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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 2040409" data-attributes="member: 15043">As something to look at while I work on the next update... here is the province list I'm going to be providing to the players, considering their rather 'aggressive' attitude of late.  This is best paired with the maps linked <a href="https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/wtinder2/story images/finished-starter-map.jpg" target="_blank">right here.</a>PROVINCES OF THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE OF AK KONYLUMilitary DistrictsRuled by the Military Governor of the Western Military District, General Lin Zexu, who styles himself Emperor Liundi.  The Military Districts are normally barren wastelands, whose major population consists of or depends on the massive military presence there related to the construction of the Desert Wall.  These regions for the most part are parched steppes at best, and desert at worst.General Lin has so far been able to procure a surprising amount of food for his living soldiers by making treaties with the cities of the Slave Coast.  However, his military power continues to grow as he creates and enlists more, darker forces that do not require food and water to function...LangyaRuled by the Hu family, known as the Princes of Langya.  Langya is a province filled mostly with fertile farmland, timber rich forests, and a burgeoning population.  Mingzhong, her capital city, boasts over 250,000 inhabitants, making her the 5th largest city in all of the populous Empire.  The provinces strategic location at the mouth of the mighty Huang Ze river also makes it a home for an immense amount of trade, both east west and north south.  Her grain fields can provide the food to support tens of thousands of civilians, as well as massive armies, making her a rich prize for any willing to take her.Langya’s new Prince, Hu Shikai, has so far proven both ruthless and brilliant. An army under his command smashed a lead invasion force of vaunted Shu cavalry, and with his White Wolf allies, he has systematically executed all potential threats within his borders... save two now beyond his reach... for now.ShuRuled by the Hao family, known as the Princes of Shu.  Named after the infamous desert to its north, Shu for many years was a military outpost, until the completion of the so called “Fur Road” linking Ak Konylu with the Slave Cities to the north, and the Forest Kingdoms even further into the icy beyond.  Her capital, Changsha, sits along the Huang Ze river, providing traders with an outlet downstream to the sea.  Rich deposits of copper lie here, making coining money easy, as well as providing a key component for bronze.  Additionally iron is easy to come by.Shu province itself is rather inhospitable to large armies; the province north of the Huang Ze is mostly steppe.  This disadvantage has been turned by succeeding princes into an advantage, as excellent grounds for horsebreeding.  The Princes of Shu thus possess some of the most formidable cavalry in the Empire, and have aggressively been raiding into Langya to disrupt the Hu family claim.  His initial raids have been rather lackluster.LiaoRuled by the Yu family, known as the Marquises of Liao.  Liao is a comparatively small, comparatively rural province to the west of Shu.  Her main sources of income come from trade heading down the Huang Ze river from Taisho and locales further east.  There are many fields here that lie undeveloped.  The famed Pao monastery also lies within this province.The Yu family so far has stayed mum in the current crisis within the Empire, content to wait and see who will emerge victorious.  With their northern borders close to the lands of the Kara Kitai, the Yu family usually uses many of these nomads as mercenaries.  Liao horse archers are especially dangerous.XiangRuled by the Jade Emperor, Yuandi.  Xiang is the capital province of the Celestial Empire, which has its seat in the Jade City, in the heart of the massive capital of Liaoxiang.  The massive bureaucracies needed to run the Empire move this city, which relies on seaborne trade to provide not only its luxuries, but also its necessities.  Liaoxiang is home to the central School of Virtuous Thought, the main training center for scholars across the Empire.Xiang is the home province of the Dowager Empress, and thus closely aligned to the claims of the Princes of Shu.  It is here that Shu’s main recruiting base lies, and where the seat of their power resides.  While Xiang will not provide the excellent cavalry Shu enjoys in their home province, the sheer population here would supply an endless amount of foot soldiers.DaiRuled by the Ho family, known as the Princes of Dai.  Dai, like Langya, is a very large province that has been blessed with rich fields and abundant timber.  Additionally, large quantities of iron, copper, and even gold have been found along the Shinmao Range, a group of low hills near Lo-yang.  The gold from these mines can easily fund armies, the iron can equip them, while the fields feed them.  Its capital at Xianfung is slightly larger than Mingzhong, with some 260,000 inhabitants.The Ho family, especially the current governor, seem aloof about Imperial politics, more prone to indulgence and ruining their own budget than bringing their realm to heel and turning it into the power it can be.  