Difference between revisions of "Jasmine Liao (25th c.)"

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==History==
 
==History==
===Sudden Ascension to the Chancellorship and Revenge===
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===Early Life===
Daughter of Chancellor [[Stephen Liao]], Jasmine was second in line for succession to House Liao's throne.  In [[2450]], her brother [[Duncan Liao|Duncan]] succeeded her father, following his death from pneumonia.  However, in [[2451]], her brother moved to curb the powerful General [[Ral Merik]]'s power.  When her brother reduced the Merik's Grenadiers by half, the general conducted a well-organized revolt and took her brother hostage.<ref name=HL_34>''House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)'', p. 34: "Tribulations"</ref>
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Jasmine was the daughter of Chancellor [[Stephen Liao]], and thus grew up amid an era of Capellan military revitalization. Though firstborn, Jasmine would be second in the line of succession when her brother was born some three years later. [[Duncan Liao]] would succeed their father in [[2450]] when “The Great Organizer” fell ill from pneumonia and passed away.
  
Her nation's nobility granted General Merik and his Turk cronies title of "Protectors of the State", and they ruled the nation with her brother as their hostage. However, in February of [[2452]] word came that her brother had committed suicide by setting fire to his cramped room.<ref name=HL_34/>
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Considering the circumstances, the future seemed promising enough. Young Duncan was not known to have any significant flaws or drawbacks to his abilities as Chancellor. No threat to his forthcoming rule was anticipated beyond the hazards inherent to the post. To this point, his sister Jasmine seemed content with the notion that her chances at becoming Chancellor were minimal, at least for the foreseeable future.
  
Outraged at her young brother's horrible demise, Jasmine took the Chancellorship and ordered the [[Red Lancers|2nd Hexare Lancers]] to launch an attack on the Winter Palace, where Merik's Grenadiers had garrisoned. Within the hour, the Lancers committed to the attack on the Winter Palace, with the ensuing two-day battle ending on the 1st of March.  Despite the Grenadiers' offers of surrender, the Chancellor ordered the renegade Regiment to be annihilated.<ref name=HL_34/>
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===The First Tribulation (Sudden Ascension)===
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Shortly following her brother’s ascent, his counselors raised concerns over the increasing degree of wealth and power among a particular number of ranking officers. Taken as the side effect of his father’s protection of military priorities, these so called “Young Turks” were seen by the Prefectorate as devious and self serving. The most notable of this group was General [[Ral Merik]], commander of Merik’s Grenadier Regiment of the Capellan Hussars.
  
===Second Time of Tribulation===
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Unfortunately, Duncan acted on particularly bad advice to curb General Merik's power in reducing his regiment’s size by half. In response, the general conducted a well-organized revolt that took control of the palace and the Chancellor as hostage. To allay potential danger to the chancellor’s life, the Capellan nobility acclaimed General Merik and his Turk cronies “Protectors of the State", by which they ruled the nation over a tense seven-month period. This would be known as the “Time of Tribulation”<ref name=HL_34>''House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)'', p. 34: "Tribulations"</ref>
After having a state funeral for her dear brother, she made the 2nd Hexare Lancers her family personal military regiment, renaming them the [[Red Lancers]].
 
  
Seeing the problem that her father created during his reign, she set out reform CCAF military by purging it of its military hierarchy.  This purge would be known as the 2nd of Time of Tribulation, as two years would come and go with hundreds of officers put on trial as traitors and put to death.  She then took command of nation's divisional and sector commands into the Chancellorship, and as of 2455 that military commander may attain rank higher than [[Colonel]].<ref>''House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)'', p. 34: Tribulations - Jasmine reforms the military and has numerous members of the officers caste of the military tried and killed.</ref>
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In February of [[2452]], sensing that he was the obstacle to resolving the situation, Duncan Liao committed suicide by starting an electrical fire in his quarters. His captors were unable to mask the event and word of his death reached his sister in short order.<ref name=HL_34/>
  
===Third Tribulation and Completion of the Liao Autocracy===
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Outraged at her young brother's horrible demise, Jasmine took the Chancellorship and ordered the [[Red Lancers|2nd Hexare Lancers]] to launch an attack on Merik's Grenadiers in the Winter Palace. Within an hour of the order, the Lancers committed to the attack. Despite the Grenadiers' repeated offers of surrender, Jasmine refused to accept any less than their annihilation.  The two-day battle ended with the Grenadier’s complete destruction on the 1st of March, 2452.<ref name=HL_34/>
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 +
===The Second Tribulation (Purge and Restrict)===
 +
After holding a state funeral for her deceased brother, Jasmine Liao permanently appointed the 2nd Hexare Lancers as the personal guard of the Liao family, at which point they became know as the [[Red Lancers]]. She then turned her attention to the state of military power that caused her brother’s death.
 +
 
