Yang Wen-li

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Revision as of 13:21, 2 September 2013

Admiral Yang Wen-li
Gender:	Male
Affiliation:	El Facil Revolutionary Government Free Planets Alliance (former)
Rank:	Fleet Admiral
Flagship(s):	Ulysses Leda II (former) Hyperion (former)
Status:	Deceased (assassination)
Born:	4 April 767 UC (458 IC / 3567 CE)
Died:	1 June 800 UC (2 NIC / 491 IC / 3600 CE)
Father:	Yang Tai-long
Played by:	Kei Tomiyama (MCISS, OVA) Hozumi Gōda (HBSHBL, SL, TBT) Yasuyoshi Hara (GW)

Yang Wen-li (Japanese: ヤン・ウェンリー) was an officer in the Free Planets Star Fleet. Known as one of the greatest generals in human history, and at the very least equal to the brilliance of his Imperial counterpart Reinhard von Lohengramm. Despite his genius, Yang Wen-li was a relatively simple man harbouring no great ambitions. A firm believer in democracy, Yang Wen-li followed his ideals without wavering throughout his entire life.

Early life

Yang Wen-li was born in 767 UC (458 IC / 3567 CE) to a civilian merchant family. He was raised largely by his father, Yang Tai-long, as his mother died when he was just five years old. Yang spent most of his childhood aboard his father's interstellar trade ship, plying the star lanes between Heinessen and Fezzan.

Education

At the age of 16, Yang Tai-long reluctantly gave his son permission to study history. His father passed away after an accident, leaving his ship and heavily mortgaged shipping company to be repossessed by lenders, and it was discovered that his father's artwork collection consisted of entirely of fakes. Yang Wen-li was left penniless and was unable to attend Heinessen Memorial University as he had originally planned. Young Wen-li enrolled himself in a military academy in order to further his education.

Yang Wen-li studied in the War History Studies Department of the Free Planets Alliance Officer Academy with the intention of becoming a historian; his tuition fees would be waived, however, on the condition that he enter into military service upon graduation. While Yang was still in school, however, the War History Studies Department was dissolved, forcing Yang to transfer to the Strategic Studies Department. As a student, Yang Wen-li described himself as being always on the verge of flunking out. Although this gave him the appearance of an officer of average talent - he graduated right in the middle of the Class of 787 - his grades reflected his lack of interest rather than his academic abilities. (SL: 'The Hero of El Facil')

Early military career

El Facil

In 788 UC (479 IC / 3588 CE), Yang Wen-li as a Sub-lieutenant was assigned as a staff officer to Rear Admiral Arthur Lynch on El Facil, a Free Planets Alliance planet located outside the Iserlohn Corridor. When the Imperial Fleet invaded El Facil, the Alliance fleet fled the planet, leaving behind the civilian population. Yang remained on the planet and successfully directed the evacuation of over three million civilians, a feat which earned him widespread popularity throughout the Alliance and the title "Hero of El Facil." (SL: 'The Hero of El Facil', 'The Hero's New Assignment')

While on El Facil, Yang first encountered a young Frederica Greenhill while choking on some food. Frederica offered Yang coffee in a paper cup. After he had drunk the coffee, Yang told her, "I hate coffee. I wish you'd given me tea." Frederica's perfect memory would allow her to recall this comment years later, after she was assigned to the 13th Fleet, prompting Yang to apologise for his rudeness.

Rising in ranks

For his efforts in El Facil, Yang was promoted to Lieutenant on 19 September 788 UC (479 IC / 3588 CE). Six hours after his promotion, he was promoted again to Lt Commander, making it effectively a double promotion. He was then granted an extended leave and would only receive a new appointment on November 788 UC (479 IC / 3588 CE), where he was dispatched to the planet Econia as counsellor of a prisoner-of-war camp located in there. (SL: 'The Hero's New Assignment', 'Between the Mourning Dress and Military Uniform')

On Econia, he was caught into a conspiracy involving a prisoner rebellion and his successful handling of the situation resulted in a premature end to his appointment, which lasted only two weeks. Nevertheless, it was during his appointment in Econia where he became acquainted with Fyodor Patrichev and Murai, both of which would become important members of his staff in the future. (SL: 'Prisoners and Hostages', 'A Rebellion of Microscopic Size', 'The Hero of Econia')

