Xiliang

Biodata

Geography and Strategic Importance

• Extent: Xiliang occupies only part of Dayu Pass. At the imperial court, its administrative territory is described as covering two or three counties 41 42.
• Relative size: Xiliang City is less than one-quarter the size of Northern Liang City; the commandery’s territory is less than one-third that of Northern Liang 35 40.
• Terrain: Towering mountains and steep ridges provide shelter for entrenched local powers and bandit strongholds 42.
• Defensibility: Dayu Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It previously served as an invasion route from the Northern Region into Great Ning 35.
• Military conditions: Cavalry dominates warfare in the area, making Great Ning’s attempts to secure the entire region particularly difficult 35.
• Potential stronghold: Lin Yi considers Xiliang a defensible base from which to strike north against the Northern Region’s tribes and south against Great Ning 35.

History

Contested Borderland

Dayu Pass became the object of prolonged fighting because controlling it could obstruct an enemy’s invasion route. The Northern Region’s tribes eventually relinquished their attempt to hold the entire pass, since they possessed other routes south, but continued preventing their rivals from occupying it completely. Northern Liang and Great Ning cooperated against northern invasions while remaining suspicious of one another, producing a three-sided balance of power 35.

Lin Rusong conquered the territory designated Xiliang, but Northern Liang’s administration remained limited. A garrison of twenty thousand troops maintained stability in the city while largely ignoring conflicts among local factions. The region’s complexity eventually left Northern Liang holding it chiefly in name rather than governing it comprehensively 24 42 47.

Lin Yi’s Appointment

After learning that Lin Yi had formed the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and purged hostile forces in Northern Liang City, Lin Rusong decided to give his son an opportunity to establish a territory of his own. He appointed Lin Yi governor of Xiliang as a test of his ability to inherit Northern Liang 13 24 35.

Lin Yi initially questioned the appointment because Xiliang did not appear among Northern Liang’s three established commanderies. His father’s map placed it on territory associated with the Northern Region. Wang Ziwen reassured him that Lin Rusong had already conquered it and that one hundred thousand Northern Liang Iron Cavalry at White Tiger City could support him 24.

Lin Yi accepted the governorship rather than travel to the capital as Princess Shenle’s consort. Emperor Li Anlan later approved the appointment, despite regarding the creation of another Northern Liang as both threatening and unlikely to succeed 25 41.

Arrival and Bandit Suppression

Local leaders began preparing resistance before Lin Yi arrived. To avoid becoming an obvious target, he departed secretly at midnight, disguised as a wealthy merchant’s son, while Ma Chao led a conspicuous decoy party along the main road 40 42.

In White Monkey County, residents described repeated bandit attacks and thefts. Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to eliminate bandits within one hundred li, placed Jia Xu in charge of coordination, and directed Ma Chao to clear the route ahead. His forces subsequently destroyed more than thirty strongholds near the county, winning widespread public praise while alarming the factions preparing to oppose him 44 45 47.

Lin Rusong responded by sending Yi Yun to watch over his son, with instructions to intervene only if Lin Yi faced certain death 47.

Unresolved Clan Opposition

The anti-Lin Yi alliance proved less united than Zhuo Feifan intended. Duan Yingxiong feared the consequences of provoking Lin Rusong, while Wang Chengfei showed little enthusiasm for joining. Reports that Lin Yi’s intelligence organization, Net, had already infiltrated Dayu Pass further unsettled Duan Yingxiong 43.

After a captured spy identified Zhuo Feifan as his employer, Lin Yi decided to destroy Zhuo’s faction once Ma Chao arrived. He also remained concerned about the powerful backer behind Zhuo. This attack was still a plan at the latest documented point 50.

Government and Development

Administration and Resources

• Governor’s authority: Lin Yi’s appointment grants him control over Xiliang’s military and civil affairs 41.
• Civil administration: Lin Yi delegates responsibility for governing the commandery to Jia Xu 44.
• Intelligence: Wang Yue’s Net investigates local powers, infiltrates Dayu Pass, and supplies targets for the suppression campaign 35 43 44.
• Material shortages: Preparations for the move include grain, supplies, and craftsmen; carpenters and blacksmiths are particularly scarce 26.
• Military equipment: Wang Ziwen provides captured weapons and equipment sufficient for nearly fifty thousand men 39.
• Governor’s residence: Lin Yi arrives to find the existing residence dilapidated. Construction of a replacement had stopped after troops were reassigned 45.

Agriculture and Recruitment

Lin Yi’s agricultural program combines newly obtained crops with the manpower brought by Zhou Cang and the Yellow Turban troops 45 49.

• Labor force: Most of the nearly twenty thousand Yellow Turban troops initially awarded to Lin Yi are only slightly stronger than civilians. He plans to train some as soldiers and employ the remainder in farming 45.
• Expanded following: By their public appearance outside the governor’s residence, the Yellow Turban contingent has grown to more than thirty thousand, including three thousand elites, under Jia Xu’s supervision 49.
• High-yield crops: Lin Yi announces sweet potatoes and potatoes that he claims can yield up to eight thousand jin per mu; no completed harvest is documented 49.
• Local assistance: Residents volunteer to help cultivate the crops, and White Asura agrees to stay and assist 50.

Population and Local Conditions

• Mixed origins: Only a small portion of the population is native to Xiliang; most residents originate from Great Ning or the Northern Region’s tribes 36.
• Fragmented authority: Intelligence identifies more than fifty powers of varying sizes operating throughout the region 44.
• Clan cohesion: The three largest clans are organized around shared surnames and blood relationships, with each controlling at least ten thousand people—not necessarily soldiers 42.
• Civilian insecurity: Bandit raids restrict travel and threaten livestock, property, and children. Lin Yi’s suppression campaign makes him a source of hope among ordinary residents 44 45 47.
• Public mobilization: Jia Xu disguises himself among Zhou Cang’s followers and encourages townspeople to support Lin Yi as the figure who can end Xiliang’s disorder 49.

Major Factions

Three Great Clans

Regional Powers

• Northern Liang — Sponsors Lin Yi’s administration. Its former twenty-thousand-man garrison withdraws to the commandery’s edge as part of the circumstances surrounding his trial 42.
• Great Ning — Holds part of the wider Dayu Pass region. Li Anlan approves Lin Yi’s governorship but opposes the emergence of a second power comparable to Northern Liang 41.
• Northern Region tribes — Retain a major military presence around the pass. Their strongest local commander, Tuoba Yu, controls territory north of Dayu Pass with an army approaching one hundred thousand 36.

Naming

• Origin of the name: Lin Rusong links the creation of Xiliang to his son’s use of the name “Xiliang Iron Cavalry,” interpreting it as an ambition to establish his own territory 13 24.
• Geographic mismatch: Despite its name, Xiliang lies east of Northern Liang, a discrepancy Lin Yi explicitly points out while studying the map 24 35.
• Political symbolism: Local leaders interpret the parallel names “Northern Liang” and “Xiliang” as suggesting comparable powers rather than a clearly subordinate commandery 42.