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Jia Xu stepped forward and unrolled the yellow scroll. "People of the Central Plains, subjects of the realm," he proclaimed, voice clear and powerful, "Heaven's gaze has turned, and with it, the age has shifted, hear now the voice of Heaven as spoken through its chosen!"
Lie Fan spoke, his voice powerful yet calm, honed by years of command.
"I am Lie Fan, son of the Lie Clan of Huai'An. I have served the Han since young, fought for the people, brought peace to war torn lands, and rebuilt cities from ash. In a fire, I was tempered. In duty, I was forged.
I sought only to protect what was mine. My home. My people. My family. But the path of righteousness is not walked alone. It is carved by the hands of many, by the scholars who counseled me, by the soldiers who bled for me, by the farmers who fed my armies, by the mothers who prayed for their sons' safe return.
Today, the Will of Heaven and Mandate of The People falls not to the one who seeks it, but to the one to whom it clings. The Han, while venerable and glorious in its youth, has waned. It is light now flickers. And so, I do not usurp it. I succeed it.
With Heaven as my witness, the Earth as my seal, the ancestors as my guide, and the people as my witness, I proclaim the birth of a new age. From this day, let the Hengyuan Dynasty rise and start the Longxing Era.
Let its rule be just. Let its blade be swift only in defense. Let its heart beat for the people. Let it shine to the end of the times with prosperity and peace!"
He turned slightly, lifting the Imperial Seal and his royal scepter high.
"This is the will of Heaven! This is the burden I accept!"
Jia Xu who stands at the side continues to read the scroll in his hand. His voice carried across the square like a clarion call.
"By the will of Heaven! By the mandate of the people! By the strength of his blade and the wisdom of his rule! Let it be known that on this day, Lie Fan, son of Lie Shang, protector of the people, the scourge of tyrants, and bringer of peace, ascends as Emperor Hongyi, founding sovereign of the Hengyuan Dynasty!"
A hush followed. And then, a roar erupted from the crowd.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
"Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years!"
The cry surged through the crowd like a wave, swelling and echoing.
The drums thundered. The bells of the palace rang. Fireworks soared skyward, golden and red against the bright blue sky. The people wept, clapped, knelt, and sang.
Behind him, Ying Yue appeared, dressed in the Empress' robe, a mirror of his own, adorned with phoenixes and silver thread. She stepped to his side, head held high.
And beside her, the consorts, Diao Chan, Cai Wenji, Lu Lingqi, and Zhen Ji, each dressed in ceremonial robes. Each bearing the quiet pride of history's daughters.
Together, they watched the world bow.
After that, a great feast would be held. Oaths would be taken. Maps redrawn. But for now, in this moment, the land breathed its first new breath, as it had a new Emperor. The reign of the Hengyuan Dynasty had begun.
As the ceremony concluded and the feasting began, the reality of what had transpired settled upon the land like a new season.
The wind carried the scent of incense and blossoms through the capital of Hengyian Dynasty, Xiapi. The tremble of the aftershock on what had just occurred. Lie Fan's proclamation had echoed not only across the rooftops and cobblestone streets of the city, but also into every corner of his domain.
For those who had lived under his rule, who had tilled his fields and sold their wares in markets patrolled by his guards, the moment was one of validation.
Their loyalty, long given, now seemed sanctified by Heaven itself. And so the drums of celebration beat long into the night, echoing like thunder beneath a stormless sky.
Children ran through the streets with paper banners hastily inked with the new name of the Hengyuan Dynasty. Artisans carved the first official seals of the new era. Temple bells rang not out of religious necessity but because joy demanded it.
Soldiers who had once worn the insignia of the Lie Clan now stood prouder, knowing they now served an Emperor. The common people under his domain embraced this new order not with reluctance or confusion, but with something closer to relief.
In their hearts, it had already been true, Lie Fan had long been the one who protected them, the one whose rule brought not only order, but prosperity. Now the heavens had merely confirmed what they had already believed.
In the academies not under Lie Fan's control inside his domain, venerable scholars who had once memorized the rites of the Han sat in stunned silence. Their disciples whispered in the corridors, A new dynasty? So suddenly?
And the old men, those who still dreamed of a revival of Han virtue, turned their eyes toward the west and wondered whether Heaven had indeed shifted its favor.
Merchants, ever pragmatic, quickly adjusted. News traveled fast along trade routes, and before the week was out, caravans departing from the north were already requesting permission to use the Hengyuan name on their seals and bills of trade. Business, after all, cared little for dynasties, it followed order, stability, and prosperity, all of which Lie Fan had delivered.