On 1 March 789 UC (480 IC / 3589 CE), Yang was appointed as an Operations Staff Officer under the Alliance 8th Fleet. It was during this appointment where he would participate in the Fifth Battle of Iserlohn in 792 UC (483 IC / 3592 CE). (SL: 'The Journey in Search of the Exit', Golden Wings)

By 794 UC (485 IC / 3594 CE), Yang was transferred to the Fleet Headquarters while remaining as an Operations Staff Officer. As a Captain, he participated in the Battle of Van-Fleet and the Sixth Battle of Iserlohn, during which he made several tactical contributions which led him to be promoted to the rank of Commodore, despite the overall debacle in the operation. (HBSHBL: 'The Battle of Van-Fleet Starzone', 'A Hundred Billion Stars, One Ambition')

Over the time of his rise, Yang remained a popular officer whereas the Alliance citizenry was concerned, but was seen as a political troublemaker by many of the military commanders, largely due to his rather passive yet clear admonishments of military policies. One example of this was during the weeks preceding the Third Battle of Tiamat, when military negligence had led to the loss of several merchant ships and that of one cruiser which had remained dedicated to its assigned duties. When asked about his opinion on the matter, Yang noted that the lost crew would have been better off with one more ship rather than posthumous medals. Yang was quickly led away from reporters following this comment. (TBT: 'Part One')

The Battle of Legnica

On 795 UC (486 IC / 3595 CE), Yang was appointed to the Alliance 2nd Fleet under Vice Admiral Paetta as a General Staff Officer. Initially, Vice Admiral Paetta disliked Yang, viewing him as inexperienced and constantly ignored his advice. When the 2nd Fleet was dispatched to the gas giant planet Legnica as part of an expedition to capture the Iserlohn Fortress, it encountered an Imperial fleet led by Reinhard von Lohengramm (then Müsel). After a brief skirmish, a massive electrical storm was created due to the crossfire heating up the primarily helium and hydrogen atmosphere of Legnica, which in turn generated extremely strong winds. Reinhard, having anticipated the strong winds, had pulled his fleet up to the calmer upper atmosphere, whereas Paeta refused to listen to Yang's suggestion to ascend and the 2nd Fleet became caught in the winds, taking some damage as a result.

Yang then realised it was possible for the Imperial forces to wipe out the 2nd Fleet by simply igniting the volatile gases of the Legnica atmosphere, but did not think any of the commanders in the Imperial Fleet had the ingenuity to think of such a plan; despite this, he still advised Paetta to command the fleet to ascend out of the atmosphere, who ignored his suggestion again.

Reinhard fired a single nuclear missile at the planets core, igniting the gasses. Realising the danger, Yang and his friend and colleague Dusty Attemborough acted immediately, forcing their ship to rise up out of the atmosphere, even as a significant portion of the fleet was obliterated by the firestorm. (My Conquest Is the Sea of Stars)

The Fourth Battle of Tiamat

Shortly after the Battle of Legnica, the Alliance forces in the Tiamat Starzone mustered for an assault on Iserlohn Fortress. The Alliance fleets, however, were quickly outmanoeuvred by Reinhard, and was on the verge of annihilation.

Feeling guilty over his inability to convince his superior to evacuate Legnica in time which resulted in the deaths of many fellow soldiers, Yang volunteered to go on a diversionary attack on the Iserlohn Fortress, in order to buy the rest of the fleet time to escape from battle. Yang took the battleship Ulysses with a skeleton crew, and four drone ships, on a roundabout course for the fortress, releasing dummy-drones to make the Imperials think he was leading several thousand Alliance warships into battle.

Reinhard, however, saw through Yang's strategy. With no other choice, Yang brought the Ulysses immediately underneath Reinhard's personal flagship, the Brunhild, effectively taking Reinhard hostage. Yang's assumption that Reinhard being an important figure in his fleet was correct; the Imperial forces would not open fire on the Alliance warships, for fear of losing the life of Reinhard. This allowed the Alliance forces to safely withdraw from battle. After the Alliance forces retreated, Reinhard allowed the Ulysses to safely leave the battlefield as well. (My Conquest Is the Sea of Stars)

The Battle of Astarte

The Battle of Astarte on January 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE) marked a turning point in Yang Wen-li's career, which began when the Alliance attacked the newly-appointed Imperial High Admiral Reinhard von Lohengramm's fleet around the Astarte Starzone.

