A map of Grand Cathay, with Nan-Gau located at the western end of the Great Bastion.
Nan-Gau, also known as the "City of Smoke" because of the large number of foundries found within its walls,[3] is a fortress-city of Grand Cathay, located on the western end of the Great Bastion in the Northern Provinces.[1]
Nan-Gau has never been captured or sacked, despite the many wars that have been waged on its borders.[1] The Cathayan Dragon who is the ruler of the Northern Provinces and keeps Nan-Gau as her capital, Miao Ying, the Storm Dragon, relies on it to arm the Great Bastion with wondrous war machines. For instance, Nan-Gau's Master War-Artificer, Shi-Hong, was responsible for the invention of the Kongming Sky-junk.[2] The city is home to countless forges and workshops that furnish the armies of the Celestial Empire with weapons and provide countless war machines for the defence of the Great Bastion.[3]
For that reason, even though Miao Ying is the city's supreme matriarch, the lords of the city are powerful and granted more independence, and often scheme amongst themselves and against her, dividing her attention from the Celestial Empire's enemies beyond the wall.[2][3] Nonetheless, the Storm Dragon always reminds them swiftly of their true station.[3]
Nine Walls of Nan-Gau[]
The nine concentric walls of Nan-Gau
Nan-Gua is called a fortress-city for a reason, for it boasts some of the strongest defences of any city in the Far East. The city is ringed by nine layers of concentric walls defended by Grand Cannons, Iron Hail Gunners, and Crane Gunners who rain fire down on any who would dare siege the capital of the Northern Provinces. Of the nine walls, the ninth is the largest and most well-defended -- not that any foes have breached the other eight fortifications.[4]
Trivia[]
In Chinese, Nan-Gau would be written as "南皋" (nan gao), which means "south highland."