Great Xia

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Great Xia
Alias(es)	Great Xia Empire
Affiliation	Ruled by the Great Xia Imperial Clan
Status	Active
First Appearance	3

Government and Nobility

Great Xia is an eastern great power whose Imperial Clan has held political authority for over a thousand years. Its ruling bloodline continually produces Saint-level cultivators, making direct opposition to the clan exceptionally dangerous. 19

Institution / Rank	Function or significance
Emperor	Supreme ruler; Emperor Zhaowu shifted policy from defense to sustained offensives against the Orc Tribe. 22
Crown Prince	Qin Han held the position before marrying Wang Yushi as his principal consort. 38
Imperial Clan	The Qin imperial house; its members’ status and martial strength underpin the state’s rule. 19 29
Central Military Office	Ministry of War institution responsible for recruitment, training, garrisons, and troop deployment; it checks and is checked by the Ministry of War. 25
Ministry of War	Formulates military policy and strategy. 25
Enfeoffed nobles	Dukes and marquises retain substantial authority within their fiefs, but must answer imperial summons and provide troops in national emergencies. 4
Ulan City Governor	Oversees Ulan City’s construction and garrison administration; subordinate in military importance to the Northern Expedition General. 47
Northern Expedition General	Directs strategy against the Orc Tribe and assigns forces along the Long Wall. 47

The empire’s noble hierarchy strongly shapes military and social standing. A prince with a single-character title ranks beneath only the emperor and crown prince, placing Prince Heng’s heir above ordinary noble heirs. 29 Great clans such as the Longxi Wang Clan possess major influence, while Emperor Zhaowu has promoted officials from lesser families and humble backgrounds to curb old aristocratic power. 28 40

Cultivation

Vital Essence is Great Xia’s distinctive cultivation system, strengthening the body and increasing combat power. The empire recognizes cultivation realms including Earth, Mysterious, Yellow, and Human; Mysterious Realm cultivators can operate freely amid armies of ordinary soldiers. 3 47

Cultivation art	Known characteristics
Guixin Scripture	An imperial cultivation art that separates mild Vital Essence from violent, harmful essence. It emphasizes a stable foundation and can eventually lead to the Mysterious Realm. 25
Bright Heart Manual	One of Great Xia’s foremost cultivation arts; its early stages temper the body and cleanse meridians and marrow, while later stages may allow entry into the sacred. 13
Breaker Manual	A battlefield-oriented art whose first half is exchangeable for military merit. Its rapid, brutal refinement carries serious physical risks; the damaged latter half is reserved for those who render exceptional service. 38 50

Cultivators are integral to the officer corps: every Great Xia officer above brigade commander must be a cultivator, ensuring that enemy cultivators cannot easily decapitate a unit’s leadership. 47

Military

Organization

Unit	Composition	Commander
Squad	10 soldiers	Squad leader
Company	10 squads	Company commander
Brigade	3 companies	Brigade commander
Battalion	5 brigades	Captain
Regiment	3–5 battalions	Commandant
Army	Multiple regiments, cavalry, armored soldiers, and civilian laborers	General

12

Great Xia can field armies of tens of thousands under a single general, a scale revered by Fusang soldiers. Noble private armies alone total nearly 200,000 men, while the Imperial Guards provide an additional major force through rotating garrisons. 12 29

Equipment and logistics

• Great Xia’s quartermasters issue fine-steel spears, uniforms, cowhide boots, and winter clothing to troops. 29
• The northern frontier relies on coal for heating because the grasslands lack large timber; it has supported Great Xia’s long-term military presence against the Orc Tribe. 47
• Noble households must provide their own armor, weapons, horses, and necessities during northern expeditions, while the government supplies grain and fodder. 22
• Military formations trace back to traditions such as Marquis Wu’s Eight Formations, from which Fusang’s Takeda Eight Formations were developed. 30

