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"Endure?" he interrupted sharply, then sighed. His anger faded into exhaustion. "Perhaps you're right. What else can I do but endure? The cage grows smaller every day, but a bird can still breathe before the final door closes on it and he can't fly away any more."
He set down the cup and looked toward the window, where the faint light of the moon spilled across the lacquered floor. "Fa Zheng believes he's clever. But even the clever fall when the tide turns. If Lie Fan ever falters, I will be there to reclaim what's mine."
Empress Dong said nothing. She knew such words were dreams, fragile and fleeting. But she let him speak them anyway. Sometimes, hope, even false hope, was the only thing that kept a man alive.
The Emperor leaned back, closing his eyes. "Let them think I am beaten," he murmured. "Let them think the Han is dead. The dragon sleeps, but it does not die. Not yet."
Outside, the night over Chengdu was still. The palace lamps flickered, and beyond the walls, the murmur of the city drifted faintly on the wind.
Back in the sealed banquet hall, the six conspirators had begun to disperse, each lost in his own thoughts. Fa Zheng stood by the door last, staring out into the dim corridor beyond.
He could still hear the faint echoes of the court's laughter, the hollow kind that follows political victory. But he knew better than to celebrate.
The Emperor might be broken, but he was not yet erased. And the shadow of Lie Fan stretched long, even into the hearts of men who served him willingly.
Fa Zheng's smile faded into something colder, more thoughtful.
"History will remember tonight," he murmured, half to himself. "Not as the night the Han was saved, but as the night it finally surrendered." Then he turned, the doors opened for him, and the night swallowed him whole.
On the other hand, the morning sun rose pale over Luoyang, veiled in a thin mist that clung to the ancient walls and rooftops like the ghost of a dying age. The once mighty capital of empires past now thrummed with uneasy energy, carts creaked, soldiers shouted orders, and the low murmur of frightened citizens filled the streets.
From the western ramparts, Xun Yu stood watching the endless line of people and wagons snaking toward the open plains beyond the city. His black official robes fluttered faintly in the cold morning breeze, and his face, usually calm and unreadable, was marked by a sorrow that ran deep.
Luoyang, the heart of civilization, the cradle of dynasties, was being abandoned.
He had given the order himself.
Days ago, when the first reports reached him, that Hulao Gate had been breached, that the Hengyuan Dynasty's Central and Western Command Armies had crushed their way through the last defensive ridges, Xun Yu had known what had to be done.
It was not cowardice. It was survival.
He had convened the senior ministers, and after a night of grim discussion, he had issued the emergency evacuation edict. Wei's presence in Luoyang, its officials, soldiers, and families, would withdraw westward to Chang'an.
Now, as the city groaned under the weight of its own flight, he felt the full gravity of that decision pressing on his chest.
Behind him, the sound of hurried footsteps approached. Jia Kui, ever precise and dutiful, bowed respectfully before speaking. "Master Xun Yu," he said, "the royal family's convoy departed at dawn. Lady Bian and the young heirs alongside the entire royal family are safely on the road to Chang'an, escorted by a full regiment."
Xun Yu nodded faintly. "Good. The Cao lineage must reach Chang'an safely. If the dynasty's blood survives, then the state endures."
Nearby, Cheng Yu, Tian Feng, and Xu You stood in quiet discussion, their faces drawn and weary. None of them looked like men who had slept in days.
Below the walls, the once proud capital was a storm of motion. Armored soldiers directed columns of refugees through the western gates, their shouts echoing through the smoke filled air. Carriages laden with scrolls, gold, weapons, and grain rolled over the cobblestones, their wheels groaning beneath the load.
Xun Yu turned his gaze toward the distant hills. From the high vantage, the faint shadow of Hangu Pass was just visible and beyond it, the smoke of battle.
"The breach is real," Cheng Yu murmured beside him, as though reading his thoughts. "Reports came again this morning. The inner fortress still holds, but not for long. Once it falls, there will be nothing left between Hengyuan's armies and Luoyang."
Xun Yu said nothing. His silence was answer enough.
He had spent much of the night before writing reports, giving final instructions to the city commandant, and drafting letters to Chang'an.
He turned toward Jia Kui, who was checking through a set of tablets. "How far has the evacuation progressed?"
Jia Kui straightened, his voice crisp despite the exhaustion lining his features. "Seventy five percent completed, my lord. The treasury has been cleared, and the majority of the military stockpiles have already been sent west. In three days, we can begin our own departure."
"Three days," Xun Yu repeated softly, his eyes sweeping over the ancient city. "Then the heart of Wei shall beat in Chang'an."
He paused, then asked in a lower voice, "And the royal tombs? Has the work been completed?"
At that, all four of the men glanced at one another.
