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They needed to personally report their glorious, world altering victory to the Emperor himself. The grand fleet was assembled at the newly fortified docks of Osaka bay. The towering steamships belched black smoke, eager to return across the ocean strait. They did not return empty handed. Placed under the absolute, heavy protection of the best, most elite Hengyuan soldiers and the most heavily armored warships, they brought their greatest prizes.
Lady Himiko was escorted up the wooden gangplank of Admiral Zhou Yu's flagship. She was dressed in fine, muted mainland silks, no longer bound by coarse ropes, but bound far more tightly by the absolute reality of her defeat. She did not look back at the shores of her homeland.
Behind her marched dozens of the brilliant, terrified scholars and priests who truly understood the complex arts of alchemy under her tutelage. They were being brought to Xiapi to fuel the Emperor's insatiable industrial revolution.
As the massive fleet began its long, triumphant sail back to the mainland, Zhang Liao stood alone on the docks, watching the black smoke disappear over the horizon.
Zhang Liao dutifully stayed behind in Kyoto. He had been entrusted with the heaviest burden of all. He was tasked to ensure the absolute, long term stability of Wa, and to rigorously train a separate, permanent Hengyuan occupation army that would permanently stay behind to protect Hengyuan's endless economic, mining, and military interests on the islands.
As he walked back through the bustling, rising streets of Kyoto, his sharp, veteran eyes were already actively observing his officers. He watched how they handled logistics, how they disciplined the native laborers, and how they adapted to the island's climate. He was preparing to officially appoint a trusted, veteran general who would stay behind as the permanent Military General of Wa, a man who would build his life, his family, and his legacy here in the shadow of the Black Dragon.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles back across the sea, at the impossibly prosperous mainland capital of Xiapi, time had passed by peacefully.
The city was a sprawling, golden metropolis of commerce, culture, and unstoppable progress. The steam prototypes were advancing in the workshops, the hospitals were curing plagues, and the academies were producing the finest minds the world had ever seen.
Deep within the inner palace, Lie Fan was quietly sitting in his grand, sunlit study. He was comfortably doing his endless bureaucratic work, sipping warm jasmine tea, and genuinely enjoying the golden age of his empire. The conquest of Wa was a foregone conclusion in his mind; it was merely a matter of receiving the official confirmation.
However, this profound, hard won peace was suddenly shattered.
The heavy oak doors of his study were thrown open. An servant, which was actually an Oriole Agent, did not walk, he sprinted into the room, dropping to one knee with such force that his armor clattered loudly against the marble floor. In his outstretched hands, he held a blood red sealed bamboo scroll.
The red seal was rarely used. It meant there's an important emergency he need to know.
Lie Fan's peaceful demeanor instantly vanished. He set his teacup down, snatched the scroll, and cracked the heavy wax seal.
It was a highly classified intelligence report from the deep south, specifically from his sprawling, newly conquered domain in Southeast Asia, the dense, humid jungles of Jiaozhi and Funan, which served as the absolute western frontier of the Empire.
As Lie Fan read the frantic, jagged calligraphy, his eyes narrowed sharply.
The report detailed a sudden, massive explosion of violence. It spoke of repeated, brutal border fighting that had erupted seemingly out of nowhere. Massive, highly organized raids were penetrating deep into Hengyuan territory. The vital, incredibly lucrative southwestern trade routes had been entirely disrupted, merchant caravans slaughtered to a man. Border settlements were burned to the ground.
Most alarmingly, the report detailed that incredibly heavy military deployments by an unknown, heavily armored foreign power had recently caused serious, catastrophic economic losses, sheer insecurity, and violent instability throughout the entire western border. The local Hengyuan garrison commanders were pleading for immediate reinforcements, stating they were being overwhelmed by war elephants and heavy cataphracts.
Reading this horrifying intelligence, Lie Fan stood up from his desk, the scroll clutched tightly in his fist. He walked over to the massive, highly detailed world map that covered the entire western wall of his study.
His out of this world historical knowledge instantly kicked in. He traced his finger past the jungles of Southeast Asia, across the mountain ranges, and into the sprawling, massive expanse of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia.
He knew exactly who lay beyond those western jungles.
