Sui dynasty (until 618) Qin
68-609: Liang Deng Yang Zheng Xia Han Dong Goguryeo The transition from Sui to Tang (613–628), or simply the Sui-Tang transition , was the period of Chinese history between the end of the Sui dynasty and the start of the Tang dynasty . The Sui dynasty's territories were carved into a handful of short-lived states by its officials, generals, and agrarian rebel leaders. A process of elimination and annexation followed that ultimately culminated in
136-410: A campaign to conquer it, and both he and the people believed that the conquest would be easy. However, staging the attack on Goguryeo took much human and other tolls. The building of a fleet and the shipping of food and other supplies to the base of operations, Zhuo Commandery (涿郡, roughly modern Beijing ) caused major disruptions in the farming cycle and massive deaths among those conscripted to ship
204-517: A coup and killed Emperor Yang. Yuwen declared Emperor Yang's nephew Yang Hao , the Prince of Qin, the new emperor, but retained power himself as regent. He abandoned Jiangdu and headed back north, commanding the Xiaoguo Army. Soon, news of Emperor Yang's death spread throughout the empire. At Chang'an, Li Yuan executed Yang You , establishing the Tang dynasty as Emperor Gaozu. At Luoyang, seven of
272-571: A cousin, and that he should then accept the Tang-bestowed title of Prince of Liang. Cao disagreed, suggesting that he should not prostrate himself to Tang, but rather, if he wanted to submit, he should use the model Emperor Xuan of Western Liang used when submitting to Northern Zhou – continuing to use imperial title, but at the same time declaring himself a subject. Li Gui agreed, and he sent his official Deng Xiao ( 鄧曉 ) to Chang'an, and he, while declaring submission to Emperor Gaozu, used for himself
340-442: A mourning period. After about a year, he became a minister in the government of Emperor Wen's successor Emperor Yang . He was said to be arrogant but a patron of literary talents, and many talented people became his guests. He particularly trusted Li Mi , also from a noble house. While Yang Su was alive, Emperor Yang had been deeply apprehensive of Yang Su's power and angry with Yang Su's arrogance, and after Yang Su's death, he made
408-905: A promotion, allowing the rebel activities north of the Yellow River to reinvigorate themselves and become difficult to control, under the leadership of Dou Jiande . By 617, a number of other major rebel leaders also began to control significant portions of territory. These include: Several of these rebel leaders—including Li Yuan , Liu Wuzhou , Liang Shidu , Dou Jiande , and Gao Kaidao —formally submitted to Ashina Duojishi and received Eastern Göktürk military aid, with Ashina Duojishi's strategy apparently to keep China divided. In winter 617, Li Yuan captured Chang'an, declaring Yang You emperor (as Emperor Gong), while honoring Emperor Yang as Taishang Huang (retired emperor); these declarations were not recognized by most of Sui territory, which still recognized Emperor Yang as emperor. Li himself became regent with
476-486: A relative of the emperor who had been personally honored by the empress during an earlier visit, sent them a secret warning about the Turkic attack. The imperial entourage fled to the fortified commandery seat at present-day Daixian , Shanxi , where Shibi Khan's forces besieged them on September 11. Yu Shiji advised the emperor to raise morale among the soldiers by promising promotion and rewards, as well as promising to abandon
544-545: A shiny and thick beard. Because of his father's accomplishments, Yang Xuangan was repeatedly honored by Sui's founder Emperor Wen as well. In 589, after his father's contributions in the conquest of the Chen dynasty , which allowed Sui to unite China, Yang Xuangan was given the honorific office of Yitong Sansi (儀同三司, fifth rank, first division, in Sui's system of nine ranks with two divisions each). Unlike several of his brothers, Yang Xuangan
