Sun Tzu Liao is the 32^nd Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation and its leader during the events of the Fifth Succession War. Generally regarded as a great politician, Sun Tzu Liao is known for a liberalization of the Capellan state in the face of his aunt’s own St.Ives Compact and uncle’s Free Capella movement. This likely was the reason the Capellan Confederation survived the Fifth Succession War as it did rather than collapse due to internal pressure.

Early Life

Sun Tzu Liao was born “miraculously” on August 9^th 3031 after his mother refused to acknowledge her pregnancy. Romano passed off Sun Tzu to nurses immediately as “she had a country to run”. Luckily, Tsen Shang, his father, was more conciliant and spent as much time as he could with his son. At the age of five, Sun Tzu was officially recognized by The Prefectorate as heir to the Capellan throne. This went against the wish of Romano Liao who would have preferred her daughter Kali to be recognized as heir, but she strangely accepted the terms. Sun Tzu was raised in constant paranoia and propaganda from his mother, tempered by a weak father which was seen as the caring parent of the two.

As with any prospective Chancellor, Sun Tzu was enrolled in the Sian Center for Martial Discipline for his MechWarrior training, where he performed “beyond all expectations” according to what was told to the public. Realistically however, he was generally regarded as a middling to low quality pilot but getting better results in tactical operation training. After his training, Sun Tzu spent 2 years at the Sian University for officer training and doing course on business management on the side.

Military Career

Sun Tzu Liao was only officially in the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces for 2 years before he became Chancellor. He was given a brevet Colonel commission but never went to command any unit larger than a company of militia on Sian. During the mock Trial of Position on Outreach during the Year of Peace, Sun Tzu forced a grand melee to be declared against his cousin, Kai Allard-Liao. This had the opposite effect of what was desired, increasing Kai’s prestige.

Political Career

Thrust Unto Him

After the assassination of his mother in 3052, Sun Tzu Liao was forced to take the throne of the Capellan Confederation. This could have been catastrophic if the Federated Commonwealth was not busy fighting the Clans, as Sun Tzu inherited a broken realm with a failing power structure. Sun Tzu was smart, though, and he rapidly took charge of the situation. He removed many “Romano loyalists” from positions of power, either nobles or politicians which were only motivated by self-interest and self-preservation. Unlike his mother, however, this was a political purge and not a massive bloodbath, with many of those involved being allowed to retire peacefully and even name replacements which were vetted by the Maskirovka.

Knowing he was in a weak position, Sun Tzu began talks with the Free Worlds League to secure a marriage with Isis Marik, along with a lasting alliance with Thomas Marik’s realm. This opened trade negotiations with the League, allowing the Confederation to buy more advanced equipment and even brand-new machines to repair their damaged military. More diplomacy was required to sweet talk the Taurian Concordat and Magistracy of Canopus, but it was by Sun Tzu’s insistence that a Non-Aggression Treaty be signed between the Periphery states and his realm at first. Stabilizing his realm and its economy, Sun Tzu Liao was then able to move forward with more critical changes.

A New Capellan State

Sun Tzu’s marriage on May 6^th 3054 was where the Treaty of Sian was signed between the Free Worlds League, Magistracy of Canopus and Taurian Concordat. This key peace of legislature ensured the non-aggression of the four parties towards each other for 20 years, along with economic and technological trade between the partner nations. The Taurian and Canopian would have the most to win in this treaty, but it also ensured Sun Tzu’s “backyard” was safe while he focused on the St. Ives Compact and Federated Commonwealth. The massive increase in international trade was also critical to the Capellan Confederation economy, which the new Chancellor was trying to correct.

The reforms brought forward by the Chancellor went to the very core of the Capellan Confederation. The caste system put in place by previous generations was uprooted, opening the citizen class to a larger portion of the population. Industries went from highly regulated and managed to a laxer system with government requirements taking precedence. This in turn increased the taxable income of the state, making the regime flush with cash for the first time in almost a century. This money was quickly reinvested in infrastructure and manufacturing, hoping to increase the standards of living of the population.

