Wang Shichong Wang Shichong ( 王世充 ) ( died 621 ) , courtesy name Xingman ( 行滿 ) , was a general of the Chinese Sui Dynasty who deposed Sui ' s last emperor Yang Tong and briefly ruled as the emperor of a succeeding state of Zheng . He first became prominent during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui as one of the few Sui generals having success against rebel generals , and during Yang Tong ' s brief reign , he was able to defeat the rebel general Li Mi and seize Li Mi ' s territory . After becoming emperor , however , he was unable to withstand military pressure from Tang Dynasty forces , forcing him to seek aid from Dou Jiande the Prince of Xia . After Dou was defeated and captured by the Tang general Li Shimin ( the later Emperor Taizong ) , Wang surrendered . Emperor Gaozu of Tang spared him , but the Tang official Dugu Xiude ( 獨孤修德 ) , whose father Dugu Ji ( 獨孤機 ) had been executed by Wang , assassinated him . Early career . Wang Shichong ' s ancestors were surnamed Zhi ( 支 ) , originally from the Xiyu region and were not Han . After his grandfather Zhi Tuinou ( 支頹耨 ) died early , his grandmother married a man named Wang , who also adopted his father Zhi Shou ( 支收 ) , who thereafter changed his name to Wang . Wang Shou later served as a secretary to the governor of Bian Province ( 汴州 , roughly modern Kaifeng , Henan ) . Wang Shichong himself was said to be studious in his youth , particularly concentrating on military strategies . He was also well - acquainted with laws . He apparently had contributions as a soldier and was gradually promoted . It was said that he was skillful in his application of laws and use of language , such that even when he made suggestions that did not appear to make sense logically , people were unable to refute him . By 610 , after Zhang Heng ( 張衡 ) , the supervising official of Emperor Yang ' s palace at Jiangdu ( 江都 , in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ) , fell from Emperor Yang ' s grace , Wang replaced him . As Emperor Yang frequently visited Jiangdu , Wang was said to be skillful at flattering the emperor as well as decorating the palace in an extravagant manner , bringing favor from the emperor . It was further said that Wang understood that Sui was soon to be in disturbance , and therefore carefully cultivated relationships with brave men . Whenever people were imprisoned , he would often find ways to free them , to gain their gratitude . In 613 , when the general Yang Xuangan rebelled near the eastern capital Luoyang , agrarian rebels south of the Yangtze River rose as well , with Liu Yuanjin ( 劉元進 ) as their leader . Emperor Yang initially sent the generals Tuwan Xu ( 吐萬緒 ) and Yu Juluo ( 魚俱羅 ) against Liu , but Tuwan and Yu were not able to defeat Liu conclusively . Emperor Yang executed Yu , and Tuwan died in fear . Emperor Yang instead sent Wang , and Wang defeated Liu , killing him . Wang initially promised not to kill Liu ' s soldiers , and they surrendered , but he slaughtered them after they surrendered . However , Emperor Yang , believing that Wang was a capable general , bestowed even greater favor on him . In 614 , the major rebel leader Meng Rang ( 孟讓 ) advanced south from his home commandery , Qi Commandery ( roughly modern Ji ' nan , Shandong ) , advancing to Xuyi ( 盱眙 , in modern Huai ' an , Jiangsu ) . Wang led his army against Meng and built five fences to block Meng ' s path , while feigning weakness . Meng , believing Wang to be an incompetent civilian , spread his forces , not only to attack Wang , but also to pillage the area . Wang , catching Meng by surprise , struck back , defeating Meng and forcing him to flee . In 615 , Emperor Yang was at Yanmen ( 雁門 , in modern Xinzhou , Shanxi ) when Tujue ' s Shibi Khan , Ashina Duojishi , launched a surprise attack and put Yanmen under siege . Wang launched his army from Jiangdu toward Yanmen , despite the long distance , and during the journey , he often wept and was disheveled , stating his fear for the emperor ' s safety . After Yanmen ' s siege was lifted , Emperor Yang , hearing this , further believed in Wang ' s loyalty . In 616 , Wang was promoted to the position of acting governor of Jiangdu . After the general Yang Yichen defeated and killed the rebel general Ge Qian ( 格遷 ) , Wang crushed the remainder of Ge ' s forces , and also those of Lu Mingyue ( 盧明月 ) . Emperor Yang was impressed with his success , and personally awarded him wine . Struggle against Li Mi . In fall 617 , with Luoyang under the threat of the rebel leader Li Mi the Duke of Wei , who had captured the large food storages that Emperor Yang