612-702: A short-lived state of Liang, which he established at the end of the Chinese Sui dynasty . He governed the parts of modern Gansu west of the Yellow River . In 618, he briefly considered submitting to Emperor Gaozu of Tang (Li Yuan), with whom they both believed he had a distant family relationship, but ultimately rejected the idea. In June 619, the Tang dynasty official An Xinggui ( 安興貴 ) pretended to submit to him, and then started an uprising at his capital Wuwei (武威, in modern Wuwei, Gansu ), overthrowing him and turning him over to Emperor Gaozu, who executed him. Li Gui
680-449: A sorcerer told Li Gui that a goddess was about to be sent to him from heaven, and Li Gui thus built a tower to be ready to welcome the goddess. Further, at that time, Li Gui's realm was suffering from a famine, and Cao Zhen suggested that the food supplies be given to the hungry. However, Xie Tongshi, who wanted to undermine Li Gui's rule, instead told Li Gui that those who were starving were all weak anyway and that he should not waste food on
748-480: A third campaign against Goguryeo in 614. As Lai Hu'er reached the Yalu River , however, Goguryeo submitted, sending Yang Xuangan's Turkic confederate Husi Zheng (斛斯政), who had fled to Goguryeo, back to Sui as a sign of submission. Emperor Yang terminated the campaign, but when he again summoned Yeongyang to pay homage to him, Yeongyang ignored his summons. Emperor Yang began to plan a fourth campaign, which, however, he
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#1732848024570816-403: Is useless for me to keep them." He therefore released them. Li Gui soon took four other commanderies – Zhangye (張掖, roughly modern Zhangye , Gansu ), Dunhuang (敦煌, roughly modern Dunhuang , Gansu ), Xiping (西平, roughly modern Xining , Qinghai ), and Fuhan (枹罕, roughly modern Linxia , Gansu ), controlling the territory west of the Yellow River. Soon, however, Ashina Kandu rebelled, but Li Gui
884-552: The Liao River into Goguryeo territory in spring 612. Emperor Yang personally led part of the army to put the important city Liaodong (遼東, in modern Liaoyang , Liaoning ) under siege, while he sent the Xianbei generals Yuwen Shu and Yu Zhongwen (于仲文) to lead the rest of the army deep into Goguryeo territory, heading toward the Goguryeo capital Pyongyang , joined by the fleet commanded by
952-591: The Mongolian plateau , had since become a Sui vassal state under Qimin Khan Ashina Rangan and similarly with Goguryeo , based in the Korean peninsula . There was one brief internal conflict between Emperor Yang of Sui , who became emperor in 604, and his brother Yang Liang the Prince of Han, who had not seen war. When Goguryeo's king Yeongyang refused to pay homage to Emperor Yang in 610, Emperor Yang decided to plan
1020-764: The Xiongnu chiefs of the region, while he himself gathered the prominent families among the Han , and they rose together, arresting the Sui officials Xie Tongshi ( 謝統師 ) and Wei Shizheng ( 韋士政 ). Li claimed himself the title of "the Great Prince of Liang west of the River ," and adopted a governmental structure modelled after that of Sui's founder Emperor Wen . Guan proposed that the Sui officials be slaughtered and that their wealth be divided. Li responded: "You forced me to be leader, so you should listen to my orders. We rose in righteousness to save
1088-478: The Emperor of Song and controlling the territory formerly under Li Fuwei's control. By 624, Li Xiaogong had defeated and killed Fu, reintegrating Song territory into Tang, while Gao, faced with a coup led by his subordinate Zhang Jinshu (張金樹), committed suicide, and his Yan state was also integrated into Tang. Meanwhile, Liang Shidu, protected by Eastern Göktürk aid, was holding up against Tang attacks, and Tang itself
1156-477: The Goguryeo front, but Yang Wandan was captured and executed. Yang Xuangan made Li Mi his chief strategist, and Li Mi gave him three options, in the order of Li's opinion as to their feasibility: Yang Xuangan, however, believing that he needed to capture Luoyang to show that his rebellion was serious, commented that Li's "low strategy" was in fact "high strategy," and headed toward Luoyang. However, as Li had predicted, Tang had warned Emperor Yang's grandson Yang Tong