 +
Jasmine saw the undue power of the Capellan military hierarchy as a problem her father created, and so she set out to reform the CCAF in what would be known as the Second Time of Tribulation. She began with a purge of the military’s leadership; over the next two years, a total of 233 officers would be tried by special “Courts of Inquiry”, which branded them “red stripers” and executed them as traitors. Jasmine then took control of all Capellan divisional and sector commands as responsibilities of the Chancellorship. Finally, as of 2455, Jasmine imposed a limit to the height of military rank: no officer was authorized to hold a rank higher than [[Colonel]].<ref>''House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)'', p. 34: Tribulations - Jasmine reforms the military and has numerous members of the officers caste of the military tried and killed.</ref>
 +
 
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===The Third Tribulation (Complete Autocracy)===
 
In [[2456]], the [[Maskirovka]] gave her reports to confirm the existence of the new war machine her father heard rumor of, the [[BattleMech]].  She ordered her spies to obtain design and specs for these machines from the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] all costs.  It was not until [[2462]] did the Maskirovka deliver her the technology to create BattleMechs, via a [[Free Worlds League]] defector.<ref>''House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)'', p. 35: 'Mechs and Rumors of 'Mechs - Chancellor Jasmine get words that rumor BattleMech technology is real, has her Mask agenda obtain them by any means.</ref>  After receiving specification for the League's ''[[Icarus II|Icarus]]'' BattleMech, she launched a number of industrial programs to produce components the Confederation needed to build its own indigenous 'Mech design.
 
In [[2456]], the [[Maskirovka]] gave her reports to confirm the existence of the new war machine her father heard rumor of, the [[BattleMech]].  She ordered her spies to obtain design and specs for these machines from the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] all costs.  It was not until [[2462]] did the Maskirovka deliver her the technology to create BattleMechs, via a [[Free Worlds League]] defector.<ref>''House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)'', p. 35: 'Mechs and Rumors of 'Mechs - Chancellor Jasmine get words that rumor BattleMech technology is real, has her Mask agenda obtain them by any means.</ref>  After receiving specification for the League's ''[[Icarus II|Icarus]]'' BattleMech, she launched a number of industrial programs to produce components the Confederation needed to build its own indigenous 'Mech design.
  

Revision as of 23:57, 3 April 2023

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Jasmine Liao
Personal
Born2430[1]
Died2477[1]
AffiliationHouse Liao
Profile
ProfessionChancellor of the Capellan Confederation
Family
ParentsStephen Edward Liao (father)
SiblingsDuncan Liao
ChildrenRaxal Liao
Hendrik Liao

Jasmine Liao was a House Liao noble, politician, 2nd Duchess of Liao, and 7th Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation.

History

Early Life

Jasmine was the daughter of Chancellor Stephen Liao, and thus grew up amid an era of Capellan military revitalization. Though firstborn, Jasmine would be second in the line of succession when her brother was born some three years later. Duncan Liao would succeed their father in 2450 when “The Great Organizer” fell ill from pneumonia and passed away.

Considering the circumstances, the future seemed promising enough. Young Duncan was not known to have any significant flaws or drawbacks to his abilities as Chancellor. No threat to his forthcoming rule was anticipated beyond the hazards inherent to the post. To this point, his sister Jasmine seemed content with the notion that her chances at becoming Chancellor were minimal, at least for the foreseeable future.

The First Tribulation (Sudden Ascension)

Shortly following her brother’s ascent, his counselors raised concerns over the increasing degree of wealth and power among a particular number of ranking officers. Taken as the side effect of his father’s protection of military priorities, these so called “Young Turks” were seen by the Prefectorate as devious and self serving. The most notable of this group was General Ral Merik, commander of Merik’s Grenadier Regiment of the Capellan Hussars.

Unfortunately, Duncan acted on particularly bad advice to curb General Merik's power in reducing his regiment’s size by half. In response, the general conducted a well-organized revolt that took control of the palace and the Chancellor as hostage. To allay potential danger to the chancellor’s life, the Capellan nobility acclaimed General Merik and his Turk cronies “Protectors of the State", by which they ruled the nation over a tense seven-month period. This would be known as the “Time of Tribulation”[2]

In February of 2452, sensing that he was the obstacle to resolving the situation, Duncan Liao committed suicide by starting an electrical fire in his quarters. His captors were unable to mask the event and word of his death reached his sister in short order.[2]

Outraged at her young brother's horrible demise, Jasmine took the Chancellorship and ordered the 2nd Hexare Lancers to launch an attack on Merik's Grenadiers in the Winter Palace. Within an hour of the order, the Lancers committed to the attack. Despite the Grenadiers' repeated offers of surrender, Jasmine refused to accept any less than their annihilation. The two-day battle ended with the Grenadier’s complete destruction on the 1st of March, 2452.[2]

The Second Tribulation (Purge and Restrict)

After holding a state funeral for her deceased brother, Jasmine Liao permanently appointed the 2nd Hexare Lancers as the personal guard of the Liao family, at which point they became know as the Red Lancers. She then turned her attention to the state of military power that caused her brother’s death.