The Alliance fleet was nearly twice the size of the Imperial fleet. Instead of attacking directly, however, the Alliance forces broke apart into three separate fleets, of roughly 13,000 warships each. The Alliance fleets then attempted to encircle Reinhard's fleet of only 20,000 warships, and minimize their losses by attacking the Imperial Fleet from three different angles simultaneously. Yang, who was still serving under Vice Admiral Paetta in the 2nd Fleet, expressed his misgivings over the Alliance strategy, after taking into consideration of Reinhard's genius, whose identity he found out after the Fourth Battle of Tiamat. Although Paetta had by that time recognised Yang's talents, he still refused to take up Yang's battle plans, convinced that the Alliance strategy was infallible.

Reinhard saw through the rather simple strategy immediately, and ordered his fleet to advance toward one of the Alliance fleets before the trap could be implemented. Attacking the a single fleet while the other two were out of range, Reinhard would hold the numerical advantage. He easily annihilated the Alliance's 4th Fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral Pastolle. At this point, Yang, in his capacity as strategic advisor to Vice Admiral Paetta, recommended the 2nd Fleet to immediately move and join up with the 6th fleet, and then proceed with a concerted attack on the Imperial Fleet. Paetta refused, opting instead to move in to support the besieged 4th Fleet.

By the time Paetta's 2nd Fleet made it to the 4th Fleet, it had been all-but-obliterated, and Reinhard's forces had already begun their assault on the 6th Fleet. The 6th Fleet was completely wiped out as well. Reinhard then attacked the 2nd Fleet. Paetta was severely injured early in the battle, and Yang, being the next highest-ranking officer, assumed command of the 2nd Fleet.

Yang ordered the 2nd Fleet to attack the Imperial forces at their own discretion, and after a brief exchange of fire, Reinhard ordered his fleet to take a spindle formation, and break through the enemy's lines. Yang took advantage of this: while the Imperial Fleet broke through, the Alliance ships pretended to be routed, splitting into two groups which then assaulted the Imperial fleet from behind. Reinhard was then forced to turn to attack, resulting in a massive ring formation between the two fleets — like two snakes devouring each other from their tails. Unwilling to waste time and lives in a pointless battle of attrition, Reinhard retreated from the Astarte Starzone, allowing Yang to do the same.

2,450,000 Imperial soldiers survived the Battle of Astarte. The Alliance survivors numbered 4,060,000. However, the number of Imperial casualties came to only 150,000, while the Alliance had 1,500,000 casualties — ten times as many. Though the Battle of Astarte was an enormous loss for Free Planets Alliance, Yang's successful retreat allowed the Alliance leadership to successfully portray the battle as a "victory", and to name Yang, already the "Hero of El Facil", as the "Hero of Astarte". (LOGH: 'In the Eternal Night', 'The Battle of Astarte')

Miracle Yang

Seizing Iserlohn

Following the Battle of Astarte, Yang's reputation as a hero grew dramatically. At home, however, he became embroiled in the political conflict between the then Secretary of Defence Job Trunicht, backed by his Patriotic Knights Corps, and the War Party. In an attempt to remove Yang from the political picture, he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral and given command of the newly-formed 13th Fleet and was ordered to capture Iserlohn Fortress. The 13th Fleet was only half the size of a normal fleet, and it was composed entirely of survivors from the Battle of Astarte and raw recruits. It was fully expected that Yang would throw himself against Iserlohn and perish, as so many others had before. (LOGH: 'Birth of the 13th Fleet')

While making preparations for the assault on Heinessen, Yang became acquainted and was impressed with Walter von Schönkopf and his Rosen Ritter, and was determined to use the Rosen Ritter in his plan to capture Iserlohn Fortress in what would become the Seventh Battle of Iserlohn. On 14 May 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE), the Rosen Ritter flew a damaged Imperial cruiser to the fortress, pretending to be wounded Imperial forces. Schönkopf then demanded to see the fortress' commander immediately, claiming to have access to vital intelligence concerning an Alliance invasion of the Iserlohn Corridor. (LOGH: 'The Rosen Ritter')

Yang then drew out the Iserlohn Garrison Fleet, led by Admiral Hans Dietrich von Seeckt, away from the fortress, and advanced toward Iserlohn Fortress while the Iserlohn Fleet was too far away to maintain contact. The 13th Fleet then halted just outside the range of Iserlohn Fortress' main cannon, the Thor Hammer. The 13th Fleet then began manoeuvring back and forth.