Tian Feng's expression darkened. "Yes… though it still sits uneasily with me," he admitted. "I never thought I'd see the day when we would dig up the tombs of emperors past. Even if done with care… it feels like disturbing the spirits of the Han."
Cheng Yu stroked his beard, a look of grim pragmatism in his eyes. "The dead have no use for gold, Master Tian Feng. The living do. And Xun Wenruo was wise to order it. Every coin, every jewel we take with us strengthens Wei's position in the west. And it denies the Hengyuan Dynasty the spoils they would've used against us."
Xu You snorted softly. "Hengyuan would strip the city bare without hesitation if they reached it first. At least we take what is ours, what belongs to the realm now."
Jia Kui nodded reluctantly. "Still, the sight of the tombs unearthed was… unsettling. The workmen performed it with all due respect, as ordered. The offerings were removed carefully, the tombs sealed again, though in haste."
He looked toward Xun Yu. "Your commands were clear, Master Xun Yu, and they were followed."
Xun Yu closed his eyes briefly. He remembered standing at the burial hill two nights ago, when the first tomb had been opened. The flicker of torches on ancient carvings, the scent of earth and age, and the glitter of jewels that once adorned emperors who had ruled the Middle Kingdom.
For a brief moment, as he watched the treasures being lifted from their resting place, he had felt a sharp pang of guilt. Not for defiling the graves, but for how easily he had ordered it.
That was when he knew, truly and fully, that whatever remant affections inside his heart for the Han was no longer there.
He opened his eyes again, the emotion gone, replaced by cold clarity. "The Han is gone," he said quietly. "Its ghosts have lingered long enough. The living must not die for their memory."
The others bowed their heads slightly, the words heavy with truth.
Then Cheng Yu, ever the philosopher among them, broke the silence. "Our Emperor," he began carefully, "wrote to you this morning, did he not?"
Xun Yu nodded. "He did."
"And?"
A faint, sad smile crossed Xun Yu's lips. "He said he does not blame us. That he understands why we invoked the evacuation edict. He sees that Luoyang cannot be held and that it is better to save men than walls. He even told me he would rather lose the city than lose any of us."
Tian Feng exhaled slowly. "A ruler who knows when to retreat is one who may live to fight again."
Cheng Yu, however, chuckled softly. "Or perhaps one who simply knows how to comfort his ministers," he said dryly. "The Emperor has a talent for easing guilt. But his words were not wrong. Luoyang's loss is symbolic, yes, but it will not break the Wei. Chang'an is stronger, more defensible. And more importantly, we are still alive to serve."
Tian Feng nodded gravely. "Still, to abandon the ancient capital… it will be remembered. We should ensure that what remains of Luoyang will not serve the Hengyuan when they arrive. If they must take it, let them inherit nothing but ashes and ghosts."
Xu You grinned faintly at that, his tone darkly amused. "So, you mean to leave them a farewell gift?"
Tian Feng looked at him, his eyes glinting. "Exactly that."
Cheng Yu's beard twitched in mild approval. "Not reckless destruction, but something calculated. Something that will make their first triumph bitter."
Xun Yu said nothing for a moment. He watched the horizon, where faint trails of dust marked the distant armies approaching from the east.
At last, he turned to them, his expression thoughtful. "What do you propose?"
Tian Feng's eyes hardened. "The Hengyuan forces will expect spoils. Let them find none. Burn the supply depots that cannot be moved. Leave the granaries empty. Destroy the maps, the ledgers, the blueprints of the city, anything that we wouldn't bring. Let them occupy Luoyang, but deny them the means to use it."
Jia Kui frowned. "A sound plan, but limited. They will recover quickly. We need something… sharper."
Cheng Yu smiled faintly, his tone edged with irony. "Perhaps something to make them think twice before celebrating their conquest."
Xu You raised an eyebrow. "Poison, perhaps? Or traps within the palace itself?"
"No," Xun Yu said firmly. "No cruelty. We will not stain Wei's name with wanton acts. This must be done with precision, not vengeance."
Tian Feng inclined his head. "Then allow me to oversee it, my lord. I will ensure our 'gift' is clever, not barbaric. Something that honors our discipline and reminds them we still stand."
Xun Yu considered this for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Very well. You will have my sanction. But ensure no civilians are harmed, and that the city's ancient relics, temples, archives, monuments, remain untouched. Let the shell remain. The heart we take with us."
Tian Feng bowed deeply. "It shall be done."
They stood there for a long while after, silent as the wind swept over the ramparts. Below, the stream of refugees continued, winding westward like a river of despair. The sun climbed higher, its light falling across the city's rooftops, glinting off the armor of soldiers and the polished domes of temples. Luoyang was dying, but it would die with dignity.
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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