Jasmine saw the undue power of the Capellan military hierarchy as a problem her father created, and so she set out to reform the CCAF in what would be known as the Second Time of Tribulation. She began with a purge of the military’s leadership; over the next two years, a total of 233 officers would be tried by special “Courts of Inquiry”, which branded them “red stripers” and executed them as traitors. Jasmine then took control of all Capellan divisional and sector commands as responsibilities of the Chancellorship. Finally, as of 2455, Jasmine imposed a limit to the height of military rank: no officer was authorized to hold a rank higher than Colonel.[3]

The Third Tribulation (Complete Autocracy)

In 2456, the Maskirovka gave her reports to confirm the existence of the new war machine her father heard rumor of, the BattleMech. She ordered her spies to obtain design and specs for these machines from the Lyran Commonwealth all costs. It was not until 2462 did the Maskirovka deliver her the technology to create BattleMechs, via a Free Worlds League defector.[4] After receiving specification for the League's Icarus BattleMech, she launched a number of industrial programs to produce components the Confederation needed to build its own indigenous 'Mech design.

During her rule, she had been bitter over nobilities' action during the coup that claimed her brother's life. She pushed for more control of the Confederation by using her positions' "Emergency Powers" to outmaneuver political opponents. Her maneuvers moved the once representative government towards a repressive regime under her family's control. This was known as "Third Time of Tribulation" by later historians.

She overhauled the Capellan educational system along the lines of the Taurian Concordat, vastly improving the literacy rate of her people.[5]

Jasmine had undertaken the task to stabilize her nation's relations with its neighbors. Her administration was able to persuade House Davion to exchange ambassadors, lessening the hostilities between them.

In 2472, Jasmine saw the completed WAM (Weapons Armed Mech) introduced into service after its initial completion and testing period.[6][7]

In 2475 she attempted an arranged marriage between her young 12-year-old son Raxal and the Free Worlds League's Captain-General Simone Marik. Marik rejected the deal because her reign as Captain-General would be over by time Raxal was old enough to be married.[8][1]

In the last years of her Chancellorship, the League approached her in an attempt to enact an alliance to supply and aide them in their planned invasion of the Terran Hegemony. She rejected the deal, motivated by what historians believed was disappointment in the dismissal of her past marriage offer. In 2476, during the League's invasion preparation, some of their supply depots in Oriente system were destroyed by a Hegemony Task Force. It was suspected Jasmine had been the "leak" that notified Hegemony of the League's plans.

At age 47, Jasmine passed away while in office due to natural causes .[9]

Family and Legacy

Jasmine had twin sons, Raxal and Hendrik.[1]

Quotes

The role of the Chancellor is like a shepherd to his flock—but the flock goes where the shepherd leads, or else it feels the rod!
  — Attributed to Chancellor Jasmine Liao[10]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), foldout (pp. 163–164 in PDF): "The Capellan Confederation's Line of Succession and Partial Liao Family Tree"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 34: "Tribulations"
  3. House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 34: Tribulations - Jasmine reforms the military and has numerous members of the officers caste of the military tried and killed.
  4. House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 35: 'Mechs and Rumors of 'Mechs - Chancellor Jasmine get words that rumor BattleMech technology is real, has her Mask agenda obtain them by any means.
  5. The Periphery (First Edition), p. 20
  6. Technical Readout: 3075, p. 242: "Firebee" - Jasmine Liao mentioned as force to produce the original WAM aka Firebee.
  7. House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 35: 'Mechs and Rumors of 'Mechs - Decade after 2462, the FireBee/WAM's component factories can provide parts to produce the first 'Mech.
  8. Handbook: House Marik, p. 21: The Successful Failure - Jasmine's son at age 12 was promised to Simone, but was rejected since by time he was old enough to be married, Simone range would be over.
  9. House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 35: 'Mechs and Rumors of 'Mechs - Later years, her actions as Chancellor in diplomacy game between League and Confederation.
  10. Handbook: House Liao, p. 90: "The Chancellor"

Bibliography