1224-536: The Prince of Liang and controlled much of the territory south of the Yangtze; the rebel leader Li Zitong , who controlled Jiangdu and the surrounding regions, declaring himself the Emperor of Wu; and Du Fuwei , who submitted to Tang and was created the Prince of Wu. In late 619, Tang forces, commanded by Li Shimin , began a counterattack against Liu Wuzhou. By summer 620, Li Shimin had defeated Liu, who abandoned his territory and fled to Eastern Göktürk. His Dingyang state
1292-578: The Prince of Lu. Also in 621, Emperor Gaozu's nephew Li Xiaogong the Prince of Zhao Commandery attacked Xiao Xian 's Liang state in southern China, putting the Liang capital Jiangling under siege. Xiao, not realizing that relief forces were approaching, surrendered, and most of his state was annexed by Tang, while some of Xiao's army submitted to Lin Shihong . Around the same time, Li Fuwei defeated Li Zitong, forcing Li Zitong's surrender, and Li Zitong's Wu state
1360-436: The Prince of Qin (Emperor Gaozu's son) defeated and killed Xue Rengao, annexing his Qin state into Tang. At the same time, Dou Jiande further consolidated his holdings north of the Yellow River and killed Yuwen Huaji (who had poisoned Yang Hao and declared himself Emperor of Xu), but was unable to get Luo Yi to submit to him, and Luo subsequently submitted to Tang. Around the same time, Zhu Can , facing heavy resistance from
1428-509: The Prince of Qin emperor. As he followed Emperor Yang on a campaign against Tuyuhun in 609, he saw how disorganized the emperor's train was and considered an ambush at that point, but his uncle Yang Shen (楊慎) dissuaded him from the action. Later, during Emperor Yang's preparation for war against Goguryeo , Yang Xuangan volunteered to serve, and his volunteering greatly pleased Emperor Yang, who trusted him more and more and gave him input in important governmental matters. In 613, as Emperor Yang
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#17328480245701496-489: The Prince of Yue and the official Fan Zigai (樊子蓋), whom Emperor Yang left in charge of Luoyang, and Luoyang's defenses had been prepared. While Yang Xuangan and his brothers gained some victories, he could not quickly capture Luoyang. Meanwhile, many young noblemen were joining his cause. After he captured the highly regarded official Wei Fusi (韋福嗣), he trusted Wei as well and did not only trust Li any further, but strategies that Wei submitted were not wholeheartedly in support of
1564-570: The Sui eastern capital Luoyang , rebelled and attacked Luoyang. When Emperor Yang heard the news, he withdrew his forces and sent Yuwen and Qutu Tong back to Luoyang ahead of himself, and Yuwen and Qutu joined with Fan Zigai (樊子蓋) and Wei Wensheng (衛文昇), the commanders of forces that Emperor Yang had left at Luoyang and Chang'an respectively, to defeat Yang Xuangan . Emperor Yang carried out heavy-handed reprisals against actual or perceived adherents of Yang Xuangan, but such actions did not deter further rebellions. Despite this, Emperor Yang launched
1632-479: The Xiongnu chiefs were becoming increasingly powerful, he advised Li Gui to curb their powers, and so made an enemy out of An Xiuren, who was the leader of the Xiongnu chiefs. Further, when Li Gui's son Li Zhongyan ( 李仲琰 ) visited Liang Shuo, Liang Shuo did not respect him, and so Li Zhongyan, displeased, along with An, jointly accused Liang Shuo of treason, and so Li Gui poisoned Liang Shuo to death. Also around this time,
1700-485: The Xiongnu people to attack Li Gui. Li Gui was unable to withstand the attack, and withdrew within Wuwei. An Xinggui put Wuwei under siege, while calling for the people to surrender. The people of Wuwei exited the city in droves to surrender to An Xinggui. Li Gui, seeing that the situation was hopeless, climbed up the tower he built for the goddess, along with his empress, holding one final feast of farewell. An Xinggui soon entered
