Jiang Yunsheng

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Jiang Yunsheng (姜云晟)
Alias(es)	“Brother Jiang” while traveling as a merchant; “scumbag dad” in Jiang Nuan’s private thoughts 1 174 175
Gender	Male
Age	In his fifties 154
Affiliation	Great Xia imperial family and court 1 202
Occupation/Role	Emperor of Great Xia 1
Status	Alive; returns to the capital after a three-year tour 243
First Appearance	Chapter 1 1

Background / History

Jiang Yunsheng’s father conquered the realm and named him Crown Prince early. However, the late emperor’s protection of Jiang Yan threatened Yunsheng’s position and left him deeply resentful. After ascending the throne, Yunsheng kept Jiang Yan in the capital under the pretext of recuperation, effectively placing him under house arrest 8 72.

His reign inherited severe financial constraints. Rewards to the founding generation’s meritorious officials and recurring minor disasters had depleted the treasury. Great Xia had enjoyed stability for only twenty-odd years, its army had weakened, and border raids remained a problem 8 18.

Yunsheng had dealt with most of his princely brothers after his accession, including killing several. He spared his sixth brother, Prince Xin, after officials argued that the apparently obedient prince posed little threat. He later discovered that Xin had maintained a concealed network of supporters in the capital 91.

Original Timeline and Forewarned Fate

The following outcomes belong to the future revealed through Jiang Nuan’s memories and Guagua, rather than events completed in the altered timeline.

Forewarned outcome	Details
Crown Prince’s downfall	Jiang Chengze would be deposed in three years, imprisoned, and die after becoming ill. Guagua attributes the father–son estrangement to malicious advisers convincing Yunsheng that Chengze intended to usurp him 7 18.
Yunsheng’s death	Jiang Nuan predicts that he will die in six years. Later revelations identify Gu poison as a factor in his original decline 2 220.
Destructive succession	Jiang Ruihui would become the next ruler, cause his siblings to die or become crippled, and ruin the realm 37.
Great Xia’s fall	Jiang Nuan warns that the dynasty will disappear in seven years 1 2.

Appearance

• Wears bright yellow on his first appearance and is associated with imperial dragon robes 1 8.
• Has strong, well-contoured hands with defined joints and faint blue veins around the knuckles; the ministers regard them as both powerful and attractive 87.
• His expensive clothing and cultivated bearing make him a convincing wealthy merchant while traveling incognito 174 203.
• Can shift from a gentle, unassuming demeanor to an overwhelmingly commanding presence when revealing his imperial authority 180.

Personality

Yunsheng combines political calculation with a pronounced taste for teasing and theatrical reversals. He enjoys appearing ordinary until an opponent overreaches, then revealing his authority and watching their confidence collapse. This habit appears in both his confrontations with corrupt merchants and his deliberate performance of ignorance during the Nine-Link Puzzle presentation 154 180 197.

He is ambitious but attentive to practical constraints. Gunpowder and improved weapons revive his desire to unify the world, while financial shortages make him eager for hidden treasure and a profitable government salt business. He also abandons a proposed Mount Tai ceremony after Jiang Nuan’s thoughts persuade him that it is unnecessary and vulnerable to having its prestige undermined by later rulers 8 91 111 223.

His pragmatism can be ruthless. He eliminates hostile agents once he believes he has the necessary intelligence, rejects assassins’ appeals to a “fair fight,” and considers extracting labor from imprisoned envoys before deciding their fate. Yet he also uses controlled punishments rather than execution when they better serve his purposes, as with Prince Xin’s guarded mountain exile 138 170 227.

His affection for Jiang Nuan develops from an initially instrumental interest. At first, he barely recognizes her and uses her thoughts to investigate threats; later, he genuinely regards her as his daughter. He becomes jealous when she speaks fondly of Jiang Yehua or imagines escaping with her family without including him 1 7 27 239.

Abilities & Skills

Hearing Jiang Nuan’s Inner Voice

• Hears Jiang Nuan’s unspoken thoughts and Guagua’s contributions to her internal conversations 1 2.
• Uses their revelations to locate hidden valuables, expose political loyalties, and anticipate assassination attempts 8 91 169 216.
• Initially conceals his knowledge, allowing Jiang Nuan to believe her thoughts remain private 8 16.
• Does not demonstrate unrestricted mind-reading: his documented access is to Jiang Nuan’s inner voice and the information conveyed through it 1 2.

