Shuzhou

Biodata

Geography and Layout

Shuzhou is a major southern city of the Great Wei Dynasty, connected to foreign trade and surrounded by distinct regional routes. The southern passes and military towns are restricted, while the east leads toward lakes and seas, the west toward Crow Mountain and the Red River, and northern routes reach numerous county towns. 12

• The city is arranged around four horizontal and eight vertical thoroughfares, extending east to west and narrowing north to south. 15
• Bashan Street runs along the central axis; the Marquis Dingyuan's estate stands north of it near its intersection with Zhennan Street. 15
• Sishui Street connects to Bashan Street on an eastward route through the city. 28
• Streets are paved in smooth bluestone and regularly swept; commercial buildings are largely uniform wooden structures with deep purplish-red lacquer. 15
• Zhennan Street contains government offices and receives heightened deployment of City Guards and Judicial Department officers during periods of unrest. 213
• The city includes the East Market, West Market, North City, Yanhuaxiang, and the waters of Quchi, where painted boats moor. 79 163 247

Commerce and Society

Shuzhou's prosperity rests on its position as a meeting point for Wei merchants, foreign traders, aristocratic households, scholars, and jianghu figures.

• Foreign merchants gather in the western part of the city, selling unusual goods and wearing distinctive regional dress. 12
• Poshushuo visitors commonly wear veils and layers of clothing that reveal only their colorful eyes; Mountain Tribe visitors favor bright clothing and numerous clinking ornaments. 28
• Local Wei merchants dominate many eastern shops, alongside traders from Jingzhou, Yanzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou, and the central prefectures. 79
• Imported goods include Guangyue's Yunsong Paper, Jiangnan smoke ink, Northern Prefecture wolf-hair brushes, and Jingzhou inkstones. 49
• The city openly trades in Barbarian slaves, exposing sharp divisions between wealthy residents, foreign merchants, and people forced into servitude. 28
• Yanhuaxiang's pleasure quarters are a major commercial district, where Qin Towers purchase goods from Jishi Pharmacy for their patrons and courtesans. 102

Medicine Trade

The medicine business becomes a major arena of competition and political influence within Shuzhou.

• Jishi Pharmacy operates from a large storefront in eastern Shuzhou, displaying the couplet: “Pray the world has no sickness, fear not the shop's dust on medicine.” 79
• Hundred Herbs Hall partners with the Xiao Family Medicine Hall, supplying prescriptions, medicinal herbs, and five tea beverages for commission sale. 102
• The five beverages are Wang Ji Tea, Divine Ox Tea, Old Platinum Tea, Strawberry Tea, and Beauty Tea; Hundred Herbs Hall initially grants the Xiao Family Medicine Hall half of the profits. 102
• Tea sales make Hundred Herbs Hall widely known in the city and ease the Xiao Manor's financial strain. Jishi Pharmacy alone earns roughly three hundred taels daily, with a net profit of one hundred taels. 102
• The Jingzhou Liu Family's Xinglin Zhai later challenges Hundred Herbs Hall through lower-priced medicinal herbs and a resident renowned physician. 213 228

Government and Major Powers

Shuzhou's formal government is counterbalanced by the entrenched influence of the Xiao Family and its Dingyuan Army.

• The Shu Provincial Administration, Surveillance Commissioner's Office, and Commander's Office each have Left and Right Commissioners. 124
• Provincial Commissioners govern civil affairs and taxation through the Tax Revenue and Household Registration Departments. 124
• Liu Hong, the Left Provincial Administrator, effectively dominates the Provincial Administration while Right Commissioner Yang Ye approaches retirement and withdraws from regular affairs. 124
• The Shuzhou City Guard and Judicial Department respond to major disturbances and arrest remaining jianghu participants after the attack on Hundred Herbs Hall. 112
• The Xiao Family has maintained two centuries of influence in Shuzhou, with military power, government connections, marriage ties to the Duke of Gan, and relatives serving as civil officials. 32 165
• Marquis Dingyuan's estate is one of the city's central political landmarks, while the Dingyuan Army remains essential to Shuzhou's security. 15 119

Culture

Shuzhou supports an active scholarly and artistic scene alongside its martial and commercial life.

• Guiyun Academy serves as a gathering place for scholars, poetry events, and calligraphic study. 208 220
• Li Huaigu, a Shuzhou scholar from a family of physicians and disciple of Guiyun Academy's Yue Ming, returns after placing third in the imperial examinations as Tanhua. 29
• Chen Yi's poetry and calligraphy become widely discussed in the city; his work attracts both admiration for its quality and criticism of his public character. 39
• The arrival of Chen Yunfan as Zhuangyuan draws officials and local attention, reflecting the importance attached to elite examination success in Shuzhou. 50

History

For generations, the Xiao Family's local power has been deeply woven into Shuzhou's political, military, and family networks. Their influence extends through the Dingyuan Army, local offices, and alliances with major southern families such as the Duke of Gan's Zhang Family. 50 165

By the present story, Shuzhou is recovering while the Xiao Family rebuilds the Dingyuan Army and develops the Wushan Mutual Market with the Mountain Tribe. Xiao Jinghong argues that an immediate war with the Liu Family would damage both the city and the recovering army. 119 206

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Early city life — Chen Yi explores Shuzhou's ordered streets, foreign trade districts, markets, scholarly culture, and sharp social disparities. 15 28 29
• Medicine Hall expansion — Hundred Herbs Hall's alliance with the Xiao Family turns tea and medicine into a powerful new economic force in the city. 102
• Hundred Herbs Hall attack — Jianghu guests, the Shuzhou Liu Family, and the Phantom Sound Sect attack Hundred Herbs Hall, causing widespread alarm and exposing factional conflict inside the city. 112 117
• Summer grain crisis — Multiple factions target the grain stores of the three towns linked to Shuzhou, intending to destabilize the Xiao Family, delay the Mutual Market, and create unrest. 201 206
• Grain-market struggle — The Jizhou Trading Company and local grain merchants exploit rising prices, while Chen Yi's allies intervene through rumor, grain purchases, and low-price sales. 228 270 309
• Fall of Liu Hong — Liu Hong's collusion with hostile forces is exposed; Xinglin Zhai is sealed, Liu Family members are arrested, and Old Master Xiao ultimately kills Liu Hong for treason. 304 340 347
• Jianghu convergence — Martial artists increasingly gather in Shuzhou because White Immortal is present, while figures such as Ye Guxian, Shui Hetong, and the Wind and Rain Tower become involved in its conflicts. 333 357 403