1768-407: The Yellow River, allowing them to cross. Yang Xuangan was soon losing battles, and under the suggestion of Li Zixiong (李子雄) and Li Mi, he decided to falsely declare that Yuan Hongsi (元弘嗣), the general in command at Honghua (弘化, in modern Qingyang , Gansu ), was joining his cause, and that he was going to meet with Yuan. In fall 613, Yang Xuangan thus lifted the siege on Luoyang, and headed west. On
1836-458: The alliance, seized power from the other officials and became regent, and the alliance with Li Mi was broken. Later that year, in a surprise attack , Wang defeated Li Mi, forcing Li Mi to flee to Tang. Li Mi was later killed by Tang forces when he tried to reestablish his own independence. Meanwhile, after Xue Ju died in early 618 and was succeeded by his son Xue Rengao , the Tang general Li Shimin
1904-439: The army and the start of agrarian revolt against the Sui. The transition ended in 628, when Emperor Gaozu's son Li Shimin annexed the agrarian rebel ruler Liang Shidu 's state of Liang, thereby once again unifying most of China under a single power. As of 611, Sui dynasty experienced more than two decades of peace and prosperity, after unifying much of China and ending the Chen dynasty in 589. The Eastern Göktürks , based on
1972-413: The campaign. Undeterred, Emperor Yang launched a second campaign against Goguryeo in 613, even though the agrarian rebellions were becoming more numerous and serious. He again headed for Liaodong himself and put it under siege, while sending Yuwen Shu with another general Yang Yichen toward Pyongyang. While he was sieging Liaodong, the northern Chinese general Yang Xuangan , in charge of logistics near
2040-551: The capital to Danyang (丹楊, in modern Nanjing , Jiangsu , south of the Yangtze River ). Meanwhile, the Xiaoguo Army soldiers, who were predominantly northerners and missed their homes, began to desert, and this met with heavy-handed punishment from Emperor Yang. In fear, the remaining Xiaoguo Army officers formed a plot, supporting the general Yuwen Huaji the Duke of Xu ( Yuwen Shu 's son) as their leader. In spring 618, they carried out
2108-419: The cities gradually submitting to Tang, and soon after Liu's death, Xu, who had repeatedly been defeated by Tang forces, was also killed in flight. By this point, other than Liang Shidu and Gao Kaidao in the extreme north, China was largely reunited, if somewhat nominally, under Tang rule. In fall 623, however, with Li Fuwei at Chang'an, Li Fuwei's lieutenant Fu Gongshi rebelled at Danyang, declaring himself
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2176-409: The city and captured him, delivering him to Chang'an. Emperor Gaozu executed him and his sons and brothers. Yang Xuangan Yang Xuangan (楊玄感 Yáng Xuángǎn ; died 21 August 613 ) was a Chinese military general and politician who lived during the Sui dynasty . He was the son of Yang Su , a military general and politician himself. As he knew that Emperor Yang was apprehensive of his father, he
2244-477: The commandant of Liang Prefecture (i.e., Wuwei) and created him the Prince of Liang. Before Zhang could arrive at Li Gui's domain, however, Li claimed imperial title (as the Emperor of Liang) in winter 618. He created his son Li Boyu ( 李伯玉 ) as crown prince . Once Li Gui claimed imperial title, however, his governance appeared to deteriorate. He initially trusted Liang Shuo, whom he regarded as intelligent, as his chief strategist. However, as Liang Shuo realized that
2312-423: The comment, "If Yang Su did not die, his clan would have eventually been exterminated." Yang Xuangan heard rumors of this comment and was apprehensive of Emperor Yang. As he saw how the imperial governance had deteriorated under Emperor Yang and believed how many officials who were prior subordinates of his father Yang Su would support him, he plotted to depose Emperor Yang and declaring Emperor Yang's nephew Yang Hao
2380-413: The consolidation of the Tang dynasty by the former Sui general Li Yuan . Near the end of the Sui, Li Yuan installed the puppet child emperor Yang You . Li later executed Yang and proclaimed himself emperor of the new Tang dynasty. The transition started roughly around the year of 613 when Emperor Yang of Sui launched his first of three campaigns against Goguryeo , leading to a number of desertions in