Political Strategy and Counterintelligence

• Keeps captured spies corresponding with Prince Xin, feeding the prince controlled information before summoning him to the capital 133.
• Uses ambiguous praise and staged revelations to draw out opponents’ ambitions and expose their networks 133 137.
• Converts Tuoba Ran’s rescue into an agreement for the Black Moon Kingdom to join Great Xia 202.
• Disperses Liu Ji and his companions to different postings, preventing a potentially dangerous group from remaining together 222.
• Orders the Shadow Guards to verify suspected traitors rather than treating Zhong Feiwen’s ledger as sufficient proof by itself 229.

Talent Recognition and Recruitment

• Tests Han Xin through a sparring match and supplies a recommendation to the northern army camp 200.
• Gives Zhang Liang ten men to demonstrate his ability by resolving the situation in Ren County 218.
• Recruits Lü Zhi into public administration and assesses her performance in Pei County 222 223.
• Rewards useful inventions with money and noble titles, encouraging craftsmen and farmers to submit innovations to the court 113.

Combat and Threat Response

• Dodges Jie Ke’s poisoned dagger after anticipating the attack; a guard deflects it back into the assassin 170.
• Knocks an attacker’s saber aside with a stone, saving Tuoba Ran 201.
• Relies on elite guards and concealed personnel for larger engagements; his openly accompanying guards can defeat numerous bandits without the entire escort joining the fight 194 201.
• No cultivation realm or formal martial rank is documented for him.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Imperial dragon robes — referenced when describing the strain imposed by the impoverished treasury 8.
• New-Model Hand Cannon — personally lights the fuse during its first court demonstration; the projectile shatters rocks and leaves a crater roughly two meters across 111.
• Gu King’s egg — supplied by You Youyou through Jiang Nuan; he swallows it without hesitation during the effort to resolve the Miao County Gu-poison threat 243.

Relationships

• Jiang Nuan — His ninth daughter, born to Attendant Liu. Her childhood neglect initially escapes his notice; learning of it prompts him to investigate her treatment, and their relationship grows into genuine paternal affection 1 2 239.
• Xiao Xiao — His empress. They exchange a knowing glance over the danger of exposing Jiang Nuan’s inner voice and jointly learn about Chengze’s original fate 4 18.
• Jiang Chengze — His son and Crown Prince. Strict expectations make their early relationship resemble sovereign and subject more than father and son 17.
• Jiang Yehua — His fourth son. Yehua’s care for Jiang Nuan in the original timeline makes Yunsheng jealous of the affection she expresses for her brother 27.
• Jiang Ruihui — His fifth son and the future ruler blamed for Great Xia’s destruction. Yunsheng is surprised because Ruihui appears clever, detached, and uninterested in competing for power 37.
• Wang Dehai — His favored chief eunuch. Quick-witted enough to cover Yunsheng’s reactions to Jiang Nuan’s thoughts and discreetly preserve his merchant disguise 1 5 175.
• Jiang Yi — A trusted imperial martial artist whom Yunsheng assigns to sensitive enforcement tasks, including retrieving Zhong Feiwen’s hidden notebook 2 228.
• Jiang Yan — A prince whose favor with the late emperor threatened Yunsheng’s position as heir, creating lasting resentment 72.
• Jiang Xiangyang / Prince Xin — His sixth brother and a concealed political rival. Yunsheng eventually strips him of political freedom through guarded exile 91 138.
• Jiang Xuanming — Prince Xin’s heir, who provides evidence against his father. Yunsheng requires him to surrender his military tally before permitting his departure 138 139.
• Chi Hengji — His chancellor. Chi directly challenges Yunsheng over his use of Jiang Nuan, forcing him to acknowledge the issue 239.
• Tuoba Ran — The Black Moon Kingdom’s sixth prince, who idolizes Yunsheng. Their agreement develops into cooperation between the two states 201 202 243.
• You Youyou — An ally in Miao County who supplies the Gu King’s egg and handles the Gu side of their joint campaign against the rebels 243.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Discovering Jiang Nuan’s Value

Event	Jiang Yunsheng’s role
First encounter with the inner voice	Hears Jiang Nuan predict Great Xia’s fall and privately insult him; Wang Dehai must identify the neglected ninth princess for him 1.
Merit Assessment Hall scandal	Acts on her thoughts to catch Attendant An with her lover, confirming that the information can be used in practice 2.
Addressing palace neglect	Investigates Jiang Nuan’s deprivation, backs her decision concerning the offenders, and gives her the Hibiscus Pavilion as a new residence 2 4.
Hidden palace treasure	Pretends to investigate a security-related passage while following her internal clues, recovering about a dozen chests of gold and silver 8.
Refugee-relief fraud	Uses a genuine refugee’s willingness to drink sandy porridge to expose impostors. Plans to adopt Jiang Nuan’s suggestion of mixing sand into relief rice to deter theft 16.