Operation GUERRERO

Things were going well for the Chancellor at that point, relatively speaking. There was a rumbling desire by the House of Scions to “reclaim lost glory” which Sun Tzu could not quieten, however. This led to the first draft of what would become Operation GUERRERO in 3056, with senior officers and strategists convening on Sian. To show that he was in charge and that the Capellan state was in power, Sun Tzu realized attacking the Federated Commonwealth was essential, but there was still a lack of resources for them to do so.

Things changed with the death of Joshua Marik in May 3057. Thomas Marik made a direct appeal to his son-in-law to assist him in “righting the wrongs” of the Federated Commonwealth in a joint operation. The Free Worlds League were happy to finance most of the expedition, including providing massive mercenary support to the Confederation. By September 3057, the two nations launched what would be the starting point of the Fifth Succession War with Operation GUERRERO.

The operation started with great successes, including retaking the ancestral world of Liao, which was a massive morale booster for the Confederation. The Commonwealth had not quite expected the strength and dedication of the CCAF and FWLM, which made everyone involved on the alliance side quite happy. Unfortunately, Stephen Davion and the defenders of the (now) Tikonov March reorganized and started pushing them back. The failures of James Teng on Sarna forced Sun Tzu to appoint Talon Zahn as new Strategic Military Director as what was expected to be a short operation started getting bogged down.

Fifth Succession War

The Chancellor was lucky in the Fifth Succession War as he was surrounded by competent officers, conscious businessmen and willing politicians. His Xin Sheng initiatives were accepted quickly as everyone involved saw benefits to them and to the war effort. Thanks to most of these, Sun Tzu was able to concentrate on his initiatives rather than the war, which was going as well as would be expected according to everyone involved. The biggest problem the Chancellor was facing was Tormano Liao’s political activism and treatises, which kept growing in popularity amongst the general population.

While rejecting outright the concept of managed democracy, Sun Tzu increased democratic institutions at lower levels of the government, especially planetary institutions. Another important part the Xin Sheng initiatives was the focus on Chinese culture and history to replace part of the Capellan identity. Sun Tzu pushed several popular initiatives in that regard, with fashion and food being the first ones being adopted. Even formerly more “Russian” portions of the realm accepted these changes, with a few regions preferring old “kulak” fashion to the Chinese one. Mongolian steppe fashion also became popular on more frontier worlds.

Sun Tzu and his wife (renamed Yi Xi Liao by the media) were public figures during the conflict, doing humanitarian work and meeting with nobles and local politicians as much as possible. While always guarded by the Maskirovka, this changed the perception of the population at large (even outside the Confederation) towards the Chancellorship, smoothing a lot of the edges put in place by the two previous generations.

Personal Life

Sun Tzu Liao’s life has been a life of hardship since his birth, and it is reflected in his personal life. The man never lets anyone close to him outside of a very small circle of friends, led now by Talon Zahn. He suffers from massive trust issues from his youth, along with a case of codependency which he hides when in public.

Sun Tzu spends a lot of his free time lost in holographic fantasy realms. He owns a large collection of Recreational Hologram Environments, focusing a lot on historical recreation and supernatural fantasy. His wife was worried that this was an addiction, but thankfully, Sun Tzu has remained clean of any “live improvement” drugs which generally come with addiction to this type of entertainment. He has opened up some of his game worlds to his friends and family, showing what he was able to create in some of them.

Sun Tzu’s marriage to Isis Marik is not loveless, but Isis believed so at first. The man seemed uninterested in her at first. This changed as the Fifth Succession War raged on, with Isis getting closer to Sun Tzu and his close friend circle and being accepted. It was due to the insistence of Talon Zahn that Sun Tzu and Isis “got together”, with their heir, Daoshen, being born in 3062.

Sun Tzu Liao’s BattleMech

Sun Tzu Liao owns an Emperor for personal use, gifted to him by Shelly Jax of the Fourth Tau Ceti Rangers. He originally piloted a Cataphract in the early stages of his career.

Clan Watch Report

“Sun Tzu Liao’s great accomplishments are in the political sphere, as he maintains a Capellan identity in the face of external and internal pressure. Unfortunately for him, this pressure still exists and is growing. Unlike his grandfather and mother, he does not keep the state in shape through fear, which is a plus for him. However, he is surrounded by strongmen and women who are both ambitious and perfidious. The Clans might be able to pressure him or those around him for concessions due to this.”