Kapitel 504: 484. 199 AD
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The success of the engagement ceremony was a testament to the careful planning and heartfelt intentions of both families. It marked the beginning of a new alliance that promised to bring both personal happiness and strategic advantage. For Sima Yi and Wannian, it was the beginning of their journey together, one that would be filled with hope, challenges, and the enduring support of their families.
The news of Wannian and Sima Yi's engagement spread rapidly throughout Xiapi, reaching every corner of the city and beyond. The announcement brought a mix of reactions, with the common people expressing joy and admiration for the match.
Wannian, the beloved sister of Lie Fan, had long been a figure of affection and respect among the populace. Her engagement to Sima Yi, known as the number one genius of Xiapi's academy and the first to graduate at such a young age, was seen as a perfect union.
The common folk marveled at the fortuitous match, believing it was a sign of good fortune for the city and its ruling family. They had always admired Lie Fan's strength and wisdom, and now, with Sima Yi by his side as a brother-in-law, they felt that Xiapi was destined for even greater prosperity.
Families gathered in the marketplaces and around their homes, discussing the engagement with enthusiasm. It was not just a personal union, but a symbol of the stability and power that Lie Fan had brought to Xiapi.
In the bustling streets of Xiapi, merchants and traders were abuzz with excitement. Many saw the engagement as a sign that the Lie Clan would continue to be a dominant force in the years to come, and they quickly prepared congratulatory gifts to send to both the Lie and Sima Clans.
Fine silks, precious gems, and exotic spices were among the offerings, each intended to curry favor with the powerful families. Merchants hoped that by showing their support now, they would secure advantageous trading rights and protection under the Lie Clan's growing influence.
Among the scholar class, the news was met with a mixture of admiration and regret. While they respected Sima Yi's intellect and were pleased to see him so closely allied with the Lie Clan, there was also a sense of lost opportunity.
Many scholars had hoped to marry into the Lie Clan themselves or to see their own families tied to the powerful house through marriage. Now, with Wannian engaged, they turned their attention to Lie Fan's children, hoping that future marriages might still bring them closer to the ruling family.
Noble families, too, were quick to send their congratulations, but the sentiment was tinged with underlying intrigue. Many of these families had long harbored ambitions to align themselves personally with the Lie Clan, and the engagement of Wannian to Sima Yi disrupted some of their plans.
However, they were pragmatic, recognizing that the rise of the Sima Clan, now closely tied to the Lie Clan, could also offer new opportunities. They sent lavish gifts to both clans, hoping to maintain their standing and perhaps secure future alliances through Lie Fan's children.
As Xiapi's streets filled with the sounds of celebration, the atmosphere was charged with both joy and the subtle currents of political maneuvering. The engagement was not just a union of two people, but the intertwining of two powerful families, and everyone in the city felt its significance.
Beyond Xiapi, the news of the engagement spread to other regions of the land, reaching the ears of warlords, nobles, and scholars across the realm. The year 199 AD dawned with the news, setting the tone for what would be a year of both promise and peril for the various powers in the land.
For the likes of Cao Cao, Lie Fan, Sun Ce, and Yuan Shao, the new year began with a sense of auspiciousness and good luck. They had each received good news or achieved significant victories in the closing months of the previous year.
For Lie Fan, the engagement of Wannian and Sima Yi only added to the sense of positive momentum. This union was a sign that the Lie Clan's luck and momentum were strengthening, which was good for Lie Fan's plans for further expansion and consolidation of power.
For Cao Cao, even though he had lost the Central Plains to Lie Fan, but after that all of the news that came to him was good. The expansion beyond the Liang Province was going well, with Xun Yu and Xi Zhicai planning and directing the plan of attack, Ma Teng and Han Sui had gained significant ground and manpower.
The addition of domains from Zhang Yan's former domains and Zhang Lu's domain increased his power at least rivaling what he had previously when he held the Central Plains, and for Cao Cao, this was all a good sign for him in the year 199 AD.
For Sun Ce, the news was equally positive. The young warlord, even though previously poisoned managed to be cured, and had been making significant gains in the south. The engagement of Wannian and Sima Yi was a piece of good news for him, as Lie Fan was like a brother to him and Wannian was like a sister to him so he sent some gifts to strengthen the relations between the two clans even further.
At the same time, Sun Ce saw this as an opportunity to push further into the south, securing more territory from the Cai Clan before either Liu Bei or Shi Xie made their moves. Due to receiving full support from Sun Ce, Zhou Yu managed to lead the army of the Sun Clan to take over Shi Wu's former domain from the Cai Clan's hand.
Lastly for Yuan Shao, the engagement of his second son to the youngest daughter of the Zhen Clan meant that more money would enter his coffer in the new year. More merchants would follow his rule now because the Zhen Clan, one of the biggest merchant clans in the land, was now backing him up in the market.
