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The street, usually a busy thoroughfare, had been cleared and was now a river of polished steel and vibrant silk. Row upon row of Hengyuan's elite Imperial Guards stood at attention, their armor gleaming dully in the morning sun, their banners, a stark black dragon on a field of gold, snapping in the breeze.
Interspersed were the veterans of the Imperial elite guard and the Ma clan's own honor guard, creating a tapestry of military power, alongside Hengyuans elite soldiers. A long line of ornate carriages, including the specially cushioned one for the pregnant Ma Yunlu, waited patiently.
The common people of Yuzhang who heard the news of their Emperor imminent departure gathered at a respectful distance, whispering in awe as they watched the heart of power move before them.
At the center of all of this stood Lie Fan.
Beside him were Ma Chao and Sun Shangxiang, newly wed, standing close, their hands occasionally brushing as if to reassure one another that this, too, was real.
Ma Chao looked every inch the imperial general, posture straight, presence commanding. Sun Shangxiang's expression was calm but bright, her eyes scanning the procession with a mixture of pride and curiosity.
Sun Jian stood opposite Lie Fan, broad shouldered and dignified, even though he already lose one leg and replaced it with a wooden leg. Sun Ce hovered nearby, restless energy barely contained.
"It will be too long before we share a jar of wine again, Your Majesty," Sun Jian said, his voice gruff with emotion he couldn't fully hide. He clasped Lie Fan's forearm in the warrior's grip.
Lie Fan returned the grip firmly. "The distance is only geography, Brother Wentai. The realm is vast. Responsibilities rarely allow leisure."
Sun Jian smiled faintly. "Still… the Sun Clan and the entire Yuzhang will remember this visit."
Lie Fan glanced toward the horizon. The distance is only geography, Wentai. And who knows?" A mischievous glint entered his eye. "My scholars and engineers are deeply invested in certain… researches. If their efforts bear fruit, the time between Xiapi and Yuzhang could be cut to a fraction of what it is now. Travel may not always be such an arduous undertaking."
Sun Jian's eyes widened with curiosity. "Research? What manner of marvel are you brewing in the capital, Your Majesty?"
Lie Fan simply chuckled, the sound warm and secretive. "If it succeeds, you will be among the first to know, Brother Wentai. For now, let it remain a promise on the horizon."
On the side, Sun Ce had pulled his sister into a one-armed hug, his usual boisterousness tempered by the moment. "Listen to your husband now, little sister," he said, his voice a low rumble.
"The capital is not the training grounds of Yuzhang. But remember," he added with a proud smirk, "you have the Emperor himself and one of the empire's top generals watching your back. If anyone in Xiapi gives you trouble, you have permission, from me, to remind them who your family is."
Sun Shangxiang, resplendent in traveling clothes that still carried a hint of bridal elegance, rolled her eyes but smiled. "I can take care of myself, brother. But I will… consider his advice," she said, glancing at Ma Chao, who stood proudly beside her, his hand resting lightly on the small of her back.
At this time, Wannian while holding Sima Shi and Muchen emerged then, their own attendants surrounding them. The crown prince looked composed beyond his years, eyes bright with anticipation. Wannian carried herself with quiet grace, already accustomed to the weight of empire.
Lie Fan turned to them. "Ready to head back?"
Muchen nodded firmly. "Yes, Imperial Father."
Wannian smiled softly. "Xiapi awaits, Imperial Brother."
And so the final goodbyes were said. Wannian the get onto her carriage and settled in with the sleeping Sima Shi alongside her attendants.
Muchen meanwhile gets on a horse that stood beside his father's mount, his young face a mask of princely solemnity. Zhao Yun was carefully helping a serene Ma Yunlu into their specially prepared coach, his every movement an embodiment of protective care. Ma Chao was helping Sun Shangxiang gets into her carriage, before then he gets on his horse and stood on the other side of Lie Fan's horse.
With a final wave to the Sun family and the assembled well wishers of Yuzhang who lined the streets, Lie Fan mounted his dark stallion. He raised a hand. The signal passed down the line.
A deep horn blast echoed through the city, followed by the synchronized shout of a thousand guards. The immense procession shuddered into motion, a dragon of men, steel, and ambition beginning its long journey home.
As they passed through the gates of Yuzhang, leaving the vibrant south behind, Lie Fan looked north and west, towards Xiapi and beyond, towards the future he was shaping one calculated move at a time. Yi Province was his. The final conquest awaited. And the horizon of his empire stretched further than any before him had dared to dream.
The gates of Yuzhang closed behind them with a low, resonant groan, the sound rolling outward like the final note of a song.
Beyond those gates stretched the long road north.
The procession moved slowly, deliberately, like a great living organism that needed time to breathe and stretch its limbs.
The road north from Yuzhang was wide and well maintained, yet even so, the sheer size of the caravan forced a measured pace.
