Li Anlan

Biodata

Background / History

Rise to the Throne

Great Ning emerged from a period of fragmented regional military rule. After Li Anlan’s father ascended the throne, the Li Imperial Clan and the aristocratic clans became the chief beneficiaries of the new order 685.

Li Anlan later seized power through rebellion. After his defeat, he recalled slaughtering his eldest brother’s entire family and recognized the resemblance between his brother’s downfall and his own 473 501.

In his earlier years, he fought alongside Qin Li against the Northern Barbarians, including bloody battles at Mountain and River Pass. He later defended his compromises with foreign powers as necessary sacrifices for the larger political situation, while admitting that he had abandoned some northern people 497.

Opposition to Northern Liang

Li Anlan regarded Lin Rusong, the Prince of Northern Liang, as his greatest enemy. Northern Liang’s three hundred thousand troops prevented him from simply removing the prince, so he sought indirect means of weakening him, including using Lin Yi as leverage 14 41.

After Lin Yi’s memorial described assassination attempts against him, Li Anlan assigned Zhang Huisheng to investigate the Northern Liang killings. He privately dismissed Zhang as an expendable mouthpiece who had underestimated Lin Rusong 14.

When Lin Rusong requested that Lin Yi govern Xiliang with control over military and civil affairs, Li Anlan rejected the prospect of allowing a second Northern Liang to develop. He nevertheless saw Lin Yi’s departure from his father’s territory as an opportunity to act against him 41.

Northern Invasion and Forced Concessions

Li Sansi’s difficulties against Tuoba Yu exposed the limits of Li Anlan’s available forces. Troops at Liangshan Pass had to remain in place against Northern Liang, while surrounding commanderies had already supplied Mountain and River Pass. Li Anlan therefore committed ten thousand imperial guards as reinforcements 153.

At the same time, Wei Tong brought him a fragment of Xiliang’s cement. Li Anlan tested it with an inkstone: the inkstone broke, but the fragment remained intact. Recognizing its value for frontier fortifications, he ordered Wei Tong to obtain cement, paying for it if necessary 153.

Rebellion in the south and renewed northern threats forced further concessions. Li Anlan authorized Qin Li to command one hundred thousand troops in the south, elevated Xiliang Commandery into a province, and appointed Lin Yi its inspector with orders to rescue Ningchuan 167.

Lin Yi’s victory left Li Anlan resentful rather than reassured. He objected to Lin Yi retaining Ningchuan and relying on supposedly borrowed barbarian troops. After another report demonstrated Xiliang’s strength, he invested Lin Yi as Prince of Xiliang, attempting to bind him to northern defense while discouraging expansion southward 191 192.

Intelligence War and the Xining Defeat

Li Anlan used Ran Zijin to oppose Lin Yi at court. When Ran was appointed chancellor in Xiliang and killed on arrival, Li Anlan suspected deliberate defiance, although Tan Cheng admitted that no evidence identified Lin Yi as the killer 192 225.

Liu Ziyi subsequently struck several of the Net’s strongholds, disrupting Lin Yi’s intelligence network. Learning that the Net communicated through homing pigeons, Li Anlan ordered their acquisition and the interrogation of captured agents. He also rewarded Liu Ziyi’s mother with a fourth-rank title 265 266.

Li Anlan secretly sent Cai Yu’s seventy-thousand-strong Xining Army against Xiliang. Its annihilation by Bai Zizai’s Asura Army shocked him so severely that he spat blood. Qin Li and Li Ruyu persuaded him not to launch an immediate retaliatory campaign, warning that doing so would expose Great Ning’s aggression and risk a wider war 321.

He instead agreed to warn Tuoba Wanli about Xiliang’s strength, hoping to encourage cooperation against Lin Yi. Publicly, he rewarded Lin Yi with a gold immunity medallion, one hundred thousand taels of gold, and one hundred beautiful women 321.

Elimination of the Vassal Princes

Li Anlan enlisted Li Ruyu, Director of the Imperial Clan, to pressure his royal uncles into supporting the throne. He intended to use their participation against the Northern Barbarians while weakening their independent military power 246.

Following peace negotiations in which the Northern Barbarians withdrew with large quantities of grain, Li Sanjiang, the Prince of Min, was killed. Great Ning officially blamed Jiang Dabiao, but the Net attributed the killing to Li Anlan. Reports subsequently identified both the Prince of Min and the Prince of Shu as victims of his purge 344 345 347.