Iserlohn Fortress Commander Admiral Thoma von Stockhausen was confused by the odd movements of Yang's fleet. The Rosen Ritter infiltrators, brought to the fortress command room, indicated that the strange movements were part of the Alliance's plan to seize Iserlohn. The Rosen Ritter were then allowed close to Stockhausen. Schönkopf then tackled the Imperial admiral and held him hostage. Within seconds, the Rosen Ritter infiltrators seized complete control over Iserlohn's command centre. Stockhausen surrendered, and but one of his aides locked down the fortress, forcing the Rosen Ritter to attempt to assault the location of the central computer in order to unlock the fortress to allow the 13th Fleet to dock.

The returning Imperial fleet encountered the 13th Fleet waiting outside the fortress. Seeckt's staff officer, Paul von Oberstein, advised Seeckt to attack the 13th Fleet, correctly determining that Iserlohn was not yet fully under Yang's control. Seeckt, however, ignored Oberstein's advice, and kept the Iserlohn Fleet a safe distance away from Iserlohn to observe the situation. When the Rosen Ritter finally occupied the central computer centre, Yang and the 13th Fleet began docking, leading Seeckt to realise belatedly that Yang had been buying time previously.

Seeckt ordered the Iserlohn Fleet to attack, and Yang used the massive destructive power of the Thor Hammer, destroying more than 1000 Imperial ships with a single shot. Yang then sent a message to Seeckt, requesting that he either surrender or withdraw from battle.

Seeckt responded, saying, "You do not understand a soldier's heart: our code will not allow us to endure living with dishonour. Dying to fulfil our honour, that is our code. For the glory of the Kaiser, all ships will charge to die in an honourable defeat." Seeckt then ordered the Garrison Fleet to advance; Yang Wen-li then specifically targeted Seeckt's flagship, and destroyed it (along with several nearby Imperial ships) with the Thor Hammer. With Seeckt dead, the Garrison Fleet broke away and withdrew, thus ending the Seventh Battle of Iserlohn with victory for the Free Planets Alliance.

Six times before, the Alliance had attempted to capture Iserlohn Fortress from the Empire, and they had failed in all six attempts. Yang managed to take the fortress with the smallest fleet out of the seven total attacks, and managed to do so without a single allied casualty. For this, he became the greatest hero in the Alliance, earning the nicknames "Miracle Yang" and "Yang the Magician." (LOGH: 'Iserlohn Captured!')

Invading the Empire

After his victory at Iserlohn, Yang believed he had finished his duty to the Alliance, and thought that, with Iserlohn firmly in the control of the Alliance, the Alliance would finally possess a strong enough position to negotiate a peace treaty with the Empire and to end the FPA–Imperial War. When he returned to Heinessen, Yang Wen-li planned to retire from military service with the intention of becoming a historian. However, his superior Fleet Admiral Sidney Sithole rejected his resignation letter and promoted him to the rank of Vice Admiral instead, insisting that the Alliance military was still in dire need for his talents. (LOGH: 'Iserlohn Captured!')

True to Admiral Sithole's expectations (and contrary to Yang's), the Alliance government decided to capitalise on the capture of Iserlohn Fortress and approved a large scale invasion of the Empire, involving eight fleets with a total of over 200,000 ships and 30 million men. During the meeting regarding the invasion, Yang, 5th Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Alexandre Bewcock and 10th Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Ulanhu expressed their doubts over the feasibility of the invasion, but were shot down by Commodore Andrew Falk, who was responsible for drafting the invasion plan. In August 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE), Yang and the 13th Fleet thus accompanied the other seven fleets to the Iserlohn Fortress, which would serve as the bridgehead for the invasion and command headquarters. (LOGH: 'Invasion of the Imperial Territory')

