Charles Dahl was a writer, poet, and traveler from Swagen. His journals regarding his journeys in the Jia Dynasty are of great interest as his acute observations provide an insight into the culture of this civilization:

Journal #2 - Banditry

Traveling in the countryside can be a very daunting task in the Jia Dynasty. The countryside is rife with bandits and other lowlifes. In all fairness, there are plenty of bandits in our Kingdom too but whereas our King is tough on crime, the officials in the Jia Dynasty seem to not care at all about that plague that besets their population. Bandits roam freely and can steal as much as they want as long as they do not attempt to rob government officials. Whenever the populace complains to their local governor, he dismisses their concerns or makes false promises of sending troops to hunt down the robbers. I've seen that spectacle far too many times to not know that such promises are empty words.

The only ones who seem to be doing something about the situation are the disciples of the Orthodox Sects. Those people train in the martial arts and are as swift with the sword as they are powerful with the fist. I can personally testify to their prowess. When I was traveling to the south, heading towards the famed White City metropolis, I was attacked by bandits. Three of those scums approached me and threatened me to give them my money. Being a man of the letters, I could not hope to resist them. As such, I was about to give them my money when a man dressed in a long white robe appeared almost out of nowhere and with a swift kick knocked out one of the bandits. 'I am a disciple of Mount Kunlun,' he said, 'and I demand that you leave this man alone!'. The bandits begged for his mercy and were spared. He informed me that he was on a mission to hunt down a bandit king, one far more fearsome than those 'rascals', as he called them.

I do not know if he succeeded in his mission but I am still thankful for his aid. One cannot depend on being so lucky, however, so I advise the reader who wants to visit this country to bring a weapon with him or hire a bodyguard. If they cannot do so, they should avoid the countryside and travel through the main routes only. Those are usually guarded by imperial troops as they are important for trade and supplying the military camps across the land. While the court may not care for the common people, it cares a lot for trade and the army. This, of course, infuriates the people. More than a few become bandits themselves in order to survive or out of anger while others join weird religious cults. In one of my journeys, I overheard a man praying to some Dark Lord. Weird stuff!

I once asked a regional official why the court was doing nothing for this problem. His reply was enlightening. He informed me that many governors are bribed by the most powerful of the bandits and thus have no reason to want to hunt them down as they make profit. Others pay no attention to what happens in their province and instead plot their return to the capital; they view a governorship as an exile from the place where all decisions are taken, the court. Still, others are simply too incompetent or lazy. As the Emperor pays more attention to his concubines than to affairs of state and the court squabbles, no one pressures those officials to do their job. It is another sign of the corruption and decline of what once was a great dynasty.