The noble families within Lie Fan's territory responded with mixed emotions. Those who had long been under his banner had seen the signs, how his name had become a beacon, how emissaries came and left with increasing frequency, how his armies drilled with relentless discipline even in peacetime. They had expected a declaration, but not so soon.
Still, who among them would dare speak against him now?
The Imperial Seal, long lost, whispered of in rumors, was now in his possession, raised high in front of tens of thousands. That alone silenced dissent. It was not just a symbol, it was legitimacy in its purest form.
Any noble who might have once murmured objections now lowered their heads and offered allegiance. The risk of opposition was not worth the ruin it would bring. So, with wine cups raised and kneeling oaths taken, they pledged themselves anew, not to the Han, but to the Hengyuan.
But outside his borders, the shock was seismic.
In the court of Luoyang, where the Han still clung to the shadow of its former glory, the news struck like a lightning bolt. When the first messenger rushed into the palace with the urgent dispatch, the words nearly froze in his throat.
Emperor Xian, pale and thin, received the scroll with trembling hands, only to pass it immediately to the eunuchs nearby. He did not speak. He could not.
Cao Cao, the real master of Luoyang, did.
The moment the words "proclaimed himself Emperor" were read aloud, the silence that followed was chilling. Then came the sound, violent, explosive. Cao Cao, in a rare display of unbridled fury, swept the scrolls from his desk, sending maps, reports, and documents fluttering like dying birds. His inkstone shattered against the wall, leaving a black smear down the pale plaster. A vase toppled. Chairs overturned.
The attendants fled.
"He played me like a fool!" Cao Cao snarled, voice raw with rage. "A month of shadows and silence, and I thought he was preparing for war, but he was preparing a throne!"
Pacing like a caged tiger, he lashed out again, toppling another table before standing amidst the mess, his chest heaving. His usually sharp eyes were clouded with a storm of fury and disbelief.
It was then that a guard at the door announced the arrival of his senior advisors.
"Let them in," Cao Cao barked, not even bothering to right his robes.
Xun Yu, calm as ever, entered first, followed by Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Cheng Yu, Jia Kui, Tian Feng, and Xu You. The scene that greeted them was one of chaos, overturned furniture, ink stains, and their lord standing amid the wreckage like a fallen god.
Tian Feng and Xu You blinked, visibly surprised, but none commented. This was not the time.
Xun Yu bowed slightly. "My lord, we understand your fury. This news is no small matter. But your anger will not rewrite what has been done and will only could your judgement."
Cao Cao exhaled heavily, forcing his breath to steady. "Yes. You are right. I apologize that you had to see me like this. But we must act. We must decide. Tell me, what should we do?"
He looked at them all, his most trusted minds, gathered now in crisis. "We cannot summon the other lords under the banner of the Han. That illusion is broken. The Emperor is no longer a rallying point, he is a shadow that commands no weight. No one will come."
"Liu Zhang?" Cao Cao spat. "He will retreat inside his Yi Province like a turtle into its shell."
"Sun Ce?" His eyes narrowed. "He is Lie Fan's ally. He will not raise a blade. He will spat at it."
Silence filled the room.
Until Guo Jia stepped forward, his expression unreadable.
"My lord," he began softly, "I have a suggestion."
Cao Cao tilted his head, a flicker of curiosity piercing through his wrath. "Speak, Fengxiao."
Guo Jia hesitated. The pause made everyone tense.
"It is not a strategy free of danger. Nor is it one that aligns with tradition. But it is a path, one that matches Lie Fan's boldness, blow for blow."
The room leaned in.
Guo Jia raised his eyes. "We must force Emperor Xian to abdicate. And you, my lord… must proclaim yourself Emperor."
Gasps rippled through the gathered advisors. Even Cao Cao froze.
"Establish a new dynasty," Guo Jia continued. "Answer fire with fire. Let the people choose between two Suns. If Lie Fan thinks he can wield Heaven's Mandate, then let us seize it from the hands of a fading line and shape it anew."
Before Cao Cao could reply, Xun Yu stepped forward, his expression thunderous.
"No."" His voice was like iron striking iron. "That is a line we must not cross, my lord."
"Why, Wenruo?" Cao Cao's eyes locked on him. "Is it not the same line Lie Fan has already crossed?"
Xun Yu bowed deeply, trembling only slightly. "My loyalty to you is unshaken, my lord. But my heart still beats for the Han. It is not the dynasty of today that I serve, it is the ideal. The line of sages and emperors, of culture and order. Even if the Han flickers, it is a light worth sheltering. To discard it is to sever ourselves from that history."
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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