Initially, the invasion appeared to be proceeding smoothly, with the Alliance expeditionary forces capturing over 200 starzones without resistance. However, this was just part of Reinhard von Lohengramm's scorched earth strategy. Tasked with halting the Alliance invasion, Reinhard decided to withdraw all food supplies from the frontier starzones which would force the Alliance forces to supply the Imperial frontier citizens so as to uphold their image as "liberators". While the Alliance forces were having troubles in maintaining their supply levels within the captured starzones, Reinhard dispatched Siegfried Kircheis to destroy an expected Alliance supply convoy, which succeeded and threw the Alliance forces into a dire situation. (LOGH: 'When the Rain of Grief Comes...', 'Liberation of the Frontier Zone')

Already convinced that the invasion was flawed from the start, Yang decided to request for an order to retreat after learning of the destruction of the supply convoy. Despite being sent with the added recommendations of the Bewcock and Ulanhu, Yang's request for retreat was rejected by Supreme Commander Fleet Admiral Lasalle Lobos on the grounds that the enemy had yet to be engaged with. Yang decided then to prepare for the worst. (LOGH: 'Liberation of the Frontier Zone')

On 10 October 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE), Reinhard led a full scale counterattack against the Alliance expeditionary forces. Taken by surprise and coupled with diminishing supplies, most of the Alliance fleets were overwhelmed. The 13th Fleet under Yang managed to evade the Kempff Fleet with minimal losses and successfully left the Jafnhár Starzone which they were stationed in for the Dverger Starzone, where they encountered the even larger Kircheis Fleet. The 13th Fleet again managed to give the Imperial forces the slip and was the only Alliance fleet to remain largely intact when the remaining Alliance forces converged in the Amritsar Starzone for a final showdown. (LOGH: 'The Battle of Amritsar Starzone')

The Battle of Amritsar on 15 October 796 UC (487 IC / 3596 CE) ended with a decisive victory for the Empire, although Yang managed to salvage the situation by using the 13th Fleet to hold the Imperial forces at bay to allow the surviving Alliance ships to retreat, after which he successfully led the 13th Fleet to safety as well. For his efforts in Amritsar, Yang was promoted to the rank of Admiral and he accepted the appointment as the Commander of Iserlohn Fortress with the 13th Fleet being reformed as the Iserlohn Garrison Fleet. (LOGH: 'New Trends')

The Alliance Civil War

In January 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE), the Empire offered a prisoner-of-war exchange with the Alliance, ostensibly as a display of magnanimity with the recent ascension of Kaiser Erwin Josef II. It was in fact planned by Reinhard to allow him to secretly plant an agent provocateur in the Alliance to prevent it from interfering with his upcoming power struggle with the high nobles. Yang was suspicious of the Empire's intentions, but relayed the Empire's request to the Alliance government in accordance to protocol, which then accepted the prisoner-of-war exchange without much consideration. While attending the prisoner-of-war returning ceremony in Heinessen, Yang approached Admiral Bewcock, who had by then been appointed as Commander of the Space Fleet for an official directive and confided with him his suspicions of the Empire plotting to stir up unrest within the Alliance. (LOGH: 'Before the Storm')

Yang's suspicions were confirmed when a series of mutinies broke out in several Alliance planets within a short period of days starting on 3 April 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE), culminating in a surprise military coup in Heinessen on 13 April. The coup leaders referred to themselves as the National Salvation Military Council (NSMC) and declared their intentions to reform what they saw as a corrupt society with the imposition of martial law and the suspension of the Alliance democratic institutions. While Yang had expected a coup, he did not expect the leader of the coup to be Admiral Dwight Greenhill, a friend of his and the father of his adjutant Frederica Greenhill. Nevertheless, he was determined to uphold the democratic institutions of the Alliance and made use of the directive he obtained from Admiral Bewcock earlier in the year to deploy the Iserlohn Garrison Fleet on 20 April to suppress the coup d'état. (LOGH: 'The Yang Fleet Goes Out')

