General Yi Manch'un (C. 李萬春 LI Wanchun) (53 AG - present) is a notorious warlord of the Northern and Northeastern Earth Kingdom. General Yi, of ethnic Diaozu origin, rose through the ranks of the Earth Kingdom military before receiving a general's commission from the Earth King at the age of 30 in 83 AG. Finding the paltry funding he received from the capital insufficient to satisfy his ardor in fighting the Fire Nation invaders, he turned warlord, and began extracting his own taxes and illegally conscripting people. His armies notably include Beituzhu and Shuizu, of whom many volunteered to join him - while the pay he offers is not tremendous by any measure, it still seems attractive to many disaffected indigenous people in the North.
General Yi is mostly based in the North, and he makes his headquarters in Apana Town. His army has made repeated attacks on the Fire Nation forces moving in the Western Plains province, and the General recently had a great victory in repelling the Fire Nation from the North in the Battle of the Ting Dynasty Gardens in 93 AG.
As warlords go, General Yi is among the more humane, but that is not a high bar to clear. He is noted for having executed Fire Nation prisoners from the Battle of the Ting Dynasty Gardens after the Fire Lord Azulon refused to ratify the prisoner exchange plan Yi had negotiated with his counterpart. He has also been heavy-handed with his own deserters and with local polities who refuse his "taxes."
The general has no relation to the State of Yi, though his forces do have a small scouting / intelligence presence there.
Recruitment poster, ostensibly of General Yi's Northern Army, also proclaiming its loyalty to the Hao Ting dynasty. (The banner reads, "Long Live the Great Hao Ting [dynasty].") This poster was actually black propaganda from the Fire Nation, and was produced using photographic techniques. The idea was to associate General Yi's army with the Hao Ting, who are unpopular in the North.