Rule As Prince of Liang
By fall 619, with Sui having fallen earlier in the year (after the Sui general Wang Shichong had forced Yang Tong to yield the throne to him and established a new state of Zheng), Shen Faxing, believing that he could easily pacify the region south of the Huai River as well, declared himself the Prince of Liang (perhaps evoking Liang Dynasty) and set his capital at Piling. His governmental organization largely followed Chen Dynasty's model. However, it was said that Shen was cruel and only knew how to suppress dissent by massacres, and that whenever his soldiers had even small faults, they were beheaded, and therefore his subordinates despised him.
Meanwhile, rivaling Shen for the control of the region were the agrarian leader Du Fuwei, who was at Liyang (歷陽, in modern Chaohu, Anhui); the Sui official Chen Leng (陳稜), at Jiangdu; and the agrarian leader Li Zitong, at Hailing (海陵, in modern Taizhou, Jiangsu). In fall 619, Li was sieging Chen at Jiangling, and Chen sought help from both Shen and Du. Shen sent his son Shen Guan (沈綸) with an army to assist Chen, along with Du. However, Li tricked Shen Guan and Du into attacking each other, and neither was able to assist Chen. Li was able to capture Jiangdu, and then defeated Shen Guan in battle. Both Shen Guan and Du withdrew, and Li took over the Jiangdu region.
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