2448-499: The governor of Ying Province (郢州, roughly modern Wuhan , Hubei ), and was said to be an effective monitor of his subordinate officials, finding out both their good deeds and evil deeds and rewarding or punishing them appropriately. He later served as the governor of Song Province (宋州, roughly modern Shangqiu , Henan ), but while still at that position, his father Yang Su died in 604. He inherited his father's highly honored title of Duke of Chu, and he left governmental service to observe
2516-619: The khaganate; between this report and others announcing the Chinese reinforcements, Shibi Khan lifted the siege and returned north. With credit for his salvation muddled, Emperor Yang followed the advice of Su Wei and Yuwen Shu and reneged on most of his promises, causing great resentment among the military. Despite (or perhaps because of) increasing agrarian rebel activities in northern China, Emperor Yang did not return to Chang'an or stay at Luoyang, but went to Jiangdu (江都, in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ) in fall 616. With his departure from Luoyang,
2584-475: The leading officials declared another grandson of Emperor Yang, Yang Tong the Prince of Yue, emperor, and Yang Tong was recognized as Sui's emperor by most of the commanderies that still recognized Sui sovereignty. With both the Sui administration at Luoyang and Li Mi fearing Yuwen's northward advancement, they formed a temporary alliance in which Li Mi recognized Yang Tong as his sovereign. After Li Mi repelled Yuwen Huaji , however, Wang Shichong , who opposed
2652-773: The people; if we murder for money, we are just bandits, and how can we achieve great things?" He invited Xie and Wei to join his administration. The Western Tujue general Ashina Kandu ( 阿史那闞度 ), claiming the title of Kan Khan ( 闞可汗 ), also submitted to him. Soon, Xue sent his general Chang Zhongxing ( 常仲興 ) to cross the Yellow River to attack Li Gui. Li Gui sent Li Yun to resist Chang, and Li Yun defeated Chang and captured all of his army. Li Gui wanted to release Chang's soldiers, but Li Yun opposed, believing that they would flee back to Xue and attack again; rather, Li Yun proposed that they all be slaughtered. Li Gui responded, "If Heaven protects me, I will eventually capture their leader, and they will all be mine. if Heaven does not protect me, it
2720-402: The populace against his cruelty, vacillated between submitting to Yang Tong's Sui regime and Tang, eventually surrendering to Sui. In summer 619, Wang Shichong had Yang Tong yield the throne to him, ending Sui and establishing a new state of Zheng as its emperor. Around the same time, Li Gui's official An Xinggui (安興貴) captured Li Gui in a coup and surrendered the state to Tang. Tang, however,
2788-431: The possibility of also rebelling against Sui rule – under the reasoning that they were fearful that Xue would pillage Wuwei unless someone resisted, and the Sui officials were not capable of doing so. They resolved to do so, and when it came time to decide on a leader, Cao suggested that because prophecies had indicated that the next emperor would be named Li, that Li Gui should be their leader. In fall 617, Li had An gather
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2856-544: The rebellion. Li requested that Yang Xuangan kill Wei, but Yang Xuangan refused. Li made the comment to his relatives, "The Duke of Chu wanted to rebel, but does not know how to gain final victory. We are now like turtles stuck in urns." At this time, Emperor Yang was sieging Liaodong (遼東, in modern Liaoyang , Liaoning ), and had nearly captured it from Goguryeo forces when news of Yang Xuangan's rebellion arrived. Yang Xuangan's associate Husi Zheng (斛斯政) surrendered to Goguryeo, and Emperor Yang retreated at night. Also around
2924-569: The rebels near Luoyang coalesced under the leadership of Yang Xuan'gan's former strategist Li Mi , who was proclaimed the Duke of Wei and considered the presumptive eventual emperor by most rebel leaders throughout northern China. Li, however, was not able to capture Luoyang and never claimed the imperial title. Meanwhile, Yuchi Yichen made an attempt to destroy the rebels north of the Yellow River , but while he enjoyed some successes, Emperor Yang and his prime minister Yu Shiji , fearing Yuchi Yichen 's military strengths, recalled him under guise of