Their surviving sons became new threats. Li Siyuan fled to the southern native chieftains, while Li Yifeng gathered his father’s former followers. After the Blood Guard failed to intercept them because of protection from the Net and Northern Liang Guard, Li Anlan ordered Imperial Clan Court experts to eliminate them 392.

His consolidation also left him responsible for the coastline previously guarded by the Prince of Min. Guan Yu’s disguised pirate fleet destroyed Great Ning’s newly formed navy, forcing Li Anlan to strengthen coastal defenses and assign Qin Li to suppress the raiders 370 392.

Failed Offensive Against Xiliang

When Lin Yi invaded Northern Barbarian territory, Li Anlan feared that victory would make Xiliang impossible to contain. He approved sending five hundred thousand troops under the pretext of protecting Lin Yi’s territory from an alleged rebellion by Xun Yu 410 411.

Lin Rusong countered by marching three hundred thousand troops toward Liangshan Pass. Li Anlan consequently had to commit forces reserved for emergencies to guard against Northern Liang while continuing his attempt to seize Xiliang 411.

Even after the failure of his initial offensive, Li Anlan continued mobilizing. Ning Kun expanded his army through conscription, and another three hundred thousand newly raised troops were sent toward the northern front. Li Anlan hoped to exploit what he believed was Xiliang’s exhaustion after its campaign 431 438.

Lin Yi answered with a proclamation accusing Li Anlan of colluding with the Northern Barbarians and betraying Great Ning. The campaign used aristocratic endorsements and a brocade document bearing Li Anlan’s and Tuoba Wanli’s handprints; its presentation was openly shaped for propaganda purposes 439.

Siege and Purge of the Great Clans

Great Ning came under attack from multiple directions: Xiliang cavalry advanced toward the capital, Pang De invaded Wuning, Guan Yu raided the coast, and southern native chieftains declared war. News that Li Yifeng had also rebelled caused Li Anlan to vomit blood and lose consciousness 454.

After recovering, he ordered reinforcements summoned and offered Guan Yu a commandery governorship to change sides. He later considered relocating the capital, but concluded that Ma Chao’s forces blocked his southern escape and that abandoning the capital would strengthen Lin Yi’s legitimacy 454 471 474.

As the aristocratic clans began defecting, Li Anlan obtained control of fifty thousand Shangguan private troops from Empress Shangguan Yan. He sent the empress and crown prince to Jiangling, then had those troops pose as Net agents while massacring great families and seizing their wealth. Imperial guards followed with a purported crackdown on Xiliang infiltrators; the operation caused nearly twenty thousand casualties 474 479.

The seized resources financed further recruitment, but Li Anlan still had only five hundred thousand troops when facing reports of Lin Yi’s million-strong army. He also sought assistance from the Frostwest Empire 479 484.

Final Battle and Death

With the capital surrounded, Li Anlan concluded that passive defense could not save Great Ning. His last plan was to defeat Lin Yi’s main army and capture him, thereby gaining leverage over both Xiliang and Lin Rusong 487 490.

He remained on the walls despite Qin Li’s concern and refused Lin Yi’s demand for surrender. During the battle, he promised three ranks of promotion and one thousand taels of gold for capturing Lin Yi alive 495 498.

Fire arrows briefly checked the Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors, but Xiliang’s explosive iron canisters shattered Great Ning’s resistance. With a three-hundred-thousand-strong force reduced to fewer than one hundred thousand in less than an hour, Li Anlan surrendered 500.

Lin Yi offered him a peaceful retirement, but Li Anlan distrusted the promise, remembering his own broken assurances to Northern Liang and his royal uncles. He asked that his sons be spared; Lin Yi explicitly promised only that Li Yunmiao would remain unharmed if he behaved 501.

After entrusting Shenle to Lin Yi and affirming that she had never supplied him with intelligence, Li Anlan swallowed poison. Hua Tuo could not save him. Lin Yi ordered a grand burial 501.

Personality

Li Anlan sought exclusive imperial control and resented powerful regional rulers. His stated ideal was a realm belonging to one man; Lin Yi and his advisers repeatedly identified his inability to tolerate independent power as the root of their conflict 14 145 440.

He could be calculating and patient despite frequent displays of anger. He accepted humiliating concessions when circumstances required them, including rewarding Lin Yi after military defeats. His pragmatism also extended to deception, assassination, and sacrificing the aristocratic order that had supported his dynasty 192 321 471 474.

His ambition was to become an emperor without equal through the ages, making public denunciations of him as a tyrant especially painful. Nevertheless, he faced his final battle calmly and ultimately acknowledged defeat rather than pleading for his own life 484 498 501.

