Yang Province

Biodata

Geography and Position

• Yang Province is the largest and militarily strongest of the Southern Eight Provinces, which also include Chu, Tai, Wu, Xiang, Jiao, Wei, and Qiong Provinces. 350
• Wu Commandery, its administrative seat, is a waterway hub and the province's largest and most prosperous commandery. 195
• The Yan River on the northern border is a crucial defensive barrier against outside enemies. 263
• The southeastern frontier includes Eastern Continent Prefecture, a territory once known as the Eastern Continent Kingdom. Its former Divine Mansion ruler was executed by Great Zhou, after which the area was incorporated into the dynasty and repeatedly raided by the Eastern Ridge Barbarians. 282
• Eastern Continent Prefecture is comparable in area to three Ascending Dragon Prefectures and had lost five or six prefects to continual warfare over several centuries. 282

Governance

Li Xinge's Administration

• Li Xinge reorganized provincial offices after assuming the governorship, promoting allies including Wang Tianming as Sima and Zheng Cangfeng as Administrator. 373
• He abolished the wartime Governor-General position after consolidating the Governor's authority. 373
• The temporary “bandit suppression tax” imposed by the River Transport Department was abolished under his order. 372
• In negotiations with Prince Cheng, Li Xinge secured a ten-year grace period before Yang Province would resume regular imperial tax payments; the Court waived its centuries of arrears. 372

History

Blood Demon Sacred Cult Invasion

The Blood Demon Sacred Cult infiltrated Yang Province to scout its defenses before launching an invasion from Tai Province. Captured scouts revealed the planned attack to the provincial authorities. 195

The invasion quickly overwhelmed key strongholds. Wuyue City fell after its protective formation collapsed, while Wuzi Pass and Xunxing City also fell in surprise assaults. Within two days, five strongholds had been breached and thirteen Innate cultivators killed. 245

Yang Province's major families, sects, and officials responded by contributing more than thirty Innate cultivators and over two thousand Qi and Blood cultivators to the defense. 245 The decisive confrontation was ordered at the Yan River, where forces from across the province assembled against the Blood Demon Sacred Cult. 263 264

During the battle, Prince Jingjiang betrayed Governor Ouyang Jing and revealed that he had allied with the Blood Demon Sacred Cult in an attempt to restore direct Imperial Court control over Yang Province. 271

Li Clan Consolidation

Following Venerable Jingkong's decline, the Fu Family's attempt to align with the Wei Family of Wu Province threatened Yang Province's political order. 320 Li Xinge responded by eliminating the Fu Family and dismissing or executing officials tied to it, leaving the Li Family-led bloc in control of provincial affairs. 331

The death of Wei Yiren further elevated the Li Family's standing. Li Xinge's authority became greater than that of Governor Jingkong in practice, and his decisions became the effective will of Yang Province. 335

Eastern Ridge Campaign

Li Xinge declared his intention to conquer the Eastern Ridge, arguing that its control of Yang Province's eastern passage, persistent border raids, and Divine Mansion-level rulers made it a strategic threat despite its barren land. 454 455

Yang Province gathered cultivators, clan forces, sect disciples, rogue cultivators, and Demon Beast contingents in Eastern Continent Prefecture for the campaign. 465 After the Eastern Ridge Kingdom was destroyed, Yang Province claimed two-thirds of its territory, while Xu Province seized the remaining third. 492

The conquered territory was reorganized under a new prefecture-and-county system, replacing the former tribal structure. 506

Relationships

• Great Zhou Dynasty — Yang Province remains formally subject to Great Zhou, though local aristocratic powers exercised autonomous control for centuries before Li Xinge's official appointment. 219 371
• Tai Province — The Blood Demon Sacred Cult invaded Yang Province from Tai Province, causing the province's most severe recent military crisis. 195 245
• Wu Province — The Wei Family of Wu Province sought to install Wei Yiren as Yang Province's governor after Venerable Jingkong's death. 319 320
• Eastern Ridge — A longstanding hostile frontier whose barbarians repeatedly raided Eastern Continent Prefecture before Li Xinge's campaign destroyed their kingdom. 282 455 492
• Xu Province — A rival in the partition of the former Eastern Ridge Kingdom; Xu Province took one-third of the conquered territory. 488 492
• Lingxu Sect — Its patriarch, Venerable Jingkong, governed Yang Province before entrusting the Governor's Seal and his sect's future to Li Xinge. 325 369