Great Xia

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Great Xia (大夏) 1
Alias(es)	Great Xia Dynasty 1
Occupation/Role	Imperial dynasty and nation ruled by the Jiang family 1 64
Setting	A parallel world to Blue Star whose history followed a different course 161
Capital	Capital City 92 243
Founding Emperor	Jiang Yunsheng’s father, a ruler of humble origins 223 242
Emperor	Jiang Yunsheng during the main story 1
Crown Prince	Jiang Chengze 17 172
Status	Becomes the world’s only nation in the finale’s ten-year epilogue 244
First Appearance	Chapter 1 1

Background / History

Founding and Early Weaknesses

Great Xia’s founding emperor rose from humble origins and held the Feng and Shan sacrifices at Mount Tai after establishing the dynasty. Grand Commandant Zhai Ruizhen contributed to its founding by taking up arms when its cause was close to collapse 143 223 242.

Under the second emperor, Jiang Yunsheng, the dynasty remained vulnerable despite roughly twenty years of stability. Its treasury was empty, its army had declined, and raids continued along its borders. The royal family also inherited a conflict with the craft-focused Black Earth School: the school had refused to help Great Xia’s founders, and Jiang Yunsheng’s father subsequently suppressed its development 18 64.

Fall in Jiang Nuan’s Previous Life

In Jiang Nuan’s first life, Great Xia fell seven years after she turned ten. Its new emperor attempted to offer her to the invading ruler in exchange for peace; she instead jumped from the city wall 1.

The later account identifies the conqueror as the Black Moon Kingdom. Its occupation of Capital City and poor administration provoked widespread uprisings. Liu Ji and his companions eventually prevailed among more than a hundred rebel armies and established Great Han 219 220.

The loss of capable officials and commanders contributed to Great Xia’s weakness. Chi Hengji’s premature death threw the court into disorder, while Jiang Nuan believed Great General Mao’s survival could have prevented its military humiliation. Huang Chao, previously obstructed in the examinations, raised an army to defend the country but died after his forces were defeated 24 36 145.

Reversal and Expansion

Jiang Nuan’s return to childhood changed this trajectory. Jiang Yunsheng could hear her thoughts, gaining access to warnings about the dynasty’s future and information supplied by her Gossip System, Guagua. He treated her as a blessing to Great Xia and began acting on the corruption and opportunities her thoughts exposed 1 4 250.

During the emperor’s three-year inspection tour, Great Xia expanded crop production, accumulated weapons, recruited soldiers, and secured cooperation with Black Moon. Their eventual joint attack forced the Jing Kingdom to surrender. By the party’s return, Capital City was noticeably more prosperous and lively 243.

Jiang Nuan continued contributing to national development after the tour. The main story ends with Great Xia becoming the world’s only nation ten years later 244.

Government and Institutions

Imperial Administration

• Regency: Jiang Chengze oversees the state during Jiang Yunsheng’s inspection tour, with Chi Hengji instructed to support him 172 173.
• Court of Judicial Review: Handles criminal investigations and receives the evidence Jiang Nuan gathers against Prince Xin’s spies 46 135.
• Agricultural Administration: Seeks to recruit Feng Qiuyan after learning of his potential to develop higher-yield rice 142.
• Innovation rewards: An imperial edict allows craftsmen to submit useful inventions for review and rewards. Farmers discovering high-yield crops can also apply 113.
• Titles for technical contributions: Jiang Nuan promises to petition for honorary marquis titles and fiefs for major gunpowder contributors, without granting them actual governing authority 22.

Examinations and Education

Reform	Details
Separate northern and southern rankings	An examination-fraud case ends with separate Northern and Southern Lists 149.
Women’s eligibility	Learned women become eligible for the imperial examinations through an initially limited trial 166.
More frequent examinations	The interval falls from three years to eighteen months because expansion creates an urgent shortage of officials 222.
Readily available appointments	Successful jinshi candidates can generally obtain posts without the unofficial payments previously needed to secure minor appointments 222.
Expanded schooling	Academy enrollment increases substantially; the Heavenly Screen also credits Jiang Nuan with founding a Public School open to boys and girls 222 248.
Ran County school	Jiang Yunsheng establishes free schooling for all children under fifteen, supplies some writing materials, and waives county taxes for three years 229.