Abilities & Skills

Battlefield Command

• Veteran judgment: Both Li Anlan and Qin Li rose through battlefield experience; Lin Yi recognized their ability to identify a decisive opportunity 490.
• Tactical adaptation: Used fire arrows to interrupt the Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors’ advance 500.
• Personal leadership: Directed Great Ning’s final counterattack and offered substantial rewards for taking Lin Yi alive 498.
• Limits: Could not overcome Xiliang’s shield formations, superior armor, concentrated missile fire, and explosives 499 500.

Political Maneuvering

• Used appointments, investigations, and imperial rewards to pressure rivals or constrain their freedom of action 14 192 321.
• Mobilized Imperial Clan authority against independently powerful royal relatives 246 392.
• Disguised an offensive against Xiliang as assistance to its absent ruler 411.
• Used false-flag violence to seize clan wealth while blaming the Net 474 479.

Intelligence and Counterintelligence

• Employed the Great Ning Guard, Shadow, and Blood Guard as surveillance and enforcement organizations 265 294 392.
• Recognized that homing pigeons explained the Net’s speed and could have exposed Wei Tong’s movements in advance 266.
• Maintained knowledge of the crown prince’s unauthorized assassination attempts 294.
• Suffered repeated intelligence failures against the Net and Northern Liang Guard, including the escape of the purged princes’ heirs 392.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Golden command arrow — Granted Qin Li authority to mobilize all troops in the Min River region against the pirates 392.
• Shangguan clan token — Supplied by the empress to authorize use of fifty thousand private troops attached to the Eastern Palace 474.
• Hidden imperial trove — Discovered after his death; contained Great Ning’s jade seal, the Li Imperial Clan genealogy, ornaments, and a nautical chart 598.
• Nautical chart — Recorded regional routes, the Yamata Nation, and mineral deposits. Lin Yi ordered its sea routes and resource locations copied and verified 598.

Relationships

• Lin Yi — Son-in-law and eventual conqueror. Their struggle escalated from political containment to open war; Li Anlan surrendered to him before committing suicide 41 500 501.
• Lin Rusong — Principal regional rival. Li Anlan once promised to share the realm with him, but later repeatedly attempted to destroy Northern Liang 41 501.
• Shangguan Yan — Empress and political partner. She provided her clan’s military token and was sent to Jiangling with the crown prince before the capital’s fall 474.
• Li Qiankun — Crown prince and son. He feared his father’s scrutiny; Li Anlan tried unsuccessfully to secure an explicit promise for his survival 225 294 501.
• Li Yunmiao — Third son. Li Anlan regarded him and the crown prince as his accomplished sons; Lin Yi conditionally agreed to spare him 501.
• Princess Shenle — Daughter and Lin Yi’s wife. Li Anlan questioned her loyalty, but ultimately acknowledged that she had never provided him with intelligence 266 501.
• Qin Li — Grand Commandant and longtime battlefield companion. He advised against reckless retaliation and remained beside Li Anlan through the dynasty’s final battle 321 497 501.
• Lu Yafu — Former chancellor whose governing ideals conflicted with Li Anlan’s pursuit of domination. Li Anlan later sought his influence, but Lu refused renewed political involvement 145 225 430.
• Li Ruyu — Royal uncle and Director of the Imperial Clan. Helped pressure the vassal princes and advised Li Anlan on the danger posed by Xiliang 246 295.
• Tuoba Wanli — Longstanding foreign enemy whom Li Anlan later sought to use as a counterweight to the Lin family 321 438.
• Zhang Zizai — Critic whose family was killed by the Jackal Kingdom. Li Anlan’s refusal to send troops led Zhang to become a bandit fighting that kingdom 813.

Notable Quotes

“The realm belongs to one man. Only then can he be called an emperor!” 14

“Unfortunately, for the sake of the bigger picture, I often had no choice but to compromise, no choice but to abandon some of the people in the north.” 497

“The victor becomes king, and the defeated become outlaws. I don't blame you for destroying my Great Ning.” 501

Trivia

• Lin Rusong kept a portrait of Li Anlan in his study and used it as an archery target 501.
• Despite their prolonged rivalry and family connection, Li Anlan and Lin Yi first met in person after Great Ning’s defeat 501.
• After discovering his hidden trove, Lin Yi acknowledged that Li Anlan possessed the methods and ruthlessness to accomplish great things—and might have succeeded had they not become opponents 598.