The San Ren

The San Ren were three ancient kingdoms; the Wu, Ji, and Yi. All were led by a king of the kingdom's same name. They were each rivals for power.

The Wu Kingdom was the largest and inhabited the central plains. Their capital was Wu City, later called the Imperial City as it is the current capital of Xuyan and home to the Imperial Palace.

The Yi Kingdom was initially the largest but was severely crippled during the Great Flood of the He Gong River during the Xi Shui Typhoon. As a result, the capital city of Pingdi was was flooded and destroyed, becoming the Sishui Plains. Meanwhile, the nearby city of Shodu became the new capital.

The Ji Kingdom was the smallest kingdom, consisting of only a single city known as Haiyang. It was protected by the legendary Circle Walls, later to become an architectural inspiration to the Forty Walls of Shihon.

UNDER THE EZENT GUREN
The three kingdoms were subjected to the cruelty and dictatorship of the Ezent Guren Empire and their Khaan, who made them a promise to either completely wipe them off the planet or to get a tribute. All three chose the latter. After quite a while of this, a warrior named Xu Yan brought of the attention of the three kings that if that if they just worked together instead of always fighting each other, they could push back the Ezent Guren. The three kingdoms united under the banner of Xu Yan and marched against the Ezent Guren, killing their Khaan Ulaan Tsusny.

While Tsusny's petulant and bratty young son Ulaan Malgai was declared Khaan, the forces of the San Ren continued to sweep their way across the land. Under Malgai's weak leadership, they didn't stand a chance. The Ezent Guren were eventually defeated and Ulaan Malgai executed.

Unfortunately, Xu Yan died suddenly of illness right before the forces conquered Orgil Khot. It was also shockingly discovered that Xu Yan was actually a woman named Xu Yuan. Her top two advisors, Gao Junfa and Wu Ling, decided to keep this secret---along with the fact that Xu Yuan actually died during childbirth, giving birth to a daughter of Gao Junfa. While Junfa departed to hide away the illegitimate child, Wu Ling took control of the forces, as he was a seasoned soldier. He declared the army as the Forces of Xu Yan to rally their morale and defeated the capital.

UNIFICATION
After so many years fighting together and alongside each other, the people of the three kingdoms declared they wanted to unite the San Ren. Practically forced to keep his leadership position, despite being a prince of the Wu Kingdom, Ling was declared the first leader of the new nation, which was called Xuyan in honor of Xu Yan. Ling's title was decreed the Emperor for the new nation of Xuyan, who claimed all of the Ezent Guren's old land. This bothered their allies in the Kingdom of Basho, who wanted the land split more fairly. Though Xuyan gave away the territory of Minjog to try to satisfy them but it wasn't enough, and a massive war spanning two-hundred years began. See Basho-Xuyan War.