Li Baisheng

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Li Baisheng (李百盛)
Alias(es)	Commander-in-Chief Li; Superintendent
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Great Jin; Governor-General's Residence; Xuanzhen Army
Occupation/Role	Commander-in-Chief, Governor-General, Martial Saint, mentor to selected disciples
Status	Alive 79
First Appearance	Chapter 34

Background / History

Li Baisheng was born into an official family and later entered officialdom, where firsthand encounters with disaster victims, starving civilians, frontier soldiers, and battlefields reshaped his understanding of the realm. He came to see that the country described in official memorials differed sharply from the lives of ordinary people. 73

At thirty-six, Li held a second-rank position as Commander-in-Chief and served from the Governor-General's Office in Tianzhong Province. He was also one of the few Martial Saints available in the region. 43

Following Martial Saint Meng Zijiu's death at Zhao Chengde's hands, Li refused to pursue the rebel leader rashly. He judged that the loss of another Martial Saint would be too costly and instead chose to request Imperial Court reinforcements. 43

After reading a report on Lin Xuan's exceptional talent, Li compared the youth to his younger self and regarded his emergence as a blessing for Great Jin, particularly given the threat posed by the Qiangqu People. 43

Appearance

Li Baisheng is a broad-shouldered, sturdy man with upright features, thick brows slanting toward his temples, and deep, clear eyes. Despite his imposing presence, he can appear more like a scholar or teacher than a battlefield Martial Saint. 43 65

• Wears a crimson round-collared robe and black gauze cap in official settings. 43
• Wears a simple blue-green scholar's robe while reviewing documents in private. 65
• Maintains a straight posture and carries an innate air of authority. 43
• His gaze is calm and compelling; Wang Yi feels completely seen through after meeting his eyes. 65

Personality

Li Baisheng is prudent, perceptive, and deeply concerned with Great Jin's long-term survival. He considers Martial Saints scarce strategic assets and will not endanger them for immediate vengeance or glory. 43

As a teacher, he is demanding but highly attentive to individual potential. He critiques weaknesses directly, whether in martial arts, judgment, pride, or lack of practical experience, and tailors instruction accordingly. 66 69

He values practical knowledge over empty rhetoric. When guiding Lin Xuan, he repeatedly emphasizes investigation, calculated risk, understanding local interests, and translating ideas into workable policy. 65 77 78

Li places loyalty to the nation and its people above simple loyalty to a sovereign. He is willing to take risks to protect promising subordinates from being controlled through their families. 74

Abilities & Skills

Martial Saint Cultivation

Li is a Martial Saint, placing him among the most valuable martial experts available to Great Jin. His presence is treated as essential to maintaining regional security against rebels and foreign threats. 43

• Instantly closed the distance on Lin Xuan during instruction and placed a wooden saber at his neck before Lin could react. 69
• Understands martial arts at the level of their underlying principles rather than merely their outward forms. 69
• Can evaluate the battle instincts, cultivation gaps, habits, and tactical errors of his disciples. 68 69

Martial Arts Instruction

Li teaches that techniques without an understanding of true-qi circulation and core principles are only imitation. He compares techniques to leaves and principles to roots. 69

• Gave Lin Xuan the Six-Molt Rising Dragon manual because it suited his fighting style. 69
• Directed Lin Xuan to cultivate diligently at night to improve his realm. 69
• Corrected Jin Lihua's habit of holding back and overestimating her control of a fight. 69
• Ordered targeted training for Zhao Yuan, Zeng Tong, and Lin Xuan based on their individual deficiencies. 69

Governance and Political Insight

Li possesses extensive experience in official affairs and understands the interaction between local clans, county offices, taxation, disaster relief, and social stability. 65 77

• Tested Lin Xuan with hypothetical county-governance problems to assess his judgment. 65
• Explained that powerful clans can be both exploiters and vital local institutions, requiring balance rather than indiscriminate suppression. 77
• Sent Lin Xuan to Anhe County with a Xuanzhen Army token to investigate the Zhou Family, the county yamen, and the lives of commoners firsthand. 78
• Emphasizes that book knowledge must be tested against reality. 78

Equipment / Items

• Xuanzhen Army command token — Authorized Lin Xuan to mobilize up to one hundred Xuanzhen Army soldiers and requisition provisions. 78
• Six-Molt Rising Dragon manual — Granted to Lin Xuan for cultivation. 69
• Cultivated Writings, Comprehensive View of Heavenly Strategies, and Insights into Court Affairs — Assigned to Lin Xuan as a structured course of study. 66
• Gentlemanly Conduct — A book given to Lin Xuan with Li's annotation: “First cultivate virtue, then cultivate skill.” 67

Relationships

• Lin Xuan — Mentor and disciple. Li recognizes Lin's martial and political potential, oversees his training and studies, and entrusts him with investigative assignments. 65 66 78
• Wang Yi — Disciplines him at his father's request and assigns him to train under personal guards; later includes him among the Governor-General's Residence disciples. 65 66
• Jin Lihua — Disciple. Li critiques her pride and tendency to hold back in sparring. 69
• Zeng Tong — Disciple. Li identifies his poor battle judgment and need for more sparring experience. 69
• Zhao Yuan — Disciple. Li directs him to improve his agility and flexibility. 69
• Zhao Chengde — Rebel adversary whose ability to kill Martial Saint Meng Zijiu makes Li delay direct pursuit. 43
• Chen Fang — Lin Xuan's mother. Li arranges a false abduction and covert relocation to prevent her from becoming leverage against Lin Xuan. 74
• Unnamed son — Li's son remains by the Emperor's side in the capital, leaving Li concerned that his own military achievements may endanger him. 74

Story Role / Major Arcs

Suppression of the Righteous Army

Li responds to Meng Zijiu's death by prioritizing caution and reinforcements over an immediate pursuit of Zhao Chengde. He frames the crisis around the scarcity of Martial Saints and the wider threat from the Qiangqu People. 43

Recruitment of Lin Xuan

After receiving reports of Lin Xuan's talent, Li summons him and tests his understanding of Great Jin's decline. Impressed by Lin's insight and awareness of his own limits, Li accepts him for instruction at the Governor-General's Residence. 65 66

Training the Governor-General's Residence Disciples

Li supervises sparring sessions, poetry exercises, and martial instruction. His assessments address both combat ability and character, including Lin Xuan's compassion for common people, Jin Lihua's pride, and Wang Yi's emotional immaturity. 68 69 72 73

Protecting Lin Xuan's Family

Recognizing that Lin Xuan's relatives could be used to control him, Li proposes and implements a false abduction to secretly settle Chen Fang in safety, accepting the political risk involved. 74 75

Anhe County Investigation

Li sends Lin Xuan to observe Anhe County without openly revealing his authority. The assignment is intended to test whether Lin can revise his ideas about governance after seeing the Zhou Family's influence, the yamen's corruption, and the commoners' suffering firsthand. 78

Notable Quotes

“A martial man can do no more than kill. A general can do no more than wage war. A commander can do no more than determine victory or defeat. But a worthy minister can save the world.” 66

“The greatest difference between a common man's courage and a commander's courage is that the former sees only himself, while the latter calculates the cost.” 66

“Moves are leaves; principles are roots.” 69

“What matters is seeing it with your own eyes.” 78