Wang Lin ( general ) Wang Lin ( 王琳 ) ( 526 – 573 ) , courtesy name Ziheng ( 子珩 ) , formally Prince Zhongwu of Baling ( 巴陵忠武王 ) , was a general of the Chinese dynasties Liang Dynasty and Northern Qi . He initially became prominent during Emperor Yuan of Liang ' s campaign against the rebel general Hou Jing , and later , after Emperor Yuan was defeated and killed by Western Wei forces in 554 , he maintained a separate center of power from the dominant general of the remaining Liang provinces , Chen Baxian . After Chen Baxian seized the Liang throne in 557 and established Chen Dynasty ( as its Emperor Wu ) , Wang , with Northern Qi support , declared the Liang prince Xiao Zhuang emperor in 558 , making Xiao Zhuang one of the three contestants for the Southern Dynasty throne , against Chen Baxian and Emperor Xuan of Western Liang , supported by Western Wei . In 560 , while trying to attack Chen Baxian ' s nephew and successor Emperor Wen of Chen , Wang was defeated , and both he and Xiao Zhuang fled to Northern Qi . Wang subsequently served as a Northern Qi general , and during a major Chen offensive against Northern Qi in 573 , he was captured by the Chen general Wu Mingche and executed . Before Emperor Yuan ' s reign . Wang Lin was born in 526 , and while his father ' s name was not recorded in history , his father was said to be a military officer , and Wang Lin grew up studying the military doctrines . His family was from Kuaiji Commandery ( 會稽 , roughly modern Shaoxing , Zhejiang ) . During the reign of Emperor Wu , Wang Lin had two sisters ( one older , one younger ) who became concubines to Emperor Wu ' s son , Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong . As Xiao Yi later became an important provincial governor , Wang , even in his youth , served on Xiao Yi ' s staff and became a key military officer under Xiao Yi . At least one of his brothers , Wang Xun ( 王珣 ) , was also a military officer under Xiao Yi . The first historical reference to Wang Lin ' s military activities was in 549 , when Xiao Yi , then governor of the important Jing Province ( 荊州 , modern western Hubei ) , trying to send food supplies to the provincial armies trying to lift the siege on the capital Jiankang by the rebel general Hou Jing , ordered Wang to escort a large supply of rice to Jiankang ' s vicinity . Before Wang could arrive at Jiankang , however , he heard news that Jiankang had fallen and the provincial armies had disbanded . Fearful that the supply would be seized by Hou , Wang dumped the rice into the Yangtze River and returned to Jing Province . Xiao Yi soon made him a commandery governor and created him the Marquess of Jianning . In fall 550 , Xiao Yi promoted the status of Yichang Commandery to Yi Province , and made Wang its governor . In 551 , Hou launched a major assault on Xiao Yi ' s territory , commanded by himself and his generals Ren Yue ( 任約 ) and Song Zixian ( 宋子仙 ) , and after Hou made a surprise attack on Jiangxia ( 江夏 , in modern Wuhan , Hubei ) and captured it , he headed toward Xiao Yi ' s headquarters at Jiangling . Wang Lin ' s brother Wang Xun were among the officers who surrendered . Xiao Yi sent his main forces , commanded by Wang Sengbian , to take up position against Hou ' s forces at Baling ( 巴陵 , in modern Yueyang , Hunan ) . Wang Lin served under Wang Sengbian in defending Baling against Hou , and when Hou brought Wang Xun to the frontline , trying to have him persuade Wang Lin to surrender , Wang Lin rebuked him and fired an arrow at him . Wang Xun , embarrassed , withdrew . Soon , Xiao Yi ' s forces , commanded by Wang Sengbian , fought back and defeated Hou ' s forces when Hou ' s food supplies ran out . Hou retreated , while leaving Song in command at Jiangxia . Wang Sengbian put it under siege , and Wang Lin participated in the battle , capturing Song . By this point , Wang Lin became well known for his strong rapport with his troops and how he shared the awards he received with his troops . He had about 10 , 000 men under him , and most of his soldiers were originally bandits from the region between the Yangtze and the Huai River , but who personally became loyal to him . In 552 , Wang Sengbian advanced