The Heavenly Screen’s future account identifies Lü Zhi and Cen Xue as the Top Laureate and Second-Place Laureate of an examination. It also describes Jiang Chengze rejecting inherited restrictions on the harem’s political role and governing alongside Cen Xue as his empress 248 249.

Corruption and Internal Threats

• Prince Xin’s network: Xing Yuanzheng maintains ten thousand private troops and infiltrates the capital’s thirty-thousand-strong garrison. General Dingyuan Meng Wenyao is another court agent 92.
• Controlled correspondence: After capturing Prince Xin’s spies, Jiang Yunsheng makes them continue sending letters, keeping their patron unaware of the arrests 133.
• Evidence of rebellion: Prince Xin’s heir, Jiang Xuanming, reports his father’s private army and secretly commissioned dragon robe 138.
• Unofficial taxation: A merchant encountered during the inspection tour describes heavy extra taxes and bribery, exposing the gap between official policy and actual commercial burdens 174.
• Miao County conspiracy: Jiang Nuan identifies rebels, undercover agents, and assassination plans. Cooperation with You Youyou enables their arrest and resolves the Gu-poison threat 242 243.

Economy and Technology

Agriculture and Food Security

Development	Contribution
Curved Shaft Plow and waterwheels	Designed by Jiang Nuan and built by Black Earth School craftsmen; later accounts credit them with greatly increasing grain production 74 85 249.
Imported seeds	Jiang Nuan cultivates seeds brought from the modern world, reserves early harvests for propagation, and sends planting teams to suitable regions 149 160.
High-yield rice research	Feng Qiuyan’s previous-life rice yields thirty percent more. Jiang Yunsheng supports his agricultural career earlier in the changed timeline; the improved rice is not yet an accomplished result when his talent is revealed 142.
Crossbreeding instruction	Jiang Nuan teaches Feng Qiuyan basic inheritance and breeding principles using bean varieties with contrasting strengths 150.
National grain reserves	Wider distribution of crop seeds increases food stockpiles and helps support large-scale military recruitment 243.

The Heavenly Screen credits agricultural reforms with spreading food sufficiency from Rui’an County throughout Great Xia within five years. It presents abundant grain as a foundation of world unification 249.

Manufacturing and Commerce

• Refined salt: Jiang Nuan hands the business to Jiang Yunsheng. By the Goryeo dispute, its income has helped fill the treasury 168.
• Improved iron: A recirculating furnace raises smelting temperatures and reduces impurities. Kitchen knives made through this process outperform many existing army blades 63.
• Glass: Initially sold as an expensive luxury, it becomes an everyday commodity during the inspection tour 71 243.
• Paper: Its early high price places it beyond ordinary people’s reach; Jiang Nuan assigns Xue Jian the task of developing cheaper production 74.
• Soap: Later historical accounts identify ordinary and scented soap among products influenced by Jiang Nuan 249.
• Cold-weather clothing: Jiang Nuan and An Yan plan down coats while noting that cotton is not available in Great Xia at that time 43.

Rui’an County

• Jiang Nuan’s fief develops into a modern-style tourist town with concrete roads, Western-style buildings, and contemporary-looking shops and clothing 244.
• Businesses supported by Cen Xue, An Yan, and Yun Shining create additional income for residents 244.
• Rising grain yields and tourism make adequate food and warm clothing routine, allowing residents to pursue music, chess, calligraphy, and painting 244.

Military

Forces and Equipment

Capability	Documented Features and Limits
Infantry and cavalry	Both appear at the year-end inspection. Jiang Nuan admires their performance but cannot provide an informed tactical assessment 64.
Improved blades	Jiang Nuan agrees to share the higher-quality iron manufacturing method with the army 63.
Horseshoes and saddles	Initially absent from the cavalry. Jiang Nuan supplies designs to Jiang Chengze; horseshoes are intended to reduce hoof wear, a major cause of warhorse retirement 64.
New-Model Hand Cannons	Ten experimental large weapons are demonstrated. A shot destroys rocks about fifty meters away and leaves a crater roughly two meters across 111.
Cannon production	Five hundred smaller hand cannons are available. With sufficient manpower, projected monthly output is one thousand small and fifty large cannons 112.
Red Barbarian Cannons	An upgraded design with greater power and range remains under development at the initial demonstration 112.
Telescopes	Provide distant observation for surveillance and battlefield reconnaissance; their demonstration helps expose a Goryeo spy 112.
Compass and steamships	The compass reduces maritime travel risks. Steamships are later confirmed ready for the expedition against Japan 110 223.