Territories and Key Locations

Location	Role
Imperial Capital	Great Xia’s capital and the world’s greatest city, with a population exceeding one million. It houses the imperial palace and Central Military Office. 25 31
Dayuan	The fief of Prince Heng’s line after Qin Lan exchanged fertile lands near the capital for this territory. 4
Fengtai Camp	Major assembly point southwest of the capital, where noble private armies gather before northern deployment. 23
Jinmen / Hangu Port	Eastern gateway to the capital, allowing seagoing vessels to enter the Gu River and sail toward Tong County. 22
Guihua City	Major waypoint on the main northern route from the capital to Ulan City. 41
Ulan City	Great Xia’s northernmost city and a fortified defensive stronghold opposite the Orc Tribe’s Trading City. 41 47
Long Wall	Northern defensive line built to contain the Orc Tribe before Emperor Zhaowu adopted an offensive strategy. 22

Foreign Relations

Goryeo

Goryeo is nominally a vassal state of Great Xia. Its king holds the same formal rank as Prince Heng, and Goryeo officials react with alarm when large Great Xia fleets appear at Hanyang. 21

Qin Mo’s force trades with Goryeo for supplies and seeks people aged twelve to sixteen in exchange for cloth and silk, reflecting the unequal power relationship between the two states. 21

Fusang

Great Xia maintains a prominent commercial presence in Fusang, particularly in Jokamachi’s Chinese Quarter. Great Xia merchants operate successful shops there, while Prince Heng’s recruitment campaigns draw Fusang ronin, ashigaru, and female warriors into military service. 11 15 16

Fusang society admires Great Xia’s culture, economy, and military institutions; Fusang nobles travel there to study, and its tactical traditions derive from Great Xia formations. 30

Tatar Tribe

Qin Mo trades sea salt for Tatar warhorses at favorable rates and discreetly provides Hu Ba with salt, armor, weapons, and Xu Liyan during the tribe’s succession conflict. He explicitly forbids the Tatars from pledging loyalty to him personally, requiring any allegiance to be directed only toward the Great Xia court and emperor. 41 43 46

Orc Tribe

Great Xia’s principal external war is against the Orc Tribe. The empire formerly defended behind the Long Wall, but Emperor Zhaowu began annual spring offensives into the Northern Wasteland after taking the throne. 22

Duke Wu’an Zhao Qirui captures the Orc stronghold of Trading City in winter, intending for it to draw an Orc counterattack that Great Xia can crush through coordinated northern and southern strikes. 47 48

Story Role / Major Arcs

Imperial recognition and northern conscription

An imperial edict confirms Qin Mo’s succession as Prince Heng’s heir and orders him to lead his retainers to the Imperial Capital before campaigning against Orc bandits. 3 As a feudal power, Dayuan must comply with this summons despite Qin Mo’s desire to build strength independently. 4 12

Recruitment and Fusang expansion

Great Xia’s recruitment network in Fusang brings Harukami Jiro into Qin Mo’s force, where he becomes a company commander over one hundred Fusang soldiers. 11 12 Qin Mo later recruits Kaihime and her women warriors, granting them equal pay and assigning them to care for wounded soldiers. 16 17

Fengtai and the noble military council

At Fengtai, Great Xia’s noble contingents assemble for the northern expedition. Qin Mo partners commercially with Qin Yumu and Qin Yuanze, then participates in Central Military Office councils overseen by Deputy Commander Chen Xuanji. 23 27

The contest between Qin Mo’s Fusang troops and Duke Wuwei’s private army demonstrates both the prejudices directed at Fusang recruits and the influence of aristocratic households in Great Xia’s military system. 28 29 30

Northern expedition

Emperor Zhaowu appoints Qin Mo as General Who Brings Peace to the Distant, fifth rank, and appoints Chen Xuanji to lead the noble armies to Ulan City. 40 The expedition crosses Guihua City and reaches Ulan during severe winter conditions. 41 47

Following the capture of Trading City, Great Xia’s commanders seek volunteers to reinforce Duke Wu’an against the expected Orc counterattack. Political maneuvering between Li Zinian, Chen Xuanji, and the noble contingents determines who will be sent. 48 49