Reborn In The Three Kingdoms

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”May I suggest Master Yi Ji, Your Majesty,” came the voice of Xun You, calm and confident. ”There is no more appropriate guardian of knowledge in my mind than Master Yi Ji.” And truly, most nodded in agreement. Yi Ji had always had a penchant for scholarly thought, an unfailing memory, and a deep reverence for literature and historical precedent.

Yi Ji, who was a quiet scholar by nature and had gained a reputation for having encyclopedic memory with his service under Lie Fan, paled slightly at the attention.

”Master Yi Ji,” Lie Fan said, ”can you ensure that our records are not merely preserved, but curated? That history remembers us fairly and our generations to come could take note of what we have achieved and preserved?”

Yi Ji swallowed and then took a step forward, his robe swaying gently with his movements. He bowed, hands clasped in a scholar’s salute. ”I shall not let a single scroll be lost to dust nor a single record fade from time, Your Majesty. I shall guard the truth as fiercely as your soldiers guard the realm. No scroll shall be altered, no text suppressed, unless by Your Majesty’s direct command. I swear it.”

Lie Fan smiled with restrained warmth. ”Then you shall be the Imperial Secretary of the Imperial Archives. Let no tale of heroism be forgotten, no record of sin be hidden, and let the memory of this Empire endure through your hands.”

Yi Ji bowed once again, and returned to his place. Zhuge Liang gave him a small, approving nod, two scholars, different in temperament, but alike in duty.

Now came the Department of Service.

Lie Fan paused a moment, letting the officials feel the rhythm of his court, not rushed, not slow, but deliberate, meaningful.

”Master Sun Qian,” Lie Fan said, turning his eyes to the familiar face of the first advisors under his service, the loyal diplomat and administrator who had long been the grease that smoothed many awkward gears within his government, acting as its oil, ”your hand is steady, and your understanding of order and logistics cannot be questioned.”

Sun Qian, affable and always humble, smiled and stepped forward, bowing with easy grace. ”To serve the palace is to serve the heart of the Empire. I shall vet every servant as if their hands will one day hold your life. I thank Your Majesty for your trust.”

”You shall be the Director of the Department of Service,” Lie Fan declared. ”Let the halls be kept pristine, the appointments kept orderly, and all things move with grace under your care.”

Another polite round of applause followed. The appointments thus far had shown not favoritism, but clarity, a ruler who knew his men and gave them their proper place.

But now...

The Censorate.

A silence fell. It was not fearful but expectant. The Censorate was not ceremonial. It held real power. The power to investigate, impeach, and even imprison. It wielded no blade but could cut as deeply as any sword. It was both a mirror and executioner for the bureaucracy.

The officials tensed slightly. All eyes turned toward Lie Fan. Everyone wondered, Who would it be chosen to hold such a powerful position?

Then, the voice that interrupted all guessing was none other than Jia Xu, who quietly said, ”I support Master Pang Tong.”

A few eyes widened. Not because they doubted Pang Tong’s intelligence, but because he was often regarded as too irreverent, too wild, too unpredictable, too... eccentric.

Pang Tong, who had been standing a tad more relaxed than everyone in the room, with his usual irreverence, straightened a bit. ”Me?”

Jia Xu’s smile was thin. ”Who better to terrify corrupt officials than the man who terrifies us with his unpredictability and eccentricness?”

Laughter rippled through the hall. But then came Lu Su’s voice, equally firm, ”I concur, Your Majesty. Master Pang Tong while young could see through men, and more importantly, through lies.”

Zhuge Liang added, ”I also agree, Your Majesty. While Shi Yuan has always been a man of chaotic wisdom, he is also incorruptible. And in this position, that matters more than manners.”

Pang Tong, for his part, at this time looked utterly unfazed. He scratched his chin with a lazy grin and finally stepped forward, bowing in his own unorthodox, yet oddly dignified way.

”Well,” he said dryly, ”I suppose someone’s got to do the dirty work, Your Majesty. If I’m to be the thorn in everyone’s side, it might as well be official.”

This time soft laughter rose across the court but not mockery. Relief, even amusement. It was well known that Pang Tong, for all his irreverence, unpredictability, and eccentricness, hated corruption with a quiet fury. His time in Lie Fan’s inner circle had already exposed more than one abuse of power.

Lie Fan leaned forward slightly. ”Pang Tong, do you accept the charge to stand between the Empire and its own rot? To see what others wish hidden, and speak what others fear to say?”

Pang Tong met his eyes without a trace of humor but with a grin that was razor sharp. ”Without hesitation, Your Majesty. I’ll be so thorough, even the ghosts of corrupt officials will confess.”

”Then so it shall be. Pang Tong, Chief Censor of the Censorate. Let no lie hide from your eyes, and no man escape your judgment.”

The applause this time was louder, not in celebration, but in recognition. A sword had been drawn. And everyone felt it.

