Yang Tong - Reign

Reign

When describing Yang Tong's brief reign, the official histories indicated that Yang Tong had a handsome face, and was meek, loving, and solemn in his personality.

Yang Tong posthumously honored his father Yang Zhao as an emperor, and honored his mother Consort Liu as empress dowager. The government was led by a collective leadership of seven officials—Duan Da (whom Yang Tong created the Duke of Chen), Wang Shichong (Duke of Zheng), Yuan Wendu (Duke of Lu), Huangfu Wuyi (Duke of Qi), Lu Chu, Guo Wenyi (郭文懿), and Zhao Changwen (趙長文). They became known as the "seven nobles."

Meanwhile, the officials at Luoyang, fearful that Yuwen Huaji was approaching Luoyang, contemplated their options. Yuan and Lu, under suggestion from Gai Cong (蓋琮), decided to try to make peace with Li Mi by bestowing official Sui honors—including creating him the Duke of Wei, a title that Li Mi himself had claimed. Li Mi, who was apprehensive of Yuwen's advances himself, accepted. For the next month, Li Mi and Yuwen battled, and each time Li Mi was victorious over Yuwen, he would report to Yang Tong. The officials at Luoyang were pleased, except for Wang, who remarked that Yuan and Lu were awarding honors on a bandit, drawing suspicions from Yuan and Lu that Wang was intending to surrender the city to Yuwen. The "seven nobles" thereafter became to suspect each other.

Wang began to incite his troops by telling them that they would soon fall into Li Mi's trap, and that if Li Mi received the command over them (as Li Mi was nominally bestowed the office of supreme commander of the armed forces), he would surely slaughter them for having resisted him. When Yuan received news that Wang was doing this, he planned to ambush Wang. However, Duan revealed the plot to Wang, and Wang started a coup himself first, killing Lu and surrounding the palace. Huangfu fled to Chang'an (to Tang). At Wang's insistence, Yang Tong surrendered Yuan, who remarked to Yang Tong, "If I die in the morning, Your Imperial Majesty will die in the evening." Yang Tong wept, but still sent Yuan to Wang, who executed Yuan. Wang then met Yang Tong and pledged his loyalty, swearing that all he intended was to save himself and save the empire. Yang Tong took Wang inside the palace to meet Empress Dowager Liu, and Wang swore before her as well. Nevertheless, from this point, all power was in Wang's hands, and Yang Tong himself was powerless.

Upon hearing of Yuan and Lu's deaths, Li Mi broke off the peaceful relations with Yang Tong's regime, now under Wang's control. However, he had a low opinion of Wang, so he did not take much precaution against an attack from Wang. In fall 618, Wang made an all-out attack against Li Mi, dealing Li Mi a crushing defeat. Li briefly considered fleeing to his general Xu Shiji, but ultimately decided to head west to Chang'an, to surrender to Tang. Most of Li Mi's former territory (modern central and eastern Henan) surrendered to Wang, and around the same time, the rebel generals Du Fuwei (who controlled modern central and southern Anhui), Shen Faxing (who controlled modern Zhejiang), Zhu Can (whose army roamed in southern Henan), and Dou Jiande (who controlled modern Hebei), all made nominal submissions to Yang Tong, and at least in appearance, it appeared that Sui power was becoming restored under Yang Tong.

Meanwhile, Wang was becoming arrogant in his relations with Yang Tong and Empress Dowager Wang. Once, after attending a feast in the palace, he became afflicted with food poisoning, and he became convinced that there was poison in his food, and from that point on refused to see Yang Tong any more. Yang Tong knew that Wang was intent on usurpation, but could not think of anything else to do other than to try to receive divine favor by donating palace silk storage to the poor—an action that Wang soon put a stop of by surrounding the palace. By spring 619, Wang had Yang Tong create him the Prince of Zheng and bestow on him the nine bestowments – the ultimate steps before taking the throne. In summer 619, Wang had Duan and Yun Dingxing (雲定興) enter the palace to try to persuade Yang Tong to yield the throne, but Yang Tong refused. Wang then sent a messenger to Yang Tong, promising that although he was taking the throne, he would return the throne to Yang Tong once Yang Tong grew older. He thereafter issued an edict in Yang Tong's name, yielding the throne to himself, ending Sui. Wang took the throne as the emperor of a new state of Zheng.