Reborn In The Three Kingdoms

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”And his mother’s stubbornness, I can already tell,” Wannian replied with a tired laugh, the sound full of love. For a timeless moment, the politics of Xiapi, the ambitions of men, and the distant rumble of war faded into irrelevance. In this quiet room, there was only the profound, universal truth of a mother and her child.

Back in the grand hall, the atmosphere was decidedly more masculine and politically charged. Lie Fan remained at the high table, a cup of warm wine in hand. Sima Yi, as host, circulated among the guests but kept a watchful eye on his Emperor and brother in law.

He turned from the high table and descended among the guests, a movement that drew murmurs like ripples spreading across a pond. Cups were lifted, backs bent, voices chorused blessings.

He answered them all with a nod here, a smile there, his presence a living benediction. Yet beneath the surface of courtesy, the game began.

Seeing Lie Fan momentarily alone, a line of lower ranking officials saw their chance, the opportunity of a lifetime to directly address the Son of Heaven.

They approached with a mixture of awe and ambition, bowing so low their foreheads nearly touched the polished floor. ”Your Majesty! To be in your glorious presence is the highest honor of our meager lives!”

Lie Fan, ever the pragmatist but also a man who believed in hearing voices from all levels, gestured for them to rise. ”Speak freely. Tonight is a night of celebration. Let us share in the joy.”

Emboldened, the officials began. At first, it was the usual platitudes, praise for the dynasty, congratulations for the Sima clan, and wishes for the infant’s health. But soon, as the wine loosened their tongues and ambition overrode their sense, their true purpose emerged.

A portly official from a minor noble family was the first to overstep. ”Your Majesty, the prosperity you have brought us is unparalleled! Though, if I may be so bold, the tax exemptions for the northern prefectures seem to favor the common rabble a bit too much. Perhaps a reconsideration, to ensure the stability provided by our great families could be properly... rewarded?”

Lie Fan’s smile remained fixed, but the warmth in his eyes cooled by a degree. ”The stability of the realm is built on the backs of the common rabble, as you call them. Their prosperity is the dynasty’s prosperity, they are the economic lifeline of our dynasty.” His tone was final, leaving no room for debate.

Undeterred, a thin, scholarly man with a perpetually righteous expression stepped forward. ”Your Majesty, the moral character of the empire is paramount! I have drafted seventeen edicts on public virtue and the suppression of decadent arts. The music in the streets, the themes of popular plays... they must be purified to reflect only the most austere and classical values! The people must be guided, for they know not what is good for them!”

Lie Fan took a slow sip of his wine, his patience thinning. ”A man who works the field from dawn till dusk deserves a song that lightens his heart, not a sermon that adds to his burden mentally. We rule people, not philosophical constructs. We should alleviate the people’s suffering, not add more.”

Then came the final, most audacious approach. A sleek, well dressed man from a merchant clan that had recently purchased a minor official title bowed with a flourish.

”Your Majesty, your strength is the empire’s strength! And strength must be... nurtured. My family wishes to offer a token of our devotion. My youngest daughter, just sixteen, is celebrated for her beauty and her skill on the qin. She would be most honored to reside within the palace, to bring you comfort and... distraction if you understand what I mean, Your Majesty.”

The air around Lie Fan seemed to freeze solid. The gentle clatter of dishes and the hum of conversation nearby faltered. He set his cup down on a nearby table with a quiet, precise click that sounded like a thunderclap in the sudden silence.

His face, usually so expressive with calculated charm, became an impassive mask of jade. For an instant, the hall seemed to dim, the music faltering at the edge of hearing. Then the emperor smiled, not with warmth, but with the chill brilliance of a drawn blade.

”Enough,” he said, his voice quiet yet carrying like the toll of a distant bell.

He did not look at the official again. He simply turned his gaze away, staring into the middle distance, his message abundantly clear. ’You are beneath my notice. You are dismissed.’

The would be benefactor paled, realizing his catastrophic miscalculation, bowing so low his forehead grazed the floor, and scrambled backward into the crowd, vanishing from sight. Around them, a hush rippled, swift and sharp. Lie Fan turned without another word and strode back to the high table, his robe whispering like storm tossed silk.

Sima Yi had seen the entire uncomfortable exchange unfold. With the seamless efficiency that made him indispensable, he glided through the throng of guests, a few quiet words here and a gesture there dispersing the lingering cluster of lower officials, gently herding them back to their respective tables with reminders of the fine wine and performances they were missing.

He then approached Lie Fan, bowing slightly. ”Your Majesty, please accept my most profound apologies. The excitement of the evening has clearly overtaken the senses of some of our guests. Their... enthusiasm... led them to forget their place. I am deeply sorry their rudeness touched your evening. I was... compelled to invite them. For harmony’s sake.”

