A Pawn's Passage

In the summer, green became the dominant color.

The climate in Poluo[1] differed greatly from that of the Central Plains, only having two seasons, which were the dry season and the rainy season. The people usually sowed during the rainy season and harvested in the dry months. Some of the islands, being perpetually hot and rainy with dense tropical forests, allowed for planting at any time of the year, yielding harvests in all seasons.

In a sense, this land was far milder than many of the frigid, barren regions elsewhere.

The governance of Poluo could be traced back to the last time the Daoist Order held dominion, before the Confucians’ dominance. Later, the territory was gradually lost again. However, the Wei Dynasty reclaimed Poluo.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Wei Dynasty, they invaded Poluo and established a state, under which were 56 prefectures and 210 counties. Emperor Taizong was a man of great strategic vision. His conquest was not merely an act of military might. It was also a coordinated effort with his naval fleets, turning the region into a base for maritime trade and exchange with the Western nations.

Unfortunately, the local officials of the time were corrupt and incompetent. They were often greedy, cruel, and abusive, so their tyranny provoked large-scale uprisings across Poluo. Internal strife soon followed, leading to a total collapse. To make matters worse, Emperor Taizong’s descendants were weak and indecisive. In the end, Emperor Renzong and his son Emperor Xuanzong eventually abandoned direct rule over Poluo and allowed the native chieftains to establish their own kingdoms as vassal states. From that point onward, the Wei Dynasty no longer governed Poluo directly.

This decision brought a devastating blow to the prestige of the Wei Imperial Court, gravely diminishing the Wei Empire’s authority in Nanyang and undermining its status as a suzerain power. The Wei Dynasty lost control of Nanyang and severed vital channels of communication and trade between the Central Plains and the Western Continent.

During the Great Xuan Dynasty, with the support of the Daoist Order, the Imperial Court once again extended its reach into Poluo. However, the region had long been independent. Its people felt alienated from the Central Plains and were often hostile. Still, the local kingdoms feared the Great Xuan Court’s military might and pledged allegiance. Since the court’s main focus remained on the northern frontier, it did not attempt outright conquest. Instead, it established the Nanting Protectorate, stationing troops in key ports to control the straits and secure the strategic section of Nanyang.

The Great Xuan Court maintained three major protectorates: the Nanting Protectorate, the Beiting Protectorate, and the Xizhou Protectorate.

The Beiting Protectorate referred mainly to the territories once seized by the Golden Horde in the north. After reclaiming them, the Great Xuan Court found the land vast yet sparsely populated, unsuitable for establishing prefectures and counties, so it placed them directly under military governance.

Originally, the Great Xuan Court had planned to establish four protectorates to guard the north, south, east, and west frontiers. However, the Daoist Order wished to avoid intensifying hostilities on the eastern frontier, or Fenglin, to be exact. Thus, they adopted a policy of “unified oversight without direct rule, allowing Chancellor Toyotomi’s Office to govern Fenglin. Thus, there was no need for an Eastern Protectorate.

The Nanting Protectorate differed greatly from the Xizhou Protectorate. Unless a large-scale rebellion or foreign invasion occurred, it would rarely interfere in Poluo’s internal affairs.