2992-453: The same time, Wei Wensheng (衛文昇), the official Emperor Yang left in charge of Chang'an, came to Luoyang's aid with his troops, and Lai also arrived. Further, the forward forces returning from the Goguryeo front, under the command of Yuwen Shu and Qutu Tong , soon arrived as well, and while Yang Xuangan attempted to prevent them from crossing the Yellow River , attacks from Fan prevented Yang Xuangan from being able to cut Qutu and Yuwen off at
3060-599: The siege. Around the same time, Du Fuwei (now using the name Li Fuwei, having been granted the imperial surname of Li by Emperor Gaozu) defeated Li Zitong, who in turn defeated Shen, forcing him to commit suicide. Li Zitong now had Shen's former territory, while Li Zitong's former territory was held by Li Fuwei in Tang's name. In spring 621, with Dou approaching, Li Shimin advanced east to the important Hulao Pass and held position there. When Dou engaged him, he defeated Dou and captured him . In fear, Wang surrendered. Emperor Gaozu executed Dou while exiling Wang (although Wang
3128-406: The southern Chinese general Lai Hu'er . Emperor Yang, however, was never able to capture Liaodong, while Yuwen and Yu, advancing nearly to Pyongyang, were defeated by the Goguryeo general Eulji Mundeok and forced to withdraw with heavy losses. By fall 612, Emperor Yang was forced to terminate the campaign and withdraw as well, with only minor territorial gains. About 300,000 men had been lost in
3196-458: The subordinate Tuli Khan, Ashina Shibobi (阿史那什鉢苾, Ashina Duojishi's son), it was no longer able to protect Liang Shidu, and under Tang siege, Liang Shidu's cousin Liang Luoren (梁洛仁) killed Liang Shidu and surrendered. China was now under the rule of Emperor Taizong. Li Gui (warlord) Li Gui ( Chinese : 李軌 ; died c. July 619), courtesy name Chuze ( 處則 ), was the emperor of
3264-428: The supplies to Zhuo Commandery. In response, in 611, in northern China, those who refused to be conscripted began to revolt as agrarian rebels, led by leaders such as Wang Bo (王薄) and Liu Badao (劉霸道). While Emperor Yang initially did not consider these rebels serious threats, the local governmental militias were unable to quell them. Despite this, Emperor Yang launched his first campaign against Goguryeo in 612, crossing
3332-401: The title of Prince of Tang. Meanwhile, Emperor Yang, while realizing that the empire was in turmoil, felt secure under the protection of the elite Xiaoguo Army (驍果) at Jiangdu. While he sent his general Wang Shichong to Luoyang to try to defend Luoyang against Li Mi 's attacks, he did little quell the rebellions otherwise. Not wanting to return to north China, he considered officially moving
3400-671: The title of, "Your subject and younger imperial cousin, Li Gui the Emperor of Liang." Emperor Gaozu was displeased and detained Deng, and he began to discuss an attack on Li Gui. He sent messengers to enter into a peace treaty with Tuyuhun 's Busabuo Khan, Murong Fuyun , offering to return Murong Fuyun's son Murong Shun (who had been detained by Sui). Murong Fuyun was pleased, and attacked Liang as per Tang instructions, to weaken Li Gui. In summer 619, An Xiuren's brother An Xinggui ( 安興貴 ), then serving as an official under Tang's Emperor Gaozu, proposed that he go to Liang to try to persuade Li Gui to submit. He further told Emperor Gaozu that his plan
3468-415: The unpopular campaigns against Goguryeo ; this had the desired effect and Sui forces loyally rushed to the area to lift the siege. Meanwhile, however, the empress's brother Xiao Yu had gotten the emperor to seek further assistance from Princess Yicheng, who was administering military affairs at home in her husband's absence. She sent a false report to the khan that a northern attack had been launched against