on Jiankang and recaptured it , forcing Hou to flee . ( Hou was subsequently killed by his own subordinates . ) Wang Lin made a major contribution in the recapturing of Jiankang , but drew Wang Sengbian ' s ire by at times being insubordinate to Wang Sengbian . When Taiji Palace ( 太極殿 ) was burned in the confusion following Jiankang ' s fall , Wang Sengbian worried that Xiao Yi would punish him , and therefore sent reports to Xiao Yi implicating Wang Lin in the fire destroying Taiji Palace , requesting that Wang Lin be executed . Xiao Yi thereafter made Wang Lin the governor of Xiang Province ( 湘州 , modern central Hunan ) and ordered him to first report to Jiangling to see him . Wang Lin , realizing that something unusual was happening , sent his army directly to Xiang Province , commanded by his officer Lu Na ( 陸納 ) , while personally reporting to Jiangling . Once he arrived at Jiangling , Xiao Yi arrested him and executed his deputy , Yin Yan ( 殷晏 ) . In response , Lu and his forces rebelled against Xiao Yi ' s son Xiao Fanglüe ( 蕭方略 ) , whom Xiao Yi had sent to replace Wang Lin , and Lu seized Changsha , the capital of Xiang Province . During Emperor Yuan ' s reign . During the campaign , Xiao Yi , who had long had designs on the throne , finally declared himself emperor ( as Emperor Yuan ) . However , he was then facing a dire situation — the empire had been ravaged by the wars , and his brother Xiao Ji the Prince of Wuling , who controlled the modern Sichuan and Chongqing , had several months earlier declared himself emperor , contesting Emperor Yuan ' s presumptive claim . Meanwhile , Lu Na continued his campaign of resistance , hoping to force Emperor Yuan to free Wang Lin . He captured Emperor Yuan ' s generals Ding Daogui ( 丁道貴 ) and Li Hongya ( 李洪雅 ) , executing Ding and making Li a nominal leader of the resistance . However , his subsequent attack on Baling was repelled by Emperor Yuan ' s cousin Xiao Xun ( 蕭循 ) the Marquess of Yifeng . Emperor Yuan then sent Wang Sengbian to assist Xiao Xun , and they attacked Lu together , defeating him and forcing him back to Changsha , which Wang Sengbian then put under siege but was not able to capture quickly . Meanwhile , Xiao Ji ' s forces were approaching Jiangling , and Emperor Yuan , wanting to pull Wang Sengbian ' s forces to resist Xiao Ji but feared that he would then lose control over Lu , sent Wang Lin to the frontline to have him to persuade Lu to surrender . Lu was willing to surrender , but wanted Wang Lin to take over the command . Eventually , Emperor Yuan agreed , pardoning Wang Lin and putting him back in charge of his original forces . Wang Lin then prepared to respond to Xiao Ji ' s attack , although Xiao Ji was defeated and killed before he could reach the frontlines . Meanwhile , Emperor Yuan , while having pardoned Wang Lin , still was apprehensive about the strength of his forces and his rapport with them , made him the governor of Guang Province ( 廣州 , modern central Guangdong ) , against Wang Lin ' s wishes to guard Liang ' s northern borders with Western Wei in spring 554 . In fall 554 , while Wang Lin was still on the way to Guang Province , Western Wei launched a major attack on Jiangling ( which Emperor Yuan had made capital ) . Upon hearing that Jiangling was under attack , Wang immediately turned his army around and headed for Jiangling , but before he could reach Jiangling , it fell . Around the new year 555 , the Western Wei forces put Emperor Yuan to death and declared Emperor Yuan ' s nephew Xiao Cha the Emperor of Liang ( as Emperor Xuan ) , to be a vassal to Western Wei . As independent general . Upon hearing of Emperor Yuan ' s death , Wang Lin took up position at Changsha and declared a public mourning for Emperor Yuan , while sending his general Hou Ping ( 侯平 ) to attack Emperor Xuan , refusing to acknowledge him as the new emperor . The generals in the western provinces of the empire supported Wang Lin as their leader . Meanwhile , also not recognizing Emperor Xuan was Wang Sengbian , who was then at Jiankang and who , along with his lieutenant Chen Baxian , controlled the eastern provinces . Wang Sengbian welcomed the only surviving son of