had built near Luoyang and begun to starve the Sui defense forces at Luoyang , Emperor Yang , then at Jiangdu , sent Wang Shichong , along with several other generals , Wang Long ( 王隆 ) , Wei Ji ( 韋霽 ) , and Wang Bian ( 王辯 ) , from various locations of the empire , to aid Luoyang . They were under the command of Xue Shixiong ( 薛世雄 ) , who was ordered to take his forces from Zhuo Commandery ( 涿郡 , roughly modern Beijing ) to Luoyang was well . However , Xue was intercepted and defeated by Dou Jiande and forced to return to Zhuo Commandery , and died there , leaving the other generals without a central commander . When Wang Shichong , Wang Bian , and Wei arrived at Luoyang , they stalemated with Li across the Luo River , and Emperor Yang put the Sui forces under Wang Shichong ' s command . For the next several months , he battled with Li , and while each had victories , the results were generally indecisive , although Wang ' s forces took the brunt of the losses . Meanwhile , he had hoped that Li and his key general Zhai Rang would eventually have a fallout and that he could use the fallout to his advantage , but in winter 617 Li assassinated Zhai without Wang ' s being able to take advantage . In spring 618 , after his forces were reinforced by 70 , 000 men sent by Emperor Yang ' s grandson Yang Tong the Prince of Yue , who was nominally in command at Luoyang , Wang launched a major attack on Li , but was defeated by Li , allowing Li to then crush the other Sui forces as well . In light of the victory , a number of Sui generals and rebel generals all submitted to Li , requesting Li to take imperial title , but Li declined . Wang retreated to Luoyang , and for a while did not dare to engage Li again . Later in spring 618 , Emperor Yang was killed at Jiangdu in a coup led by the general Yuwen Huaji . When the news reached Luoyang , the Sui officials at Luoyang , including Wang , declared Yang Tong emperor . Wang was made one of the heads of the examination bureau ( 門下省 , " Menxia Sheng " ) and created the Duke of Zheng . He and six other officials , Duan Da ( 段達 ) , Yuan Wendu ( 元文都 ) , Huangfu Wuyi ( 皇甫無逸 ) , Lu Chu ( 盧楚 ) , Guo Wenyi ( 郭文懿 ) , and Zhao Changwen ( 趙長文 ) , formed a collective leadership and were known as the " seven nobles . " With Yuwen leading the elite Xiaoguo Army ( 驍果 ) back north toward Luoyang , both the Sui officials at Luoyang and Li were apprehensive of Yuwen ' s plans . In summer , after Yuan and Lu advocated the plan , Yang Tong entered into a peace agreement with Li , where Li accepted Sui titles and nominally submitted to Yang Tong . Li was subsequently able to repel Yuwen ' s attacks , and when the news reached Luoyang , the officials were largely pleased — but Wang was not , stating , " Why are they giving offices and titles to a bandit ? " This drew suspicions from Yuan and Lu that Wang was intending to surrender the city to Yuwen . The " seven nobles " thereafter came to suspect each other . Wang began to incite his troops by telling them that they would soon fall into Li ' s trap , and that if Li received the command over them ( as Li 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 , the capital of Emperor Gaozu of Tang ( Li Yuan ) , a former Sui general who had first nominally supported Emperor Yang ' s grandson Yang You ( Emperor Gong ) as emperor , but who had taken the throne himself earlier in 618 to establish Tang Dynasty . 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 Yang Tong ' s mother 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 . Guo and Zhao were also seized and executed . However , initially Wang continued to be outwardly respectful to the young emperor , while he flattered Empress Dowager Liu by offering to be her adopted son and honoring her with the title of " Empress Dowager Shenggan " ( 聖感皇太后 ) . As Sui regent . Upon hearing of Yuan Wendu ' s and Lu Chu ' s deaths , Li Mi broke off of peaceful relations with Yang Tong ' s regime . However , Li had a low opinion of Wang Shichong , and therefore took few precautions against an attack from Wang . At that time , Li ' s army lacked clothes , while Wang ' s army lacked food . Against his initial judgment , Li was persuaded by his secretary Bing Yuanzhen ( 邴元真 ) , who could benefit from the transactions , to trade food to Wang for clothes . As a result , the people of Luoyang stopped surrendering to Li , and while Li then stopped the transactions , the damage was done . Meanwhile , Li ' s army was worn out and heavily damaged by wars with Yuwen Huaji ' s Xiaoguo Army as well . While he had earlier received the submission of Wang ' s family