Thousands of boots marched in disciplined rhythm. Wheels creaked under the weight of supplies, gifts, documents, and the accumulated gravity of an empire in motion. Banners rippled endlessly, black dragons coiling against gold, visible from hillsides and villages long before the procession itself arrived.
This journey was nothing like the swift advance that had carried Lie Fan and Ma Chao southward weeks earlier.
Then, they had ridden with urgency, cutting through distance like a blade. Now, they moved with inevitability. This was not a visit. This was a return, heavy with consequence.
At the front rode Lie Fan.
His dark stallion moved at an even pace, head high, seemingly aware of its role at the head of history. On his right rode Ma Chao, steady and watchful. On his left was Muchen.
The crown prince's mount was smaller, chosen carefully, but the boy sat tall in the saddle. His back was straight, his hands steady on the reins. There was no childish fidgeting, no wandering gaze. He watched the road ahead, the soldiers to either side, the villages they passed through, absorbing everything with quiet intensity.
Lie Fan glanced sideways at his son.
"Tired?" he asked casually.
Muchen shook his head immediately. "No, Imperial Father."
Lie Fan smiled faintly. "Good. Then tell me, if you were governing a border commandery like this, what would you prioritize first?"
Muchen thought carefully. He had learned not to answer too quickly. "Security," he said after a moment. "Not just soldiers, but loyalty. Without loyalty, soldiers become bandits."
"Good," Lie Fan said. "And how do you earn that loyalty?"
"By protecting the people," Muchen replied. "And… by being fair."
Lie Fan nodded. "Fairness is remembered longer than punishment. Fear keeps order for a season. Trust keeps it for generations. Then I ask another question , Muchen. If you were defending a pass such as this one we are passing, how would you station your men?"
Muchen's eyes flicked to the terrain immediately. He studied the slope, the brush, the way the road curved just enough to obscure vision beyond twenty paces.
"I would place archers on the high ground," he said after a moment. "Hidden among the trees. Infantry here, where the road narrows. Cavalry kept back, to pursue once the enemy breaks."
Ma Chao nodded approvingly.
Lie Fan smiled faintly. "That is the orthodox answer. And not a wrong one."
Muchen frowned slightly. "But…?"
"But an enemy expecting orthodoxy prepares for it," Lie Fan continued. "What if instead you made this pass look abandoned? Scattered debris. Broken carts. Signs of retreat."
Muchen's eyes widened.
"Let them grow careless," Lie Fan said. "Then strike from behind. Or better yet, don't strike at all. Collapse the road. Deny them passage. Victory does not always require blood."
The boy's gaze lingered on the ground beneath their horses. "Win without fighting."
"Exactly," Lie Fan said. "That lesson applies beyond warfare."
Over the following days, those lessons continued.
As they rode, Lie Fan spoke, not in lectures, but in stories.
He spoke of battles he had never fought but understood deeply. Of political traps avoided not by strength, but by patience. Of treaties that mattered less for their words than for the moment they were signed.
He explained why sometimes a ruler must appear weak to survive, and why appearing strong too often invited coalitions of enemies.
He spoke, carefully and selectively, from knowledge no one else possessed.
From another lifetime.
Muchen listened, eyes shining.
He had studied under masters whose names commanded respect across the realm, Jia Xu with his ruthless clarity, Lu Zhi with his moral discipline, Xun You with his layered strategies. And many more masters with great accolades. Each had shaped him and sharpened him.
But his father was different.
He spoke as if standing on a hill none of them could see. And Muchen understood why his tutors spoke of Lie Fan with such reverence. If this man had not been destined to be emperor, he would have been a legend regardless.
Because his father did not merely explain what had been done.
He explained what would be done, by men yet unborn, by states that had not yet risen, by systems that did not exist in this age. He spoke of patterns, of inevitabilities, of mistakes that repeated themselves because human nature rarely changed.
"Power," Lie Fan said one evening as the campfires burned low, "is not held by force alone. It is held by timing."
Muchen nodded slowly. "Like Yi Province."
Lie Fan chuckled softly. "Exactly like Yi Province."
The boy hesitated, then asked, "Imperial Father… did Heaven truly abandon the Han?"
Lie Fan looked up at the stars.
"Heaven," he said gently, "is often just the name people give to outcomes they don't understand. But a ruler who loses the people will always claim Heaven betrayed him. A ruler who gains the people rarely mentions Heaven at all."
Muchen absorbed that in silence.
Lie Fan saw the admiration in his son's eyes, unfiltered, sincere, almost reverent. It struck him unexpectedly, every time. The boy did not merely respect him. He believed in him.
And that belief stirred something dangerously tender in Lie Fan's chest.
More than crowns. More than territory. This mattered. It made him miss his other children fiercely. Their voices. Their laughter echoing through Xiapi's halls. The weight of little hands clinging to his robes. The nightly chaos of a palace that was not merely a seat of power, but a home. The journey stretched on.
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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