Liang Yan (10 January 939-) was King of Liang Liao from 25 February 943 to 10 June 947, succeeding Liang Yong and preceding Liang Jing.
Biography[]
Liang Yan was born on 10 January 939, the firstborn and only son of King Liang Yong and Queen Bu Huilan; he was the older full brother of Liang Miao and the older half-brother of Liang Jing. As the firstborn son of the King, he was expected to inherit all of his father's lands and become the ruler of a united Liang Liao. However, his father died of battle wounds in 943, plunging the land into turmoil, as the succession had never been decided. Liang Jing inherited the vast majority of his father's lands as "Khan of Mongolia" (one of his father's titles), while Liang Yan was propped up as "King of Liao" by a faction of his father's court. Liang Jing sought to unite the kingdom under his rule, so he declared war on Liang Yan on 10 April 943. The ensuing war saw Liang Jing's mercenary armies battle Liang Yan's armies, and, despite a major victory against Jing's mercenary army at Yizhou on 21 September 943, Liang Yan's armies were quickly destroyed and his towns were overran by Liang Jing's forces. Liang Jing's armies soon occupied all of Liang Yan's strongholds, even capturing Liang Miao and his own mother Chaogui. On 10 June 947, Liang Yan was forced to surrender, and he became Count of Western Sayan during his brother's rule.