members — including Wang ' s brother Wang Shiwei ( 王世偉 ) and sons Wang Xuanying ( 王玄應 ) , Wang Xuanshu ( 王玄恕 ) , and Wang Xuanqiong ( 王玄瓊 ) - - he did not take particular use of them , but only detained them at the city of Yanshi ( 偃師 , in modern Luoyang ) with hopes to use them in the future to get Wang Shichong to surrender . Wang took this opportunity to launch a major attack on Li in fall 618 . He first defeated Li himself ( after convincing his army that the spirit of the Duke of Zhou had predicted a victory ) and , finding someone whose appearance was similar to Li , used him to declare that Li had been captured , further raising his army ' s morale . He then attacked and captured Yanshi , not only taking his family members but also the family members of many of Li ' s generals . He then made another assault on Li — which Li reacted slowly to and could not counter . Bing and Shan Xiongxin ( 單雄信 ) surrendered to Wang . Li , after initially considering fleeing to join forces with his general Xu Shiji — a friend of Zhai Rang ' s , ultimately decided to flee west instead to Tang territory to submit to Emperor Gaozu of Tang . After Li left the region , most of Li ' s territory surrendered to Yang Tong ' s regime , as did the major rebel general Zhu Can . ( Xu , however , did not , and the area under his control submitted to Tang as well . ) The major rebel leader Dou Jiande , who had claimed the title of Prince of Xia , also nominally submitted to Yang Tong . Wang was given the honorific office of " Taiwei " ( 太尉 ) , and he began to gather officials with good reputations onto his staff . Wang encouraged people to offer suggestions , putting three wooden signs before his headquarters , requesting for three types of people to volunteer or to provide suggestions : However , it was said that Wang , although he welcomed these suggestions and petitions , actually did not act on them , and that while he used kind words to comfort even the lowest of soldiers , he did little in actions to benefit them . In spring 619 , Wang ' s subordinates Dugu Wudu ( 獨孤武都 ) , Dugu Wudu ' s cousin Dugu Ji , Yang Gongshen ( 楊恭慎 ) , Sun Shixiao ( 孫師孝 ) , Liu Xiaoyuan ( 劉孝元 ) , Li Jian ( 李儉 ) , and Cui Xiaoren ( 崔孝仁 ) plotted to surrender Luoyang to Tang troops , but were discovered , and they were all executed . Meanwhile , during a feast in Yang Tong ' s palace , Wang suffered from a severe case of food poisoning , and he believed that he was poisoned , and thereafter refused to see Yang Tong again . When Yang Tong , fearing his fate , tried to receive divine blessing by having the palace treasures given to the poor , Wang put soldiers around the palace to stop it . In late spring 619 , Wang had Yang Tong create him the Prince of Zheng and grant him the nine bestowments — both ultimate steps before taking the throne . He also had his subordinates openly discuss in public how it would be proper for him to take the throne . In summer 619 , he had Duan Da and Yun Dingxing ( 雲定興 ) enter the palace to persuade Yang Tong to yield the throne to him , and further sent messengers to Yang Tong to say : He then had an edict issued in Yang Tong ' s name , yielding the throne to him , ending Sui and establishing a new state of Zheng . Reign . Wang Shichong created his son Wang Xuanying crown prince and Wang Xuanshu the Prince of Han . He made 19 other relatives his princes , and Yang Tong the former emperor the Duke of Lu . He did not have a fixed office ; rather , he worked at several offices in the city , and he was in the habit of receiving personal submissions from the people to show that he was open to suggestions , but the idea backfired as too many people submitted petitions , making him unable to read them all . It was also said that he was overly talkative at imperial meetings , causing them to drag on overly long . Meanwhile , in light of his taking the throne , a number of commanderies that had submitted to Yang Tong submitted to either Tang or Xia , and Dou Jiande formally broke with Wang and took imperial style , albeit not imperial title . Further , after Wang attacked Liyang ( 黎陽 , in modern Hebi , Henan ) , which Xia had seized from Tang , in winter 619 , and Dou retaliated by attacking Yin Prefecture ( 殷州 , roughly modern Xinxiang , Henan ) , the states became enemies . A month later , Pei Renji and his son Pei Xingyan ( 裴行儼 ) , as well as the officials Yuwen Rutong ( 宇文儒童 ) , Yuwen Wen ( 宇文溫 , Yuwen Rutong ' s brother ) , and Cui Deben ( 崔德本 ) plotted to kill Wang and restore Yang Tong . The news leaked , and the conspirators were slaughtered , along with their families . Wang