An increase in revenue meant a more lavish lifestyle for him and also increased the progress of his eventual attack on the South, meaning that his battle with Lie Fan would surely result in him winning the battle.
On the other hand, for the likes of Liu Bei, Liu Zhang, the Cai Clan, and Shi Xie, the new year was greeted with far less optimism. The engagement of Wannian and Sima Yi was a stark reminder of their own challenges and the growing power of their rivals.
Liu Bei, who had struggled to secure a strong foothold in Jibg Province, saw the union as yet another sign that he was falling behind in the race for power. He spent the early days of the new year in deep thought, trying to devise a strategy that would allow him to catch up eventually thinking of a marriage alliance.
Liu Zhang, the puppet ruler of Yi Province, also found little cause for celebration. His position had been precarious for some time with Zhang Lu previously now Cao Cao as Zhang Lu had surrendered to him, and the engagement of Wannian and Sima Yi only was a bitter pill to swallow as this how's that Lie Fan was much more powerful than Cao Cao.
Many of the gentries of Yi Province began to realize their precarious situation, so they slowly allowed Liu Zhang to increase the overall strength of Yi Province, this allowed Fa Zheng and Zhang Song to slowly gain power which benefits Lie Fan's future plan to take over Yi Province like Liu Bei in the original timeline but much more secure.
Shi Xie may face perhaps the second most dire situation. The new year had brought him little but losses and setbacks, particularly with the recent defeat at the hands of the Cai Clan and could reclaim those lands as it was now under the Sun Clan.
The engagement of Wannian and Sima Yi felt like yet another blow, as it signaled the growing power and strength of the northern warlords especially Lie Fan while his own position weakened. Shi Xie spent the early days of the new year trying to regroup his forces and stabilize his rule while waiting for a moment to rise.
The Cai Clan, however, found themselves in the midst of a full-blown crisis as the new year dawned. The loss of Cai Mao had plunged the clan into chaos, leading to a bloody internal strife that further weakened their position.
Their defeat in Jiaozhi Province, where Zhou Yu had led the Sun Clan army to reclaim the territories taken from Shi Wu, only compounded their troubles. With their chain of communication and command in disarray, the Cai Clan was struggling to maintain control over their remaining territories.
The new year, for the Cai Clan, was a time of reckoning. They had lost much of their power and influence, and their enemies were closing in. The engagement of Wannian and Sima Yi, their bitter adversary that caused them to lose absolute control of Jing Province, was a low blow for them. The Cai Clan's focus was now on survival, as they desperately sought to regroup and reclaim some of their lost territories.
All of these movements from the warlords of the land, including Lie Fan, provided the perfect cover and opportunity for the Oriole to expand its network of spies and intelligence after receiving Lie Fan's stamp of approval.
Entering the new year, the Oriole agents could proudly say that their networks had truly scoped the entirety of China, and their information networks in the major towns of the Central Plains were further solidified by the creation of the brothels division under Wang Yi's direction, completing the assignment given to her by Lie Fan and Jia Xu.
These brothels became hubs of intrigue, where trained courtesans of the Oriole bewitched nobles, merchants, and scholars, extracting secrets and private information after they were intoxicated with the combination of beauty and wine.
This setup greatly increased the volume of valuable information that flowed into the Oriole's hands. The courtesans, skilled in the art of seduction and manipulation, played their roles with finesse, drawing out confessions, business plans, and political plots from their unwitting patrons.
The success of the brothels division marked a turning point in Lie Fan's strategy for control over the Central Plains. With these secrets and private information at his disposal, Lie Fan, along with Jia Xu and Xu Kai, had powerful leverage against the influential families and clans in the region.
They could suppress or coerce any noble, merchant, or scholar who dared to challenge their authority, ensuring that no one could rise against them without facing dire consequences.
Xu Kai, at the helm of the consolidation operation, meticulously orchestrated the process of absorbing and neutralizing potential threats. The information gathered by the Oriole allowed him to predict the moves of rival factions and disrupt their plans before they could come to fruition.
Xu Kai's intelligence network also enabled him to recruit key figures from these rival factions, offering them protection or wealth in exchange for their loyalty. This further weakened the opposition while strengthening Lie Fan's hold on the region.
With this newfound control, Lie Fan's influence in the Central Plains increased by several levels. His ability to maneuver through the complex political landscape, aided by the Oriole's extensive network, made him a formidable force. The other warlords, preoccupied with their own ambitions and challenges, don't realize the growing power of the Lie Clan with the network of information at Lie Fan's disposal.
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Overlord Of The Central Plains
Age: 31 (198 AD) -> 32 (199 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 1325
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 951 (+20)
VIT: 613 (+20)
AGI: 598 (+10)
INT: 617
CHR: 96
WIS: 519
WILL: 407
ATR Points: 0
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Tang12
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