Yang Su Yang Su ( 楊素 ) ( died August 31 , 606 ) , courtesy name Chudao ( 處道 ) , formally Duke Jingwu of Chu ( 楚景武公 ) , was a powerful general during Sui Dynasty whose authority eventually became nearly as supreme as the emperor ' s . Traditional historians generally believed that he was involved in the suspected murder of Emperor Wen in 604 , at the behest of Emperor Wen ' s son Yang Guang ( the later Emperor Yang ) . His son Yang Xuangan later rebelled against Emperor Yang in 613 but was defeated and killed , and Yang Su ' s other sons were also executed . During Northern Zhou . It is not known when Yang Su was born . His grandfather Yang Xuan ( 楊喧 ) was a mid - level official during Northern Wei or its branch successor state Western Wei . Yang Su ' s father Yang Fu ( 楊敷 ) served as a general for Western Wei ' s successor state Northern Zhou , but in 571 , while defending Dingyang ( 定陽 , in modern Linfen , Shanxi ) , Yang Fu was defeated and captured by the Northern Qi general Duan Shao ( 段韶 ) . Yang Fu refused to surrender and was kept in captivity for the rest of his life , but it is not known when he died . After Yang Fu ' s death , Yang Su , who was considered highly talented in his youth , repeatedly sought posthumous recognition for his father from Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou . Eventually , Emperor Wu was so pestered that he ordered that Yang Su be killed — perhaps stating the order publicly to scare Yang Su so that he would relent . Instead of begging for forgiveness , however , Yang Su yelled out , " I serve a ruthless emperor , and it is proper for me to die ! " Emperor Wu , impressed with Yang Su ' s fortitude , released him and gave Yang Fu posthumous honors , including the title of Duke of Linzhen . He made Yang Su an official in his administration , and once , when he had Yang Su draft an edict for him and was impressed by both the fast speed that Yang Su wrote the edict and the beauty of the language , he commented , " Just work hard . Honor and wealth will come to you . " Yang Su responded , " I am worried that I will be forced to accept honor and wealth , as I have no desire for them . " In 575 , when Emperor Wu launched a major attack on Northern Qi , he granted Yang Su ' s request to lead the remains of Yang Fu ' s old army . While Emperor Wu was soon forced to abandon the campaign , Yang Su was , for his contributions , created the Viscount of Qinghe . When Emperor Wu relaunched the attack on Northern Qi in winter 576 , Yang Su served under Emperor Wu ' s brother and major general Yuwen Xian the Prince of Qi , and during a battle , when Yuwen Xian was ambushed by forces under Northern Qi ' s emperor Gao Wei , it was Yang Su who fought hard to save Yuwen Xian . Thereafter , he continued to make contributions under Yuwen Xian during the campaign against Northern Qi . After Emperor Wu conquered Northern Qi in 577 , he promoted Yang Su ' s title to Duke of Chen ' an . In 578 , he served under the general Wang Gui ( 王軌 ) in defeating the Chen Dynasty general Wu Mingche , and for this contribution , Emperor Wu created his brother Yang Shen ( 楊慎 ) the Marquess of Yi ' an . After Emperor Wu ' s death later in 578 and succession by his son Emperor Xuan , Emperor Xuan conferred the title of Duke of Linzhen , which Emperor Wu had posthumously created Yang Fu , on Yang Su , transferring Yang Su ' s title of Duke of Cheng ' an to his brother Yang Yuē ( 楊約 ) . Yang Su subsequently served under the general Wei Xiaokuan in capturing the region between the Yangtze River and the Huai River from Chen . In 580 , Emperor Xuan , who had by that point become retired emperor , died , and Emperor Xuan ' s father - in - law Yang Jian seized power as regent over Emperor Xuan ' s son Emperor Jing . Yang Su became close to Yang Jian , and Yang Jian made him the governor of the important Bian Province ( 汴州 , roughly modern Kaifeng , Henan ) . However , before Yang Su could report to Bian Province , the general Yuchi Jiong , suspicious of Yang Jian ' s intentions , rose against him . One of Yuchi ' s supporters , Yuwen Zhou ( 宇文冑 ) the governor of Ying Province ( 滎州 , roughly modern Zhengzhou , Henan ) defended Hulao Pass against Yang Jian ' s forces , and