Be, 3rd Lord of L'in

The Hon. Be, 3rd Lord of L′jin PC CJ (Shinasthana: 申侯培, l′jin-go-be; Feb. 2, 1750 – Nov. 17, 1819) was a Themiclesian aristocrat, judge, military officer, and politician. He was the grandson of Kjung, 1st Lord of L′jin (申侯宮), who was ennobled by Emperor Gwidh-mjen in 1730 as his prime minister. He began a judicial career as a Royal Counsel in 1769 and was appointed justice in the Exchequer in 1774, stunning the entire bureaucracy due to the speed of his promotion. In 1777, he was appointed to the Supreme Court, which gave him exposure to Casaterran legal principles that increasingly found domestic acceptance. There, he earned the monicker Young Justice.

In view of his legal experience, he was sent to Norfeld, Maverica (which Themiclesia then occupied) as Lieutenant-General of the Colonial Army to investigate grievances and offer relief to locals, whose lands were expropriated by the military government there, as gifts to its veterans. Be was able to settle the veterans by organizing the locals into corvée service to open more land, so their own land would not be expropriated. The availability of land reduced veterans' incentive to eject the locals from their farms by violence and greatly soothed local relations. He earned the government's trust as a suave diplomat and principled jurist in this success, returning in 1782 to the Supreme Court's bench.

In 1793, during the Second Maverican War, he replaced Long Lêt as General of the West (西將軍, sner-tsjang-kwjer) in the Camian campaign. The Government assigned six regiments of marines to Long in 1791 in the hopes of diverting the Camians' attention through opening a new front on their home soil. Long, however, was encumbered by a recalcitrant Royal Counsel, who was his Invigilator (監, k.ram). The Royal Counsel had been selling military secrets to the Camians for money, which wreaked havoc on Long's efforts; however, the Government disbelieved Long's assertions, in view of the Marines' record of evading supervision. After a year without progress, the Government dismissed Long in favour of Be, who too was a Royal Counsel but possessed experience commanding an army of considerable size, albeit in peacetime. Aristocrats with military experience were short in supply, since an army of nearly 200,000 was in the field.

Be refused to arrest the Invigilator like the force demanded, considering it illegal, as a general, to flaunt checks on his power. But as he investigated, Be delivered the same findings to the Government. After executing the Invigilator, Be attempted to manoeuvre west to Ngieh-sen but was pushed back. A second assault on Kan, to its south, met the same result. Be, frustrated, started to believe that the troops held him in contempt for the setbacks, having made an difficult decision for their safety. He then was approached by the Camians, who complained that his troops were stealing their property. He thus made looting and larceny capital offences, and the first victim happened to be the one who executed the original Invigilator, which terrified the troops. He created more capital offences with the result that troops avoided consulting him. In late 1794, the Government replaced him with the young Lord Kaw′ (槁君), who was reputed as smart, strict, but amiable, amongst aristocrats.  According to Camian records, his departure was attended by locals, cheering for the "general and justice, whom his troops dare not contest."

For a few months, he returned to the Supreme Court, until he was appointed again as Comptroller of the Norfeld Exchequer, charged with supervising the disbursement of moneys and goods to the units fighting there. In 1796, he returned to Themiclesia with a wound to his shoulder, Maverican elite troops having spearheaded a nocturnal assault on the Exchequer's location; he barely escaped the area on foot, when his carriage was damaged beyond repair in the assault. In 1797, he again returned to the Supreme Court, and in 1800 he was made Chief Justice.

See also

• Themiclesia