Before approaching Heinessen, Yang faced the task of both suppressing the rebellions in the outlying planets and combating the NSMC-aligned 11th Fleet, which was dispatched to stop the Iserlohn Garrison Fleet. Yang assigned Schönkopf to put down the rebellions, who succeeded in taking back the first planet within three days. Meanwhile, he dispatched reconnaissance units to uncover the exact location of the 11th Fleet, before finding and engaging them in the Doria Starzone on May 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE). After a brief but brutal battle, the 11th Fleet was annihilated after repeatedly rejecting Yang's offers for their surrender, opening the pathway to Heinessen. Heinessen at that time was protected by a network of battle-satellites known as the Artemis Necklace, the elements of which were designed on similar principles as the Iserlohn Fortress, except on a much smaller scale, and thus was impervious to normal weaponry. Yang however was not particularly concerned over the Artemis Necklace, even claiming that "a war cannot be won by relying on hardware" and was instead more worried that the NSMC would hold the planet's inhabitants as hostages for a last stand. To break down the NSMC completely, physically and psychologically, Yang destroyed the Artemis Necklace by outfitting giant chunks of ice with Bussard ramjets and ramming the Necklace elements at light speed, as well as assigning Commander Baghdash, who was originally dispatched by the NSMC to assassinate Yang but had switched sides after his plans failed, to broadcast a public announcement over Heinessen claiming that the coup was instigated by Reinhard and thus lacked legitimacy and urged the NSMC to surrender. The NSMC crumbled after this series of events and Yang successfully retook Heinessen and ended the FPA Civil War in August 797 UC (488 IC / 3597 CE). (LOGH: 'The Battle of Doria Starzone, And...', 'Victory for Whose Sake?')

Inquiry and the Eighth Battle of Iserlohn

The Alliance government was restored by Yang after he put an end to the NSMC coup d'état. However, instead of expressing gratitude to him, it began to suspect Yang for harbouring ambitions to overthrow the government and plotted against him. On March 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE), under the instigation of High Council Supreme Chairman Job Trunicht, Secretary of Defence Negroponte summoned Yang from the Iserlohn Fortress for an inquiry hearing regarding his actions in the recent civil war. Although the inquiry had no legal basis, Yang acquiesced to the summons and left for Heinessen on board the cruiser Leda II along with his adjutant Lieutenant Frederica Greenhill and escort Ensign Louis Machungo, leaving his friend and colleague Alex Cazerne to serve as acting commander during his absence. (LOGH: 'One Narrow Thread', 'Lost Things')

Once Yang reached Heinessen, he was separated and isolated from Greenhill and Machungo and was subjected to a series of mind-gruelling inquiry hearings with no clear signs of ending. Just before Yang could protest with a resignation letter prepared beforehand, however, news of an Imperial invasion headed by the mobile Geiersburg Fortress on the Iserlohn Fortress reached Heinessen and the inquiry hearings was forced to end prematurely without conclusion, with the Alliance government now urging Yang to return to Iserlohn and repel the invaders. With the assistance of Admiral Bewcock, who was approached by Greenhill after the hearings began, Yang managed to muster a small force of 5000 ships to serve as reinforcements, musing over the irony of his situation along his return trip. (LOGH: 'The Inquiry Committee', 'War Without Weapons')

After learning about the specifications of Geiersburg Fortress provided by Admiral Willibald Joachim von Merkatz, a former Imperial high admiral who had sought asylum in the Alliance after the Lippstadt Alliance was defeated by Reinhard von Lohengramm during the Imperial Civil War and had since served under Yang, Yang formulated a plan to destroy Geiersburg Fortress. In April 798 UC (489 IC / 3598 CE), Yang and the reinforcement fleet reached Iserlohn Corridor and found the battle deadlocked as a result of the commanders of the Imperial expedition admirals Karl Gustav Kempff and Neidhart Müller being overly-cautious. Although by that time they had already realised that Yang - the source of their excessive caution - was not actually in Iserlohn Fortress, too much time was wasted and that enabled Yang to trap the Imperial forces instead with the coordination of the Iserlohn Garrison Fleet, temporarily commanded by Admiral Merkatz. Admiral Kempff then launched a last ditch suicide attack by attempting to smash Geiersburg Fortress into Iserlohn Fortress, but was thwarted by Yang who ordered a precise attack on one of the Geiersburg Fortress's exposed thrusters, destroying it and causing it to veer out of control and expose itself to a fatal shot from Iserlohn Fortress's Thor Hammer main gun. With the death of Admiral Kempff as a result of the destruction of Geiersburg Fortress, the remaining Imperial forces led by a severely wounded Admiral Müller was forced to retreat, thus ending the Eighth Battle of Iserlohn. (LOGH: 'Fortress vs Fortress', 'The Return')

The Fall of the Free Planets Alliance

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Commander of the El Facil Revolutionary Reserve Force

Retirement

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The El Facil Rebellion

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The Seed of Democracy

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Death

After the Battle of the Corridor Yang was en route to negotiate with Reinhard von Lohengramm when the cruiser carrying him, Leda II, was boarded by Terraists. Shot through the femoral artery in his left leg, he attempted first aid but bled to death in a passage while the relief force searched for him. The time of death was 2:55 on 1 June 800 UC (2 NIC / 491 IC / 3600 CE).