Emperor Yuan , Xiao Fangzhi the Prince of Jin ' an to Jiankang , declaring him the Prince of Liang and preparing to next declare him emperor . However , after Northern Qi attacked , Wang Sengbian , fearing further Northern Qi attacks , accepted Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi ' s proposal to make Emperor Yuan ' s cousin Xiao Yuanming the Marquess of Zhenyang emperor , declaring Xiao Yuanming emperor in fall 555 . Wang Lin recognized Xiao Yuanming as emperor , although he remained relatively independent in his military actions . Meanwhile , Emperor Yuan ' s seven - year - old grandson Xiao Zhuang the Prince of Yongjia — the son of his deceased oldest son Xiao Fangdeng ( 蕭方等 ) , had been hidden by the Buddhist nun Famu ( 法幕 ) and subsequently delivered to Wang Lin . Wang Lin further delivered him to Jiankang . In fall 555 , Chen , displeased over Wang Sengbian ' s declaration of Xiao Yuanming as emperor , made a surprise attack on Jiankang , killing Wang Sengbian and deposing Xiao Yuanming , instead declaring Xiao Fangzhi emperor ( as Emperor Jing ) . This move drew attacks from several generals loyal to Wang Sengbian , as well as from Northern Qi . During this time , Wang Lin appeared to recognize Emperor Jing as emperor , but at the time was distancing himself from Chen . He also continued fighting with both Western Wei and Emperor Xuan , but after Hou Ping rebelled against him in 556 , he felt he was unable to conduct war on all sides . He made nominal submissions to Northern Qi , Western Wei , and Emperor Xuan , suing for peace on all sides . He also sought the return of his wife Lady Cai and heir apparent Wang Yi ( 王毅 ) , who had been taken captive by Western Wei when Jiangling fell . Emperor Gong of Western Wei created him the Duke of Changsha , and returned his wife and children in 557 . When Northern Qi summoned him to its capital Yecheng , Wang Lin refused to go , but did not formally break with Northern Qi . He also refused Emperor Jing ' s edict to report to Jiankang and instead prepared to attack Chen . Chen therefore sent his generals Hou Andu and Zhou Wenyu ( 周文育 ) to attack Wang , accusing Wang of being a renegade . Before Hou and Zhou could engage Wang ' s forces , however , in winter 557 , Chen had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him , establishing Chen Dynasty as its Emperor Wu . Having lost the rationale for attacking Wang , Hou and Zhou ' s forces suffered from low morale , and Wang defeated and captured them , along with most of their forces . He thereafter moved his headquarters from Changsha to Jiangxia . His subsequent campaigns to take over the modern Jiangxi region , however , were indecisive , preventing him from making a decisive attack on Chen . In spring 558 , he sought aid from Northern Qi and also requested that Northern Qi return Xiao Zhuang ( whom Chen Baxian had sent to Northern Qi as part of a hostage party in 555 ) to continue the Liang lineage . In spring 558 , Northern Qi returned Xiao Zhuang , after Wang had sent his nephew Wang Shubao ( 王叔寶 ) , along with sons or brothers of the 10 provincial governors under him , to Yecheng as hostages . He declared Xiao Zhuang emperor , and he served as Xiao Zhuang ' s prime minister , with the capital at Jiangxia . Attempt to install Xiao Zhuang as emperor . Xiao Zhuang created Wang Lin the Duke of Ancheng . Wang continued his campaign to try to subjugate the semi - independent generals of the modern Jiangxi region , who had been vacillating between pledging allegiance to Xiao Zhuang and allegiance to Chen . In summer 558 , Wang ' s general Yu Xiaoqing ( 余孝頃 ) and Fan Meng ( 樊猛 ) were able to defeat the chief of those generals , Zhou Di ( 周迪 ) , but when Zhou agreed to submit , Yu refused , and Zhou ' s subsequent counterattack defeated their forces , capturing both Yu and Fan , greatly impairing Wang ' s target of consolidating the power in the region under him . In fall 558 , he entered into a peace agreement with Chen , temporarly ending hostilities . Meanwhile , Zhou Wenyu and Hou Andu escaped and rejoined Chen , giving Chen forces a boost . In summer 559 , Chen ' s Emperor Wu died suddenly . He was succeeded by his