Zhao Country

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Zhao Country (赵国)
Type	Neutral Character (ai)
Affiliation	Zhao Royal Family; domestic Martial Arts Forces, notably the Vast Righteous Sect and Black-Clad Society
Status	Defeated and surrendered to Wei Country; the Zhao King and royal clan were confined in Great Liang City 297
First Appearance	Chapter 13

Background / History

Zhao Country was one of the major states surrounding Great Wei. It bordered the sea and competed with Qi Country in maritime trade. Unlike Wei's entrenched hostility with Han, Zhao's early cooperation with Chu was portrayed as profit-driven rather than ideological. 29

Its royal authority weakened over time as major Martial Arts Forces gained influence. The Vast Righteous Sect became especially powerful, while the Zhao royal family was described as unable to fully control even its own Imperial Palace. 155 202

The country preserved the intact corpse of its Founding King within its Ancestral Temple. This shared practice among the royal houses led Zhao Hongming to suspect that the Imperial Jade Seals and preserved Founding Kings concealed a larger secret. 297

Government and Internal Factions

Faction / Figure	Position and influence
Chengxiang Emperor	Zhao Country's ruler during its conflicts with Wei. His authority was limited, and he later surrendered the Imperial Jade Seal to Zhao Hongming. 199 297
Li Mu	General associated with the Vast Righteous Sect; led Zhao's attack on Ying Commandery and later faced political blame after defeats against Wei. 166 199
Pang She	Prime Minister and leader of a rival court faction backed by other Martial Arts Forces. He used Zhao's defeats to undermine Li Mu and later turned to the God Worshiping Method in desperation. 199 200 285
Vast Righteous Sect	Zhao's most influential Martial Arts Force. It backed Li Mu and was sufficiently powerful that court factions avoided directly attacking it. 199
Black-Clad Society	Intelligence organization serving the Vast Righteous Sect and connected to the Zhao royal family. Its members specialized in movement techniques and disguise; its leader possessed Martial Courage First Grade cultivation. 145 146
Sword Casting Villa	A forging sect whose master, Zuo Jian, cooperated with Pang She to conduct the God Worshiping Ritual. 285 286

Military

Zhao Army

Li Mu commanded an army of 180,000 during the assault on Jin Yin City. The force consisted of three visibly distinct groups:

• Silver-armored spear troops, positioned as the reliable rear force.
• Coarsely dressed Martial Practitioners carrying varied weapons.
• Dull-eyed soldiers placed in the first echelon as expendable cannon fodder. 166

The army appeared large but lacked cohesion; Wu Qi judged that most of its troops were disorganized rather than elite. 166

God Worshipping Army

Facing collapse after repeated defeats, Pang She enlisted Zuo Jian to use the God Worshiping Method. The ritual consumed the Qi and Blood of civilians from five cities, creating 18,000 God Worshipping Martial Practitioners with Innate Realm or Aperture Opening Realm combat power. 285 286

• The sacrifices were reduced to shriveled corpses or flying sand after their essence was drained. 286 288
• The enhanced Zhao Army successfully ambushed Tang Zihao's Wei forces near Ye Yang City, catching them off guard with its abnormal strength. 286
• Zhao Hongming later connected the ritual's effects to Zuo Jian and regarded the God Worshipping Army as a serious obstacle to Wei's invasion. 288

Relations

• Wei Country — Principal rival and eventual conqueror. Zhao launched an invasion of Ying Commandery under Li Mu, but suffered repeated defeats, ceded Hedong territory, and ultimately surrendered. 156 166 202 297
• Chu Country — Initially cooperated with Zhao in a Chu-led alignment against Wei, with Chu offering significant concessions to gain Zhao's support. Their relationship later deteriorated amid the struggle over Shangdang. 28 29 254
• Han Country — Han ceded the seventeen cities of Shangdang to Zhao in an attempt to draw Zhao into war against Wei and gain time to rebuild. 253 254
• Qi Country — Commercial rival; both coastal states competed in trade. 29
• Vast Righteous Sect — Zhao's foremost Martial Arts Force and Li Mu's principal backer. Its defeat by Zhao Hongming destabilized the country's long-standing balance of power. 198 199
• Black-Clad Society — Zhao-linked intelligence network that placed spies in other countries, including Zhao Hongming's Ying Commandery. 145 146

Major Arcs

Campaign Against Ying Commandery

Zhao Country prepared an invasion force under Li Mu, prompting Wei to arm Zhao Hongming's forces in Ying Commandery. 156 157 Li Mu's 180,000-man army attacked Jin Yin City, but its internal divisions and poor troop quality were apparent from the outset. 166

Hedong Defeat and Cession

After Zhao Hongming defeated the Vast Righteous Sect Master, Zhao's military loss became a court crisis. Pang She's faction blamed Li Mu, while Censor Lin argued that the Black-Clad Society's intelligence failures had contributed to the disaster. 199

Wei envoy Zhang Yi exploited the rivalry between Pang She and Li Mu. Zhao Country subsequently ceded the Thirty Cities of Hedong to Wei. 200 202 204

Shangdang and Renewed War

Han Country ceded Shangdang County to Zhao in hopes that Zhao would oppose Wei's expansion. Zhao's possession of the strategic territory threatened Wei's campaign against Han and deepened the regional conflict. 253 254

Wei later captured twenty-seven Zhao cities in a single year, forcing Zhao to relocate its capital to Yangluo and plunging its court into panic. 285

Fall of Zhao Country

With Zhao's defenses failing, Pang She and Zuo Jian resorted to mass human sacrifice and the creation of the God Worshipping Army. 285 286 Despite these measures, Zhao Country fell to Wei.

Chengxiang Emperor personally presented the Imperial Jade Seal as proof of surrender. The Zhao royal family was stripped of power and placed under confinement in Great Liang City, while the seal was taken into Wei custody. 297

Imperial Jade Seal

Zhao Country's Imperial Jade Seal was its Treasure of the Realm and the principal instrument for controlling the capital's and Imperial Palace's formation arrays. 297

• It was carved from a single piece of rare jade and bore dragon-and-cloud carvings. 297
• Its seal face carried the inscription “Zhao Country's Treasure of the Realm.” 297
• Chengxiang Emperor surrendered it to Zhao Hongming alongside a method for refining it. 297
• Zhao Hongming initially declined to refine it, suspecting that the seals and preserved Founding Kings concealed an immortality-related secret. 297