Great Qian

Biodata

Background / History

Great Qian’s founding established military lineages whose descendants remained prominent more than two centuries later. The Li family’s founding ancestor earned a first-rank marquisate through military merit; subsequent generations maintained or improved the family’s standing through service, leaving Li Dao with a third-rank earldom ten generations after the founding 36 44.

The Shen family descended from a first-rank founding duke, but its support for the wrong prince in a succession struggle led to repeated demotions. Shen Zhong later restored much of its prestige through military achievements, receiving the second-rank title of Marquis of Suppressing the North from the current emperor 44.

Great Qian and the Northern Barbarians have fought for over a hundred years, with victories and defeats on both sides. Their usual battlefield casualty exchange is approximately one Great Qian soldier for slightly more than one Northern Barbarian soldier 5.

Li Dao regards the dynasty as being at the height of its prosperity. He recalls its successive monarchs as at least competent, but considers most of the current emperor’s sons poor prospects for continuing that record. His belief that Princess Mingyue could preserve or improve the dynasty is a personal assessment, not an established succession arrangement 34.

Geography

Imperial Capital

• Dragon Road is ten kilometers long and 222 meters wide. It runs toward the palace complex and divides the capital into eastern and western halves 34.
• Every Great Qian emperor has traveled Dragon Road upon ascending the throne 34.
• Powerful and wealthy households mostly occupy the eastern district; proximity to the palace indicates higher status 34.
• The Earl of Anyuan’s Residence stood relatively close to the palace because of the founding ancestor’s distinguished rank 34.

Government & Society

Imperial Institutions

• Great Qian emperor — Exercises authority over noble punishment and military appointments. Following Li Dao’s assault on Princess Mingyue, he initially demanded Li Dao’s execution and the extermination of his extended kin 1 44.
• Princess Mingyue — The emperor’s beloved eldest daughter and the most exalted woman in the dynasty apart from the empress. She intervened to spare Li Dao’s life and is known in the martial world as “Great Qian’s Number One Beauty” 1 21.
• Chancellor — Head of the officials. The Chancellor’s Residence attracts nobles and civil officials seeking its favor 23.
• Embroidered Uniform Guard — Official organization directly subordinate to the emperor. It coordinates the covert mission to prevent the Tamu eldest prince’s marriage proposal from reaching the capital 21 22.
• Imperial examinations — A recognized route to becoming a scholar-official; Shen San suggests that Li Dao could pursue them and become the top scholar 10.

Household Registration

Great Qian’s registration hierarchy consists of five ranks 45:

• Entry into the Death Row Camp erases a prisoner’s household registration, although records of unusually capable prisoners may still be retained 11.
• When Wei Yun restores Li Dao’s group to freedom, he requires their new registration details to be unconnected to their former identities 28.
• Identity Plaques are checked at town gates; Li Dao presents one when entering Jade Gate Town 29.

Economy

• Iron Family — Great Qian’s foremost imperial merchants. Its businesses operate throughout the dynasty and in neighboring countries, with wealth described as sufficient to rival a nation 29.
• Imperial marriage ties — Women of the Iron Family marry into the imperial family in every generation. These ties underpin the family’s influence and continued imperial support 29.
• Commercial services — The family operates an escort agency and an inn in Jade Gate Town, and runs caravans to the Imperial Capital 29.
• Political leverage — Tie Sanniang can retaliate against imperial princes through commerce, ordering all business with the Third Prince and half the business with the Fourth Prince cut off 36.
• Frontier trade — Cloudrise City attracts permanent merchant residents because Fufeng Pass protects it. Jade Gate Town also supports trade, but its proximity to the border makes it less secure 44.

Military

Military Merit

• Battlefield achievements allow soldiers to earn military rank and rise through the social hierarchy. Li Dao identifies this merit system as one reason for Great Qian’s strength 2.
• An enemy’s left ear serves as proof of military merit in the frontier regions 2.
• Killing surrendered prisoners does not count toward enemy-kill merit. Li Dao forfeits his mission’s base merit for doing so, while retaining credit for eighteen legitimate enemy kills 5.

Death Row Camp

• Condemned prisoners can legally leave the camp by earning sufficient military merit, receive a new identity, and have their crimes erased 2.
• The ordinary requirement is roughly five hundred enemy left ears. Since the dynasty’s founding, the number of prisoners who have succeeded can be counted on one hand 2.
• Prisoners are used for dangerous frontline tasks, including setting fires to distract an enemy camp and charging a cavalry ambush 4 7.
• In one cavalry battle, fifty-five condemned prisoners are deployed and fifty-four die; Li Dao is the sole survivor 9.
• Wei Yun offers Li Dao, Shen San, Old Ghost, Xu Hu, and Little Madman an alternative route to freedom through three special missions. Their unfamiliar faces and lack of regular military standing make them useful for covert operations 10 12 21.

Northern Defense

Recruitment & Command

• Great Qian normally requires sufficient cultivation for military command. Higher cultivation permits command of more troops; officers without cultivation are restricted to more administrative duties 36.
• Shen Zhong’s recruitment strength test uses weights of 150, 200, 250, 300, and 500 jin. Candidates must lift them overhead with fully extended arms using physical strength alone, without true qi 47.
• Lifting 150 jin qualifies a recruit for an ordinary unit; stronger performances improve placement and benefits, with the 500-jin lift offering entry into the best camp 47.
• Cultivators undergo additional testing separately from other recruits. Cultivation is also required for Shen Zhong’s personal guard, whose members receive instruction from him and its captain 48 49.
• Leaving the army is normally difficult. Discharge without a disabling injury may require facial tattooing, which generally carries criminal or disreputable associations in Great Qian 50.
• After the arrow-convoy operation, Wei Yun orders doubled death benefits for fallen soldiers’ families 21.

Martial Power & National Security

Great Qian’s conventional military strength does not eliminate the threat posed by individual martial artists 34.

• A hostile expert can reverse a battlefield’s momentum: Lie Xin’s intervention threatens the arrow-destruction mission while Wei Yun is occupied by another Xiantian opponent 19.
• Great Qian’s Heavenly Mountain Sect pursued its traitor, Snow Demon Zhao Dongyan, to the frontier fifteen years earlier. He escaped into Northern Barbarian territory and later appears protecting the Tamu eldest prince 24.

Foreign Relations

Major Events