The migrations triggered by floods during the eras of Yao, Shun, and Yu compelled populations from regions such as the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the Huai River, and the Ji River to relocate to the Central Plains, thereby establishing the region’s central importance. Through the process of water management, these migrations facilitated the formation of cross-regional and cross-bloodline political alliances, laying the groundwork for early states. Yu and Qi further solidified this foundation by centralizing governance under the concept of a common lordship under heaven. However, the nascent central government lacked significant coercive power and could only regulate relations between central and local authorities based on regional circumstances and levels of integration, thus giving rise to the system of the royal domain and the capital.