Great Yong

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Great Yong (大雍)
Type	Imperial state; dynasty 1060
Region	Central Plains, principally north of the Yong River 441 562
Capital	Yong Capital, also called Yong City 562
Founder	Xue Jiurang 562 1060
Ruling House	House of Xue 1442 1463
Status	Still existing at the novel’s end, but steadily declining under Xue Shengjing’s control and beset by rebellions 1745 1769

Geography and Strategic Locations

Location	Description and significance
Yong River	Its midpoint became the agreed border with Great Kang under the armistice signed twenty years before Ji Feihua’s account 441.
Yong Capital	Approximately five hundred li south of the northern defensive line. Xue Jiurang chose it over the warmer, more prosperous Yunchong City because he considered Black Hu the greater threat 562.
Northern Frontier	Great Yong’s principal defensive front against Black Hu. The recovered Seven Northern Garrisons formed the foundation of its Great Wall Defense Line 442 562.
Nanyang Water Fortress	Major Yong River naval base upstream of Eastern Liang Commandery. Its fifty thousand elite naval troops could be sent downstream to the commandery overnight 984.
Eastern Liang Commandery	Former Yong territory ceded to Great Kang as compensation for Princess Anping’s reported murder. It lies north of the river, surrounded by Yong territory on three sides 965 976.
Eastern Luo Granary	Strategic supply stronghold controlling the route of Great Yong’s southward advance. Hu Xiaotian’s occupation made it a defensive barrier protecting Eastern Liang 1403.
Yonglan Pass	Occupied by Black Hu during the northern war and used as a center for expanding its military presence 1414 1455.
Yan Province	Former Great Kang territory whose inhabitants became Yong subjects after Xue Jiurang founded the dynasty 1060.
Gray Bear Valley	Location of Spirit Sound Temple, where Shangguan Yunfeng was raised as a novice monk 1329.

Background and History

Founding and the Armistice

Xue Jiurang proclaimed himself emperor and founded Great Yong a little over a century before Hu Xiaotian’s diplomatic mission. Some of its territory, including Yan Province, had previously belonged to Great Kang 568 1060.

Great Kang refused to accept the new state and launched repeated northern campaigns. Neither side achieved a lasting resolution, while their losses allowed Black Hu in the north and Shajia in the southwest to grow stronger. Twenty years before Ji Feihua’s account, the two states suspended hostilities: Yong withdrew north of the Yong River, Kang acknowledged its existence, and both pledged lasting peace 441.

Prosperity under Xue Shengkang

Xue Shengkang spent twenty years strengthening domestic administration and northern defenses. He recruited capable officials and entrusted the former Kang general Yuchi Chong with major military responsibilities. Yuchi’s victories recovered seven northern cities and restored the defensive line against Black Hu 442 562.

During his journey through Yong, Hu Xiaotian encountered orderly cities, prosperous households, and law-abiding inhabitants. Li Chenzhou’s security arrangements also prevented further attacks on the marriage delegation after it left the Yong River. By this period, Yong’s national strength had surpassed Kang’s 562 568.

Princess Anping’s Marriage Mission

Great Yong received the survivors of Princess Anping’s wedding delegation after their ships sank on the Yong River. Yong sailors rescued them and brought them to Nanyang Water Fortress, where Hu treated the wounded despite the limited care provided by their hosts 547.

At Yong Capital, Li Chenzhou proposed a quiet arrival through a side gate. Hu challenged the arrangement, and Zijuan—impersonating Princess Anping—walked through the main gate with the delegation. They were subsequently housed at Qichen Palace under Yong-controlled security 563.

Hu also treated Empress Dowager Jiang and saved Xue Shengkang from an acute illness. Li Yuncong later accused him of harming Kang’s interests by preserving a ruler whose death might otherwise have destabilized Yong 855. Eastern Liang Commandery was eventually ceded to Kang as compensation for Princess Anping’s reported murder in Yong Capital 965 976.

Defeats on the Yong River

After Xue Shengkang’s death, Xue Daohong ascended the throne. Naval commander Tang Boxi sought to recapture Eastern Liang as a gift for the new emperor. His envoy demanded Hu’s surrender after a Yong merchant caravan was massacred; Yu Tianxing suspected that the incident had been manufactured as a pretext, but this was not established as fact 984 991 1005.