Yang Jian sent Yang Su against Yuwen Zhou . Yang Su was able to defeat Yuwen Zhou , and after Yuchi had been defeated and had committed suicide , Yang Jian made Yang Su the commandant at Xu Province ( 徐州 , roughly modern Xuzhou , Jiangsu ) and promoted his title to Duke of Qinghe , transferring his title of Duke of Linzhen to his brother Yang Yuè ( 楊岳 , note different tone and character than the other brother ) . During Emperor Wen ' s reign . In 581 , Yang Jian had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him , ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui Dynasty as its Emperor Wen . Yang Su continued to serve in Emperor Wen ' s administration including a spell helping prepare the Kaihuang Code on which Emperor Wen ' s legal reforms were based . In 584 , during an argument with his wife Lady Zheng , he angrily stated , " If I become emperor , you will not be empress ! " Lady Zheng , in anger , reported the comment to Emperor Wen , who removed Yang Su from his post as a punishment . In 585 , Emperor Wen restored him and made him the commandant at Xin Province ( modern eastern Chongqing ) to prepare an attack against Chen down the Yangtze River . While at Xin Province , he built large ships in anticipation of the attack . In winter 588 , Emperor Wen launched the attack , commissioning his sons Yang Guang the Prince of Jin and Yang Jun , along with Yang Su , to command the three main prongs of the attack , with Yang Guang in overall command of the operations . Yang Su ' s responsibility was to take his forces down the Yangtze and attack cities on the river . He passed through the Three Gorges and defeated the Chen general Qi Xin ( 戚昕 ) . He soon ran into heavy resistance by the Chen general Lü Zhongsu ( 呂忠肅 ) and initially was repelled , but eventually was able to defeat Lü . With Chen Shubao ' s cousin Chen Huiji ( 陳慧紀 ) abandoning the region to make one last - ditch attempt to reach the Chen capital Jiankang to help defend it against Yang Guang ' s attack , Yang Su encountered no further resistance , and soon news that Jiankang had fallen arrived , and the local provinces all surrendered to him or Yang Jun , whom he met at Hankou ( 漢口 , in modern Wuhan , Hubei ) . Emperor Wen subsequently promoted Yang Su to the greater title of Duke of Yue and transferred his title of Duke of Qinghe to his son Yang Xuanjiang ( 楊玄獎 ) , while making his heir apparent Yang Xuangan a mid - level official . He was briefly made the commandant at Jing Province ( 荊州 , roughly modern Jingzhou , Hubei ) , but in summer 588 was recalled to the capital to be the head of the examination bureau ( 門下省 , " Menxia Sheng " ) - - one of the most important officials in the imperial government . In 590 , he was made the head of the legislative bureau ( 內史省 , " Neishi Sheng " ) . Later in 590 , with Chen ' s former territory up in rebellions due to the formerly Chen people ' s unaccustomed to the imposition of Sui laws , Yang Su was put in command of a large army to attack the various rebel leaders . He defeated Shen Xuanhui ( 沈玄懀 ) and Gao Zhihui ( 高智慧 ) , eventually quelling much of the former Chen territory . Emperor Wen awarded him with many gifts . Based on Yang Su ' s conduct during the campaign , the historian Sima Guang , in his " Zizhi Tongjian " , commented : Around the new year 593 , Yang Su was made a co - head of the executive bureau ( 尚書省 , " Shangshu Sheng " ) with Gao Jiong , effectively serving as co - prime ministers , replacing Su Wei in that role . It was said that by this point , Yang Su had become very arrogant , and among the officials , he only respected Gao , Niu Hong ( 牛弘 ) , and Xue Daoheng ( 薛道衡 ) , looking down at and bullying the rest . It was commented by traditional historians that he was more talented and had more foresight than Gao , but that he was not as fairminded or well - behaved as Gao . In spring 593 , Emperor Wen commissioned Yang Su to oversee the building of his vacation palace , Renshou Palace ( 仁壽宮 , in modern Baoji , Shaanxi ) . Yang Su spent much effort building it to be a luxurious palace , needing not much architectural work but landscaping of the nearby hills and valleys . Much human life was lost — numbering in the tens of thousands . The palace was completed in spring 595 , and when Emperor Wen inspected it , he , by nature frugal , was initially displeased and stated , " Yang Su expended money and effort to build this palace , and he made the people hate me . " Yang Su was fearful of punishment , but when Emperor Wen ' s wife Empress Dugu Qieluo arrived , she pointed out to Emperor Wen that Yang Su knew that they had little other pleasures , and therefore built the palace in this manner . She gave Yang Su awards in both money and silk . In 598 , both Empress Dugu and Yang Su ' s wife Duchess Zheng were ill , and suspicions came on the official Dugu Tuo ( 獨孤陀 ) - - who was Empress Dugu ' s half - brother and whose wife was Yang Su ' s half - sister . Dugu Tuo was accused of having his servant girl Xu Ani ( 徐阿尼 ) employ cat spirits to curse Empress Dugu and Duchess Zheng , and was nearly executed , but at Empress Dugu ' s urging was spared and only reduced to commoner rank . In spring 599 , Yang Su was one of the major generals commissioned to attack Tujue ' s Dulan Khan , Ashina Yongyulü , along with Gao Jiong and Yan Rong ( 燕榮 ) . He encountered Ashina Yongyulü ' s subordinate khan , the Datou Khan Ashina Dianjue . Contrary to prior strategies to first protect his army before engaging , he quickly engaged Ashina Dianjue and defeated him , forcing Ashina Dianjue to flee . Sometime around that time , Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu , who generally had a loving relationship , had a major conflict — over an affair by Emperor Wen ( who otherwise did not have any concubines , in contrast with nearly every other emperor in Chinese history ) with Yuchi Jiong ' s granddaughter , who had become a servant in the palace . Empress Dugu killed Lady Yuchi , and in anger , Emperor Wen rode away from the palace . Yang Su and Gao had to track him down and persuade him back to the palace . Yang Su and Gao subsequently held a banquet for them to allow them to reconcile . In winter 599 , Emperor Wen sent Yang Su again to attack Ashina Yongyulü , but before his army could depart , Ashina Yongyulü was assassinated and replaced by Ashina Dianjue ( as Bujia Khan ) , and so Yang Su did not launch his army . In 600 , when Ashina Dianjue attacked , Emperor Wen sent Yang Su and Shi Wansui ( 史萬歲 ) , along with his sons Yang Guang and Yang Liang , to resist , and Ashina Dianjue was fought off . ( The historians had much to say as to Shi ' s success during this campaign , but not Yang Su ' s , suggesting that Yang Su was not involved in major engagements during this campaign . ) By 600 , Emperor Wen ' s crown prince Yang Yong had lost the favor of Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu , over his wastefulness ( which displeased Emperor Wen ) and having many concubines ( which displeased Empress Dugu ) . Yang Guang , whom Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu , had for some time plotted to replace Yang Yong , sent his associate Yuwen Shu to persuade Yang Su ' s brother Yang Yuē that , as Yang Su did not have a good relationship with Yang Yong , that if Emperor Wen died , Yang Su and his brothers would soon be in danger under Yang Yong ' s rule . Rather , Yuwen suggested , Yang Su should form a pact with Yang Guang and try to have Yang Guang made crown prince . Yang Su agreed , and began to discuss with Empress Dugu in earnest the possibility of replacing Yang Yong with Yang Guang . Empress Dugu was pleased , and requested Yang Su to persuade Emperor Wen as well . By fall 600 , Yang Guang had Yang Yong ' s associate Ji Wei ( 姬威 ) falsely accuse Yang Yong of plotting treason . Emperor Wen commissioned Yang Su to investigate , and Yang Su intentionally misinterpreted evidence and manufactured additional evidence , causing Emperor Wen to believe that Yang Yong was indeed plotting treason . Emperor Wen deposed Yang Yong and created Yang Guang crown prince instead . In winter 601 , Emperor Wen commissioned Yang Su to command an army , in association with Qimin Khan Ashina Rangan ( who had surrendered to Sui and whom Emperor Wen had created khan ) , to attack Ashina Dianjue . In spring 602 , Yang Su achieved a great victory , and for his victory , Yang Xuangan ' s post was upgraded , and another son of Yang Su , Yang Xuanzong ( 楊玄縱 ) , was created the Duke of Huainan . By 602 , Yang Guang was concerned that his brother , Yang Xiu the Prince of Shu , who as the commandant at Yi Province ( 益州 , roughly modern Chengdu , Sichuan ) was in control of the modern Sichuan and Chongqing region , would eventually make trouble for him . He had Yang Su collect evidence of Yang Xiu ' s wastefulness and inappropriate behavior . Emperor Wen summoned Yang Xiu back to the capital , and had Yang Su investigate . Both Yang Guang and Yang Su manufactured additional evidence against Yang Xiu , and Yang Xiu was reduced to commoner rank and put under house arrest . Also in 602 , Empress Dugu died . Yang Su was in charge of the funeral arrangements , and in appreciation , Emperor Wen created yet another son of Yang Su the Duke of Yikang . Upon accusations by the official Liang Pi ( 梁毗 ) that Yang Su was becoming overly powerful and abusive , Emperor Wen began to distance himself from Yang Su , although he continued to confer honors on Yang Su . The actual authority over the executive bureau was instead exercised by Su Wei and Emperor Wen ' s son - in - law Liu Shu ( 柳述 ) . In summer 604 , while at Renshou Palace , Emperor Wen became ill . Yang Su , Liu , and Yuan Yan ( 元儼 ) attended to him . Emperor Wen soon died , and Yang Guang , after ordering Yang Su ' s brother Yang Yuē to have Yang Yong killed , announced Emperor Wen ' s death and took the throne as Emperor Yang . ( Traditional historians , while admitting a lack of direct evidence , largely believed an account that Emperor Wen ' s death was a murder ordered by Yang Guang , with Yang Su in cooperation . This account alleged that Yang Guang attempted to rape Emperor Wen ' s concubine Consort Chen ( Chen Shubao ' s sister ) , and when Consort Chen reported the attempted rape to Emperor Wen , Emperor Wen tried to have Yang Guang deposed and sent Liu and Yuan to summon Yang Yong . Yang Su put Liu and Yuan under arrest , and then Yang Guang sent his associate Zhang Heng ( 張衡 ) to kill Emperor Wen . ) During Emperor Yang ' s reign . Upon hearing Emperor Yang ' s ascension , Yang Liang , then the commandant at Bing Province ( 并州 , roughly modern Taiyuan , Shanxi ) and in control of the territory north of the Yellow River , rebelled — inexplicably declaring , as his reason for rebelling , that Yang Su had committed treason . Emperor Yang sent Yang Su to attack Yang Liang , and Yang Su , after capturing Yang Liang ' s general Xiao Mohe , forced Yang Liang ' s surrender . For Yang Su ' s contributions , Emperor Yang gave his sons Yang Wandan ( 楊萬石 ) , Yang Renxing ( 楊仁行 ) , and Yang Xuanting ( 楊玄挺 ) all mid - level imperial posts and much treasure , previously owned by Yang Liang . In spring 605 , Emperor Yang began to expand Luoyang to serve as the eastern capital . Yang Su was commissioned to head the project . It was said that although Yang Su had much contributions for him , Emperor Yang actually was very suspicious of Yang Su . When imperial astrologers informed Emperor Yang that the Sui region ( central Hubei ) would have a major funeral , Emperor Wen created Yang Su the Duke of Chu , technically a greater title — believing that the Chu and Sui regions were close enough that he could use Yang Su to deflect the ill fortune . When Yang Su grew ill in 606 , Yang Guang sent the imperial physicians , along with the most precious medicines , to treat Yang Su , but closely monitored Yang Su ' s conditions , hoping that Yang Su would die . Yang Su himself knew of Emperor Yang ' s intentions , and therefore refused all treatment and did not take good care of his own body , stating to Yang Yue , " Why should I want to live ? " He died in fall 606 , and Emperor Yang honored him with a magnificent funeral . After Yang Xuangan rebelled in 613 , all of Yang Su ' s sons were killed . Yang Su ' s tomb was destroyed , and Yang Su ' s body was burned by the general Wei Wensheng ( 衛文昇 ) . But one daughter of his would later become a concubine of Emperor Gaozu of Tang and bear him a son named Li Yuanxiang ( 李元祥 ) and titled Prince of Jiang . It was said that one of Yang Su ' s favorite dishes was fried rice and that he popularized the dish .