Strategic Development

• Jiang Yunsheng gives Wei Guangliang priority access to new cannon batches for the Japanese campaign and orders him to minimize casualties 112.
• Great Xia’s available manufacturing capacity limits further weapons development; Jiang Nuan acknowledges that more advanced designs cannot yet be produced 112.
• During the inspection tour, growing weapons reserves and lower battlefield casualties make military service attractive as a route to promotion and wealth 243.
• Gunpowder later serves civilian infrastructure as well as warfare, including blasting through mountains to build roads 247.

Foreign Relations and Expansion

Nation / Group	Relationship and Major Events
Hu People and Southern Frontier groups	Conduct recurring border raids while Great Xia’s treasury and military remain weak 18.
Japan	Pirate attacks prompt a proposed campaign. The court rejects a maritime ban after hearing its likely economic harm, then authorizes an expedition under Wei Guangliang. Steamships are subsequently completed for the campaign 110 112 223.
Goryeo	Sends spies to investigate improved weapons and challenges Great Xia to contests over cities. Great Xia wins a claim to ten cities; Goryeo eventually agrees to surrender them, pay tribute, and become a vassal 112 150 154 155 156 157 158 168.
Black Moon Kingdom	Conquers Great Xia in the original future. In the changed timeline, Jiang Yunsheng offers sixth prince Tuoba Ran support for his succession in exchange for submission. Black Moon later becomes a vassal and fights alongside Great Xia 202 220 243.
Jing Kingdom	Is deceived by staged conflict between Great Xia and Black Moon. Once their preparations are complete, both attack Jing, whose ruler surrenders when they reach its capital 243.

Great Xia describes itself as a land of propriety whose armies require a just cause. Goryeo’s conspicuous submission therefore deprives Jiang Yunsheng of his intended pretext for an immediate invasion 168.

In the Heavenly Screen side story, demonstrations of Great Xia’s future prosperity and weaponry encourage foreign migration. During subsequent expansion, some cities open their gates to its armies without resistance 247 249.

Notable Figures

• Jiang Yunsheng — Emperor; directs reform, recruitment, military preparation, and expansion 110 172 200 243.
• Jiang Nuan — Ninth Princess and later Princess Royal; her foreknowledge, system intelligence, inventions, and talent recruitment redirect the dynasty’s future 1 135 222 244.
• Jiang Chengze — Crown Prince; manages the state during the inspection tour and repeatedly requests more officials as Great Xia expands 172 222.
• Chi Hengji — Young chancellor whose original early death destabilized the court. After being cured, he continues helping build a better Great Xia 36 250.
• Feng Qiuyan — Agricultural researcher whose potential prompts the court to support farming as a nationally valuable career 142 150.
• Han Xin — Military talent previously driven into an enemy army by mistreatment; receives Jiang Yunsheng’s recommendation to the northern camp in the changed timeline 199 200.
• Zhang Liang — Captured would-be assassin recruited as a strategist; receives ten men to prove himself by resolving the Ren County crisis 216 218.
• Liu Ji and his companions — Founders of Great Han in the original future; instead accept service under Jiang Yunsheng and are assigned to different parts of Great Xia 220 222.
• Lü Zhi — Given public responsibilities in Pei County, where her ability and relentless work earn her the nickname “the tireless lady” 223.
• Cen Xue — Pursues government service rather than confinement in the harem; later accounts celebrate her as an official, engineer, and governing partner of Jiang Chengze 166 249.

Historical Legacy

• Misty Pavilion: Built in Rui’an County to commemorate twenty-four officials credited with helping Great Xia unify the world, following Jiang Nuan’s proposal 247.
• Jiang Nuan’s memorial: Rui’an County preserves her accomplishments in a castle containing youthful jade statues of her and Chi Hengji 249.
• Later society: The Heavenly Screen depicts a future with high-speed trains, cameras, college entrance examinations, and historical tourism centered on Great Xia’s formative figures 245 246 247.
• Historical interpretation: Later accounts often attribute Jiang Nuan’s insight to an extraordinary heart or divine origins, overlooking the role of Guagua and her remembered modern knowledge 246 247.