Lie Fan finally turned his head, the coldness in his eyes thawing as he looked at his brother in law, but tension still remained on his face. He waved a dismissive hand.

”Rise, Zhongda. It is not your fault. I understand the necessity of their presence here. A ruler must sometimes dine with fools to maintain the illusion of harmony. Were it my choice, they would not darken these doors. And if they did, I would strip them of rank before the ink dried on their petitions.”

He let out a short, frustrated breath. ”But by the heavens, it tests a man’s patience. To think my bureaucracy is still infested with such minds, nobles who see the people as cattle to be milked, scholars who wish to rule a graveyard of ’virtue,’ and merchants who think the imperial harem is a market for their wares.”

He shook his head, his gaze growing distant and analytical. ”The system is flawed. Talent recruited locally, with social status as the primary key... it funnels these kinds of men into power. It gifts positions to the well born, the well connected, and the well funded, not necessarily the well qualified. It keeps power in the hands of the same families, the same cliques. It must change.”

He looked directly at Sima Yi, his voice dropping, though it remained sharp with intent. ”What is your view on this, Zhongda?”

Sima Yi did not hesitate. His mind, ever a labyrinth of political calculation, saw the immense strategic value in the Emperor’s frustration immediately. ”Your Majesty,” he said, his voice low and earnest, ”it is not merely a great idea, it is a necessary one. To reform the recruitment of officials is to reform the very spine of our dynasty.”

”A bureaucracy selected on merit, through a unified imperial examination system open to men of all backgrounds who have passed through the educational reforms you have started... it would be infinitely more efficient. It would break the back of the regional gentry’s influence and draw the best talents directly to the throne, indebted to you and your vision, not to their local patrons.”

A faint, approving smile touched Lie Fan’s lips. Sima Yi’s thoughts mirrored his own exactly. ”It would centralize power, yes. It would make the imperial court the sole source of legitimacy and advancement.”

”Precisely, Your Majesty,” Sima Yi affirmed, a glint of shared ambition in his own eyes. ”The scholars from your new education policies... they learn your philosophy and your history. Their loyalty would be to the state you built, not to the clan they came from. The old nobles will squawk, of course. They will see it as an attack on their ancient privileges. Not that they matter much, after their failed attempt at a coup that hadn’t even started yet.”

”Let them squawk,” Lie Fan said, his voice now hard as iron. He picked up a wine cup and poured some wine, before swirling the liquid thoughtfully. ”The world is changing. I did not build this dynasty to be held hostage by the outdated privileges of a few families. A new age requires a new foundation. And that foundation will be built on merit.”

Then he drank the cup of wine before placing it down at the table, and his lips curved, not in mirth, but in resolve. ”Then so it shall be. When this night of joy has passed, we will speak of measures and decrees. Let the fools cling to their vanities, we shall build a state that endures.”

Sima Yi inclined his head. ”As Your Majesty commands.”

For a moment, they sat in silence, the roar of revelry swirling around them like a distant storm. Between them, no more words were needed.

The banquet rolled on like a great river of gold and laughter, yet for Lie Fan, the currents had changed. Since that incident, the warmth had left him, not for his friends, not for his kin, but for the hall itself.

His mind was elsewhere, thoughts curling like smoke through chambers of strategy and reform even as the hall glowed with lantern light and the music sang like silk in the wind.

None of the minor officials dared approach him again. Not a single lowborn scholar or pompous merchant so much as lifted their eyes when his shadow passed. Fear had settled on them like frost after winter rain.

The story of their colleagues’ folly, their audacity in souring the Son of Heaven’s mood on this night of joy, spread with lightning swiftness. Cups stilled midair, whispers carried, and a silent pact bound their tongues.

Only those who belonged to the Emperor’s inner circle now gathered near, men whose names, in time, would weigh like mountains in the chronicles of history. Sima Yi, the tireless host, his sharp mind never still. Jia Xu, coiled wisdom behind a placid smile, like a serpent warming under sunlight. Xun You, serene as an ancient temple bell, yet deadly in counsel.

Chen Qun, with his ordered thoughts and passion for governance. Zhuge Liang, whose feather fan traced patterns in the air like a painter’s brush, his gaze fathomless. Chen Gong, severe and uncompromising, a blade sheathed in law. Mi Zhu, genial and sharp eyed, forever weighing silver against policy. Liu Ye, Lu Su, and others, architects of dynasty, the men who had stood at Lie Fan’s side when Hengyuan was only a dream.

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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