nephew Emperor Wen of Chen . Upon hearing this , Wang prepared to launch a major attack on Chen . He left his lieutenant Sun Yang ( 孫瑒 ) in command at Jiangxia , while he advanced east on the Yangtze River , heading toward Jiankang , with support from the Northern Qi general Murong Yan ( 慕容儼 ) . By spring 560 , he had reached Dongguan ( 東關 , in modern Chaohu , Anhui ) , where Chen forces , commanded by Hou Tian ( 侯瑱 ) , met him , and the forces initially stalemated . Meanwhile , Northern Zhou , the successor state to Western Wei , had heard of Wang ' s advances and launched an attack on Jiangxia . Wang considered retreating , but decided to continue , hoping to get a decisive victory over Chen forces and then return to lift the siege on Jiangxia . However , in his subsequent engagement against Hou , he was decisively defeated and unable to regroup his forces , and Chen forces also attacked Northern Qi forces and defeated them as well . Wang was forced to flee to Northern Qi , and Xiao Zhuang soon joined him as well . The territory that Wang Lin controlled became divided between Chen and Emperor Xuan , although Chen soon seized the provinces that Emperor Xuan took as well , reducing territory that was controlled by any Liang sovereign to the several cities around Jiangling . As Northern Qi general . In spring 561 , Emperor Xiaozhao of Northern Qi ( Emperor Wenxuan ' s brother ) stationed Wang Lin at Hefei , intending to have him gather the men of the region to prepare for an attack on Chen . When Chen ' s general Pei Jinghui ( 裴景徽 ) , a son - in - law of Wang Lin ' s brother Wang Min ( 王珉 ) , offered to defect , however , Wang Lin hesitated , and Pei , unable to wait for Wang Lin ' s decision , instead fled and joined him in Northern Qi territory . After this incident , Emperor Xiaozhao made him the governor of Yang Province ( 揚州 , modern central Anhui ) , to defend Shouyang . In 562 , Wang prepared an attack on Chen , but his deputy Lu Qian ( 盧潛 ) believed that time was not right for an attack and instead recommended peace with Chen . They thereafter became rivals , and both of them made submissions to Emperor Wucheng of Northern Qi ( Emperor Xiaozhao ' s brother ) , accusing each other of inappropriate conduct . Emperor Wencheng summoned Wang back to Yecheng while putting Lu in charge of Shouyang . Little is known about Wang ' s activities for the next decade . In 573 , Emperor Xuan of Chen ( Emperor Wen ' s brother ) sent the general Wu Mingche to launch a major attack on Northern Qi , intending to take the region between the Yangtze and the Huai . Emperor Wucheng ' s son and successor Gao Wei sent the general Wei Pohu ( 尉破胡 ) to defend against Wu ' s attack , while sending Wang to serve as an advisor to Wei . Wang advised caution , but Wei did not listen to him and was defeated by Wu . Wang just escaped with his life , and when he was on the way back to Yecheng , Gao Wei sent him to Shouyang to gather an army to defend against Chen and created him the Prince of Baling — but also sent Lu to Shouyang as well to assist him , even though it was known that Wang and Lu despised each other — in order to curb Wang ' s powers . When Wu ' s forces arrived at Shouyang in fall 573 , Wu put Shouyang under siege , quickly capturing the outer city and forcing Northern Qi forces to withdraw into the inner city . Gao Wei sent the general Pi Jinghe ( 皮景和 ) to try to lift the siege on Shouyang , but once Pi reached Shouyang ' s vicinity , he did not dare to engage Wu , and Wu intensified his siege , capturing Shouyang in winter 573 . Wang was taken captive . Initially , Wu was going to deliver Wang to Emperor Xuan . However , Wu became apprehensive when many of his own officers , formerly Wang ' s subordinates , not only begged for Wang ' s life to be spared but further gave him gifts . Worried that his own officers might rebel , Wu had Wang executed . It was said that the whole countryside was filled with wailing in mourning of Wang ' s death . The historian Li Yanshou commented in the " History of Southern Dynasties " : He further commented : The historian in Qing Dynasty Zhao Yi commented in his " Notes on the Twenty - Two Dynastic Histories " :