Yet even as the courtiers returned to their respectful disposition, and the hall resumed its dignified quiet, few, if any, realized the truth that hung over them like a shadow. The Censorate, feared though it was, was not the true blade of the Empire.

That belonged to the Oriole Agents.

They moved in silence, across lands and halls, listening, watching. Their reports reached no other hands but Lie Fan’s. Their loyalty was unquestionable, for he had built them, trained them, entrusted them.

The Censorate would make the bureaucracy tremble.

But the Orioles... they could make even the Censorate vanish without a whisper.

Lie Fan sat on the Dragon Throne, back straight, eyes calm. He had built not only a government, but a structure of interlocking loyalty and subtle checks. No one man could dominate. No one faction could be corrupt. And above all, he would see everything.

After the storm of appointments within the Six Ministries and the paramount departments had settled into the court like layers of finely laid lacquer, a different sort of tension returned.

It was a quieter, more dangerous air, like flint being struck beneath silk. All eyes in the chamber, whether civil or military, had turned toward the throne again, their backs straightening as if on instinct. Everyone knew what came next.

Lie Fan remained still, his expression unreadable upon the Dragon Throne, eyes surveying his ministers and generals with a calm that veiled the gravity of what he was about to pronounce. Then, with a subtle movement of his fingers, he picked up the imperial scepter and tapped it once against the jade rest beside him. A light chime echoed.

”Now,” he began, his voice measured, but weighted, as though even the air leaned in to listen, ”we must address the highest commands in our military structure.”

A single phrase passed his lips, and the chamber subtly shifted.

”The Great General... and the Deputy Great General of the Imperial Army.”

Even without raising his voice, the ripple it caused through the court was palpable. Murmurs erupted instantly. Among the civil officials, there was awe, unease, speculation.

Among the military, tension blended with curiosity. These were not ceremonial posts. These two ranks bore the blade of the command itself. One could shake provinces with a word, the other sway loyalties of the hundreds of thousands and even millions of troops of the Hengyuan Dynasty.

Lie Fan continued, his voice steady, but his eyes sharp. ”These posts are not only seats of strategy and command, but of influence. In many times past, Great Generals have risen above Emperors, and with sword or silver, dictated the fate of dynasties. I am not ignorant of this history.”

No one breathed.

He let his words settle, and then turned to Xun You, who stood with his customary poise. ”Grand Commandant, your view?”

Xun You gave a slow nod. ”Your Majesty, it must be a man both venerable and disciplined. A man who commands the hearts of soldiers not merely through charisma, but through earned virtue.”

Lie Fan turned to Sima Yi. ”Minister of War?”

Sima Yi clasped his hands behind his back. ”It must be someone whose loyalty is like iron, whose comprehension of warfare exceeds the blade. Logistics, morale, and control of power. Such a post must never fall to ambition.”

Lie Fan nodded slowly, then let his gaze drift across the military officials and all of his generalss alongside a select few others. ”Speak freely. I give you all leave.”

And so the chamber erupted.

Names soared like arrows in a heated skirmish:

”Huangfu Song!”

”Zhu Jun has served nobly for decades!”

”Huang Zhong! Still strong as ten men!”

”Zhang Liao! His discipline and resolve are unmatched!”

Even civil officials like Zhuge Liang and Chen Gong quietly observed, measuring the discussion like seasoned gamblers eyeing a shifting tide. More daring voices among the minor officials even whispered names with hidden motives, hoping to boost their own patrons.

Lie Fan allowed the debate to swell, to simmer, to burn. Then, with practiced grace, he lifted the imperial scepter and struck it twice against the jade rest.

Silence fell like a guillotine. All eyes, once more, turned to him.

”We thank all of you,” Lie Fan said, ”for your passion and your wisdom. Many names have been spoken, and all with merit. But a decision must be made.”

He sat straighter. His voice deepened slightly.

”For the post of Great General of the Imperial Army, We appoint General Huangfu Song.”

The silence that followed was total. A few sharp inhalations. Heads turned.

”And for Deputy Great General, We appoint General Zhang Liao.”

Then, the dam broke. The court was not loud, not unruly but the quiet sound of approval was clear. Nods, murmurs of satisfaction, the kind of agreement that came from pragmatism and recognition rather than flattery.

Of course, here and there, subtle frowns appeared. Minor generals who had dreamed too highly. Jealous military officials who had hoped for more malleable appointments. But no one dared speak openly.

Lie Fan did not pause. He continued, now explaining, with the same transparency and conviction that had defined all his decisions that day.

”General Huangfu Song is a man of virtue and glory. In the days of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he did not seek power for himself but wielded it to restore peace. He has no hunger for personal gain, and his decades of service have shaped a man unshaken by ambition. He commands with calm and without cruelty.”

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Name: Lie Fan

Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty

Age: 34 (201 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