Dai in the past was renowned for its armorsmiths and heavy cavalry.HuijiHuiji is ruled by the Ma family, known as the Marquis of Huiji.  Officially, the Ma have stayed neutral in the current conflict over the Imperial Throne, but unofficially, they have extremely close ties to the Imperial family, especially the Dowager Empress.  Like Xiang, this region is full of rich farmland, and prime area for recruiting large numbers of soldiers.NanNan has fallen into chaos, as the ruling family, the Zhou family, perished in an outbreak of plague in the capital of Weiyang.  At present, the late governor’s advisor, Master Yu-ling Chao, is temporarily in charge until an edict replacing the governor’s family comes from the Jade Throne.  Given the current chaotic circumstances, such an edict is unlikely for quite some time.Nan is almost a mirror of Huiji and Xiang, filled with rich farmland.  Weiyang also is one of the largest ports within Ak Konylu, having connections with the Frozen Wastes, the Slave Coasts, and the distant island realms of Kubalia and Casalad.TaiyuanStranded on the farthest eastern edge of Ak Konylu, Taiyuan shares more in common with her quasi-independent neighbor, the Kingdom of Taisho, than with the Imperial government in Liaoxiang.  In fact, rumors about that the impoverished Quan family, leaders of Taiyuan, are willing to sell their provincial loyalties to the highest bidder...Taiyuan is a wild and wooly place, full of deep forests, many of which remained unexplored.  Archery is almost required for hunting in these regions, and as a consequence, some of the best archers in the Empire come from here.BeidiBeidi, until barely ten years ago, was a military outpost district like those along the Empire’s northern border.  The Ha family has only recently taken their charge in this region, and thus they are very cautious with regards to backing a claimant to the throne.  Marquis Ha Ii remembers clearly life as an itinerant general, and wishes for his family to avoid this fate.Small and poor, there is little Beidi can offer other than yet another route to the important trade routes that lead to and through the capital of Taisho, Yakuza.HanRuled by the Royukgan family, known as the Princes of Han.  This province, the largest within Ak Konylu and also the richest, is surrounded on three sides by naturally defensible mountains.  These mountains also contain some of the richest mines of all kinds in the entire Empire, and it is said the diamonds Qianlong can move even the greediest of Kara Kitai horselords.The Royukgan family are distant cousins of the current ruling Emperor, and have asserted their claim to the Imperial throne.  They have since peaceably seized nearby Nanhai, and are quietly biding their forces, content to hold back their massive armies to keep both Bei and Taisho in check.  Their forces seek balance, with equally strong cavalry, infantry, and archer units.XueRuled by the Shi family, but now under the military control of the Huo family.  The Shi have fled north into Taiyuan for refuge, and even now seek others to drive their enemies from their ancestral lands.Xue is a rich province whose income comes mostly from rich farmland and trade.LiaoxiRuled by the Wu family, known as the Marquis of Liaoxi.  This land has plentiful farmland and timber, but unfortunately lies directly between the two menaces of Han and Bei.  The current Marquis, Wu Shih, is desperately searching for allies to help him counterbalance these two behemoths on either side of him.Liaoxi weaponsmiths have been known to make some of the farthest reaching and most powerful crossbows in the world.NanhaiNanhai has been annexed by the Royukgan family of Han, and has been integrated into their domain.BeiRuled by the Huo family, known as the Princes of Bei.  Bei is a small, heavily populated province in the south of the Empire, dependent on mining and trade coming down from the great Balarac Mountains.  Its central location between the Yang Gi and the Me-Ho rivers makes it a vital crossing point for trade.The Huo family have so far proven among the most aggressive of the princes now claiming the Imperial throne, seizing Yuyang and Xue.  The seizure of  Xue especially threatens to boil into an all out war, as the Huo are now in a position to completely cut off their rivals, the Royukgans of Han, from trading down the Yang-Gi river.ChenChen province, centered on the city of the same name, is ruled by the Wei family, who have closer ties to the ruling family of the Kingdom of Chosun to their west than the Jade Emperor.  As chaos erupted, the Wei took in their options, and decided rather than choosing between being cut off from the rest of Ak Konylu or joining their rivals, the Huo, they cemented a close alliance with the King of Chosun, formally joining his kingdom, and seceding from Ak Konylu entirely.YuyangYuyang is a border province, covering much of the southern border of Ak Konylu.  Sparsely populated, it is rumored that deep in the mountainous spurs here reside huge deposits of gems and gold.  The Huo, eager to seize this source of income, have seized this area from its weak provincial government, annexing it to the banner of Bei.</blockquote>

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