Shichong ' s brother Wang Shiyun ( 王世惲 ) the Prince of Qi persuaded Wang Shichong that in order to avoid a repeat of the plot , he needed to put Yang Tong to death . Wang Shichong agreed , and he sent his nephew Wang Renze ( 王仁則 ) the Prince of Tang and his servant Liang Bainian ( 梁百年 ) to force Yang Tong to drink poison . Yang Tong made one last plea , pointing out that Wang Shichong had previously promised to keep him alive . Liang considered requesting confirmation from Wang Shichong , but Wang Shiyun refused . Yang Tong set sacrifices for the Buddha and prayed , " May it be that I will no longer again be reborn into an imperial household . " He drank poison , but initially did not die . Wang Shiyun ordered that he be strangled . Meanwhile , Zheng and Tang had continuous battles near Luoyang and also to the west and south , with the sides trading victories . In fall 620 , Tang ' s Emperor Gaozu commissioned his son Li Shimin the Prince of Qin with an army to attack Luoyang , and Wang Shichong prepared his own forces to defend and counter . Wang sought to enter into a peace agreement with Li Shimin , but Li Shimin declined , and he captured Zheng cities one by one , either by attacking them or by accepting their surrender . By winter 620 , Zheng was in a desperate situation , and Wang Shichong sent messengers to Dou , seeking help from Xia forces . Dou , believing that if Tang destroyed Zheng , his own Xia state would be cornered , agreed , and sought to diplomaticallly convince Li Shimin to withdraw , but Li Shimin again refused . Meanwhile , in spring 621 , Li Shimin put Luoyang under siege . Wang ' s forces had strong catapults and crossbows , inflicting much casualties on Tang forces , and many Tang generals wished to withdraw . Li Shimin , however , believed that Luoyang would fall soon and therefore refused . Upon hearing that Dou was approaching , he decided to advance east to take up defensive position at the key Hulao Pass in advance of Dou ' s arrival , leaving a relatively small Tang army , under the command of his brother Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi , at Luoyang . Wang , seeing Li Shimin ' s troop movement but unsure what the situation was , did not attack Li Shimin ' s rear ( as some of Li Shimin ' s generals feared ) . Meanwhile , Dou , against the advice of his strategist Ling Jing ( 凌敬 ) and his wife Empress Cao , advanced to Hulao in summer 621 . Li Shimin initially refused to engage him , wearing his troops out , and then counterattacked , defeating and capturing him . Li Shimin took the captured Dou and Wang ' s emissaries Wang Wan ( 王琬 ) the Prince of Dai ( Wang Shichong ' s nephew ) and Zhangsun Anshi ( 長孫安世 ) to Luoyang to display them to Wang Shichong . Wang Shichong , after a conversation with Dou , broke down in tears . He considered fighting his way out of the siege and fleeing to Xiangyang ( 襄陽 , in modern Xiangfan , Hebei ) , defended by his nephew Wang Honglie ( 王弘烈 ) the Prince of Wei . His generals pointed out that he was dependent on Xia help , and now that Dou had been captured , there was nothing further to be done . Wang therefore exited the city and surrendered to Li Shimin . Li Shimin executed a number of his high level officials , but spared Wang himself , his family , and the rest of the officials . Death . Li Shimin took Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande back to the Tang capital Chang ' an to present them to his father Emperor Gaozu . When Emperor Gaozu met Wang and rebuked him , Wang stated , " I should be beheaded , but the Prince of Qin had agreed to spare me . " In fall 621 , Emperor Gaozu spared him but demoted him to commoner rank , exiling him and his clan to modern Sichuan , while executing Dou . Meanwhile , Wang and his family members were awaiting exile , and were detained at the barracks of the capital prefecture , Yong Prefecture ( 雍州 ) . Dugu Xiude , the son of Dugu Ji , took the opportunity to enter the barracks , claiming that Emperor Gaozu wished to see Wang Shichong . Wang Shichong and his brother Wang Shiyun came out to greet Dugu , and Dugu executed them to avenge his father . Emperor Gaozu only punished Dugu by removing him from his post as the prefect of Ding Prefecture ( 定州 , roughly modern Baoding , Hebei ) . The other members of the Wang clan were exiled , but on their way plotted rebellion , and were all executed . Of all of the contenders to rule the empire during Sui ' s disintegration , Wang was one of the most reviled by traditional historians . The Later Jin Dynasty historian Liu Xu , the lead editor of the " Book of Tang " , commented :