Reborn In The Three Kingdoms - Chapter 774

Chapter 774: 740. Development In Taipei & Gungnae
For a moment, Lie Fan said nothing. Then he stood, and the council rose with him. “Prepare the edicts. Inform the scholars. Let the banners be woven and the proclamations written. When the time comes, the world will know that the Hengyuan Dynasty has risen, and with it, a new age.”

The advisors bowed deeply, their voices a unified murmur. “As you command, Your Imperial Majesty.”

The words hung in the air like a promise or a prophecy.

As the advisors filed out, their robes whispering against the polished floors, Lie Fan remained standing by the window, watching the moon climb higher in the night sky.

Soon.

Very soon.

The pieces were in motion. The Ma Clan was crumbling. The Suns would declare their allegiance. Sheng Xian stood ready. And now, the name of his reign had been chosen.

All that remained was the final move. Behind him, the door creaked open. Lu Lingqi stood there, Lu Liang asleep in her arms.

“You’re brooding again, husband,” she observed softly.

Lie Fan turned, the hardness in his gaze softening as it fell upon his wife and child. “I’m not brooding, Qi’er, just thinking.”

“Thinking about the future?” Lu Lingqi said so as she joined her husband, standing beside him.

“About the past,” he admitted. “And how different the world will be for him.” He reached out, brushing a finger against Lu Liang’s tiny hand.

Lu Lingqi smiled. “Then make it a world worth inheriting, not just for Lu Liang, but the other children as well.”

Lie Fan exhaled, pulling them both into his arms. “I intend to.”

Outside, the wind stirred the banners of Xiapi, their embroidered dragons seeming to ripple to life in the torchlight. The dragon was rising. And nothing would ever be the same.

The next day dawned with a golden haze over Xiapi, the capital basking in the quiet before the coming storm of activity. Inside the grand main hall of the Palace, the air was already abuzz with quiet urgency.

The ten Inner Council advisors, having received Lie Fan’s approval of the Hengyuan Dynasty and the reign title of Longxing under Emperor Hongyi, knew what came next, the preparations for their lord’s ascension.

Xun You, ever the meticulous strategist, convened the full assembly of Lie Fan’s advisors who were currently stationed in Xiapi.

They gathered in the main hall, where sunlight filtered in through the lattice windows, dancing across scrolls and maps unfurled on the central table. There was no delay. With a nod from Jia Xu, it was Zhuge Liang who stood first.

“Masters,” he began, his tone calm but edged with purpose, “our lord has made his decision. The Hengyuan Dynasty shall rise, and with it, the Longxing era under His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Hongyi.”

A murmur passed through the room. There were no objections, only a weighty silence as everyone understood what such a declaration meant. The Dragon had risen. Now, the world had to know it.

Mi Zhu, who until now had been scribbling notes on a bamboo scroll, groaned softly. His elegant robes rustled as he rubbed his temples.

“Just for the first Imperial banquet alone,” he muttered, mostly to himself, but loud enough that the others could hear, “will cost more than a small campaign. Roasted meats, rare wines, silks, musicians, entertainers, this will set the Imperial State Banquet level for our lord’s dynasty. Do we import delicacies from the land of Shu and Wu? Or settle for the best within Xu Province? No, no, His Majesty deserves nothing but the finest…”

Jia Xu smirked. “Worry not, Master Mi Zhu. You’ve worked miracles before. I’m sure you’ll find a way to squeeze blood from stone once more.”

Chen Gui, as the Governor of Xiapi, looked less amused.

“Security is my concern,” he interjected, tapping a finger against the table. “Xiapi must be locked down. We will be hosting nobles, envoys, dignitaries from across the land and even outside of the land if it comes to it. That many people, that much attention? It’s a feast for cutthroats and spies of our lord’s enemies.”

Zhang Liao, as the commanding general of Qilin Army and security of Xiapi, nodded as long as Qilin Army was stationed at Xiapi, nodded. “We will double the guards on the city walls. Patrols must be increased. We should screen every caravan and vessel entering the city three days prior and three days after.”

“Let’s also prepare reserves,” added Zhao Yun, his voice carrying authority. “If there’s even a whisper of unrest in the outer districts, we must have rapid response units ready.”

Sima Yi, arms folded as always, tilted his head. “I will begin a sweep for foreign agents. The announcement will send ripples across the remaining warlord’s court. Some will send gifts. Others might send blades.”

Zhuge Liang was already sketching a ritual layout with brush strokes. “And the ceremony itself… there must be a cultural and celestial balance. We need the most auspicious day within the next lunar cycle. A declaration such as this, under the wrong omen, could seed doubt.”

Xu Shu nodded. “I will confer with the astrologers. The Dragon must ascend beneath a heaven unclouded.”

Pang Tong, a wine goblet in hand despite the early hour, smirked. “Shall we also carve a secondary imperial seal for safekeeping? Perhaps commission a golden throne? Don’t look at me like that, it’s necessary. People must see him as the Emperor, not just hear it.”

Lu Su nodded sagely. “Symbolism is power. We’ll need to draft the proclamation. Every word will carry the weight of Heaven’s Mandate.”