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#17328480245703536-459: The way, however, he was tempted by the people of Hongnong (弘農, in modern Sanmenxia , Henan ), who opined that Hongnong would be easily captured and could be held. Further, the governor of Hongnong Commandery, Emperor Yang's cousin Yang Zhiji (楊智積) the Prince of Cai, was intentionally insulting Yang Xuangan to enrage him. In anger, Yang Xuangan put Hongnong under siege, despite Li Mi's pleas that he
3604-450: The weak – suggesting that all Cao was doing was trying to gain popularity. Li Gui agreed and withheld food rations, causing the people to lose their respect for him. In spring 619, Zhang Qide arrived in Liang territory. (By this point, Emperor Gaozu's son Li Shimin (the eventual Emperor Taizong) had already destroyed Xue Rengao.) Li Gui, upon hearing Emperor Gaozu's offer, indicated that he was inclined to accept – as he saw Emperor Gaozu as
3672-453: The years went by. Yang Xuangan was considered by some to be developmentally disabled while in his childhood, but his father believed that not to be the case. As he grew, he was studious and known for his strength and martial skills, and was particularly skillful at mounted archery , as well as the use of spears . In the Book of Sui , Yang Xuangan was described as a courageous and stalwart man with
3740-483: Was able to defeat and destroy him. Meanwhile, Emperor Gaozu of Tang , who had established the Tang dynasty in spring 618 and wanted to enter an alliance with Li Gui to attack Xue Ju's successor Xue Rengao , sent messengers to Li Gui, calling him "younger cousin." Li Gui was pleased, and he sent his brother Li Mao ( 李懋 ) to the Tang capital Chang'an to greet Emperor Gaozu. Emperor Gaozu, in response, sent his official Zhang Qide ( 張俟德 ) to Wuwei to commission Li Gui as
3808-605: Was also annexed by Tang. In spring 622, Li Shimin defeated Liu Heita, forcing Liu to flee to the Eastern Göktürks, but Liu returned later that year with Eastern Göktürk aid, reoccupying the former Xia territory. In winter 622, Li Shimin's older brother Li Jiancheng the Crown Prince defeated Liu again, and in spring 623, Liu, in flight, was betrayed by his official Zhuge Dewei (諸葛德威) and executed by Li Jiancheng. Earlier, Lin Shihong had died, and his Chu state dissipated, with
3876-511: Was continually harassed by Eastern Göktürk raids. After Li Shimin ambushed and killed Li Jiancheng and another brother, Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi in 626 and effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to yield the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong), however, Tang began to turn the situation around. By 628, with Eastern Göktürk in internal turmoil due to disagreements between the Jiali Khan Ashina Duobi (Ashina Duojishi's younger brother) and
3944-631: Was endangering his campaign by proceeding slowly. Yang Xuangan put Hongnong under siege for three days but could not capture it, and therefore had to continue to head west. By this point, the Sui forces commanded by Yuwen, Wei, Lai, and Qutu had caught up to him, and were dealing him defeats, and his forces collapsed. Yang Xuangan and his brother Yang Jishan fled to Jialurong (葭蘆戎, also in modern Sanmenxia) on foot, and Yang Xuangan, realizing that they were about to be captured and not wanting to be captured, asked Yang Jishan to kill him. Yang Jishan did so, and then tried to commit suicide, but before he could die, he
4012-449: Was facing a threat on a different front, as Liu Wuzhou made a major attack south, taking over much of modern Shanxi, which Tang had controlled, and appearing poised to further attack Tang's capital Chang'an. Around the same time, the lower Yangtze region, which had been in a state of confusion ever since Emperor Yang's death, was coalescing around three different competing figures—the former Sui official Shen Faxing , who declared himself
