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Lie Fan glanced at him, the stern lines of command softening just a fraction. "Do not let your thoughts run too far ahead," he said. "Do not imagine what you think you will see. Reality is always worse than imagination. Prepare your heart, not your fears."
Muchen breathed out slowly. "Yes, Imperial Father."
Not long after, the land opened up and the encampment revealed itself.
The Hengyuan banners snapped violently in the wind, crimson and black stretching across the plains like a living thing. Tens of thousands of tents sprawled in ordered blocks. Siege towers loomed in the distance, half-shrouded by dust and smoke. The smell reached them next, burned wood, oil, iron, and blood carried faintly but unmistakably.
As the head of the marching column approached, horns sounded from the camp. Lines shifted. Standards dipped in salute.
At the forefront stood familiar figures.
And there, at the entrance to the main command sector, a group of men stood waiting. These were not just officers, they were the pillars of the western front.
The stern, calculating Sima Yi, his eyes missing nothing. The steadfast and loyal Chen Deng. The fierce and principled Zang Hong. The veteran, unshakable Huang Zhong, his bow as much a part of him as his arm.
The passionate and mighty Taishi Ci. The formidable, steadfast Zhang Liao. They were a council of war, etched with the grit and fatigue of a long, frustrating campaign.
Seeing them, Lie Fan let out a loud, genuine laugh that cut through the martial atmosphere, a sound of true camaraderie and relief. He swung down from his horse with the easy grace of a lifelong warrior.
Muchen followed, his movements slightly stiffer, his eyes wide as he took in the legendary figures he had only heard named in stories. Zhao Yun and Ma Chao dismounted as one, their presence immediately amplifying the sense of security, while the two Yellow Ghost bodyguards took up positions a respectful pace behind the Emperor and Prince.
From the carriage, Xu Shu, Pang Tong, Lu Zhi, and Zhuge Jin emerged, their scholarly robes a stark contrast to the surrounding armor, yet their eyes were just as sharp, scanning the camp, the faces, the distant walls of Hongnong.
Lie Fan stepped forward, clasping Sima Yi's forearm firmly. "Zhongda! It has been too long."
Sima Yi bowed his head, a faint, weary smile touching his lips. "It truly has, Your Majesty. Though for some here," his gaze flicked to the older generals, "the absence has felt even longer."
Lie Fan released him and moved down the line, his greetings personal and warm. He clasped Huang Zhong's shoulder, feeling the old strength there. "General Huang. Your arrows still find their mark, I trust?"
"Always, Your Majesty," Huang Zhong rumbled, his pride clear.
He shared a look with Taishi Ci that spoke of mutual respect forged in past battles, nodded to the ever reliable Zhang Liao, exchanged a few quiet words with Chen Deng and Zang Hong. This was not just a ruler meeting subordinates, it was a commander reuniting with the other pieces of his own strategic mind, scattered across a battlefield.
Then, Lie Fan stepped aside. He placed a hand on Muchen's back, gently guiding him forward into the circle of these hardened warriors. "And I have brought someone who is eager to learn from the best. My son, Crown Prince Muchen."
The air shifted subtly. The generals' faces, which had shown relief and loyalty, now flickered with a uniform, unguarded concern.
It was not disapproval, but the instinctive alarm of soldiers who knew the true face of a siege, seeing a young sapling placed near a forge. Huang Zhong's bushy eyebrows drew together. Taishi Ci's lips pressed into a thin line. Sima Yi's gaze became even more inscrutable.
Lie Fan saw it all and smiled, a knowing, reassuring expression. "Before your thoughts race ahead, know this, the Crown Prince will be observing from the rear. His classroom will be the command post or the secured camp. And his personal tutors in the art of survival," he gestured with his chin, "are Generals Zhao Yun and Ma Chao."
A visible, collective exhale seemed to pass through the group. The tension in Zhang Liao's shoulders eased. Taishi Ci gave a short, approving nod. Sima Yi's guarded expression relaxed into something closer to contemplation.
The implication was clear, if the boy was under the protection of the Empire's sharpest spear and its fiercest cavalry blade, and kept far from the wall, then he was perhaps the safest person in the entire theater of war.
"Now," Lie Fan said, his voice shifting to the tone of business, "enough standing in the open. Let us get out of this dust and you can tell me what has been keeping Xun Yu's head on his shoulders for so long. To the command tent."
The group moved as one, a nucleus of power flowing through the bustling camp. Soldiers stopped to stare, bowing deeply as the Emperor passed, their eyes also catching on the young prince walking confidently beside him. The message was sent, the Emperor was here, and the future was watching.
The command tent was a world unto itself. The outside sounds were muffled here, replaced by the low hum of focused tension. In the center, dominating the space, was a massive table bearing a detailed map of Hongnong and its surrounding terrain.
