Bronze Dawn/Atlas/Central Plains

All regions
Central Plains	Jiangnan	Quanrong	Nanyang	Hu	Return to Atlas

Ranging from the Qin heartland of Guanzhong to the eastern coast, and hemmed in north and south by wasteland and the Great River, the Central Plains are the ancestral homeland of the Chinese race, along the banks of the Yellow River. Whoever controls this region, controls all China. And whoever controls China, controls the world itself!

Notes

Unification bonus: 200

This vast heartland of China comprises the many old Chinese kingdoms which form the Zhou imperium. They tend to also be the richest in tribute, owing to their position along the Yellow River and its tributaries, and for this reason, they are often the richest when it comes to tribute, thanks to agricultural production and their location between the endless plains of the north, and the jungle-clad southern states.

Resource count

x 1

Guanzhong

The heartland of Qin. Unlike many other parts of the Central Plains, Guanzhong is dry and fairly arid, and so this land is rather poor. Its only value to the Chinese race is that it is a vital military watershed area against the ferocity of the Rong peoples who live to the north and west.

: 10	: Treachery

Luo

Following the tragedy of Haojing, the royal court fled to this place — the confluence of the Luo and Yi rivers — and has stayed here ever since, while the nation continues to wane and crumble from within. Dominated by the city of Wangcheng — "The King's Town", Luo is now the power base of the monarchy, and its role as an agricultural and commercial base has helped it to prosper, allowing the Zhou court to maintain forces of its own. Precious stones, most notably crystals, have also been found in the surrounding hills, enriching the court further.

: Gems : 20

available.

Dai

Dai is the capital of the largest of the so-called "three Jins", Zhao: they are vast and support all manner of resources, making it a fairly rich place to plunder. Climate change has hit this place of late, however, so it is not only slightly more impoverished, but now faces the threat of nomad invasion, owing to the northern barbarians running short of fodder and water. As if treachery from Zhao's own Chinese kin-states wasn't enough!

: 40	: Treachery

Wei

What Zhao possessed in size, Wei compensates for it in fecundity. The land of Wei sits along the banks of the Yellow River, allowing it to produce a great deal of crops and fodder for man and animal alike.

: Cattle

: Treachery

Han

The southernmost, smallest and the weakest of the late Jin duchy, Han isn't large enough to produce the sort of food supply that creates and fuels empires. Nevertheless, vast supplies of marble and other building stone can be found throughout this part of the Central Plains.

: Marble

: 10

Cai

With sweltering hot summers, and immense winters that bring much-needed snow, the small march of Cai is known for being a veritable garden of herbs and spices, with ginger and garlic being the most common and popular. Cai, while small, is of strategic importance due to her being a crossways between several other larger states on her borders.

: Spices

: Civics Eureka

Song

The former lands of the Shang royal family, Song was gifted by King Wu to the survivors of Muye as a sign of clemency, allowing the heirs of the infamous Zhou Xin to retire to their lands located around none other than Shangqiu, Shang's first capital.

: 20	: Treachery

Yan

Yan, named after the swallow, is a vast, open land consisting mostly of plains.

: 40	: Treachery

Qi

Founded as a march of the Zhou empire since the days of King Wen, this small state sitting on the easternmost corner of the Central Plains commands the eastern terminus of the Yellow River as it meanders its way to the sea. Qi is ringed with mountains and for this reason, has been able to survive the depredations of her neighbours for so long.

: 50	: Treachery

Jili

This area, named after the Gulf of Jili, forms the frontier between Yan and Qi, between the Shandong peninsula and the Liaodong peninsula. This marshy area primarily is worked by the locals, who produce salt and other valuable resources from its nearby waters.

: Salt : Population Explosion

: 25

Lu

Lu is a hilly land, famed for the existence of all manner of strange fossils, which may have been the bones of dragons. Lu is more gentle in landscape than her northern neighbour Qi, but is not as big.

: Relics

: Treachery