Chapter 1150: 1091. Chang’An Meeting Of Attack Pt.1

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(A/N: Don’t forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)

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"These are your quarters, Generals. Food and hot water have been prepared inside. I will return at the designated hour to escort you to the palace," the captain said respectfully, bowing before taking his leave. The heavy wooden doors of the mansion closed behind them, sealing them in absolute privacy.

The moment the latch clicked, the rigid, disciplined facades of the former Wei commanders instantly shattered.

"By the heavens!" Yue Jin exploded, tearing his heavy helmet from his head and slamming it onto a nearby stone table. "I would rather march back to Xiapi on foot than listen to that arrogant old badger boast for another minute! ’Look how the mighty have fallen’?! I nearly drew my sword right there at the gate!"

"It took every ounce of my willpower not to challenge him to a duel," Li Dian groaned, rubbing his temples furiously. "His archery is legendary, yes, but his mouth is a weapon of mass psychological torture. How does Chen Deng tolerate him on a daily basis?"

"He is an eccentric, abrasive old man who happens to be a martial genius," Zhang He sighed, gracefully unbuckling his shoulder pauldrons. "But his insults are petty. We cannot let a few harsh words destabilize our focus. We are standing on a knife’s edge here."

"Zhang He is right. Silence your grievances," Yu Jin commanded sharply, stepping into the center of the courtyard, ever the calm, stoic anchor of discipline. He looked severely at Yue Jin and Li Dian.

"You are acting like thin skinned recruits. Did you expect them to throw flower petals at our feet? We fought them for a long time. We killed their soldiers. Huang Zhong’s attitude is irrelevant. He is one of the Marshal of the Hengyuan Dynasty, and he vastly outranks us. You will adapt to his eccentricities, or you will face military tribunal for insubordination. There is nothing we can do about his personality."

"Yu Jin speaks the truth," Pang De added, his voice a low, rumbling growl as he unstrapped his heavy gauntlets. The desert warrior looked entirely unbothered by the diplomatic friction, his mind was already in the mountains of the northwest. "We are not here to make friends with the old tiger. We are here to become compatriots and brothers in arms on the battlefield. Respect is not given in speeches at the city gates, it is earned in the mud, surrounded by the enemy."

Xu Huang, setting his massive battle axe down with a heavy thud, nodded firmly in agreement. "The old man can taunt us all he wants. When the arrows start flying against these truatirs known as League of Northwestern Lords, he will see exactly why Cao Mengde trusted us to hold his vanguard. We let our actions silence his boasting."

Xu Huang looked around at his brothers, his expression softening slightly into a look of profound, pragmatic camaraderie. "Think of the man who sent us here. Emperor Lie Fan. We have all stood before him. He is remarkably like our previous lord. He can be friendly, he can be charismatic... but beneath it all, he is incredibly pragmatic and absolutely authoritative. He does not care about our hurt feelings. He only cares about results."

"He sent us here with twenty thousand men to give us a chance," Gao Lan noted quietly from the back of the group. "He gave us a platform to gain merit. If we succeed here, if we break the League of Northwestern Lords, we solidify our place in this new dynasty. We protect our families, and we reclaim our honor."

The anger and irritation that had clouded the courtyard slowly began to dissipate, replaced by the cold, hard, professional focus that had made them the most feared generals of the central plains.

They had lost a dynasty, and they had endured the insults of their former enemies. But they were still alive, they still had their swords, and a massive war was looming on the horizon.

"We rest, we wash, and we eat," Yu Jin finalized the discussion, pointing toward the inner halls of the mansion. "And this afternoon, we walk into that former imperial palace, and we show Chen Deng and Huang Zhong how the ghosts of Wei plan a campaign. The northwest will fall, and we will be the ones to break it."

With renewed, unshakeable resolve, the seven generals dispersed into the mansion, preparing their minds and their bodies for the war council that would finally unleash them upon the rugged, treacherous mountains of Liang Province. The time for mourning was over, the time for conquest had begun.