It was a landscape of painstaking miniature, carved wooden blocks representing units, small flags denoting positions, lines drawn in ink and ash showing trenches, approaches, and ranges of siege engines. The map was not clean; it was annotated, smudged, a living document of frustration and stalled momentum.
Lie Fan walked straight to the head of the table, his hands resting on its edge as he surveyed the tactical picture. Muchen was guided to a seat slightly behind and to his right, with Zhao Yun and Ma Chao taking positions flanking him like statues.
The scholars, Xu Shu, Pang Tong, Lu Zhi, and Zhuge Jin, found places around the table, their eyes devouring the map. The frontline generals arrayed themselves on the opposite side.
"Zhongda," Lie Fan said, his gaze still on the map, tracing the lines that pressed against the defiantly blank circle representing Hongnong's walls.
"Begin. Tell me everything. Leave nothing out. I want to understand the mood in our trenches, the state of our supplies, the spirit of the men, and most of all," his eyes lifted, sharp as daggers, "I want to understand the mind inside that city. Tell me why this stone will not crack."
Sima Yi stepped forward, his slender finger descending to point at the map. "Your Majesty. The situation is thus." His voice was calm, analytical, a stream of cold water over the heated anxiety in the room.
He spoke of the defenses where the walls, reinforced beyond their initial estimates, the deep, well stocked granaries they had confirmed through desperate spies; the plentiful springs within the city that made a water siege futile.
He spoke of the advisors. Xun Yu, the unflappable architect, whose defense was a masterwork of logistics and morale. Guo Jia, the elusive ghost, whose illness seemed to only sharpen his cunning, who anticipated raids and sortied at the precise moment to disrupt their siegeworks.
Xi Zhicai, Jia Kui, Cheng Yu, Tian Feng, a chorus of brilliant, desperate minds, each plugging a gap, each finding a counter move.
He spoke of the failures, the assault on the southern gate that had been repulsed with heavy losses when hidden cauldrons of boiling oil were unleashed, the mining attempt discovered and flooded, the propaganda letters fired into the city that were returned, unopened, tied to the arrows of expert Han archers.
As Sima Yi spoke, the tent filled with the grim reality of a stalemate bought with brilliance and blood. Muchen listened, his earlier mental pictures dissolving under the cold flood of detail.
This was not a heroic story. It was a report of exhaustion, ingenuity, and stubborn will. He saw his father's face, not angry, but deeply focused, absorbing every word, every setback.
When Sima Yi finished, there was a heavy silence. Lie Fan straightened up, his knuckles white where they pressed on the table. He looked around at his generals, at the weary frustration on their faces, at the scholarly intensity of Pang Tong and Xu Shu who were already muttering to each other, pointing at the map.
Then, he looked back at Sima Yi. "You have done well to hold them, to keep the pressure on. You have faced perhaps the finest defensive council left in the land and not been broken. That is a victory in itself."
He paused, letting the praise sink in, acknowledging their strain. Then his voice hardened, filling the tent with renewed purpose.
"But the time for holding is over. I am here. Reinforcements are here." He gestured to Pang Tong and Xu Shu. "Fresh minds are here. Xun Yu and Guo Jia have danced their dance. Now, the music changes."
He leaned forward, his shadow falling across the city on the map.
"Tomorrow, I will tour the lines. I will see the walls for myself. And then, we will begin again. Not with another blunt assault, but with a new kind of pressure. We will squeeze this city until its very stones weep. They have matched our every move? Good. Then we will introduce moves they have never seen."
He finally turned his head, meeting Muchen's eyes. The lesson was implicit. This is command. This is the moment after failure, the moment he must reset the board and find a new will to win.
"Welcome to Hongnong, son," Lie Fan said, his voice quieter now, meant only for the prince. "The real work begins now."
The command tent slowly emptied, the weight of strategy giving way to the softer hum of logistics and preparation. Outside, the sun had begun its slow descent, bleeding amber and red into the dust heavy sky. Lie Fan lingered only a moment longer at the map, eyes tracing lines that existed not just on parchment, but in his mind, lines of pressure, patience, and inevitability.
At last, he straightened.
"That will be all for now," he said, voice firm but unburdened. "The council is dismissed for the day."
The generals and advisors looked up, some surprised, others quietly relieved. Siege warfare devoured strength in ways even battle could not, and Lie Fan understood that exhaustion dulled brilliance faster than any enemy blade.
He turned, sweeping his gaze across the gathered figures, Muchen, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Lu Zhi, Zhuge Jin, and the core command of the western front.
"None of you will join the siege today," he continued. "You will rest. Eat properly. Sleep properly. Tomorrow will not be a day for half measures, and I will not have my sharpest minds dulled by fatigue."
Muchen blinked, momentarily surprised. A part of him had expected to be dragged immediately to the walls, to be shown the blood and fire firsthand. Yet another part, one he hadn't realized was holding tension in his chest, loosened at the command.
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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