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He produced graphs and tables filled with numbers. "We are conducting speed trials under varying conditions. Maximum loaded weight, simulating troop or ore transport. Minimum weight for speed courier purposes. Empty runs for repositioning. We have compiled data on acceleration, sustained speeds, braking distances, and the stress on the axles and couplings."
He tapped a final column. "The results are promising. An empty wagon can achieve speeds that would outpace a galloping horse over a long distance without tiring. A fully loaded one moves faster than a ox cart with a fraction of the animal power required. The next phase is linking multiple wagons together into a 'train' and testing the power requirements, whether teams of horses stationed at intervals or some form of stationary engine, as Your Majesty once theorized."
Lie Fan listened, nodding along. The cannon was a weapon to break fortresses and armies. The wagonway was an artery to nourish an empire, to move people, goods, and soldiers with unprecedented speed and volume. One would conquer, the other would bind and grow.
"Excellent," Lie Fan said, his mind already synthesizing the reports. "The cannon gives us an unassailable military edge for the final conquest and for securing our future borders. The wagonway will integrate the new territories, Yi Province, and soon the lands of Wei, into a single, cohesive economic and defensive unit. They are two sides of the same coin, overwhelming force and seamless administration."
He looked at the two scholars, his expression one of deep respect. "You are not just building machines. You are building the skeleton of the next epoch. Continue your work with all urgency and all the resources you require. Keep me informed of every milestone."
He rose from his seat. "Prepare demonstrations," he said. "Both projects. We will move the empire not just with armies, but with ideas."
The meeting concluded, the air buzzing with the energy of tangible progress. As Lie Fan left the study, the scrolls on cannon metallurgy and wagonway dynamics under his arm, he felt a surge of confidence that rivaled any felt before a battle. The final war against Cao Cao would be fought with the strategies of the past and the present.
But the empire that emerged from it would be built with the tools of the future, tools that were, right now, taking shape in the workshops and testing yards in secluded location outside of Xiapi. The horizon was no longer just a line on a map, it was a destination he was actively engineering.
The scrolls on future weaponry and transport were carefully set aside in his private study, their promise of a revolutionized world momentarily shelved for the more immediate, granular tasks of governing the present one.
Lie Fan made his way to his main office in the administrative wing of the palace, a spacious room dominated by a massive desk that was currently buried under a small mountain of parchment and bamboo slips.
The sight was both familiar and daunting. This was the less glamorous side of empire building, the endless river of reports, petitions, budgets, and bureaucratic minutiae that flowed ceaselessly to the throne.
Waiting for him, standing with the patience of men accustomed to the weight of state, were his three chief administrators: Jia Xu the Chancellor, a spider at the center of the web of power, Xun You the Grand Commandant, the sharp, pragmatic mind overseeing military logistics and law, and Chen Qun the Grand Secretary, the meticulous architect of the empire's civil service and legal codes.
"Your Majesty," they greeted in unison as he entered, bowing.
"Be at ease," Lie Fan said, striding to his desk with a sigh that was only half in jest. He surveyed the piled paperwork with a wry expression. "It seems my brief holiday to play matchmaker has been… productive for the scribes of the realm."
He took his seat and gestured to the three empty chairs that had been placed opposite the desk. "Sit. And since you are here, and since we have a rather large campaign to plan after this… you can help me clear this mountain."
A flicker of amusement passed between the three seasoned advisors. They had suspected this. Their Emperor, while ruthlessly diligent, had never hidden his distaste for the dry, repetitive nature of pure document work.
He saw it as a necessary evil, a tax on his time that had to be paid to keep the machinery running. By roping them in, he was both expediting the process and, they knew, ensuring they were fully briefed on every minor detail of the empire's current state before they plunged into war planning. It was a clever, if transparent, bit of managerial delegation.
Jia Xu's lips twitched in the ghost of a smile. "As Your Majesty commands. It is, after all, for the good of the realm."
Xun You nodded, already rolling up his sleeves metaphorically. "Efficiency in all things."
Chen Qun simply adjusted his sleeves and reached for the nearest stack, his organized mind already categorizing. "We shall begin with the provincial tax reconciliations from Jing Province, I presume."
And so, for several hours, the office was filled with the soft rustle of paper, the scratch of brushes, and low-voiced discussions. Lie Fan would read a summary aloud, a request for funds to repair a bridge in a southern county, a dispute over water rights between two northern clans, a recommendation for a new magistrate, a report on the silk harvest.
The three advisors would offer context, historical precedent, or potential pitfalls. Lie Fan would listen, ask a pointed question or two, then make a decisive notation. "Approve," "Deny, investigate the clan elder's motives," "Promote the deputy, he's earned it," "Send an imperial engineer and allocate half the requested sum, the county can match the rest."