Event	Yong forces or resources	Outcome
Attack on Eastern Liang	Fifty warships and thirty thousand elite troops under Tang Boxi 991	Hu’s defenders trapped the fleet with chained bridges, magnets, fire vessels, bombardment, and shoreline ambushes 992 993.
Battle at Xiasha Port	Surviving fleet and landing forces 993 994	Tang abandoned his command ship; many soldiers surrendered. Tang was captured, and more than ten thousand Yong troops became prisoners 994 995.
Loss of Eastern Luo Granary	Major granary and associated army 1018	Chang Fanqi handed the granary to Hu and held Qin Yangming hostage to force the army’s withdrawal 1018.

The defeats weakened Daohong’s authority. Yong pursued negotiations rather than immediate retaliation, constrained by its unsettled succession and the northern threat 1024 1053. Hu proposed a ceasefire, prisoner releases, and the return of Eastern Luo Granary after five years, with its five hundred thousand shi of grain intact 1036. A later account refers to the five-year arrangement as an agreement already made 1403.

Northern War and the Xingzhou Withdrawal

In March, Black Hu invaded with two hundred thousand cavalry. Yuchi Chong commanded one hundred and fifty thousand Yong troops on the northern defensive line. Two major battles caused severe losses on both sides before spring rains produced a stalemate 1160.

During a later winter lull, Yong reinforced Nanyang Water Fortress and offered Guo Guangbi supplies in exchange for capturing Yunyang, surrendering that city, and bringing Xingzhou into Yong’s territory 1401 1403. Yong’s own army subsequently approached Xingzhou, which Hu had taken 1413 1414.

The advance ended after a three-day standoff. Hu’s renewed cooperation with Kang threatened Yong with a combined southern opponent, while winter and Black Hu reinforcements made a two-front war increasingly dangerous. An unsuccessful assassination attempt against Daohong also redirected his attention toward domestic security 1414.

Court Upheaval and Decline

Xue Daoming later replaced Daohong as emperor, but practical power rested with Li Chenzhou and Xue Lingjun. Li claimed that he had restored Daoming after the Grand Empress Dowager altered the late emperor’s edict; Yuchi Chong remained skeptical of that account and refused to join either court faction 1436 1455 1463.

Floods, spoiled grain, continued northern casualties, and factional conflict undermined the state. Li, previously the strongest advocate of war, sought peace negotiations with Black Hu. Meanwhile, Daoming’s handling of a plague in Yong Capital improved his public standing, although Hu and Qin Yutong had supplied the decisive help behind the scenes 1550 1551.

By the later stages of the conflict, both Daoming and Li were trying to tighten their control over Yuchi’s frontier army. Yuchi resisted and removed their trusted men. Dong Tianjiang eventually used the emperor’s life to pressure him into relinquishing command 1716 1737 1738.

After another coup, Xue Shengjing secured control of Yong. Xue Lingjun and Li Chenzhou were dead; Huo Xiaoru reported that Rong Shi had killed Li. Shengjing installed Daohong’s son, not yet six years old, as emperor while retaining court power himself 1744 1745. By the final chapter, repeated rebellions continued and Shengjing had failed to reverse Yong’s decline 1769.

Government and Political Figures

Imperial Rulers

Ruler	Documented reign or role
Xue Jiurang	Founding emperor; selected Yong City as the capital 562 1060.
Xue Shengkang	Led Yong’s period of prosperity and northern recovery. His posthumous title was Emperor Yongqing 442 1025.
Xue Daohong	Former First Prince; succeeded Shengkang and faced military defeats, court opposition, and an assassination attempt 563 984 1005 1414.
Xue Daoming	Former Seventh Prince and Prince of Justice; became emperor during the succession upheaval and struggled against Li Chenzhou’s control 1441 1455.
Daohong’s unnamed son	Installed as a child emperor by Xue Shengjing after the later coup 1745.

Other Major Figures

• Li Xuangan — Leading civil statesman credited with helping stabilize Yong; grandfather of Li Chenzhou 477.
• Li Chenzhou — Favored official under Shengkang and Daohong, later Grand Commander and the dominant court power. His influence was strongest in the navy and southern military 477 1027 1436 1531.
• Xue Lingjun — Eldest Princess; exercised substantial political authority and later allied with Li Chenzhou 607 1436. She believed her own influence lay behind many of Shengkang’s major policies 1703.
• Xue Shengjing — Prince of Yan; maintained hidden influence over trade and the economy, opposed Li, and ultimately took control of the court 1436 1744 1745.
• Empress Dowager Jiang — Senior imperial matriarch who intervened in the marriage mission, questioned ministerial loyalty, and urged unity within the ruling family 610 1018 1152.
• Wen Chenghuan / Li Mingzuo — Yong agent embedded in Kang’s court for decades and Li Chenzhou’s father. His concealed identity later became a weapon in Yong’s factional struggle 1036 1531 1716.

