Kalvin Liao
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Kalvin Liao (b. 2492 - d. 13 March 2530), nicknamed "The Mad" and "The Devourer", was a Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation during the Age of War. Often cited as the archetype of the Capellan "Mad Chancellor", his reign was characterised by bloody purges and costly foreign wars.[1]
Contents
History
Early Life
Coming to power after decades of peace and prosperty in 2520, the handsome and intelligent Kalvin Liao was considered to be a portent of a better future. One of the first accomplished Mechwarriors at the age of 28, he had styled himself as protector of the weak.[2]
Chancellorship
Upon assuming the throne of the Capellan Confederation from his uncle Hendrik, he quickly discarded the congenial mask he had worn all his life, and used his position to indulge himself in all kinds of vices.
To further his own personal wealth, he used the Maskirovka to investigate wealthy nobles for treason. Upon acquiring or manifacturing such evidence, the noble would be quickly murdered or blackmailed out of his fortune, which would be added to the Chancellor's personal fund.
Kalvin Liao established the Courts of Philosophical Inquiry to help with his personal crusade against "traitors" (which would eventually include his own father). One of their first victims was his predecessor, Hendrik Liao. Denounced by the Duke of St. Ives and judged guilty by manufactured evidence, Kalvin had his uncle killed not even two years after assuming chancellorship.[2]
Foreign Wars
When Kalvin Liao was introduced to Messilia Allard, the daughter of the Duke of Andurien in 2518, sparking an obsession that would rule him through the rest of his life. After several hundred marriage proposals were rejected by Duke Allard, Kalvin Liao launched the Second Andurien War in 2528.
To assauage his feelings, Kalvin changed the laws of the Confederacy into allowing polygamy, immediatly taking three Capellan noble wives. Eventually, he was also wed to the daughter of the Protector of the Taurian Concordat, Ariana Calderon, some time near (or before) 2520. The marriage was one of political convenience, a way to forge an alliance between the Concordat and the Confederation. However, Kalvin forgot (or simply disregarded) the politics, and married more women; by 2527, Kalvin had a large harem of wives, numbering more than 26. Then, in a manic fit, Kalvin ordered all of his wives executed for treason. [3] The event prompted the first aggressive military campaign targetted at an Inner Sphere nation undertaken by the Taurian Concordat, a series of punitive strikes against several Capellan border worlds known as Ariana's War.[4]
Death and Legacy
Kalvin was later assassinated by a member of his own guards, the Red Lancers on March 13 2530.[1]
Notes
The The Periphery (sourcebook) implies that Ariana Calderon was Kalvin's first wife, but the House Liao Sourcebook indicates she may have been one of his first three wives. There is no record of any children by these 'wives' surviving.