It was grinding, essential work. It demonstrated a fundamental truth Lie Fan lived by, a ruler could not only focus on the grand sweep of armies and alliances.
The strength of an empire was in its bridges, its fair judgments, its competent local officials. A neglected bridge could strangle trade; a corrupt judgment could spark a rebellion. He attended to it all, his mind capable of shifting from the cosmic scale of epoch defining technology to the micro scale of a village well dispute.
Finally, as the afternoon light began to slant through the windows, the last scroll was sealed and set aside. The mountain had been leveled. Lie Fan leaned back, stretching the stiffness from his shoulders. "Now," he said, his tone shifting from the bureaucratic to the strategic, "we plan the march to Hongnong. Numbers. Supply lines. Timetables."
"We can reinforce the imperial army at Hongnong with an additional sixty thousand Your Majesty," Xun You said. "Any more, and supply strain increases disproportionately."
Lie Fan nodded. "Sixty thousand is sufficient. I don't intend to drown Cao Cao in numbers. I intend to break him."
They then dove in deper, discussing the composition of the imperial escort, a formidable force in itself, meant to project majesty as much as provide security. They calculated grain, arrows, fodder, medicine. They plotted the route, ensuring it utilized the new, well maintained imperial highways and pre positioned supply depots.
Then, in the middle of debating the number of cavalry squadrons, Lie Fan interjected calmly, "Muchen will accompany us."
The conversation halted. Jia Xu, Xun You, and Chen Qun turned to look at him, then at each other. The air in the room grew thoughtful, heavy with unspoken assessment.
"To the frontline, Your Majesty?" Xun You asked, clarifying.
"Not to the trench lines, no," Lie Fan said. "He will remain in the secure rear command camp, under the personal guard of Zhao Yun and a full contingent of the Imperial Guard. But he will be there. He will see the siege works. He will hear the reports. He will smell the smoke and, from a distance, hear the sounds of battle."
Jia Xu steepled his fingers. "It is… an invaluable education. A crown prince who has only known peace and palace politics is a liability. To see the true cost of command, the grime and blood behind the strategic maps… it is a necessary, if harsh, lesson."
Chen Qun nodded slowly, but his expression was cautious. "Necessary, yes. But he is twelve, Your Majesty. The scale of the suffering at Hongnong, the sheer, organized brutality of a siege of that magnitude… it could mark him. It could harden him in beneficial ways, or it could… distort his perspective on the value of life and the burdens of rule."
Xun You added, "There is also the message it sends. The Crown Prince on campaign signifies the total commitment of the dynasty. It boosts morale for our men. But it also makes him a target, even in the rear. And should anything… go awry, even a minor incident, the political repercussions would be severe."
Lie Fan listened to each point, his expression sober. He valued their counsel precisely because they did not simply agree with him. "I have considered all of this," he said. "The risk to his person is minimal under Zhao Yun's protection, I would trust Zilong with my own life, let alone my son's. The psychological impact… that is the point. I do not want a ruler who sees soldiers as numbers on a scroll."
"I want him to understand that every order he will one day give will mean men not returning to their families. The advantage of witnessing this under my guidance, where I can explain the why behind every difficult decision, outweighs the risk of him learning it later, alone, or worse, never learning it at all."
He looked at each of them. "As for the objections from the Harem palace… I will handle them. This is my decision as his father and his Emperor."
The finality in his voice closed the debate. The three advisors exchanged a last look, a silent communication of resigned acceptance and underlying approval. They trusted his judgment, especially when it came to preparing his heir.
"Very well, Your Majesty," Jia Xu said, bowing his head slightly. "We will incorporate the Crown Prince's security and logistics into the plans."
"Then there is one more order," Lie Fan said, his gaze turning westward, towards the mountains of Shu. "Dispatch a message to Yi Province. To Fa Zheng, Zhang Song, and Meng Da. Their first test as true subjects of Hengyuan is at hand. They are to mobilize the Yi Province army, the former Han forces now under our banner. Their objective, march on Jianmen Pass. Take it back from Cao Cao's garrison. Then, press forward into Hanzhong. I want pressure on Cao Cao's southern flank. Let him feel the noose tightening from two directions."
It was a masterstroke, utilizing the newly acquired asset immediately. The message was clear, integration meant responsibility, and victory would cement their positions.
With the strategic directives given, the meeting concluded. The bureaucratic mountain was climbed, the campaign was planned, the future emperor's education was set, and the new province was given its first military task. Lie Fan left the office, his mind transitioning from the granular to the familial.
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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