Yang Liang

Yang Liang -- courtesy name Dezhang , alternative name Jie , nickname Yiqian -- was an imperial prince of the dynasty Sui Dynasty. He was a son of and his wife Empress Dugu Qieluo, who, during his father's reign, controlled the region north of the Yellow River. After his father's death in 604, he rose against his brother , but was soon defeated by Emperor Yang's general Yang Su and forced to surrender. He was reduced to commoner rank and imprisoned for the rest of his life.

Background

It is not known exactly when Yang Liang was born, but it is known that he was the youngest of the five sons of and Yang Jian's wife . As the third of his older brothers, , was born in 571 and he was already born at least by the time that Yang Jian seized the throne from Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou, ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui Dynasty as its Emperor Wen in 581, he would have been born sometime between 573 and 580. In 581, after Emperor Wen took the throne, he created his sons imperial princes, and Yang Liang was created the Prince of Han.

During Emperor Wen's reign

Yang Liang did not participate in the campaign that destroyed rival Chen Dynasty in 589 and unified China , suggesting that he was not yet old enough by that point. In 592, he was made the governor of the capital province Yong Province . In 597, he was made the commandant at Bing Province , and was in charge of the 52 provinces north of the Yellow River. In 598, when Emperor Wen attacked Goguryeo, Yang Liang served as co-commander of the operation —a campaign that ended disastrously, as a drought prevented food supplies from being sent by water, and therefore the army ran out of food. As it arrived at Liao River, the border between Sui and Goguryeo, there began to be an epidemic in the army. Further, the ships commanded by the former Chen general Zhou Luohou encountered a storm and suffered great losses. The Sui forces were forced to withdraw, although Goguryeo then sued for peace.

In 599, when Sui forces attacked Tujue's Dulan Khan, Ashina Yongyulü, Yang Liang was nominally the overall commander of the operations, but did not go to the front. In summer 600, when Dulan Khan's successor Bujia Khan Ashina Dianjue , who was a rival claimant to the Tujue throne to the Sui-supported Qimin Khan Ashina Rangan, attacked Sui, Yang Liang was one of the four commanders sent by Emperor Wen to engage Bujia Khan, and they defeated him, although Yang Liang's contribution to the campaign was unclear.

Meanwhile, Emperor Wen much favored Yang Liang, but Yang Liang was becoming ambitious and troubled by the removal of his oldest brother, Yang Yong, as crown prince in 600. He therefore persuaded Emperor Wen that his headquarters at Taiyuan was the key to the defense against Tujue, so Emperor Wen permitted him to produce weapons and build up Taiyuan's defenses. Two of his trusted generals, Wang Kui and Xiao Mohe, both of whom believed that they should have been given greater responsibility by Emperor Wen, also encouraged him to eventually consider rebelling. Yang Liang was further troubled after another brother, Yang Xiu the Prince of Shu, was deposed over charges of wastefulness in 602.

Rebellion against Emperor Yang

In 604, Yang Guang became emperor after Emperor Wen's death. Emperor Yang, apprehensive of Yang Liang's intentions, did not initially announce Emperor Wen's death, and sent the general Qutu Tong to Taiyuan to, using an edict in Emperor Wen's name, summon Yang Liang to the capital Daxing. However, Yang Liang figured out the edict to be a forgery, and declared a rebellion, supported by governors of 19 provinces. However, even though Wang Kui pointed out to him that he needed to make a quick election between the strategies of attacking Daxing quickly or to try to hold his territory north of the Yellow River , Yang Liang could not decide which set of strategies to use, and therefore used a mixed approach. As his rationale for rebelling, he declared that Yang Su had committed treason.

Yang Liang made initial gains, and his forces, commanded by Pei Wen'an , quickly captured the strategically important Pu Province and were poised to cross the Yellow River to attack the capital region. For reasons unclear then, Yang Liang changed his mind and destroyed the bridge over the Yellow River, stalling his own advances, although he soon advanced south from Taiyuan himself to again make another offensive. Soon, Yang Su, loyal to Emperor Yang, advanced north and met Yang Liang's forces. Against Wang's suggestion that he should engage Yang Su quickly, Yang Liang withdrew to Qingyuan , thus losing initiative. Yang Su defeated him and captured Xiao Mohe, forcing him to retreat back to Taiyuan, where Yang Su put him under siege. Wang Kui committed suicide. Eventually, Yang Liang surrendered. Even though officials largely suggested that Yang Liang should be executed, Emperor Yang did not do so, but reduced him to commoner rank and put him under imprisonment. He died in imprisonment, and although it was unclear the year he died, it appeared to be not long after his capture. His son Yang Hao was also imprisoned, and when Emperor Yang was assassinated by the general Yuwen Huaji in 618, Yang Hao was also killed.