And so it began. Like a wheel clicking into motion, the entire administrative machine of Xiapi sprang to life.

Messengers were dispatched on swift horses to surrounding towns and military outposts. Xun You himself penned the dispatch to the frontline generals, Generals Huang Zhong, Dian Wei, Taishi Ci, and Zhang Chao, all received the orders to prepare their troops and secure their regions.

This wasn’t a call to arms, not yet, but a show of unity, an assurance that the empire was solidified under one banner.

Meanwhile, the artisans of Xiapi were summoned. Weavers spun silk through golden looms to prepare the imperial banners. Master Artisans and Goldsmiths began creating the new crown.

Scholars in the Grand Library drafted oaths and odes to be read at the ceremony. The city square was to be renovated into a venue grand enough to outshine Luoyang’s own imperial plaza.

All of Xiapi pulsed with purpose.

Far to the southeast, across the sea foam of the Taiwan Strait, another heartbeat echoed. On the island now known as Taiwan, in the thriving settlement of Taipei, Yang Hong, as Taipei Governor, sat at the head of a council meeting.

Once a frontier post and experimental colony, Taipei had grown into a bustling provincial capital. Markets thrived with trade from the mainland. The harbor bustled with fishing boats and merchant vessels. Stone walls stood firm where once only wooden palisades had held.

Around the table sat Yan Jun, the stern administrator and Yang Hong’s advisors, Gan Ning, the flamboyant sea pirate turned Navy General under Lie Fan and become protector of the eastern coast, Li Feng, commander of the local defense force, and Ling Cao, overseeing the internal order and training local militias.

Also present were tribal leaders of the Tono people, fierce and proud inhabitants of the island. Lie Fan’s policy of integration rather than domination had paid dividends after their rebellion was quelled, the tribes had been finally won over by trade, security, and fair governance.

Yang Hong leaned forward.

“Taipei thrives,” he said plainly. “Which is good. But it cannot grow forever within these walls. The island must expand.”

One of the Tono chiefs, speaking in the local tongue and translated by an interpreter, nodded. “Our hunters have seen fertile plains east of here. Many rivers. Few spirits.”

Yan Jun added, “We propose the construction of three small towns. Strategic, self sustaining, and connected by roads.”

Gan Ning grinned. “And watchposts on the coasts. Pirates still sniff around these shores. They need to know we bite.”

Li Feng pointed to a map. “We have enough settlers. Farmers. Craftsmen. Some veterans are ready to retire to calmer lives. We can staff these towns.”

Yang Hong looked to the Tono. “Would your people guide us? We do not wish to trample the land of the Tono ancestors.”

The Tono leaders exchanged glances. Then, slowly, the chief nodded. “We will agree… on one condition.”

“Name it,” Yang Hong said.

“Our gods must have a place in these small towns, like in Taipei. Shrines, where our priests can speak to the spirits.”

A pause. Then Yan Jun smiled. “Done.”

A pact was sealed with wine and ink. Within a season, the foundations of new towns would be laid, Tangshan to the northeast, Fulin to the south, and Nantu near the river basin.

Taipei would become the heart of a blooming province, its own miniature empire mirroring the one growing on the mainland.

On the other hand, The winds of change had begun to stir in Goguryeo, and Gungnae, the proud capital of the ancient kingdom, felt the weight of that shift like the oppressive weight of a storm cloud on the horizon, one less of grand pronouncements and more of silent, creeping influence.

The establishment of the Lie Clan Supervision Bureau, with the astute Li Wei at its head, had sent ripples through the Goguryeo court, some expected, others far more insidious.

The departure of Sima Yi back to Xiapi had indeed created a vacuum, a test of Li Wei’s own mettle. Several Goguryeo officials, who had initially pledged allegiance to Lie Fan and the bureau, found their resolve wavering in the absence of Sima Yi’s formidable presence.

It was as if the anchor holding their newfound loyalties had been lifted, and they drifted back towards the familiar shores of their own court, their commitments to Lie Fan suddenly feeling distant and less compelling.

This hesitation had effectively jammed the gears of the nascent bureau, preventing it from operating at its intended capacity.

Li Wei, a man who had largely operated in the shadows under Sima Yi’s tutelage, now found himself thrust into the harsh glare of Goguryeo politics. The time for subtle observation was over, the moment for decisive action had arrived.

With the unwavering support of the Oriole agents, those silent specters who moved unseen through the corridors of power, and the core loyalists within the Lie Clan Supervision Bureau, Li Wei orchestrated a move that would forever be whispered about in the annals of Gungnae.

The day it happened would become known, in hushed tones and fearful glances, as “The Snake of Lie Swallows Gungnae.” It was a calculated, brutal strike, and utterly deniable purge inside Gungnae. Officials who had pledged their cooperation with the bureau but whose loyalty had since faltered vanished.

______________________________

Name: Lie Fan

Title: Overlord Of The Central Plains

Age: 34 (201 AD)

Level: 16

Next Level: 462,000

Renown: 1325

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)

SP: 1,121,700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 951 (+20)

VIT: 613 (+20)

AGI: 598 (+10)

INT: 617

CHR: 96

WIS: 519

WILL: 407

ATR Points: 0