Legacy

Yang Wen-li became, against his own wishes, a symbol of democratic ideals and republican government. Never defeated in battle, he managed to take Iserlohn Fortress twice and was considered the founding father of the Iserlohn Republic. He managed to prevent autocracy from entirely dominating humanity and his ideals were carried on by Julian Mintz.

Relationships

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Jessica Edwards

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Julian Mintz

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Frederica Greenhill

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Alex Cazerne

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Appendices

Appearances

Name variations

• Yang Wen-li (DVD subtitles)
• Yang Wenli (LD subtitles)
• ヤン・ウェンリー (LD/DVD subtitles — Japanese)
• 楊威利 (DVD subtitles — Chinese)
• 楊文里 (alternate Chinese name preference given in author Q&A, not used in anime)

Memorable quotes

• It is a known historical fact that when the state starts using its reinforced military forces and armaments to suppress its own populace and invade the nearby nations, neglecting to right the social injustices within itself, it is on its way to unpreventable downfall.

• Humans were drinking alcohol five-thousand years ago, and we're still drinking it now. Alcohol is humanity's friend. Can I abandon a friend?

• The greatest freedom is the freedom not to get involved.

• There are few wars between good and evil: most are between one good and another good.

• What a wonderful observation. If only there was no one who had lost their life or family to war... then maybe I'd even come to believe it. For people who prefer to take advantage of war and try to establish their on profit on other peoples' sacrifices... it's an unusually fascinating idea. And for people who show false patriotism to deceive other people, eh?

• If the defence of our homeland and self-sacrifice are as necessary as you say, before you tell other people do 'do this and that,' how about if you actually do it yourselves?

• What is the most cowardly and shameful thing in human conduct? It's when people with power, and those who flatter them, hide in safe places and extol war — who force patriotism and self-sacrifice on other, sending them to the battlefield to die. For the sake of peace in the universe, before we continue this fruitless war with the Empire, mustn't we first start by exterminating such evil parasites?

• Can't I get you to order me to retire?

• I'd be overjoyed if they told me the Chairman was dead.

• Oh, yeah... I forgot something important. Since you coincidentally chose a time when the Imperial Fleet invaded, I expect an explanation of your reasons for summoning me away from Iserlohn. Of course, that's only if Iserlohn doesn't fall.

• Dictatorship itself isn't absolutely evil, it's just another form of government. The point is how you can run it for the benefit of society.

• In reality, it's dictatorship rather than democracy that drastically advances government reforms. But I think humanity ought to avoid being united by a dictatorship. While it's true Duke Lohengramm might have that talent, what about his descendants? His heir? Rulers aren't necessarily wise through generations... I don't think the entire human race should be ruled by a system where everything depends on one person's character.

• Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that's beyond the reach of these small hands.

• Someone who cannot hate something cannot love something, either.

• People need societies, but they don't necessarily need nations.

• An army is a tool for violence, and there are two kinds of violence... Violence to control and oppress, and violence as a means of liberation. You know, what we call a national army, is fundamentally the former example. It's a pity, but history doesn't lie. When those in power confront popular opposition, there aren't many examples of the army siding with the people. Far from it. In the past, in country after country, the army itself evolved into a power structure, and came to control the people with violence.

• There certainly are things that cannot be told in words, but that can only be said by people who have exhausted their use of words. Words are like icebergs that are floating on the ocean called 'heart.' The parts that show above the sea surface are small, but they still let us perceive of sense the larger parts that are hidden below the water. Use words deliberately. If you do, you'll be able to convey more things more accurately than if you were to keep silent. Right judgement can only be made with right information and right analyses.

Background information

Yang is a common Chinese surname, and Wen-li is composed from two Chinese characters, the former meaning "power" or "might", the latter meaning "benefit/profit" or "logic" (depending on use and context).