Military

Northern Defense

• Yuchi Chong — Grand Marshal and principal Northern Frontier commander. His recovery of the Seven Northern Garrisons helped secure the Great Wall Defense Line 442 562.
• Strategic importance — The frontier shielded more than Yong alone: its collapse would allow Black Hu cavalry to threaten the wider Central Plains 1551 1716.
• Political vulnerability — Yuchi’s military prestige made his allegiance valuable to court factions, but he repeatedly distinguished defense of the realm from loyalty to individual contenders 1436 1463 1464.

Navy and Palace Forces

• Nanyang fleet — A major source of Yong’s superiority over Kang before its defeat at Eastern Liang 547 984 995.
• Armor-Breaking Ships — Iron-plated vessels capable of smashing pontoon bridges; hidden magnets and chains nevertheless trapped them during the river battle 992.
• Golden Scale Guards — Palace guard force commanded by Shi Kuan, described as the foremost martial expert in Yong’s Imperial Palace 662.
• Tiger Standard Battalion — Troops serving Dong Tianjiang, one of Yong’s leading fighting generals 607 697.

Economy, Society, and Craftsmanship

Grain and Commerce

• Economic pressure on Kang — Yong secretly restricted neighboring states’ grain trade with Kang without prohibiting all commerce 871.
• Grain-for-land diplomacy — It offered to lift the embargo in exchange for Eastern Liang Commandery and Eastern Luo Granary 1029.
• Prince of Yan’s assets — Xue Shengjing owned the Treasure-Gathering Studio and retained concealed influence over Yong’s trade and economy 1103 1436.
• Declining supplies — Prolonged rain spoiled stored grain, while later shortages in the frontier army reflected both natural disasters and domestic power struggles 1551 1714.
• Diet — Flour-based foods and grains predominated north of the Yong River, in contrast to the rice-based diet south of it 871.

Craftsmanship and the Martial World

• Zong Yuan’s Sword Forge — Produced Hu’s surgical instruments. A tiny screw made during that work prompted Hu to recognize its potential importance for manufacturing; Zong also proposed molded sheepskin surgical gloves 597.
• Winged Armor reconstruction — Zong Yuan worked out a manufacturing process from a suit of Winged Armor, provoking an attack by the Heavenly Secrets Bureau’s Winged Armor Warriors 1246.
• Sword Palace — A symbol of Yong’s martial world, with more than three thousand current disciples. Founder Lin Baitao established it through the Seven Heaven-Slaying Swords and his Black Iron Sword 1481.
• Martial factions in politics — Li Chenzhou recruited support from the Sword Palace, Falling Cherry Palace, and the Shangguan-controlled northern branch of the Beggar Gang 1538.

Foreign Relations

• Great Kang — Former ruler of some Yong territory, later rival and armistice partner. The marriage alliance, territorial compensation, grain embargo, and renewed fighting repeatedly altered their relationship 441 563 871 965 991.
• Black Hu — Principal northern enemy. Despite peace overtures, invasions and territorial seizures continued; Yong’s internal struggles weakened its ability to resist 651 1160 1650.
• Hu Xiaotian’s forces — Became an independent strategic obstacle through control of Eastern Liang, Eastern Luo Granary, and the lower Yong River. Yong alternated between attack, negotiation, military pressure, and efforts to undermine his allies 1031 1402 1403 1414.
• Bohai Kingdom — Sought Yong’s help against Python Jiao Island, but King Yan Dongsheng later recognized foreign intervention as a threat to Bohai’s own survival 1152 1156.
• Xingzhou — Yong offered Guo Guangbi food and military supplies in return for territorial submission. After losing Xingzhou to Hu, Guo continued relying on Yong provisions 1403 1414.
• Western Sichuan — Li Tianheng feared Yong would keep his territory neutral while attacking Kang, then turn against it. He consequently regarded Yong’s diplomacy with suspicion 888.