all cities under the rule of the Hengyuan Dynasty and the protection of Emperor Hongyi! The war is moving away from your homes. Now, let peace begin with a full stomach and a safe roof!"
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty
Age: 35 (202 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 2325
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 966 (+20)
VIT: 623 (+20)
AGI: 623 (+10)
INT: 667
CHR: 98
WIS: 549
WILL: 432
ATR Points: 0