He knew that the massive, incredibly wealthy Indian subcontinent housed many terrifyingly powerful, ancient kingdoms and empires. But more importantly, his modern knowledge of history pinpointed the exact era he was living in. It was the early third century.
And in this era, the legendary Kushan Empire or called Guishuang during the history of this time, was at the absolute apex of its power. They were the undisputed military and economic superpower currently dominating the region, controlling the vital arteries of the Silk Road, fielding massive armies of heavily armored shock cavalry, and boasting a wealthy, culturally rich empire that rivaled Rome and Han China.
They were not fractured island tribes. They were not decaying warlords. They were a peer level, continental superpower.
Realizing the sheer, unprecedented scale of the enemy probing his borders, Lie Fan's peaceful aura was replaced by the terrifying, cold intensity of the Black Dragon. Looks like the age of peace in mainland was over.
He knew instantly that this sudden emergency border friction could not be ignored, negotiated, or simply delegated to his border generals. The Kushans were testing the fences, looking for weakness. If they found it, they would pour into his empire like a flood.
It forced him to make a huge world altering decision. He had to personally address the situation. He realized he must march to war again. He must crush this threat with the full, industrialized might of the Hengyuan Dynasty before it inevitably developed into a much larger, catastrophic regional continental war that could cause massive, irreversible instability across his entire southern hemisphere.
"Summon all of my inner circle advisors that are present immediately to meet me here," Lie Fan commanded, his voice echoing through the silent study with chilling authority. "Tell them there's an important information they need to be debriefed. The era of peace is suspended."
Lie Fan waited for a while until then the massive intricately carved ebony doors of the Imperial Study were thrown open, groaning under their own immense weight. The Yellow Ghost Bodyguards flanking the entrance snapped to rigid attention, their halberds striking the marble floor in a synchronized, deafening crack.
The absolute greatest political, economic, and military minds of the era, the inner council advisors who were currently present in the bustling capital of Xiapi, filed into the sprawling, sunlit office. They arrived with the rapid, purposeful strides of men who understood that the machinery of the Hengyuan Dynasty did not pause for breath.
First to enter was the venomous Jia Xu, followed by Xun You, Chen Qun, Mi Zhu, Chen Gong. Lu Su, Liu Ye, Zhuge Liang, and Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Fa Zheng, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, and Tian Feng.
As these fourteen titans of the Hengyuan Dynasty took their respective seats around the massive, intricately carved wooden map table that dominated the center of the study, the atmosphere in the room became suffocatingly heavy. There was no casual banter. There were no polite inquiries about families. Everyone instantly realized that an imperial summons of this unprecedented magnitude, requiring the presence of the entire inner circle simultaneously, meant the empire was facing a massive, existential crisis.
Once the last advisor was seated, the heavy doors were forcefully sealed by the Imperial Guards, plunging the room into a deep, intense privacy.
Lie Fan stood up from his raised dragon throne. He did not wear the elaborate, ceremonial robes of state, he wore a simple, dark silk tunic, his face set in a cold, unyielding expression that resembled carved granite.
He walked down the steps and personally presented the blood red sealed bamboo scroll, tossing it onto the center of the table with a heavy, hollow thud.
"The era of peace on the mainland is suspended," Lie Fan stated, his voice devoid of any warmth.
He then explicitly told them exactly what had happened in their newly conquered domains in Southeast Asia, the dense, humid jungles of Jiaozhi and Funan that served as their absolute western frontier. He detailed the burning of their border settlements, the utter disruption of the highly lucrative southern spice and jade trade routes, and the escalating, violent border raids that were heavily bleeding the western garrisons.
"We are not dealing with unorganized mountain bandits," Lie Fan firmly stated, pointing a finger directly at the sprawling map that stretched toward the massive expanse of the Indian subcontinent. "In my absolute estimation, it is time to immediately begin aggressively strengthening and militarizing our southwestern border."
He leaned over the table, his eyes locking with each of his advisors. "The deeply entrenched kingdoms, the chaotic chiefdoms, and the fierce jungle tribes of that region are an entirely different breed of warriors. They are a deeply ancient people who have been continuously trained in brutal, relentless war for centuries. They do not fight in open plains. They utilize terrifying war elephants that can shatter a shield wall in seconds, heavy chariot charges, and dense, suffocating jungle ambush tactics."