Technology and Military Expansion

Development	Jiang Yunsheng’s role
Alchemists redirected toward useful work	Takes interest in retaining them after hearing about gunpowder’s military potential 18.
Improved ironworking	Recognizes the military value of Jiang Nuan’s superior kitchen knives and summons her to the army’s year-end inspection 63.
Saddles and horseshoes	Identifies the benefits of reducing hoof wear and preserving costly warhorses; calls Jiang Nuan his “lucky star” 64.
Government salt opportunity	Receives a refining method costing one-tenth of the prevailing process or less, offering relief for the depleted treasury 91.
Cannon demonstration and production	Personally fires the new weapon, then orders production and prioritizes Wei Guangliang’s forces for the planned campaign against Japan 111 112.
Innovation rewards	Makes Yin Jiayu and Guliang Tu barons with stipends and titles inheritable for three generations, though without governing authority. Extends rewards to other useful inventions and high-yield crops 113.

Court Threats and Assassination Plots

Threat	Response
Prince Xin’s network	Controls the prince’s informants, lures him back to the capital, and confronts him with the exposed agents. Chooses guarded mountain exile over execution 133 137 138.
Goryeo delegation’s poisoned dagger	Retells the assassination story Jiang Nuan recalls with an altered ending to unsettle the conspirators. Survives Jie Ke’s attack and orders Sha Zhang to conquer Goryeo with 300,000 troops 169 170.
Yu Henan’s banquet plot	Learns that Yu intends to provoke the extermination of his own clan by attacking the emperor. Permits Yu Xianzhi to remove his son before the attack occurs 171.
Bolang Sands ambush	Learns of Zhang Liang’s planned 120-jin iron-hammer attack through Jiang Nuan’s thoughts and prioritizes survival and capture before recruitment 216.
Jing Kingdom inn ambush	Defeats attackers and their false-soldier backup, having intercepted the expected reinforcements. Orders the captured enemy agents killed 227.

Incognito Tour and State-Building

Yunsheng leaves the capital disguised as a wealthy merchant, with Cen Xue posing as another daughter. The disguise allows him to hear complaints directly and encounter abuses that local officials expect to conceal from imperial scrutiny 174 175.

Location or encounter	Outcome
Qingshui County	Endures entry fees, banquet charges, and escalating extortion before revealing his identity. Exposes Yang Junnan’s fabricated connection to Chi Hengji; later becomes openly furious at the atrocities recorded in Yang’s diary 177 180 182.
Zhao and Gong trading companies	Rescues the caravans from bandits and accepts paid escort work. When Gong Zhen and allied merchants attempt to seize the Zhao company, imperial soldiers surround their residences 194 196.
Kaiyang treasure discovery	Learns that Gong Zhen has nearly excavated a larger former-dynasty treasure and becomes interested in retrieving it 197.
Tuoba Ran’s rescue	Protects the persecuted prince and offers assistance in taking the Black Moon throne in exchange for bringing the kingdom under Great Xia 201 202.
Pei County appointments	Places Liu Ji’s circle in separate postings and gives Lü Zhi an administrative opportunity, approving of her diligence and ability 222 223.
Ran County infiltration	Investigates Zhong Feiwen’s ledger, removes Jing agents, grants three years of tax relief, and establishes a free school for children under fifteen. Gives Zhong three years to improve his governing, with his life at stake 228 229.
Miao County alliance	Cooperates with You Youyou and uses Jiang Nuan’s detailed intelligence to arrest rebels and resolve the Gu-poison threat 243.
Return to the capital	Completes the three-year tour amid increased food production, arms stockpiles, and recruitment. Black Moon becomes a vassal two years after Tuoba Ran’s accession, and the allied states defeat Jing Kingdom 243.

Notable Quotes

“Nuannuan, why do you look so unhappy?”
— Teasing Jiang Nuan after securing the treasure she intended to claim 8.

“Nuannuan, you truly are my lucky star!”
— After hearing her ideas for horseshoes and saddles 64.

“How ridiculous. You came to take my life, and now that I've captured you, you actually want me to let you go? As if you could get so lucky.”
— Rejecting an assassin’s demand for a fair fight 227.