Northern Liang City

Biodata

Geography

• Administrative position: The city lies within Yongzhou Commandery, one of Northern Liang’s three commanderies alongside Baiyuan and Beichuan 6.
• Regional setting: Northern Liang connects with Great Ning and lies between the Northern Region’s tribes and the nations of the Western Regions. This position brings rival intelligence networks and armed factions into its royal city 5.
• Relative size: Xiliang City is described as less than one-quarter the size of Northern Liang City 35.

Government and Security

Northern Liang City combines the authority of the prince’s residence with Yongzhou’s civil administration. The governor of Yongzhou is responsible for assisting with everyday security and the suppression of assassins 6.

History

Establishment of Northern Liang

Before Great Ning unified the land, Northern Liang suffered repeated northern invasions without protection from the Central Plains’ competing rulers. Lin Rusong led its people in a successful war of vengeance. He later submitted to Great Ning to spare them further warfare, receiving recognition as Prince of Northern Liang and command of a 300,000-strong regional army. More than a decade of recovery restored Northern Liang’s strength and prosperity 1.

Infiltration and the Assassination Attempt

Over the years, Lin Rusong relaxed his visible control over Northern Liang City, allowing foreign agents, local factions, and criminal organizations to establish themselves. These included the Heavenly Eagle Guard, Shachi Kingdom spies, Great Ning agents, and groups pursuing interests within Northern Liang itself 5.

When border unrest drew Lin Rusong away, he left Lin Yi in charge. Assassins attacked the heir on a busy street, where his accompanying guards prevented his death. The failure to identify the attackers led Lin Yi to question the loyalty and competence of those protecting him 1 2.

Lin Yi’s Purge

Rather than continue searching only for the original attackers, Lin Yi ordered a broader campaign against assassins and suspicious organizations. Han Song selected the Heavenly Eagle Guard as the first target, while Ma Chao’s cavalry and the Northern Liang Guard carried out the attacks. Huang Yuntao committed his own men in support 6 7 8.

The campaign destroyed the Heavenly Eagle Guard’s stronghold, Snow Cloud Manor outside the city, a tavern at the city gate, and the Blue Flower Brothel. Lin Rusong later confirmed that Great Ning Guard agents had also been eliminated. Initial reports counted more than 2,000 dead; subsequent accounts placed the toll above 3,000 and described more than thirty factions being crushed 8 13 14 42.

The prince’s residence publicly presented the operation as the suppression of bandits and accomplices in the assassination plot. Lin Yi also ordered Han Song to obtain—or fabricate—confessions to defend the crackdown against political challenges 11 16.

Public Reaction and Land Distribution

The city returned to outward calm by the following day, but residents initially disagreed over whether the killings had removed dangerous enemies or treated human lives recklessly. Over the next several days, street bullying and theft nearly disappeared, winning praise even from some former critics 16 19.

Lin Yi then offered confiscated land to commoners to farm in return for an annual grain payment. Applicants gathered at the prince’s residence, and the distribution drew hired farmhands away from the Ran Clan’s estates. His system subsequently credited him with winning over more than 30,000 people 19 21 22.

Wang Ziwen’s Follow-up Purge

The Ran Clan attempted to turn the crackdown against gangs secretly working for Lin Rusong. Wang Ziwen anticipated the scheme and ordered Xu Zhong to conduct another purge, targeting both Ran-connected interests and the compromised gangs. He argued that failing to answer an attack on the heir would invite Northern Liang’s foreign enemies to question its strength 27.

The operation concluded within five days and yielded more than 200,000 strings of cash 36.

Lin Yi’s Departure

Before Lin Yi left for Xiliang, hostile factions sent agents into Northern Liang City to gather information about him. He rejected a public farewell and departed secretly at midnight, disguised as a wealthy merchant’s son. Ma Chao led a decoy party along the main road while Lin Yi took a faster side route toward Dayu Pass 40.

Economy

Land and Merchant Families

• Ran Clan: Northern Liang’s foremost noble clan maintains a vast residence in the western city and extensive business interests. Lin Yi’s purge destroys several gangs controlled by Ran Chao and damages the family’s commercial network 20.
• Wang Clan: A wealthy merchant family based in the city. Its head, Wang Yining, entered business after being banished from court following a political disagreement with Emperor Li Anlan 32.
• Regional trade: Visitors bring goods into the city from surrounding areas; one Xiliang resident recalls travelling there to sell tiger pelts 45.

Refined Salt

• Lin Yi acquires the Ran Clan’s poisonous salt mine and provides a method for removing its toxins, placing Jia Xu in charge of security and production 31 35.
• Saltworks employees receive a promise of triple wages as production begins supplying Northern Liang’s market 36.
• The shop Benefit to All Under Heaven sells premium refined salt cheaply under Lin Yi’s name, challenging the Ran Clan’s hold on the market 36.
• Its first day’s revenue exceeds 10,000 strings of coins. Lin Yi agrees to devote the first batch of profits to better provisions for Ma Chao’s cavalry 37.

Notable Locations