4080-556: Was from Wuwei Commandery (武威, roughly modern Wuwei, Gansu ), and he served as a militia officer in the local government. His family was said to be rich, and he used his wealth to help those who were poor, and thus gained a good reputation. He was also said to be well-read and capable in debating and logic. In summer 617, when Xue Ju rebelled against the Sui dynasty 's rule at Jincheng (金城, in modern Lanzhou , Gansu ), Li discussed with his associates Cao Zhen ( 曹珍 ), Guan Jin ( 關謹 ), Liang Shuo ( 梁碩 ), Li Yun ( 李贇 ), and An Xiuren ( 安修仁 )
4148-450: Was integrated into Tang. After defeating Dingyang, Li Shimin had his sights set on Zheng. He advanced to the Zheng capital Luoyang and put it under siege. Many Zheng cities surrendered to Tang, forcing Wang Shichong to seek aid from Dou Jiande's Xia state. Dou, reasoning that if Tang destroyed Zheng, his own Xia would be cornered, agreed, and he advanced south toward Luoyang, seeking to lift
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#17328480245704216-422: Was launching his second campaign against Goguryeo, he put Yang Xuangan in charge of ensuring food supplies at the important shipping junction of Liyang (黎陽, in modern Hebi , Henan ). Yang Xuangan withheld the food supply ships, and then, in summer 613, occupied Liyang and declared an uprising, initially declaring that the general Lai Hu'er had revolted and that he was attacking Lai, but soon also declaring that he
4284-461: Was never able to launch. Meanwhile, in the fall of 615, while Emperor Yang and Empress Xiao were conducting a tour of the northern frontier, Qimin Khan's son and successor Shibi Khan launched a surprise attack against Yanmen Commandery as a reprisal for the emperor's proposal to give a princess to his brother and for the treacherous murder of one of his close advisors. The khan's wife Princess Yicheng,
4352-436: Was never quite secure. In 613, when Emperor Yang was attacking Goguryeo , he rebelled near the eastern capital Luoyang but was soon defeated. He ordered his brother Yang Jishan (楊積善) to kill him, so as not to fall into Emperor Yang's hands. It is not known when Yang Xuangan was born. He was the oldest son of Yang Su , who was already a major general at the start of the Sui dynasty in 581 but whose honors and power grew as
4420-680: Was not created a ducal title, as he was his father's heir apparent and expected to eventually inherit his father's title. In 602, after Yang Su's victory over Tujue , Yang Xuangan was promoted to Zhuguo (柱國, second rank, first division) -- the same rank that his father was at, and at imperial gatherings, father and son stood in the same area. Soon thereafter, Emperor Wen demoted Yang Xuangan down to third rank, and Yang Xuangan thanked Emperor Wen appropriately, "I did not know that Your Imperial Majesty would give me this much favor -- so that I can show respect to my father in public as much as I do in private." During Emperor Wen's reign, Yang Xuangan served as
4488-411: Was restoring the laws of the time of Emperor Wen, signifying a repudiation of Emperor Yang. He soon publicly denounced Emperor Yang of misrule and tyranny, and immediately drew popular support in the region as well as the strongest shipping laborers and sailors. He summoned Li Mi and his brother Yang Xuanting (楊玄挺) from the capital Chang'an , and his brothers Yang Xuanzong (楊玄縱) and Yang Wandan (楊萬石) from
4556-490: Was subsequently killed by the Tang general Dugu Xiude (獨孤修德), whose father had been executed by Wang). Wang's Zheng state and Dou's Xia state were annexed by Tang, although former Xia territory soon rose under the leadership of Dou's general Liu Heita , who declared himself the Prince of Handong, and modern Shandong , which had been controlled by the agrarian leader Xu Yuanlang but had successively submitted to Zheng and then to Tang, rose as well under Xu, who declared himself
4624-429: Was to first try to persuade Li Gui, but that if he was unable to do that, he would rise against Li Gui and overthrow him. Emperor Gaozu agreed with the plan. Once An Xinggui arrived in Wuwei, Li Gui made him a general. He tried to persuade Li Gui to submit to Tang and offer his territory to Tang. Li Gui refused, believing that he could defend his realm against Tang. An Xinggui then plotted with An Xiuren, and they gathered
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