As Emperor of Min
In 933, after his subjects claimed to have seen a dragon, Wang Yanjun declared himself Emperor of Min after receiving blessings at Emperor Bao's Palace. He also changed his name to Wang Lin. However, instead of the usual seven ancestral temples for his ancestors, he only built five. (As stated in his biography in the Zizhi Tongjian, he had ambivalent in his feelings about declaring himself emperor, and this might have been a sign of the ambivalence.) He made his official Li Min (李敏) and his son Wang Jipeng chancellors, and his close associate Wu Xu (吳勗) his chief of staff (Shumishi). At that time, it happened that Later Tang emissaries Pei Jie (裴傑) and Cheng Kan (程侃) were arriving. Wang Lin sent Pei back to the Later Tang imperial court, but refused to send Cheng back despite Cheng's pleas. Despite claiming imperial title, however, Wang Lin was said to be cognizant that his state was small and weak, and therefore tried to maintain cordial relations with his neighboring states, allowing peacefulness for his realm. He subsequently made Wang Jipeng the Prince of Fu and the director of Emperor Bao's Palace. After an earthquake later in the year, he also left the throne again briefly and had Wang Jipeng serve as regent, before returning to the throne. However, it was also said that he was building luxurious palaces, going against the example of his father Wang Shenzhi, who was frugal. He honored his mother Lady Huang as empress dowager.
Later in the year, another officer, Xue Wenjie, had become a chief of staff as well. Xue was known for gathering wealth for Wang Lin by means of falsely accusing rich people of crimes, and then executing them and seizing their wealth. He also encouraged Wang Lin to find ways to reduce the Wang clan members' power. It was said that Wang Lin's nephew Wang Jitu (王繼圖) became so incensed that he considered a coup. When Wang Jitu's plans were discovered, he was executed, and more than 1,000 people were executed with him. Later in the year, Xue also falsely accused Wu of treason, and Wu was also executed. Later in 933, at Wang Lin's own initiative, Wang Renda was also executed.
When Xue also tried to falsely accuse Wu Guang (吳光), whose clan was a prominent one at Jian Prefecture, however, Xue's plans backfired, as Wu took his clan and other followers, over 10,000 in total, and fled to Min's northwest neighbor Wu. Wu Guang subsequently tried to encourage Wu to attack Min, and the Wu general Jiang Yanhui (蔣延徽) the prefect of Xin Prefecture (信州, in modern Shangrao, Jiangxi), decided to attack without first getting approval from the Wu imperial government. Wang Lin was forced to seek aid from Wuyue. Before Wuyue could react to his request, however, Jiang had already put Jian Prefecture under siege. Wang Lin sent his general Zhang Yanrou (張彥柔) and his brother Wang Yanzong (王延宗) to try to save Jian. On the way, however, their army refused to advance any further, stating that they would not fight unless they took possession of Xue. When this news arrived at Changle, Empress Dowager Huang and Wang Jipeng persuaded Wang Lin to turn Xue over, and Xue tried to plead for himself. Wang Lin took no initial reaction, but appeared to implicitly approve when Wang Jipeng then seized Xue and delivered him to the army, where the soldiers killed him and ate his flesh, and then advanced on Jian. With Wuyue forces also advancing on Jian, and Jiang's own campaign undermined by the Wu regent Xu Zhigao (who was apprehensive that Jiang might support one of the Wu imperial princes, Yang Meng, in opposing Xue), Jiang had to withdraw with heavy losses inflicted by pursuing Min troops.
It was said that while Wang Lin's wife Lady Jin was beautiful and virtuous, he did not favor her, and he never created her empress. Rather, he favored his concubine Consort Chen Jinfeng, who had been a servant girl or concubine of his father Wang Shenzhi's, despite her appearance being said to be ugly, apparently on account of her licentiousness. In 935, he created Consort Cheng empress.
However, it was also said that in his later years, Wang Lin was impotent after suffering a stroke. He had favored the close associate Gui Shouming (歸守明), and Gui thus was allowed to enter the palace freely. Empress Chen began an affair with him, and also with another associate, Li Keyin (李可殷). As Li Keyin had falsely accused the officer Li Fang (李倣), and Empress Chen's clansman Chen Kuangsheng (陳匡勝) had disrespected Wang Jipeng, both Li Fang and Wang Jipeng became resentful of the situation. When Wang Lin's conditions grew worse in winter 935, Wang Jipeng thought that he was going to inherit the throne, and therefore was happy. Meanwhile, as Li Fang believed that Wang Lin would not recover, he had Li Keyin killed. However, when Wang Lin's conditions subsequently became better, Empress Chen informed him of Li Keyin's death, and he ordered an investigation. Li Fang, in fear, started an uprising and took his soldiers into the palace. The soldiers wounded Wang Lin, who was suffering tremendously from his wound. His palace servants, not wanting to see him suffer further, killed him. Li Fang and Wang Jipeng then killed Empress Chen, Chen Kuangsheng, another Chen clansman Chen Shou'en (陳守恩), Gui, and Wang Jipeng's younger brother Wang Jitao (whom Wang Jipeng also disliked). Wang Jipeng then took the throne (as Emperor Kangzong).