The hours of the mid morning bled into the early afternoon, offering the seven newly appointed vanguard commanders a brief, vital reprieve from the relentless grind of their month long march. Within the high, fortified walls of the requisitioned mansion in Chang’An, the dust of the road was meticulously washed away.

Hot water, fresh provisions, and a few hours of undisturbed silence worked like a balm on their weary muscles. They shed their travel stained cloaks and donned their polished, heavy steel armor, the dark black tunics of the Hengyuan Dynasty serving as a stark, physical reminder of the new reality they now inhabited.

​When the sun began its descent toward the western peaks, casting long, dramatic shadows across the ancient stone streets of the city, the heavy wooden doors of their mansion swung open.

​Yue Jin, Li Dian, Yu Jin, Zhang He, Xu Huang, Pang De, and Gao Lan stepped out into the crisp afternoon air, their expressions uniformly forged into masks of absolute, professional stoicism.

Guided by the same cavalry captain who had escorted them earlier, they walked through the bustling, heavily garrisoned avenues of Chang’An, heading directly toward the towering, magnificent structure of the former imperial palace that now served as the supreme military headquarters for the western theater.

​The walk was an exercise in psychological discipline. Every courtyard they passed, every checkpoint they crossed, was manned by veterans wearing the colors of the army that had systematically dismantled their lives. Yet, they marched with their heads held high, projecting the fearsome, undeniable aura of the central plains’ greatest warriors. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

​They reached the massive, iron-studded gates of the palace’s inner sanctum. The heavily armed sentries, elite halberdiers bearing the imperial dragon insignia, immediately recognized the high ranking officers.

Without a single word of challenge, they snapped to attention, their boots slamming into the stone as they hauled the heavy oak doors open, allowing the seven generals entry into the beating heart of the war council.

​They stepped over the threshold and into the main hall.

​The room was absolutely cavernous, its high vaulted ceilings supported by massive pillars of red pine.

The air was thick with the smell of burning oil lamps, aged parchment, and the cold, metallic scent of dozens of armored men. In the absolute center of the hall sat a gargantuan, intricately carved wooden table, upon which a massive, incredibly detailed topographical map of Liang Province and the northwestern territories had been unfurled.

​But it was not the room or the map that made the breath catch in the throats of the former Wei commanders. It was the men standing around the table.

​Gathered in this single hall was the most terrifying, concentrated assembly of martial and strategic brilliance the continent had ever seen.

​Standing at the head of the table were the two supreme Marshals of the western army, Huang Zhong and Zhang Ren.

​Arrayed beside them were the brilliant architects of the impending campaign, the elite army strategists. Chen Deng, Fa Zheng, Zang Hong, and Meng Da. And then, lining the edges of the map, were the generals of the Hengyuan Dynasty.

​There stood Dian Wei, a literal mountain of scarred muscle and demonic fury, leaning heavily on his massive twin halberds. There was Guan Yu, stroking his magnificent, long dark beard, his green robes draped over his heavy armor, exuding an aura of absolute, crushing martial pride. Beside him stood Zhang Fei, his eyes wide and fierce, radiating a volatile, explosive energy that seemed to vibrate in the air.

​Further down the line stood Yan Yan, the grizzled, unyielding veteran of Yi Province, Meng Huo, the fierce, exotic king of the southern jungles, his armor adorned with beast pelts, Zhang Wei and Yang Ang, the seasoned commanders of the rugged Hanzhong terrain, Chen Dao, the silent, lethal commander of the elite white eared infantry, the resilient Liao Hua, and the steadfast Sun Guan.

​It was a staggering, overwhelming display of power. These were the men who had broken warlords, conquered provinces, and unified the map under the Black Dragon.

