The Nine Provinces of the Empire

The Xia-slash Arletou culture is known to have used and been capable of producing bronze, though the relative scarcity of tin at this time made the alloy a rather uncommon commodity. We're on the cusp of China's shift into a dynastic state, versus it's until now a meritocratic autocracy. Though each of the emperors in our story up through now has indeed been the blood of Huang D, the yellow emperor, they remember that the unstated rule had been to seek out the most qualified candidate from among the nobility,. regardless of his station. This meritocratic system is about to go by the wayside permanently and with a gusto.