A highly intellectual, fiercely passionate scene instantly erupted as all fourteen brilliant advisors deeply analyzed the intelligence. Looking at their Emperor's blazing, ambitious eyes, they already implicitly knew the truth, their Emperor had essentially decided to go to war yet again. The Black Dragon's hunger was not sated by the eastern islands.
However, a massive, immediate ideological split violently fractured the council room.
Some of the more traditional, administratively focused advisors, namely Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Tian Feng, Lu Su, Mi Zhu, and Fa Zheng, felt a deep exhaustion. To them, the empire absolutely didn't need to do this anymore. They had conquered China, pacified the north, conquered the south, and were currently digesting the Wa archipelago.
Xun Yu, the noble statesman, stood up first, his voice echoing with passionate concern. "Your Majesty, the empire's logistics are already heavily strained! The massive, ongoing Wa archipelago campaign in the far east is consuming millions of pounds of grain and occupying hundreds of thousands of our best troops. We cannot fight the ocean and the jungle simultaneously!"
Mi Zhu frantically tapped his heavy golden abacus. "The staggering economic costs of opening a second massive, continent spanning front in the deep southern jungles will drain the treasury, Your Majesty! We are currently funding the steam prototypes and the new academies. We advocate for a diplomatic approach. Let us send wealthy envoys heavily laden with silk, gold, and porcelain to these southwestern kings. We can negotiate strict border treaties and pacify the raids through overwhelming economic bribery and soft power rather than shedding more Hengyuan blood!"
"Gold buys peace faster than iron!" Fa Zheng agreed ruthlessly, caring only for the most efficient outcome. "Let them choke on our wealth."
However, the other half of the table, those brilliant, battle hardened minds that had long served their Emperor through decades of relentless conquest, coldly dismissed this peaceful sentiment. Jia Xu, Xun You, Zhuge Liang, Chen Gong, Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Chen Qun, and Liu Ye knew their Emperor's insatiable, conquering heart far too well. They knew it was absolutely futile to suggest a weak diplomatic approach to a man who had conquered everything he touched.
Jia Xu let out a venomous, chilling chuckle that silenced Mi Zhu's abacus. "Master Mi Zhu, offering gold to raiding tribes only teaches them that raiding the Hengyuan Dynasty is highly profitable. They will take your silk today and burn your villages tomorrow."
Zhuge Liang elegantly waved his crane feather fan, his brilliant mind already analyzing the geopolitical shadows. "We are not dealing with independent tribes. We must look at the massive Guishuang Empire looming behind those borders. They are the puppet masters. If we send envoys with gold, Guishuang will only view our diplomacy as a pathetic sign of Hengyuan's military exhaustion from the eastern wars. They will smell blood."
"Therefore, we strike first!" Pang Tong slammed his hand on the table, his eyes burning with hawkish fury. "We demand a brutal, hardline military approach! Send a massive, overwhelming punitive expedition! We completely slaughter the raiding chiefdoms, burn their jungles to ash, and physically crush the western frontier into absolute, terrified submission! We must send a permanent, bloody message to the Indian subcontinent that the Hengyuan Dynasty is not to be trifled with!"
"If they send war elephants," Liu Ye growled, cracking his soot stained knuckles, "I will ensure the cannons and ballistas that can pin the beasts to the trees."
For hours, the grand study echoed with the brilliant, clashing arguments of the greatest minds in the world. The doves preached economic stability, the hawks screamed for preemptive slaughter.
Lie Fan silently sat on his throne, resting his chin on his fist. He patiently listened to them all, absorbing Xun Yu's flawless logic, Mi Zhu's economic warnings, and Pang Tong's bloodthirsty tactics. He let the debate reach a fever pitch before he finally raised a single, commanding hand.
The roaring debate instantly fell into a dead, reverent silence. The fourteen titans turned their eyes back to the throne.
"You are all correct," Lie Fan stated smoothly, standing up and walking back to the map. "Sending the main army to directly fight the massive Guishuang Empire across thousands of miles of hostile, disease ridden jungle would indeed be a logistical nightmare that would bankrupt the treasury, as Mi Zhi fears. However, showing weakness through bribery, as Jia Xu warns, will only invite a much more larger invasion in the near future."
