Liang Dumyan
Liang Dumyan (1625 - 1719 AN) served as a First Admiral of the Tianchao Chuandui since 1655 AN, as his predecessor was sacked because of his abysmal leadership during the first part of the War of Lost Brothers. He became head of state of the Kantai-Ha Clique in 1695 AN, despite having retired from the Navy in 1690 AN.
Liang made some attempts to reform the Navy from within, but was increasingly confronted with a lack of funds and material, as the Grand Secretariat had placed their hopes in the armed forces. The successful attempts of Field Marshal Tzao Yao in increasing the power share of the Gunbatsu during the war, frustrated Liang. A personal rivalry between the two officers began when, in the last year of the war (1657 AN), Liang had a nephew of the Field Marshal shot for ignoring a direct order.
They put their rivalry temporarily on the side to cooperate in restoring the imperial power to the rightful heir of the Throne. He was one of the leading figures to pressure the Meiyo Emperor in abdicating, after which she was succeeded by the Chidao Emperor in 1659 AN. As a result, he was appointed Minister of Purity in 1659 AN.
Within his role as First Admiral, he masterminded a series of reforms, streamlining its leadership and clarifying the different roles of the Tianchao Haijing, the Tianchao Haijun and Qiangtan Junren. Nonetheless, he failed in strengthening the political position of the Kantai-ha, as a bigger focus on the Apollonian continent made the construction of expensive new warships less necessary.
Despite his old age, Lian was asked to return to active service in 1695 AN to act as temporary head of state of the Kantai-Ha Clique during the Post-Chidao Troubles. Refusing to be pulled down in what could become a very nasty brother war, he decided to gather the Fleet and establish control over Gong and a series of isles. To avoid direct interference, or invasion, from foreign powers, he vowed to remain neutral and use his naval power to keep enemies at bay.