​When the seven former Wei generals entered the room, the low murmur of tactical discussions instantly died. Every single head turned to face the doors. The collective, heavy gaze of the Hengyuan high command fell upon the men who had, just months ago, been their most hated, lethal enemies. The tension in the air was suddenly so thick it could be cut with a blade.

​Chen Deng, ever the flawless diplomat and master of reading the room, smoothly stepped away from the map to break the suffocating silence.

​"Generals. You have arrived precisely on time," Chen Deng welcomed them, his voice calm, warm, and carrying a natural authority that immediately eased the bristling hostility in the room. He extended an open hand toward the massive wooden table. "Please, step forward. Join the ranks. The board is set, and we require your eyes upon it."

Yue Jin, Li Dian, Yu Jin, Zhang He, Xu Huang, Pang De, and Gao Lan walked forward in unison, their boots echoing loudly against the stone floor. They took their designated positions around the lower edge of the table, seamlessly integrating themselves into the ring of legendary commanders.

As they settled into place, silent nods of mutual, grudging martial respect were exchanged across the map, Xu Huang’s eyes meeting Dian Wei’s, Zhang He offering a slight bow of the head to Guan Yu.

​With the circle complete, Chen Deng and Fa Zheng immediately took control of the council, wasting no time on pleasantries. The time for war had come.

​Fa Zheng leaned over the map, planting his hands firmly on the edges of the table, his sharp eyes sweeping over the assembled titans.

​"We begin immediately," Fa Zheng opened the meeting, his voice cracking like a whip. "I have just received a highly classified, priority dispatch from Chancellor Jia Xu in the capital. The orders come directly from the lips of His Imperial Majesty. We are to initiate a massive, coordinated assault upon the League of Northwestern Lords. However, this is not a blind march of annihilation. This is a campaign of absolute, overwhelming pressure."

​Fa Zheng pointed a slender finger toward two specific territories carved out in the rugged mountains of Liang Province.

​"The Oriole intelligence network has successfully infiltrated the League. They have planted seeds of extreme paranoia and fractured their alliance," Fa Zheng explained, revealing the dark, covert reality of the Emperor’s strategy to the gathered generals. "Specifically, Chancellor Jia Xu has established direct contact with two of their primary pillars, Yan Xing and Cheng Li. We have offered them highly lucrative terms to switch their allegiance to the Hengyuan Dynasty."

​A low murmur rippled through the hall. Meng Huo crossed his massive, fur draped arms, letting out a low grunt of approval at the sheer, ruthless cunning of the capital’s spymasters.

​"But they are hesitating," Fa Zheng continued, his eyes narrowing. "They sit on the fence, weighing their options. Our orders from His Majesty are simple, we push them off the fence. We strike hard, we strike fast, and we put the fear of the heavens into them. We apply so much brutal military pressure to their borders that Yan Xing and Cheng Li realize their only chance for survival is to fold, accept our agents’ deals, and turn their blades against their own allies. If we break their psychological resolve, this campaign will end in a fraction of the time it would take to besiege every single mountain pass."

​Everyone around the table nodded their heads in deep, profound understanding. It was a flawless strategy, using the overwhelming terror of the Hengyuan military not just to kill, but to trigger a localized civil war within the enemy ranks.

​Chen Deng then stepped forward, his gaze shifting to the bottom of the table where the new arrivals stood.

​"To execute this grand strategy," Chen Deng announced, his voice carrying clearly across the silent hall, "His Majesty has explicitly deployed a massive reinforcement of twenty thousand elite central troops to our western theater. This independent vanguard is under the direct, joint command of Generals Yue Jin, Li Dian, Yu Jin, Zhang He, Xu Huang, Pang De, and Gao Lan."

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Name: Lie Fan

Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty

Age: 36 (203 AD)

Level: 16

Next Level: 462,000

Renown: 2325

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 11)

SP: 1,121,700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 1,010 (+20)

VIT: 659 (+20)

AGI: 653 (+10)

INT: 691

CHR: 98

WIS: 569

WILL: 436

ATR Points: 0