Lie Fan placed his hands on the edge of the table, leaning forward, his eyes burning with a terrifying, out-of-the-box geopolitical genius that bridged the gap between diplomacy and total war.
"We will not negotiate. But we will also not march the Imperial Army all the way to the deepest part of that land," Lie Fan declared. "Instead, we will aggressively invade and take control of just one of the smaller, highly strategic kingdoms that directly borders our southwestern territory."
He tapped a specific, rugged valley on the map.
"Once conquered, we will not destroy it. We will not integrate it as a province. We will completely vassalize them, installing a fiercely loyal, ambitious puppet king from among their own people. And then..." Lie Fan smiled, a cold, manipulative expression that chilled the room. "...Hengyuan will secretly and heavily fund this puppet kingdom. We will pour endless steel weapons, limitless gold, and superior mainland military training into their ranks. We will actively help them forcefully expand, encouraging them to be so big, so violent, and so utterly ruthless that they single handedly create a massive, impenetrable buffer zone against the Guishuang Empire."
Lie Fan stepped back, letting the horrific brilliance of the plan settle over the room.
"We will fight a massive proxy war. We will bleed the Indian superpower using the lives of the native tribes, while the Hengyuan Dynasty reaps all the security and economic benefits from safely behind the curtain."
Hearing that unfathomably brilliant, deeply manipulative strategic suggestion, absolutely everyone in the grand study was completely stunned into a heavy, breathless silence. The advisors looked at each other, their minds rapidly calculating the geopolitical ramifications.
They were completely awestruck by the sheer genius and the terrifying, cold blooded efficiency of their Emperor's proxy-war doctrine. It was a masterpiece of statecraft. It perfectly answered the doves' fears of risking Hengyuan lives and draining the treasury, while perfectly satisfying the hawks' demands for absolute, violent military dominance over the region.
Recognizing the flawless perfection of the plan, the ideological fracture in the room instantly healed. All fourteen advisors simultaneously stood up, stepped away from their chairs, bowed deeply to the floor, and unanimously agreed with their Emperor's brilliant suggestion, praising his divine foresight.
"It is a strategy worthy of the heavens, Your Majesty," Zhuge Liang murmured, bowing deeply.
"Then let us forge the puppet," Lie Fan commanded, the energy in the room instantly shifting from debate to aggressive, massive mobilization.
Lie Fan immediately gave the absolute, uncompromising order for the grand southwestern military campaign to be prepared. Moving with lightning speed, he looked at his military rosters.
"I officially appoint the veteran tiger general Huang Zhong as the l commanding Marshall for this incredibly crucial campaign," Lie Fan declared. "His steady, flawless leadership, his unmatched mastery of archery, and his vital, decades long experience fighting in the entire land make him the perfect blade for this jungle war."
He turned to the tacticians. "To perfectly complement the old general's martial might, I appoint Xun You as the head strategist for the expedition. You are tasked with the complex geopolitical mission of identifying the target kingdom, organizing its swift downfall, and establishing the puppet king."
Xun You bowed deeply. "I will weave a web they cannot escape, Your Majesty."
Immediately, the massive preparations for the continent spanning campaign aggressively began across the capital and the southern provinces. Messengers sprinted from the palace, carrying imperial decrees that mobilized tens of thousands of veteran soldiers stationed in the south. Massive mountains of grain supplies were requisitioned from the fertile Yangtze river basin, and thousands of supply wagons were rapidly prepared for the grueling trek into the jungles.
But as the council was officially dismissed and the advisors began to file out to execute their monumental tasks, Lie Fan raised his hand.
"Zhuge Liang. Liu Ye. Remain."
The two men stopped and turned back, bowing as the heavy oak doors were sealed behind the departing council. Lie Fan walked over to them, his voice dropping to a low, highly classified whisper that carried the weight of a new era. "The puppet kingdom will require a demonstration of absolute, terrifying power to ensure their permanent loyalty," Lie Fan stated coldly. He looked directly into Zhuge Liang's eyes. "I am strictly commanding you to officially deploy the newly formed 'Qinglong Unit', the Azure Dragon."
______________________________
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