Hmmm interesting
So I went back to Forge to check out the count clan descriptions (Week 49-50 part 2) to compare definitions with today's update. Very enlightening to learn
Imperial Conservatives: Values obedience to the decrees of the imperial throne and obeying the strictures of Imperial Culture as laid out by the court in Celestial Peaks. Favors centralization, assimilation and aggressive expansion.
To compare, according to this, Imperial Conservatives are said to favor centralization and aggressive expansion, and which Count clan does that matches its description with?
"Wang and Jia, smallest clans, territories in the southern hills, between the Sects. Nominally Imperial conservatives. Mining interests. Elevated by the Duchess. Loyal and supportive at court. Pushing aggressive moves against the Cloud Tribes."
the Wang and Jia clan; well we haven't met a Jia to know for sure, but definitely the Wang. Someone who pushes for invading the Cloud Tribes. This kinda gives signals that Wang Chao is probably in a similar disposition as Wu Jing towards Ling Qi in that they don't like how she does things. They're not necessarily against or hate her, but they're definitely biased about how isolated she tends to be. Kinda speaks that we might not get along with Wang Chao as some people here might plan.
Now for another clan, the Bao, who I really thought was full on Imperial until this update
"Bao clan, wealthiest of the seven, controls the northern trade cities and the routes into Celestial peaks. Imperial conservatives. Mercantile inclinations, heavy production focus. Neutral at court. Opposes further military expansion in the south."
Even says right there that they're imperial conservatives, not to mention they're location borders Celestial Peaks, so I really thought they'd be conservatives, until it turns out they're aggressive expansionists. In other words
Imperial Moderates: Values the prosperity brought by the unified empire and generally defers to the throne. Heavily favors inter provincial trade and exchange, and moderately favors centralization. Largely neutral on matters of culture.
The Baos are more moderates when it comes to imperialism. They definitely defer to the throne, but they would be against expansionist since it opposes their trading interests. It also matches description on how neutral they are at court as well as matters of culture.
The Luo on the other hand, while almost 50-50, leans on the Weilu Moderates side
"Luo clan, keepers of the eastern marches. Ties to Golden Fields, on the rise due to recovery in neighbors and increased trade. Nominal Weilu conservatives. Did not support the Duchess, did not oppose, found loyal. Warrior clan, large presence in military. Aggressive in general."
Even says right there that they're "Nominal" Weilu conservatives. Cautious expansion really speaks on how Luo Zhong approaches the topic in general, since he opposes Wang's aggressiveness
Weilu Moderates: Values the traditions of the Emerald Seas, but also accepts that change is inevitable. Favors friendly inter provincial relations and cautious expansion. Prefers to defer to provincial authority. Finds the current levels of centralization acceptable, but dislikes further changes.
Kinda interesting how he keeps Wu Jing around as a contrarian
Now let's talk about the Meng, that one count clan we hate
"Meng clan, controls the western marshes. Staunch Weilu conservatives. Former ties with the Bai, backed Sun Shao. Neutral and distant at court. Isolanist"
Hmmm, this description seem to match the description of Old Tribes until one considers how they formerly had ties with Bai and currently backs Sun. Aka they do not match any of the description presented so far so I'm gonna dub their political position as "Weilu Conservatives" compared to the Luo's position.
Now for the Diao, who we have yet to meet aside from Linqin who we didn't talk with at all
Diao, rules a portion of the central region. Ambitious, but the Cai clans greatest supporters. Only count clan with active seventh realm cultivator. Young clan, heavy clashes with more conservative factions on various matters. Expansionist interests, aligned with Jia.
Their position is interesting as well. They have expansionist interest, yet they clash with conservatives (vague on which one, probably the isolationists I guess). Seeing as they are the Cai's greatest supporters, they most probably fit the description of deferring to provincial authority rather than imperial.
I also kinda noticed that they are aligned with the Jia and just the Jia in their description, and not the Wang, despite earlier description of them being grouped together. Aka this is a sign that Jia's disposition might differ slightly from Wang's. It's especially interesting that of all the Count clan scions, the Diao and Jia are the one's we have yet to see.