Great Gan Dynasty

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Great Gan Dynasty (大干王朝)
Species/Race	Human polity
Affiliation	Imperial court; ruled by the Li imperial family
Status	Active; engaged in renewed war against the Great Qing Dynasty 46 49
First Appearance	Chapter 22

Territory and Government

Feature	Details
Territorial division	Eighteen provinces; Qing Province lies in the northeast, while Yun Province contains Cloud Glow Mountain. 23 24
Capital	Capital City, seat of the imperial palace and court. 33 35
Sovereign	Empress Li Yuechan, the former Ninth Princess, succeeded Emperor Li De through his final decree. 34 35
Imperial authority	The Imperial Seal of State symbolizes sovereign legitimacy and unlocks the imperial treasury. 34 37
Military pillar	The Imperial Guard, commanded by Wang Jian; it numbered 100,000 troops in the Capital City during Li De's final days. 34 37
State Preceptor	Lin Hanzhou was appointed Grand Protector State Preceptor, with authority described as equivalent to seeing the Empress herself. 37 41
Imperial treasury	A sealed underground cavern containing thousands of martial arts texts, rare ores, medicinal herbs, and other resources accumulated by the dynasty. 37

History

Decline under Emperor Li De

By the time Lin Hanzhou arrived in Great Gan, Emperor Li De had been bedridden for years and was believed to be near death. Eunuchs dominated the court, taxes rose repeatedly, famine affected the population, and provincial unrest had begun. 23 25 27

The dynasty faced threats from nearly every direction. The Prince of Yan, Prince of Wu, and Prince of Shu controlled powerful regional forces; Cloud Glow Sect, Vajra Temple, and Emotionless Gate operated independently of the court; and the Great Qing Dynasty prepared in the north. 23 27

Great Qing’s first major invasion exposed the weakness of Great Gan’s army. Liao Province fell after its 100,000 border troops collapsed, and Qing Province later fell after Great Gan’s 500,000-man force suffered a crushing defeat. 28 The remaining court was further weakened by the First and Third Princes’ struggle for control of the Ministry of War. 31

Within the Capital City, princely private troops and powerful eunuchs operated openly, while officials could be eliminated for opposing the princes. Lin Hanzhou judged the dynasty’s national fortune and public order to be thoroughly decayed. 33

Succession Crisis

Li De regretted pursuing immortality while neglecting both the empire and his daughter. Before his death, he entrusted the Imperial Seal to Li Yuechan and relied on Wang Jian and the Imperial Guard to support her claim. 34

Li De’s final decree named Li Yuechan as Great Gan’s sovereign. The First Prince, Third Prince, and their allies denounced the decree as forged and prepared to remove her by force. 35

Lin Hanzhou intervened outside the palace, killing seven Grandmasters and more than a dozen Martial Masters in a single strike before compelling the princes and officials to submit to Li Yuechan. 36 After taking the throne, Li Yuechan executed the princes and officials involved in the coup and appointed Lin Hanzhou as Grand Protector State Preceptor. 37

Defense of the Capital City

Soon after Li Yuechan’s accession, 100,000 Snow Wolf Iron Cavalry of Great Qing bypassed the front and besieged the Capital City under two Grandmaster commanders. 37

Lin Hanzhou met the attackers alone, killed both Grandmasters, and eliminated additional Grandmaster-level officers amid the Qing ranks. Wang Jian then led the Imperial Guard in a counterattack that annihilated the invading force. 39 40

The victory stabilized Great Gan’s position. Lin Hanzhou became known across the realm as the Black-Clad State Protector and White-Haired Sword Saint, while the Qing front collapsed and Great Gan recovered two provinces. 40 41

Centralization and Internal Consolidation

The Three Feudal Lords initially submitted out of fear of Lin Hanzhou’s reputation, but their private armies and control over fertile territories remained a danger to the throne. 41 42

Li Yuechan summoned the lords to the Capital City under the pretext of rewarding their loyalty. They received honorary offices—Grand Preceptor, Grand Tutor, and Grand Guardian—but lost their practical authority. 42

The court then absorbed their private troops into a National Defense Army and deployed them to the northern border. The feudal lords were left confined to the Capital City, ending the long-standing division of military power and achieving Great Gan’s first true centralization since its founding. 42

Renewed Qing Invasion

Fifty years after the defense of the capital, Great Qing invaded again with a claimed million-man army and ten Grandmasters. Its vanguard rapidly seized more than half of Liao Province. 46

Great Gan had only five known Grandmasters, including three produced during the preceding fifty years through imperial resources and Lin Hanzhou’s guidance. 46 Lin Hanzhou nevertheless confronted the Qing force, killed all ten Grandmasters in one attack, annihilated the invading army, and pursued its remnants toward Hertu, Great Qing’s capital. 47 48 49

Military

Imperial Guard

• The dynasty’s principal capital defense force, commanded by Wang Jian. 34 40
• Numbered 100,000 during the Snow Wolf Iron Cavalry siege. 37 40
• Counterattacked after Lin Hanzhou broke the Qing command structure and routed the invading cavalry. 40

National Defense Army

• Formed by reorganizing the Three Feudal Lords’ private troops. 42
• Deployed to the northern border as part of the court’s effort to prevent regional military independence. 42

Grandmaster Assets

• At the start of the second Qing invasion, Great Gan possessed five Grandmasters in total. 46
• Three of these had emerged during the preceding fifty years, aided by imperial resources and Lin Hanzhou’s instruction. 45 46
• Li Yuechan herself reached the level of a veteran Grandmaster. 45

Imperial Treasury

• Opened only through the Imperial Seal of State, which was carved from an extraterrestrial meteorite by Great Gan’s founding emperor. 37
• Contains martial arts ranging from third-rate techniques to master-level manuals, with at least several thousand volumes in storage. 37
• Holds extensive reserves of rare herbs, century-old medicinal materials, and ores. 37
• Li Yuechan granted Lin Hanzhou unrestricted access after his role in securing her reign. 37

Relations

• Li Yuechan — reigning Empress; her rule was secured by Lin Hanzhou, who became Great Gan’s Grand Protector State Preceptor. 35 37 41
• Lin Hanzhou — the dynasty’s foremost protector and military deterrent; his victories preserved the capital, curbed the feudal lords, and repelled Great Qing. 40 42 48
• Wang Jian — Grand Commander of the Imperial Guard and a loyal defender of Li Yuechan’s succession. 34 35 40
• Three Feudal Lords — regional rulers who expanded their forces during the dynasty’s decline; later stripped of their private troops and retained in the Capital City. 23 27 42
• Cloud Glow Sect, Vajra Temple, and Emotionless Gate — the three major sects of Great Gan; they publicly submitted to the court after Lin Hanzhou’s rise while privately awaiting his decline. 23 43
• Great Qing Dynasty — northern rival responsible for repeated invasions, including the Snow Wolf Iron Cavalry assault and the later million-man campaign. 28 37 46