Shukou

You Shukou (楊 朱衡) is the current the Daishikou (the Chief Minister of Law) for En, a rank he obtains in the epilogue of The Twelve Kingdoms: The Vast Spread of the Seas after the rebellion in Gen Province. Despite his calm appearance, he is described as having a very short temper and will simply hide his anger.

Before becoming one of the king of En's most trusted advisors, he was simply a lesser official working as a chronicler (史官, shikan) in the Ministry of Spring. Shortly after Shoryu became king, Shuko had stopped Shoryu during one of his visits to the government offices and asked which posthumous name he would prefer: the Life King (興王, Kyou-ou) for restoring En, or the Wastes King (滅王, Metsu-ou) for destroying it. In response to Shuko's reckless remark, Shoryu commented that both names were too grand for him and that Shuko seemed poorly suited as a chronicler. Though prepared to lose his post afterward, Shuko instead was promoted to become an adjudicator (御史, gyoshi) in the Ministry of Spring, and later to to the post of seneschal in the Ministry of Fall. In response to the incident that brought Shuko to the king's attention, Shoryu gave him the nickname "Mubou (無謀)," meaning reckless.

One hundred years into Shoryu's reign, he elects to shuffle the positions of his senior officials to reduce bias in court. As a result, Shukou is reassigned to become the daisouhaku, the mandarin of the Ministry of Spring. Using this position in coordination with Itan's reassignment as the chief official of the Ministry of Heaven, they attempt to reform the king and Enki's lax attitude toward ruling.