Prince of Northern Liang

Biodata

Background / History

Founding Northern Liang

During the wars preceding Great Ning’s unification, Northern Liang received no protection from the Central Plains dynasties and suffered repeated barbarian invasions. Lin Rusong rallied its people, led a successful war of vengeance, and established his rule. His military reputation included forcing back an army of five hundred thousand Northern Region barbarians 1 43.

When Great Ning unified the land, he submitted to spare his people further warfare. The emperor recognized him as Prince of Northern Liang and granted him command of three hundred thousand soldiers to defend the northern and western frontiers. Northern Liang recovered and began to prosper over the following decade 1.

Family and Rule

After his wife was killed by the barbarians, Lin Rusong never remarried and devoted himself to their only son, Lin Yi. He indulged the boy, provided seven beautiful maids, and emphasized learning how to play rather than studying poetry or martial manuals 1.

Although Northern Liang belonged to Great Ning, its fundamental power remained in Lin Rusong’s hands. Ran Zijin explained that the prince deliberately tolerated disorder: a completely peaceful Northern Liang, united behind its ruler, would make the emperor more suspicious. The prince also maintained his own agents and gangs among the city’s competing factions 15 20 21 27.

Border Unrest and the Attack on His Heir

Renewed barbarian activity brought Lin Rusong to the eastern encampment of Beichuan Commandery. He took elite troops and chief steward Wang Ziwen with him, leaving Lin Yi in charge of Northern Liang City. He also left General Xu Zhong behind to protect his heir, but assassins nevertheless attacked Lin Yi 1 6 12.

At the camp, Lin Rusong received reports that his son had raised the thousand-strong Xiliang Iron Cavalry and purged the city’s hostile factions. He proudly confirmed that both the Heavenly Eagle Guard and Great Ning Guard had been destroyed. Anticipating impeachment, he declared that the dead were assassins and planned to demand an imperial investigation into the attack on his son 12 13.

His protection extended beyond public memorials. He supplied information identifying the Ran Clan as the force behind the assassins and sent people to the capital to deal with Zhang Huisheng and his connections. Zhang’s family was later reported slaughtered by mysterious bandits; court officials suspected Lin Rusong’s involvement 14 24 41.

The Xiliang Trial

Lin Rusong interpreted the name “Xiliang Iron Cavalry” as a sign that Lin Yi wanted an independent undertaking. He appointed his son governor of Xiliang, making the contested border territory a test of his fitness to inherit Northern Liang. His letter also demanded seventy percent of the money Lin Yi had seized, while Northern Liang faced the expense of supporting a hundred thousand soldiers without adequate imperial supplies 5 13 24.

Wang Ziwen assured Lin Yi that his father had already conquered Xiliang and stationed a hundred thousand Northern Liang Iron Cavalry in nearby White Tiger City. Within Xiliang itself, a twenty-thousand-man garrison withdrew toward the commandery’s edge before Lin Yi arrived. White Asura, a trusted former vanguard commander, remained at Dayu Pass as another safeguard 24 42 50.

To obtain imperial recognition, Lin Rusong requested both Lin Yi’s governorship and Great Ning’s portion of the disputed territory. He expected the emperor to reject the territorial demand while conceding the appointment, allowing both rulers to save face. Li Anlan approved the governorship but refused to surrender Great Ning’s land 41 46.

Receiving *The Legacy of Wumu*

Wang Ziwen later delivered Lin Yi’s gifts: a five-hundred-year-old ginseng root and The Legacy of Wumu. Already an accomplished strategist, Lin Rusong found that the treatise resolved longstanding military problems and deepened his understanding, particularly of tactics against cavalry. He regarded it as a means to avenge his wife and Northern Liang’s dead 46.

When Lin Yi destroyed more than thirty bandit strongholds, Wang Ziwen proposed sending Xu Zhong to reinforce him. Lin Rusong refused to remove the trial’s difficulty, insisting that his son must prove capable of standing without constant paternal intervention. He nevertheless expressed willingness to support Lin Yi’s larger ambitions if Xiliang succeeded 47.

Personality

Lin Rusong is openly affectionate and fiercely protective toward Lin Yi. His supposed reprimand of the citywide purge quickly becomes an opportunity to boast about his son before his commanders. However, once Lin Yi demonstrates unusual ability, he expects him to shoulder genuine danger and responsibility rather than rely indefinitely on his father 13 47.

His political restraint is calculated, not submissive. He avoids an open break with Great Ning while protecting Northern Liang’s autonomy through intelligence, military deterrence, and carefully framed demands. His hatred of the barbarians also sets a firm limit on expediency: he rejected their offer of an elevated princely title and a joint conquest of Great Ning because he would not overlook his family’s and people’s blood feud 13 21 46 47.

Abilities & Skills

Military Command

An experienced frontier commander whose authority rests on Northern Liang’s battlefield victories 1 43.

• Commands an army of three hundred thousand charged with defending the northern and western borders 1.
• Personally takes command when barbarian activity threatens the frontier 12.
• Keeps substantial reserve forces near Xiliang while requiring Lin Yi to establish his own rule 24 42.

Military Strategy

Possesses a profound understanding of warfare before receiving The Legacy of Wumu 46.

• Integrates the treatise’s strategies with his existing knowledge.
• Recognizes its anti-cavalry tactics as particularly valuable against Northern Region armies.
• Allows Wang Ziwen to study the book as well 46.

Political Maneuvering and Intelligence

Maintains control through agents, information management, and negotiating tactics 15 20 21.

• Operatives penetrate rival circles; Ran Zijin warns that even his own residence may contain the prince’s informants 20.
• Uses the assassination attempt as a political defense of Lin Yi’s purge 13.
• Pairs an excessive territorial request with a more attainable appointment to secure the latter 46.
• His chief steward counters the Ran Clan’s scheme by including the prince’s own gangs in a renewed purge 27.

Equipment / Items

• The Legacy of Wumu — Military treatise gifted by Lin Yi, containing strategies and specialized tactics against cavalry 46.
• Five-hundred-year-old ginseng root — A rare gift sent by Lin Yi through Wang Ziwen 40 46.

Relationships

• Lin Yi — Only son and heir. Lin Rusong shifts from indulgent parenting to testing his ability to preserve Northern Liang 1 24 47.
• Unnamed princess consort — Deceased wife, killed by the barbarians. He never remarried, and her death remains central to his refusal to ally with them 1 47.
• Wang Ziwen — Trusted confidant, strategist, and chief steward; conveys his instructions to Lin Yi and advises him on the succession 12 24 47.
• Li Anlan — Nominal sovereign and political adversary. The emperor seeks to weaken Northern Liang and views Lin Yi as potential leverage against his father 14 41.
• Xu Zhong — General entrusted with protecting Lin Yi and commanding thirty thousand soldiers 12 27.
• White Asura — Trusted aide and former vanguard commander stationed at Dayu Pass 50.
• Ran Zijin and the Ran Clan — Powerful local rivals. Their involvement in the attack on Lin Yi and attempts to undermine his forces erode the prince’s remaining tolerance 14 21 27.

Notable Quotes

“Everyone my son killed was an assassin, someone with ill intentions. What’s wrong with that?” 13

“As long as Northern Liang remains strong, there’s nothing he can do to us.” 47

“If he has to rely on me for everything, then I’d rather Yi’er simply be an ordinary man!” 47