Great Qi

Biodata

Geography

• Territory: Great Qi unified the north by conquering nine kingdoms, but its territory remains smaller than Southern Xia’s 2 27.
• Capital region: The capital lies in the central region, outside the area directly affected by the earthquake predicted for the following year 7.
• Eastern cities: Several major eastern cities are threatened by that earthquake, making evacuation and disaster preparation national priorities 7.
• Huai City: Home to three major papermaking workshops whose monopoly becomes the subject of an imperial investigation 48 49.

History

Northern Unification

Great Qi emerged from prolonged warfare as the sole power remaining in the north. Emperor Hongyao conquered the land, while veteran officials helped reunite and rebuild it. The resulting military strength initially made surrounding enemies wary of invasion 2 7.

At the beginning of the story, five years have passed since unification. The government is concentrating on stability, reconstruction, and improving ordinary people’s livelihoods. Its leaders also regard restoring the heritage of the Huaxia people as part of their generation’s responsibility 6 7 27.

Discovery of the Original Future

Shen Anxin enters court impersonating her twin brother, Shen Anlan. Certain members of the imperial court can hear her thoughts and her conversations with Chacha, the Gossip System. Through them, the court learns that Great Qi originally survived only thirty years after northern unification, falling five years into its second post-unification emperor’s reign 1 7 11.

The revelation initially casts suspicion on Crown Prince Xiao Yanchen. Chacha clarifies that the future emperor is instead the seventh prince, Xiao Yanzhang, who is still an infant. The deaths of his six elder brothers, repeated disasters, foreign interference, and domestic corruption create the conditions for his disastrous succession 7 9.

Predicted Collapse

The following events belong to the original future revealed by Chacha, not an inevitable outcome of the altered timeline.

Changing the Future

Emperor Hongyao orders the trusted ministers who can hear Shen Anxin to protect her, regard her as an auspicious divine maiden, and use her information for Great Qi’s benefit. They keep their ability to hear her secret 11.

Subsequent events visibly diverge from Chacha’s original history. Southern Xia’s imperial preceptor, attempting to divine Great Qi’s fortune, instead announces signs of a golden age. The court also begins pursuing technological rewards and wider access to useful knowledge 33 34 42.

Government and Law

Imperial Leadership

• Emperor Hongyao: A decisive ruler devoted to government and public welfare. Chacha describes him as resting only four hours a day 6.
• Crown Prince Xiao Yanchen: Widely trusted as a future benevolent ruler because of his provincial work, disaster relief, investigations of corruption, and care for the populace 7.
• The princes: Expected to develop useful talents rather than live idly at public expense. The younger princes respect the crown prince and have no original intention of competing for his position 3 7.

Institutions

Domestic Violence Law

• A man found beating a woman in his household is forcibly conscripted and sent to the battlefield, regardless of whether the victim files charges 31.
• The woman may request an unconditional divorce, which the authorities promptly arrange 31.
• Introduced by a previous ruler of Great Qi, the law helped establish a lasting social contempt for men who demonstrate strength by abusing women 31.

Military

• Regional strength: Great Qi is militarily superior to Southern Xia and is described as foremost in military strength 26 27.
• Merit-based promotion: Wartime rewards and promotion encouraged soldiers to defeat enemies, contributing to the army’s success 41.
• Frontier deployment: Its strongest active commanders are stationed at the borders. The capital largely retains newly trained officers and veterans whose old ailments prevent further battlefield service 29.
• Cavalry improvements: Shen Anxin’s ideas for saddles, stirrups, and horseshoes have already strengthened the army before her court appearance 1.
• Strategic restraint: Despite its strength, war with Southern Xia would burden a population recovering from conflict and expose Great Qi to intervention by Western Rong and Northern Di 27.

Society and Education

Social Mobility

• Military merit and the imperial examinations allow people to rise regardless of origin. Great Qi’s shifting interest groups have not yet consolidated into the rigid hereditary order found in Southern Xia 36.
• Emperor Hongyao’s demand for talent supports opportunities beyond established elite families, later extending to artisans and inventors 36 42.
• These opportunities remain contested: powerful families attempt to restrict cheap paper and books to preserve their advantage in education and official appointments 49.

Literary Development

• Northern development has long prioritized survival, military strength, and livelihoods over poetry and prose. Great Qi consequently trails Southern Xia in literary accomplishments 12.
• Jixia Academy abandoned its northern branches after Great Xia moved south, leaving the south with a century of stronger institutional continuity 12.
• Emperor Hongyao hopes to attract a Jixia Academy branch, along with its books and teaching traditions. Shen Anxin’s literary challenge produces a wager requiring the academy to provide staff and books if she wins 35 37.
• After the contest, the emperor gives Jixia Academy two months to deliver the wagered books and orders the publication of Lingering Voices of Immortal Sages without an author’s name 40.

Foreign Relations

Southern Xia

• Shared heritage: Both countries trace their roots to Great Xia. Their people share a language and writing system, and many ordinary northerners welcome Southern Xia’s delegation as visiting kin 26.
• Initial policy: Great Qi seeks peaceful coexistence, trade, and mutual development rather than annexation 8 27.
• Cultural insecurity: Southern Xia’s preservation of Great Xia’s institutions leads Great Qi’s court to seek its approval despite possessing superior military power 26.
• Hostile intentions: Southern Xia’s delegation and Jixia Academy attempt to humiliate Great Qi, while the original future reveals schemes to obstruct relief, spread damaging rumors, and draw away wealthy or capable citizens 12 27 33.
• Negotiating gains: Emperor Hongyao turns the discovery of a substituted phoenix gift into a demand for grain from three border granaries in Guanshan Circuit. Later negotiations address relations, trade, resources, and taxation 29 34.

Western Rong and Northern Di

• Both are continuing frontier threats that require Great Qi to keep capable commanders outside the capital 8 29.
• In the original future, they cooperate against Great Qi and ultimately join Southern Xia in its destruction 8 9.
• Chacha also exposes a future Western Rong attempt to demoralize Great Qi’s army using stolen garments belonging to Empress Wei, allowing the court to intervene before the theft is completed 25.

Technology and Economic Reform

Invention Rewards

Emperor Hongyao establishes graded rewards for discoveries and inventions that benefit Great Qi, explicitly opening eligibility to people of any background 42.

• Rewards can include office, salary, land, precious metals, fame, and status, scaled to the contribution 42.
• The artisan who independently devises woodblock printing becomes the first person entered in the Welfare Chronicle. He receives an earl’s title, profit shares, a residence, estates, and other honors 41 42.
• The decree encourages practical knowledge across professions rather than limiting recognition to conventional scholarly accomplishments 42.

Documented Innovations

Papermaking Monopoly Investigation

• Huai City’s three major workshops conspire to murder Yan Xuetong’s parents and suppress their improved papermaking method 48.
• The powers behind the workshops include the Pei Clan, the Xiang Clan, and Prince Huai. The clans preserve high paper prices to restrict commoners’ educational opportunities and protect elite influence 49.
• The Pei and Xiang clans secretly send half their paper production to their main families in Southern Xia, consuming Great Qi’s resources while obstructing its literary development 49.
• Emperor Hongyao orders a comprehensive investigation and arrests without exceptions, including those protected by noble status 49.